Springfield Township Police Corporal John Gross (left) and Flourtown resident Dr. Thomas A. Fitzpatrick are all smiles at the 2015 Wissahickon Day Parade.  The upcoming parade on April 24 is expected to be passing Valley Green Inn at 12:30 p.m., weather permitting.  (Photo by Barbara L. Sherf)

by Barbara Sherf

Long-time Flourtown resident Thomas Fitzpatrick was 5 years old when he watched his first Wissahickon Day parade in 1929. On Sunday, April 24, he’ll be participating in the 95th annual parade in a two-wheeled horse-drawn carriage. Believed to be the oldest continual equine parade in the country, it began as a protest and led to the main road through the park being renamed “Forbidden Drive.”

In 1921, the president of the Fairmount Park Commission, E.T. Stotesbury, proposed opening all park roads to automobile traffic, including the scenic road that ran along the banks of the Wissahickon Creek. More than 600 riders gathered to protest the proposal, in a “Save the Wissahickon” campaign and rode from one end of the park to the other as spectators rallied around them. Following the defeat of the proposal, the road was named “Forbidden Drive,” memorializing the victory. Since then, a triumphant parade of horses and carriages has taken place annually on the last Sunday in April.

“As a family we would pack a picnic and spend the day along Forbidden Drive and watch as the horses and carriages came by and the crowds would line up and cheer them on,” said Fitzpatrick, a lifelong bachelor whom many describe as “an old-school gentleman.”

During World War II, Fitzpatrick flew 30 missions in a B-17 over Nazi-occupied Europe as an Air Force navigator and gunner, serving in the North African and Mediterranean European Theaters. Having received a host of medals, Dr. Fitzpatrick says he’d much prefer a horse show trophy any day.

Fitzgerald worked for 40 years as a biochemist in the laboratory at the United States Department of Agriculture in Wyndmoor. It wasn’t until his retirement 35 years ago that he made his way into the ring for the first time at the esteemed Devon Horse Show in the two-wheeled carriage class.

“I had been riding horses under saddle in the Wissahickon Valley for years, but that first time in that ring in a carriage was, and is, indescribable,” said Fitzpatrick. For years now, he has also shown in the ring in the Wissahickon Day Horse Show, which precedes the parade and will be there again this year, in the two-wheeled carriage class.

“You wouldn’t find 600 horses in the Wissahickon today,” said Fitzpatrick, “but it’s important to maintain an equestrian presence in the park. Horses are such an important part of our region’s history, and they do provide pleasure to those who ride and to those watching the individual horses and carriages. The parade is rich in history and when I share the tale of how Forbidden Drive got its name, people light up when they hear the story.”

The Wissahickon Day Horse Show will run from10 a.m. to noon on April 24 at the Northwestern Stables, 120 W. Northwestern Ave. Horse show entries will be in four classes: English, Western, Stable Group and Carriages.

The Parade will start at noon, departing from Harper’s Meadow at the corner of Northwestern Ave. and Germantown Ave. Line-up will start with carriages, in front of Northwestern Equestrian Facility (NWEF) at approximately 11:45 a.m. Riders will fall in line behind the carriages starting at Harper’s Meadow. The Parade will travel to Forbidden Drive and continue along the Drive to the judging area at Valley Green Inn.

Northwestern Avenue will be closed to traffic and parking to accommodate horse trailers and carriages. Parking will be available in the lower lot at Chestnut Hill College off Germantown Avenue and in the upper lots at Valley Green (access from Wises Mill Road, off Ridge Avenue or Valley Green Road, off Germantown Avenue).

Spectators can watch the horse show from the bleachers in front of the ring in Harper’s Meadow. Parade viewing is available anywhere along Forbidden Drive. The judging area in front of Valley Green Inn is the most popular parade viewing site. Picnic areas are available throughout the park.

The Wissahickon Day Parade is sponsored by the Wissahickon Valley Riding and Driving Association. More information at www.WissahickonDay.org.

Barbara Sherf can be reached at 215-990-9317 or CaptureLifeStories@gmail.com.

* This article is reprinted, with permission from Milestones, the publication of the Philadelphia Corporation for Aging.