67 Nevada Day parades and counting

At 67, Dan Miles, a third-generation Nevada native, has attended every Nevada Day Parade held in his lifetime.

"It started in 1943," he said. "I was born in July and it used to be the parade happened on Oct. 31 and my mom (Miriam Miles, now 96) took me that year.

"I believe the parade began in 1939 and was suspended a year or two during World War II, but otherwise if there's been a parade, I've been there."

Miles said that even when he was on active duty and in the Army Reserves, his time home always fell over Nevada Day celebrations. And during his time as a student at the University of Nevada, he would bring his friends to the festivities with him.

In those days, his family would sit on the lawn of what is now the Laxalt Building.

"Then it was the federal courthouse and post office and had a sloping area in front, so we were a good five or six feet up from the street," he said, adding it was perfect viewing for little people. "I remember a time, too, when the only paved streets were Curry, Main, Nevada and Fifth out to the prison. Then they got together, started putting in curbs and gutters and made a town out of it."

There were at least eight parades that he marched in, first as a Cub Scout, then in his middle and high school bands.

"I hear this year they're putting the horses toward the end of the parade," he said. "There used to be a time when you really had to watch your step."

And while most years the weather is perfect, sometime in the 1960s Miles recalls a fairly heavy storm where the day started with 15 inches of snow on Carson Street. The parade was delayed about 30 minutes while the street was plowed.

"The crowd was a bit thin, but I was there," he said.

"Used to be we'd have the parade and then there would be a high school football game in the afternoon," Miles said. "They had to move the game to Friday night because there was so much else going on in town ... made the day too full."

Somewhere between 15 and 20 years ago after many attempts, Miles managed to get a friend from Elko to come down for the parade.

"He filmed the whole thing, then handed me the tape and said, 'Now you never have to go to another one.'"

And while there's a sameness each year, that's really not the point, Miles said.

"I think there's less statewide participation now than there used to be since there was a time time when every marching band in the state was there," he said. "The sea serpent from Hawthorne came every year 'til it fell apart, the Shriners instead of walking have upgraded to little carts, and of course we have the politicians, so there are things familiar, but it's really about catching up with people you haven't seen in a year."

The fact he's not missed one parade is, by his estimation, "just coincidence."

Not true, said Kathy McClintock, who is on the Nevada Day Committee.

"I heard they had a vacation planned this year and when Dan realized it fell over Nevada Day, vacation was canceled," she said. "Dan exemplifies the spirit of Nevada and what makes our state special.

"This event is uniquely Nevada and that Dan is committed to making this part of his family legacy is wonderful. But (the family) is just like that - great, wonderful, fun people."

To honor Dan's record and his commitment, McClintock plans to present him, albeit informally, with a collector's plate that is blue with impressed lettering.

"I would like to present that to him and see them make it part of their legacy."

Today, the event has grown to include his wife Stephanie, daughters Amy Robinson and Katie Armstrong, sons-in-law and three grandchildren.

At daybreak of parade day, they will meet at the corner of Second Street and set up. It's become their spot, Miles said.

"We've always gone as a family - my daughters also married native Nevadans and my one son-in-law has a trailer and barbecue and likes to cook chorizo," Miles said. "It's just a lot of fun, we set out chairs, little chairs for the kids, there will be cotton candy and clowns which the kids have always have fun with and it's something we've always enjoyed."

He holds season tickets at UNR and normally each year finishes the parade, makes a couple of stops then goes to Reno for the last half of the game then returns home for a chili feed. This year though, the game takes place at night, so anyone expecting chili will be disappointed.

"This year I get to see the best of both," Miles said. "And tell Kathy she doesn't have to give up her plate, but she needs to come by for a Bloody Mary."