Washtucna wins it

Washtucna may have had more riding on its float entry in Saturday night’s Lilac Parade than most other towns.

“You either do things or you die,” said Grant Miller, one of numerous Washtucna residents who helped build the float. “We’ve got to turn our population around in school, and this is one way to do that.”

Although the small farming community about 90 miles southwest of Spokane is concerned about a shrinking population, residents say it isn’t losing any spirit. They want people to know that – and that if anyone out there wants to live in a small town with spunk, they might consider Washtucna.

“There’s more community pride here per capita,” Miller said.

If town pride can be measured in hours dedicated to building a parade float, Miller might be right.

Washtucna, the smallest of 27 communities to enter the 2005 Lilac Parade, which wound through downtown Spokane, won the award for the best float.

Thousands of people lined the streets, as usual, for Saturday’s event, despite a steady rain.

“Candyland,” Washtucna’s float and parade theme, was a place covered with ice cream cones made from barrels from folks’ farms, street lamps made from water jugs, hard candies made from pie pans, cookies made from Styrofoam and chocolate chips made from plastic Easter eggs. The M&M’s had W’s on them for Washtucna.

Almost everything on the float was crafted in Washtucna by Washtucnans.

“This is the smallest community, and they won the biggest prize,” said Linda Hooten, float judge coordinator.

“There was a lot of effort. It’s a very creative use of materials.”

The float will make appearances in about 10 parades around the state this year along with the Washtucna Ambassadors, four high school girls who won the right to represent the town by, in part, writing essays about why they like living in Washtucna.

Ellen Baumann, one of the Ambassadors, said she wrote about the benefits of attending a small school.

“You learn more, and you’re friends with (your teachers),” she said, adding that the community “cares more.”

Much of the town of about 260 came out Wednesday for a practice run. The float drove down the five blocks of Washtucna’s business district.

The practice run went smoothly. And though the whole project cost less than $1,000 – raised mostly through a car wash – the float’s driver, Lloyd Stoess, said he expected a smooth run through Spokane’s much longer downtown.

“Once we get going, we’re fine,” said Stoess – dressed in a bowtie and a king’s crown – just before he embarked on the route.

“It likes to stall out when we’re idling.”