The Summit Hill Memorial Day Parade Committee has selected longtime Legionnaire Clem Midas to be to be the grand marshal of the 2024 parade, Carbon County’s largest tribute to America on Memorial Day.

Midas, a resident of Summit Hill, will lead the three-division parade that will step off at 11 a.m. Monday, May 27, after the traditional memorial service that will begin at 10 a.m. in the center of Ludlow Park.

“I’m very honored to even be considered,” said Midas. “My first reaction is there has to be other people more deserving, and so I was initially reluctant to accept the role. But it’s a great honor. I know my parents would be very proud of this. My father (Clem Sr.) and his four brothers (Tom, John, Michael and Henry) all enlisted in the Army during World War II, and so I will lead the parade as a proud representative of all veterans, but especially those from Post 316 and my family.”

Midas will ring the old Summit Hill High School bell in Ludlow Park to signal the start of the parade, which will proceed west on Ludlow Street, round St. Joseph Catholic Church of the Panther Valley and then proceed east to the cemetery complex at the extreme end of the community.

Parade committee chairman Thomas Vermillion said of Midas, “Clem was a unanimous choice of both the American Legion and the parade committee. He is a longtime member of the community and has influenced the lives of so many people from Summit Hill and the surrounding areas over the years.

“Hundreds of people worked for Clem during his career at Silberline Manufacturing, most of which are from the immediate area. I personally know Clem and his family, and know what a popular and respected guy he is. He’s a great asset to the Legion and the Summit Hill community.”

Background

Midas attended SS. Peter and Paul Parochial School, Lansford, before graduating in 1969 with the first full four-year class at Panther Valley High School following the formation of the jointure.

In 1970, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy and went on to serve 4½ years before his honorable discharge in 1975 at the Philadelphia Naval Station.

His military career started out in Pensacola, Florida, where he was trained as a communications technician before reporting to the Naval Air Facility Adak in the Aleutian Islands of Alaska.

He went back to Pensacola for specialty training in communications before being assigned to the Naval Base Guam and the Andersen Air Force Base that housed the Navy’s Combat Support Squadron 25 on the northern section of the island. Later, he served in Inner Harbor, Maine, where he finished up his “hitch” before his discharge.

When he returned from service duty, Midas worked for three years at Western Electric in Allentown.

He later would get a position at Silberline Manufacturing, Lansford, where he worked for 42 years before retiring.

During his Silberline career, Midas was a union worker as a member of the Aluminum and Steelworkers unions, before becoming a supervisor, shipping manager and production manager. In 1999, he accepted as position with the company’s IT department as a production analyst and then retired as its senior global analyst.

He and his wife, the former Teresa Dubosky, daughter of the late Michael and Teresa (Cinicola) Dubosky of Summit Hill, were married in 1976. They are the parents of a son Shaun, married for the former Katie Collevechio, and daughter Michele Lee, wife of Ian Miller, both of Summit Hill. A third child, “Clemmie,” died in infancy.

Midas has been a Legionnaire for over 50 years, including the past 30 years of active service to the Davis-Lawton-Yurko-Breslin-Bevich Post 316, and previously being a member of the Lansford Legion for 30 years.

His volunteerism with Post 316 includes managing the day-to-day bar operations as steward. He first became sergeant-at-arms for the post, and for the past 20 years has held the duties of adjutant.

Midas was a member of the former SS. Peter and Paul Catholic Church, Lansford and is a current member of St. Joseph Catholic Church of the Panther Valley, Summit Hill, and a former member of the Lansford AMVETS and Coaldale VFW posts.

He also belongs to the Notre Dame Club of Schuylkill County.

A son of the late Clem and Margaret (Hager) Midas of Lansford, he is one of three siblings. He has a brother David, and his wife, Pat, of Lansford, and a sister Nikki, wife of Richard Leonzi of Allentown.

As for the parade, Vermillion said, “In some regards, we’re still seeing the effects of COVID with regard to parade participation.”

He said the some groups that used to join the line of march “are still not returning.”

“However, we do have several new groups and organizations joining the parade this year. We actually need to expand to get back to four divisions.”

The committee chairman said the parade this year will host “several new bands and musical groups and a few new float contest entries.”