Ceremony set for May 7 at Ironton City Center

Next week, a plaque will be put up in the Ironton City Center that lists all know grand marshals who lead the Ironton-Lawrence County Memorial Day Parade over the past 150 years.

“What we want to do is honor our grand marshals as part of our 150th parade,” said Arthur J. Pierson, of Ironton, a member of the Ironton-Lawrence County Parade Committee since 1987. “We thought it would be fitting to have it at the city building.”

The ceremony will be held on May 7 at noon in the lobby of the City Center and is the first of a series of parade-related events including Navy Night, the past grand marshal dinner and a cemetery ceremony.

Thinking of the future, the plaque has room for 200 names, although it may not have the name of everyone who led the parade.

“A lot of years we didn’t have grand marshals,” Pierson said. “When I researched it, some years we couldn’t find a name of who the grand marshal was. So there are blank spaces.”

Pierson’s name will be on the plaque as well, since he was the grand marshal in 2009.

“That was a great honor,” he said.

Among the speakers for the event will be Pierson, Ironton Mayor Katrina Keith, 2018 Grand Marshal Brent Pyles and retired Judge W. Richard Walton.

Pierson said everyone is invited including past grand marshals and members of the community who are interested.

Pierson said is excited to see Ironton businesses and buildings along the downtown parade route being cleaned up and decorated for the parade.

“The businesses have been very gracious about putting things about their parade on their windows,” he said. “There has been a lot of good publicity for the parade and we’re hoping for a good day to have it.