Edina Fourth of July Parade

When Edina held its first known Fourth of July parade in 1930, the newly established newspaper The Crier celebrated its own history with a float celebrating “the birth of a great newspaper.” Nineteen-year-old Sara Moore portrayed “Mae Lovely,” one of the newspaper’s regular columnists who wrote poetic verse. The real Mae Lovely was Miss Moore’s mother Susan, whose failing heart confined her to bed rest.Afterward, The Crier proudly (and immodestly) proclaimed, “This Fourth of July celebration will probably go down in history as the most pretentious, well managed and successful affair ever put on in Hennepin County.”Residents of the Country Club District organized that parade. It included nearly every element of modern-day extravaganzas: a marching band, Village officials, two police cars, Boy Scouts, the volunteer Fire Department and its ancient watering wagon, “Colonial Maids” blowing kisses from a float, the Grange with a historic themed float celebrating the Village’s early businesses, and a number of Edina’s settlers, including Edina Mill owner George Millam and his wife to “whom homage was paid by every spectator.”The Fourth of July Parade became a near fixture, but not an official annual event until Edina’s centennial in 1988. “I remember we had a parade in 1950 or so when the Fire Department wanted to show off its new fire truck,” said Frank Cardarelle, who grew up in Edina. “We’d also have parades to welcome veterans home after the wars. But we didn’t have a parade every year.” Read more about the history of Edina’s Fourth of July parades in our June issue.&In honor of the city’s Quasquicentennal, or 125th anniversary, the 2013 July 4 parade committee is encouraging entrants to celebrate their own role in Edina history. This year’s theme is “Edina: Making History Since 1888.” For more information, visit edinaparade.org.