ALEXANDRIA -- Muggy, rainy weather, tons of kids, floats, blaring voices from bullhorns and a plethora of candy.
Oh, and hordes of politicians.
Those were the ingredients of Sunday's 38th annual Memorial Day Parade sponsored by the Alexandria VFW and Lady's Auxiliary. "It used to be bands, Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts," said Donnie Carr of Alexandria, who has attended the parade for about 30 years. "It's 90 percent politicians. It's kind of bad, in a way.
"One good thing about it is you don't have to buy any candy for two or three months."
Sitting on the curb at the intersection of Ky. 10 and U.S. 27, Mr. Carr was approached by a candidate in Tuesday's primary election. He was urged to do the right thing at the ballot box.
He attended the parade with his daughter-in-law Michelle, of Florence, and her 2 1/2-year-old son, Nicholas.
The parade started at Orchard Lane and Washington Street near Campbell County Middle School and proceeded to VFW Post 3205 on U.S. 27, where a short memorial program was conducted.
Along the parade route, residents sat in folding chairs in front of their homes, waving flags in tribute to veterans.
During the memorial ceremony, Alex Futscher, parade chairman, read aloud the names of 11 veterans from the post who have died since last year's parade.
Eleven American flags planted in the grass near the Campbell County Memorial represented each veteran. They received a three-gun salute and a silent salute from their comrades.
"Old Glory was well-represented here today," said Mr. Futscher, a member of the post and a Korean War veteran.
"Wave on Old Glory" was the theme of the parade.
Mr. Futscher said he's afraid many people are losing sight of the meaning of Memorial Day.
"We hope that we have made this a better world for the next generation," he said.
John Hofstetter, a 50-year member of the post, was encouraged by the large crowd at this year's ceremony.
"I seem to enjoy it a little bit more every year. It means a lot to me when we have the ceremony," he said.
"Old Glory was well-represented here today'
