PEMBERVILLE – The heat was brutal to participants in the Pemberville Free Fair Grand Parade on Saturday
afternoon.
The swaggering tuba players were sweating up a storm, the smiling beauty queens had to take precautions
against running makeup, and the waving politicians had to watch out for unsightly underarm stains.
"We stayed in the shade till the very last minute," said Jen Rollo, who was riding with Miss
Poppy, 10-year-old Matty Rollo.
Plus, the family had a secret weapon. "The air conditioner is on," Jay Rollo said as he basked
in the blasts of cool air behind the wheel of the convertible with its roof down.
Other parade participants searched for different remedies.
Ohio Rep. Randy Gardner, R-Bowling Green, armed himself with a cold beverage before the parade began.
"This is a mandatory lemonade day," he said.
To some, the heat was relatively mild. Rebecca Shirling, field commander with the Eastwood Marching Band,
said she was glad her band was at the beginning of the nearly two-hour parade. And besides, the heat was
to be expected. CLICK
HERE TO VIEW PHOTO GALLERY
"It’s not that bad this year," she said. "This is actually pretty good."
Following the marching band was Jack Mattox, the band van man, loaded with water to keep the marchers
hydrated.
"We make sure they keep walking," Mattox said. But he didn’t expect any problems. "We just
got back from band camp. They practiced in the heat all day."
Not far behind in the parade line up was Jeff Jackson, assistant fire chief for Pemberville Freedom Fire
Department, driving one of the department’s non-air conditioned pumpers.
"There’s no air moving," he said. But even in the sweltering fire truck, Jackson knew he was
better off than those people walking the parade route. "We have a little bit of shade. The asphalt
is hot."
Pemberville Fire Chief Duane Martin broke down and switched on the air conditioning in the truck he was
driving with his son, Kevin. But his motives were pure.
"We have to keep the candy cool so it’s not melted for the kids," he said, smiling. "It’s
all about the kids."
The spectators battled the same heat, clustering under valued shade trees along the parade route.
"I wasn’t going to come because of the heat," said Twila Adams, of Fremont. But after attending
the parade every year for nearly two decades, Adams said she just couldn’t let the temperatures keep her
away. "It’s so nice. There are so many different things. I like the beautiful floats."
Allee Faist, 11, echoed those emotions.
"It’s sweltering out here," she said.
But attending the parade is a family tradition for the Sylvania girl, who sits curbside every year with
her grandmother, Marti Zeek, of Pemberville.
"I always bring them to this. I’ve been bringing them since they were wee little," Zeek said of
her three grandchildren. "This is their end of the summer bash."
Despite the heat, the parade went on … and on … for nearly two hours. There were proud marching
bands, sequined baton twirlers, shiny classic cars, loud antique tractors, huge draft horses, jugging
unicyclists, and costumed clowns. Many participants were followed by support crews spritzing them down
with spray bottles of water.
This year’s parade had a special feature, with a salute to the Zenobia Shriners.
"We try to add a little twist," said parade organizer Todd Sheets. "We’re always on the
look for something new and different. It’s a fun challenge."
The Shriners showed up in their Jeepsters, mini mini-bikes, baby Corvettes, flying carpet on wheels, and
model F16 fighter jets.
And since a national Shriners hillbilly convention was being held in Perrysburg over the weekend, the
group filled the parade with the less classy members of their clan. There were several old jalopies, an
outhouse on wheels, an old rusted out Cadillac, countless jugs of moonshine, roadkill hanging off
bumpers, plus the possum queen with blackened out teeth. The "hillbillies" came from as far
away as Pittsburgh, Charleston, S.C., and Milwaukee.
PEMBERVILLE — The 2009 Pemberville Free Fair came to an end Saturday with two of its more popular
activities – the parade and the tug of war.
Sunny skies and warm temperatures provided a perfect setting to end the event.
Front page caption: Dave Ackerman motivates his team during the tug of war men’s heavy weight division
Saturday evening.