Kenwood Fourth of July parade attracts both young and old at heart

One would be hard-pressed to find a more ideal Fourth of July parade than the one Monday morning in Kenwood.

Within a span of 30 minutes a procession of firetrucks, classic cars, kids on bicycles and assorted marchers quickly covered the route along the Plaza Park under perfect weather: sunny skies and a nice 63 degrees.

Then again, when your parade only covers a few blocks around the town square, efficiency is the name of the game. About 30 entries participated in the event, sandwiched between an early morning footrace and a barbecue and family festival hosted by the Kenwood Rotary.

Up until 2006, the Kenwood holiday event was primarily known for its raucous pillow fights, where participants would sit on a log slugging it out with each other until the loser fell into a muddy pit. The pillow fights became too popular for the little community as thousands of visitors spilled into the town, and is now held in Rohnert Park.

Rich Randolph of Oakmont said the diversity of the Kenwood parade makes it a local standout. He was carrying a banner for St. Patrick’s Episcopal Church as its members lined up to march.

“There’s the kids, disc-braked wheelbarrows, classic cars. I wouldn’t be surprised if there were some goat-pulled carts back there,” Randolph said.

Most of all, Randolph said, Monday’s event helped foster a greater sense of community around the town of 1,000, especially in an era of a more transient population and folks glued to their smartphones.

“We stop out of our busy lives, and we see who our neighbors are. We easily pass them at 60 mph” along Highway 12, Randolph said.

Later on, the contingent from St. Patrick’s was singing “When The Saints Go Marching In” as it marched down the parade route.

The grand marshal of the parade was Robert ?S. Reid, a retired dentist from Santa Rosa who participated in the Battle of the Bulge during World War II as member of the 84th Infantry.

“I am 92 years old; they were running out of (elderly) people so that’s why they nominated me,” Reid joked.

Erma Tuft, 96, of Santa Rosa, said she was thrilled to ride in a Model T during the parade, especially as she remembered the car while growing up in Utah. It was her first Kenwood parade.

“I was impressed by the amount of people who came out. It was fantastic,” Tuft said.