Veterans Day was celebrated in Lakeside with an impromptu drive-by car parade through downtown.
Barbara Channel, an active volunteer at Lakeside’s Carter-Smith VFW Post 5867, spearheaded the parade and enlisted help from the Maine Avenue Revitalization Association, which jumped at the chance to sponsor the event to show their appreciation for our veterans.
The parade was staged at the Lakeside rodeo grounds where participants decorated their cars and motorcycles with flags and other red, white and blue-themed items.
Then they paraded down Maine and Woodside avenues, horns honking. Folks lined up along the streets waving their flags and cheering. They doubled back to Mary’s Donuts and Deli to have lunch in Joel Scalzitti’s new patio room, which Denise Miele had decorated for the occasion.
Parade participant Billy Ortiz said it was wonderful to celebrate the veterans and those who died fighting for our freedoms.
Boy Scout troop 346, that meets at the Lakeside VFW joined in the celebration as well as five motorcycle riders from the Santee VFW Post.
Betty McMillan is a member of the Lakeside Historical Society
