Amazing Arcola - Zany Lawn Rangers Rev Up for Obama's Inaugural Parade

They aren't politically correct and they aren't very presidential. But somehow, the World Famous Lawn Rangers from Amazing Arcola (Illinois) - a longtime staple of beer-drenched St. Patty's Day parades in America's heartland - have secured a spot in President-elect Barack Obama's inaugural parade.

Pushing mowers and wielding toilet plungers and broomsticks, the Lawn Rangers have entertained rowdy crowds from the St. Patrick's Day parade in Chicago and the Indy 500 parade in Indianapolis to the Fiesta Bowl in Phoenix and the Holiday Bowl parade in San Diego. They've also participated in countless community parades throughout the Midwest, including Arcola's Broom Corn Festival parade, where they first marched 28 years ago, bonded by their only talent: pushing mowers.

And now, they'll get a chance to wow the millions of Americans expected to descend on the nation's capital for Obama's inauguration next month.

"We're greatly honored," the zany troupe's co-founder, Pat Monahan, tells the Sleuth, having been chosen above hundreds of other applicants. "I have to think it was diversity."

Sure, if you call middle-aged white guys diverse. Though, to be fair, the Lawn Rangers and their "Banner Babes" - who will be called "Banner Abes" in the inaugural parade, in keeping with Obama's Lincoln theme - now range in age from 21 to 80. And they include union workers, lawyers and business people alike.

They usually decorate their mowers with Lazy-Boy recliners, beer kegs and the like. But for Obama's inaugural parade, they're toning down their act - quite a bit. Never fear, they'll still have plenty of the corny shtick that made them famous.

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