By MICAH HENRY
One might wonder how a couple from way down in Florida ended up being Grand Marshals for the 32nd Annual Vashti Day Celebration, held Saturday, June 27.
It all has to do with a not-so-common name (Vashti) and one vacation trip of two local couples, Troy and Delories Bentley and friends Flake and Bernice Fox. The two couples traveled to Florida and were in the Crescent City area in January 2008. The party hoped to find some locally grown oranges while on vacation, but were having difficulty finding any fruit stands with oranges that time of year.
A bystander pointed the couple down a dirt road where
they found a kind man with orange trees in his yard. He said he would be glad to share his citrus fruit with the vacationers. When they parked at his home, they were amazed to see the address sign--more specifically, their names: Don and Vashti Strickland.
“You’re name is really Vashti?” Delories asked Mrs. Strickland.
“Yes,” she replied.
“Well, guess where we’re from--Vashti, North Carolina!” Delories revealed.
It turned out that the lady who shares her name with the northeastern Alexander community had been searching for information on Vashti towns all across the United States. Finally, she had not one, but four Vashti residents to visit her in the same day!
That chance encounter turned into a request that the Stricklands come up to Vashti, NC, to be Grand Marshals--an opportunity in which they were overjoyed to participate. As part of their duties, Don and Vashti rode in the Vashti Day Parade in the 1966 Cadillac convertible driven by Glenn Gwaltney. The Cadillac also took “Most Original” honors this year in the parade.
While in Alexander County over the weekend, the Stricklands stayed at Apple City Bed and Breakfast in Taylorsville, and returned to Florida on Tuesday, June 30.
Elected officials rode in the parade, Alexander County Sheriff Hayden Bentley and recently appointed Clerk of Superior Court Danny Dyson. Several local fire departments had fire apparatus in the parade, along with local residents on horseback, as well as in golf carts, dirt bikes, dune buggies, four wheelers, and classic cars.
A perennial participant in the parade returned again this year
--Miss Ethel Mae Childers, age 87, drove her father’s 1930 Model A Ford. She and her sister, the late Grace Childers, learned to drive on that vehicle and it was purchased by their father brand new. Accompanying Ms. Childers Saturday in the Ford were Carolyn Bentley and Terry Strickland, daughter of the Grand Marshals.
Before the parade, the Vashti Volunteer Fire Department hosted a country breakfast. Afterward, the facility also sold hot dogs and hamburgers. Homemade ice cream was available to help beat the summer heat. Musicians Dillon and Luci Patterson, Mountain Ridge Boys, and Blue Edge provided foot-tapping entertainment.
Vashti Fire Chief Steven Carson commented, “We cannot express the thanks and gratitude for your attendance, donations, and help to make this year’s Vashti Celebration a success. Thank you to all that attended and took part in the parade, took time to help cook, and to the musicians who played.”
