I enjoyed attending, taking photos and interviewing folks at Fourth of July Celebrations in Grinnell and Montezuma last week.
My hat goes off to the promoters in both towns. It’s hard to beat small-town celebrations and both Grinnell and Montezuma did a great job this year. I love walking in the parades and sometimes talking with the folks on the floats and on old tractors while they make their way along the parade route. I like to walk alongside the parade entries so I can get better photos. I’ve never been one to sit on the sidelines and hope I get a good photo. I like capturing all the smiles and happy folks enjoying life. At Grinnell, I struck up a conversation with a fellow dressed in a Confederate War uniform. It was a nice day for a parade, but wearing a uniform made of wool had to be hot. “Are you hot?” I asked. “Yes,” he said. We visited for a couple minutes when I noticed Duane McCune taking photos of me walking with this fellow. Duane is an avid Grinnell photographer who does a lot of photography for the Grinnell Fire Department on fire calls. He then shared the photos on my Facebook page. “It occurred to me that while you are out doing the photography and writing the stories of the subjects, you're behind the scenes and normally not seen by the public, so I took a few photos,” Duane said when I reached out to say thanks after the parade. I visited with others and took lots of photos during the parade. The Grinnell parade is the longest of the two communities, covering just over two miles. There were at least 70 entries in the parade. Montezuma’s isn’t quite as long, traveling under a mile from the school to the town square, but this year was one of the best and biggest I’ve covered in several years. There were about 75 entries from churches to tractors, Legion members, businesses and lots of patriotism and candy. Parade Marshals Jo Ahrens, Barb Albin and Marg McVay enjoyed being in the spotlight and I captured some good photos of the ladies waving at the large crowd gathered along the parade route. Long-time announcers George Salnave and Marvin Ferneau returned to Montezuma, after both recently moving to the Des Moines area, to spread good cheer and announce the parade entries. The two men announced that Rick Warden, the long-time Montezuma parade organizer, was stepping aside after 25-years of getting parade entries lined-up and ready to go. When asked what he enjoyed the most about being the parade organizer, Warden said, “The people who come to be in our small town parade.” As I did in Grinnell, I enjoy walking alongside the parade entries and talking with folks. I talked to one fellow on a Farmall Cub tractor about an old Farmall 130 tractor my dad gave me that I later sold. I visited with a few others and waved and said hello to many making their way along Main Street in Montezuma as I milled about the parade entries. The Montezuma square was a buzz after the parade with the annual Montezuma Lions Chicken BBQ in the Memorial Hall. The Lions cook the nearly 900 half chickens on three open pits across the street from the Memorial Hall. Each of the nine racks holds 50 half chickens and the first batch hit the coals shortly after 4 a.m. There were also a couple of other food trucks on hand and blowups, a dunk tank, miniature golf and firemen games for the kids. There were a number of area vendors on the Courthouse Square including Debbie and I with our books and our nephew, Gavin, sharing about his meat goat business. He’s doing quite well selling goat meat. I’ve tried the goat sticks and I recommend them. I haven’t been brave enough to try goat chops, goat brats or a goat roast. It was a great weekend. I got some extra rest, enjoyed sweet corn and a couple family cookouts, a family fireworks show and Debbie and I made a trip to Pella to shop and eat at Culvers. Next up on the agenda is the Poweshiek County Fair. The animal judging gets underway on Wednesday, July 17. This will be my 25th year to cover the Poweshiek County Fair. I haven’t missed a hog show in all those years. I can’t image not taking hog photos or spending my summer days at the county fair. Have a great week and always remember that “Good Things are Happening,” every day.
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It’s hard to believe that it was 21-years ago this week that I was the Montezuma “Let Freedom Ring” Celebration and Parade Grand Marshal in 2003.
Jo Ahrens, owner of Three Sisters Fabric and Fashion along with Keith Brake, a local newsperson, named me grand marshal after only three short years in town as the local editor. Ahrens and Brake were head of the Montezuma Community Boosters at the time and they wanted me to represent the community in the parade. Brake wrote an article about me and I was the star of the parade that week. I even got a parade marshal hat to wear. I asked Ahrens and Brake to make sure I was in the lead vehicle so I had time to ride the parade route and get back to the parade in time to take a few photos for the newspaper. I got up early and visited the square to snap a few photos prior to the parade. I then made my way toward the school where I would catch a ride in the parade in a Chevrolet Corvette driven by Doug VerMeer, owner of Vannoy Chevrolet. I walked about block where I met Mike Phillips, who was parked on the eastside of the Presbyterian Church along Fourth Street. He asked me how I was doing and I said something about making my way to the school. “The grand marshal needs a ride to the school,” he said, moving chairs out the way to get his vehicle ready to roll. It was just a short three blocks, but important enough to Phillips to give me a ride to the school. That was kind of him. I remember the day well as I took pictures from the front seat of the Corvette and waved at the crowd. My future wife, Debbie, who I had not met yet and Carole, my future mother-in-law, were in the crowd along Fourth Street. Debbie had been following me in the pages of the Montezuma Republican since I had arrived in town on July 20, 2000 and was hopeful to meet me. God worked that meeting out just a month later when I first met her at the Iowa State Fair Campground while doing a story on Montezuma area campers. I interviewed Carole during the fair as part of my story. And thanks to the now late Farrell Johnson and his wife, Iona, who camped on the other side of where the Tindles camped, I met Debbie. I had stopped to visit and Iona saw Debbie, Carole and grandma Louise Tindle were at their camper. “That’s three generations,” Iona said. “Go over there and take their picture.” When I arrived to take the photo, Debbie handed me a cold Pepsi and all was the good with the world. I returned home and ran the story in the next issue of The Republican. Debbie wrote me a card after it was published and thanked me for including her family in my story. The rest is history. I was a little slow responding, but finally asked Debbie out and we went on our first date on Nov. 9, 2003. I took her to a Mexican restaurant in Newton and of all places, Wal-Mart, so I could get some color film developed. And of course, I had to fill my city slicker pickup, as Debbie called it, with gas on the date. Debbie doesn’t care for Mexican food, even though I fix tacos often in the Parker house. I wasn’t hitting the bullseye on our first date, but it got better and our love for each other grew. I proposed to Debbie on the banks of the Mississippi River in Hannibal, Mo., on May 1, 2004 and we were married less than five months later on Sept. 25. This year marks our 20th wedding anniversary. We’ve bought a house, self-published six books, started a writers’ conference and this year, held our first vendor fair at the school. There’s much more in the works. We love to dream and see what comes from it. I’m always amazed that God brought me 550 miles from my hometown of Tulsa, Okla., to Montezuma, Iowa where I would met my wife, Debbie, at the state fair campground. We’ve enjoyed many adventures in our nearly 20-years together and I’m sure there will be many more along life’s way. Enjoy the week and celebrate this great nation and its many freedoms. And while you are at it, take a few moments to thank God for his many blessings in your life! Have a great week and always remember that “Good Things are Happening,” every day. |
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