Mars Fourth of July parade gets underway despite day of rain
MARS — Not even a fierce thunderstorm over Butler County could prevent the borough from celebrating the country’s 250th anniversary. On Saturday evening, the sky eventually held up just long enough to allow the annual Mars Fourth of July parade to go on — albeit one hour later than scheduled.
The parade was the centerpiece of a two-day festival across Mars celebrating the country’s semiquincentennial. Earlier on Saturday, the borough dedicated a new flagpole near the historic site of the salvaged bell from the USS Mars ship, which is on display downtown.
The parade started at Marburger Field and headed onto Anderson Avenue before making a left onto Beaver Street. Parade participants then made a slight left onto Pittsburgh Street before turning onto Grand Avenue.
As is tradition, a group of youngsters on bicycles led the way when the parade kicked off at 6:30 p.m., followed by a group from Scout Troop 400.
Not far behind them were borough Mayor Gregg Hartung and his wife, Tina, riding in a special “Brickyard 400” edition Chevrolet Camaro owned by Scott Settlemire, a Mars resident and former General Motors manager.
According to Settlemire, it was one of 57 of its kind ever built.
“He lives here in Mars. He worked for the Chevrolet division, and it's one of his cars, so he was able to get to be a part of the parade,” Hartung said.
While the rain played a role in reducing participation — which is usually driven by spontaneous walk-ins rather than preregistration — the first responders group was still well-represented by Adams Area Fire District and the Adams Township Police, among others.
However, the Mars Area High School marching band, usually a fixture of the Independence Day Parade, couldn’t make it this year due to the delay caused by the earlier storm.
“Unfortunately, the Mars marching band pulled out because of the rain,” said Bonnie Forsythe, the borough’s secretary/treasurer.
The borough capped off its Fourth of July celebrations with a picnic and fireworks show at Marburger Field.
