Chief Ryan Greco has announced the Grand Marshall of the 125th Anniversary Parade as retired Chief of Police Harry Wilde, a transformational leader of our organization who served the residents of Cranford from 1963 until his retirement in 2003. The 125th Anniversary Parade is scheduled for Sunday, October 23rd, 2022 at 12:30 PM.

Chief Wilde served in the United States Coast Guard from 1959-1963 and later joined the Cranford Police Department in 1963. Over the course of his 40-year career, he served as an adjunct faculty member at Union College, served on the Union College Board of Directors, served as Executive Officer of the Union County Narcotics Strike Force and was a past recipient of the Martin Luther King Award. Chief Wilde was directly responsible for developing the West Point Command and Leadership Academy in 1993 - a 6-month course attended by many law enforcement professionals throughout the State of New Jersey.

The Cranford Police Department 125th Anniversary Parade will consist of emergency vehicles and specialized equipment from Local, County, State and Federal Agencies. The parade route starts at Union County College and travels southbound on Springfield Avenue towards Downtown Cranford. The parade will then turn right onto North Union Avenue, cross North Avenue, and turn left into the Walnut Avenue entrance to the Train Station parking lot (Municipal Lot # 4).

A portion of the parade route from Springfield Avenue to Penn Road has been designated as a "sensory-friendly zone" with no sirens or horns being used by the participating agencies.

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Release by D/Lt. Matthew R. Nazzaro

Public Information Officer - Cranford Police Department

m-nazzaro@cranfordnj.org / 908-709-4313