(Published Tuesday, September 4, 2007 12:10:54 PM CST)
A d v e r t i s e m e n t
By Carla McCann cmccann@gazetteextra.com
Sue Krueger drove to downtown Janesville twice Monday.
At about 10 a.m., she set up her lawn chair on Milwaukee Street along the Labor Day Parade route.
The Janesville woman wanted to make sure she got a good spot on the shady side of the street to watch the nearly two-hour parade, she said.
Krueger went home after setting up her chair. She returned about noon with her 11-year-old daughter, Amber.
For Krueger, watching the parade is a family tradition.
"Why not come?" Krueger asked. "Look at all of the people. And usually it's a beautiful day."
While Krueger and Amber waited for the parade to begin, Josef Grangaard and his buddy, Hunter Little, both 8, found a prime spot on the curb nearby.
The Janesville boys and Amber came prepared with bags for candy tossed by parade participants.
Amber, like her mother, couldn't imagine missing the parade.
"You get to see all of this," Amber said.
Before the parade, Janesville residents Kay and Mike Knilans laid out a picnic lunch near the curb for their family, which included the couple's two daughters, 6-year-old Madelynn and 4-year-old Morgan; Kay's parents, Victoria and Ethan Emery of Sullivan, and nieces Kenzie Emery, 5, and Brynn Emery, 3, also of Sullivan.
The Knilans, like Krueger, are seasoned parade watchers who know what it takes to get choice seating.
They set up lawn chairs on the shady side of Milwaukee Street about 8:30 a.m. before spending a couple of hours at the Rock River Thresheree.
"I know where the sun is going to be," Kay said.
The family returned downtown about noon for their picnic and the parade.
"The girls really like the parade," Kay said.
So does she, Mike said.
A fire truck, clowns, vintage cars, high school bands, Zor Shrine camels, local dance school students, horses, local veterans and the New Glarus Ladder Co. were a few of the many parade units.
Grangaard and Little were impressed by the men, who scurried up a ladder held straight and stationary in middle of the street by other members of their group.
"It's pretty cool," Little said. "But it looks way too risky."
It wasn't something Little wanted to try, he said.
For Tammy Whiteaker and her three children, watching the Labor Day Parade has been an annual family event for years.
Her husband, Jerad, works at General Motors, and coming to the parade just seems natural, she said.
About two blocks from Whiteaker, near the corner of Milwaukee and River streets, Betty Graesslin, Janesville, and Lois Bendall, Lake Mills, were in their favorite spot.
"We sit in the same spot every year," Graesslin said. "This is our spot."
The two women always meet early in the morning at a local restaurant before coming to the parade, they said.
Julie Mullikin, another Janesville woman, had hurried her two children to the parade to get their usual parade spot on the bridge in the bright sun.
Catching a few rays while watching the parade is a tradition for Julie, she said.
Besides, it's a beautiful day, she said.
Her daughter, 12-year-old Rylee, and son, 9-year-old Blaine, came prepared with bags to fill with candy.
Blaine, however, was at a disadvantage. He had a broken left arm from playing football.
But he was confident Rylee would pick up the pieces he missed.
"Watching the parade is something we can do before school starts," Julie said. "It's the last blast.
"If you live in Janesville, you have to go to the Labor Day Parade."
» View a gallery of photos from Janesville's Labor Day parade. Go
