Which Is The Oldest Entry In Lake Bluff's Fourth of July Parade?
Lake Bluff Fire Department's participation dates to 1911.
The Lake Bluff Fire Department has been in the Fourth of July parade since 1911, when a fire cart was pulled by a horse-drawn carriage, making it the oldest entry in the parade. “Did you notice that it was the fire laddies that always got the glad hand all along the line?” noted a Lake Bluff Chat writer in an article about that first parade. Charles F. Helming, the first Lake Bluff fire chief appointed by the village board, rode in the first parade on the back step of the cart, according to historian Elmer Vliet’s Lake Bluff, The First 100 Years. “Back in the early days, the fire engines were pulled by horses. Sometimes the guys would pull them,” said Lake Bluff Fire Chief David Graf. “Typically, for as long as anyone can remember, the …
In this Article:
