I'm pretty sure that I was at this parade. There were two biggies every summer. The 4th of July parade which marched down the main street of Rexburg and my favorite, the 24th of July parade in honor of the pioneers first arriving in Utah, which went down the main street of St. Anthony.
We would always find our seats on the front steps of the St. Anthony Tabernacle. It was bleacher seats without the bleachers. After the parade we would go to my mother's good friends, Alan and Betty Nedrow's home for a picnic after the parade. We would eat in the pasture, explore the landscape with their two daughters, and sometimes ride their prize winning quarter horses.
One of those horses, a mare, eventually made its way to our pasture. She was gentle, but something spooked her one day and she ran away with me until going under a live wire running juice to the electric fence which not only knocked me to the ground but also shocked me. Double whammy!
One of my most spiritual moments as a child (and I had to be pretty young as my grandfather passed away when I was just 7) occurred in the St. Anthony Tabernacle. I attended stake conference there with my mother because her father was one of the speakers. I enjoyed watching him speak and probably understood as much as a young child could but then the choir sang "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" and I thought my little heart would burst. As we sat up in the balcony overlooking the choir, I was moved by testimony born through music. I have felt those special feelings that come through music many times since, but when I hear "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" I also remember my grandfather and the swelling voices in the St. Anthony Tabernacle.
Both photos provided by the Upper Snake River Historical Society. I love these pictures because like my memories they are from the same time period.
This sounds like a lot of the fun that Rigby had when I was growing up.
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