Athol Daze shows family spirit
<p>Saturday was a great day for watermelon at the Athol Daze parade. From left, Rachel Szakacs, 8; David Cook, 11; Joshua Dilling, 14; Allison Bothwell, 10; and Kindle Marvin, 10, ride along, waving all the way, in "The Seeds of the Future" float.</p>
<p>Athol little miss queen Chantelle Lickfold, 12, left, and Athol little miss princess Kylee Amos, 11, wave to the crowd during the Athol Daze parade Saturday.</p>
<p>Wayne Lacy, of Rathdrum, smiles in his 1968 Subaru, which was in Saturday's Athol Daze parade. It's small, but it gets great gas mileage.</p>
ATHOL - In a golf cart, 13-year-old Devon Cole and 15-year-old Talor Shea were chauffeuring longtime city residents Bob Pekar and Liz Hasbrouck around town during Athol Daze.
From a choice spot along the parade route, to a shady spot in the middle of all the action at Athol City Park, the couple (they've been together 42 years) got where they needed to go.
And Bob, 87, and Liz, 93, didn't mind the lift in Saturday's heat. After all, Liz recently broke a hip.
"They could be out running around with the other kids, having fun," Bob said. "Instead, they're taking care of us."
Bob said that's just how things are around Athol. He would know, he has lived there for 25 years.
"It's just a good little town," said Bob. "We all kind of work together."
Cole and Shea will get old too, Bob said.
"They'll need someone to do the same thing for them," he said.
Janet Kizer, who was watching the parade turn off Highway 54 and head down Third Street, couldn't agree more with Bob's assessment of the spirit of Athol.
"I think of the whole of Athol - everyone's my neighbor," said Kizer, of Athol. "I'm always proud of Athol. And the parade gets better every year."
In the parade, Athol Little Miss Queen Chantelle Lickfold, 12, and Little Miss Princess Kylee Amos, 11, rode down the parade route in a red convertible.
Wayne Lacy, of Rathdrum, cruised along in his tiny, yellow 1968 Subaru car.
"It gets 60 miles to the gallon," he said.
The parade had lots of classic cars, which was a big hit with parade goers.
"I like everything, but the antique cars are the best - from my era," said 85-year-old Fran Harms, of Athol.
There was a car show along the highway at Victory Auto.
After the parade, in the park, there was a cute-baby contest, some live music, a skateboarding competition, and auctions.
Vendors sold pulled-pork sandwiches, ribs, hot dogs, corn on the cob, pies, and other grub.
"It's a big deal, this Athol Daze," said Bob.