Celebrating agriculture
JOEL MARTIN | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 3 years, 10 months AGO
The Sons of Norway’s Viking longboat float was part of the Ag Parade once again, although riders refrained from pillaging as they rode down Third Avenue.
JOEL MARTIN/COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD
The Moses Lake Ag Appreciation Parade featured lots of brightly-lit farm equipment and observers expressed appreciation for the agricultural traditions of the Columbia Basin.
Three-year-old Brynlee Suarez, left, and her 6-year-old brother Braxton explore the snow in Sinkiuse Square Friday before the Ag Appreciation Parade.
Simplot employee Kristine Howard, left, and her daughter Reina Howard hand out fresh hot french fries at Sinkiuse Square before the Moses Lake Ag Appreciation Parade Friday.
Miss Moses Lake Roundup 2022 Brianna Kin Kade, left, and Miss Othello Rodeo 2023 Annabel Cobb get ready to ride in the Moses Lake Ag Appreciation Parade Friday.
Not all the parade entrants at the Ag Parade were farm machinery. This Grant Transit Authority bus rolled proudly down Third Avenue with Santa Claus leading the way and Frosty the Snowman riding on the back.
A bedecked fire truck rolls down Third Avenue in Moses Lake as part of the Ag Appreciation Parade Friday.
One float captured the essence of Friday’s parade with a message of appreciation for local farmers.
Michaelle Boetger, left, serves a bowl of hot clam chowder to Pat Draleau at the Moses Lake Ag Appreciation Parade Friday. Proceeds from the soup sale went to Care Moses Lake’s meal program for the homeless.
Joel Martin has been with the Columbia Basin Herald for more than 25 years in a variety of roles and is the most-tenured employee in the building. Martin is a married father of eight and enjoys spending time with his children and his wife, Christina. He is passionate about the paper’s mission of informing the people of the Columbia Basin because he knows it is important to record the history of the communities the publication serves. | December 3, 2022 1:08 PM
MOSES LAKE — It was chillier than a penguin’s toes Friday evening, but that didn’t deter the crowds at the annual Ag Appreciation Parade in Moses Lake.
“I have never been so cold,” said Denise Kinder, president of the Downtown Moses Lake Association, as she organized parade floats in the Surf ‘n Slide Water Park parking lot.
The temperature was somewhere in the teens and there was still snow on the ground from earlier in the week. Kinder wasn’t sure off the top of her head how many entrants there were, but she estimated 50 or 60, about in line with last year.
A short distance away, Nestor Heredia was readying the Simplot float. This is his third year participating in the parade, he said.
“I like it,” he said. “My people like it. We come out every year.”
While the parade was getting prepared, there was a party going on a few blocks away around Sinkiuse Square. Christmas music was playing from a pavilion in the square, and people were setting up their chairs along the parade route.
Attendees didn’t go hungry either. Simplot has brought a truck down to the celebration and employees were handing out paper trays of fresh hot french fries to the crowd. They had brought 20 36-pound boxes, employees said, and by 7:30 they had distributed about seven of those boxes. Across the street in front of Miller’s Fine Jewelers, a Christian motorcycle club was cooking and giving away hot dogs.
At Settler’s Country Market, the food wasn’t free, but it was for a good cause. Care Moses Lake was offering hot homemade soup for $5 a bowl. Proceeds went to make sack meals for the homeless folks staying at the Open Doors Sleep Center.
The parade itself swung into gear at 8 p.m. First in line was the Moses Lake Police, pursuing a Grinch who had gotten loose and was threatening to ruin everybody’s Christmas. The green evildoer was quickly captured, and officers assured the kids in the crowd that Christmas was once again safe.
Behind MLPD came one brightly lit vehicle after another, often farm equipment decked out in glittering finery. Some blared holiday music as they came; “Have a Holly Jolly Christmas” competed with “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch,” which in turn played over “Silver Bells” in a Christmas cacophony. Riders on many of the floats tossed candy to the crowd, and one float filled the air with artificial snow. Many of the parade entries were farm equipment decked out with festive lights.
The parade’s grand marshal was “Potato King” Frank Martinez, who had been inducted into the Moses Lake Ag Hall of Fame in October.
Some of the floats in the parade were regulars. The Sons of Norway brought their Viking longboat float, which has been a staple in Moses Lake parades for eight or nine years, said Robert Johnson, one of the float’s handlers. The float was a favorite of Johnson’s mother, Lillian Lucke, who loved to ride up front until her passing earlier this year. The rolling boat has been in a number of other parades around the Northwest, Johnson said, which is beginning to take a toll on it.
“I have to pray,” he said of the times he’s taken the float on the street. “So many things can go wrong.” Still, the boat sported new shields on the side this year, carved with runic inscriptions by Sons of Norway member Jamie Casteel.
Not all the floats were big and glittery. Margo Ross, Americas United States Mrs. Washington, rode in a carriage driven by Megan Feekes and pulled by Feekes’ hoofed friend Cowboy.
“He has jingle bells and everything,” Feekes said.
Even with the frigid weather, attendees at the parade appeared to be having a marvelous time.
“It’s a great event,” said Kinder. “I love when the community comes out.”
Joel Martin may be reached via email at [email protected].
Correction: Margo Ross's title was misstated in an earlier version of this article. The corrected title has been appended above.
ARTICLES BY JOEL MARTIN
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