Penn Wynne's 70th Anniversary 4th of July Parade & Carnival!

Thanks to everyone who kicked off their Independence Day celebration with Penn Wynne's 70th Anniversary 4th of July Parade and Carnival! Although much has changed in Penn Wynne since 1943, the same community and volunteer spirit that began this tradition seventy years ago and that makes Penn Wynne such a wonderful place to live was on full display again. The Penn Wynne Civic Association is proud to serve our community and is grateful to our neighbors for their spirit and generosity.

First and foremost, we would like to thank Vice-President David Smith for his outstanding leadership as chairman, and thank the entire 70th Anniversary Penn Wynne 4th of July Parade & Carnival Committee – David Smith, Lisa Healy, Avri Dub and Shelby Sparrow – for the countless hours they invested in planning for the 70th Anniversary parade & carnival.

PWCA would also like to thank Shelby Sparrow and the Friends of Penn Wynne Park for their clean up efforts last weekend in preparation for the 4th of July – the park looked great!

We would like to thank Pat Sinclair for her hard work and creativity, designing eye-catching logos, flyers and posters, and Lauren Fenning for her skill as a copy editor and tireless efforts as a one-woman sponsorship sales-force and public relations agency.

Thanks to Terry Lafferty, Lindsay Taylor and Lori Jennings of Lower Merion Township and Officer John Collins of the Lower Merion Police Department for all their help in shepherding our parade and carnival through the Township approval process and arranging for closure of state roads.

All of Penn Wynne is indebted to the men and women of the Penn Wynne-Overbrook Hills Fire Company for their service to our community, and PWCA is honored to partner with them as stewards of the 4th of July parade, which was started by the fire company back in 1943. Our thanks to President John Derham, Chief John Fallon and the officers and members of the Penn Wynne-Overbrook Hills Fire Company for their help in organizing, safeguarding and leading the event, and to Deputy-Chief Ted Schmid III and his award-winning crew of firefighters for the competition they staged at this year’s carnival.

When the Penn Wynne 4th of July parade began seventy years ago, this year’s Grand Marshall, Dr. Herman Giersch, was fighting Hitler’s armies in Europe. He returned to serve our community for thirty years as a music educator and tennis coach in the Lower Merion School district, and he was a proud resident of Penn Wynne for nearly forty years. Thank you Dr. Giersch for your service to our country, to our school district and to our neighborhood, and best wishes for a very happy 99th birthday in October!

Thanks to Dr. Giersch and his fellow parade judges Zach Hoover, Commissioner Rick Churchill and Congressman Tim Briggs for making light work of the seemingly impossible task of naming a handful of award winners from more than sixty deserving entries in less than 30 minutes. Amazing! And thanks to Mike Lynch for his excellent photography!

The Penn Wynne Civic Association would like to extend a special thank you to Ed Minshall, who was born and raised in Penn Wynne, and who has provided invaluable assistance to us as the unofficial historian of the neighborhood. Ed took care of all of the arrangements necessary for Dr. Giersch to serve as our Grand Marshall, he recruited the current LMHS music director (Tom Elliot) to lead a band in this year’s parade, and he added a historical flair by convincing Ted Goldsborough from the Lower Merion Historical Society to drive a classic 1938 Ford Deluxe alongside the vintage 1950 Ardmore Autocar that Ed brought for the occasion. Thank you Ed!

Thanks to 2013 Lower Merion High School graduate Robin Weiner for sharing her talent with us one last time before leaving for college with a stirring rendition of our national anthem, and thanks to Lorraine Barrett for providing sound at the firehouse!

Thanks to our intrepid parade band, Tom Elliot (trombone), Sally Davis (trumpet), Josh Dunaief (saxophone) and Hannah Weinstein (clarinet), for their talent and enthusiasm, and to Ted Goldsborough for rush-ordering a special battery for his Ford Deluxe so that it would be ready in time for our parade!

Many thanks to world-champion yo-yo artist and juggler extraordinaire Justin Weber for coming all the way from Manhattan to perform at the 70th Anniversary 4th of July carnival!

Congratulations to our 2013 Community Service Award winner Tony Gil, and thank you for your years of service to Penn Wynne as a committee person and PWCA president.

Huge thanks to our lead sponsors Lankenau Medical Center and the Gil Group, and to our partners PT Plus, Solow Pediatric Dentistry & Orthodontics, Howard’s Pharmacy, the DeMaio Insurance Agency, China House, Dr. David Levine – Chiropractor and City Line Sports Center for their invaluable support.

Thanks to the Board of Directors of Penn Wynne Presbyterian Church for loaning us tables and chairs for the parade & carnival, and thanks to Joel Laramee for helping us before and after the event.

Thanks to Bette’s Bounces for all the great games and activities (especially that awesome vertical obstacle course!), to Sleepy Hollow Farms for their fabulous ponies and to Eric from All-Around entertainment for great music & MC work!

Our sincere thanks to Lexi Nathan from the Corner Bakery Café for sharing delicious cookies and plenty of ice-cold water, and to Havertown Pizza for the tasty pies!

Thanks to Vivian Moy and Victoria Talarigo for their wonderfully creative sponsor’s signs, and to our unflappable treasurer Stephen Fenning, who cheerfully sold tickets to throngs of eager buyers for hours on end.

Finally, we would like to thank all of the neighbors who volunteered their time to make the 70th Anniversary Penn Wynne 4th of July carnival such a success: Mary Robertson, Nicole Tymowczak, Eric Bruning, Tanya & Ayanna Gardner, Clint & Chrissy Hillegass, Joe & Mike Petrucci, Joe and Rachel Stern, Chiharu Sako, Bobby Martin, Cathy Greenland, Sharon Weinstein, Jean Claude St. Germain, Chika Inoue, Anna Hagen, Aubrey Benditt, Lucas Scott, Devorah Selber and many others who volunteered on the spot when they saw a need.

Thanks again to everyone who joined us to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the Penn Wynne 4th of July Parade and Carnival!

Best wishes for a relaxing, safe and fun summer!

For those who were unable to stay for the awards ceremony, here is the complete list of parade award winners:

Bicycle Decoration

1st Place: Avadeah McCoach

2nd Place: Rachel Loeb

3rd Place: Charissa Howard

Wagon Decoration

1st Place: Katie Petrucci

2nd Place: Connor & Rose Morris

3rd Place: Lilly Hawkins

Stroller Decoration

1st Place: Madelynne Detrich

2nd Place: Mason Schill

3rd Place: Caleb & Eliana Kirschen

Scooter Decoration

1st Place: William Shapiro

2nd Place: Zoia Downie