Parade grand marshals take spotlight after 25 years behind the scenes

COLFAX — For the last 25 years, Larry Glassford has been directing traffic on the day of the Jasper County Fair Parade. He and his crew block off streets and line up fair queens, grand marshals and 4-H superintendents for their march through Colfax.

Larry and his wife Marianne Glassford are the people behind the scenes, making sure the 4-H floats, honor guards and police cars are seen by thousands of Jasper County residents each year. But during the 2014 fair, it’s the Glassford’s turn to wave to the crowds as they are honored as the grand marshals of tonight’s parade.

In recent years, Larry has traded his walking shoes for motorized transportation, but his passion for the parade never took a back seat.

“The whole thing’s been enjoyable,” he said. “It’s just been a lot of fun, but as you get older, it gets to be a lot more work. It gets to the point where you’re driving a golf cart. (Driving a golf cart is) a lot-easier when you’re 70 years old.”

Originally from Ottumwa, Larry moved to Colfax in 1985 after meeting his wife Marianne while serving in the Jaycees. During his 20 years with the charitable organization, Larry served as local president, district director, regional director and was eventually appointed state vice president of the Newton Jaycee headquarters. Larry planned community youth projects including a charity haunted house while helping lead the Jaycees. Recently retired, he is also a 311⁄2-year veteran of the U.S. Postal Service.

Larry was recruited by Loretta Kono to help plan the fair parade in 1989, and by the next year he was running the show.

“I said, ‘Yeah, I’ll help you do this,’ and the next year she retired,” he laughed. “That’s the way I got it. I walked right into a job.”

Marianne has five generations of her family living in Colfax. She is a native, calling the town home all her life. She proudly calls herself “one of the originals.”

“I enjoy small-town life.” she said. “I can’t imaging living in a big town. I like to know people. I like to know everybody’s background, and when you’re in Colfax, you’re related to everybody.”

She’s been a stay-at-home mom, worked in various offices in Des Moines and operated a bus for the Colfax-Mingo School District for 22 years. But during the Jasper County Fair, the 68-year-old was likely to be found with a toddler on her lap or behind the podium announcing the winner of the little cowboy category as the coordinator of the Baby Review, a county fair favorite.

The review began in the 1960s as an event planned by the Jasper County Jacyeettes but was eventually led by the Colfax Young Women’s Club. As the group struggled with attendance issues, Marianne gathered the group of gals who once planned the review for the Jacyeettes, now consolidated with the Jaycees, and became the event coordinator. She held that title for nearly 20 years, eventually moving the event from a hot gym to the air conditioned C-M High School. She says the cool air has brought many more smiles from the mothers who would watch their children strut their stuff on stage for several hours.

Marianne also can be found clowning around during the fair parade. As Larry lined the floats, fire trucks and tractors for their march down the highway, Marianne could be found on a bicycle in face paint, colorful clothes and a red nose. She’s been playing the role of clown during the fair parade with grandson Wyatt for nearly 15 years now. At 6 months old, Marianne said Wyatt would ride in a seat on the back of her bike, as they smiled and threw candy to waving Jasper County kids. As Wyatt got older, the clown duo upgraded their wheels.

“And then we went to a golf cart. We went high-tech,” she said.

For the parade superintendent, planning for next year starts right after the final float rolls of the Colfax streets. Each year, Larry petitions the fair board to find the next year’s grand marshal and then begins the parade permit procedure, working with the Iowa Department of Transportation and law enforcement agencies to close the city and county streets. Then come several months of phone calls to Jasper County VFW posts, American Legions, fire stations and Shriners.

This year, Larry will pass the superintendent torch to Colfax resident Calvin Miller. His advice to Miller: Verbal communication is key.

“My advice to Calvin was to talk to people on the phone,” he said. “Email, texting, people don’t respond to you. You haven’t got a clue if people are going to do the parade or not going to do it. You have to talk to people on the phone, and you need to send information out in the mail. I understand progress is progress, but one-on-one talking on the phone is a lot better than trying to do stuff over the computer.”

“And that’s us old school people,” Marianne added.

The parade is an expensive endeavor, and Larry said he’s always been mindful of the budget. The parade is funded by the advertising in the 4-H fair books distributed annually, and it pays for much of the marching entertainment.

Over the years, the superintendent has booked a bagpipe group for $300 and the Des Moines-based Isiserettes for $800. The book also funds prizes for the winning floats. His biggest financial struggle came during the floods of 2010. As the fair lost revenue due to canceled off-season event bookings, the budget was cut in half, and the goal was to make the strain unnoticeable for spectators. Larry and Marianne said the folks lining the streets didn’t notice a thing.

Larry also said it’s a struggle to book bands. Recently, Larry has been able to book the Colfax-Mingo marching band for the parade, but he says despite letters of invitation, musical groups are difficult to commit.

But Larry says he’s blessed to have had a team during his tenure that has become instinctive in planning each aspect of the parade. He has grown an appreciation for people like Miller, Glen Miller, Jerry Miller and Phil Butler who do a lot of the ground work, taking names and announcing the parade.

“It takes quite a few people to do this,” he said.

This year, instead of calling the next float or clowning around, the Glassford’s are retired but will take one last trip down Highway 117.

“We’re done,” Larry said.

“Yep, we’re both done,” Marianne added.

“Several thousand people watch this parade. They enjoy it, they have a good time and the kids get a lot of candy,” Larry said. “It’s just fun watching the people having fun.”