Druffel gals put lid on Johnson parade water fights

With the cocky swagger and iron handcuffs of Old West marshals, though donnning umbrella hats, the sisters Druffel strode the streets of Johnson Monday to ensure their creation - the town’s Fourth of July parade - stayed dry.

After 44 years of unbridled growth, the Druffel gals - originators of the parade - decided it had gotten a bit out of control.

Led by a number of water-loving entrants, portions of the parade had turned into an aquatic battle zone.

The Druffel sisters asked attendees this year to leave their water cannons, squirt guns and buckets of water balloons at home. To back that request, they deputized one another, complete with badges and cuffs, and asked potential Independence Day rainmakers to curb their urges to douse.

Kathy Druffel Wolf explained the set of “penalties” that would be assessed to soakers.

“First offense, we smack you around,” said Wolf. “Second offense, you get the cuffs. Third offense, you’re kicked out of Johnson.”

Despite the outraged voices that piped up from the water balloon set behind Druffel Wolf, most of the crowd seemed appreciative of the new Johnson dry policy.

“It’s great to see the fire trucks and ambulances in the parade so people can see what their tax dollars have bought,” said Whitman County Commissioner Pat O’Neill, a Johnson resident. “But they shouldn’t be used as water cannons.”

O’Neill said he has been told by previous entrants who brought their classic cars to the parade that the water fights in previous years made them leave their rides at home.

Johnson’s Independence Day parade began in 1967, with Druffel sisters Clare, Chris, Carrie and Kathy.

At the urging of their parents, Fritz and Jeanne, the girls, bored and hot, traipsed down the Busby-Johnson Road with a drum, flute and American flag. They played songs and lit firecrackers for their neighbors.

This year’s version saw hundreds of entrants showing off before an estimated 3,000 spectators.