The chair tradition in Catonsville’s Fourth of July celebration
What’s in a chair? They’ve got four legs (usually), a flat surface, perhaps a back, maybe a cushion if you’re lucky. But in Catonsville around the Fourth of July, a chair is so much more: it’s a stake-out spot for the beloved Independence Day parade along Frederick Road. Each year hundreds, or perhaps thousands, of chairs are set up on the parade route, often days and weeks in advance. Baltimore Sun Media Group video intern Anastasia Champ takes a look into the tradition of Catonsville’s Independence Day in the video below.
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- An archive photo of Catonsville’s Fourth of July parade from an unknown date.
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- Samantha Iacia , 6, plugs her ears as a marching band goes by her at Catonsville’s 50th Fourth of July Parade in 1996 on Frederick Road. (Baltimore Sun staff photo by Linda Coan)
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- Kristin Mauerhan (cq) (left), Katie Heater and Andrew Heater of Catonsville hold up their hand made flag during the parade, July 4, 1997. (Baltimore Sun staff photo by Linda Coan)
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- All decked in red, white and blue and waiting for a parade are cousins Megan Wall (left) and Allison Campbell of Catonsville, July 4, 2001. (Baltimore Sun photo by Francis Gardler)
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- A public bus cruises west past a line of empty chairs, set there to reserve space on Frederick Av Mon., July 1, 2002 in preparation for the annual Independance Day Parade scheduled days later. Some residents say the placement of chairs is an annual tradition while others complain that holding space by using chairs and blankets has gotten out of hand. (Baltimore Sun/Karl Merton Ferron)
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- Nikki Drummond, 16 of Catonsville walks up the street to get her father some postage stamps, glancing at a line of chairs sitting on Frederick Av Mon., July 1, 2002 in preparation for the annual Independance Day Parade. “It gets worse every year. It does — it’s pathetic,” she says of the sight of the mainly well- worn chairs. People seem to claim the shady parts of the parade route, which is sparse near the business section of town. Some residents say the placement of chairs is an annual tradition while others complain that holding space by using chairs and blankets has gotten out of hand. (Baltimore Sun/Karl Merton Ferron)
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- Lawn chairs sit awaiting their owners to claim their chosen reserved spaces on Frederick Av Mon., July 1, 2002 in preparation for the annual Independance Day Parade. Some residents say the placement of chairs is an annual tradition while others complain that holding space by using chairs and blankets has gotten out of hand. (Baltimore Sun/Karl Merton Ferron)
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- Ten-year-old Patrick Lyons of Catonsville scans the horizon of Frederick Road fora any activity over an hour before the start of the Fourth of July parade in Catonsville. Parade-goers maintained their tradition of staking out a seat by putting out their chairs days in advance of the parade in 2002. (Baltimore Sun staff / Francis Gardler)
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- The crowd lining the route of the Catonsville Fourth of July parade finds an elevated vantage point on the lawn of the Knights of Columbus on Frederick Road, July 4, 2006. (Staff Photo by Francis Gardler)
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- McKenzie McLain, 7, left, and her sister Mattison, 10, and brother McKennly, 4, wait for the Catonsville Independence Day parade to start on Monday, July 4, 2005. (Baltimore Sun Staff Photo by Hans Ericsson)
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- Lawn chairs are already set up along Frederick Road in preparation of the annual Fourth of July parade in 2006. These chairs are at the corner of Park Drive and Forest Drive and Frederick Roads. (Baltimore Sun staff / Algerina Perna)
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- Lawn chairs are already set up along Frederick Road in preparation of the annual Fourth of July parade in 2006. These chairs are at the corner of Park Drive and Forest Drive and Frederick Roads. (Baltimore Sun staff / Algerina Perna)
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- The crowd lining the route of the Catonsville Fourth of July parade finds an elevated vantage point on the lawn of the Knights of Columbus on Frederick Road, July 4, 2006. (Staff Photo by Francis Gardler)
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- Lawn chairs line the street along Frederick Road in Catonsville, in preparation for Catonsville’s annual Fourth of July parade in 2009. (Staff photo by Nicole Martyn)
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- MacKenzie Moffet, 8, a student at Hillcrest Elementary, rides her bike behind the Hillcrest parade entry in the 63rd annual Catonsville Fourth of July parade in 2009. (Staff photo by Sarah Nix)
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- Spectators watch Catonsville’s 2010 annual parade Saturday, July 03, 2010. (Baltimore Sun Staff / Karl Merton Ferron)
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- Days before the Fourth of July parade marches through Catonsville in 2011, the parade of chairs and blankets begins as residents stake out their viewing spots along Frederick Road and Bloomsbury Avenue. (Baltimore Sun photo by Jed Kirschbaum)
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- Days before the Fourth of July parade marches through Catonsville in 2011, the parade of chairs and blankets begins as residents stake out their viewing spots along Frederick Road and Bloomsbury Avenue. (Baltimore Sun photo by Jed Kirschbaum)
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- Days before the Fourth of July parade marches through Catonsville in 2011, the parade of chairs and blankets begins as residents stake out their viewing spots along Frederick Road and Bloomsbury Avenue. (Baltimore Sun photo by Jed Kirschbaum)
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- Days before the Fourth of July parade marches through Catonsville in 2011, the parade of chairs and blankets begins as residents stake out their viewing spots along Frederick Road and Bloomsbury Avenue. (Baltimore Sun photo by Jed Kirschbaum)
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- Days before the Fourth of July parade marches through Catonsville in 2011, the parade of chairs and blankets begins as residents stake out their viewing spots along Frederick Road and Bloomsbury Avenue. (Baltimore Sun photo by Jed Kirschbaum)
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- Fans of Monday’s Fourth of July parade in Catonsville again packed the Frederick Road route for the annual summer holiday celebration, July 4, 2011. (Staff photo by Sarah Pastrana)
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- Days before the Fourth of July parade marches through Catonsville in 2011, the parade of chairs and blankets begins as residents stake out their viewing spots along Frederick Road and Bloomsbury Avenue. (Baltimore Sun photo by Jed Kirschbaum)
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- People watch the Catonsville Fourth of July parade on Frederick Road in Catonsville, MD on Wednesday, July 4, 2012. (Jen Rynda/BSMG)
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- Chairs line Frederick Road for the Catonsville Fourth of July parade in Catonsville, MD on Wednesday, July 4, 2012. (Jen Rynda/BSMG)
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- Chairs reserve space for the 4th of July parade on Frederick Road near Hillcrest Elementary School in Catonsville in 2013. (Monica Herndon/BSMG)
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- Two chairs blocked off a section of the sidewalk in front of the Catonsville Presbyterian Church on Frederick Road for the upcoming 4th of July Parade in 2013. (Monica Herndon/BSMG)
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- Chairs reserve space for the 4th of July parade on Frederick Road near Hillcrest Elementary School in Catonsville in 2013. (Monica Herndon/BSMG)
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- Westminster Municipal Band plays in the Catonsville Fourth of July parade on Bloomsbury Avenue, July 4, 2013. (Kim Hairston/Baltimore Sun)
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- Laura Hope continues her 19 year tradition of spraying marches with a hose outside her BloomsburyAvenue, which is near the end of the Catonsville Fourth of July parade, 2013. (Kim Hairston/Baltimore Sun Staff)
Video below:
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