'A chance for Dover to reunite': 400th anniversary parade marches proudly through rain

DOVER — Coleen Ayers of Dover had envisioned this day for a long time.

“It’s been in my head for many years,” she said of the float she designed and painted to represent her family in the 2023 Dover 400th Anniversary Parade Sunday, July 2. Her grandfather Patrick McCarthy emigrated from Ireland and bought farmland in Dover, where he met his future wife, Annie Greene, who worked in the textile mills in the city.

When viewed from the front, the float representing the McCarthy and Greene families depicted a mill in Ireland and from the rear the Cocheco Mills in downtown Dover so that as it passed, parade-goers could see how her family came from Ireland to Dover. Photographs of dozens of family members throughout the years encircled the bottom of the float, which won the Best In Parade award.

Her sister, Lisa Sheehan, who now lives in Thornton, New Hampshire, also made a quilt out of reproductions of fabric that was woven in the Cocheco mills when her grandmother worked there. She had planned to carry the quilt in the parade, but decided not to expose it to Sunday's relentless rain.

The sisters were joined by about 45 members of their clan, who marched behind the float playing kazoos.

Dover families honor the past amid the downpour

Their story was a familiar one among those who marched in the parade. Despite the downpours, parade participants showed their dedication and determination to honor the history of the city and their families by marching, playing, dancing and singing in the rain.

Corey MacKoul of Dover led the charge for his family’s float with the them “From ‘Irish Need Not Apply’ to ‘Irish-Owned Businesses,’” which paid tribute to the businesses his family has created in the area — John Flynn Insurance, Kelley’s Row, Lynch Insurance, State Farm Peggy Lynch Insurance, and Koul Contracting.

On the float with about 20 family members in attendance was a trunk his family members brought with them when they came from Ireland around 1900.

The Dillon and Hallworth families’ float also celebrated the businesses the family created and operated in Dover, from grocery stores to a piano tuning service to a barbershop.

“We just wanted to honor the past and the people who have come before us,” said Tom Hallworth, whose float featured the many businesses’ names like Paper N Pine, Dillon’s Saloon and Dillon Bros. Grocery, which had multiple markets around the city, he said. The float also featured a QR code, which took scanners to a website that recounts the family’s history in Dover.

Hallworth has also curated an exhibit, which is on display through Aug. 13 at the Thom Hindle Gallery at the Woodman Museum in Dover, featuring posters that hung in his family’s barbershop in Dover from 1925 to 1929, promoting cultural, sporting and entertainment events. Each framed poster features a QR code where exhibit-goers can learn the history surrounding the event.

The Nook restaurant put together a float featuring employees in a backyard barbecue.

“We want to spread a sense of community,” said Jeff Zelisk, owner of the 6-year-old business. “We enjoy being a part of the city.”

“It’s important to support the community,” said Ryan Colbath, who, born and raised in Dover, wanted his aptly-named company, 1623 Land Services, to be represented. He also owns Ryan’s Tree Service.

A trolley provided by Chris and Bess Cauchon carried 13 members of the Dover High School Class of 1948. When asked about the parade, class member Priscilla Carabela Schanda of Newmarket said, ”I am very tickled to be in it.”

The Dover Housing Authority float celebrating the organization’s 75th anniversary carried staff members enjoying a July 4 barbecue. Dover Main Street’s float featured a luggage cart used at the Dover train station in the early 1900s and a banner that said the organization has been “Preserving and Promoting Dover since 1999.”

The McDonough-Grimes School of Irish Dance, located in Dover, built an Irish Pub for its float with a dozen Irish dancers performing behind it. Nine-year-old Finnegan Pikul of Wakefield, who has been dancing with the school for five years, said, “I love Irish dancing and I want to support the community” as his reason for wanting to dance in the rain.

Waste Management’s garbage truck featured trash collector Cody Veno, who has a following on social media, and said, “Dover’s my favorite town to do trash.” He also said the rain didn’t bother him. “I’m in it all the time.”

A flood alert issued for Strafford County at 4:52 p.m. advised that total rainfall would range between 1 to 3 inches on Sunday.

Diverse range of of performers in parade

Parade participants came from near and far to participate in the parade. Neighboring Durham showed its support with its 1931 Seagrave Suburbanite fire engine, which was the town’s first custom-built fire truck, said Durham firefighter Devon Skerry, who drove the fire truck with his father, David.

Bands of all genres from bagpipers to brass bands came from as far away as Boston and Rhode Island. Boston Nam Pai Lion Dance Team wove its way down Central Avenue.

Tracey Mazur of Warren, Massachusetts, and the Clowning for Kids Foundation said they made the trip with 14 clowns in tow because “We love a parade and we love to support a community celebration. And a 400th anniversary was irresistible.”

The parade featured many diverse groups including the University of New Hampshire cheerleading team, radio stations WOKQ, Frank 98.9 and The Shark, The Rotary Club of Dover, the 18th Colonial Militia, 2nd NH Regiment of Dover, the Hot Tamale Band, NH Pipes and Drum Band, the Shriners mini-cars, The Blues Brothers Next Generation Band, Cocheco Valley Rollers roller derby team, Dover Baseball, Granite State Highlanders, Rhode Island Highlanders,The New Liberty Jazz Band, American Independence Museum, My School and Riverside Rest Home among its more than 90 participants.

Umbrella-toting parade attendees show dedication to Dover

Umbrellas lined the parade route along Central Avenue from Sixth Street to the Pine Hill Cemetery. Parade-watchers huddled in the doorways and under the awnings of Central Avenue businesses. One couple parked their pickup truck in front of H&R Block on Central Avenue and set up their deck umbrella over their chairs in the truck’s bed to get one of the best and driest views of the parade. A family of four huddled under a quartet of umbrellas at the corner of Central Avenue and Third Street waited patiently in a downpour.

“We live in Dover, love Dover and my mom’s in the parade, in the drum and bagpipe band,” said Sarah Wedge, who was with her husband David Yunker, and children Rydia, 11, and Lincoln, 8. “We here for my grandmother,” Rydia said and Lincoln agreed.

“I’m here to celebrate 400 years. I love parades. It’s important to support the city,” said Debra Lane of Dover.

“I’ve probably seen every parade Dover’s ever had,” said Daphne Rees, who grew up in Dover, but now lives in Rochester. “I used to walk down this street every day to the high school, which was next to the library.”

Born and bred in Dover, Scott Fernald, 40, still lives in the city.

“I think it’s a nice chance for everyone to get together, reconnect and enjoy everything Dover has to offer,” Fernald said. “It’s a chance for Dover to reunite.”

Courtney Peters and Steven Ramos of Dover waited in the rain with their son, Wyatt. “I love parades, but if they are too loud, I want to go home,” Wyatt said.

“It’s for her,” Alex Amarao said, nodding to her 7-year-old daughter Zoey, when asked why she came to the parade with her husband Chuck. “I know all the hard work people have put into this and have traveled far to be here. I know what it takes to put together a parade float. I feel bad about the rain and want to support them.”

“And her friend said, ‘You have to watch it now, because we won’t be here for the 500th,'” Chuck added.

This article originally appeared on Fosters Daily Democrat: Dover NH 400th Anniversary Parade 2023 a celebration in rain