Many of the streets around the court house were lined with parade watchers, resigning us to park to the rear of the building.
The Elkhart County 4H fair is held annually. Judging by the size of the crowd here today, the parade is a popular event. The fair dates for 2014 will be July 18-26. Details can be found at the Fair's web-site. Here is a link: http://4hfair.org/
Parade watchers line the route at least 30 minutes prior to the start of the parade.
The Elkhart County Courthouse is a gathering place for the community.
This plaque gives a brief history of the court house. The flip side of the plaque continues with the history lesson and is posted below.
This flower bed looks like an American flag. The summer's unusually cool and moist weather has probably helped the bed develop its lush and rich color palette.
I am not sure about the relevancy of the Neptune statue to Elkhart County. I do find this photo ironic when considering the local resident, texting, while seated in front of this building built more than one century ago and at the feet of the Roman god of fresh water, whose mythology predates modern history.
At each court house visit, I walk the perimeter of the main building in hope of discovering something interesting or "photo worthy". Today I found a county employee's little slice of pleasure, sure to brighten her day, when a hummingbird comes to sip from the feeder she has placed outside of her basement office window.
The photo below shows the plaque describing the reason this structure was erected in the 1930's. I wonder if these parade watchers would have been this relaxed back in the days when "gangsters" were traveling through on the way to Chicago. It is called a "anti-gangster pillbox". Follow this link to learn more about it. http://www.roadsideamerica.com/tip/3819
No place for my trusty chauffeur to sit. It is developing into a hot day, he is going to be tired .....