DECATUR - Grandpa's Train wended its way down Franklin Street during Decatur Celebration's Razzle Dazzle Goodtimes Parade on Saturday, pulling 11 red wagons filled with 11 grandchildren and labeled with their names, and an extra wagon bringing up the rear, labeled "Just in Case."

Grandpa, Lynn Jefson of Decatur, has 13 grandchildren, but two live in Connecticut and didn't get here in time for the parade. The wagon train started when Jefson's three sons were little enough to squeeze into one wagon.

"Then they grew up and got married and had kids, and I was always hearing, 'Grandpa, give us a train ride!' " Jefson said.

As the brood grew, so did the train. And Grandpa's got enough spunk to handle all of them.

"There might be grandpas who have as much fun," he said with a grin, "but there aren't any who have more."

Grandpa's Train was one of dozens of fun and quirky entries in the annual parade, which was so long this year, it took almost an hour and a half to see the whole thing go by.

One ancient pickup truck bore the legend "Shotgun Weddings" on its doors, and written below that: "We care when he don't" and "It's a matter of wife or death." Riding in the back, complete with straw hats and toy shotguns, two boys chewed on bits of straw and tried to look menacing between chuckles.

Theatre 7, to promote their upcoming season, organized a kazoo band. The first production will be "The Music Man" and, lacking 76 actual trombones, the group recruited the troops to play "76 Trombones" on kazoo. President Nancy Sullivan said there weren't 76 of them, but they brought along a box of kazoos to pass out to the crowd to encourage audience participation and hoped that their enthusiasm would do the rest. "The Music Man" will be presented Nov. 7 to 9 and 14 to 16 in the Decatur Civic Center Theater. Visit www.theatre7.net for more information.

Decatur schools had a huge presence, more than two blocks long, with every school represented.

"We've got the drum corps from Hope (Academy), a lot of student groups, administrators," said Julie Lycan, community engagement assistant. MacArthur and Eisenhower high schools sent their bands, cheerleaders and sports teams, and the elementary and middle school students came, too, wearing their school T-shirts.

The Eisenhower band's brass section had tied black and white balloons to their horns and even had a little synchronized dance to do during the drum cadence, laughing whether or not it worked.

"I want people to know that Garfield (Montessori School) is a great school, and you can have a lot of fun there," said Aaron McCoskey, who will be in seventh grade there this year and, along with younger brother Lucas, a fourth-grader, carried Garfield's sign.

The administrative team wore T-shirts bearing the latest graduation rate, which is up, and the dropout rate, which is down. Assistant Superintendent Brian Hodges said they want people to know and figured that was a good way to get the word out. The district has a booth at the Celebration where families can get information and even register their children for the upcoming year.

Superintendent Gloria Davis didn't let the heat and bright sunshine slow her down, either. She tripped down the street among her students and staff, waving, smiling and dancing to the beat of students' drums.

"It's a great day for Decatur schools," she said.

Valerie Wells can be reached at vwells@herald-review.com or 421-7982.