American Legion Post 509 in Port Washington has announced that in the light of their decision to cancel their Memorial Day parade due to concerns over the coronavirus, the parade’s intended grand marshal will instead participate in one held in the fall.
Post Commander Douglas Weston says that James Brew, a sixth-generation Port resident and Army veteran, who was previously named grand marshal of the parade, will instead head the Pride in Port Parade, currently scheduled for September 26.
Brew, 87, attended Main Street School from kindergarten through ninth grade and graduated Port Washington High School (now Schreiber) in 1951. The youngest of 4 brothers, all of whom served in the United States military, he was drafted in 1953, and served two years in the Army, serving as corporal while based at Fort Dix while working as a mechanic in the engineer’s motor pool.
After being discharged, Brew returned to a job with the Town of North Hempstead on a patrol boat and continued to work on Manhasset Bay doing fiberglass repair work and painting and varnishing boats before retiring at age 71.
Brew has been an active member of the local Masonic Lodge since 1958 and was named the master of the lodge in 1967.
Brew will lead the Pride in Port Parade in the fall, currently scheduled for September 26.
