‘Back to Our Roots’

By Ben Olson
Reader Staff

When choosing the theme for the 2024 Fourth of July parade, the Sandpoint Lions Club decided to honor Sandpoint’s history with the theme “Back to Our Roots.”

“Sandpoint has a rich history as a timber town, and we would like to take this opportunity to honor our past and present contributions of the logging industry to our community,” the Lions stated in a press release.

“Back to Our Roots,” gives a nod to all the hard working residents of Sandpoint’s past who helped shape it into the community we see today.

The Lions are no strangers to history, having taken on the responsibilities for the Fourth of July parade and fireworks show for close to seven decades.

When selecting the honorary grand marshal to lead the parade, Lions member Eric French said the club looks for people who have impacted the community in a positive way. 

“We look for outstanding individuals in the community that not only represent our theme, but also are an amazing example of what the people of Sandpoint truly are — compassionate, kind, respected and deserving of praise,” French said.

“The entire Sandpoint Lions Club comes together with ideas of who we feel is the best fit for the year and discusses why we believe it should be them,” he added. “Then we all vote on who we feel should have the honor that year.”

This year, the Lions chose not one, but three grand marshals.

“As a club, we had decided on three individuals, but unfortunately one couldn’t do it because of being out of town,” French told the Reader. “The two individuals we have chosen are Shirley Stevens and Norma Laude, two absolutely amazing women of timber. They both have come from logging backgrounds and have raised children to follow in their ancestors’ footsteps.”

Patty Irish was also selected as a third grand marshal, but will be out of town during the parade.

Stevens and Laude join an elite group of residents who have served as grand marshal of the Sandpoint Fourth of July Parade (see table for the past 10 grand marshals).

For French, being a part of the town’s observance of Independence Day isn’t a task he takes lightly.

“Having grown up here, along with my wife, we have always looked forward to both the parade and fireworks,” French said. “To see the patriotism and the camaraderie that is shown on a very special day for our great nation is surreal. And now to be a part of a club that has taken over the responsibilities for the city for the past 71 years is exciting, tiring, but oh so rewarding. There is nothing like putting smiles on kids’ faces and even the adults that you see smile and wave. And now that our Lions mascot is out there for our activities and even riding in the parade, the smiles seem even bigger.”

French said the only rain on his parade right now is the fact that it costs more and more to put on Fourth of July festivities every year.

“It’s getting harder to raise the funds and to put on our celebration,” he said. “Raffle ticket sales are way down, contributions are in the tank and sponsorships are nonexistent, but we will continue to push on and try to make everyone’s Fourth even better.”

The Sandpoint Lions Club began selling fireworks from the booth at Safeway to help bridge the funding gap.

“As a club, we just want everyone to have a safe and enjoyable Fourth of July,” French said.

To learn more about the Sandpoint Lions Club, and to help support their worthy efforts, visit sandpointlions.wixsite.com/website.