by Mike Knaak
For Roger Zimmer, it’s just not the Fourth of July without a parade. So when this year’s St. Joseph parade was canceled because of the coronavirus, Zimmer, 84, was devastated to hear he would miss a Fourth of July parade probably for the first time in his life, according to one of his daughters, Sherrie Klein.
So Zimmer’s family organized a small parade past his farm home on 270th Street south of St. Joseph. The parade featured a color guard, firetruck, floats and classic cars. Just like all Stearns County parades, a float carried three “dairy princesses” and “politicians” – Cami Zimmer for president and Evan Acheson for mayor of Zimmerville.
Neighbors gathered along the short route before the parade ended with a picnic in Roger and Loretta’s farmyard.