Marcellus Town Councilor Kevin O’Hara cannot wait for this year’s Olde Home Days Parade. “I’m very pleased with the number of people and the organizations that are going to participate in this year’s parade,” said O’Hara, who organized the parade for the first time this year. Nearly 40 groups and individuals have signed up to march in the parade. “The main thing now is that we have good weather,” O’Hara said.
O’Hara said he “thoroughly enjoyed” being in charge of the parade and meeting so many new people. He wanted to thank Cathy Marsden and John Curtin for heading up the Marcellus Olde Home Day Committee since reviving the tradition in 1995. “They’ve done a great job, and town and village residents really look forward to the Marcellus Home Days,” he said. Marsden and Curtin were in charge of selecting this year’s grand marshals – they chose local artists Ruth Anne Reagan and Doris Phillips. “They’ve been active in the community for 50 years or more in the arts, and certainly we could have no better representatives of the arts in Marcellus than them,” Curtin said. Phillips will be traveling to Marcellus from Georgia, where she moved a year ago to be closer to her daughter. The Olde Home Days will give Phillips a chance to reunite with the Marcellus community, just as it did for so many at the turn of the century. “They had huge crowds then, and it was kind of a reunion for all the people that had moved away to come back and see the old home town,” said Curtin, a local historian. There will be no shortage of tunes at this year’s event. Performances include an MCS Jazz concert at 5:30 p.m. Friday to open the festivities, music by New Day from 7 to 11 p.m. Friday, music by Joanne Perry and The Combinations from 7 to 11:30 p.m. Saturday and music by Joe Whiting from 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday, with all performances taking place at Marcellus Park. “There’s going to be some great entertainment, there’s going be all different sorts of arts and crafts on Saturday, and the parade I think is going be fantastic.” For a full schedule of parade weekend events, go to www.marcellusny.com.
Honoring a most beloved ‘Brud’
O’Hara stepped into some big shoes to organize the 2011 Olde Home Days parade. Up until this year, the parade was put on by Frank “Brud” Wilson, 77, who died Dec. 10, 2010. “[Brud] took over the parade because he kind of knew a lot of the bands,” Curtin said. “He used to work at the [New York State Fairgrounds], so he had a lot of contacts.” The Olde Home Days Committee will place a bench in Brud’s name in front of the Marcellus United Methodist Church in the village. A dedication ceremony will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday. “He was active in the Methodist Church, and there isn’t a good bench in that area of the village,” Curtin said. Brud was a member of the Marcellus Rotary Club for more than 40 years. He served as a village trustee from 1978 to 1993 and was town supervisor from 1994 to 2003.