July 12, 2009
Duluth Budgeteer News

Parade marshals party like it's 1960
By Jana Peterson

Crafting a float for this year’s Spirit Valley Days parade has been a four-month-long national project for the Denfeld Class of 1960.

It all started in March, when Denfeld Alumni Association member Karin Swor casually noted that it would be nice if her class had a float in this year’s parade.

Then her classmate, Ilona Kerin, got the ball rolling. They drafted a design, centered around football — the football team that year went undefeated, after all — and about 30 classmates who winter near each other in Florida started sewing poodle skirts.

Now they are putting the finishing touches on their float and have purchased football glasses, whistles, stuffed pink poodle toys and more to hand out during Thursday’s parade, which starts at 6 p.m. in West Duluth.