On alternate Thanksgiving mornings in the 1990s, I would hear and see Teaneck High School's bands, cheerleaders, and supporters loudly parading across the Anderson Street Bridge, up Anderson Street and making a left on Union Street - and going right past my building - on their way to the Hackensack High School football field. It was pretty cool going out on the roof and peering straight down 7 floors as they went by.
At some point, they changed the route a bit and marched down State Street instead, but I could still watch from my living room. Lately, I haven't seen any of these biennial events.
This week, I read that "Hackensack will stage its annual parade Thanksgiving morning before the Comets meet Teaneck". I wasn't aware that Hackensack had this tradition for Thanksgiving home games. Where has this parade been held? How long has this been a tradition?
This morning, I heard something that sounded like what I used to hear in the 90s. I thought that maybe Teaneck had revived its march into Hackensack, but there was no parade on the Anderson Street Bridge or Union Street or going by my window on State Street.
I stuck my head out the window and noticed that the sound was coming from the State Street area, but south of me. I was just sitting down to a hot breakfast, but immediately left it, got dressed, and walked down Union Street, figuring that wherever the parade was, it would probably be going up Central Avenue.
As I walked down Union Street, I could see the parade on State Street when I hit cross streets, so I picked up my pace to beat them to Central Avenue. I did.
As I walked down Central, I saw a police car with lights flashing, slowly turn onto Central, followed by the marchers. This must be the parade I read about in the paper.
I saw some golden H's, but then I saw a plethora of blue-and-white. I asked an EMS guy in one of the parade cars which town's parade it was. Apparently, it was a joint venture, which seems strange to me.
If I heard him correctly, Teaneck met Hackensack at a State Street staging area and managed to parade together in peace. If that's true, I'm happily shocked. If anyone has additional or more correct details, please post.
Here are the pictures I took before I finally got to eat my cold breakfast at Alice's Restaurant and before Teaneck won, 34-13:
