Spirit of America
BILL BULEY | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 3 years, 10 months AGO
Mitzi Johnson, grand marshal of the Bayview Daze parade, waves to the crowd Saturday.
BILL BULEY/Press
Clown Bill Landwehr slaps hands with spectators he rides a bike in the Bayview Daze parade Saturday
Joey Haines of Athol carries a flag in the Bayview Daze parade.
Vicky Richard, left, enjoys a laugh with Shirley Wiley before the Bayview Daze parade on Saturday.
Jamie Berube and Bob Prince were “Uncle Sam’s Bucket Brigade” on Saturday at the Bayview Daze parade.
Navy veteran Mick Janssen of Post Falls arrives at the Bayview Daze parade.
Marty Radenz and Curt Green cruise along in a cart at Bayview Daze.
Jo-Ann Rasmussen of Athol American Legion Auxiliary 149 president, sits in a float in the Bayview Daze parade Saturday. To her right is Cheyenne Nelson.
A woman in the Bayview Daze parade sends a stream of water at the crowd.
Some of the crowd watches the Bayview Daze parade.
Raquel Kellicut, right, walks with the Bayview Council Pickleball unit in the Bayview Daze parade.
Dave and Jan Oakley of Careywood ride their "Slingshot" in the Bayview Daze parade.
Linda Yarber of Bayview waves to the crowd during the Bayview Daze parade.
Bill Buley covers the city of Coeur d'Alene for the Coeur d’Alene Press. He has worked here since January 2020, after spending seven years on Kauai as editor-in-chief of The Garden Island newspaper. He enjoys running. | July 4, 2021 1:08 AM
BAYVIEW — Mitzi Johnson wasn’t entirely sure she liked being the grand marshal of the Bayview Daze parade.
“It’s humiliating in a sense. It’s embarrassing,” she said as she sat in a cart driven by daughter Kathy Ford. “Because I don’t do what the majority of the town people do because I don’t walk. I ride a wheelchair.”
Still, the beloved Bayview resident, joined by many family members walking alongside her, brought her A-game. She waved. She smiled. She exchanged greetings with spectators.
“I know about 90 percent of these people,” Johnson said.
She even admitted she was enjoying herself.
“It does mean a lot,” Johnson said. “I'm having one of those good times.”
After missing last year due to the coronavirus, the good times were rolling again at Bayview Daze on a sunny and hot Saturday morning. About 1,000 people lined Ralph Jones Boulevard that leads through the heart of this picturesque lakeside town.
Many wore red, white and blue outfits, sunglasses with the stars and stripes, and waved small flags. Shirts read “Love USA,” “God and Country,” and “America No. 1.” Excited kids waited for treats while adults chatted and snapped pictures.
Vicky Richardson, Queen of Bayview since 2008, raised spirits by getting a group to spell out B-A-Y-V-I-E-W, and shout it several times. She also enticed Shirley Wiley out of her chair to dance The Twist with her.
“I just get excited about Bayview,” she said, grinning. "Everybody is excited to be here, be out, no masks. I love it.”
Navy veteran Mick Janssen of Post Falls looked for a good vantage point as he walked with a cane and wore a shirt that read “Heroes Don’t Wear Capes. They Wear Dog Tags.”
He is proud of his service and his country.
“My forefathers are the ones that brought that flag into existence,” he said. “No one else. I didn’t or anybody else. When I joined the Navy, it was for God and country.”
Jamie Berube and Bob Prince once again became “Uncle Sam’s Bucket Brigade” and walked along in eye-catching outfits collecting donations for next year’s fireworks show.
It’s a task they’ve taken on for about a decade and people cheerfully handed over $5s, $10s and $20s.
“How many years has your wife let me have you?" Berube asked of Prince, laughing.
Usually, they would be joined by a squadron of kids but due to the high temperatures, the littles ones stayed on the sidelines.
Berube said that in about an hour before the parade even started they had received about $2,000. Both were confident they would get what was needed to light up the skies above Bayview again in 2022.
“We always do,” Berube said.
The parade, about 40 minutes long, did not disappoint. Horns blasted, music played, water sprayed and candy flew.
Veterans, clowns and patriots were joined by a long line of classic and cool cars and fire trucks. There were pickleball players, too, and even Darth Vader and Yoda joined the fun.
Marty Radenz and Curt Green were smiling and laughing as they cruised in a cart adorned with variations of Old Glory.
“We’re handing out candy and flags to all the little kids and they just love it,” Radenz shouted. “That’s what it’s all about.”
Joey Haines of Athol, with American Legion Auxiliary Unit 149, carried a flag throughout the half-mile parade route.
She stood strong when the national anthem was sung by Cathy Armstrong.
“The American flag is important to me,” she said.
It was about the 10th year Armstrong sang the Star-Spangled Banner that brought festivities to a halt. The crowd fell quiet, hats came off and hands went to chests.
“It is just an honor,” Armstrong said.
This is one of her favorite events.
“I like for one day a year we have all the commotion and the rest of the time it’s nice and peaceful,” she said.
Linda Yarber of Bayview dressed up as a clown, along with several family members, for her first Bayview Daze parade appearance.
“It’s just so fun and the kids, they just go crazy for happy clowns,” she said.
She loved the happiness and spirit of everyone there.
“This is truly a neighborhood event,” Yarber said.
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