William Hickey leads the parade up Estate Lane. Photo courtesy of Danny Meyer.

No one is quite sure when Lake Highlands’ Fourth of July parade began, but one thing is certain: 2020 will be the first summer without a parade in more than 50 years. The Exchange Club of Lake Highlands made the decision to cancel the community celebration with great regret.

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“Last week my parade chair, Jason Edgerton, was informed that no permits are being issued for any large gatherings,” said ECLH President Gale Lewis. “While the decision was ultimately made for us, it still isn’t easy.”

Danny Meyer said the parade began in 1966 or ‘67 when his parents, Jeanne and Charlie Meyer, gathered neighborhood folk for a patriotic celebration.

“It started in front of our house at 9721 Robin Hill Circle and looped around Estate Lane and back,” Meyer wrote on Facebook. “The Grand Marshal was my grandfather, William Hickey, a WWI veteran in his 70’s who walked the entire route carrying the American flag. It started small and grew until we had the Lake Highlands High School Marching Band, horses and a Vietnam POW as judge just a few months after he had returned. His name was Jerry Singleton. The judges’ stand was the back ramp of our Pontiac station wagon.”

No decision has been made about the Exchange Club’s other big community event, Oktoberfest.

Jeanne Meyer stands on the judges’ platform at the first July 4 parade

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  • Carol Toler

    Blogger CAROL TOLER and her husband, Toby, are the parents of four LHHS graduates. She has an MBA from SMU and is the proud recipient of the Exchange Club of LH's Unsung Hero Award and Councilman McGough's Blake Anderson Public Service Award. She received LHHS PTA's Extended Service Award, FMJH PTA's Charger Award and a Life Membership from the LHFC PTA. She has moderated candidate debates for Dallas Mayor, Dallas City Council and RISD Trustee races and taught seminars on garnering publicity for nonprofits. She completed training with Dallas Truth, Racial Healing and Transformation and Inside RISD, and she's a sustaining member of LH Women's League. She has served on the boards of After8 to Educate, Dallas Free Press, Healing Hands Ministries and Camp Sweeney and chaired fundraisers for multiple Dallas nonprofits. Email ctoler@advocatemag.com.