Virginia Mattson-Tracy (left) and her longtime friend Joyce White enjoy their time together Thursday while waiting for the Fourth of July Parade to reach them. They have been friends for nearly 50 years and coming to the parade together for as long as they can remember. In the past, they would watch their husbands, both veterans, march in the parade, but now, it’s an opportunity to remember their late husbands. Credit: Linda Coan O’Kresik / BDN