Sedley celebrates Independence Day
Published 7:52 am Wednesday, July 8, 2009
SEDLEY—After being called off last year, Sedley’s annual Independence Day celebration made a comeback Saturday morning, much to the delight of the people who attended.
“This is what Sedley is like every day,” said Teri Zurfluh. “We just share it with everybody else on the Fourth.”
She said that the celebration and the atmosphere played a role in her decision to move to Sedley from Franklin.
The biggest draw of the morning, by far, was the parade. Spectators lined the streets to catch a glimpse of the floats, tractors, horses, cars and emergency vehicles as they navigated the parade route —and threw out candy.
“I wouldn’t be anywhere else,” said Amy Jones, a Smithfield resident who attended the parade.
Sally Adams of Courtland, like many spectators, was excited about the celebration’s return this year. She said that last year’s cancellation was upsetting.
“I was very disappointed,” she said.
Although the parade attracted a larger crowd, the celebration was already well under way before the parade started. The festivities started at 9 a.m. with registration for the car show and poker run at Roger’s Memorial Park, and the Sedley Woman’s Club sponsored a veterans-appreciation celebration at 9:30 a.m. at Sedley Baptist Church.
There was a whole day’s worth of activities planned in Sedley leading up to the fireworks at 9:15 p.m.
Many people, like Zurfluh, who planned to stay all day were just happy to have the celebration back this year and now have a deeper appreciation for all of the planning that goes into the event.
“A lot of people worked really, really hard to put all of this on,” she said. “It is just a real labor of love.”