For the week of July 17 - 23, 2002

Carey prepares 
Pioneer Days bash

War vets selected as grand marshals

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"We want to show unity and patriotism." 

Carey Mayor Rick Baird

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By GREGORY FOLEY
Express Staff Writer

Carey residents this weekend will host the town’s annual Pioneer Days celebration, a two-day event honoring Brigham Young’s declaration on July 24, 1847, that the Salt Lake Valley would be the future home of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and its followers.

The historic date marked the climax of the first exodus of Mormons to the West, and the beginnings of Salt Lake City.

The annual celebration in Carey—which has been a town tradition for more than 50 years—is highlighted by a parade down Main Street that draws participants and spectators from throughout southern Idaho.

Vonnie Olsen, a 38-year resident of Carey and owner of the 93 Express restaurant, organized this year’s parade, which is set to start at 11 a.m. Saturday, July 20. Olsen said the parade has had as many as 80 entrants in previous years, and last week she was still accepting applications for this year’s event. "We have people coming from all over the state," she said.

Grand marshals for this year’s Pioneer Days Parade will be a group of 15-or-so veterans of World War II and the Korean War, who were raised in or reside in Carey. The group—which will likely include Idaho Secretary of State Pete Cenarussa, a former Carey resident—will ride in two horse-drawn buggies that will lead the procession south down Main Street to the highway junction and then back again.

Carey Mayor Rick Baird explained that the city chose to include all of the town’s veterans as parade marshals because residents had never honored the entire group all at once. "We’re losing our seniors down here faster than we could honor them," he said. "This is a chance for the community to honor its elderly statespersons. They will finally be getting recognition for all they did."

Baird added that he hopes the celebration will attract record numbers of patriotic spectators from the Wood River Valley and points south. "We want to show unity and patriotism. We want to show everybody that the events of 9-11 didn’t slow us down in Carey."

In addition to the parade, several other events will be held in celebration of Pioneer Days. The Carey Rodeo Association will sponsor two rodeos, which are scheduled for 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday at the fairgrounds on Main Street. On Saturday, events will include a three-on-three basketball tournament and a gathering organized by the local Mormon congregation, Baird said.

 

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