By DOUG GRAVES
Ohio Correspondent

LEBANON, Ohio — Not even heavy snow flurries and wind chills of 20 degrees could keep more than 100,000 spectators from attending the 22nd annual Lebanon Horse-Drawn Carriage Parade. The event is held at 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. the first Saturday in December in this small Warren County city.

Charles Poppe, of Cincinnati has driven in every parade since the event began in 1988.

“One parade is different from the other and I never get tired of participating,” Poppe said. “I remember that first parade and it had to be about 10 degrees outside. We had about 30 entries in the first parade that afternoon and when the second one came around it was about 10 degrees. My first thought was I’d never do this again.”

But Poppe returned the following year and to this day he is the only driver to have attended all 22 parades.

“I just love carriages,” Poppe said. “I’ve been collecting carriages for 35 years. It’s quite a hobby. I was never good at bowling, so I had to do something.”
Poppe began collecting carriages in 1974 and owns several that previously belonged to movie stars like Clark Gable and James Cagney, as well as historical figures like the Vanderbilt family, one of the richest families in American history. This year Poppe drove a carriage that once owned by Franklin Roosevelt’s mother, Sara. The carriage was built in 1875 for the U.S. Centennial Celebration the next year. Poppe has an entire barn filled with carriages, historical bits, saddles and more.

Poppe and 29 other drivers participated in that first parade, which to this day still heads south on Main Street. Word of the parade got out quickly in this horse-rich county and this year 140 drivers took to the streets with their carriages and horses donned in Christmas apparel. Even the drivers, such as Poppe, take pride in their dress. Poppe’s top hat can be spotted for blocks away. And surprising he never leads the parade.

“Lucky No. 13 is my spot,” he said.

Poppe attends roughly 12 to 14 parades annually. And this season, driving his carriage were two Hackney horses, Let the Good Times Roll and Oh Canada, the latter of which recently won a grand championship in Canada.

“I attend a lot of parades and Lebanon’s is at the top of the list,” Poppe said. “The city comes out in full force to support the drivers.

Every year it gets better and better.”

On a much smaller scale, Delbert Cooke, of Lebanon left the driving up to his two miniatures, Pebbles and Blaze.

“I agree with Poppe, this sort of thing gets in your blood. This is my 19th season,” said Cooke, whose carriage was built by Amish from Adams County. “I once owned 12 miniatures, now I’m down to three miniature horses and one miniature donkey.”

The first parade attracted a crowd of 3,000. This year’s attendance figure was estimated at 100,000. To accommodate the crowds the parade is held at 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. and always takes place the first Saturday in December. The Lebanon Chamber of Commerce began the event in 1988 as a way to bring tourists and potential shoppers to downtow Lebanon’s specialty stores during the Christmas season. In addition to bringing in revenue to shop owners, food and beverage vendors benefit as well.