Montezuma hosts “Let Freedom Ring” Celebration and Parade

     Emily James is all smiles as she drives a family-owned John Deere 50 in the annual Montezuma “Let Freedom Ring” parade on Saturday, July 4. Emily has been driving a tractor in the parade for 15 years. She is joined by Eli Bustamante, right, and Tayler Wickham at left. Everett Nekola, behind unseen, is also riding along.

 J.O. Parker
 
         It was a beautiful warm sunny day for a parade and Montezuma didn’t disappoint during the annual “Let Freedom Ring” Celebration on Saturday, July 4.
       The parade drew an estimated 70 entries while youngsters filled their bags with lots of candy thrown from the floats.
        After the parade, the town square remained active as families enjoyed a variety of foods and youngsters took advantage of the bouncy houses, dunk tank, greased pig and pie eating contests. A sprinkler at third and Liberty kept everyone cool and SUDS by Schnebbe foam machine was fun for all.
         There was even a window display contest this year for local businesses, which drew 19 entries.
Members of the Montezuma Lions Club cooked and served more than 800 chickens with all the fixings at the Memorial Hall. This year marked the 69th year for Montezuma Lions to host a chicken barbecue dinner. Club members climb out of bed early in the morning to fire up the charcoal grills located behind the county engineer’s office.
       There were also mobile vendors and businesses serving everything from tenderloins to mini donuts, kettle corn and pancakes along with other tasty drinks and treats. 
And the west side of the town square, a number of local and area vendors were selling their wares.
       Shortly after the parade, the Pioneer Cemetery Commission gave a presentation on the first woman ordained minister of the Christian Church at the Poweshiek County Historical Society.
          And live music was provided by Jonah Seymour.
         This year’s grand marshals were members of the Montezuma American Legion Post 169. And leading the pack was Ron Hensel, aka Ron the Barber, who just retired from cutting hair after 60 years due to health issues, 18 of those in Montezuma.
        Macy Taylor Richards, owner of “Be Brave Dance Studio” on the Montezuma Square, who had a float in the parade, said it was a great day for the whole town.
          “I seemed like there were so many people there and everyone was enjoying themselves,” said Richards.     “I loved being able to see people I haven’t seen in a long time. The community development did a wonderful job.”
          As the smell of chickens cooking over hot coals filled the air, down the block at Highway Brew, traffic was backed up into the street and folks stood three deep at the walkup window.
           “We were beyond busy from the moment we opened, but our team worked together to keep everything running as smoothly as possible,” said Tiffanny Taylor, the new owner of the coffee shop. “We had four people working—one keeping up with dishes and hauling ice, one taking orders at the register and at the window, and two making drinks.
         “Whenever we caught up inside, our order taker would head outside to take orders from customers in line to help keep traffic moving,” Taylor went on to say. “I’m incredibly proud of how our team handled it. Everyone jumped in wherever they were needed, and together we were able to keep the line moving while providing great service. We’re so grateful for the amazing support from our community and everyone who chose to celebrate their Fourth of July with Highway Brew.”
          Emily James, who carried a big smile while driving a family-owned John Deere tractor in the parade, said this was her 15th year to participate in the Fourth of July celebration. She always has several friends and family riding along with her. 
        “Each year it’s so amazing to see how our community comes together to celebrate such a meaningful day,” said James. “My grandpa, Lauren James, taught me how to drive the tractor when I was very young. When I turned 8, he finally decided it was time for me to be able to drive in the parade. I love being able to exchange a smile and a wave to our patriotic community. Driving a tractor may come off as hard or difficult to some but I hope it inspires young people to continue the culture and traditions our community has.”
        “First State Bank loves to be involved in community events especially the 4th of July Parade,” noted employee Becki Williams. “Walking down one of the main roads and seeing all of the kids look up to "Charlotte"(our First State Bank’s mascot) and smiling and waving at all of our community members really makes the parade even more special.”
          “I’m privilege to be able to march in the parade,” said Rodney Morse, an Air Force Veteran with 32 years of service, who carried the VFW flag. “As we rounded the corner at Third and Main, both sides of the street started clapping and I heard a few people thanking us for our service. It really touched my heart to know people cared and supported the military.”
         “It was a very good experience and a great crowd,” said Uwe Meyer, a Vietnam Veteran who served in the Army 101st Airborne. “We had a lot of people there and some of them I haven’t seen for a long time. It was quite an honor to have the legion recognized as grand marshals.”
         Daryl Pargeon, who was manning the Vannoy Chevrolet float in the parade, said it was one of the biggest parades he’s been involved with in 29 years.
        “From the Montezuma School stop sign and along the parade route to the westside of the square was full of people,” said Pargeon.
       He said the Montezuma Community Development did a great job getting people to town and keeping them there. 
       “The food trucks (some who sold out) did great and I bet there were 200 people at the greased pig contest. It was a great a day and great turnout.
        “Thank you to all our vendors and local businesses for helping make this day successful,” noted Courtney Sutfin with the MCD. “And lastly a huge thank you to our MCD members who helped today. We couldn’t do any of this without our volunteers.”