Monday Memories: He slept like a baby through the Labor Day parade

A shady nest and gentle summer breezes conspired to send Rickie Buchholz to dreamland in 1956, despite the cacophony of music, sirens, horns and laughter filling Downtown Toledo streets during the Labor Day parade. In this Blade archive photo, Rickie slept peacefully despite the din as a row of tuba players marched past. A crowd of 45,000 Toledoans lined the streets that year to watch more than 10,000 members of organized labor stage a 1½ hour Labor Day parade. That parade, led by UAW vice president Richard T. Gosser, emphasized labor’s increased interest in politics. Politicians backed by labor marched with Gosser, and several floats urged citizens to register to vote. A lone pick-up truck carried no signs, but a grinning boy atop a live donkey conveyed the message. Go to thebladevault.com/memories to purchase more historical photos taken by our award-winning staff of photographers, past and present, or to purchase combinations of stories and photos