GEORGE — Perhaps no town does up the Fourth of July with more vigor than George.

“I love it when we all get dressed up in our country's colors,” said state Sen. Judy Warnick. “There's one little girl that had ‘Red, White and Sparkle’ on her shirt. And I think that's what George is doing right now. We're celebrating our independence with red, white and sparkle.”

The town named for America’s first president pulled out all the stops on Tuesday, with a parade, vendor booths, food, music and what’s billed as the world’s largest cherry pie.

“Back in the day, when I was a kid, they actually had a brick oven right over here and they would bake it,” said Sandra Marcuson, a lifelong George resident.

Marcuson is a member of the Georgettes, the local women’s service organization that makes the pie every year.

“There was a cherry pie filling-processing plant over here. Nowadays we order the pie filling already made. It’s not as nostalgic,” she said.

The pie may not be the largest ever – the Michigan towns of Charlevoix and Traverse City wrangled for that title back and forth in the 1980s with pies that weighed tons – but at eight feet by eight feet by eight inches it’s no paltry pastry, and it’s been an Independence Day tradition since the town’s founding in 1957, according to the town’s official history website.

Akins Fresh Market in Quincy makes the pie crust dough, said fellow Georgette Marylou Krautscheid. The Quincy School District, which includes George, donates the use of the oven at Quincy Middle School for baking the pie, and the Washington State Dairy Commission kicks in ice cream to go with it.

The festivities started with the parade, filled with classic cars, vintage farm equipment and riders on horseback sporting the Stars and Stripes on their shirts. After the parade came George’s traditional patriotic program. Sarah Bauer sang the national anthem in a strong, clear voice, and Debby Kooy read a dramatic edition of Patrick Henry’s “Give me liberty or give me death” speech.

As is traditional, Grant County’s state legislators Sen. Judy Warnick, Rep. Tom Dent and Rep. Alex Ybarra said a few words and any candidates for public office were invited to speak as well. Dayana Ruiz, Shannon Durfee and Rita Keene, who are running for Quincy School Board positions 2, 3 and 4 respectively, all addressed the crowd, as did George Mayor Gerene Nelson.

Dent spoke about the need to heal divisions in America.

“In the 1850s, we were divided because of slavery,” he said. “Today, we're divided because the media says we're divided, and they're pushing us hard to stay divided. And there's something wrong with that … So I'm gonna ask you, what can you do right now to help us bring this country back together? Every one of us can do something. Reach out to somebody who you disagree with and sit down and have a conversation – a conversation, not a fight – and talk about it. How can we do this, and what have you done? And how can I encourage you to do more?”

Dent closed by quoting the Declaration of Independence: “And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.” Drawing on that, he led the audience in a brief prayer, asking for “the desire, the passion and the courage to keep this nation free.”

Ybarra, a son of immigrants who grew up in Quincy, spoke about America as a land of opportunity and hope.

“All those immigrants who are coming to the United States to work in our fields, to pick our grapes, to pick the fruit in our stands, I was one of those guys,” he said. “I was a farm worker. My parents were migrant farm workers in Quincy back in the day, back in the ’60s and ’70s. We used to come from across the nation to work here. And we made it.”

Local public servants present at the event thought the celebration went well, too.

“(We have a) good crowd here today,” said Assistant Fire Chief Tony Leibelt, who was manning the information booth for Grant County Fire District 3. “It always blows me away to see this many people.”

Joel Martin may be reached via email at jmartin@columbiabasinherald.com.