Good turnout for Greenville 4th of July celebration

Staff Report

    GREENVILLE — It rained on Greenville’s Fourth of July parade — but just a little.
    Hundreds of people lined Pritham Avenue to watch the floats, vehicles and marching units at the annual Independence Day celebration.

Observer photo/Mike Lange

    BEST SEAT ON THE STREET — Youngsters riding the moose statue on the Moose Tracks Family Campground float had a great view of the crowd.

    Many decorated their entries with the theme of honoring America’s birthday along with the centennial celebration of the steamship Katahdin, built at Bath Iron Works in 1914 and still carrying passengers up and down Moosehead Lake.
    The only setback was the cancellation of the fireworks display. Town officials originally postponed the pyrotechnics from Thursday night to Friday evening, but even that didn’t work out as high winds and rain continued to hit the area due to Hurricane Arthur.

Observer photo/Mike Lange

    SPIRIT OF THE CELEBRATION — There were several ATVs in the Greenville Fourth of July parade, including this colorful one complete with moose antlers.

    “Both Steve Marston, President of Central Maine Pyrotechnics, and Bob Doughty of Big Lake Equipment in Greenville — who volunteered to tow the barge for the fireworks to the center of East Cove — had concerns about the winds,” Town Manager John Simko wrote in an email. “So for safety’s sake, the fireworks were canceled.”
    However, the Fourth of July fireworks will be added to the scheduled display for the 100th birthday celebration of the steamship Katahdin on Saturday, Aug. 16, Simko said. “This will make for a larger show than was anticipated by the town or the Moosehead Marine Museum, which owns the Katahdin,” he said. “Weather permitting, we will shoot the fireworks off in East Cove.”

Observer photo/Mike Lange

    KEY CLUB — The Moosehead Region Key Club entered a float in the July 4 parade in honor of its 50th anniversary serving the community.

Observer photo/Mike Lange

    HELLO, KATE — The Roberts family float included a replica of the steamship Katahdin, celebrating its 100th birthday next month.