WORCESTER, Mass. — The town of Northbridge kicked off its 250th anniversary festivities with a parade Saturday.  

Hundreds of people gathered along Main Street for the historic celebration and treated to a procession of floats, musicians, classic cars, first responders and representatives of local businesses and nonprofits.  

Jack Crawford, a longtime Northbridge resident, traveled the parade route in a 1978 state police cruiser. 

“Well, we had a nice route for the first mile, but this car is 44 years old, it’s one of the biggest engines that Ford made for the LTD with a 460 cubic-inch engine, and it’s not used to going two to three miles an hour,” Crawford said. 

Crawford eventually had to pull over on Main Street and watched as his fellow parade-goers filtered by. It may not be how he had expected the morning would unfold, but he was in good spirits all the same. 

“The 200th, we had the opportunity to lead the whole parade with motorcycles,” Crawford said. “The 225th, we lead the parade with a color guard. Now, let’s just say, after all those years, I’m just bringing up the rear.”

Crawford is very active with the Northbridge Historical Society, and seeing hundreds of people crowd the street to share a moment of unity over their hometown roots harkens back to those previous town anniversaries.

“I’m very proud to be a part of this town, and to be part of events that bring people together in a positive light,” Crawford said. “We don’t do it enough, so a parade like this is really special.”