Some History on the Radnor Memorial Day Parade

I can't provide the entire history of Radnor's Memorial Day Parade and Ceremony.

But I can go as far back as the 1908 Memorial Day Parade, which was planned to be a grand spectacle. But it did not go quite as planned, according to this February 1, 1952 column, in which it is written:

Indeed this parade according to “The Suburban” of May 22, would probably be “the most imposing one ever seen in Wayne”, with nearly 1000 firemen marching in its ranks. For its part Wayne would have its entire equipment in the line, seven pieces in all, including those from the old North Wayne Fire Department. Some of the smaller carts would be drawn by school children.

The parade was to form on Audubon avenue near the former high school building with wings resting on Windermere and Runnymede avenues. Headed by the Radnor Township Mounted Police they would proceed along a route that would eventually cover most of the streets in both South and North Wayne.

With all plans made for the big occasion, Saturday turned out to be “the very worst day that  the weather man has handed out in many years” according to the story appearing in “The Suburban” the following week. Nevertheless, the engines were housed and the parade was held in spite of the fact that only about seven out of the 25 fire companies who had accepted invitations were able to be present.

Closer to the present date, you may be interested to know that in the years that preceeded 1975, the parade's participants had dwindled. A group of people thought that it needed some reviving, and so a committee made up of people from various local organizations got together to beef it up.

The catalyst for that was the United States Bicentennial in 1976, said Harry Spiess of Wayne, a member of the Radnor Memorial Day Parade committee.

After that year, as the parade grew, so did the crowds, Spiess said. Over the decades, many people have left their mark, and hard work, on the Memorial Day events.

Spiess recalls Dr. Elliot Bernstein, a Wayne podiatrist. "I can still see him in the staging area with his bull horn, which he loved," he said. Dr. Jay Howson, a speaker at the ceremony in the late 1970s, prompted the expansion of the Wayne war memorial, which pays tribute to the Radnor residents who lost their lives during service to the country, he said.

Even the smallest participants play a role in this Wayne tradition. "The children who participate really get a big charge out of it," Spiess said.

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