Scott City parade a hit with children and adults alike

Rhonda Dockins watched and waited with her daughter, Emily, for the firetrucks of the Scott City volunteer fire department to come down Main Street in Scott City. Aboard one of the trucks was her husband, who is a volunteer firefighter. Of course, she said, her favorite entries in the Scott City Christmas parade are the firetrucks.

Dockins, who just moved from Cape Girardeau to Scott City, said Saturday was her first time attending the parade. She said it will probably become an annual tradition for her family.

Dockins said it was a good way to kick off the Christmas season because the parade emphasized the importance of children.

Phyllis Crump, director of the Scott City Parks Department and an organizer of the parade, said she's happy to see the excited faces of little children as they are thrown candy from people on the floats.

"I think it can have the spirit of togetherness," Crump said of the parade, which had about 12 floats. "People can come together as a whole family."

For Chad Weatherspoon, the parade gave him the opportunity to be outside with his 3-year-old daughter, Andrea.

Weatherspoon said the parade is something for children to do outside instead of sitting in the house all day long.

"Seeing all the lights and that good stuff," he said.

A couple of months ago, Christopher Trapp moved to Scott City with his two sons and two daughters. He used to live in Cape Girardeau, where he would attend the Parade of Lights, and this was his first year attending the Scott City parade.

"The parade is smaller than Cape's, but it's still cool," Trapp said.

He said he might have attended the parade even without his children, but they made it more fun.

Before the parade began, Jill McAlister stood next to her float of cheerleaders from St. Joseph Catholic School in Scott City. McAlister, the school's cheerleading coach, said it was important to have a float in the parade because the school is small and the parade helps spread the word that they are in the city. And they just managed to get the float to the parade.

"We're procrastinators, so we start decorating like three hours before it starts," McAlister said.

The parade ended with the floats and the 40 to 50 following cars making a tour of the Winter Wonderland Drive-through in the Scott City Community Park. Along the side of the park street were decorations of lighted trees, nativity scenes and candy canes. At the end of the trail was Santa Claus, who listened to the children's Christmas wishes. Five-year-old Heaven Rogers was among those who got a visit with Santa.

"I asked him for a puppy dog," Heaven said.