the third saturday of july

Every year on the third Saturday of July, the town of La Grange, Kentucky starts to fill with people from around the county. Courthouse Square (or the surrounding area, this year, as the courthouse itself is undergoing a rather severe renovation) becomes packed with people and the booths of local businesses for our own little holiday. Oldham County Day is something known to everyone who lives here, whether you have moved in pretty recently or your family has been here for a couple generations. This year is #52 of festivities, which included a pancake breakfast at the community center, followed by a parade with hundreds of participants and lots of candy being tossed to the children that line the streets.

My family goes nearly every year; my mom has only missed around three in her entire life. It is a good day to see people you have known since you were kids, and talk to people that know you and your parents, but you don’t know them. Even with the amount of people who you don’t know, no matter who you are, you will see someone that you do know. For me, this year I saw my babysitter from when I was a baby (to be completely transparent, she was one of the people I didn't recognize), my high school best friend’s parents, a high school teammate, and my mom’s cousin. Oldham County Day is a community thing, and it sure does make you feel like it.

The pancake breakfast starts early—7:00 am, to be precise—and is hosted by the La Grange Rotary Club. Pancakes, bacon, sausage, and fruit are the options for this good breakfast, served by smiling Rotary members and other volunteers. This year, one of the volunteers (the father of one of my high school teachers) did some research for my sister and found out just where the sausage comes from. A weird request, but nonetheless valuable. It is really good sausage, and it’s there every year. Once we had secured the knowledge and finished our meals, we left the community center gym and walked to the farmer’s market, which especially flourished in the business of the morning.

We made our way around the farmer’s market then moved on to the booths set up for OC Day. Pretty basic stuff: businesses handing out free pens, bags, fans, and more with their logo on it, in hopes that the widespread marketing would actually push people to call the number, visit the website. How successful that venture is, I don’t know. To me, the booths, or really the lack of, that stood out were for a local mega-church that had inflatables and a local farm that brought various animals. Neither one handed out pens or fans. But both were big hits for my five-year-old niece, who kept running up the ladder and sliding down the 20 ft inflatable slide. The slide caused a bit of laughter for the whole family when my 13-year-old niece slid down and nearly projected over the edge of the bottom, losing her sunglasses as they flew from her head and nearly taking out my dad. Both of these set ups were early in our walk around the area, and no other booths after quite compared to them.

At about 9:40, we made our way to the main road to find a spot to overlook the parade. At 10:00 sharp, the parade began. The La Grange sheriff led the way, with lights on and the occasional siren, letting people know, “hey, in case you missed the memo, the parade is starting now.” Following the sheriff came this year’s Grand Marshal; she sat high in the back seat of a convertible Mustang, wearing a long teal dress and a pink scarf. If you didn’t know which person was voted into the position this year, you knew now. After she drove by, the Boy and Cub Scouts trailed behind, marching on foot as well as riding in a decorated trailer pulled by truck. It feels like every year, they get shorter and shorter.

It seems that high schoolers are getting shorter as well. The OCHS marching band played a fun little tune, looking miserable as they marched in the sticky humidity. Then came baton twirlers and kids on bikes for some local children’s business… I didn’t catch the name, but maybe it was one for Future Baton Twirlers of America? The children spinning those shiny sticks did not prepare me for the song I was to hear from the next group— “America the Beautiful.” I felt transported to the movie “Pollyanna” with Hayley Mills from 1960. My little flashback to that movie was interrupted by the sirens of the first firetruck, this one from Pewee Valley Fire Department. Throughout the parade came trucks from each of the respective departments in the county.

Once that firetruck had passed, political campaigners took over, and Oldham’s republicans asked you to vote for this and that in this year’s election. Not soon enough came a school bus—a feature of the parade we do not see every year. It had a large sign on the side of it: “School bus Drivers Needed.” A widespread problem, beyond the county, and becoming more and more serious. The school system is crumbling as the shortage of both drivers and teachers becomes more prominent.

Side note: Support your teachers. Support your bus drivers. Stand up for the fair treatment of both, as well as fair pay. Public schools are not guaranteed the benefits so badly needed. Tell your kids, your nieces and nephews, your cousins, your neighbors to be kind to them. Look into ways you can support them. Donating supplies for the classroom and surprise coffee or treats, showing appreciation for them outside of Teacher Appreciation Week, respecting their boundaries and time. Teachers are actively shaping the minds of the younger generation, which is a huge job. And your bus drivers are the ones getting them to school and back safely.

The big yellow bus passed, and trucks and cars passed with advertisements for more businesses. Tractors bumped down the road, with some of their drivers wearing International Harvester gear. The beloved county tractors were hard to follow up, but the county Democrats tried. Like the Scouts, they rode both on a trailer and walked onward. Then came more students from the local high schools as they walked with their clubs and sports. The OCHS bass fishing team rode in their fishing boats pulled by pickup trucks.

The parade was drawing to a close, marked by the Kosair Shriners in their little cars, plus the giant spinning metal hat being pulled by a Kosair truck. Those old folks come out every year, so it is likely that if you pay attention, you will recognize someone from the year before. The times I have gone to OC Day, it is the same set of decorations and people as the year before.

I think that this is the first OC Day I have enjoyed in a long time. If I had to guess, it would be because of the way my family got along a bit more seamlessly this year. That, and the switch that was mysteriously flipped in my brain that allowed me to enjoy seeing people I knew in public. The sporadic rain that paid us little visits throughout the day was not enough to rain on our parade. Well, maybe literally, but not figuratively. The day had become something to remind me what good that home has to offer, rather than the mundane existence I have come to know… and kind of loathe.

Something I have been trying to do this summer is treat my hometown like somewhere I am visiting with friends. When we were in Chicago, I think I said something along the lines of “I wish I could see my normal life the way I am seeing this, now.” This year’s OC Day allowed me to do that. It wasn’t just the street I take to get coffee, or the turn I take to get to the farmer’s market. Or even the place that I am on the lookout for seeing someone I know. It became a refreshing change of pace to the life I am living, and an excuse to see someone I have good memories with, regardless of how we lost touch. I am struggling a bit to take it into every day of my life, rather than just leaving it at that one day. At home, how do I romanticize doing the dishes? Or walking the dog?

My answer: I can’t. There are just some things that should remain as it is in our normal perception, and I’m going to tell myself that it’s a part of life. It is the consistency we crave when things get busy, as well as another part of our routine in day to day life when things just aren’t looking so exciting. The only thing to work on, when looking at that distinct unvarying routine, is the acceptance part. Which takes time, but seems to be worth it. Right?

I hope you enjoyed reading this week's post. It's a bit more journalistic this time, but I think it's just another way of exploring writing for me. Thank you for reading, and if you want to be emailed when new posts come out you can subscribe on the home page for updates! See you guys (hopefully) next week.