STOW: Tom McKinney was working on his first frozen margarita by 10 a.m.
Must be the Fourth of July.
“It’s tradition!” the Stow resident said, surrounded by other customers and neighbors of Pancho & Lefty’s.
For two decades, they have made the Mexican restaurant on Kent Road their ground zero along the route of one of Northeast Ohio’s largest Independence Day parades.
On Monday, a couple of dozen patrons squeezed elbow to elbow on the small patio outside or hovered around the tiny indoor bar, toasting good times while waiting for the first of 134 marching displays to reach them.
Owners Julie and Rene Ferrusquia — who always close the restaurant to food service so their employees can be with family — worked feverishly to keep the drinks flowing. On a small patch of lawn outside, their children sold chips and salsa to families lining the sidewalk.
“We originally opened up [on July Fourth] 20 years ago to give away coffee and hot chocolate. It was cold that day. Then someone asked for a margarita. It just became a big thing,” Julie Ferrusquia said.
McKinney has been coming since the parade started in 1996. He not only loves the event — “all the bands and the Stow guys and neighboring police departments and the military units and the funny people who walk with the parade” — McKinney said he even likes the long walk from his parked car. It’s part of the community experience.
“I probably pass a hundred people I know getting here,” he laughed.
A bit farther down Kent Street, Anna and Jim Andrews were repeating their own 13-year tradition. The night before, they backed their car into a prime parking spot facing the road.
When they arrived Monday morning, they simply popped the hatchback of their pre-parked car and tailgated, waiting for the marching bands, military units, floats and fire engines to put on their show.
They met at a Fourth of July party 13 years ago, and married on the holiday three years ago. The fact that Jim Andrews survived a cancer scare has made these memories all the more precious.
“It’s our celebration, our fun yearly event,” Anna Andrews said. “We usually have a party afterward and keep on going.”
Parked next to them, several members of the Brown family of Cuyahoga Falls were perched in the back of a truck, having learned the pre-parking tip from the Andrews years ago.
Remembering the way Spider-Man posed with her grandson last year, Christina Brown was looking forward to snapping more pictures.
“It’s a big family day for us,” she said, noting that her daughter’s family travels from Indiana to keep up the tradition.
Suddenly across the street, 7-year-old Jazmin Wallace shouted a warning to everyone within earshot:
“Here they come! Here they come!” she said as the flashing lights of police cars crested a hill and soldiers carrying a variety of military flags announced their arrival.
“Good job, Army!” Jazmin cheered.
About 45 minutes after stepping off from the Stow-Kent Plaza, the first units reached the end of the route flanked by the Stow Cemetery and Holy Family Parish. It would take another hour and a half for the march to end.
While the parade route was full of flag-waving patriots in red, white and blue fashion, it’s been said the big guy upstairs is also a fan of the event.
According to the city, in 20 years it has never rained a drop during the procession.
Paula Schleis can be reached at 330-996-3741 or pschleis@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow her on Twitter at http://twitter.com/paulaschleis.