“It may well be that no pair of newlyweds have ever been grand marshals at the Maxwelton Fourth of July Parade.This year, times are a-changin’.Darrell Green, a lifelong Maxwelton farmer, and his wife, Sandy Dolstad-Green, will ride at the figurative head of the parade. Married for just a year, the couple will bring something old and something new to this year’s event. The something new is, obviously, their marriage. The something old is Darrell Green himself, which he admits freely as he talks about the 45-plus years he spent organizing kids games and baseball teams for the parade. Together, the couple has seen about 80 Maxwelton parades, but this year will be different for Green. It will be the first time he has ever been part of the parade itself.This has been my life, he said of the Maxwelton area.Green has lived at or near the beach since he could crawl. During part of the year, he and Dolstad-Green live on the 20-acre Bailey Road farm he purchased for $3 an acre while he was in high school. At other times, they live in a cabin they own right on Maxwelton Beach. A member of the Mackie clan, Green’s first memories of the Fourth of July parade include a childhood longing to be on the Mackie In-Laws baseball team.I couldn’t wait until I was big enough to play, he said.Dolstad-Green has not been on South Whidbey as long as Green, but is an ardent parade-goer. While her husband has been watching the parades almost since they started in the 1912, Dolstad-Green saw her first Maxwelton parade in 1985, when she came to the island with her late husband, Roger Dolstad.It was so cute, she said. I thought it was the smallest parade in the world.At the time, that may have been close to the truth. But in recent years, the parade has grown from its first 30 participants to include more than 100 units, from bands and unicyclists to clowns, politicians and scout troops.Though the parade has slowed to a crawl due to the sheer numbers of people, floats, cars, and fire trucks participating, both of this year’s marshals think there is room for more. Dolstad-Green said more bands and more music would bring the parade fun to a crescendo, while Green said he would like to see the politicians get the boot and the horses make a return to the parade route. Horses were removed years ago because they were a safety hazard for all the children watching the parade.Of course, if parade organizers add many more units to the parade, Green said they may have to change the event’s format.You’ll have to run the people by instead of the parade, he said.Southend residents attending the parade will undoubtedly recognize the couple. Green worked for 20 years as a mail carrier on South Whidbey, delivering every letter and every package to every resident living south of Highway 525 in Clinton. He has also been a logger and farmer most of his life. Dolstad-Green gets her time in public at Linds Jewelry, where she works part time.The couple is still talking about how they will do their duty while riding atop Chris Gabelein’s convertible Tuesday. So far, they have not practiced their parade waves, and their outfits are still up for debate. Well, at least for Dolstad-Green. Fresh in from cutting hay Wednesday morning, Darrell Green said he is just going to be himself.You’re looking at it, he said, pointing to his boots, overalls, and leather boots, which he calls his Maxwelton tuxedo.If he wasn’t getting a ride along the parade route, he might just bring his own Maxwelton convertible. That’s a tractor to you and me.”