Figure 1.--Here we see an Indepence Day Parade in a typical small town. We think the photograph was probably taken in the 1950s. The cars are a good indication. Scout contingents were always important on the se small town parades. And always important with the Scouts is flying our country's flag.

There are certain days that Americans love to stage parades. This generally begins with St. Partivks Day in big cities with Irish populstions. By March the worst of the winter is usually over. May Day is an imprtant holiday, but here the celebration is usually at schools or in parks. There are parades on Memorial Day (last Monday in May). This used to be Decoration Day. Perhaps the bigest day for parades is Independence Day (July 4) at the height of summer. Columbus Day also involved parades in big cities withn Italian populations. Scouts, Cubs, and other youth groups by the 1910s were important participants in these parades. And this continued for sevral decades. The Boys and girls wear their full unifirms and proudly wave the American fkag and Scout banners. The Scout contingents were especially important in small town parades. Unlike big cities, it is more difficult putting together a parade than in big cities. There is generally only one marching band available, the local high school band. So Scout and other youth group units are an imprtant contingent. The Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts were by far the most important youth groups for these parades. Of course the Boy Scouts include the Cubs and the Girl Scouts include the Brownies in these parade contingents. This began to decline in the 1970s as Scouting began to decline in importance.