2002 Bristol Independence Day Celebration Report

Two Hundred Twenty-fifth Anniversary of American Independence 

Committee Business: September 20, 2001
Treasurer’s report to close out 2001 business
BAL: 07/31/01 Deposits Withdrawals BAL: 08/31/01 $127,419.19 $1692.50 $24,166.01 $105,607.55

Officers elected for the 2002 celebration
Chairperson Donna St. Angelo Vice Chairperson Jim Tavares Treasurer Donna Falcoa Recording Secretary Gina M. Moreira Corresponding Secretary Diane M. Holt

Executive Board Meeting: November 15, 2001
Donna St. Angelo reported television channels 6, 10, and 12 were sent letters requesting bid proposals to telecast the 2002 parade. Channels 6 and 10 declined; channel 12 promised a proposal.

James Farley, Jr., Snubs Committee
After the resignation of the Committee’s long time Military Liaison James W. Farley, Jr., St. Angelo asked him to hand over all of his records. Farley refused to give up his accumulated files. The Executive Board concluded the new Subcommittee could survive and do its job without Farley’s cooperation.

Television Coverage Proposals
At its January 15, meeting, the Executive Board reviewed proposals from Cox Communications and Channel 12. The Cox proposal was the same as in past years.
The Cox cable television proposal:
1. $10,000 for rights to televise the parade
2. A full-page ad in the souvenir book
3. Sponsor the Miss 4th of July float
4. A ½ hour special regarding the parade and Committee
5. Live coverage of the parade with a ½ hour pre-parade show.

The Channel 12 proposal:
1. $5,000 for rights to televise the parade
2. Ten percent for sponsorship based on net of income from commercials
3. Live coverage of the parade with Karen Adams
4. Enter 1 float or vehicle in the parade
5. An ad in the souvenir book.

There was much discussion on the proposals. Cox guaranteed the money up front; Channel 12 did not. However, most Committee members’ felt more money could be raised with the Channel 12 deal.

The Committee authorized St.Angleo and Tavares to further negotiate with Channel 12 for a fixed amount rather than a percentage of ad money. At the February 20, meeting, St.Angleo and Tavares reported a successful negotiation with Channel 12 and a contract was signed. St. Angelo said what it really came down to is what was in the best interest of the Committee financially. “This is a one-year contract,” she said. “Channel 12 offered us a better financial package.”

Fourth of July Ball Ball Subcommittee Chair Elizabeth A. Harvey said all 300 tickets to the Saturday night gala were sold; marking the first time in the last three years that the annual semi-formal dance has sold out. In past few years the event has drawn only about 170 people, said Harvey, who credited this year’s local venue as the reason for the unusually high attendance. The ball, held in Newport and Portsmouth in recent years, was held this year at the Bristol Yacht Club on Poppasquash Road. Tickets cost $100 per couple, the most expensive price of admission ever.

The Parade Route Shortly after the 2001 parade, Bristol Police Chief Colonel Russell (Rusty) Serpa asked that the 2.6-mile long route be redirected along High and Wood Streets, eliminating Hope Street entirely from the route of march. The chief said his concern was that if an emergency were to occur on Hope Street, specifically between Chestnut and Washington Streets, emergency vehicles would have no access to the scene. He argued that by keeping Hope Street open, it would allow access to all spots along the route with multiple options for leaving the area. It would also allow two routes for people to enter and leave town on the day of the parade. Regardless of public-safety, concerns raised Chief Serpa, the parade route remained the same.

Chief Marshal Jerome (Jerry) Donovan
For her Chief Marshal, Committee Chair Donna St. Angelo chose Jerome Donovan, an 82-year-old native Bristolian and active member of the community. Donovan, is a 1938 graduate of Colt Memorial High School, he is a decorated veteran of World War II, and a member of the Bristol Town Council in the mid-1950s His association with the Bristol Fourth of July celebration began in 1938 when he read the Declaration of Independence at the Patriotic Exercises. In recognition of his extensive community service he received the Hattie Brown Award in 1994; in 1998, he was Speaker of the Day at Patriotic Exercises. Of Donovan, St. Angelo said, “It is fitting that the Chief Marshal of the oldest Fourth of July celebration should be a man who believes you continue to serve because you can. A man who is grateful for his blessings, his country and for those he loves. A man who, the more I know, the more I like.”

At the Exercises. This being the first Independence Day after the September 11, 2001, terrorists’ attacks on America, Bristol’s Patriotic Exercises took on a special meaning and garnered lofty pronouncements of fidelity to America’s heritage of freedom. Much has changed in the country since September 11, but Bristol’s Patriotic Exercises carried the same messages of prayers of thanksgiving and patriotic addresses just as it has for the previous 216 years. In a brief address, Attorney General Sheldon Whitehouse told the 200 gathered on the grass and marble piazza of the Colt Memorial School that the nation must take on new resolve to defend the principle of freedom. Interim minister of the First Baptist Church of Bristol, the Reverend Shirley Fortin prayed for courage and fairness for the nation’s leaders, and for Americans to continue to live as free people.

Speaker of the Day, associate director of the state Division of Veteran Affairs and Commandant of the Rhode Island Veterans Home in Bristol, David C. Foehr said this year again finds the nation at war. “Do you see a nation cowering in fear and afraid to display its patriotism?” Foehr asked. “You bet you don’t.” Foehr told those gathered for the ceremonies, “Let us offer a prayer of thanksgiving that we are Americans and be ready to defend what is sacred about living in the United Statesfreedom of speech and liberty.” He concluded his address by remembering the group of passengers who on September 11, aboard United Flight 93 forced Moslem highjackers to crash the jet in a rural Pennsylvania field, possibly saving thousands of lives if the plane had crashed into its intended target the Pentagon. Those passengers demonstrated, “the right values and the right character,” Foehr said. He said he was confident that today’s generation would rise to the challenges just as the “greatest generation” had done during World War II.

Chief Marshal Jerry Donovan introduced his family and offered a blessing for the nation: “May God continue to bless you. One flag, one heart, one hand, one nation, ever more.”

The parade
The crowd estimated at 225,000 roasted in record-breaking heat of 96 degrees, recorded at 2 p.m., as the 13-division parade passed over the nearly 3-mile route. It was so hot that the ideal viewing spots were vacant if they were not in the shade of a tree or building. Overheated band members stopped playing a mile from the reviewing stand. Rescue squad volunteers made 300 heat-related runs by 4 p.m. It was so uncomfortable that some of the most diehard spectators surrendered to the unrelenting sun, packed their lawn chairs and coolers, and headed home early. The effects of the September 11 terrorists’ attacks on America were evident in the increased security along the parade route. Two military helicopters hovered overhead from 8 a.m., the time participants began mustering, until shortly after 10:36 a.m., when the parade officially stepped off, only six minutes behind schedule. A van from the Providence Police Department’s Special Response Unit sat in a service station parking lot on Hope Street. Its bomb-investigation robot was used more for demonstrations for the curious than for detecting bombs. The Hallamore Trucking Co. was back with its team of Clydesdale horses. The horses’ handlers attempted to keep the animals cool by rubbing them with wet cloths during lulls in the march, some of which lasted up to five minutes. The Bristol Blues and the Providence Grays vintage baseball teams used the lulls as an opportunity to play catch with children or let them have a swing with the bat. Sweating men and women covered head to foot in costumes of children’s favorite television characters Elmo, Cookie Monster, Bert and Ernie, and others shook hands and gave high fives with children who ran up to them. A surprise feature in the parade was the Big Blue Bug, the mascot of the New England Pest Control Company. The very large and colorful metal representation of a termite is usually perched on the rooftop of the Providence exterminator’s building and is a highly visible landmark seen from Route 95.

Post Celebration Wrap-up Business Tuesday August 24
 Treasurer’s report:
BAL: 06/30/02 Deposits Withdrawals BAL: 07/31/02 $112,803.59 $24,840.42 $7,258.59 $140,470.25

The chair reported that a letter was sent to all town department heads requesting a meeting to discuss the parade route. No date for the meeting was scheduled.

Subcommittee financial reports ACTIVITY INCOME EXPENSES PROFIT Badges/Plaques 1,734.80 Ball 990.32 Bands & Concerts 6,520.58 BYC Reception 1,943.25 Car Show 793.73 Channel 12 Payment 5,525.00 Concessions 1,616.30 Fireworks 25,797.70 Floats 516.03 Golf Tournament 2,403.85 Lottery 6,499.35 Mail Solicitations 7,882.37 Memorial Fund 780.00 Military Food 646.75 Orange Crate Derby 709.00 Parade Collection 5,059.60 Souvenir Program 15,447.70 Souvenirs 7,798.48 Special Gifts 77,225.00 Tag Day 1,490.63 Vending 26,270.00

Parade Early Birds
For about a decade, the town’s policy regarding early staking out of parade viewing areas has been observed by most visitors and townies. However for the past two or three years, the policy has been ignored by more and more people who get out especially early putting down chairs or blankets or physically roping off plots of ground with stakes in the ground. When police were called to stop the spot grabbers, they said they were powerless. It was thought that an ordinance prohibiting the practice was in force. Upon checking into it, police found that it was a policy and no ordinance was ever enacted. Town solicitor Michael Ursillo drew up the new ordinance, which states that people cannot reserve areas from which to view the parade before 5 a.m., on July 4.