The campaign up to Tuesday's general election reached some pretty tense moments across the United States, and as we wait for the final ballots to be counted we'll take a quick look at local highs and lows from a couple of previous elections.

            After-election victory parades were once very common in our area.  It makes you wonder what the reaction would be from today's politically correct community if traffic in all three of the upper end boroughs was disrupted one evening for a large scale celebration by a winning party. 

            How detailed would the investigations and calculations of the losing party hacks be to check if any tax dollars were spent on such a gala?

The 1874 presidential election of Ulysses S. Grant (left) and the successful election of Franklin Delano Roosevelt as president in 1933 led to some good and not-so-good celebrations in the Upper Perkiomen Valley region.

            Back in 1933 Pennsylvania was considered a rock-hard Republican stronghold.  The Upper Perkiomen Valley was considered an oasis of loyal Democrats who kept the rest of Montgomery County from spilling over too much into the red column.  It had been 44 years since a Democrat held the highest seat in Harrisburg.  Not only that, but the Republicans held the United States Senatorial seat for the previous 59 years!  In spite of that record, area voters maintained their allegiance to the Democratic Party.

            Much of that changed in the Commonwealth in 1934 when voters sent a strong message to Harrisburg and Washington, DC in support of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and sent Democrats George Earle to the Governor's mansion and Joseph Guffey to Capitol Hill.

            To say that the majority of the voters in the Upper Perkiomen Valley were elated would be a tremendous understatement.  So happy were they, that a "monster" parade was held to celebrate the end of the Democrat's drought.  It would be called the "State Democratic Victory Parade" and would take a place of prominence as one of the greatest parades ever held around here.

            Organizing the parade was under the enthusiastic eyes of several happy Democrats.  Pennsburg Democratic Committeeman John Borntrager was named Chairman of the Parade.  Justice of the Peace Ernest J. Bitting was selected as chairman of the Pennsburg marchers, Wilmer G. Dimmig chaired the East Greenville contingent, and Russell Moser was picked to lead the Red Hill folks. 

            Newspaper accounts heralded the parade as "eclipsing anything of its kind in the history of the community."  The parade stepped off at 7  p.m. in East Greenville.  It moved on to Pennsburg where it picked up that town's contingent of marchers at the

A large parade was held in the Valley in 1933 when Roosevelt was elected president.  The wife of Democratic Governor-elect George Earle, Huberta Potter Earle, led the local parade

firehouse.  The parade continued down Main Street to the Red Hill Fire House, where it picked up that borough's parade-goers.  At the height of the parade, it was more than two miles long.

            Fire companies opened up their social quarters and barrooms along the parade route and doled out free beer for the occasion.  The parade route was decorated with posters of a sick elephant, with its trunk dragging and its tail tucked between its legs. 

          The wife of the Governor-elect, Huberta Earle, led the parade.  She rode in a "beautifully decorated car."  Among those riding with the Commonwealth's future first-lady was Pennsburg Democratic Committeewoman Maude Kneule.  Maude hosted the Earle's and others in her party on their visit to the region. 

            At Third and Jefferson Streets in East Greenville, florist Leon Pennypacker presented her with a "gorgeous bouquet" of flowers.

             Musical organizations in the line of the parade included the East Greenville Band, riding in a horse-drawn wagon supplied by Augustus Spaar of Hereford, the Pennsburg Fire Company Fife and Drum Corp and the Red Hill Band.

            Grand Marshal for the parade was Pennsburg Burgess E. J. Weider.  The individual marshals from each borough were Frank Merkel of East Greenville, Ernest Bitting of Pennsburg and Constable Henry Genszler of Red Hill.  Each rode a colorfully decorated horse.

            The procession included fire trucks and many other splendidly decorated wagons and automobiles.  School children paraded along with local Boy and Girl Scout groups, who carried flares to light up the night. 

            When the parade was over, most of the crowd gathered around the large porch of Kneule's Pennsburg Hotel.  There, Huberta Earle spoke to the people and thanked them for their "staunch support" of the Democratic Party.  

            The parade was not without its problems.  During the procession, a horse, ridden by Warren Schantzenbach, was spooked and plunged into a crowd of onlookers and injured four parade watchers.  Fortunately, neither Schantzenbach, Mrs. Jacob Keyser, Mrs. Charles Fox, Mr. And Mrs. Russell Bauman nor the "young son of William Kerschner" were seriously injured.          Thank goodness Schantzenbach was riding a horse and not a donkey that day.

            There was a not-so-good incident that occurred years before. 

Political strife within the Greenville Band (formerly Citizen's Band) exploded in 1868 when Republican presidential candidate Ulysses S. Grant defeated Horatio Seymour in the general election.  A celebration and parade were held in Greenville.   The Republicans made a banner with an image of Seymour hanging on an apple tree.  The sign, with the unflattering image of the Democratic candidate on it, led the parade.  The Democrats in the group were appalled and left the organization to form the Pennsburg Band.

            Back in 1860, the Greenville Band (of East Greenville) had Democrats and Republicans and party feelings ran high in the Upper Perkiomen Valley.  It disrupted many families and friendships.  Shortly after Abraham Lincoln defeated Stephen Douglas for the Presidency in 1860, the band marched in a Green Lane parade to celebrate Honest Abe's victory.  On the way home, two of the drummers got into a fight that resulted in all of the members taking sides according to their party affiliations.  Shortly after that altercation, the members parted ways.  A few months later, a few of them got together to form a new Greenville Band under the leadership of Isaac Gerhart.  Things seemed to go a little better this time.  This group bought themselves a bandwagon and four large horses to pull it.

            Then, in 1868, there came a second strike of political discourse to play another sour note.

            Republican presidential candidate Ulysses S. Grant had just defeated Horatio Seymour in the general election.  The GOP members of the band were ecstatic.  This time, the celebration and parade were held in Greenville.  In their joy, the Republicans made a banner with an image of Seymour hanging on an apple tree.  The sign, with the unflattering image of the Democratic candidate on it, led the parade.  The Democrats in the group were appalled and left the organization to form the Pennsburg Band.  The assets of the group were liquidated and split between the factions. 

            The Greenville Band, under the name of the East Greenville Band, and the Pennsburg band made it into the twentieth century before they finally disbanded.

            There were no further reports of political fisticuffs between the members.