I’ve been in the neighborhood awhile, and I’ve always wondered about the big banner promoting the annual Lakewood 4th of July Parade that suddenly appears on the southwest corner of Lakewood and Cambria a few weeks prior to the 4th and then just as suddenly disappears.
While driving through the neighborhood Thursday afternoon, I noticed a guy atop a ladder in the back of a pickup truck straddling the sidewalk and the lawn of the home that plays host to the banner. So I stopped to take a couple of pictures and see what they had to say.
Turns out Al See (you may know him better as Uncle Sam in the 4th of July parades) and friend Bob Brimer have had some experience hanging the big banner, which this year promotes the parade’s “Lakewood Honors Heroes” theme.
See and Brimer had some friendly banter going while See was perched atop the ladder and Brimer was keeping both hands on the rails to keep it steady. They even tried to enlist me to tie a slipknot connecting the banner to the tree; never having been in the Boy Scouts, I failed miserably and See finished up.
Anyway, you’ll see the banner hanging in its customary spot between now and the parade, which begins at 10 a.m. Saturday, July 4. For information, visit the parade organizing group’s website, which includes information on participating in the parade and the event’s route.
