Baseball, hotdogs, apple pie and Boulder City

It’s that time of the year again. As I noted in today’s front-page preview of the Damboree, you look up Americana and chances are you will see listed the Fourth of July festivities here in clean, green Boulder City.

While I have been back many times over the years to visit family over the Fourth of July, this will be my first time covering it as a journalist. While Mother Nature is not being very cooperative, with temps expected to hit nearly 110 degrees, I’m still very excited.

Some of my earlier memories of the Damboree include being in the parade as a player on one of the many Boulder City Parks and Recreation youth baseball teams, throwing candy and waving to the crowd. In the park afterward there were two must-haves … a hamburger and confetti eggs. You had to build up your strength in order to smash 12 eggs on the heads of your friends. These days, I’d probably pull a hamstring attempting to do so.

The Damboree of 1987 was a big one for my family. Back then the Elks Lodge oversaw the event and my dad, Keith, was Damboree chairman. He worked countless hours with vendors, sponsors and volunteers to ensure everything went off without a hitch.

Call it nepotism, but I was asked to read the Preamble to the Constitution while on stage at the park that year. The accompanying photo (sorry for the poor quality) is that of me on stage with a few political heavy-hitters. I’m not sure if it still holds this distinction, but for many years the Damboree was the largest Fourth of July parade in the state, bringing out politicians from the local, state and national level.

If I recall correctly, that year I shared the stage with Gov. Richard Bryan and U.S. Sens. Chic Hecht and Harry Reid.

Two things come to mind right away when I think of the Damboree. First, it’s a time of the year that you’re all but guaranteed to run into friends you haven’t seen since the previous Fourth of July. That or the Credit Union, which was affectionately nicknamed the Credit Reunion.

The other is, there’s always been this unwritten tradition that the Boulder City High School reunions fall over the Fourth of July. My class, 1987, has had six reunions since I graduated and they have all taken place around the 4th. I’m proud to say I have happily attended them all.

These days, the event is bigger than ever, drawing thousands of attendees who enjoy the parade, food, music and fireworks at a pair of parks. I’m so glad to see that the spirit of the day and event has not lessened. So, enjoy the day, be safe and be thankful you live in such a great community.

Ron Eland is editor of the Boulder City Review. He can be reached at reland@bouldercityreview.com or at 702-586-9523.