In just about five weeks, history will roll through the streets of Ironton once again.

The Ironton-Lawrence County Memorial Day Parade is gearing up for its 143rd year, marking it is the nation’s longest continuously running Memorial Day event of this nature.

Volunteers have been hard at work from just about the time the parade route ended last year. It takes dozens of volunteers and dedicated community servants to make this massive event go off without a hitch.

Tens of thousands of people will visit the streets of Ironton on May 30 to witness the spectacle of floats, bands and marchers.

But a key part of this success is the volunteers from the parade committee and the communication needed to keep it rolling along from beginning to end.

And that’s where the “hams” come in.

In today’s cell phone age, amateur radio operators — commonly called hams — are often forgotten but these individuals are important to keeping the parade to going.

The Southern Ohio Amateur Radio Association Amateur Radio Emergency Service is looking for more ham radio operators to be at the parade to call for help in case of an accident, to call for law enforcement or fire departments if needed, to help people find their parade division, to help parents find a lost child and a host of other situations.

For more information on becoming involved, visit the website www.orgsites.com/oh/soaraares.

One hundred and forty three years of history doesn’t happen without help.