Everyone loves a parade
By WILLY COOK
Perhaps the signature event of Fourth of July celebrations in the Wood River Valley is the parade in Hailey. An absolutely packed crowd lined both sides of Main Street for over a mile to watch the 78-entry procession glide, ride, walk, scoot and bump down the parade route last Friday. Beautiful horses, lovely floats, politicians, various associations, groups and businesses all trafficked through the city. Spectators were treated this year to a misting, spraying, fritzing and even downright dousing in the “wet zone” adjacent to Sturtos sports store. Top: The Hailey Rotary Club had a festive entry this year with out-rigging American flags and a nice colorful salute to their Road Apple Roulette contest. Clockwise from top: 1) Ted Higgenbotham pulled the float with his green John Deere tractor. 2) The Wood River Valley is lucky to have a self-proclaimed “Uncle Sam,” a.k.a. Erwin Kett, to help lead the parade. Kett, a native of Germany, has a house in Hailey. 3) Bill Sherbine drove his antique carriage housing the Heritage Court ladies of 2014—Vivian Bobbitt, Elizabeth Simon, Dorothy Ann Outzs and Joyce Edwards. 4) The crowd definitely helps the parade be special, as this little cowgirl exemplifies. 5) Parade Grand Marshal Dick Fosbury gives a thumps-up gesture to the crowd. Fosbury was elected grand marshal for his prowess in track and field, his Olympic achievements and for being an Olympic ambassador of sorts. He revolutionized the high-jump event in track and field by inventing and refining a back-first approach to the bar later called the “Fosbury Flop.” In addition to winning the NCAA high-jump championships in 1968, he won the Olympic trials and then the Olympic gold medal in Mexico City all in the same year. Today, the Fosbury Flop is the most popular technique in high-jumping. Currently, he is a Democrat candidate running for the Idaho House of Representatives against incumbent Steve Miller.
Express photos by Willy Cook |
