Parade observes Fourth of July in Gardnerville

Cruising down Glenwood Drive in a 1955 red Ford Thunderbird, 104-year-old Harriet Cox led the neighborhood's Fourth of July parade as grand marshal, smiling and waving to family members, friends and neighbors.

"She really enjoyed it," said Marjorie Hofmann, Cox's 73-year-old daughter. "I made her a costume and I wasn't sure she would wear it, but she did."

Although Cox is deaf, Hofmann said she communicates with her mother by writing notes. When the 104-year-old woman wasn't sure what to do as grand marshal, Hofmann told her to just smile and wave at everyone.

This was the second year of the Glenwood Drive parade, an event organized by Glenwood Drive resident Tracy Clark. Clark said this year's parade attracted at least 60 participants and even more spectators.

"We had a lot more people there than we did last year," Clark said.

Clark asked Cox to serve as the grand marshall two or three months in advance, and offered to let her ride in her parent's Ford Thunderbird.

"Once you celebrate 104 birthdays you have to ride in style," Clark said.

Some participants rode on lawnmowers, other, younger participants rode in wagons. Clark's family provided music from the back of their float.

"They had patriotic music going and it made the spirit to me," Hofmann said.

The parade still mainly attracts neighborhood residents, but Clark said she plans to organize the parade again next year.

"I would love for it to get to the point where people just assume (the parade) is happening every year," she said. "Mostly we're going to continue doing it because the feedback is so positive."