Everyone loves a parade, but Cliff Murphy knows better than most how to plan one.
Since 1983, Murphy, 57, has volunteered as a parade marshal for Lombard`s annual Lilac Festival Parade. As one of more than 50 street marshals, Murphy helps in the planning, organizing and execution of the village`s most popular parade. This year he will serve as chief marshal, the person who oversees all aspects of the parade.
”As chief marshal, I`ll have the total script of the parade in front of me,” Murphy says. ”I`ll be able to know what`s happening at all times and will act as the point man.
”You could say we`re merrymakers in the truest sense of the word,”
Murphy says. ”We make sure everything runs smoothly so that folks can enjoy themselves and have the best possible time.”
Citing all the work that goes into a parade, Murphy is quick to point out that it`s a team effort. ”No one individual is able to pull off an event this big without the help of the next guy-and that `next guy` could well be a gal,” he says with a wink.
”Lately we`ve had as many women marshals as we`ve had men.”
For almost 40 years, the parade has delighted residents and visitors with a variety of floats, marching bands, clowns and more. A planning committee meets during the year to discuss ideas for the parade. This year, to celebrate the 500th anniversary of the discovery of America, the committee has chosen
”Great Discoveries” as the theme.
The parade, scheduled for May 17 this year, winds through the center of town and runs about two hours.
”We plan on having one of our best turnouts yet,” Murphy says. ”We expect anywhere between 50,000 to 55,000 people in attendance. Rain or shine, they`ll be out there waiting.”
Murphy grew up on the West Side of Chicago. He graduated from St. George High School, Evanston (now defunct), in 1952 and went on to study accounting at Loyola and De Paul Universities.
Murphy and his wife, Sherron, have been married 31 years and have lived in Villa Park since 1961. They have two grown daughters.
He has worked as a broker for a Lombard real estate agency for 16 years.
Murphy remembers attending his first Lilac Festival Parade sometime in the early `50s.
”My mother and I drove in from the city for it,” he says. ”Back then getting out to the suburbs wasn`t an easy matter. It`s not like you could hop on the expressway and, snap, you`d be there. It was a bit of a haul.
”I can still remember the marching bands as they made their way down Main Street toward Lilacia Park. It was hard to figure out the route the parade was taking. Floats were coming from all directions, and there seemed to be no end in sight.”
Having grown up in Chicago, Murphy has seen his share of parades. ”There was always something going on somewhere,” he says. ”If it wasn`t in your neighborhood, then it was in the next one over.
”I loved all the flag-waving and whistle-blowing. I loved sitting at the curb, with my face cupped in my hands, watching the show as it marched by. I even loved watching the parades on TV-you know, the big ones, like on Thanksgiving and Christmas.”
Calling it destiny, Murphy says there was never a doubt that someday he would answer ”the call of the parade.”
Murphy was first approached when a colleague, Dave Miller, asked him to show up for a parade-planning meeting.
”There`s Dave`s story, and then there`s my take on how I first got roped into doing this,” Murphy says with a laugh. ”Well, I can tell you this much- it had a lot to do with a fear of having both my arms broken! Dave made it real clear to me that day-show up, or else.”
Miller, also a real estate broker, has been a parade worker since 1962. He was tapped when, as a spectator, he was given a hat, handed a whistle and asked to direct traffic.
”I didn`t see anything that year,” Miller says. ”Since then I haven`t seen much of any of the parades. I`m too busy concentrating on everything else. I usually catch a videotape we make of it, sometime the next day.”
The job of a street marshal is not an easy one.
”As a marshal you need to be in a million places at once,” Murphy says. ”Initially you`re assigned to a particular division. Each division has a designated area that you`re responsible for. You`re given various street and parking signs to post along the parade route.
”I`ve found that I spend a good deal of my time watching the kids who are inching their way into the street and away from the curb. You have to reign them in. Mom and dad aren`t always aware of what Johnny`s doing because they`re watching the parade themselves.
”Street corners need to be monitored so that floats can make their turns. Kids love to ride their bikes along the parade route, and that`s fine as long as they don`t get in the way. Your main responsibility is in making sure the parade path is as clear as possible.”
The biggest crowd pleasers are any parade entries with a lot of noise and action.
”Any kind of movement incites people and reduces everyone, including myself, to a 2-year-old mentality,” he adds. ”You can just feel the excitement in the crowd. You see the fluttering. You hear the roar. And the thrill just keeps mounting until it`s there, right in front of you. Dogs on leashes can get pretty excited too.”
Each year there are about 100 floats in the parade. Every marshal is given a copy of the float lineup. Street marshals monitor the parade flow by foot or motorized cart.
A highlight is the Lilac Queen`s float.
The queen and her court are featured on a float decorated in full regalia. The Lilac Queen competition, a tradition that dates to 1930, is held for female village residents age 16 to 19.
The Lilac Queen and her court are evaluated on community service, scholarship, personality, grace and poise. They act as goodwill ambassadors and spend their reign promoting Lombard and participating in various civic and community-service projects.
”That sure makes for a pretty picture,” Murphy says. ”You`ll see more cameras clicking as the queen and her princesses go by than at any other point in the parade.”
A contest is conducted for the best floats in a variety of categories, such as originality, creativity and overall theme execution.
Preliminary judging occurs as the floats queue the morning of the parade. A final judging is done from the reviewing stand, which is located along the parade route. Trophies are awarded to the winners.
Over the last 30 years, many of the floats sponsored by Murphy and Miller`s firm have garnered top awards.
”We`re real proud of our collection,” Murphy says, pointing to a shelf in the office filled with trophies. ”Just looking at them makes me want to smile.”
Murphy says his payoff during the parade is seeing the smiles on people`s faces. ”My paycheck is feeling the electricity on the street and hearing all the squeals and cheers.”
He remembers being particularly touched one year as he watched the Order of Masons ride their motorcycles in formation.
Every few blocks they would pull up, dismount, salute, present arms, then get back on their bikes and drive off. ”That was extremely impressive to see,” Murphy says. ”There was so much honor and dignity in the faces of those men.”
Miller says his favorite memory is that of an older couple in town whom everyone had come to know as parade regulars.
”They would show up early with their lawn chairs and set themselves up on the same corner every year,” he says. ”They loved all the commotion and playing with the children. Then last year she passed away, leaving him on his own.
”Well, he still made it to the parade that year, but right there next to him sat an empty chair. When I saw that a big lump formed in my throat. I began to realize just how much this parade means to a lot of people.”
Murphy and Miller agree that the most crucial element to any parade is the weather.
”As long as it`s not pouring rain, I`d say we`re OK,” Murphy says.
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For more information on the Lilac Festival Parade, call 629-3799.
