MY HUSBAND WOULD HAVE jumped on the invitation without hesitation.
But I held back, reluctant to accept Harold Martin’s offer to ride in the Rice County Steam and Gas Engines Show parade. You see, I’ve never ridden in a parade and I feel more comfortable on the audience side where I can blend into the crowd, hidden behind my camera.
So, initially, Randy and I declined and told Harold we’d catch up with him if we changed our minds.
Harold Martin of rural Northfield with his 1948 Dodge truck outfitted with a 1960 Civil Defense siren.
“I don’t want to do it,” I reiterated after Harold and his friend, Gabe, drove off in Harold’s 1948 Dodge truck with a 1960 Civil Defense siren mounted on the back and a rescued-from-the-side-of-the-road sofa planted behind the cab.
That would be our parade spot, on that cream-colored, canopied couch.
I just couldn’t picture myself up there, acting like I was the queen of something or other.
But then Randy said, “Let’s do it.”
And just like that I caved to peer pressure and we headed down the dusty gravel road behind and between tractors, pulled the swimming pool ladder from the back of Harold’s truck, scampered up (well, not quite scampered) and began our tour along the parade route.
My sofa seat view of the parade route as the Civil Defense siren swings my way. I covered my left ear (I’m deaf in my right) every time the siren passed by my face. These warning sirens were used from 1952-1970, Harold tells me.
And you know what. Except for the rotating and screaming air raid siren swinging uncomfortably close to us on the couch, the whole experience was simply a hoot. I shot photos and watched the faces of audience members who mostly smiled, finding the humor in Harold’s quirky, movable warning system.
About that Harold. He calls himself an opportunist, not only scooping up the freebie couch, but also saving the outdated and scrapped 1960 Civil Defense siren. His nephew was about to toss it.
“Somebody should keep one of these,” he remembers thinking before doing just that, then repairing the siren and mounting it on the back of his vintage Dodge. He showed me a photo from 1952 of a siren, like his, attached to a truck. The portable warning system was used in Seattle and had a range of eight miles.
Harold’s siren, obviously, doesn’t have that range or volume.
The U.S. Air Force Missile Test Center replica is housed in the box, right. And there’s the pool ladder Randy and I used to climb onto the back of the truck.
He does have, though, a missile warning system in place. Or, more accurately, he has a U.S. Air Force Missile Test Center, purchased on e-Bay for $50, attached to the rear of the flatbed. The 1963 Marx toy set shows a guarded scene of U.S. missiles ready to launch against the Soviet Union.
Remember the Cold War school drills of hiding under your desk and covering your head with your hands? Pretty silly, huh?
But then so is settling onto a recycled couch and riding on a make-shift Civil Defense truck in a rural Minnesota parade. Who cares, though? Apparently not me.
© Copyright 2012 Audrey Kletscher Helbling
Minnesota Prairie Roots 
You are hilarious.. good for you! I love the siren too c
I still cannot believe I rode in that parade. This is so out of character for me. Just goes to show you’re never too old.
You sound so much like my husband, I would be the one saying, “lets do it” (as long as I’M not the main attraction). He would have been mortified. I’m glad you had a nice time and enjoyed it!
I am always the hesitant one, not a risk taker, that’s for sure. But this didn’t seem to involve too much risk and I figure the spectators were looking at that Civil Defense siren and Harold’s truck, not me.
There’s something to be said for joining the parade once in a while. It sounds like a great day!
It was a great day, and I especially enjoy meeting interesting people (posts to come about two) and shopping at the flea market.
I like riding in parades! 🙂
So, then what parades have you ridden in? And will you be riding in the Worthington Turkey Day parade this coming weekend? I expect a full report on the even.t
Ah, you are indeed up to date! YES – I’ll be on the Girl Scouts 100th anniversary float along with K and L. Should be fun. I haven’t actually been in a parade for YEARS…when I was a kid I don’t think that a fourth of July went by without me being on a float – church, or school, or whatever. There’s a picture of me in my 9th grade yearbook on the AFS float…which, as I recall, had something to do with foreign exchange students…I was dressed as a Swiss Girl, as I recall!
I saw a segment on WCCO TV last night about Turkey Days, which is why I am up to date. Well, at least you will be on a float rather than walking. So much easier. Smile and wave pretty.
OH, yes, they were here last week taping – I wanted to see it but we don’t get any channels from The Cities. Did they have the high school marching band on it? I know a lot of kids in the band and they really do a fantastic job!
Yes, the marching band was featured in the piece.
They have worked so hard and done so well in the past few years. It’s always great to see kids succeed!
Where did he get the Thunderbolt from and Minneapolis MN still has there CD Era Thunderbolt 1000T Siren System in service for Tornado Warnings but by next year Minneapolis MN will be replacing thier system in favor of a battery backup system of 2001-130s also ST Paul MN replaced thier system of Thunderbolt 1000s with 2001-130s this past spring there was a news story on it on KSTP Channel 5 so if anybody has been through Minneapolis MN during test day on the first Wednesday you might of heard that roar of the Thunderbolt like you heard and seen this one
I know only that the siren came from a nephew who worked for a city, or something; I don’t have details. Harold adjusted his siren so it does not run at full volume or I never would have been sitting that close to it. Thanks for the info on the sirens in Minneapolis and St. Paul. Interesting.
That’s a federal thunderbolt siren, made from 1952 to 1990. The key to making it loud is the blower but I’m not sure if you still have it (the big and heavy yellow box). I’ll have the exact same kind but made later. It’s from 1975. Thank you.
Thanks for the info. I find these quite the interesting item to collect.