Sen. James Rhoades lit the two candles on the birthday cake, and Mayor Carl Fazio blew them out, and hundreds of people joined in the chorus that sang “Happy Birthday” as Beaver Meadows Borough celebrated its 200th birthday on Sunday.

A parade led by State Police-mounted color guard led the hourlong parade that followed, in which Fazio followed in a replica of a turn-of-the-century touring car, as did officials, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts and firetrucks.

The borough was created in what was then Northampton County, exactly two hundred years ago. Today, there are just over a thousand residents within the confines of the little borough on the north end of Carbon County.