57th Fall Foliage Parade Last Official March for Olver
 U.S. Rep. John W. Olver, center, marched in his last parade as the Berkshires' congressman on Sunday with state Sen. Benjamin B. Downing, left, and Mayor Richard Alcombright. |
But for one participant, this was probably his last march down Curran Highway.
U.S. Rep. John W. Olver hasn't missed a single parade during the 21 years he's been representing the Berkshires — neither rain, nor cold, nor heat has prevented his annual march. He first marched in 1991 after winning the special election for the seat making Sunday the 22nd time he'd marched.
"This is sort of a nostalgic thing for me because I've done every one of them over the 22 years," said the Amherst Democrat shortly before the parade began. "I've had some fairly rainy times, some cold rains, but mostly it's really fine weather and everyone's having a good time."
Olver entered the long list of grand marshals of the parade last year, for the 56th parade, when there was every indication he would continue to represent the 1st Mass. A month later, he'd decided to retire.
The congressman's last official parade was the first for his replacement-in-waiting, making for the unusual appearance of two sitting congressmen marching in the Fall Foliage Parade.
U.S. Rep. Richard Neal, who won the Democratic primary in September and faces no opposition in the general election in November, is currently the representative for the 2nd Mass District. He walked in the parade as Olver's guest and with the banner identifying him as from the 2nd.
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| Olver, left, with U.S. Rep. Richard Neal, his expected replacement, and state Rep. Gailanne Cariddi. |
"I'm going to be here every year," Neal vowed. "It's a celebration of the beauty of the Berkshires ... you don't last for six decades without having an interest."
The outgoing congressman said he won't disappear.
"I suppose from time to time I'll be back in this area," the former professor said.
Asked what he remembered most about the parades his marched in, Olver said it was the community.
"I've always been impressed by the number of young families that are here. There are lots and lots of children along this parade route," he said. "I take it that the community really does come out for this parade ... I've been very fortunate to have a good deal of support in this area ... and they are very well liked by me."
The weather wasn't particularly kind for Olver's last march. The rain held off — and the sun even came out for a bit — but rain followed the tail end of the parade north, drenching Main Street before the Shriners completed their pass.
 Happy Grand Marshal Bruce Hayden. |
This year's grand marshal, an ebullient Bruce Hayden, hugged and shook hands with well-wishers far in the back of the parade in order to be near his beloved floats. Hayden's tour de force was a Flintstones dinosaur with a head that shifted from side to side as if watching the crowd and, of course, Fred and Barney in a rocking auto.
Also notable was the First Baptist Church's Noah's Ark, complete with an elephant's trunk peeking out of a porthole to spray water on anyone who got too close.
Other public officials joining the march were Mayor Richard Alcombright, all the city councilors, Sheriff Thomas Bowler, District Attorney David Capeless, state Rep. Gailanne Cariddi, state Sen. Benjamin B. Downing and Northern Berkshire Register of Deeds Frances Brooks, who handed out candy along the route.
Tags: Fall Foliage, grand marshal, Neal, Olver, parade,
