PINK HILL – The annual Pink Hill Christmas Parade was heard well before it was seen.
Sunday, a seemingly endless line of area fire department vehicles took the lead in the parade, fronted by a police cruiser, and their sirens heralded the parade well before it came into view, snaking through the town’s streets.
One after another, holiday-bedecked engines, tankers and rescue vehicles filed past onlookers, representing fire departments from Pink Hill, Albertson, Comfort, Hargetts Crossroads, Hugo, La Grange, Pleasant Grove, Potters Hill, Sandy Bottom, Sarecta and Southwood.
For the parade, Deep Run broke out its antique Chevrolet 8500 fire truck.
Parade attendee William Blount joked the reason he went was because it wasn’t raining.
“This is my first time coming,” Blount said. “I haven’t been to a parade in, shoot, 30 years. I was in the Navy, so I’ve been gone.”
Fellow attendee Bryson Houston hasn’t missed a parade in a while.
“I’ve seen it for the last 25 years, so why quit now,” Houston asked.
Rosa Mary Sutton said she’d seen her share of Christmas parades, but didn’t have that many under her belt, yet.
“It’s a long time – I haven’t got there yet,” Sutton said, laughing. “I pray to God I get there.”
Along the parade route people with pickup trucks pulled down the tailgate and set up impromptu bleachers, and both children and adults came ready for the candy tossed out of vehicles and floats, bags in hand.
Behind the fire trucks, veterans in vintage Jeeps followed a JROTC honor guard, and Free Press Editor Bryan Hanks and columnist Jon Dawson and his children rode with Pink Hill Mayor Carol Sykes.
Several local elected officials and at least one candidate made appearances – Lenoir County Clerk of Court Dawn Stroud rode atop a GMC Suburban, and Lenoir County commissioners J. Mac Daughety, Reuben Davis and Linda Rouse Sutton made appearances.
Lenoir County Commissioner Eric Rouse rode in the parade in a vintage Buick Electra.
Lenoir County Sheriff Chris Hill wore a specially modified Santa hat while waving to the crowd and two cars behind him was sheriff candidate Ronnie Ingram.
The Caswell Development Center made the crowd buzz with its “Duck Dynasty” float and bands from South Lenoir High School and Woodington Middle School played as candy littered the streets.
Several churches entered the parade with biblically inspired floats, but Christian Chapel OFWB Church received notice by employing a massive John Deere 8336R tractor.
And the parade sported a number of queens, both festival and homecoming, as well as girls sponsored by area businesses.
The parade, which started at 2 p.m., lasted a little more than an hour to accommodate the large number of entrants.
Wes Wolfe can be reached at 252-559-1075 and Wes.Wolfe@Kinston.com. Follow him on Twitter@WolfeReports.