God Bless the Night of Lights

TOM HESS / HUNGRY HORSE NEWS

What did you think of the parade?

That's the question I heard throughout my very first Night of Lights and afterward on Dec. 4. (More about my opinion of the parade later.)

And it's the question I overheard a mother ask her child as they walked home in the cold darkness.

Karen Gibson. 41, of Columbia Falls grew up in the Flathead Valley and attended the parade every year when she was "little." But she moved away, and for the last 20 years, missed the annual event. This year, she returned, bringing her 6-year-old, Gibson Lockhart, along.

What did she think of the evening after all those years away from her childhood home?

"It was wonderful," she said, "a great turnout."

Karen is one of several people I've met who grew up in the Flathead, left for the West Coast, and came back in their 30s and 40s to raise families and start businesses.

Several people associated with First Best Place Task Force graduated from Columbia Falls High School, flourished in their high-flying careers in California and Oregon, and couldn't resist the gravitational pull east.

Night of Lights helped me understand why this community is so appealing to young families who could have chosen to stay in areas with more choices, more services.

As I walked up and down the parade route, from the staging area at Railroad Street to Karl Skindingsrude's Special K booth at Glacier Discovery Square, I saw families with kids of all ages — from bundled-up babies in strollers to teens with Cindy Lou of Whoville hair.

I had heard from some people in the community that Columbia Falls is an aging town, a relatively inexpensive place where people come to retire. That's true to some degree, of course. But I also see it's a place where families come for a more relaxed place in which to enjoy their kids' childhoods.

Watching the parade roll by (I had a special fondness for Schellinger Construction's Flintstones float), I remembered the parades I saw when my childhood home of Colorado Springs was a smaller city, a "cow town." No wonder, I thought, that more and more people want to live here. They want to recapture something that's been lost in the big cities. They want community spirit, and sweet memories for their children. And the parade gives them that.

God bless the Night of Lights.

P.S. — Parade organizer Jennifer Krueger invited me to be a judge of the 40 or so entries, but as a newcomer, I declined. Maybe next year.

Here's who finished 1-2-3 in the four categories.

Business: 1. Eagle Transit, 2. Schellinger Construction, 3. Freedom Bank

Open: 1. Columbia Falls Cub Scout Pack 101, 2. Boys & Girls Club, 3. Girl Scouts & Forest Service

Juvenile: 1. Canyon Elementary, 2. 4-H, 3. Head Start

Four-Legged: 1. Trail Blazers Riding Club, 2. Rocky Mountain Riders Saddle Club, 3. Dog Sled Adventures