Recap on an Exuberant, Joyful July 4 Celebration

PARADE FLOATS – superlatives in this year’s July 4 Parade — longest in recent history at over a mile in length snaking its way down Gunnison Avenue and back up Silver Street to bottleneck with tail end of the parade on Gunnison Avenue — were business category Virden’s 50-year-old Mountaineer Movie Theatre’s vintage jeep ably piloted by theater-owner in similarly vintage military uniform and the runner Bennett Levine, also in drab olive military attire, energetically tossing out treats; Mountaineer Movie Theater’s benefit showing of the classic “Patton’ film raised $532 for the Veterans’ Wreaths Across America program.
Coker family in the individual category, illustrating a family theme with mountain animals; and, in the non-profit category, the gyrating and stylishly attired crew from Lake City Arts promoting the upcoming star-themed music extravaganza, “Sky’s the Limit”.
Although the promised jet flyover mysteriously failed to materialize, leading the parade were marching U.S. Veterans, Peter

Breeden in the lead bearing the U.S. Flag, other flag bearers including John Bonner with Space Force, Harvey DuChene displaying the Colorado Flag, and Russ Brown bearing the Prisoner of War Flag. Others were new Lake City resident Tom Hewett, formerly Woodland Park, Colorado, with the U.S. Coast Guard Flag, multi-generational Bruce Heath, U.S. Coast Guard, David Evans, Tom and Tammy Hamel, and Mike Tuttle, U.S. Army.
Also near the parade’s start, Bill Reinhardt piloted a Ford pickup with insignia U.S. Army, pulling a frontier model cannon and Army Vet Ben Redler piloting a trailer with comfortably seated veterans including Dennis and Erin Cavit, and Gerry Springer.
The marching and seated veterans receiving loud cheers and salutes were followed by an impressive array of highly polished, bright red fire engine apparatus and fire response vehicles, together with marching volunteers collecting donations in buckets and firemen’s hats, followed in turn by a gleaming white array of Hinsdale EMS ambulances and response vehicles, and Hinsdale County Sheriff’s Dept. patrol vehicles.
Other intriguing float entries included classic vehicles such as Ken Vigil’s ancient pickup with political sentiments honoring the late Ron and Margaret Ray, Josh Votruba driving R.S. Scott’s red 1970 Mustang, and, from Powderhorn, David and Debbie Irwin in their blazing red 1964 Chevrolet pickup. Other classics were a jaw-dropping 1937 Chrysler Royale, and assorted

Willys Jeeps, including Bill Dehmlow driving 1963 Willys pickup loaded with his 10-year-old granddaughter, Grace Henegan and Chelsea Brown Harper with kiddos Will, 1-1/2, and Davis, 5-1/2.
Kay Shull was stylish as ever decked out in a red sports car promoting Alpine Pedal; especially interesting to longtime locals was Karen and Robert Hurd’s Sweety’s Wildlife Zoo float with small, printed placards honoring old-time local miners, a majority of whom are now deceased, as well as past and present Hinsdale County Veterans.
In describing the float, Karen says that the placards were intended as representational only and “the list goes on and on.”
Honorees both mining and military listed on the float included Don Craig, Ralph Martinez, Steve Carricato, Erin and Dennis Cavit, Don Campbell, Scott Campbell, Walter Wright, Bill Burke, Johnny Saville, Russ Brown, Babe Vickers, Phil Mason, Don Farmer, Donny Rightsell, George Hurd, Frank Mendenhall, Brice Pavich, Ronnie Hurd, Martin Davis, Charlie Colopy, Buddy McDonald, Larry Pavich, Mike Schell, Ed Hughes, and Milo Morse.

FOOT RACES – first place boys and girls – 4 and under, boys – Cale Chase, age 4, from Windsor, Colorado; 4 and under, girls – Rosalie Carlson, age 4, from Dallas, Texas. Age 5-6, boys – Brooks Brown, age 5, from Oklahoma; age 5-6, girls – Elle Heath, age 5, from Austin, Texas. Age 7-8, boys – Will Stewart, age 8, from Milwaukie, Oregon; age 7-8, girls – Ada Ramsey, age 8, Anaqua, Texas. Age 9-10, boys – Samuel Karssenberg, age 10, from Prosper, Texas; age 9-10, girls – Alyssa Sibley, age 9, from The Colony, Texas. Age 11-12, boys – Isaiah Sibley, age 12, from The Colony, Texas; age 11-12, girls – Cecilia Syracuse, age 11, from Ft. Lupton, Texas. Age 13-14, boys – a tie between Miles Dillard, age 14, from Denver, Colorado and Caleb Smith, age 13, from Highlands Ranch, Colorado; age 13-14, girls – Rebecca Linsey, age 14, from Lavernia, Texas. Age 15-18, boys – Lynden Colson, age 17, from Houston, Texas; age 15-18, girls – Allie Smith, age 16, from Highlands Ranch, Colorado. Age 19-29, boys – Caleb Dillard, age 19, from Denver, Colorado; age 19-29, girls – Katelyn Jensen, age 19, from San Diego, California. Age 30-39, boys – Nicholas McIntire, age 33, from Gunnersville, Alabama; age 30-29, girls – (name was deleted from scorecard). Age 40-49, boys – Trevor Potts, age 40, from Ardmore, Oklahoma; age 40-49, girls – Kelsey Peoples, age 40, from Midland, Texas. Age 50-59, boys – Tyler Heath, age 50, from Austin, Texas; age 50-59, girls – Amy Lovato, age 55, from Westfield, Texas. Age 60-69, boys – Barry Exum, age 61, from Georgetown, Texas; age 60-69, girls – Michelle Robnett, age 67, from Edmond, Oklahoma. Age 70 +, boys – Paul Witsaman, age 71, from Arlington, Texas; age 70 +, girls – Kay Barber, age 78, from Mineola, Texas.

SACK RACES – first place boys and girls – 4 years and under, boys – Raymond Perkins, 4, Dallas; 4 and under, girls – Emi Powell, 3, San Antonio, Texas; Age 5-6, boys, first, Corbin Juhl, 6, Brighton, Colorado; girls, first, Maddy Perkins, 6, Dallas; Age 7-8, boys, first place tie, Henry Alexander, 8, and Skyler Walker, 7, both Fort Worth; girls, first, Emilia Picucci, 7, Denver; Age 9-10, boys, first, Bryce Vickers, 10, Denver; girls, first, Kylie Shepherd, 10, Overland Park, Kansas.
Age 11-12, boys, first, Isaiah Sibley, 10, The Colony, Texas; girls, first, Caroline Temple, 11, Shreveport, Louisiana; Age 13-14, boys, first, Miles Dillard, 14, Denver; girls, first, Ruby Phillips, 13, San Diego, California; Age 15-18, boys, first, Luke Dillard, 17, Denver; girls, first, Ava Delle, 15, College Station, Texas; Age 19-29, men, first, Caleb Dillard, 19, Denver; women, first, Katelyn Jensen, 19, San Diego, California; Age 30-39, men, first, Shane Austin, 36, Albuquerque, New Mexico; women, first, Courtney Tinnin, 35, Albuquerque, New Mexico; Age 40-49, men, first, Nathaniel Stockberger, 43, College Station, Texas; women, first, Leslie Stewart, 44, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.Age 50-59, men, first, Scott Wilson, 52, Dripping Springs, Texas; women, first, Amy Heath Lavato, 55, Westfield, New Jersey; Age 60-69, men, first, Rob Ediger, 68, Lake City; women, first, Michelle Robnett, 67, Edmond, Oklahoma; Age 70 & up, men, first, Paul Witsaman, 71, Arlington, Texas; women, first, Kay Barber, 78, Lake City.

SHOE KICK – first place boys and girls – 4 and under, boys – Ryder Wilson, age 4, from Denver, and girls, 4 and under, Emi Powell, 3, San Antonio, Texas; Age 5-6 boys, first, Ford Beeson, 6, Fort Worth, Texas; girls, first, Frankie Patrick, 6, Valencia, Spain; Age 7-8 boys, first, Barrett Nelson, 8, Albuquerque, New Mexico; girls, first, Emilia Picucci, 7, Denver; Age 9-10 boys, first, Jett Lance, 9, Phoenix, Arizona; girls, first, Caroline Brown, 10, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
Age 11-12 boys, first, Isaiah Sibley, 12, The Colony, Texas; girls, first, Scarlett Conley, 12, DeSoto, Kansas; Age 13-14 boys, first, Bransom Broyles, 13, Holiday, Texas; girls, first, Autumn Trujillo, 13, Denver; Age 15-18 boys, first, Ian Milligan, 16, Carrollton, Texas; girls, first, Kelsey Altevogt, 18, Ann Arbor, Michigan; Age 19-29 men, first, Tristan Beicker, 25, Canon City, Colorado; women, first, Lyndroth Belt, 23, Dolores, Colorado.
Age 30-39 men, first, Grant Carlson, 31, Dallas, Texas; women, first, Abby Tally, 37, Los Angeles; Age 40-49, men, first, Steven Dodson, 40, Dallas; women, first, Caley Kohlnhofer, 45, League City, Texas; Age 50-59, men, first, Mark Campbell, Littleton, Colorado; women, first, Heather Fitzgerald, 55, Fort Worth; Age 60-69, men, first, Brad Camp, Tulsa, Oklahoma; women, first, Kathleen Rigby, 62, Colorado Springs, Colorado; Age 70 & up, men, first, Paul Witsaman, 71, Arlington, Texas; women , first, Sherrie Vandiver, 84, San Diego, California

GENERATION RELAY, Heat No. 1 – first generation, Greg Ramsey, second generation, Zach Ramsey, third generation, Lila Ramsey, Quitaque, Texas; Heat No. 2 – first generation, Zach Ramsey, second generation, Greg Ramsey, third generation, Silas Ramsey, Quitaque, Texas.

EGG TOSS (before transforming into lively egg fight) – Heat No. 1, Bryce Bales and Garrett Bales, Denver; Heat No. 2, Greg Levine and Kate Hopson, Lake City; Heat No. 3, Tristan Beicker and Jason Hendress, Canon City, Colorado.
Special Egg Toss – Caroline Temple and Patrick Temple, Shreveport, Louisiana; Final Egg Toss – Caroline Tample and Patrick Temple, Shreveport, Louisiana.
DUCKY DERBY: 1st place #1388, Hunter Hazen, Fort Worth, Texas; 2nd place #789, Alyson Locke from McKinney, Texas, 3rd place #2464, Huckabay family from Amarillo, Texas, last place #1511, Benton Lawrence from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

DISC GOLF TOURNAMENT – first place, Canon Bracken, Frisco, Texas; second place, Isaac Gilden, Hockley, Texas; third place, Christian Hartman, Lake City.

3 v 3 BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT – first place The Marmots comprised Luke Glass, Plano, Texas; John Vyn, Sioux Falls, South Dakota; Pierce Bizerra, Pensacola, Florida; Landen Mitchell, Salem, Oregon.
Second place – Alpine Village with teammates Brody Fritz, Wesley Fitts, Noah, and Chase Brown, all — not surprisingly — from Texas. Third place school’s basketball tournament was “Sky Guys,” comprised Josh Crawford, from Florida, Kansas resident Colby Jack, and, from Texas, Andrew Maraulis, Ty Belt, and Chas. Taylor.

COMMUNITY CHURCH SERVICE – upwards of 200 individuals — many on camp chairs and a few sheltered in the shade beneath umbrellas — gathered at the school’s Henson Street soccer field Sunday morning, July 6, for the annual Summer Community Worship Service, this year sponsored by Community Presbyterian, First Baptist, Grace Fellowship, and St. Rose of Lima, in benefit of Christian Community Service.
In his opening remarks, Community Presbyterian’s Rev. Jason Santos referenced the fact another previously sponsoring Lake City Church, St. James Episcopal, has now closed with the retirement of Rev. Ed Nettleton, the 1876 chapel now open for public prayer.
Santos briefly mentioned the ongoing multi-denominational hikers’ center benefitting hikers along the Colorado and Continental Divide Trails and said the main course at the inaugural July 6 communal hikers’ meal — which will continue now through the end of August — would feature tacos with a total of 35-pounds of elk meat.
Readers at Sunday’s service were Erin Cavit, Rachel Moore, John Smith and Chloe Pittard, with the principal address by First Baptist’s Dan File quoting from the Book of Philippians, Verses 3-8, 9, and 12-14, recalling the remarkable transformation of the Apostle Paul and repeatedly emphasizing “reach out in life” and “the practice of my life becomes the position of my life.”
File, (at age 70 and still competing in the annual mountain bicycle marathon, Lake City Alpine 50), opened his sermon with a prayer for those impacted by recent flooding along the Guadelope River in Texas which at last tally has drowned in excess of 100 people. Referring to devastated families, he urged service attendees to “wrap arms of love around them.”
On a personal note, File stated he first moved to the upper Lake Fork above Lake City in 1980 and, after multiple decades residence, “I love where I live, and I love each one of you.”
In addition to his local ministerial work from the pulpit at First Baptist, File also serves as Chaplain at both the Colorado State Capitol in Denver, 21 years, and the Cheyenne, Wyoming, State Capitol for 18 years.
In his sermon, File repeatedly admonished the crowd, “politics in your country will not save us.”
Musical interlude at Sunday’s service was Stan Mikles on piano and vocals, including the concluding “God Bless America”, by Donna Jackson.
Grace Fellowship’s Lyn Lampert led the call for donations on behalf of Christian Community Service, asking for eight youth from within the audience to collect donations.
A total of $3,450.47 was raised at the service for CCS, down slightly from $3,944.75 collected from a slightly larger audience at last year’s service.
Lampert reported that CCS exists in part to provide temporary financial assistance — including rent, food and utility costs — to local residents. In 2024 CCS raised roughly $21,000 and dispensed $17,900, while thus far this year, the charitable organization has seen an outflow of over $17,000 and prior to Sunday’s service has received donations totaling $14,668, including approximately $1,000 in local donations from the community Palm Sunday service in the Armory.
_{— with thanks to Holly Shepherd for race stats}

_{1) Under-age-4 foot race, Rose Carlson in the lead; 2) sharp-eyed Schuyler Denham and Audrey Hazen reading Declaration of Independence at Hinsdale Museum; patriotic whirly-gig, 3) winning Arts’ “Sky’s the Limit” float with talented musicians and vocalists, 4) 5) Mayor Roberts, Trustees Woods, Bruce, Kendall, Christina Bowman, Ethan Wuest, Grant Massey, Lex Mulhall celebrate Town’s 150th; pancake breakfast delectables at Lake City School, 6) pictured with parents Will and Amanda Jung, multi-generational Henry Jung, 16 months, 7), was winner in the Ducky Derby 8) Packers’ Josh Votruba piloting R.S. Scott’s classic 1970 Mustang 9) Josh Follett, 9) accompanied Yvonne Ferriman on flag-bedecked scooters; 10) Town Park egg toss 11) renowned fiber artist and photographer, Susan Farm-Heumann and Michael Underwood are pictured at a gala Inn at the Lake reception with Ginny Burroughs July 6.
Photos 1, 3, 8, 9, 10 – Duane Keprta; Photo 11 – Glenn Heumann}