IRONTON — For as long as there has been a Memorial Day, there has been an Ironton Memorial Day Parade.

The first one was in 1868, which was also the first year Memorial Day was officially recognized as a national holiday in the United States.

The tradition continued on Monday, as thousands packed the town’s streets for the 140th edition of the parade, which is recognized by Congress as the longest-running Memorial Day parade in the country.

The skies turned dark and threatening several times during the course of the event, but the rain never came.

The 12-division parade stepped off right on schedule from the Lawrence County Courthouse, led by this year’s grand marshal, Bob Blankenship. A fly-over by a pair of military fighter jets helped launch the event.

The parade then made its way through the city’s downtown, then made a hard left and wound through a residential section of town.

Blankenship, a Lawrence County Common Pleas Court bailiff, former clerk of courts and longtime member of the parade committee, carried the grand marshal’s staff — a wooden cane with a ceramic eagle’s head on it — and passed out dozens of miniature American flags to folks lining the parade route.

He said he felt deeply humbled to have been chosen as the event’s grand marshal.

“It’s such an honor to be out here and see all these veterans and all these flags flying,” he said. “And, it’s Memorial Day.”

Blankenship said he had been told that people started showing up for the parade about 5 a.m. — five hours before its scheduled start time — in order to snag the prime viewing spots.

Blankenship was followed closely in the parade’s first unit by Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland, who was making his first appearance in the event since being elected governor in 2006.

“I’m proud to be here and I’m honored to have been invited,” Strickland said, in a brief interview at the end of the parade route.

Strickland also said he had spoken to people along the route from all over the country, including some from as far away as San Diego.

Strickland, a former congressman and a native of neighboring Scioto County, has been mentioned as a possible running mate for the Democratic presidential candidate, presumably Illinois senator Barack Obama. However, his actions during the parade seemed to indicate a lack of interest in the job.

At one point, a spectator hollered, “Obama-Strickland ’08!” to which Strickland responded with a thumbs-down gesture.

This year’s parade drew more than 1,800 participants, according to Arthur J. Pierson, the commander of the procession.

Debbie Withrow of Grayson, a native of Lawrence County, watched the parade from a shady spot under the eaves of a business on Center Street.

She said the event brought back memories for her because she’d marched in it numerous times as a member of the Rock Hill High School band.

Withrow said she tried to make the parade whenever her work schedule at King’s Daughters’ Medical Center permitted it.

Norma Wilson of Kitts Hill had her grandchildren’s 10-week-old puppy, Brutus, a Pomeranian-Chihuahua mix, as her parade-watching companion.

“I’m here every year,” she said. “I just love the tradition.”

Brutus — named for the Ohio State mascot, Brutus Buckeye — didn’t seem fazed by all the activity and actually seemed to be enjoying the attention he was getting from passers-by.

“He enjoys anything,” Wilson said.