A First for the Fourth

Copyright 2006 Lydia Hinshaw

SKAGWAY, AK -- We are reminded daily that Skagway is a different sort of place. The Fourth of July parade was just one more example.
The stars: This group of eight Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers, resplendent in their traditional outfits (Mounties wear conventional blue uniforms for their daily duties) and a band of bagpipers from Whitehorse, Yukon.
The only politician in the parade was a Yukon MP, or member of Parliament, perhaps in town because he expected a number of his consitituents to be here.
I was beginning to wonder: Are there any Americans in this parade?
Just kidding. An American Legion color guard had led the way. The National Park Service had a float, as did several other local businesses. The local police, fire and ambulance vehicles participated, as did an Alaska Power and Telephone truck.
Three days earlier, Prince Charming and I had been in Haines Junction, YT, for Canada Day (July 1.) Haines Junction got only two Mounties for its parade. Perhaps that was because the rest of the unit had been been dispatched 35 miles south down the Alaska Highway along with the local ambulance crew to clean up a rollover accident. We'd passed by the scene on the way to town.
Both Haines Junction and Skagway celebrated their national holidays with post-parade barbecues. In Skagway, the barbecue was mostly for tourists. All us local ''residents'' had to work.