Walton will serve as grand marshal for Tamaqua Veterans Day Parade
Frank Walton has been selected as grand marshal for Tamaqua’s Veterans Day Parade, which will be held at 10 a.m. on Saturday. KATHY KUNKEL/TIMES NEWS
Tamaqua’s Veterans Day Parade will be held this Saturday, with U.S. Navy veteran Frank Walton serving as grand marshal.
Staging for the parade will begin at 9 a.m. on East Broad Street, in the area of the former CVS. The line of march is set to start at 10 a.m., after a rifle salute at the War Memorial at the east end of town.
Walton, 82, is a 1954 graduate of Tamaqua High School who enlisted in the Navy after graduation. He completed boiler technician school at the Philadelphia Naval Yard before being assigned to the USS Forrest Sherman, the first of a new class of destroyers built after World War II. After leaving the Navy in 1956, Walton returned home, having attained the rank of Petty Officer Third Class. He has been a member of Tamaqua American Legion, C.H. Berry Post 173, since that time.
He worked as a boiler technician for Bethlehem Steel for 30 years and was then employed as a salesman for Rottet Motors of Tamaqua. He also served as Tamaqua’s mayor, having been selected to fill the position when then-Mayor Jerry Knowles was elected to the position of Schuylkill County Commissioner. In his tenure, he made many improvements to the Tamaqua Police Department.
Walton and his wife, the former Lois Buck, have five children: Jefferson, who died in 2007; Bradley F.; Amy L. Mateyak; Cindy Viel and Allison Morrison. Their grandchildren include: Olivia, Sadie and Ella Morrison; Tyler McLaughlin; Laurie Oldt; Leah and Lottie Mateyak; Jessica Anderson; and Danielle Toffer. They also have six great-grandchildren.
The Tamaqua American Legion Color Guard will lead the parade west on Broad Street and continue to Lehigh Street. Following the parade, there will be a brief service outside the Tamaqua American Legion Post, which is located at 206 W. Broad St., Tamaqua.
Parade organizers welcome everyone to drive, ride or walk in the parade, including all veterans, businesses, fire companies, churches, fire companies, youth groups, clubs etc.
No preregistration is required.
Everyone is simply asked to show their support by watching or taking part in the parade.
For more information, call 570-668-3356 or 570-952-1214.
