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MARLBORO -- Being one to shy from the limelight, 75-year-old Louis Ghiloni wasn't sure whether he would accept the honor of being the grand marshal of this year's Labor Day Parade, an event the city's first recreation director helped start 50 years ago.
It became vividly clear what he should do after receiving a letter from the daughter of his former secretary, thanking him for all the wonderful recreational enjoyments she had experienced as a teen-ager because of him.
"After reading that letter, I don't have any choice. I'll be there," Mr. Ghiloni said in a recent interview. He said this is the first time he has been in the parade.
Lucille Gravelle Maxson, now 56 and living in Westchester, Pa., said she wrote to Mr. Ghiloni after she read in a Marlboro newspaper that city officials were unsure if the quiet gentleman who gave so much to the community would show up to lead the parade. Mr. Ghiloni and the late Mayor Romeo J. Gadbois started the parade in 1952. Mr. Gadbois' four sons -- Edward, Edgar, David and Donald -- will represent him in the parade.
Mrs. Maxson said the article brought back memories of her as a 13- year-old popping into Mr. Ghiloni's office after school. Her mother, Lucie Gravelle, who died this year, was the recreation director's secretary. Mrs. Maxson said she was moved to write Mr. Ghiloni to...