When First Selectman Mark Fiorentino was asked if the 2024 Granby Memorial Day parade was still a go, considering the heavy rain that morning, he replied, “They didn’t stop fighting for our freedom just because it was raining; showing up is the least we can do.” The town officials who made the decision apparently felt the same and the parade went on. There were lots of puddles and umbrellas lining the streets, and the trees had more than their usual share of people congregated underneath them, but there was a feeling of camaraderie among the crowd.
That feeling was most evident when the announcement was made that there would be no playing of the National Anthem since the high school band did not march in consideration of the effect of the rain on its instruments. A young man in the crowd yelled, “We can sing it,” and we did. We sang it in tune and the way it was written, and with great feeling. It was one of the most memorable moments in a Memorial Day ceremony that this writer can remember.
