Everyone in Forsyth County was caught up in the spirit of the ’49ers’ in May 1949. Forsyth County Centennial plans were in the works for over a year, and the parade that made its way through Winston-Salem on May 12th was proclaimed as the greatest parade ever seen in the city.
While the adults were resting from taking part in their multiple Centennial events, the children of Ardmore Baptist Church Kindergarten fashioned their own parade. The kindergarteners paraded all over the Ardmore community in the week following the official parade.
They put together their “old” costumes, grabbed appropriate accessories, hitched up the wagons, and followed Bruce Whicker, son of M/M E. B. Whicker of Irving Street, who held the flag.
Following Bruce in the parade were: Charles Matthews, son of M/M Odell Matthews of Magnolia Street; Pamela Benbow, daughter of M/M Lyle J. Benbow of Craig Street; Linda Sims, daughter of M/M Robert A. Sims of Jefferson Avenue; Tommy Smith Jr., son of M/M Thomas E. Smith of Miller Street; and Jimmy McRae, son of Dr. and Mrs. James T. McRae, of the Baptist Hospital; plus other kindergarteners.
The photograph of the children and their parade, taken by Coppedge Studios, was published in the Winston-Salem Journal on May 20, 1949.
