By Rachel Morin

During this Pandemic, we are adjusting to the many changes in our daily living.  We miss our Community Little Theatre, our Public Theatre, our Auburn Community Concert Band, our movie theaters, our Churches, Mosques and Synagogues, our Franco Heritage Center, our  Lewiston and Auburn Public Libraries and our holiday parades.             

This got me thinking of the Turner Parade of July 4, 2013. I have never seen a parade like it. Here are my memories of this  nostalgic event.

I joined my son, Gerry and his wife, Debbie of Turner, to see their town’s Annual Fourth of July Parade followed by events on The Green that they have been enjoying and raving about for years and I’m glad I did. It really was a great day. I felt as if I had stepped back in time to be a part of the camaraderie of a small country town.

Over 1,000 spectators lined the street for the colorful parade and applauded as the American Legion Post 111 Honor Guard led the parade followed by a group of Veterans marching and a Veterans’ float. The parade’s participants included an impressive lineup of fire trucks and emergency vehicles from Buckfield, Canton, Greene, Leeds, Mechanic Falls, Turner and Wales.

 Floats, antique cars, horseback riders, horse-drawn buggies and wagons, children on bicycles and children walking, farm tractors of all models, sizes and vintages, and Kora Motor Corps vehicles added to the nearly hour-long parade.

Afterwards, crowds moved to “On the Green” to listen to the Strawberry Shortcake Band and enjoy a Strawberry Shortcake Social. Children played at outdoor games that had been set up for them. Ticket vendors sold raffle tickets for a trip to Italy and tickets to a July 27, 2013 Tour of Turner Gardens and proceeds were benefitting local community projects. A book sale at the Turner Public Library did a brisk business with proceeds  benefiting the library.

Buildings, housing the Dort Bigg Collection of stuffed animals from around the world, are opened to the public every Fourth of July for a free viewing. Many attendants viewed the huge collection. Here are some of the dozens of pictures I took. I wish I could include the vintage cars, the tractors, the towns’ fire trucks, the many events after the parade, all depicting the beautiful town of Turner and its people.