If it were up to Ed Erickson, he wouldn’t be this year’s grand marshal of the Gillett Fourth of July parade.
And that’s exactly why it wasn’t up to Ed this year.
“As soon as we had our first Fourth of July committee meeting, they all said, ‘You’re the grand marshal,’” Erickson said. “I had recommended two or three other people I thought deserved it, but they said, ‘You’re it.’”
Erickson, 69, has been a member of the Gillett Civic Club for about 20 years and serves on the Fourth of July events committee.
Noel Nienstedt, chairman of the Fourth of July committee, said Erickson has been vital in the club’s success over the years.
“The guy is phenomenal. He just works hard year after year. He has done so much for us and the community,” Nienstedt said.
A lasting example of Erickson’s work for the club is the group’s food stand at Zippel Park, appropriately dubbed Ed’s Shed.
“We had an old, rickety shack down at the park, and the guys were always threatening to rebuild it and nothing was getting done,” Erickson said. “Then I was talked into becoming president of the civic club, and I got the vote that they would let me go ahead and build a new stand.”
When the club began work on the project around 14 years ago, Erickson took the designs of Bill Cole and Gary Hougas, industrial arts teachers at the high school, and began collecting materials from all over the state, including sheet metal, lumber, fridges and freezers.
“I think we built the whole thing for under $70,000,” Erickson said. “We had to pay for some materials, but the electricians, cement guys, plumbers … everybody was there to donate and help put it up.”
Erickson said the local effort helped make the stand a great accomplishment. Using his sheet metal and construction background, Erickson fashioned the walls of the building, racks for equipment, frames for steamers, and pieces of the stove and counter tops.
“I didn’t have the money, but I had the time for the labor,” he said. “Everybody did something, though. It was just awesome. The city was involved. They helped out as much as they could. And now it’s just a nice looking building.”
“Ed was instrumental in that project,” Nienstedt said.
This year, Erickson helped construct a new sound trailer for the Fourth of July festivities using donated materials, including speakers and wood.
“You have to build things from the ground up, otherwise they don’t turn out the way you want them,” said Erickson, checking over the windows he made in the trailer. “I hope (the event workers) enjoy it and it works out. At least they’ll stay dry if it rains.”
When he is not helping out the Gillett Civic Club, Erickson is at home, where the fruits of his hobbies can be seen scattered throughout his home, including wood carvings, mounted fish, homemade antiques and the 1934 truck he built himself.
Erickson also plays Santa Claus every year at Piggly Wiggly and spent 20 years as a member of the Tanner Band, Wisconsin’s three-time country music state champions.
Erickson was born in Hancock, Michigan, and moved to Gillett with his parents in 1954.
When he was 13, Erickson was hired for his first job, which turned out to be an unexpected blessing in disguise.
“I went to pick pickles. I needed money,” Erickson said. “That lasted about half a day. Not for me. After that I went down to Mueller’s Supermarket and ended up working there for five years.”
Erickson said the Mueller family, Ray and Kay Mueller and their twin daughters, Emma and Esther, soon became his adopted family.
“Super people,” Erickson said.
Erickson joined the Army in 1965, becoming a member of the airborne paratroopers. After leaving the force in 1968, Erickson moved back to Gillett and began a 20-year career in the sheet metal business, traveling throughout the Midwest on assignment.
It wasn’t until Erickson retired from his career that he began dedicating time to help the community.
“I was doing so much union sheet metal work that I wasn’t around much, so I never really got involved until after I got home,” he said. “Then I retired and I had some time, and then you always manage to get busier.”
The Fourth of July parade theme this year is “America – Land That We Love.”
Nienstedt said he is proud to call Erickson this year’s grand marshal.
“He’s quite a remarkable guy,” Nienstedt said. “He is well deserving of it, that’s for sure.”
While Erickson might not entirely agree, he said he is very honored by the selection and hopes more people are willing to volunteer in the community.
“That sure would be nice,” Erickson said. “I will always be around, but you can’t just run 24 hours a day anymore when you’re almost 70.”
