Northwood Veterans Day Parade marks 5th year

ELYRIA — Hundreds of students lined the sidewalks ringing the Elyria Schools' Northwood campus Tuesday — waving, cheering and holding signs of thanks as veterans circled in their vehicles, waving and blowing the vehicles' horns. Tuesday marked five years since the annual Northwood Veterans Day Parade replaced the more traditional Veterans Day assembly for Elyria's northside students, and organizers said the event has grown and evolved every year to become something more. Former Northwood Elementary teacher Mary Karlovec served as grand marshal of the parade alongside Mayor Kevin Brubaker. Karlovec said it was strange to participate in the parade, rather than to watch it. Karlovec, who spent 48 years teaching in Elyria Schools before ending her career at Northwood, said that Windsor Elementary, the predecessor of Northwood, always had a large assembly in honor of Veterans Day and brought in veterans to speak to the children. But, when students moved into Northwood Elementary in 2021, COVID-19 precautions were still in place, and the school was unable to bring veterans in during the school day. "I said, 'You know what, we are the only school with a parking lot that goes all the way around the building, why don't we have a parade?'" Karlovec said Tuesday. "Everybody said 'Huh?' but we did, and it was so successful." Karlovec chaired the school committee that runs the event, but after retiring last year she turned that job over to Carla Valles, a special education paraprofessional at the school. "It takes 10 of us to do what she (Karlovec) did," Valles said Tuesday. Karlovec said the event adapts and improves every year, starting with only the parade but growing to include a week of lessons about Veterans Day, drawings and letters for the visitors and a "Wall of Honor," where students tell the story of their own family members who are veterans. Valles said that one of the major benefits of the parade is that it opens up the event to any veteran who wants to participate, rather than a few selected speakers and veterans related to students. "Especially because we have veterans who are non-ambulatory, so this gives them a chance to be a part of it," she said. "It is a great lesson for the kids as well, because we spend the week talking to them about the different services and we had a young man read today about what Veterans Day is about." Also over the course of the week, students participate in a "Penny War" fundraiser to support Honor Flight Cleveland, a nonprofit that flies veterans to Washington, D.C., to be recognized and honored. Not including this year, Northwood students have raised more than $7,000 since the drive began in 2021, the same year the parade started. Communications and Marketing Director Amy Higgins said that the district would have a final tally for money raised this year later in the week. After the parade, veterans and their families were invited inside the middle school for coffee and doughnuts. A group of young students sang the Pledge of Allegiance and then thanked the veterans again for their service. Army veteran Michael Walters said he has been attending the Veterans Day events since his oldest child was at Windsor Elementary about 15 years ago, including through the switch from assembly to parade. "I honestly look forward to it every year," Walters said. "All the young kids out there braving the weather and everything, the homemade signs, them waving and a lot of them being really into it is cool. It is nice that the school isn't afraid to teach about the military and veterans and that aspect of life, versus kind of shying away from it." Karlovec said that she loves being able to meet and speak with the veterans after the event. "This is absolutely my favorite thing that we do, because to see the veterans and have them come up and say thank you for remembering us and I think we do not do that well as a (society)," Karlovec said. "So to be able to have that opportunity to do that, and that is something that Northwood has become known for, is just wonderful." Contact Owen MacMillan at (440) 329-7123 or omacmillan@chroniclet.com.