Barry Harrow leads the Post 52 Honor Guard recently at a local luncheon. They will also be performing at the Easley Veterans Day Parade.
Jeff Holt | The Easley Progress
Richard Mintz of Post 52 helped honor all the winners of the specialty cars on Saturday for the Car, Truck and Bike Show on Saturday in Powdersville. The event was put on by Robinson Funeral Home and members of Post 52 helped with the judging of the best vehicles.
Jeff Holt | The Easley Progress
EASLEY — Mark your calendar! The Veterans Day Parade will be held be held in downtown Easley next month (Nov. 9) — instead of Liberty.
“When Walt (Carter) came to us and asked if we would be interested in hosting it, that was something we feel very passionate about,” said Christman Short, the City of Easley Director of Parks and Recreation. “I would encourage all of our city residents, residents of Pickens County and beyond, to be part of this wonderful day to celebrate those individuals who thankfully came home and to remember the ones who gave the ultimate sacrifice. It’s close to my family and I come from a military background. It’s an honor to be able to support and celebrate those individuals.”
Short went on to say to be sure to get there early to the parade for a good seat, and there will be a couple of “surprises” with the local fire trucks and the big U.S. Flag.
Carter, the former Post 52 Commander, has helped spearhead this project.
“The last couple of years, Easley has said that they were interested in hosting the (Veterans Day) Parade but it was being held in Liberty,” Carter said. “I’d love for it to be a Pickens County Parade and for it to be in Liberty, Pickens, Easley, etc … but you have to have somebody to host it. Because Easley has expressed an interest and we are trying to make it bigger and better — we felt Easley would be a good place with Post 52.”
Helping lead the Veterans Day Parade will be the Easley High School Color Guard, led by Shawn Simeral who is the Senior Naval Science Instructor at EHS. The Green Wave students leading the charge in the parade will be: Emmarie Ward, Mae Hodges, Ayden Russell and Damon Revelle.
Riding on a float? You gotta be kidding me … on deadline, I just heard that the Post 52 Honor Guard is going to be riding on a float in the Veterans Day Parade. I can see it now — Rick Stover will be kicking back on a brand-new recliner (or couch) from Sit & Sleep Upstate in Easley on a highly-decorated float, feet propped up and waving to everybody with a big cheesy grin on his face.
Just joking. I told Rick one thing: “Just remember the small people in the world.”
But seriously, this Post 52 Honor Guard has really gone beyond the call of duty. They did 30 to 35 events in 2024 and they’ve done at least 30 events already in 2025. Stover is a natural leader — he retired after 20 years in the U.S. Navy as a Deep Sea Diver (with the rank of Chief) and then he served 20 years as a firefighter and retired after 20 years as a Captain. In the late 1980s, Rick was into powerlifting and was benching 385 pounds and squatting 475.They deserve to ride in that float and I hope a ton of local residents show up for the Veterans Day Parade.
“Rick has really stepped up with our Honor Guard and given us some good training,” said Gary Hinton, the Post 52 Commander. “He and Richard Mintz work together as a team. They practice every week and — if they are available — they’ll be there. Just give them a phone call.”
Added Rick, about helping lead the Honor Guard, ”We are kind of the face of the post, but we are just one small part.”
The 9th Annual Veterans Appreciation Dinner (this will be FREE) will also be held on Saturday, Nov. 8 from 4 to 6 p.m. at the Golden Creek Baptist Church in Liberty.
Upstate Warrior Solution: Last Saturday, on a bright and sunny day in Powdersville, Robinson Funeral Home raised $3,241 for Upstate Warrior Solution at a top-notch car show. Mike and Robbie Holland (from Belton) won the Best of Show and Peoples Choice Awards with their 1961 “Bubble Top” Chevy Impala.
“Upstate Warrior Solution is really grateful to the Robinson family and team at Robinson Funer Home and Memorial Gardens for all of the time and energy they put into ‘Driven to Serve,’ said Ali Marshall, of Upstate Warrior Solution. “It was a great day and we are thankful to everyone from the community who showed their cars and came out to support the event.”
EVENTS HOTLINE: If you plan to attend the Veterans Day Parade or would like additional information, you can call (864-810-7612).
Commented Carter, about the Events Hotline, “If you call it, you are going to get a voice message more than likely. I don’t have anyone monitoring it 100 percent of the time. Leave your information — if you are planning to come to the dinner — we would need to know who you are and how many people.”