Summit Hill Memorial Day Parade

Each year the parade committee sponsors a house decorating contest. Every house in Summit Hill is eligible (including White Bear and Mountain Top Road). This is judged over Memorial Day Weekend. We also sponsor a float decorating contest for participating floats with a patriotic theme. This is judged during the parade. Judges are not residents of Summit Hill. Monetary prizes are given for both!

Countdown to the Parade

Welcome to the Summit Hill Memorial Day Parade!!!

Parades have always played a big part in the life of the people of Summit Hill. For over 100 years all kinds of parades have been held—rain or shine, winter or summer. However, the most famous parade in town is its Memorial Day Parade.

Summit Hill is home to 13 cemeteries and every year thousands of people from near and far come to pay their respects and place flowers on the graves of family and friends. The town swells with a festive atmosphere of those renewing old friendships as well as remembering our fallen heroes. Over the weekend there are several services honoring the dead. A roll call of deceased veterans, recitations of Logan’s General Orders, Flanders Field and the Gettysburg Address all honor those who sacrificed their lives for the freedoms we enjoy today.

Since the 1920’s, school children were required to march and attendance was mandatory. In the late 1940’s, after World War II, the parades became even larger.

The towns of the Panther Valley joined together their high school and Legion bands with renewed patriotism and the streets were lined with people not only celebrating the return of a new group of veterans but also remembering those who made the supreme sacrifice and gave their lives.

Today the town of Summit Hill continues to celebrate Memorial Day. Monday morning the people of town turn their attention to honoring veterans with a memorial service in Ludlow Park. After the service, a 4 division parade winds throughout the town paying tribute to the men and women who have so bravely served our country.

SH parade is on, Korean War vets to be honored

Published on Times News Online (http://www.tnonline.com)

After a year off because of the pandemic, the Summit Hill Memorial Day Parade Committee plans to hold the 2021 Memorial Day Parade.

The parade, Carbon County’s largest tribute to our military, is scheduled to step off at 11 a.m. May 31 on Ludlow Street in the center of the community.

The committee members said they made the decision to hold the parade after consultation with members of American Legion Post 316.

Instead of an individual serving as a grand marshal, the committee and Legionnaires have opted to honor borough residents who served in the Korean War.

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the committee recommends Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines be adhered to by all participants in the parade

In a letter it plans to send to everyone in the community, the committee members say, “In no way do we condone anyone’s failure to follow these guidelines as they may exist at the time of the holiday weekend. We strongly encourage everyone to practice social distancing and, when necessary, to wear a mask throughout the weekend to ensure for the safety of our community and its residents and visitors alike.

Korean veterans

The committee is publicly asking borough residents who served in the Korean War who wish to participate in the parade to register at the committee’s website, www.summithillparade.com, or by calling the Legion at 570-645-9520.

Meanwhile, individuals, groups and bands are encouraged to participate in the parade and can register at the above website. The committee stresses all participants must preregister for the event, as opposed to “just showing up” on Memorial Day.

The committee added, “The process of planning such an event is often daunting and the committee requires the generosity of our community’s residents, businesses and benefactors to ensure this year’s parade is a great success.” Unlike previous years, no solicitation of funds will take place along the parade route.

Town residents will receive a self-addressed envelope in which they can make a donation to the parade. Out-of-town residents can help defray the cost of the parade by sending their contribution to the committee, Summit Hill Memorial Day Parade Committee, 41 W. Ludlow St., Summit Hill, PA 18250. Checks should be made payable to the Summit Hill Memorial Day Parade Committee.
As in the past, the parade committee will sponsor home decorating and parade float contests with a “patriotic” theme. Every house in Summit Hill is eligible (including White Bear and Mountain Top Road). Judging will take place with out-of-town judges over the holiday weekend with monetary prizes to be awarded.

The committee also funds its budget through sale of flags and bunting that are available at the Vermillion Dental Office, Mark Sverchek Insurance Agency and Breslin’s Hilltop News