My Life in Milton: parade

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Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Milton Harvest Festival Parade -- Bands!

One of the finest aspects of the Milton Harvest Festival Parade is the number and quality of bands representing different genres and communities in the region. This is, I'm sure, a legacy of festival founder, John Yingling. John has always been an enthusiastic supporter of the big, exciting sounds of marching bands. As any parade organizer knows, attracting bands to the event is often quite difficult. It's expensive for a band to travel, and ensuring that all the band members are able to attend is a logistical challenge. But, bands galore attend the Milton Harvest Festival Parade, and I have no doubt that John Yingling played a major role in getting the bands to put Milton on their calendars year after year!


Milton Area High School

First up -- the hometown favorites -- the Milton Area High School Marching Band! Here's more information about the Milton Area School District!

And cheerleaders! Our cheerleaders this year (2013) are going to the National Competition! GOOD LUCK!

We get quite a few "Highland Bands." This is the Penn York Highlanders from Athens, pa. Check them out here: Penn York Highlanders

Penn York Highlanders from Athens, PA

aka -- The Ladies from Hell!

Royal Stewart tartan!

Crowd pleaser!

Here's another Highland Band! It's the Nittany Highland Pipe Band!

Nittany Highland Pipe Band, State College, PA

The "Ancient Forbes" tartan.

Drum Major!

Here's another high school band! Our neighbors and rivals -- the Warrior Run High School Marching Band! Here's more information about The Warrior Run School District!

I love how the band trucks are decorated!

Flag team!

Percussion! I always wanted to play tuba!

See you in the Tomato Bowl -- Warrior Run!! (The Tomato Bowl is the Harvest Festival high school football game!)

The Zafar Grotto Band is a perennial favorite of the Parade! I could not find an official web page for them, but here is something for you to explore! The Official Museum of Fezology!

You ain't got that swing if you ain't got that string!

Here is the oldest non-military band in the United States -- we love them -- the Repasz Band!


Founded in Williamsport, PA in 1831!

Here's another talented high school band -- Juniata County School District!

Here is the East Juniata High School band! Thanks for coming! We look forward to your participation next year! Really, truly -- this is a special treat, for these youngsters come from quite a distance to show their school spirit here at the Harvest Festival in Milton! Thank you again!

East Juniata!

Twirlers!

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Central Pennsylvania is home to a HUGE German heritage population. I, myself, have quite a bit of German ancestry on both sides of my Family Tree! So it is quite a thrill to have a German Band come to grace the Milton Harvest Festival:

The Dansbachers from Danvile, PA

Danville is just a few miles away, and we are so lucky to have this wonderful band come to entertain us in the Milton Harvest Festival Parade! Here is more information about the Dansbachers!

It's like Oktoberfest in September!

So, thank you all to the bands that came and performed for us at the Milton Harvest Festival. And thank you to John Yingling for making sure that bands are such a wonderful part of the festivities! My next blog will conclude my Milton Harvest Festival Parade memories, with some odds and ends I would like to share!

Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Milton Harvest Festival Parade --Tractors!

Naturally, the Milton Harvest Festival is a celebration of this region's rural heritage. We're very lucky to have so many family farms still dotting the landscape. It's so different than the huge factory farms in the Midwest or the endless acres of grapes, strawberries, orange groves, and the like of California. Surely, a Kansas sunflower field is a sight to behold. As are the amazing acres of a California vineyard. But, here in the Susquehanna Valley, we are lucky to have local families willing to put in the hard work it takes to bring in the crop year after year. So, the Harvest Festival is more than just a fun time in Milton. It is a reminder of the things that are important -- family, friends, clean water, rich soil, hard work, and good neighbors.

John Deere Green

This float is filled with the colors of John Deere! John Deere tractors have helped our area farmers with their tilling, planting, and harvesting tasks for generations.

McCormick Farmall Tractor 1941

This Farmall tractor is illustrative of the International Harvester brand -- a bright color, a comfortable name, and a machine that served as a workhorse, literally, around the farm. For more information see: Farmall

Farmall from 1942.

Central Pennsylvania is home to many Amish and Mennonite families. Mennonites are more modern, while Amish people still eschew machinery, electricity, and other modern advancements. It is not uncommon to see an Amish family getting around in their horse and buggy.

Horse-drawn wagon.

This typical Amish wagon is not hitched to a horse. It's kind of ironic that an Amish vehicle would be towed by a mechanical conveyance!

This was probably my favorite element of the parade! A little kid on a little tractor, towing ..........

....this! The tires alone on this puppy are huge!

I still have a couple of posts left to do on the Milton Harvest Festival. Next up, a legacy of John Yingling, we'll take a look at some bands!