Grand marshals represent work of the Legion

Paul and Diane Parenteau to lead annual parade

When Paul and Diane Parenteau found out they would be this year’s grand marshals of the Fourth of July celebration, hosted annually by the Forest Lake Legion, they both felt a mixture of excitement and honor.

“I’m very proud to be a member [of the Legion], very proud to be asked to be a grand marshal. That’s pretty exciting for us,” Diane said.

This year, unlike others, isn’t a typical Fourth of July parade and celebration, since the Legion is celebrating its 100th anniversary of hosting the festivities.

“That hit us later. We were saying, ‘Wow, that’s really nice.’ ‘Wait a minute, wow, it’s 100 years,’” Diane said.

Paul quipped that he was selected to be honored this year of all years due to the process of elimination.

“You guys just chose me because I was the closest in age to the 100 years,” Paul joked at a Post membership meeting following the announcement.

They were surprised to learn they would be the ones honored when there is an entire volunteer community alongside them who are as equally as deserving to be named the grand marshals. However, receiving the title is a reassuring sign that all their work doesn’t go unnoticed.

“Obviously someone appreciates us, too, as much as we appreciate everything all those people on the wall are doing,” Diane said, gesturing toward the plaque of previous Legion commanders and Auxiliary leaders.

Both Diane and Paul were selected this year as the grand marshals due to their dedication volunteering at the Legion, but it’s simply what they do.

“I can’t see Paul and I not belonging to the Legion. I can’t see us not helping where we can help,” Diane said.

When they moved to southwest Minnesota, Paul transferred his Legion membership, where he was a “paying-dues kind of member.” But by joining a smaller chapter, he got called into action.

“When I transferred my membership down there, they needed everybody they could get to get involved to go do the funerals and things like that,” Paul said.

They helped form a more robust volunteering network at their southwest Minnesota post, and returning back to Forest Lake more than a decade ago, joining volunteer efforts at Post 225 made sense.

“The fact that there’s a lot of involvement with other groups around the city, and it makes you feel like you’re still really part of this town,” Paul said.

Paul, who grew up in the area working on his family’s small dairy farm and graduated from Forest Lake High School, has seen the community grow over the years. It still has the small-town coziness, he said.

“It still maintains a lot of the small-town attitude, and that’s what really makes us like it,” Paul said.

“Forest Lake is a big, warm, friendly community,” Diane added.

This year won’t be the first year Diane and Paul have participated in the parade. Diane is involved with the Post 225’s Auxiliary, which has lately revived creating a float to ride in the parade and pass out candy.

“It’s a giggle,” Diane said of the time the auxiliary spends making the float, joking they “go crazy” with staple guns.

Paul’s Forest Lake Fourth of July parade-walking experience extends to high school when he was in the Forest Lake Marching Band.

“I was always proud to be in the band because I played the trombone and Rollie Nelson always had the trombones in the front row of the band so you had to set the pace,” Paul said.

They like being a part of the group’s effort to organize community events, local funerals or day-to-day work.

“It’s always a group effort,” Diane said.

Paul added, “And that’s part of being singled out of a group that’s all doing the same thing. It makes us feel kind of humbled about it.”

Paul served in the Navy right after he graduated from high school and spent time stationed in San Diego, and took some cruises to islands across the Pacific, later doing a stint on Christmas Island where many nuclear bombs were tested.

“I have personally witnessed 24 nuclear detonations,” Paul said.

Diane laughed, “I tease him all the time about he glows in the dark.”

He and Diane met shortly after he returned home from service, when Paul’s brother and Diane’s sister got married and had a child. Both Paul and Diane were named the godparents, but it wasn’t until a few years later when they saw one another again that romance sparked.

“We were married 60 years in May,” Diane said.

One of the celebrations this year came from her team of Auxiliary members who hosted an anniversary party for her and Paul at the Legion.

“It was just so cute. One of them kind of masterminded it and then the others had a cake and balloons,” Diane said.

They have four children together, three of whom live near Forest Lake. They’re looking forward to celebrating this year’s Fourth of July with family and seeing friends they haven’t caught up with in a while.

“I’m really looking forward to having some fun and waving and seeing a lot of friends,” Diane said.

The Legion also selected Richard McKernon as the honorary grand marshal; he is a member of the Forest Lake American Legion and has volunteered regularly for more than 40 years. During his tenure as a member of the Legion, he also served as Quartermaster of the Forest Lake VFW. He works with Paul as a volunteer on various jobs or projects around the Legion. McKernon could not be reached by the Times before press time.