A snapshot of community and country

No matter how the town has grown or changed, the Fourth of July parade is a constant, a slice of Americana that for a couple of hours on Coeur d’Alene’s “Main Street” all of the things that our community and country once was and still is, is right there enthusiastically displayed in red, white and blue.

I’ve loved this parade since, as a schoolgirl in the 1960s, our family watched from our front porch on Ninth and Sherman, and then, through the years, with my own children and grandchildren. The Fourth of July has always been my favorite holiday, and the parade represents treasured memories.

It’s also a snapshot of community, family and neighbors. The volunteers and the participants dedicate many hours before, during and after the entertaining display of merriment and goodwill. Mother Nature more often than not shows favor on the Fourth with sunny skies, and this year will be no exception.

The birthday of our country’s two and a half centuries of existence is definitely cause for celebration!

The parade starts at 10 a.m. Saturday, July 4, and runs from 15th Street through downtown on Sherman Avenue. See you there!

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As we prepare to celebrate America’s 250th anniversary of independence, we need to remember over two centuries of selfless service to the country by those who left it all on the battlefield and strive to be deserving of such selfless devotion. 

“That we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain — that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom — and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.” — President Abraham Lincoln.

In memory of 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 Bagdad, Iraq. This community will never forget their sacrifice or the heartbreak that will never feel like a long time ago to their Gold Star families. Their sacrifice will always feel like just yesterday.

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“It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, bells, guns, bonfires and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward evermore.” — John Adams, signer of the Declaration of Independence in 1776

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By the numbers ... I was 24 when we celebrated America's bicentennial birthday in 1976. I'm 74 for America's 250th. Odds are I won't make it to 124 when the nation's tricentennial rolls around in 2076. My darling great-grandson, aka Baby Bennett, will have to represent since he'll only be 51 years old. And the beat goes on ...

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Happy Main Street birthdays today on the first day of July to Bill Brown (75!), Tim Riordan, Arlene Reichenberg, Terry Alexander, Chris Harrison, Byron Hamby (21!) and Mark Johnson. Tomorrow, Tonya Glinsky, Brennen Odd (16!), Jim Dennison and Ted Wright enjoy a slice of birthday cake. On Friday, Morgan Snider, aka Baby Bennett’s mama, Jeff Ward and Mark Durant mark another year. On Saturday, Uncle Sam and the United States of America (250 years!), Jedidiah Riley, Brent Regan, Jennifer Locke, Joscelyn Ramsey, Jake Campbell, Keri Roybal, Dan Brockway, Sr., MaryBeth Matthews, Dick Lind, Tyson Chamberlain, Britnee Davenport, Jack Smetana, Glenda Johnson, Amber Hunt, Teresa Espe, Orla Kahl and father and daughter, KD and Keely Spalding are celebrating star-spangled birthdays. On Sunday, Steve Hanson, Laurie Schwenke, John Beutler, Chris Hollibaugh, Kaila Hansen and Amy Dreps blow out their candles. Monday birthdays belong to Alivia Lickfold, Barb McCarley, Wade Jacklin, Suzanne Holland and Robin Ducote. Happy 7/7 birthdays to Becky Lee, Renei Yarrow, Devon Dixon, Jeff Populus, Tim Adams and Susie Sullivan.

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Kerri Rankin Thoreson is a member of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists and a former publisher/editor with the Hagadone Newspaper division. Main Street appears every Wednesday in The Press. Kerri can be reached on Facebook or via email at [email protected].