COMMUNITY
MyEagleNews.com
Wednesday, July 14, 2021
A7
The Eagle/Steven Mitchell
The American Legion American Legion Post 106 fl oat in the Prai-
rie City Fourth of July parade.
Prairie City Fourth of July
parade successful, despite fi re
Dayville features parade,
contests for Fourth of July
Pam Woodworth
honored as grand
marshal
Evie Schmadeka
wins Best of Parade,
Pam and Dan
Martin honored as
grand marshals
By Steven Mitchell
Blue Mountain Eagle
As fi re crews held a 500-
acre fi re 3 miles north of Prairie
City, nearly 600 people turned
out for its Independence Day
parade.
The night before, winds
blew the Dixie Creek Fire away
from the city to avoid a worst-
case scenario, and the town was
able to breathe a cautious sigh
of relief.
Brook Williams, a city coun-
cilor, said it was “incredibly dis-
appointing” not to be able to
have the fi reworks display for
the community, but “nature had
other ideas.”
However, on a positive note,
she said the show technically
was not “canceled” because
they found another donor to
pay to put on a fi reworks show
during Christmas on the Prai-
rie in November or New Year’s
Eve.
Williams said there were
15 groups of participants in the
parade. She told the Eagle they
tapped Pam Woodworth to be
the parade’s grand marshal for
her years of service at the Prai-
rie City School District and
cooking at the Grant County
Senior Center. Woodworth said
Clyde Holliday, a freshman
and FFA offi cer, served as the
parade announcer.
She said the categories for
the parade contest included
adults, children, fi rst respond-
ers, classic cars, derby cars and
livestock and animals. Wil-
liams said they did not have
entries for all of the categories.
For instance, she said, they did
not get any classic or derby car
entrants.
She said volunteer judges
handed out six blue ribbons and
six red ribbons. Most, she said,
Contributed photo
Dan and Pam Martin, Dayville’s Fourth of July parade grand
marshals, ride in the parade.
The Eagle/Steven Mitchell
A child leaps for a piece of can-
dy at the Prairie City Indepen-
dence Day parade.
went to children. Williams said
the results were not written and
that it was her responsibility —
not the volunteer judges — to
ensure that they were recorded.
“It was hard enough to get
people to help,” she said. “I
don’t want them thrown under
the bus.”
Williams said, given last
year’s COVID-19 restrictions,
the Fourth of July celebra-
tions were critical to the town’s
collective mental health and
morale.
“We needed to see each
other out and about with our
smiling faces showing,” Wil-
liams said.
She said the human connec-
tion during the Fourth of July
— where America celebrates its
independence — is critical for a
healthy society.
“It puts a friendly face on
the person you have been at war
with on social media,” she said.
Williams said she thought
this year’s Independence Day
parade helped “mend fences”
and “rebuild some strained
relationships.”
“That’s what small towns
are about,” she said, “learning
to live with the diff erences of
others.”
Parade results
Grand Marshals: Dan and
Pam Martin
Best of Parade: Evie
Schmadeka on Cocoa Puff
Monument’s Fourth of
July celebration pulls
through without fi reworks
Grand marshal
Lonnie Lawrence
rides in parade
with Sheriff Todd
McKinley
By Steven Mitchell
Blue Mountain Eagle
Fourth of July in Day-
ville had a series of activities
that kept locals and out-of-
towners alike busy the entire
weekend.
The tiny desert town had
no shortage of things to do,
from rock painting contests
with patriotic themes to live
music at the Fish House Inn
RV Park and a parade on July
4.
Kalli Wilson, Dayville
city recorder, said although
there weren’t as many people
as in previous years, it was a
good turnout.
She said Luke Johnson’s
karaoke at the Fish House
Inn brought in a big crowd.
Wilson said she hopes the
town can make it a tradition.
She said she was hon-
ored to have long-time res-
idents Pam and Dan Martin
as Dayville’s Grand Mar-
shals. Also, she told the
Eagle that the town raised
money for its Community
Hall renovation through the
baked goods auction and
duck race.
It was a weekend packed
full of fun that started with
live music on Friday night
and ended with live music on
Sunday night, she said.
Contributed photo/Chris Carlin
Matt Allen and Liz Lovelock ride on the the Apricot Apiaries
fl oat with their children Leo, 4, and Teddy, 5, during Monu-
ment’s Fourth of July parade.
By Steven Mitchell
Blue Mountain Eagle
Contributed photo
Rowdy Israel on her horse
during Dayville’s Fourth of
July parade.
Kids
First:
Everleigh
Schmadeka on Cocoa Puff
Second:
McMullin
Family
Non-motorized Division
First: Rowdy Isreal
Second: Shirley and Paige
Motorized Division
First: Moore – Furry Fun
Second: Timber Basin
Contractors
Horseshoe Tournament
First round: Jeff and Jus-
tin Larson
Second round: Keith and
Cliff
Painted Rock Contest
Best of Show: Pam
Martin
First: Piper Swagger
Second: Kiah Nichols
Sidewalk Chalk Contest
Best of Show: Carah Furry
First: Luke McMullin
Second: Katch McMullin
Third: Hallie Larson
Coloring Contest
First: Hank Roy
Second: Peyton Furry
Third: Bodhi Moore
While the cancellation of
Monument’s Fourth of July
fi reworks show was disap-
pointing, the community
held its parade, auction and a
host of other activities.
Kristi Guimont, an event
organizer, said the town
did not have the large turn-
out in the evening like they
usually do for the Fourth
of July without the fi re-
works display, but she said
roughly 250 people turned
out throughout the day.
She said the town saw
a good turnout for the auc-
tions. Guimont said the lion’s
share were locals. She said
the town saw a rush of “out
of towners” in the morning,
but people left when the fi re-
works display got canceled.
“It was a bummer,” she
said.
Sahara Hyder, Monu-
ment’s mayor, said Friday
that it was not a local deci-
sion to cancel the fi reworks
show.
She said the Oregon
Department Forestry is the
fi re authority where the fi re-
works were to be set off and
canceled the display due to
high fi re danger.
PARADE
RESULTS
Best in parade
Brinley Hyder
Horse
First: Brinley Hyder
Second:Terrance Wain-
wright
Third: Nicole Wain-
wright
Kids
First: McKenna Daw-
son and Kaidynce
Carlin (tie)
Motorized
First: Apricot Apiaries
Second: Monument
Ambulance
Third: Monument Vol-
unteer Fire Department
Guimont said in the
parade, Grant County Sher-
iff Todd McKinley rode with
grand marshal Lonnie Law-
rence in a last-minute change
of plans.
The plan, she said, was
to have Lawrence on a horse
and buggy, but the horse
went lame and McKin-
ley stepped in to ride with
Lawrence.
Guimont said she orig-
inally called McKinley to
have a law enforcement pres-
ence during the parade, and
he volunteered to come out.
“Everything went off
pretty well,” Guimont said. “I
mean the fact that we we all
pulled together and got every-
thing done was really awe-
some to see.”
Contributed photo
Contributed photo
Brynlee Wilson fi shes at Prairie Springs Fish Farm in Dayville
during the town’s Fourth of July celebration.
Monument Independence Day parade grand marshal Lonnie
Lawrence looks out the window of Grant County Sheriff Todd
McKinley’s vehicle on July 4 ahead of Monument’s Indepen-
dence Day parade.
The Eagle/Steven Mitchell
Community members ride their horses through town during
Prairie City’s Independence Day parade.
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