Patriots Day Parade honorees look back as Laguna marches on
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In a coastal town where everyone seems to know each other, tradition runs deep, none more celebratory than the Laguna Beach Patriots Day Parade.
Dick Metz, whose free spirit and world travels made him a surfing icon, said he is “amazed” that the town has remained largely unchanged through the decades.
That isn’t to say it hasn’t changed at all. Metz, 96, has stories that probably few others could tell.
Laguna Beach has enjoyed Main Beach Park, otherwise known as the “Window to the Sea,” since 1974, but prior to that, Metz’s family operated a restaurant on the seaward side of Coast Highway.
Up until that time, he said, drivers on Coast Highway couldn’t see the water. When change came, he admits he wasn’t fond of it — at first.
“At the time, I didn’t like it at all,” Metz added. “My dad’s restaurant was torn down. But in retrospect, over the years, it was good for the town, I think, and they made other rules that kept the city looking pretty much like it has.”
After leaving town to chase a dream that would become the inspiration for the surf film “The Endless Summer,” Metz has returned to many of the places he visited. Seeing how other places have changed has given him perspective.
“Now, it amazes me, there’s thousands of people that sit down there on the grass on a sunset-type of evening and thousands of them watch the sunset over Catalina,” Metz said. “I’ve lived in Hawaii for 30 years, and I’ve skied and lived in Aspen, Colorado and Sun Valley, Idaho, and all those towns have changed radically, but Laguna passed some kind of a law that when you drive down the Coast Highway, the buildings, businesses and houses on Coast Highway right through town, they can’t change those … Laguna looks like it did 50 years ago.”
Throughout that time, Laguna Beach has held onto a few community-focused traditions, including the Patriots Day Parade, which is scheduled to take place for the 59th time, starting at 11 a.m. on Saturday, March 14.
Metz returns to his hometown to serve as the grand marshal.
“I was certainly not even close to being anybody’s hero, and all of a sudden, I think I just lived longer than everybody else, so I was the only one left to give the award to,” Metz quipped. “I don’t know how else I got it.”
The parade will go through downtown Laguna Beach, which will soon see the opening of the Surfing Heritage and Culture Center, which is moving from San Clemente. Metz founded the museum in 1999.
David Nelson, a 57-year exhibitor creating silver jewelry at the Sawdust Art Festival, received the artist of the year honor. Nelson, a founding member of the Sawdust Winter Fantasy show, helped create the benevolence fund that provides financial assistance to artists in need.
“This year is the Sawdust’s 60th [anniversary], so there was a big plan on having a number of us in the parade,” Nelson said. “I haven’t been in the parade ever as an honoree, but I have been in the parade as a member of the Sawdust Festival.
“The parade’s been around since 1967, I think. There’s four main events in town that everybody attends. One of them is the Patriots Day Parade, one of them is Hospitality Night … and then the opening party of the Sawdust Festival and the opening party of the Festival of Arts.”
Longtime parade-goers will tell you that half the town marches, while the other half watches.
Michael Lindsey, a local conservationist and a scoutmaster of Scouting America’s Troop 35, has had his share of experiences partaking in the processional march, but he said he was “floored” when he learned he had been selected as citizen of the year.
Contributing to the maturation process of children, who acquire independence through learning leadership and life skills, is what Lindsey said he has come to love about scouting. The troop regularly marches in the parade, also assisting with putting up signage along the parade route as a service project.
“I discovered that I really enjoy scouting and camping, working with kids, and I bring that environmental sense to scouting,” Lindsey said. “I like to take them out on field trips to identify animals and plants, and talk about conservation. We do a lot of hikes and overnights in Crystal Cove and hiking out in the greenbelt, and I have a great time.
“I like to take them down to look at the tidepools and all that, because some of the requirements include learning about native animals, native plants, and just increasing their awareness for all that.”
Cmdr. John C. Connolly is being recognized as the honored patriot. Connolly, a retired naval aviator, earned two Navy Commendation Medals, 16 Air Medals, and the Vietnam Air Cross of Gallantry.
Mountain Bike and BMX Hall of Fame‘s Brian Lopes was named the athlete of the year.
The junior citizens of the year are Laguna Beach High seniors Zachary Menter, who would like to study nuclear engineering at the U.S. Naval Academy, and Estella Cuyler Newton, a coding and data enthusiast who has been accepted to Harvard.
