Monongahela Veterans Day parade to be held for 101st year
Lori C. Padilla/For the Observer-Reporter
Honor guard members Ronald Masor and Frank Lonago opened the Charleroi 100th Veterans Day parade in this file photo from 2019.
Lori C. Padilla/For the Observer-Reporter
Three planes flew overhead, signaling the beginning of the 100th Charleroi Veteran’s Day parade in 2019.
Organizers of the annual Washington County Veterans Day parade will hold the event next month in Monongahela despite the COVID-19 pandemic.
John A. Koller, secretary of the Monongahela Veterans Council, said state COVID-19 mitigation strategies will be strictly enforced and attendance at related events will be restricted to ensure social distancing during the Nov. 7 observances.
“We’re continuing a 100-year-old tradition and taking all of the precautions,” Koller said.
This would be the 101st consecutive year for the Washington County parade, which has alternated between Washington, Charleroi, Donora and Monongahela.
Koller said the parade will take place even it’s just two people marching on West Main Street with an American flag.
He said volunteer inspectors will be on every block to ensure people on sidewalks are following COVID-19 masking and distancing requirements. Video of the events will be available on several streaming networks.
The state allows 130 people in the Monongahela Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1409, 793 E. Main Street, where the luncheon will be held at 2:30 p.m. He said take-out meals will be sold if the building reaches capacity.
The 10 a.m. opening ceremonies will be held at the Monongahela Fire Department at limited capacity, Koller said. The parade line-up will begin at 11 a.m. at Chess Park.
The city is awaiting a permit for the parade from the state Department of Transportation, something that will happen closer to Nov. 7 in case COVID-19 orders change, Monongahela police Chief Kevin Harris said.