Holy Family School of Elmira has been involved with the Elmira Christmas Parade for over 20 years and now, some of our earliest participants have returned – as parents. What a great Christmas tradition!
The look and construction of our float has changed considerably over those two decades. Originally, we operated a mini float, but when a wheel fell off in 1991, the decision was made to build a rock solid major float, on a steel frame, for the next year. With some help from the parade committee, we were able to find just such a frame, complete with a two inch thick oak deck. A couple of volunteers (who loved the school) spent the following summer constructing a safe conveyance for our student riders. Their design was a family related theme that properly represented our faith based school system. Over the next few years the float took on a number of additional features as it grew in size, but the basic theme remained unchanged.
Enter Kathleen Schmidt. She and her husband, Jeff, are very involved Holy Family parents with four students in our classrooms. Kathleen rolled up her sleeves and went to work. Jeff was “talked into” doing some construction work on the float while Kathleen and the kids did some pretty impressive painting and decorating. Collectively, they created a “snow globe theme” based around the original Holy Family with a scattering of angels. The end product was beautiful (and a great representation for the schools). Congratulations and thank you to the Schmidt family. Thank you also to the other students and parents who rode along during the parade.
