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Behind the Scenes
Pulling off a parade takes hearty souls
By Margo Oxendine, Staff Writer
 | | The flag corps for the Bath County High School marching band attempted to keep warm before the parade by keeping in perfect synch as they went through their routine. (Recorder photo by Margo Oxendine) |
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HOT SPRINGS - Right about now, the elves in Santa's North Pole shop are probably exhausted. Some, no doubt, have caught a winter cold. They keep plugging and working, though; Christmas must go on!
A lot of folks in Hot Springs know just how those elves feel. They are elves in their own right - men and women associated with the Hot Springs Fire Department, Ladies' Auxiliary and Rescue Squad. They worked day and night to pull off the Hot Springs Christmas Parade last Saturday. They did it with good humor; they did it diligently; they did it in spite of dire weather warnings and bitter cold.
It all starts with the street decorations. Those garlands and lights and greenery don't just magically appear, you know. They're hung on the lamp posts with care by the decoration crew. One might, indeed, call them "elves"; their work is certainly magical.
 | | Cindy Fry was one of many volunteers who braved frigid temperatures and scary weather predictions Saturday to see that the Hot Springs Christmas Parade trundled smoothly through downtown. At the staging area, Fry kept in contact with other volunteers at the firehouse. |
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Months prior to the parade, the parade committee elves are sending letters to local businesses, begging for donations. The parade is quite a costly venture, despite all the volunteers behind the scenes. Perhaps the biggest expense is for the grand and glitzy trophies. Stockings are expensive, too, but we'll get to those in a moment.
Weeks before the parade, 28 trophies must be ordered and engraved. During the pell-mell hoopla that is the parade, judges are making judicial decisions about the best float, the most well-mannered horse, the funniest novelty entry, the snappiest fire truck from out of town. This year, those duties fell to Jake Cleek, Jerry "Duck" Gray, and Darlene Carpenter. Their job is not enviable.
The night before the parade, the elves are out in full force. They show up at the firehouse in downtown Hot Springs, ready to work hard, to have some fun, to sneak a snack of candy.
 | | At least 30 volunteers showed up at the Hot Springs firehouse Friday night to stuff 650 stockings with candy and fruit, prior to the Hot Springs Christmas Parade. |
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The tail end of the parade is also the part most kids wait for most anxiously. Santa Claus is there, riding atop a tall red firetruck, waving, shouting "Ho, ho, ho!" And the stockings are there, filled with holiday treats.
Those stockings don't come already packed. They are assembled by hand at the firehouse the Friday night before the parade.
Anyone taking a peek behind the scenes last week would have found about 30 men and women, and one energetic six-year-old boy, working and having fun. They had formed a stocking assembly line in one of the chilly concrete bays. Snuggled shoulder-to-shoulder, they started at 6 p.m. with a pile of 650 flat, empty stockings. When the 7 p.m. "tone" sounded, the very last fat, festive stocking was
loaded in the wagon. Here's how it worked: Clifford Williams picks up an empty mesh stocking, and "fluffs" it open. It is handed to Kevin Fry and Darlene Carpenter, who toss in some bubble gum - not too much, mind you, but certainly not too little. James Carpenter inserts a couple of candy canes. Lygenia Gwin and Reba Cammock add some "Dum Dum" suckers (there were plenty of jokes about this). Kenny Gwin and Jason Miller toss in some miniature Tootsie Rolls and more peppermints.
 | | Parade marshal John Trimble and his wife, Sue, practiced their "royal" parade waves while waiting for the parade to begin. James Carpenter, standing, loaned his 1987 red BMW convertible to the effort. (Recorder photos by Margo Oxendine) |
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"This is what makes Christmas fun!" Gwin finds time to comment.
Gwin and Miller pass the stockings to Bart Ailstock and Justin Woodzell, who insert "Frooties" and "Ring Pops." What in the world are "Ring Pops"? They're something any kid would be happy to find in a stocking. "It looks like a ring, but it's a sucker," noted Debra Pritt.
 | | Angie Knight of Ashwood adjusts the elf cap on "Roni" before trotting to their place in the parade line. |
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20, 2007 Pritt and Harold Peery each add a shiny Red Delicious apple.
Next comes a fat, juicy navel orange, hand-delivered by Burley Chestnut and George Tidd. For the fourth year in a row, the oranges were donated by Kroger, Bart Ailstock noted.
Olivia Peery, the oldest person present, and longtime stalwart of the ladies' auxiliary, is next in line. She, Pat Bird, Sue Ailstock and Cindy Fry fold little cards that say, "Season's Greetings!" These will go over the top of the stockings. They will be held in place by staples, wielded by Will Fry, Lawrence Roake Sr. and his sons, Eldridge and Lawrence Jr. Hugh Hite mans the end of the line, carefully placing the completed stockings in the big wagon.
When something like, say, the bubble gum, runs out, well not to worry. Another box of another yummy treat magically appears - Hershey bars, Milky Ways, bite-sized Snickers, Reese's peanut butter cups. There just seems to be a glut of great candy. It's impossible to stand on or near the assembly line and not snitch a Snickers. In fact, snacking is encouraged.
This doesn't faze little Logan Miller, who's busy helping his dad, Jason. Logan, just six, bustled about flattening empty cardboard boxes and tossing them into a pickup truck. He had little time to stop for candy.
The parade began 23 years ago, in 1984. It was at that time a labor of love, produced by the Braxton family of Hot Springs. In 2004, when it looked as if there might not be a parade, due to ill health in the Braxton family, the Hot Springs Fire Department stepped in and took the reins. "We're just carrying on the legacy of the Braxtons," Williams noted. "The kids really look forward to the parade, and that's what it's all about, the kids."
On the day of the parade, things look dicey. Anxious Roanoke weathermen are issuing alarms about ice and freezing rain. It might arrive about noon. It might be later.
The parade is slated for 2 p.m. The skies are leaden all morning, and appear to loom lower over the landscape with each passing hour. But, a decision must be made. And it must be made by 11 a.m., since many parade entrants are coming from Millboro and Goshen and Bolar and Burnsville and Covington.
Clifford Williams looks at the skies. He checks Channels 7 and 10. He boots up his computer and checks the National Weather Service. Time seems to be smiling kindly on Hot Springs; bad weather should hold off until later in the afternoon. The parade is a go!
"Chilly" could barely describe the raw, frigid temperatures and biting wind. Toddlers are placed on novelty floats swaddled from head to toe, only their bright little eyes peeking through mufflers and hats and scarves. The same can be said for many adults, shivering atop gaily-decorated floats. The fearless teens who will bring the parade's only music - the Bath County High School Marching Band - appear almost blasé about the cold. Surely it can't be much fun to toot a brass tuba on such a frosty afternoon. Perhaps the folks who had it best were those on the Bath Community Hospital Wellness Center float. They were clad in black Spandex exercise wear, sporting reindeer antlers and Santa hats, and peddling furiously on stationary bikes. That float also featured, it should be noted, the World's Slimmest Santa. It's never too late to set a good example and lose that "bowl full of jelly."
The volunteer elves orchestrated and coordinated and made sure everything went smoothly. Many were probably exhausted. Many, no doubt, caught a winter cold. Still, they kept plugging and working though; the parade must go on!
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