While the Parade of Champions was the main event on Oct. 4, the annual community gathering had a lot more than that to offer the people of Santa Clara this year. It all kicked off first thing in the morning with the pancake breakfast at the American Legion Post 419 on Homestead Road.
The veterans themselves dished up pancakes, French toast, eggs, sausage, orange juice and coffee to guests. The kitchen crew of Gene, Ralph, John, Mike and Nadine was captained by Executive Chef Brenda Manley, and all of them were happy to be of service.
“I like feeding people, and I like to see them happy,” said Manley. “We’re doing it for the community … We get to start out the morning seeing people all excited … The Post is all about community. This Post has been here since 1955, so they’ve been serving the community for a very long time.”
Among the breakfast attendees were some of the guests invited to take part in a new Parade of Champions feature: the Sports Zone. Because Santa Clara will be home to the Super Bowl and FIFA World Cup in 2026, the Parade of Champions organizers created the Sports Zone and invited former Olympians and professional athletes to take part, many of them from Santa Clara.
Among the attendees were Lynn Gautschi, a former member of the Santa Clara Swim Club and two-time Olympic medalist. Gautschi won a silver in Mexico City in 1968 and a bronze medal in Munich in 1972. She was excited to talk about the recent passage of the bond measure to help repair the swim center, a place that helped her achieve her Olympic dreams.
Bay Area swimmer Molly Botkin Rossitier also took part in the Sports Zone. Botkin Rossitier swam in the Pan American Games in 1959 and the Olympics in Rome in 1960. She says she enjoys seeing how far women have come in swimming since she began competing as a teenager.
“It’s very exciting,” said Botkin Rossitier. “They’ve changed the rules for all the strokes. They don’t have to touch the wall. They have different bathing suits. They have all of that. All of that has changed, and so we get very excited watching. It’s very gratifying.”
Also at the breakfast was Grand Marshal Bob Buchser and his wife Carol. He was in good spirits and happy to share how his foray in the Grand Marshall role came about.
“They never asked me. Ana Vargas [Smith] knows me, and she’s in Rotary with me, and she just surprised me,” recalled Buchser. “I found out I was Grand Marshal because others were telling me, ‘Are you the Grand Marshal?’ I said, ‘What? I guess I am. I’m going to be a cooperative guy. Okay, if they want me to be Grand Marshal, then what does the Grand Marshal do?’”
“Look good,” chimed in his wife, Carol.
Buchser did a great job fulfilling his role of Grand Marshal and looking good while doing it.
Attendees appreciated the entire event.
“I was coming in the 90s before it was stopped. The parade is good and I’m glad that it’s back,” said Melissa from Santa Clara. “My son is six and sees his friends and others walking in it. My favorite part of the parade is seeing all the different cultures, different clubs. My son loves getting all these stickers and toys and everything. It’s just been great seeing everybody coming together.”
“It’s great coming out to the parade,” said Janice from Santa Clara. “The politics in Santa Clara make the city so divided, but this event helps bring people together. I just wish we could get past the nonsense and remember we’re supposed to care about our neighbors.”
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I was part of Supervisor Susan Ellenberg’s group. It was truly a perfect day for a Parade. Bringing back the Parade Of Champions has been truly the Lucky penny that makes the city shine and making waves until the Downtown is in place. Then and only then will the city be whole again.