Mason, Michigan, the town where Mason Jewett Airfield KTEW is located, is the county seat of Ingham County. There were political arguments, chicanary, and messes going on about 180 years ago about where the state capitol would be. It ended up in Lansing, which is also in Ingham County. Then, placement of the county seat became more heated. Mason got it.
Today, Mason claims itself to be the quintessential Hometown, USA. And, aye god it is. Now, I sincerely hope that there are hundreds, thousands of other towns that do a strong effort to also serve as nurturing environments for families as hometowns. But, frankly,in my travels, I don't see it. I truly hope that I'm wrong in that assessment.
This morning, the Memorial Day parade stepped off smartly at 09:00. I've written before about parades here. It's simple to get into it. Just show up at the parking lot of the high school, stand there, and when the parade marshall (someone you'll recognize from walking around town) shows up, just speak up and tell him/her that you're here to be in the parade. It's probably a good thing to point out that you thought ahead and brought at least half a deck of extra playing cards to stick into your spokes so they do that imitation machine gun chatter as you ride your freshly washed bike down mainstreet. And, mister? Can I please be AHEAD of the horses this year?
My measures of quality on these parades are the ratio of farm tractors compared to politicians. The local high school band leads off and sets the tone. Along behind are tractors (some towing manure spreaders), floats sponsored by many local organizations, more tractors, a sprinkling of politicians, kids on bicycles, a clown or two, more tractors, horses replete with riders serving as color guards (everybody UP!. Salute our flag as she goes by. "Order ARMS"
We missed this morning's parade. We pulled into town about an hour behind it. Everything was so cleaned up that no trace of the event remained. After all, an American hometown is not only friendly and patriotic, it is also clean and tidy.
Today, Mason claims itself to be the quintessential Hometown, USA. And, aye god it is. Now, I sincerely hope that there are hundreds, thousands of other towns that do a strong effort to also serve as nurturing environments for families as hometowns. But, frankly,in my travels, I don't see it. I truly hope that I'm wrong in that assessment.
This morning, the Memorial Day parade stepped off smartly at 09:00. I've written before about parades here. It's simple to get into it. Just show up at the parking lot of the high school, stand there, and when the parade marshall (someone you'll recognize from walking around town) shows up, just speak up and tell him/her that you're here to be in the parade. It's probably a good thing to point out that you thought ahead and brought at least half a deck of extra playing cards to stick into your spokes so they do that imitation machine gun chatter as you ride your freshly washed bike down mainstreet. And, mister? Can I please be AHEAD of the horses this year?
My measures of quality on these parades are the ratio of farm tractors compared to politicians. The local high school band leads off and sets the tone. Along behind are tractors (some towing manure spreaders), floats sponsored by many local organizations, more tractors, a sprinkling of politicians, kids on bicycles, a clown or two, more tractors, horses replete with riders serving as color guards (everybody UP!. Salute our flag as she goes by. "Order ARMS"
We missed this morning's parade. We pulled into town about an hour behind it. Everything was so cleaned up that no trace of the event remained. After all, an American hometown is not only friendly and patriotic, it is also clean and tidy.
