Evanston RoundTable, July 2, 2026
I hate to admit it, but I may be something of a Pecksniff. He was a fictional character in Charles Dickens’ 1843 novel Martin Chuzzlewit who was, not to put too fine a point on it, a nasty, sanctimonious fraud.
Case in point: The annual 6 a.m. July 1st land rush along Central Street to grab a good viewing spot for the July 4th parade.
What constitutes a good spot? At least two things: some shade overhead to shield one from the burning afternoon sun, and a location where the marching bands are likely to stop and play and the dancers and athletes to perform. Obviously the area adjacent to and across from the judges’ viewing stand at Ackerman Park is the best seat in town. If you haven’t already reserved your spot, good luck finding any spaces there.
In years past, to ensure a good location, people started putting chairs out before July 4. How much before? One member of the Harold’s True Value Hardware family claimed to see people staking out parade spots right after Memorial Day!
According to a 2025 article in North by Northwestern magazine, “Around four decades ago, Evanston residents got so enthusiastic about the tradition of saving spots that the city was forced to take legal action. Passed in 1990, Section 7-2-9 (B) of the Evanston City Code allows eager viewers to set up their chairs and blankets ‘no earlier than six o’clock (6:00) A.M. on July 1 for the sole purpose of viewing the July 4 parade.’ Despite this ordinance, many residents stake their claim to spots even before this deadline.”
It’s that last sentence (boldface italics mine) that gets my Pecksniffian dander up. For years I’d dutifully set my alarm for 5:30 a.m. on July 1 to wrangle chairs into the car and drive down to Central Street by 6 to claim a good spot, only to discover the best spots had already been taken! Oh, the nerve! Oh, the humanity!
Not only were the spots taken, but there was no one in sight, indicating the parade fanatics had arrived hours earlier, maybe even the night before! The image of midnight chair scofflaws skulking around on their misbegotten rounds called to mind scenes from lurid slasher flicks, like maybe one of the Halloween movies.
So in my dotage I’ve gone over to the dark side. Yesterday I got to Central Street at 5:45 a.m. to lay out two chairs so my wife and I can happily observe the parade, our 43rd in a row. It’s under a leafy tree, and far enough from the judges’ viewing stand there’s a decent chance the marching bands, dancers and athletes will stop and perform in front of us.
Later yesterday I cruised Central Street from Pioneer Road to Cowper Street and made a rough count of clusters of chairs and large blankets on the parkway grass reserving multiple viewing places. It came to 68 spots, each with enough room for 10 people. And that’s with three days to go!
Some of those spaces are surely in the sun, set back from the street or in a spot where the marching bands will march right by, without stopping to play.
To which I say, with Pecksniffian haughtiness, too bad, losers!