By Ruby McFarland
There we were, down to the wire on the day of the Nevada Day parade. Sarah Fleming, member of our Dayton Community Float committee in charge of finding children to ride on the float, heard bad news. At the last minute, the kids' parents called and said they couldn't make it. Not to be daunted with the small stuff, Sarah set out to solve the problem.
A handsome scarecrow was sitting on the porch of a neighbor down the street. In her mind, Sarah reasoned that it would be just as good as any kid on the block. So she knocked on the door but didn't get an answer. No time to spare, she left a note and ran off with the scarecrow. We tied him to the bench on the float, and off we went.
Going down the parade's main street, we were certain the scarecrow was as good a child as a real one. It just so happened, we passed a spot on the parade route where the occupants of the house from where Sarah stole the stuffed substitute were watching the parade. The little boy said: "Mommy, that looks just like our scarecrow."
When the parade ended, Sarah took the kidnapped charge back to its rightful home. The kids were happy to have their friendly scarecrow back, and Sarah was forgiven.
Now, the rest of the story: We won third place overall in the historic category. The first-place prize was awarded to the train from the Railroad Museum and the second place to the Civil War re-enactment group.
There are many people to thank for their time and effort regarding the float's construction. Of course, there's my first lieutenant who was by my side through it all, Patrick Neylan. He never faltered, and I couldn't have done it without him. Rick helped as much as possible. New faces were Vicki Kinney, Byron Waite, Sharon Stride and Kristy Murkovich, who portrayed the teacher on the float that replicated the 1865 Dayton Schoolhouse, which is now the Dayton Museum.
Vicki came a couple of mornings to help with skirting. She also took time to play Fanny Hazlett at the Halloween haunted hayride and cemetery tour that began at the Dayton Museum on Oct. 27. (It was an overwhelming success).
Byron volunteered his beautiful vehicle to pull the float to Carson City and through the parade. His office staffer, Sharon, helped him get the float ready to go down the street.
And lastly, the wonderful portrayal of the schoolmarm by Kristy Murkovich, made the day. She was a very believable teacher.
Thanks to all who assisted. We would never have been able to do it without you.
The Dayton Museum is located on Shady Lane and Logan in Old Town Dayton. It's also the location of the Dayton Chamber office. It is open during the week upon request and 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturdays and 1-4 p.m. Sundays. Check out the Web site: daytonnvhistory.org. Group tours are available. Call 246-5543, 246-0462 or 246-0441.
The Historical Society of Dayton Valley meets at noon on the third Wednesday of the month at the Dayton Valley Community Center. Visitors welcome.
• Ruby McFarland is a 17-year resident of Dayton, a board member of the Dayton Historical Society and a docent at the museum.