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Saving seats in Canonsburg
That's not a problem, though, because a few kind people will stop and put them back as the community prepares for the second largest parade of its kind in Pennsylvania.
"It's what makes Canonsburg unique," borough police Chief R.T. Bell said Monday, nearly a week after the chairs began to appear on Pike Street.
People tie white plastic chairs together with twine or even crime tape. Others put out benches and beach chairs and top them with bricks or two-by-fours to keep them in place for the parade, which has attracted as many 60,000 people in the past.
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Although in previous years borough officials talked about prohibiting the tradition, Canonsburg manager Terry Hazlett said there's no law stating when chairs can be set out and "considerable pressure" to keep it that way.
He has seen news of the chairs on CNN's news crawl, and Jay Leno and David Letterman also mentioned it on their late-night talk shows.
Bell's concern is the wind, which already has sent a few of the aluminum chairs off the curb and into the street. But he said motorists are aware of the situation when driving through town these days and often stop and place them back on the sidewalk.
But neither Bell nor Hazlett fear the chairs will disappear. For some reason, no one ever steals the furniture, either. Bell has noticed that some who put "ratty-looking" chairs on the parade route will replace them Saturday with nicer seats.
"Believe me, people have gotten this down to a science," he said.
Down the street at Canonsburg General Hospital's Ambulance Service, manager Des Donohoe said the appearance of the porch furniture just points to the community's pride in its annual parade.
"The community really steps up," Donohoe said. "Everybody wants to be at the parade. It's a big deal."
But he's not yet welcoming any chairs outside the building.
For now the property at the ambulance service is bordered with orange traffic cones to block chairs. The cones will come down Saturday, Donohoe said, but for now he has to make sure that his ambulances can get in and out of the garage.
"We just want to keep it open for right now," Donohoe said. "It's safer that way."
Chairs : 6/30/2009
The only problem I see with the chairs is the fact that they block the view of the parade for the little kids. I understand if they are being used by the elderly or disabled, but for healthy adults to use them seems a bit selfish to me. They should think back to when they were kids, and remember how much fun it was to set on the curb and watch the parade go by. By the way, I don't have any children, but I do remember how much fun it was being one at parade time. Maybe you all could move back just a bit, and let the little ones up front.
CHAIRS : 6/30/2009
Coming all the way from Georgia can somebody put four out for me!!! Can't wait for the annual parade that I have seens since I was a kid and my kids love it to.
Really nice... : 6/30/2009
Wait until someone falls & hurts themselves on the chairs or the ropes, or an accident is caused by chairs blowing into the street. The Borough will be sued, the innocent property owners will be sued. But hey, anything that can make Canonsburg look more like a West Virginia trailer park, ya gotta love it.
Chairs : 6/30/2009
I am a lifelong resident of Canonsburg and I love the 4th of July and the parade. I can't wait to take my kids every year and let them enjoy what I enjoyed as a child, they sit on the curb just like I did and my husband and I sit behind them. I do however feel that the Borough should limit the amount of days in advance that the community should allow charis to be put up. They block the businesses downtown and make it difficult to get in and out of cars and to the sidewalk. I feel that if the Borough limited it to a day or two in advance, the community would still have an opportunity to get their favorite spot. I was forced to place my chairs far in advance of what I would normally have put them out to save my spot and my chairs were stolen. It was the first year in my 36 years of life that I can recall my families chairs being taken. It was very disappointing. Alas - the parade must go on and I know we will all love it all the same!
LOL! : 7/2/2009
Yeah right nobody steals chairs! Mine were stolen 3 years ago....
CHAIRS : 7/6/2009
I've been a resident for almost 10 years now and used to put my seats out just like others, but come parade day, they were moved or stolen. I think the chairs in the road are a hazard and will sue the borough if I or my family are injured from the chairs or received damage to my vehicle.
