Petal Pushers and supporters - A gloomy, cold wet day doesn't eliminate smiles on the faces of this group as they look forward to a holiday hayride at Kruger Farms! Wearing the elves cap is Steve Klafehn, local coordinator of this fund raiser for the Petal Pushers, a group which will travel to Pasadena, California to work on final decoration of floats for the Rose Bowl Parade. Ten youths and five adults from churches in the Hilton area will make the trip, leaving December 26 and returning on New Year's Day. Photograph for Westside News Inc. by Walter Horylev.

As you sit around the television New Year's Day watching the Tournament of Roses Parade just like you always do, take a closer look and you may see someone you know.

Steve Klafehn, a Hamlin resident and Director of Youth at St. Paul's Lutheran Church, will be taking a group of 10 children and five adults to enjoy the festivities that he has participated in for the last three years. The group will be heading to Pasadena to serve as Petal Pushers for the Tournament of Roses Parade.

Petal Pushers is an organization of more than 5,000 individuals who volunteer their services to help with the final preparation of each float for the Rose Parade. The Pushers do the "dry work," which consists of applying the rice, flower petals, seeds and any other organic material needed. Their volunteered services help to pay for the Lutheran Hour float.

The floats range in size and can be hundreds of square feet, 25 tons and cost up to $300,000 to create. Creating a float for the parade is a full-year process and adding the final touches is a major undertaking.

"Sometimes it is long hours, but I promise you that it is worth it," Klafehn said. The floats are a major project because of their size and because of the ornate detail found in each one.

"The most difficult thing in being a rookie is learning patience. There is a lot of tedious work," said Klafehn. However, the "rookies" Klafehn is bringing say they are up for the challenge.

Ryan Messenger, a member of St. Paul's and freshman at Roberts Wesleyan, is looking forward to the opportunity and is confident that the task at hand will not be too difficult. "I think it's going to be easy, but not nothing," Messenger said. "It is a chance to get involved in something that looks like it will be a good experience."

For Kira Michaels, a Hilton High School senior and a member at St. Paul's, deciding whether or not to join the group didn't take long. She and her younger sister, Valerie, will be joining the group made up predominantly of St. Paul's members.

"I knew I wanted to go right away, but I didn't know if I'd be able to go," she said. Events like this one had been canceled many times before due to lack of funding or lack of interest. Luckily for those involved, this trip will not have the same fate. Learning from past experiences, the group began fundraising as soon as they decided that they wanted to go.

After five months of planning, raising money and looking for the best deals possible, they will travel at a rate that is much less than their first estimate of $648. Michaels said it will cost her $300 to make the trip.

While their exact assignments will not be determined until they arrive in Pasadena on December 26, Klafehn said they will more than likely work on the Lutheran Hour float and the Kodak float. The Lutheran Hour float is the only float maintained by a Christian organization in the entire parade. Klafehn said he is excited to be part of St. Paul's first time helping out with the parade and the fifty-first time the Lutheran Hour float will grace the Tournament of Roses. He's also betting on his enthusiasm being infectious.

"I hope everyone I'm going with will see the excitement behind the Lutheran Hour float," Klafehn said. "Everything goes off like clockwork. Even at the last minute when it doesn't seem like it will go off."

Area Petal Pushers: Eric Gardner; Sue, Christopher, Steven Gardner; Brendan Slick; Ryan Messenger; Alicia Wehle; Kira Michaels; Valerie Michaels; Kristi Dempski, Kate Dempski, Kristin Ophardt; Joli Sucy; Kelly Ekiert; Steve Klafehn.