From The Jemez Valley Messenger (newsletter of the Jemez Springs Presbyterian Church), July/August 2000

T’was A Glorious Float For The Fourth

Among the young fisher people aboard the church float on July Fourth were, left to right, Iain and Emily Jaramillo, Heather Powdrill and Shannon Kilburg. Also aboard were Martin Dole and Mahan Deeds. Adult riders included Charlie Allen, Rosemary Cart, Gaye Fahringer, Thelma O’Neil, Melissa Jaramillo, Dick Lake and Barbara Curran.
Among the young fisher people aboard the church float on July Fourth were, left to right, Iain and Emily Jaramillo, Heather Powdrill and Shannon Kilburg. Also aboard were Martin Dole and Mahan Deeds. Adult riders included Charlie Allen, Rosemary Cart, Gaye Fahringer, Thelma O’Neil, Melissa Jaramillo, Dick Lake and Barbara Curran.

Proud church members should be forgiven for popping a few buttons from their red, white and blue holiday duds over the float that was created fro the Jemez Springs annual Fourth of July Parade.

With a bolt of material resembling rippling water – donated by Rosemary Cart; a boat lent to us by Charlie Allen, a flatbed from Robert Cart, and a shiny red pickup truck driven by Jack Taylor, accompanied by his wife, Bonnie – we were off and running (slowly) through town to witness the words of Jesus in Matthew’s Gospel, Chapter 4, Verse 19: I will make you fishers of men.

Professional-looking signs were hand lettered for the port and starboard sides of the boat by Dick and Ann Lake. Beautiful banners (purchased in town by Elise Weed) adorned front and back of the float proclaiming, in front, who we were, and, in the rear, advertising our upcoming Vacation Bible School. Lifelike fishes hung everywhere, including Charlie Allen’s singing fish and Rosemary Cart’s (with a little assist from Heather Curran) imaginative cardboard varieties in all colors.

Little fisher people inside the boat included Martin Dole and Mahan Deeds, Shannon Kilburg and Heather Powdrill, and Emily and Iain Jaramillo. Adult fishers were Charlie Allen, Rosemary Cart, Gaye Fahringer and Thelma O’Neal. Also Melissa Jaramillo, Dick Lake and Barbara Curran.

Workers who toiled ardently to bring this float to fruition included Charlie and Barbara Allen, Jadie and Barbara Curran, Gaye and Carl Fahringer, Mona Francis, Dick and Ann Lake, Rhoda Spidell, Jack and Bonnie Taylor, and Otis and Bonnie Tyler.

Mary Joyce Pate kindly lent space in her Luciano Lane front yard (and tools and tarps). Sherry Crane valiantly drove through floods to Los Alamos for her flatbed, only to discover it was too small for the boat. Jim and Elise Weed lent encouragement and did errands in between helping the Petersons organize their estate sale.

Cheering squad lines up on wall in front of church awaiting the arrival of our float.
Cheering squad lines up on wall in front of church awaiting the arrival of our float.

A terrific cheering squad of members and friends arranged themselves on the wall at the church to cheer our float as it passed by. Praise goes most of all to God for the witness we were able to provide to bystanders, some of whom perhaps may become the next Christian “fishes”, as a result of this awesome effort on the part of many.