Longfellow's Traditional 4th Planning its 41st

It’s hard to know what sustains a neighborhood parade after families move on, after communities change, after four long decades. Perhaps it’s the energy of a dedicated few, or the vision and hope of new and different residents, or just maybe it’s the unspoken spirit of those like the late Bob Russell, whose name is synonymous with Longfellow Friends of the Traditional Fourth, Howard County’s longest ongoing community parade.

Russell, who died in August 2010, was the parade’s coordinator since the late '70s, when the Russell family first moved into the neighborhood. Barbara Russell, the late Bob Russell’s wife, is now the parade’s coordinator and is bringing things together along with their son Danny.

She didn’t hold the head title, but Barbara was just as involved with the event as her husband, ensuring permits were in place, information went out, and participants were ready to walk the route, rain or shine. This is the event’s 41st year.

Although many of the parade’s traditions will remain intact, Barbara says the event’s open-door policy makes it a day of eclectic surprises.

“You just never know who’s going to participate. We get people dressed up in different costumes…that make it a lot of fun,” she said.

Count on seeing the Harper’s Choice Swim Team, members of the Harper’s Choice Village Board, fire trucks, Boy Scouts and some fancy street painting by the folks on Hesperus Drive.

Of course the softball game between the Eliots Oak Nuts and the Hesperus Wrecks is a major highlight (the two major streets that form the Longfellow parade route are Eliots Oak Road and Hesperus Drive). The Wrecks adopted their name from a narrative poem by William Wadsworth Longfellow, the neighborhood's namesake.

No doubt Bob Russell will be on the minds of many long time spectators, as they remember how he made it all work and perpetuated an event for the local history books.

During the parade’s early years, Longfellow was a village of families from different cultures and countries. The parade showcased this diversity, explains Barbara. 

“It was a time when people dressed up in different costumes representing their country. I remember Bob dressed up as a Chinese Dragon Master. It was really something,” she said.

These days the traditional Fourth takes on its own life and has changed over the years. As residents move to other communities, they take their ideas, their participation and sometimes their floats.

But spectators can count on hearing the sweet sounds from the impromptu jazz group that’s a sort of informal welcoming ensemble that gathers on Eliots Oak Road. They do not walk the parade route but set the tempo and mood for those who do.

Barbara says for those who plan to participate should arrive at the starting point —the Longfellow Elementary School parking lot—between 9 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. July 4th.  

A new addition to the parade is the Food for Tomorrow Truck, which will accept non-perishable food from donors, Barbara said.