This morning I stepped out of the local coffee shop into the path of a parade. Eight hundred cadets--most of them in scarlet uniforms--were marching across the bridge from the military college to attend church services in town.
This tradition has been going on for 130 years. In the old days they used to throw pennies into the collection plates, making as much noise as possible. Nowadays, they behave more decorously. But they still call it Copper Sunday!
My photos and sketches don't do it justice. Eight hundred is a lot of cadets! When they stopped in front of City Hall to receive the "freedom of the city" from the mayor, they filled the whole street, six deep. Cameras were clicking like mad and my sketching pen was going a mile a minute, trying to capture that impressive sight!
That is facinating! Thanks for the history lesson.
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