Mitch and Julie Meunier have been a part of the Gillett community for as long as they can remember.
Mitch Meunier and his late father, Frank Meunier, operated the city’s True Value hardware store on Main Street for more than 50 years, while Julie Meunier spent 38 years at what is now a Flagstar Bank branch in Gillett.
The Gillett Civic Club, which sponsors and organizes the city’s Fourth of July celebration each year, has selected the Meuniers to be grand marshals of this year’s Independence Day parade, set for 2 p.m. July 4.
“Very humbled and surprised, both of us,” Julie Meunier said. “Our first reaction was, ‘It goes to old people.’”
“This whole thing kind of caught me off guard,” Mitch Meunier said. “I never thought I’d be grand marshal of anything. Grand marshal of my yard is about all.”
Mitch Meunier and his father operated the True Value store on Main Street for 53 years.
“My dad started it and I took it over,” he said. “We were a partnership for a number of years, and then I took it over as sole proprietor in 2000.”
His late mother, Bette Meunier, was the choir director at Gillett Secondary School, and she and her husband were grand marshals in a previous Fourth of July parade in Gillett.
“We always had to be involved in the school,” Julie Meunier said. “The auditorium is the Meunier-Pelot Auditorium.”
The Meuniers raised their two daughters, who now live in De Pere but return to the Gillett area often with their three sons.
“Both of our daughters were very involved in the music programs and sports,” Julie Meunier said. “A small community really relies on everybody supporting the community, because it’s way too easy now to just do things through Amazon and whatnot. We tried to be as good as we could be to support every organization and we actively went after the business of locals and felt that community was very, very important.”
Mitch Meunier said his family never considered leaving the Gillett area, and they have lived at their home on the Oconto River near Pulcifer for more than 40 years.
“My dad was born and raised (in Gillett), my grandmother was born and raised there, I was born and raised there, my kids were born and raised there,” he said. “We’ve been here a long time.”
“It was always just a great environment,” Julie Meunier said. “I grew up with 10 kids, he was an only child. Community and family have always been extremely important to both of us.”
The Meuniers’ daughters — Michelle and Melissa — attended college after graduating high school, and they often babysit for their three grandsons.
“One has her doctorate and one has her master’s,” Julie said. “They both had a great education in Gillett and had a lot of opportunities in a small school. That was probably one of the most important things for us growing up and for our children, that they could be involved in anything they wanted. They had opportunities for advanced classes and experience anything they wanted to experience.”
The city’s Fourth of July celebration has been a big deal for years.
“They do a real nice presentation in their two days,” she said. “They bring the community together. We’ve made the trophies for the car show for years. They do one of the finest fireworks displays in the area. The Fourth of July in Gillett is big.”
While the parade’s theme this year is “We the People — 250 Years — 1776-2026,” it will be held while state Highway 22 is closed for construction.
“It’s going to be a challenge getting people in and out because the roads are severely torn up,” Julie Meunier said.
The parade isn’t the only thing going on July 3-4, as several other activities are planned at Zippel Park.
A truck pull will be held at 7 p.m. July 3, while other July 4 events include a horse pull at 9 a.m., an antique tractor pull at 5 p.m. and fireworks at dusk.
The 17th annual antique and classic car, truck and motorcycle show will be held from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. July 4. Registration will be held from 9 a.m. to noon and best of show trophies will be awarded at 4 p.m.
Live music on July 3 at the park includes Next Time Around from 4-7 p.m. and Petty Cash from 7 -11 p.m. Music will continue July 4 with Country Rewind from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., Acoustic Vinyl from 3-6 p.m. and the Highway 32 Band from 7 -11 p.m.
