Stroll down memory lane during Sunday’s live broadcast of West Bend Christmas Parade

West Bend, WI – Sunday’s live broadcast of the annual West Bend Christmas Parade on Washington County Insider will feature memories of what shopping was like on Main Street more than 70 years ago.  Susan Kist wrote in with her recollection. I remember marching in the 1958 West Bend Christmas parade with the Grafton High School Band. We waited in the 7 up Bottling Company, where it was warm, for the parade to start. That building was just off  

That building was just off of South Main, it still says 7-Up on the outside of the building but I don’t think anything is bottled there today. When it was time, we lined up on Main and marched to some place just north of HWY. 33.

During the broadcast we’re looking for memories about what the inside of the stores looked like and names of owners or employees. One reader recalled a Wiedmeyer who was an usher at the West Bend Theatre, and he had a flashlight and would go around ‘shushing’ teens.

Do you recall the Living Nativity at St. John’s Lutheran or Jecklin’s Shoe Store with Bernie and Mona.

One local recalled, “I wanted penny loafers but didn’t want them to be new, so I put them in the high school parking lot and let the kids drive over them until they were appropriately distressed.”

Chime in today with your memories of shopping in West Bend, Wi, and we will read them during the live broadcast.

Be sure to mark your calendar for Sunday, December 1 as the annual West Bend Christmas Parade will step off at 5 p.m. There will be a live broadcast at Washington County Insider brought to you by Boss Realty. This year’s theme is “Christmas Around the World.”

The parade will step off at 5 p.m. sharp led by local law enforcement and a contingent from the Kettle Moraine Marine Detachment presenting the U.S. flag.

This year’s parade broadcast sponsors include: Wendy Wendorf – Homestead Realty, Sal’s Pizzeria, Advanced Focus Eye Care, AM Construction, Don Patnode – American Family Insurance Agency in West Bend, Collett Systems, Tennies Ace Hardware, Rogue Beauty Bar, Extra Mile Snow Plowing, and Murphy & Prachthauser.

Below are some photos and comments from the 2023 parade.

“Thanks so very much for broadcasting the Christmas Parade. It has been a part of my life since 67 years ago when I marched in the West Bend Christmas parade as a member of the Grafton High School marching band.”

The 72nd annual Christmas Parade begins at 5 p.m. on

Sunday, December 1, 2024.