Just before the July 4th celebration, I recommended a co-worker to come to Bayfield and enjoy the daytime parade with her 4-year-old daughter, explaining that Bayfield is a child-friendly, wonderful community. Unfortunately, my co-worker happened to find a spot on Mill Street among people who definitely were not representative of the Bayfield I know. Near the end of the parade, when candies were tossed to the bystanders, the surrounding boys, probable ages of 8-10 years, bullied and grabbed anything within their reach, disregarding the presence of a much younger child. Not only were these boys bullies, their parents (if they were present) did not intervene, much less reprimand the children's behavior.  In fact, one adult male actually grabbed a candy from my friend's little girl's hand! Needless to say, by parade's end, the little girl was crying and terrified even after mother had taken her out of the crowd.

Perhaps we need to reconsider sharing "gifts" during a parade if this is the kind of behavior it elicits. 

What I had hoped would be a pleasant experience for a little child turned out to be a display of rudeness, greed and even some violence. Let's hope these boys were not from our area.

Edith Balceris

Bayfield