When Earl Hargrove purchased Shenandoah Caverns in 1966, he brought with him a wonderful and exciting aspect to the business that no one was thinking about at the time. His love for parade floats and doing major celebrations, like the Presidential Inaugural, were already set in stone. He never wanted to mess with the sheer beauty that Mother Nature bestowed upon Shenandoah Caverns, but he was looking for a way to blend his unique style of artistry with the best of what Mother Nature had done in the Caverns. 

It was late in the summer of 1999 and Mr. Hargrove and I were discussing the different scenes that he was going to set up in the American Celebration on Parade. He had a lot of different styles of parade floats and he was looking for somewhat of a theme to be able to bring them together. How could he bring Mother Nature’s beauty of the Shenandoah Caverns into the American Celebration? He shouted out, “Rocks, I want big rocks! That is the answer”! 

He wanted to journey to the local rock quarry and view some of the limestone boulders, the same type of boulders that make up the walls and ceilings of the caverns. So, we did. He and I traveled to the local quarry and received permission to drive down into the huge pit. There, he picked out that boulder and exclaimed, “I want that boulder and I want that boulder!”. Some of them were bigger than his car! 

As you tour the American Celebration on Parade, you can see how that one thought turned into reality. The large boulders and stones that surround many of our parade floats came from that rock quarry. He was excited to tell people, “these boulders are the same type of rocks that can be found in the caverns!”. Yes, the same type of rock that is the foundation of the Caverns. He was able to bring those limestone boulders into the American Celebration and, hence blend Mother Nature’s stunning work with his beautiful artistry. Just one of the thousands of thoughts and ideas that went through Earl Hargrove’s mind that came together to bring the American Celebration on Parade to you.