COMMUNITY NEWS
Little Leaguers Put Aptos on the Map
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by John Hibble
his 4th of July, Aptos will celebrate our freedoms with t-shirts, a great parade and a party in Aptos Village Park. This year’s parade Grand Marshals are the 2002 Aptos Little League All-Stars. This is a 20-year reunion of the group of 11- and 12-year-old boys who won the Little League West Regional Championship becoming the first team from Santa Cruz County to go on to the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. It was also the first team from California to make it to the Little League World Series since 1991. Little League is a competition of more than 7,000 teams around the world. The Little League World Series is an elimination playoff Kevin Eichhorn between the 16 best teams in the world. Just getting to go is a most incredible achievement. Amazingly, The Center for New American Media in Brooklyn, New York picked the Aptos All Stars team to film as a documentary and they captured the adventure on video from day one, culminating in the movie, “SMALL BALL: A Little League Story,” an hour-and-a-half film that was shown nationally on PBS. The Aptos All Stars were eliminated in their quest to win the Little League World Series but that does not diminish what they were able to achieve. As a result, the
California State Legislature proclaimed Oct. 26, 2002, as Aptos Little League Day. They really put Aptos on the map. The Aptos “World’s Shortest Parade” started in 1961 as a celebration. Aptos’ main industry had been apple and fruit processing but that had closed down and a cement batching plant was proposed in the center of the small village. A group of women called the Aptos Ladies Tuesday Evening Society fought against the required zoning change. Their efforts were successful. To celebrate their victory, a barbecue was held on Memorial Day, 1961, in the field next to the railroad track. The event was so popular that a parade and potluck were planned to follow on the fourth of July. Everyone turned out in old-fashioned clothes and the Monterey Bay Antique Car Club brought 18 vintage cars. The parade route was from the Driftwood Gas Station at Trout Gulch Road (where O’Neill is now located) to the Pop Inn restaurant, (now the Parish Publick House). The parade lasted only 10 minutes and that is how the “World’s Shortest Parade” got its name. The once tiny parade has grown into a huge event for Aptos. The “World’s Shortest Parade” has gained national recognition as one of only seven Fourth of July parades recommended in 2013 as the “Best” by prestigious Condé Nast Traveler, and in 2017, our parade was listed as one of “America’s Most Unique July Fourth Celebrations” by Land’s End Journal.
Aptos Little League 2002 All Stars begin their journey to the Little League World Series by winning the Section 5 Championship. The Aptos Chamber is asking the or be in it, and finally to have lunch and community to be the judges for this year’s dance the afternoon away, with the band parade. Send photos of your favorite floats, “James Durbin and The Lost Boys” in Aptos groups, pets, cars, and bands to chamber- Village Park? You can celebrate freedom from cooking and doing the dishes, you will aptos@gmail.com. This year’s T-shirt is a local Golden have a great day and also help to support Retriever named Milo wearing a Little the parade that gives Aptos a little slice of League Baseball cap. They are available at fame and a big slice of “home town” feeling. the Aptos Chamber of Commerce, Aptos Happy Independence Day! n Editor’s note: To find out what the 2002 Feed, Deluxe Foods and Santa Cruz County Aptos Little League team members are doing Bank in Aptos. What better way to celebrate Indepen- now, see the 4th of July parade program prodence Day than to either watch the parade duced by Times Publishing Group.
Cabrillo Host Lions Award 13 Aptos High Scholarships
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he Cabrillo Host Lions Club showed their support of community youth by presenting to 13 Aptos High students each a scholarship of $500 for continued education. The club presented the students with the scholarships on May 12 at the Aptos Village clubhouse. According to Cabrillo Host Lions Club President Barbara Chamberlain, “Each of these students has set an excellent example for fellow students to follow, and is a deserving recipient of this scholarship. Helping young people continue their education is one of the challenges our community faces, and it’s a need our club continues to address. We are also extraordinarily grateful for the support and contributions we received from members of the community. You are helping us make a difference.”
In addition to the scholarships, the club conducts a variety of projects and events, including annual vision and hearing testing at all Aptos schools, beautification of the Word War 1 veteran memorial, advocate to improve pedestrian safety at hazardous intersections, and Books for Samoa Fundraiser. The Cabrillo Host Lions Club meets on the 2nd and 4th Thursday of each month at 7 p.m. at the Aptos Village clubhouse, 100 Aptos Creek Road. Lions clubs are groups of men and women who identify needs within the community and work together to fulfill those needs. For more information or to get involved with the Cabrillo Host Lions Club, contact Barbara Chamberlain at 831688-3356. n
10 / June 15th 2022 / Aptos Times www.tpgonlinedaily.com
Front row (From Left): Nikos Lares, Gavin Page, Nathaniel Miller, Nicholas Barrett, Isaac Craig, Jaylen Dang, Olivia Rocha Schimke, Sherry Choy, Tatiana Brantley, Callie Wiesner, Barbara Chamberlain, Cabrillo Host Lions president, Joanna Dang, LEO Club advisor • Back row (From Left): Wade Watson, Sean Harvey • Not pictured: Mairin Mullen
