Marblehead native Robert Boytim to serve as grand marshal of Perch Festival Parade
MARBLEHEAD - Robert S. Boytim, a Marblehead native and one of Ohio’s longest-serving elected officials, will serve as grand marshal of the Marblehead Peninsula Lions Perch Festival Parade at 10 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 26.
The annual festival runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at James Park. There will be music, arts and crafts, raffles and food.
Boytim, 93, began his elected service with the Marblehead Village Council in January 1958 and was one of the first community leaders with the foresight to address the need for a public water system, according to a news release.
Boytim serves village for decades
In 1960, he was appointed to the Village of Marblehead Board of Public Affairs, and to oversee the development of the current water system. Boytim was continuously re-elected to the board for 62 consecutive years. When the Board of Public Affairs was dissolved in October 2022, it ended his term as one of the longest-serving elected officials in Ohio history. He is also the oldest living elected official in the state.
Throughout his lifetime, Boytim ran various businesses in the community to support the citizens and to meet their needs. He was a business owner of Boytim’s Grocery for 40 years.
He is still known as the “Critter Man” and “Ice Man” of Marblehead — for two of his side businesses as a pest exterminator and for his bagged ice locations around town. In the 1940s, he was a charter captain for Father Schaefer of St. Joseph Catholic Church. He continued to charter into his 80s. Today, he still loves to fish for perch and walleye and enjoys spending time with his family, especially his great-grandchildren.
Parade grand marshal still loves to fish
“Dad is very humbled to be the grand marshal of this year’s Lion Perch Festival Parade,” said his daughter, Bethanne Krynock. “He has been honored to serve the Village of Marblehead Board of Public Affairs as president for the people of our small town."
Parade Chairwoman Jane Danchisen Pittman said the parade steps on Lifeboat Lane, between Clemons Cemetery and Lucien Clemons Park. She encourages residents and visitors to watch the parade along Main Street. The parade ends at James Park, the festival location. For questions or an entry form, contact Pittman at jpittman@su.edu or 540-327-4502.
This article originally appeared on Fremont News-Messenger: Food, music, arts to be featured at Marblehead Lions Perch Festival
