Patriotic Porch Tour draws crowd in Zelie
ZELIENOPLE — Zelienople's first Patriotic Porch Tour finished as strong as it ran.
With more than 2,500 flags in Four Corners Park and 116 houses decorated in red, white and blue for the Zelienople Historical Society's America-themed July event, the grand finale Thursday at Passavant House featured patriotic ditties, Abraham Lincoln, Paul Revere and even a flyover to cap off a week of patriotic buzz.
Adel Fatur, who organized the event for the society, said she was more than pleased with how the week and its two ceremonies — the latter of which, at least, attracted dozens of community members and even those from nearby towns — turned out.
“That's all this town has been talking about,” Fatur said. “People just came together and decorated, and they're already ready for next year.”
Pat Griest, who won the grand prize for most-decorated house, said she wishes the tour would become an annual, or at least frequently held, event.“I really hope it's just a beginning of a new tradition,” Griest said.Griest, who volunteers at the historical society, said the society wanted everyone in town to decorate with at least one flag. That, she said, prompted her to decorate her own house.“We were trying to get as many people in the community to participate, and if we were trying to get every resident to participate, we thought we should participate,” she said.The goal, Griest said, wasn't to make a political statement. Instead, it was to bring everyone together with a unifying patriotic spirit around the Independence Day holiday.“We wanted to pull people together, not tear them apart,” Griest said.Although some of the grand finale festivities — such as a 21-gun salute — were canceled due to the intermittent rain, and although it occurred a day later than originally planned due to the forecast for Wednesday, there were more than enough activities to occupy those in attendance.Two single-engine planes flew over Zelienople, Paul Revere rode from the British down Main Street and an Abraham Lincoln impersonator — with a pinwheel stuck to his hat like a patriotic Yankee Doodle — wandered throughout the Passavant House yard.Music — such as “You're A Grand Old Flag” and Lee Greenwood's “Proud to Be an American” — rang through the sticky, hot air. And, of course, there were more solemn events, such as a Veterans of Foreign Wars post performing a flag-folding ceremony.
