Veterans couldn’t ask for a more majestic exaltation than they received on Sunday during the Carbon County Veterans Parade, held in Jim Thorpe.

Splendid weather (temps in the low 60s, sunshine), a great turnout of spectators and excellent representation by all parts of the county made the salute to veterans an impressive event.

The four-division march took over an hour to pass the reviewing stand. It featured color guards from throughout Carbon County, three high school bands, numerous Scout units and a large participation by veterans.

The parade was hosted by the Jim Thorpe American Legion.

Bestowed the honor of grand marshal was Legion member Robert Alvin Strohl Jr., who has been a member of Post 304 for 68 years. He served as commander in 1969-1970 and has held numerous other positions.

He and his wife of 64 years, the former Barbara Redline, rode in the first division in a convertible.

Strohl had been the organizer of the annual Veterans Day Parade twice in years past.

The parade was led by the Jim Thorpe Police Department and the Jim Thorpe UVO color guard.

Then the first of three of the high school bands, the Jim Thorpe Area High School Band wearing red, white and blue uniforms, played selections as it passed.

Other high schools represented were the Lehighton Area High School Band and the Palmerton High School Band.

The JROTC unit of Panther Valley High School carried the division banners and had a group of about two dozen members in the line of march.

Also marching in the first division was Christine LeClair, Director of Veterans Affairs in Carbon County.

The reviewing stand was in front of the Jim Thorpe American Legion Post. The parade was stopped for a brief ceremony during which a gun salute occurred in honor of veterans.

Fire departments were well-represented in the parade with about two dozen pieces of apparatus from numerous fire departments included.

Carbon County Commissioner Wayne Nothstein, who is a military veteran, marched in front of the Lehighton Fire Department contingent with two females, all waving large flags. Nothstein is an active member and officer of the Lehighton Fire Department for over 50 years.

Children were treated to a generous amount of candy tossed to them by many parade participants.

The parade received great compliments from the spectators.

Joseph Sebelin of Jim Thorpe said of the parade, “That was inspiring.” He was especially impressed with the large number of young people taking part, including various Scout units.

“I got a chill when the Lehighton Band played all the themes for the four branches,” he said.

Len Kovach of Lansford, a military veteran, said, “It was awesome.” He praised the organizers for putting together an event to make veterans feel proud.

Of course there were plenty of novelty attractions in the parade including miniature cars driven by the Shriners, Santa Claus, a calliope and popcorn machine that played music on the back of a pickup truck and a large number of antique cars brought by two antique car clubs.