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Published Tuesday, December 15, 2009 in Local

Luthersville celebrates with parade

By Winston Skinner

The Newnan Times-Herald

The famous Budweiser Clydesdales pranced through downtown Luthersville on Saturday -- pulling a large red wagon.

A light rain -- sometimes laced with icy droplets -- began to fall just before the noon start time for the annual holiday parade. People interested in seeing the famed horses came to Unity Elementary School early and watched the preparations for the holiday event.

The Luthersville parade was one of a trio of planned events for the legendary horses. Shoppers stopped checking their lists to see the horses at Ashley Park on Friday evening. A planned event in downtown Senoia on Sunday afternoon was canceled because of inclement weather, making their Luthersville appearance the last in the local area.

Parade watchers gathered at several spots along Main Street to see the procession move through town. Meriwether County Sheriff Steve Whitlock led the parade, followed by the Clydesdales.

Overall, the parade reflected the religious fervor, school pride and agricultural heritage of the community which is located in north Meriwether County hugging the Coweta line.

Faith Baptist Church from Primrose had an elaborate float. The first section featured large tablet-shaped pieces emblazoned with the story of Jesus' birth from Luke. The rear portion of the float was a group seated and listening to the story of that first Christmas.

The message on Faith's float was "We're All Kids At Christmas. Jesus Is The Savior For All Kids."

Members of New Mt. Bethel Baptist Church rode on the back of a pickup -- along with a jolly inflated Santa and Christmas tree.

Melanie Stanley-Soulen, pastor of Luthersville United Methodist Church, was joined by Stephanie, Daniella and John Strube for a walk in the parade with a large, festive banner trimmed with green tinsel. David Strube followed them in a truck that had a package wrapped with forest green paper affixed to its side. The card on the package read: "God's Greatest Gift: To You."

The Greenville High School Marching Patriot Band brought pageantry and music to the annual Yuletide event. A group from Heritage Christian School at Thomas Crossroads and a Girl Scout group were also among those walking in the parade.

A procession of five vintage tractors -- a red Massey-Ferguson, a green John Deere, a red Farmall and two gray and red Fords -- formed a neat line. The farm tractors chugged down Main Street as tractors often did in years gone by when they were headed to work in fields that would yield corn or cotton.

Two men on horseback sported cowboy hats as they followed the tractors.

Santa Claus riding on a bright red Meriwether County Fire Department pumper is a tradition at the Luthersville parade. For the 2009 version, Santa waved from just behind the cab. His special helper, who wore a female version of Santa's garb was Mariea Murphy, the local merchant who has organized the parade for several years.

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