Fourth of July parade goes on

Hunkered down in the State Farm Insurance doorway to stay dry, four men made their best guesses as to whether a Fourth of July parade would make its way through Newton’s town square on Independence Day.

John Miller and Cole Doerring, both set to drive tractors in the procession, and Mark Clymer and Rod Van Soelen, on hand to pass out water for Newton Church of The Way, looked out at the pouring rain at about 8:30 a.m. and agreed the clouds would part long enough for the parade to go on.

Doerring said he was hopeful the parade would happen even though the radar looked dicey.

“It’s my son’s first parade so we’ve got to have it,” he said.

Ten-month-old Hank Doerring (declared to be “cute as a bug” by Clymer) did get to ride on the John Deere with his mom and dad after all.

The Newton Chamber of Commerce posted on Facebook that a decision about the parade would be made at 9 a.m. Despite a rousing round of thunder and lightning and a downpour that flooded the streets, the decision was made to have the parade.

“I knew coming into the day the weather would be an issue,” Greater Newton Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Amanda Price said. “Iowa weather, as we all know, can change within two seconds. I think the gods smiled down on us today and gave us this window to go ahead.”

Price said there would be fewer than the usual 100 units in the parade because of the rain.

“A lot of people don’t like rain, and I get that,” she said.

As soon as the clouds parted and the Chamber announced the parade was on, hundreds of residents appeared like magic on sidewalks and streets. Just 11 minutes behind schedule, at 9:41 a.m., police cars and fire trucks turned on their lights and sirens and the Fourth of July tradition was saved.

Rachel Main and her family thought the parade would be canceled.

“But when the lightning stopped, we decided to head out and just brave the rain,” she said.

Tractor owner Wayne DeKoning, who took cover under Mattingly Music, Books & Hobby’s entryway, also was waiting for a decision as the rain poured on.

“There are several John Deeres in the parade, and I thought it couldn’t hurt to have a red one in the mix,” DeKoning said. He showed off a 1953 Farmall that his dad bought new and his son repainted in 2011.

While the tractors and candy were a hit with the crowd, Isaac Mikkelson, 3, also liked seeing the steam tractor. Adalyn Mikkelson, 8, liked being drenched with water from squirt gun wielders on one float.

“I didn’t like them,” Isaac said.

Both he and sister Amelia, 7, steered clear of them to keep from getting soaked.

Amelia’s favorite part of the parade?

“Probably seeing Adalyn get wet,” she said with a grin.