I can see why people would want to save spots for the parade, but walking Frederick in the weeks before the parade when people start putting out their spot savers is a menace. Plus there are people who will inevitably have to walk in the road and try to sit in the road because families of 5 decide to take up enough space for ten because they want to have arms and leg room and have a cooler and whatever else.

The 'tradition' has gotten out of hand. A few days before, sure, but some of those chairs and such have been out since the beginning of JUNE. Come on people!

Questions like this help push along my ongoing lack of hope for human-kind. It saddens me that society has become so soft that such great local tradition has to be compromised because people are so hindered by folding chairs and ribbon. It is the 4th of July and we are in Catonsville. That statement alone should be enough of a defense against the argument of if we have gone too far. I don't complain about gaudy Christmas lights that distract me while I'm driving, that go up the day after Thanksgiving and stay up until after the New Year. So if you can't smile, walk around some plastic chairs and be proud of your community, I suggest you stay in the safety of your own home, free of spirit, love and patriotism.

Thanks for sharing. So far, this article has generated a lot of discussion on the Catonsville Patch Facebook page as well: https://www.facebook.com/CatonsvillePatch/posts/258843737550166?notif_t=share_comment

Please, how many people are actually inconvenienced by having to walk *around a chair or several on Frederick road the week before the 4th parade? Get a life people!

Sorry. I just don't get the whole parade chair space me-first culture, but that's just me. You arrive a little early on parade day and you get the space you want. If you're late, you get another spot. It's a nice parade, in a nice neighborhood. If you sleep better because you've saved your spot the week before, that's up to you. Just pick up your chair when it's all over, please.

On a positive note, if you're ever "down the ocean" and spot a couple of empty chairs positioned by the surf late afternoon, you can bet you'll find some people you know from Catonsville perched on them the next morning, in front of everyone else, enjoying the view.

Happy fourth, hurray for summer.

I'm not from Catonsville, I'm from Frederick, so I'll be honest the tradition is new to me. I don't have an opinion either way but I'd love for some people to 'fess up' on Patch and tell where their chairs are (if they are out already) and why you put them there.

These people need to get a life. Tens of thousands of soldiers have died to acquire our independence and to maintain it. Many gave their life for the cause. All so that we could be free. July 4 is supposed to be a celebration of that. And yet we have these people complaining about having to take a few extra steps around some chairs. Really? Countless countries, and maybe even neighboring towns, would kill to have such trivial problems. Anyone who has a problem with chairs on Frederick Road should consider exercising their freedom...to walk somewhere else, or better yet, move someplace else. The rest of us enjoy the sense of community and pride.

The chair thing is way out of line...people feel it is their God given right to reserve a spot on property that is not their own... it's what is wrong with the Country right now.."I've got mine to hell with you" really??? it's a parade for God's sake..show up an hour before plop down and enjoy.....I really appreciated the library last year taking a stance on this ridiculous practice...they threw the chairs placed on their property in the dumpster... Sorry people.... everyone deserves a right to a spot... so keep your chairs where they belong...in the trunk of your cars or vans or suvs until the 4th...have some respect for Catonsville and the streets of Catonsville....

Just a point of clarification, based on my interviews last year with Library Branch Manager Melissa Gotsch: they did ask that chairs be kept out of the way of the entrance of the library while the library was open. SHA also threw away broken pieces of chairs, after they were vandalized. To my knowledge the library staff did not throw away any chairs. There's more background in the article from last year: http://catonsville.patch.com/articles/vandals-wreck-chairs-set-out-for-fourth-of-july-parade-on-frederick-road

Next thing you know, people will be complaining because the 4th of July fireworks are made in China. And just as it wouldn't be the 4th of July without fireworks, it wouldn't be the 4th of July in Catonsville without people "lawn-chairing" Frederick Road weeks in advance. For our heritage-rich town, this is just as much a tradition as the parade. So much so, that there have been several t-shirts made by the celebrations committee (http://www.catonsvillecelebrations.org/tshirts/order-online.php) and that there have been chairs put out around New Year's as a joke.

Let's not read too much into this people- this is in no way, shape or form an "I've got mine to hell with you" thing. It's a quirky and entertaining Catonsville tradition. When I drive down Frederick during the weeks leading up to the 4th, seeing all those chairs builds anticipation of spending time with friends and family while honoring such a wonderful country. Those chairs signify that the best holiday is just around the corner.

A reminder that you can also show your love for the parade by donating to the committee also through the same website Meg pointed out above: http://catonsvillecelebrations.org/support-us/. I wrote about this a few weeks ago pointing to the rising costs of the parade: http://catonsville.patch.com/articles/the-catonsville-fourth-of-july-parade-needs-your-help

I love the tradition but I need to mow the lawn in front of my house this week before the parade. ;- [ What should I do with all the chairs? Maybe those folks could mow before they drop chairs in front of residences. Feel free to sit in front of Objects Found but we might put tags on and sell them. ;-)

Every year we put a few chairs out in front of our house. Every evening that I can I try to spend some time sitting in them talking with my family and with who ever passes by. I view it as a way to get to know your neighbors. We always leave space for neighbors/strangers/victims to place chairs. Sometimes they even come back the next year. I also enjoy the "what's up with the chairs?" comments from my co-workers. Have a good 4th, and remember to have a beer for the warriors who are currently deployed, whose sacrifice makes all this possible.

Well I've lived in Catonsville all my life-60+ years and i really do believe this "chair thing" has gotten totally out of control. It's a total eyesore to drive up Frederick Road and see chairs and benches tied, chained and hooked together, along with blankets thrown down. Years ago, you took your family and went to the parade route earlier in the afternoon; hunted up a good spot; set up and had snowballs, ice cream or whatever; talked to the people around you and had a great time. None of this reserving spaces on someone else's property; tying ropes or hooking up chains to hold rows of chairs in place weeks ahead of the parade. Yes, the celebration is in honor of our independence; so why not be independent and realize that you have no right to set up chairs on other's property - take a chance on the actual day and realize there are lots and lots of others who want to see the parade and celebrate too. I'd love to know if Reggie got a grass cutter from the chair setters? I'm sure those people never even considered the fact that they were encroaching on some one else's property. It's all about how inconsiderate some people can be. Think about Catonsvillians - enjoy the parade and the celebration the day of. Keep your chairs in your own yards until then.

How can "tradition" go too far? Like taxes it is all in the eye of the beholder.... where is too far? By the way, "far" is correctly spelled "fire" if you are from Baltimore. Anyway, if people want to risk their chairs to theft and vandalism, sop what. Also, anyone can move the chairs; they are considered abandoned propery. Finally, there are more important things to worry about.

Grew up on Catonsville, love the tradition of the chairs. The parade and it's viewers has grown tremendously over the years. Folks come from all over to celebrate independence and patriotism with our community. I've worn my many Catonsville 4th of July t-shirts (have 6 or more) here in Long Beach, Washington and have gotten a wonderful response when I explain the about chairs. We have a Loyalty Day parade here in May but no chair tradition. I believe I need to get one started. I have to agree with others posting here...don't like it? Don't go there, stay home. It's once a year thing. Happy Fourth of July, Catonsville!!

Next year I'm putting caution tape along the entire parade route a month in advance, reserving the entire street for only me and my friends. Of course, I'll charge 5 bucks to whoever wants to put a chair down in my reserved sections.

Until someone actually decides to do what I just posted above, the "chair tradition" will not have gone to far. This is Catonsville, it's what we do.

The real tradition was families making the trek from wherever they could find a parking spot with their kids and chairs in hand and looking for a nice spot to view the parade. This "put your chair out early" is an example of the greedy folks within walking distance of the parade route who think they have special privileges because of the proximity of their homes. I rarely missed a parade, but this chair nonsense ruined the holiday for a lot of us who believe in the real tradition.

People keep referring to the me-first chair obsession as a Catonsville tradition. The parade itself is a tradition, the chairs are just evidence that there are individuals out there who aren't ashamed of jumping ahead of everyone else. Someone, earlier, mentioned soldiers fighting and dying for the "freedom" to put our chairs out early. How sad. I thought our men were fighting and giving up their lives for something really important, not something as silly as grabbing a space at a parade before your neighbor has the same fair chance at it.

There's plenty of room along Frederick Rd, people. At least there would be if people weren't dumping chairs and blankets and roping off sections of sidewalks. Grab a snowball, relax, move over a little so everyone has room... the parade's about to start.

Someone has now put a toliet out on Frederick Road to save a spot..I guess they figured it to be too heavy to move..... WOW.....

thank you Chuck Carroll; you are so right and i agree with you 150%. And it truly is not a tradition....it's something that's gotten so out of hand and looks absolutely ridiculous for our community, as far as I'm concerned.

Some of the responses to this article sicken me and make me feel sorry for the people who wrote them. To be so victimized by folding chairs, that OUR tradition, and I say OUR because these people can't really be Catonsville people, has to be compromised… This isn't a middle school cafeteria people. No one is butting in line and taking away your chance to watch the parade. That is just a sad response and a sad way to go upon your daily life. Did anyone consider that a percentage of these chairs belong to the folks that own the house they are sitting in front of??? And to further defend my earlier comment, plastic chairs are less distracting then some of the mini Atlantic Cities people display during the holiday season. If you have trouble avoiding beach chairs, I suggest you look into your own health, physical and mental, before you damn OUR communities traditions. Man, if this was an actual tradition, you'd think they would make a t-shirt commemorating it. Oh wait, THEY DO! In fact, the committee that organizes the parade sell t-shirts with images of chairs on them to help fund the celebration. I actually had a member of said committee comment on my FB page that they enjoy seeing the chairs out early because it helps show the support and excitement over all the hard work they are doing throughout the year. If you cannot deal with an unmanufactured, genuine sense of community, personality and tradition, go to Columbia!!! Maybe that will be vanilla enough for you…

I volunteered to walk on behalf of an organization I do volunteer work for and NEXT YEAR I plan on being on the sidelines to watch ! Yesterday was a tremendously fun day and you can just feel the neighborhood pride. This is a wonderful tradition that even my own stomping ground - Towson - cannot compare to.

The whole reasoning behind "the Big Chair" being created in the first place was to knock the Catonsville people for reserving their "private space for a very public event". It was an artistic commentary on how ridiculus and out of hand the chair situation has become.