There were shouts, laughter, waving flags and balloons everywhere.

Tuesday, May 29, 2001

There were shouts, laughter, waving flags and balloons everywhere. And the parade had not even started yet.

At 9:30 a.m., many people had already found spots to watch the 133rd annual Ironton-Lawrence County Memorial Day Parade on Quincy Street, between South Third and South Fourth streets.

Ironton resident Janet Dewitz, 60, said she and her cousin Jane Morris, 52, also of Ironton, come early every year and sit in the same area near the corner of Quincy and South Third streets.

"This is a good spot to watch from, because they slow down as they turn the corner," Dewitz said.

Morris said she and Dewitz "look forward to this every year."

Morris, a kindergarten teacher at Rock Hill Elementary No. 2, said she comes to see her students. Many of the children tell her what group they will be marching or riding with, and she takes pictures, which she mails to them.

All ages, from senior citizens to infants, were represented on the block. Many adults chatted with others that had gathered nearby to watch the parade.

Meanwhile, children played along the edge of the street and the sidewalks. One girl gave a younger child a piggyback ride. Many carried pinwheels and flags. Some held balloons, although more had given the balloons to their parents.

Two-year-old Danielle Wiley of Chesapeake ran and jumped and waved her small flag in front of her family’s seats.

"She enjoys the parade," her mother, Lisa Wiley, said. "She’s scared to death of the clowns, though."

The audience on this block also represented a number of locations. Janet Dewitz’s daughter Kelly Dewitz, 35, had come from her home in Colorado.