Thousands attend Steeleville 4th of July parade

EDITOR'S NOTE: See more coverage of the Steeleville 4th of July Celebration inside the July 5 print edition of the newspaper.

STEELEVILLE -- Thousands of people lined the streets of downtown Steeleville on Tuesday as the 151st annual 4th of July parade worked its way down West Broadway Street.

Threats of thunderstorms never consistently materialized during the four-day event, and sunny skies greeted parade spectators and participants alike.

The parade, with the theme of "America's Monuments," featured roughly 80 entries and was about an hour in length. Notable entries included First National Bank of Steeleville's Liberty Bell float and Ainad Compacts, otherwise known as the Shriners motorcycle team.

Serving as grand marshal of the parade was Steeleville Village Board trustee Cindy Sickmeyer, who was named the Steeleville Chamber of Commerce's 2016 Citizen of the Year.

A multitude of fire departments from the region were represented, including as far south as Murphysboro. The Firecracker 3K, celebrating its 35th year, directly preceded the parade and entrants stretched as far as the eye could see as they ran, walked and jogged down Broadway street.

Results of the race were not immediately available.

Elsewhere at the picnic, Orient won the Harold Harmsen Wood Bat Classic to become two-time defending champions after the tournament was rained out in 2016.

Tournament host Steeleville lost to Orient, 5-3, on Sunday and short-gamed Trenton, 17-1, in five innings on Monday. Post 480 was scheduled to play Carbondale at noon on Tuesday in the final game of the tournament.

The double-elimination 25th District American Legion Senior Baseball Tournament begins Friday at Carbondale's SuperBlock. Pinckneyville/Du Quoin will face Sparta at 7:30 p.m., with the winner facing top seed Steeleville on Saturday at 1 p.m.

The top two teams will advance to the 5th Division tournament at Highland. For the full bracket, see inside the July 5 print edition of the newspaper.