No rain on Valley Stream's parade

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Henry Conrad looked down Rockaway Avenue Monday morning with tears in his eyes. The ground was still wet from the morning’s rain, but Valley Stream residents lined the street for this year’s Memorial Day parade. A Korean war veteran, Conrad prepared to watch his friends from American Legion Post 854 march while thinking of others who never came home from war.

He said he is touched by how well the community honors its war dead and its veterans each year. “It grabs the heck out of me,” Conrad said.

In spite of early thunderstorms and nearly half an inch of rain, the American Legion hosted the annual parade on what became a sunny and warm holiday. Mayor Ed Fare said he was encouraged that the rain stopped when the parade was scheduled to begin, and further encouraged by the turnout. “It stopped precisely at 9:30 a.m. I took it as a sign,” he said. “I was also happy that people stopped to remember those who made the supreme sacrifice. Going to the mall and picnics are nice, but it’s important that we pause and remember those who aren’t here.”

This year’s parade, chaired by Jerry Hahn of the legion, with Joe Marando of VFW Post 1970 serving as assistant chairman, changed routes due to ongoing construction on Valley Steam Boulevard. Marchers, who included veterans, Little Leaguers and members of a variety of other community organizations, turned left onto Hicks Street before the parade ended near the Long Island Rail Road parking lots two blocks away.

Judith Torres, who watched the parade under the awning of the Metro PCS store on Rockaway Avenue, said the weather seemed like a change from the norm. She said that in the 15 years she has lived in Valley Stream, she can’t remember ever waking up to thunderstorms on Memorial Day morning. “We were worried when we woke up that it would be canceled, but it was only 8 a.m.,” Torres said. “I said I hoped it would stop, and it did.”