After last night’s Santa Claus parade it would seem that this renowned old town is on its way back as a great parade town, thanks to the neighboring high schools that furnished the high stepping marching bands. Ironton had a reputation many years for great parades. Folks from many miles around came to Ironton to take part and witness parades long ago. The files of old newspapers contain many stories about great crowds coming n steamboats from Proctorville, Huntington, Catlettsburg and others from up the river from Sciotoville, Greenup and Portsmouth to attend church dedications, political rallies and legal holiday parades. Overtimes the passenger boats would tie up along the wharf from Center to Lawrence Street side-by-side and passengers from other boats walked over other boats to get on shore. That was before the coming of the N & W Railroad in 1881.

Ironton’s reputation as a parade town got its biggest boost when in 1914 when the business leaders joined hands and held a street festival for a week, known as the Apple Show. During that big celebration to advertise Lawrence County apples, the first automobile parade in Southern Ohio attracted thousands of visitors to Third and Center Streets. The day of that parade in which undertaker Charley Jones decorated his auto with 500 yards of ribbon and Ed Doran strung ten bushel of red and green apples to cover his car to win a prize, the excursion train of 13 coaches from Portsmouth was given a welcome when it arrived at the depot by the blowing of the water works fire alarm whistle.

The same week on fraternal parade night, special trains from Portsmouth arrived with the Elks, the Knights of Pythias, and the old Fellows, Red Men, Knights of Golden Eagles, K. of C., Knights of St. George and others. That parade made the news all over the state.

Eleven brass bands including the famous River City Band of Portsmouth, the 17^th Regimental National Guard Band of this city and many lodge bands took part. Those bands were small compared to the 80 and 110 piece, high-stepping high school bands of today, yet 50 years ago when the Ashland Elks Band played "My Old Kentucky Home" the cheers from the crowds were greater than when the high school bands of today play " Ain’t She Sweet" on the football field.

Speaking of Ironton as a parade town, we recall the city centennial in 1949 when six parades were held in a week. We recall Jim Mace, a representative of a professional production company who was sent to the city to direct the historical pageant at the stadium throwing up his hands exclaiming " six parades in one week- nobody ever heard of such a thing before." Each of those parades was an outstanding event and the same high schools then furnished the bands like those in the Santa Claus parade last night.