Cordova dresses up in red, white and blue for its annual Fourth of July parade and patriotic celebration.
Nine-year- old history buff Luke Smith celebrated Independence Day with a ride in a 1942 Jeep used in World War II.
Donning a vintage helmet from the war, he spoke with equal levels of sincerity and enthusiasm about what it meant for him to cruise in the relic during the annual Cordova Community Center’s July Fourth parade on Thurs- day.
“I’m riding in a true piece of history,” Luke said.
He seemed less excited about throwing candy to the crowd. His fascination with the history of U.S. wars is rooted in his reverence for the soldiers who fought in combat.
“Even though war is a sad time, if we didn’t have war, we probably wouldn’t be a free country,” he said. “Our country could have
been taken over, but it didn’t because of our brave soldiers.”
People attending the event displayed their patriotism with decorated bicycles, festive f loats and red, white and blue outfits.
Chase and Remi Schaber added a flair of originality to their attire. The siblings wore full-body, spandex suits that covered their hands, feet and faces.
Chase, 11 years old, wore a royal blue outfit; Remi, 9, wore bright red. Chase got the idea after seeing a picture of the costumes in Party City. His sister decided to decorate the bikes they rode in the parade with colorful garland. With the help of their parents, the two fas- tened their red, white and blue capes and pedaled off, no easy feat in their face-covering costumes.
“You are half blind in these,” Remi said.
Despite their sight impairments, Chase and Remi bicycled down Sanga Road along with other children riding bikes, following vintage muscle cars, trailers, miniature ponies and more.
The backdrop of the event was the Cordova Community Center, which, like the United States, was also celebrating a birthday. For 100 years, area residents have utilized the building, first as a school and now as a community center. To formally commemorate its centennial, the center, at 1017 Sanga Road, will host a celebration and open house from 2 to 5 p.m. Aug. 10 with refreshments and door prizes.