Zelienople rings in America’s 250th with massive two-hour parade
ZELIENOPLE -- Zelienople's decades-long Fourth of July parade tradition took on new meaning Saturday, as the borough joined in celebrating America's 250th birthday.
Kathy Corcoran of the Zelienople Area Rotary, which organized the parade, said some residents staked out spots along Main Street more than half a day in advance — even though Mother Nature had other plans.
“People set up their chairs ahead of time, and the bad storm last night blew the chairs into the street, so all the business owners were coming to save the chairs,” Corcoran said.
The parade kicked off shortly after 11 a.m. It was led by a battalion of emergency services vehicles, including the Harmony Fire District and an old vehicle from the now-defunct Zelienople Fire Department (which was merged into HFD in 2015).
According to Corcoran, the parade received at least 75 entries an hour before it kicked off, although organizers expected that number to reach into triple-digits with late registrations.
“There's go-karts, there's drag racers, churches, dancers, dance teams, cheerleading squads, and Civil War reenactors,” said volunteer Steven Schoppe, who was in charge of registration.
One group of marchers that attracted attention before and during the parade was a set of four hot dog mascots representing the ShuBrew brewpub on Zelienople’s Main Street. To promote the upcoming hot dog eating contest at Horse Trading Days -- of which ShuBrew is the title sponsor -- the four mascots handed out hot dogs to spectators.
“We're here to hype up the crowd, get some eaters to come out and watch us work our magic,” said Missy Ramirez, who played the role of Karen Ketchup. “We're gonna hand out the hot dogs to the sweaty and the hungry.”
Event organizers went the extra mile to make this Fourth of July parade patriotic, matching the once-in-a-lifetime celebration. The Zelienople Historical Society teamed up with the organization RecordSetters to attempt to break the record for the most people reciting the Pledge of Allegiance while waving a miniature American flag.
“There’s never been a record for waving a flag and saying the Pledge of Allegiance,” said Zelienople Historical Society Board member Adel Fatur. “So this would be a new record.”
Before the parade, members of the Historical Society distributed miniature flags to spectators along Main Street. The society estimates that over 6,000 spectators took part in the stunt, including some who brought their own flags from home. The record attempt was captured on video by a drone.
The parade was historic for another reason: it, along with the Independence Day weekend in Zelienople, marked the last touring appearance of the Traveling Tomb of the Unknown Soldier -- a half-scale replica of the monument at Arlington National Cemetery.
The Traveling Tomb, maintained by Maj. Bill King and the Exchange Club of Rome, Ga., criss-crossed the country as a traveling memorial to unidentified fallen soldiers. After its stay in Zelienople ends, it will return to Georgia permanently.
“It won't be going around anymore,” Fatur said. “It'll be stationed in Rome, Ga., in their museum, and it’ll be going to the schools down in Georgia.”
This marks the tomb’s second trip to Zelienople. It previously visited during the borough’s Fourth of July festivities in 2022. According to Fatur, the Exchange Club was so impressed with Zelienople that they decided to make it the tomb’s final stop.
“They called me last summer and said of all the states that they've been to, they'd never been to a town as patriotic or friendly as Zelienople,” Fatur said. “They wanted to make their last stop for America250 at Zelienople.”
