Fourth of July Parades and the upcoming county fair

       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.