Waterbury Rotary names hometown ‘G.W.’ as NQID Parade Grand Marshal
June 19, 2026 | By Gwenna Peters For our nation’s 250th birthday this year, the Waterbury Rotary Club has selected a grand marshal for the Not Quite Independence Day Parade to honor both our nation's history and a local citizen whose family has been in Waterbury for almost as long.
NQID 2026 Parade Grand Marshal Gordy Wood’s family history goes back to Waterbury’s early days. Photo by Gwenna Peters
The Rotary NQID team and the Waterbury VT250 Planning Committee met earlier this year to discuss ideas for a grand marshal choice that could connect with national history. The idea that floated to the top was to create an NQID Grand Marshal parade entry with President George Washington in a boat crossing the Winooski River. Since the parade is on land, the boat will need to be on a trailer. And since President Washington isn’t available, another “G.W.” has been recruited.
The honor of NQID Parade Grand Marshall this year will be given to Gordy Wood, who will portray President Washington crossing the Winooski River.
Wood, who is 82, is an apropos choice for many reasons.
His family has a long history in Waterbury through both of his parents, Esther Pike Wood and George Wood, going back some 10 generations. Ricker Mountain in Little River State Park is named after Wood’s great-, great-, great-grandfather, Joseph Ricker. Remnants of the family homestead and barn can still be reached by hiking the park’s steep Hedgehog Hill trail or from Little River, where you can find the family cemetery, old mill and barn (the largest barn in the area back in the day).
Wood’s mother was born at the Ricker Mountain homestead in 1910 and he is the youngest of five siblings. He recounts growing up in Waterbury Center on the farm where the Cold Hollow Cider is now located. Wood’s father was a carpenter and raised chickens to supplement the family income.
Wood went to school in Waterbury Center until eighth grade, then all the students went to what is now Brookside Primary School for grades 1-12; there was no kindergarten. Wood said he remembers buying his own books for school, walking from Waterbury Center, and even hitchhiking to school as there was no school bus, and everyone felt safe riding with neighbors. Wood graduated in 1961 from Waterbury High School and continues to support the Waterbury High School Alumni Association.
Gordon Wood’s 1961 Waterbury High School yearbook photo.
An early job Wood recalls was working summers picking green beans for 1.5 cents per pound for the town cannery. Over his lifetime, Wood had many jobs, including working for lift operations at Stowe Mountain and milking cows and mucking the barn at the dairy farm his uncle Keith Wallace ran on Blush Hill. Wood described the farm as his favorite job.
Some may recall Wood’s long tenure at the downtown market, where he worked for 37 years, starting when it was Super Duper and located where Kinney Drugs is today. The store eventually moved to its current location in the shopping center as the Village Market of Waterbury. Wood retired when the store was under the management of Grand Union, some 28 years ago.
Wood served in the U.S. Army, from basic training at Fort Dix to eventually serving in the Vermont National Guard as a supply specialist. He recounts many friendships from his time in the guard and he’s been a member of the local American Legion Post #59 for 35 years.
In his spare time, Wood is an avid letter-writer, and was once recognized by the local post office for being a great customer and writing over 1,000 letters a year for birthdays, anniversaries, deaths, as well as some “how-are-you” letters to friends, family, and those in need of some encouragement. For his 80th birthday two years ago, Wood received more than 200 cards at a surprise party held at the legion. Before it disbanded, Wood was an active member of the Waterbury Grange and recalls many meetings, grange fairs, and dances at the Grange Hall in Waterbury Center.
Today in his spare time, Wood might be found playing cribbage or poker with friends. He’s volunteered to deliver Meals on Wheels and regularly visits acquaintances in nursing homes.
Gordy Wood with his spouse, state Rep. Theresa Wood, D-Waterbury, enjoy some ice cream after the Main Street dedication ceremony in 2021, marking the end of the multi-year construction project. File photo by Gordon Miller
Wood is married to Theresa Wood, also a lifelong local resident, and presently one of two state representatives for Waterbury in the Vermont House. Theresa Wood is also a Waterbury Rotary co-president for a few more weeks before the club leadership transitions in July. She will not be participating in the Rotary parade float with Gordy Wood as President Washington.
In addition to Wood conveniently having initials that match those of the first president of the United States, Wood certainly fits the dictionary definition of a parade grand marshal as being “a highly respected individual chosen to lead and serve as a ceremonial head of a public procession.”
Interestingly, another definition listed for grand marshal is the person who drops the flag at auto races. Wood, who has a season pass at Thunder Road, said he thinks the grand marshal at the race track could be more fun than the NQID Grand Marshal. But he says he’s happy to serve his community in one more way.
Waterbury’s 2026 Not Quite Independence Day parade, fireworks and festivities are next Saturday, June 27. There’s still time to register to enter the parade and join in to celebrate this year’s theme, American Time Machine. More information is online on the Waterbury Rotary Club’s website here. Read more about the Rotary’s parade entry here.
Duxbury resident Gwenna Peters is a Waterbury Rotary Club member volunteer for NQID.