SPIRIT LAKE - Lars and Mariann Leffler took no chances for Monday's Labor Day parade in Spirit Lake.

It didn't start until 11 a.m., but by 10, the Lefflers were waiting on Maine Street.

"You have to be here on time," Lars said.

In 40 years, the Lefflers haven't been late because, well, if they are, even just a few minutes, this two-block show might just pass them by.

And they don't want that to happen.

"We were on time," added smiling Mariann.

Monday's parade, billed as the world's second shortest and sponsored by Roy Racy VFW Post 1473, took all of six minutes. There were a handful of entries, but not even organizer Joy Porter was sure exactly how many lined up.

"I haven't a clue," she said moments before it began.

A llama, a music man, guys on lawn mowers, a gal in a bee suit, a few politicians and veterans with flags and rifles highlighted the annual event that traveled between Third and Maine and Fourth and Washington.

Under beautiful blue, sunny skies, about 100 folks young and old lined up in front the White

Horse Saloon and shops on Maine Street. Some perched on open pickup tailgates, others claimed prime posts on benches and relaxed in the shade, while parents snapped pictures and kids dashed for candy.

Porter has been running the parade about 35 years, and said it dates back to the '40s, though "nobody can remember when for sure."

What's great about Spirit Lake's parade, she said, is that it's free, no registration necessary.

"The whole point of the parade is to have fun. If you get up in the morning and decide you want to be in the parade, be here," she said.

Once, a state trooper leaving a sister's house was pulled into the parade. Pretty much anyone who happens to wander onto the parade route is handed an entry tag and told to start marching, driving or riding.

"We even got an electric car with New York plates on it," said Porter, whose colorful clothing included a festive red vest and hat. "That's big time when they come from New York to be in our parade."

They take this parade seriously enough to hand out ribbons.

The adult category award went to Miller's Harvest Foods, while the children's went to tiny Ella Ownbey, dressed in a striped bee outfit. Ownbey is the seventh-generation of her family with Spirit Lake roots.

"Our family was here in the 1900s, said relative Carol Hunt. "Two of her great-great-grandfathers actually came here and surveyed the property to open up for settlement."

Hunt, a Wallace resident, lived in Spirit Lake as a youngster and returns for the Labor Day celebration each year.

"We were in it," she said, laughing. "It's small, it's neat and it's basically our hometown family."

Dean Massender rode through the parade on his homemade ambulance as part of the Big Back In group of men riding lawnmowers.

The ambulance, he explained proudly, was a gift to his mom, Dolli Massender, who served 18 years with Spirit Lake volunteer ambulance.

Spirit Lake, he said, is the place to be for Labor Day weekend. Monday's festivities included food, music, games and vendors in City Park. And yep, lots of families enjoying the holiday before the kids return to school.

Veterans with Roy Racy Post 1473, as usual, cooked and served 300 ears of corn that was donated by Miller's Harvest Foods.

"People look forward to it and we enjoy doing this," said veteran Jerry Millsap as he pulled the final ears from a pot of boiling water in front of the VFW Hall off Highway 41.

"I just love the fact everybody gets together," Massender said. "I just like the fact that all these families around here are enjoying themselves."