Rotterdam Sesquicentennial Parade

Rotterdam and Glenville have an almost 200 year old rivalry. This rivalry was based on which town was officially created first. Both towns broke off from Schenectady in 1820, but there is no official record as to the exact date. This rivalry was stoked during a match of tug of war over the Mohawk during the sesquicentennial (150 year) anniversary for both towns in 1970. Glenville won, but accusations of cheating have blemished their mighty feat of strength (read more about this match in a recent Gazette article by Stephen Williams: https://dailygazette.com/article/2018/05/21/glenville-and-rotterdam-to-tug-it-out).

While Rotterdam was left dripping and injured (2 Rotterdam residents were treated for rope burn and one for a broken wrist) we like to think that they had some other successes, such as their celebration of facial hair (read more in a previous blog post: http://gremsdoolittlelibrary.blogspot.com/2015/11/brothers-of-brush-and-sisters-of-belle.html) and their Sesquicentennial Parade).

The parade was assembled at Mohonasen High and went down a 2 mile stretch of Curry Road to Westcott Road and disassembled at the former Army Depot. The Gazette estimated that around 4,000 people lined up to participate in the parade, including bands, dancers, people on floats and others.  A wide variety of organizations throughout Schenectady County were represented such as the Rotterdam Blue Jays, Rotterdam Republican Club,  the Schenectady "Electric City" Chorus, General Electric, Freihofers, and more.

We recently received a donation of photos of the parade that show the parade in all it's glory with creative floats, sharp looking marching bands, and cool vintage cars. Check some of them out below:

The Rotterdam Republican Club won an award for "Most Beautiful Float".