51st Annual Roughrider Days Fourth of July parade celebrates freedom on Western Edge

Jackie Jahfetson, The Dickinson Press, N.D.
·2 min read

Jul. 5—DICKINSON — From sirens, horse-drawn carriages to shades of red, white and blue, the 51st Annual

Roughrider Days

Fair and Expo parade brought a patriotic presence to the city from the top of West Villard Street all the way to downtown Dickinson on Saturday.

Sponsored by Sax Motor Co., the annual Dickinson parade kicked off at 10 a.m., lasting past noon with a variety of floats lined up for the festivities. The parade also featured various different spectators from young kids eager with their plastic bags to catch candy to older residents who feel it's important to show their patriotism.

Roy Basaraba, of Dickinson, has been watching the parade in Dickinson for several years.

"I like the fact that people get together and make a nice celebration out of it. And I hope they recognize what Fourth of July means to America," Basaraba said.

When asked what freedom and Independence Day means to him,

Basaraba

said that it's an important holiday to always remember.

"It's liberty," Basaraba noted. "It was (at) the end of the (Revolutionary) War that we were free to form our own government and all that. Fourth of July is a big day for us, and I taught my kids about that too so they realize that Fourth of July is one of the more important days of American history."

Traveling from Boise, Idaho, Tina Johnson came out for the Fourth of July festivities in Dickinson and to also visit friends and family. Johnson noted that she was glad to be back in her hometown she had lived in for 40 years prior to moving to Idaho.

"I like the parade and the people," Johnson said, with a few laughs before floats began traveling down on Villard Street.

Seven-year-old Cordell White experienced the Dickinson parade for the first time. He helped put together the Adams Field Service float the day before by getting the truck cleaned up and assembling the flags.

Danielle Straub, of Dickinson, brought her family out to the parade for the first time.

"It's really nice; it's really loud," Straub said, with a chuckle. "I'm a car person, so I like the cars that were going by. The kids like the music."

Straub noted that she enjoys everything about Fourth of July because people are just out to have a good time and "nobody is in a bad mood."