Sparkling on the Fourth of July

I’ve never been to Deer Park, Wash. ... although maybe I’ve been through it while traveling north on U.S. 395. Now it’s on my list of places to intentionally visit thanks to Ainsley, Janessa and Isabella.

On Sunday the Deer Park Community float, “Deer Park Junction,” was entry No. 38 in the Coeur d’Alene Fourth of July parade. The team of float volunteers and their royalty representatives traveled 50 miles that morning to line up an hour or two early.

For years my husband and I were on the Post Falls Community Float crew — building, hauling, driving and fundraising to travel around representing the town. The Spokane Lilac Festival Parade was the pinnacle of appearances for the dozens of community floats accompanied by their high school marching band, drill team and royalty. In the 1970s, ‘80s and ‘90s community floats were a common sight and the Coeur d’Alene Fourth of July parade drew many to Sherman Avenue.

Community floats have fallen by the wayside in the last decade or so, which is at least how long it’s been since Post Falls has had one. Coeur d’Alene retired its float program a year or two ago. They’re expensive and labor intensive and require a passionate group of volunteers willing to travel on weekends and holidays on their own dime and time.

Preparing to announce the parade on the Fourth, I was tickled to see that Deer Park was bringing a community float. Before the parade I even told the crowd about how uncommon these floats now were and to be sure to give Deer Park an enthusiastic welcome when they came by. Deer Park is a rural town of 4,000 in northern Spokane County.

So up in the skybox my announcing partner, Amy Bartoo, and I see the Davenport banner followed by three pretty teens wearing darling red, white and blue sundresses, sashes and smiles … walking! I called down and asked where was the float? It broke down on 11th Street, just four blocks from the parade start on 15th, they said. So instead of calling it a day, they decided to walk the next 10 blocks in the sweltering heat to represent their town and promote the 100th Jubilee celebration of Deer Park’s Settlers Day on July 24. The Settlers Day parade is the oldest parade in the state, for you trivia buffs.

I promised when the parade was over I’d come meet them and see the float. The crew had already trailered the float (which was having battery problems) but I did get to visit with the girls and the volunteers accompanying them. Obviously they were disappointed at the turn of events but still enthusiastic about promoting their home town.

So here’s to Deer Park, its royalty and the commitment to keeping the community float tradition alive. And to everyone who chose to get up on a national holiday and either parade down the street or sit on the curb and enthusiastically spectate, thank you.

May we always celebrate country and community in such a star-spangled, flag-waving fashion.

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In memory and with gratitude to Nick Newby and Nathan Beyers, who gave their last full measure of devotion for the cause of freedom, July 7, 2011, in Baghdad, Iraq.

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Happy 7/7 birthdays today to Becky Lee, Renei Yarrow, Susie Jameson, Devon Dixon, Jeff Populus, Tim Adams and Susie Sullivan. Tomorrow Taryn Hecker, Samantha Babich, Peter Finney (70!), Bev Hammond, Dawson Brown, Ron Jacaban, Beverly Knapp and Carrie Erickson (60!) put on their party hats.

On Friday Tucker Morrison, Madison King, Jenny Seaman, Brooke Bowers, Loren Mitchell, Brooke Hell, Jenny Joyner and Renee Christensen have their cake and eat it, too. On Saturday Jason Faulkner, Collin Coles, Ryan Starr, Amber Blanchette, Gene Gertson, Jan Ryan, Mike Stevens, Heather Wichman, Darren Olson, Pat Fuller and Michael Garrett take another trip around the sun. On 7/11 Claire Allred, Betty Ann Henderson, Richard Jurvelin, Jeri Lee, Bill Graves, Scott Mote and Larry Wendt blow out the candles.

On Monday BeBe Fletcher (97!), Jadd Davis, Cheri Burila, Emily Hodgson, Syafiq Fuller and Jim Welborn will hear the birthday song. On Tuesday Renee Lusby, Ingrid Yates, Mark Daanen, Julia Koontz, Becky Rider, Kris Mans, Brooke Hayden, Shirley Jarrell, Lisa Goodwin and Karen Applebee (80!) will mark their birthdays.

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Kerri Rankin Thoreson is a member of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists and the former publisher of the Post Falls Tribune. Main Street appears every Wednesday in The Press and Kerri can be contacted on Facebook or via email mainstreet@cdapress.com. Follow her on Twitter @kerrithoreson.