'We're all heartbroken over it': West Side Memorial Day parade in South Bend called off

SOUTH BEND — Jan Kowalski remembers when, 16 years ago, she stood up from her seat in a packed meeting hall at the American Legion Post 357 in response to a call for volunteers to organize the West Side Memorial Day Parade.

The prior organizing committee disbanded that evening, she says. But the community's desire to continue the longstanding tradition was apparent in the crowded room. Kowalski was joined by several others who stood and agreed to serve as volunteer board members.

Now, in what Kowalski says is her last year on the board, the west side won't host a parade because too few people said they would donate their time.

"We’re all heartbroken over it," she said of the committee.

Other events: Check out a list of Memorial Day parades and events that are happening this year.

It marks the third consecutive year without a West Side Memorial Day Parade. The city of Mishawaka also canceled its holiday parade for the third year in a row, this time citing ongoing construction.

After the pandemic forced the last two cancellations, Kowalski assumed enthusiasm for the 2022 affair would be overwhelming.

But the number of parties entering the parade was a paltry 29 when leaders made the call to cancel. In a normal year, 80 to 100 parties would partake in the event.

Moreover, only five people told her they would help to set up floats the morning of May 30. She needed at least 15. And just eight or so people hold positions on the organizing board made for 10.

“We start planning the parade in February," Kowalski said. "Everybody wants to go to a parade. Everybody wants to be in a parade. But nobody wants to help run a parade.

"We’re putting on a parade for 4,000-plus people with only eight people doing the work.”

The cancellation comes in spite of the South Bend Special Events Committee's plan to nearly double the number of officers working overtime on Memorial Day to meet heightened safety protocols across the 1.5-mile parade route.

Sgt. Brad Rohrscheib, who represents the South Bend Police Department on the Special Events Committee, said in an April meeting that he wanted vehicles parked as barricades on every cross street intersecting Ford Street, the parade's main thoroughfare. They had to be designated city vehicles, city attorney Clara McDaniels stressed, or else the government could be liable in the event of an injury or any property damage.

His plan called for about 35 city employees. It received the blessing of South Bend Mayor James Mueller, who encouraged the city events committee to find some way to cover the full route rather than shorten the parade, according to spokesman Jordan Gathers.

“If the parade staff would not have canceled, we would have had a plan in place to cover all of those intersections," Rohrscheib said.

The sergeant's idea shows how tragedies like the November Waukesha Christmas parade attack — in which the driver of an SUV killed six people while injuring 62 others by breaking through barricades and speeding through a crowded Wisconsin street — may alter future event planning.

Rohrscheib said such attacks weigh on his mind when he considers safety measures. Instead of standard plastic or wooden road barricades, concrete or water-filled barriers could supplement police vehicles at future parades.

“You want to be able to prevent a vehicle from entering that parade route," he said.

In lieu of the parade, West Side organizers plan to read the names of 1,765 St. Joseph County veterans who have died over the past three years.

The ceremony will occur at 9 a.m. on Memorial Day at the St. Joseph Cemetery, located west of South Bend at the intersection of State Road 2 and Pine Road. Volunteers are needed to read the names and arrange the ceremony. Those interested can reach out to organizers at 574-850-9540.

Many other nearby Memorial Day parades, such as the one hosted by the Osceola Business Association as well as a parade in Niles, are still set to occur.

Osceola parade organizer Randy Leliaert said about 10 parties seeking a replacement to the South Bend and Mishawaka parades have joined the town's event. There will be some 50 units total.

The town's event starts at 8 a.m. and runs down Lincoln Way. Leliaert said applications to join can be obtained by calling or texting 574-514-5171.

Email South Bend Tribune city reporter Jordan Smith at JTsmith@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jordantsmith09

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: West Side Memorial Day parade canceled for volunteer shortage