WAUKESHA — Susie Taylor was one of the many witnesses forever impacted after watching a red SUV drive through last year's Christmas Parade in Waukesha.
"I thought that one of the hoses got off the hitch or something and a car was chasing it. Everything just changed," Taylor remembers of that night.
She's one of the owners of People's Park, a restaurant on Main St. She watched the horror unfold from the inside. Talk of the tragedy still comes up in her restaurant almost a year later.
"A customer about a month or two ago said to me, 'I remember your face at the parade, are you gonna go to the parade this year?' And I said 'I don't know, I don't know if I can do it.'" Taylor said. "Then I walked out on Main Street and I said 'I am going to go to the parade.' And not only am I going to go to the parade, People's Park is going to do a float in the parade."
It's the first time the local business will participate in the parade instead of just being spectators.
"If we were ever going to have a float in the parade, this is the year to have a float in our parade to show that we are Waukesha Strong," Taylor said.
The float is currently being made, but it all started with a simple sketch by Taylor staying true to the theme of 'Peace on Earth.'
"So we have a big inflatable globe coming, then it will be surrounded by a little forest," Susie said of the float the community will see on Dec. 4. "Bringing peace, light, joy and hope to downtown Waukesha again."