About 950 people came to the Touch a Truck event on May 23 held by the Northwest Branch of the Jefferson County Library in High Ridge, which is the most library staff have seen in years.
The event followed the Northwest Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce’s fourth annual Memorial Day Parade, which began at Fellowship Baptist Church on High Ridge Boulevard and ended at the library. Organizers could not be reached for details of how many people or groups participated in the parade.
County Councilman Brian Haskins (District 1, High Ridge) said the parade was well-attended, with many people using the county’s pocket park on the boulevard for parking.
“The weather was perfect for the parade,” Haskins said. “The pocket park was absolutely wonderful – it did its job. I would say next year it’ll be even bigger and better.”
Councilman Bob Tullock (District 7, House Springs) said he drove his Tesla in the parade, handing out candy to children with his wife, June. He said his car has a “parade mode,” which shows onlookers on a screen on the dashboard and keeps the car driving at a slow, safe pace.
“It’s a great day for (the parade and Touch a Truck event), not hot but not raining,” Tullock said. “I like to see so many kids out here having fun.”
“I love seeing all the happy kids while we’re throwing the candy out,” June added.
Touch a Truck
Youth services librarian Julia Click said the Touch a Truck event was a success, with many local first responder agencies showcasing vehicles, such as the High Ridge and Cedar Hill fire protection districts, Big River and North Jefferson County ambulance districts and the Byrnes Mill Police Department and Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office.
Businesses such as Waste Can Washers, Maximum Water Hauling and All My Sons Moving also showed off vehicles.
“It was great to see so many people here,” Click said. “Our director, Cindy (Hayes), made a comment that it was one of the most successful Touch a Trucks that we’ve had. I was a little worried about the weather, but it turned out to be a great day.”
The library provided cupcakes and snacks to attendees and held truck-themed prize raffles for children. Click said a few lucky kids went home with a Lego truck set and several Paw Patrol-themed play sets. The library also raffled off vouchers for St. Louis Cardinals baseball tickets.
Entertainers from Circus Kaput in Maryland Heights made balloon animals for children at a booth, Click said.
The Greater St. Louis Area Scouting Council brought a trailer from its STEM Fleet, which offered hands-on science experiments for children, including vortex canons and Sphero coding robots.
Staff promoted the library’s summer reading program during the event, Click said. The “Unearth A Story” reading program is available for children under 18 years old from June 1 to July 31. Children who read 10 books or for five hours will receive a small participation prize and will be entered into a drawing for a grand prize. The more a child reads, the more entries will be added to the grand prize drawing. A similar reading program is available for adults.
To track reading hours, pick up a paper log from one of the four Jefferson County Library branches, or download the app Beanstack.
“This year, our summer reading program has a dinosaur theme, and it seems like the kids were very excited about that,” Click said. “Any kid 18 and under can participate in our kids’ summer reading program. We will have reading logs available on June 1, so that kids can come by the library and pick that up to write on if they want to do that.”
Anna and Laurie Schiele of Pacific watched the parade and came to the Touch a Truck event to get an up-close look at 2-year-old Quincy’s favorite vehicle, a fire truck.
“We saw the event online, and we’ve got some friends who live in the area, so we thought we’d venture out and see the trucks,” said Quincy’s aunt, Anna. “We got lots of candy (at the parade).”
Capt. Bill Tisher with High Ridge Fire said he enjoyed showing off the district’s apparatus to the public. He works out of Station 1, 2842 High Ridge Blvd.
“There’s a huge turnout, compared to what we were thinking of,” Tisher said. “In all honesty, I think a lot of times it’s just as fun for us as it is for the public, because you get to talk to the public, mingle. That’s what it’s all about. A lot of the time, also, the adults will end up asking more questions than the kids will.”
Sandy Summers of High Ridge came to watch the parade with her grandchildren, Jensyn, 6, and Landon, 5. They stopped by the Touch a Truck event so Landon could check out World War II-era Army Jeeps on display.
Summers said this was the first time she had come to the parade and library event.
“This is great, for kids to get up close to the fire engines,” she said. “Landon loves Army men, so we’re planning on camping out with the Jeeps and letting them touch and look. He wants to be a soldier medic when he grows up. This is up his alley.
“This is a great event; it’s good fun.”
Click here to see more photos from the event:
