Crowd Waiting for Veterans Day Parade

 I probably posted about this last year, but it doesn’t hurt to sometimes emphasize a point. Despite it’s growth and the “bedroom community” aspect – definitely the subject for another type of post – Homestead is a small town and there is always the concern with maintaining that feeling and the characteristics while balancing growth. The Veteran’s Day Ceremony and Parade is a wonderful example. The ceremony takes place in Losner Park, which is the small park in the Historic Downtown District. There is a memorial stone in one corner of the park that salutes all veterans from WW I to today’s conflicts. In keeping with the 11th day of the 11th month, the ceremony begins at 11:00 a.m. with speeches (all short) by the Commander of the VFW Post, the American Legion, one or two representatives from the military community, perhaps, as was this year, the District Commissioner Elect, and one of the City Council Members. The ceremony is usually over within 30-45 minutes and the parade begins at noon.

The parade doesn’t normally have floats, but decorated vehicles, some of which are antique, and all the Junior ROTCs march, the Boy Scout and Girl Scout Troops, the Shriners, and other organizations. Krome Avenue is not very wide and so the reviewing stand is within easy speaking distance of the parade participants. For many who passed by in the parade, there were friendly exchanges of, “Oh hi, Bob,” or “Happy Veteran’s Day, Cory,” etc., because those on the reviewing stand and those in the parade know each other as friends, neighbors, or working together in the community. When you watch the crowd wave flags and clap, it is exactly what you are looking for when you say, “Small Town Spirit”.

The VFW and the VFW Ladies Auxiliary do a great job each year in bringing this together and this year the weather was beautiful. Warm, of course, but a breeze and enough cloud cover to not have it beating down relentlessly on people.