Monday’s Ironton-Lawrence County Memorial Day Parade, as usual, drew thousands to downtown, increasing the population of the city exponentially.

And, though the crowds were well-mannered, it is unavoidable that, in such a large gathering, litter and debris can accumulate.

That was evident when the parade wrapped up just after noon, and, while it was not as excessive as last year’s aftermath, a clean up still needed to be done.

Fortunately, this took place quickly. From city workers who came in on the holiday to run a sweeping truck, to the Scouts of Troop 106, of Ironton, who walked the route on foot, picking up litter (as they do each year, in addition to duties, such as carrying division banners in the parade and taking part in Navy Night ceremonies), the area was clear within a couple of hours.

We thank all involved who put in the effort every year to do this clean up and make the final hours of the event a success. 

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The Tribune would also like to extend a thank you for some special help we had with our coverage this year.

This came through the assistance of veteran photographer Larry Rees, of Huntington. Rees, who teaches photo classes at the Huntington Museum of Art and worked as an adjunct professor in Marshall University’s fine arts department (where one of his past students was this paper’s community editor), volunteered a team of five of his students to come down and shoot the event.

As evidenced by the images they all captured, they were quite skilled and allowed the event to be seen with a new perspective, in addition to photos from The Tribune’s reporter.

We were fortunate to have their help and thank Rees, Kathy Underwood, Linda Clifford, Sandra Peck and Sara Bloss for their contributions this year.