STAR-SPANGLED FUN IN SHARON — 'STARS, STRIPES & COWBOYS'
The all-volunteer Sharon July 4th Committee hosted a day-long Independence Day celebration in the Village of Sharon on Thursday, July 4. Festivities included children's Big Wheel races and a patriotic "Stars, Stripes & Cowboys" parade in downtown Sharon, followed by the Party in the Park community festival and dusk fireworks at Walter S. Goodland Memorial Park.
Sibling rivalry
Siblings Rider Runnells (left), 3, and sister Summer, 4, square off against each other in the Sharon 4th of July Committee’s annual Big Wheel Race on Balwin Street in downtown Sharon.
American Legion Color Guard leads the Sharon Fourth of July parade
Sharon’s 75-minute Fourth of July parade was led by a veteran color guard drawn from three area American Legion Posts — Moser-Ortmann Post 130 of Sharon, Ingalls-Koeppen Post 102 of Walworth, and Wilkins-Kelly Post 450 of Darien.
American Legion Color Guard processes up Baldwin Street
Sharon's 75-minute Fourth of July paradewas led by a veteran color guard drawn from three area American Legion Posts — Moser-Ortmann Post 130 of Sharon, Ingalls-Koeppen Post 102 of Walworth, and Wilkins-Kelly Post 450 of Darien.
Big Foot Union High School Chapter of the Future Farmers of America
The Big Foot Union High School Future Farmers of America (FFA) float in the 2024 Sharon Fourth of July parade.
Starting line
Youngsters line up at Baldwin and Plain streets in downtown Sharon on Thursday, July 4 for the starts of the Sharon 4th of July Committee’s popular annual Big Wheel Races, part of a day-long slate of Independence Day activities in the 1,585-resident Walworth County village.
Sharon Chamber of Commerce Citizen of the Year Matt Diderich
Among those honored in the Sharon 4th of July Committee’s 2024 Independence Parade was Sharon Chamber of Commerce Citizen of the Year Matt Diderich, a recently-retired veteran Sharon Police Department officer.
Sharon parade crowd
A large crowd lines Baldwin Street in downtown Sharon last week for the Sharon 4th of July Committee's popular annual Indendence Day parade. The 2024 parade featured 148 units.
Walworth County Fair 2024 Fairest of the Fair Josie Vance
Walworth County Fair 2024 Fairest of the Fair Josie Vance was among the featured guests in the Sharon 4th of July Committee’s 2024 Independence Day parade through downtown Sharon. A 2020 graduate of Elkhorn Area High School, Elkhorn resident Vance is a dental assistant going to school to become a dental hygienist.
Walworth County Fair 2024 Fairest of the Fair Josie Vance
Walworth County Fair 2024 Fairest of the Fair Josie Vance was among the featured guests in the Sharon 4th of July Committee's 2024 Independence Day parade through downtown Sharon. A 2020 graduate of Elkhorn Area High School, Elkhorn resident Vance is a dental assistant going to school to become a dental hygienist.
1935 McCormick-Deering Farmall F-20 tractor
Located in the stateline heart of northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin farm country, Sharon’s annual Fourth of July parade always draws a wide array of vintage farm tractors from both sides of the border, including this 1935 McCormick-Deering Farmall F-20 tractor owned by Dick Stoxen of Harvard, Ill.
Harvard (Ill.) O.C.T.A.V.E. community band
Formed in May 2023 in Harvard, Ill., the Harvard O.C.T.A.V.E. (Orchestrating our Community Through A Virtuous Ensemble) community band played patriotic music in the Sharon Fourth of July parade.
City of Harvard, Ill. Milk Days float in the Sharon Fourth of July parade
Among the groups participating in the 2024 Sharon Fourth of July parade was the City of Harvard, Ill., seen here promoting the Harvard Milk Days Festival, the oldest continuous hometown festival in Illinois at 83 years. The Harvard Milk Days float featured this year’s Milk Days royalty, including Queen Estafany Castro (seated in the gazebo) and her court. The 84th Harvard Milk Days will be held June 6-8, 2025.
Sharon Chamber of Commerce Business of the Year honoree Myrt's Ice Cream Shoppe
Myrt’s Ice Cream Shoppe, 215 Baldwin St. in downtown Sharon, was featured prominently in the Sharon 4th of July Committee’s Independence Day parade as the Sharon Chamber of Commerce’s 2024 Business of the Year honoree. Housed in a circa-1885 Cream City brick building that’s been home to an ice cream parlor since 1978, the business took on its current Myrt’s designation in August 2020 with its purchase by husband and wife entrepreneurs Mike and Myrtle “Myrt” Munger, who are assisted by their daughters Michaela and Michenzie. Pictured on the Myrt’s float, from left, are Mike and Myrtle Munger, Maddie Smock, float designer Michenzie Munger, Caden Smith, Addie Smith, Breanna Walters, Grace Gallagher, Gianna Ross and Johnna Goings.
Rock-Ford Model A's Model A Restorers Club ride in the Sharon Fouth of July parade
Among the largest groups particiapting in Sharon’s Independence Day parade on Thursday, July 4 was the Rock-Ford Model A’s Model A Restorer’s Club from 148,719-resident Rockford, Illinois’ largest city outside metro Chicago. The club, founded in 1952, specializes in the restoration of 1928-1931 Ford Model A’s.
National Anthem salute
Walworth County Sheriff Dave Gerber (left) and Undersheriff Tom Hausner salute during the playing of the “Star-Spangled National” anthem in the heart of downtown Sharon as part of patriotic Fourth of July parade festivities in the 1,585-resident village.
Bringing out the big (water) guns
In a longtime holiday tradition, the Sharon Fire Department brought out its big water guns to the Sharon 4th of July Committee’s 2024 Independence Day parade, a big water fight where local volunteer firefighters get as good as they give from parade spectators well-armed with super-soakers, buckets of water, and water balloons.
Gary McAdams Band headlines Sharon's Party in the Park on Independence Day
The Clinton-based Gary McAdams Band were the main headlining entertainers at the Sharon July 4th Committee’s community Party in the Park festival on Independence Day at Walter S. Goodland Memorial Park.
Sharon Party in the Park attendees visit the festival market
An outdoor market featuring more than 30 vendors was among the attractions at the Sharon July 4th Committee's Party in the Park festival at Walter S. Goodland Memorial Park in Sharon, part of a day-long slate of Independence Day activities in the 1,585-resident village.
Sharon Lions Club corn roast at Walter S. Goodland Memorial Park
Jerry Olson, second vice president of the 20-member Sharon Lions Club, husks an ear of corn at the Sharon 4th of July Committee’s post-parade community Independence Day party at Walter S. Goodland Memorial Park in Sharon. The club roasted 30 dozen ears of sweet corn for party-goers.
Sharon Fire Department first pumper truck
Local history and hometown pride was on display at the Sharon 4th of July Committee’s Independence Day parade on Thursday, July 4 as the Sharon Fire Department’s restored first pumper truck, a Kenosha-built 1932 Pirsch, drove down the parade route. Peter Pirsch & Sons Co. (1900-1986) is feted by many as the first producer of motorized fire engines in the United States.
Eric Johnson
Reporter
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