The Indians outnumbered the cowboys in Saturday’s annual Lewiston Roundup parade through downtown Lewiston.
In fact, a couple of dozen Nez Perce tribal members drew the most applause of any of the many entries in the hour-long parade. Tribal members both young and old rode horses, and others beat on drums and sang on the back of a tractor trailer belonging to the tribe’s limestone business.
This year is the first in many that the tribe has participated in the rodeo.
While cowboys were few in number, a host of cowgirls from Toppenish, Wash., to Princeton, Idaho, appeared in the parade with their horses.
But at times, it was easy to forget the parade was a rodeo parade because there were a lot more vehicles than horses in the parade.
3B’s Transportation Co. of Lewiston even had four trucks in the parade. Children sat on hay and listened to music on the back of one of the company’s tractor trailers, which carried a “Wild, Wild West” banner.
Bands from Asotin, Clarkston and Lewiston high schools, and Sacajawea and Jenifer junior high schools also played music in the parade, though they weren’t the honky-tonk tunes real cowboys and cowgirls love.
A male singer in Lewis-Clark State College’s show choir sang a John Denver tune that fit in well with the Roundup’s annual parade. “Country roads, take me home, to a place, I belong, West Virginia.”
The Calam Oriental Band gave the parade fans a different dose of music.
Hundreds of people lined Main Street to watch the Roundup parade, and most chose the shade over being out in the warm sun. Most of the people were either parents with their young children, or elderly folks. A mailman handed out treats to young children.
The crowd also cheered on a teen-age bicycler who performed tricks, and three teams of pooper scoopers. After all, a rodeo parade can always use pooper scoopers.
The Lewiston High School band’s show of gold and purple impressed the parade judges, who awarded it the top prize, the Governor’s Trophy. The top prize of $100 in the float division went to the low-slung glittery entry from Orofino’s Lumber Jack Days. Second prize of $50 went to the Lewis-Clark Show Choir, and a third-place ribbon went to the Spokane’s Lilac Days’ trolley car entry.
Ribbons were awarded to the winners in the remaining divisions. In the equestrian division, the Happy Hoofers equestrian drill team took first place, second place went to the Lewis Clark Side Saddlers and third place went to the Nez Perce Centennial Commission.
First place in the junior high school band division went to Jenifer Junior High, and second went to Sacajawea. The high school band division winner was Lewiston High School. Clarkston High School took second place and Asotin High School received third.
The Grangeville Junior Miss entry received the first-place award in that division, with Lewiston receiving second and Timberline taking home a third-place ribbon.
The Grangeville Border Days visiting royalty took home top honors in the royalty division, with the Idaho County Fair royalty taking second and the Asotin County Fair royalty receiving third place.
Lewiston High School took home another award with a first place in the drill team division. Jenifer Junior High’s drill team received second and Clarkston High’s flag team received the third-place award.
This story was published in the Sept. 10, 1989, edition of the Lewiston Tribune.
