Story and photography by Alexandra Fernholz

The July morning was hot and overcast, but still the people gathered. A little sweaty and very excited, they looked down the road, waiting for the first float of the parade to appear. 

Liberty Township’s Fourth of July Parade departed from Lakota East High School at 9 a.m. and finished at Liberty Junior School (LJS) promptly an hour later. The 34th annual parade featured floats representing some of the Township’s most prominent groups, such as the fire department, East’s marching thunderhawks, and the Butler County Sheriff’s Office.  

After participation in the parade increased in the last few years, township officials changed the parade route, which formerly ended at Liberty Park. This year, the floats began at East, and, led by two representatives of the sheriff’s department on motorcycles, paraded down Wyandot Lane and onto Yankee Road up to LJS. Groups then disbanded as the parade ended, disassembling  their equipment in the parking lot of the school.