∙Elks Burger Night at the Elks Lodge, 5 p.m.
∙Cornhole tournament, Greenacres parking lot, sign up at 9 a.m. To benefit GHS softball and baseball teams
∙Art in the Park, Pioneer Park, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
∙SRAG/CIAA art show, the Elks, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
∙Old-Time Fiddlers at Pioneer Park, 1 p.m.
∙Rodeo, 6 p.m., followed by Jake Jacobson concert
∙Street dance with The Butchers, between The Trails and Northwest Insurance, 8-11 p.m. The Trails will also have its outdoor beer garden
∙Cowboy Breakfast, Masonic Lodge, 6-11 a.m.
∙Street Sports and Super Egg Toss, Main Street, 9 a.m.
∙Rodeo Slack, 10 a.m.
∙Art in the Park, Pioneer Park, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
∙SRAG/CIAA art show, the Elks, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
∙Rootbeer floats at Veterans Center on Main Street, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
∙Boy Scouts reunion with Clift Cole, Pioneer Park, 1 p.m.
∙Parade, Main Street, 2 p.m.
∙Missionaries Sydney and Collins Mugume, Trinity Lutheran 9:30 a.m. and Super 8 following parade
∙Free lunch and open house for veterans and their families at the Idaho County Veterans Center, noon to 2 p.m.
∙Class of 1972 reunion, Grangeville Gun Club, following the parade
∙Rodeo, 6 p.m., followed by live music with Coltrain
∙Cowboy Breakfast, Masonic Lodge, 6-11 a.m.
∙Street Sports and Super Egg Toss, Main Street, 9 a.m.
∙SRAG/CIAA art show, the Elks, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
∙Rootbeer floats at Veterans Center on Main Street, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
∙Fun on a Bun pork-pulled sandwiches, Pioneer Park by Trinity Lutheran Church, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
∙Strawberry Shortcake, Pioneer Park by United Methodist Church, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
∙Parade, Main Street, 2 p.m.
∙GHS all-class reunion, Grangeville Gun Club, following the parade
∙Rodeo, 6 p.m., Family Night and Pink Out the Stands. Wear pink to raise money to help locals who have cancer.
∙Cowboy Breakfast, Masonic Lodge, 6-11 a.m.
∙American Legion Firecracker Fun Run, Idaho County Veterans Center, 6 a.m.
∙Street Sports and Super Egg Toss, Main Street, 9 a.m.
∙Toy Scramble, Main Street, following street sports, sponsored by Grangeville Health and Rehab-Cascadia
∙Rootbeer floats at Veterans Center on Main Street, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
∙Camas Prairie Cruisers Show and Shine, Les Schwab Tire Center, sign up at 9 a.m., show 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
∙Lions Club Kiddies Parade, courthouse lawn, 11 a.m., meet at 10:45 a.m.
∙Royalty Luncheon, Eagles Hall on C Street, noon
∙Bicentennial Historical Museum, College Street, open noon to 4 p.m.
∙Parade, Main Street, 2 p.m.
∙Fireworks, GHS football field, 10 p.m.

Urbahn named Grand Marshal

This year’s Border Days grand marshal has a lifelong association with Grangeville’s biggest celebration.
John Urbahn was born and raised in Grangeville.
“I remember riding in the kiddie parade on my neighbor’s Shetland pony when I was about 8 years old,” he recalled.
John worked throughout high school in his family’s business, Miller Hardware, on Grangeville’s Main Street (where Larson’s is now). He graduated from Grangeville High School in 1967 and went on to attend Lewis-Clark State College in Lewiston.
At LCSC, he spent two years in the drafting program, then his final two years in liberal arts.
“I had thought I would do something with the drafting, but I found out I didn’t like that so much,” he laughed.
He returned to Grangeville where he spent the next eight-plus years working alongside his dad at Miller Hardware, all the time buying into the family business. When his father died, he took over the store.
“I was glad to get back to Grangeville and really enjoyed it here,” he said. He had a good memory for where things were in the store that carried a little bit of everything.
In the early ’80s, a young woman came into the store to purchase some items for a pizza place she was opening behind Miller.
“I found out she was opening Pioneer Pizza and that she was the sister of Carol Fogleman,” he said. The rest is history. John and Annelle were married in 1985 and have been together 38 years now.
Annelle said she had fun setting up the pizza place, but after two years, she sold it and worked in the store with John.
“I could set my own hours there,” she smiled.
“And she was busy raising kids, but she could always fill in during lunchtimes or vacations and it worked out,” John added.
The couple has three children: Tommiann, Jonna and Kurt, and six grandchildren, ages 1 through 12. They all live in Idaho County.
When John was a child, he helped his father set up the fireworks for the annual Border Days celebration.
“The chamber of commerce sponsored a little show then that cost $400 or $500,” he said. “We had to dig holes for the mortars to go in.”
He said later, his kids also helped him dig those holes.
“Later, in maybe the ’80s, the Grangeville Volunteer Fire Department took over the fireworks, and now it’s all an above-ground, electrically lit display,” he said.
He has been a member of GVFD for more than 40 years, and for many of those early years, he lit the fireworks by hand.
“It’s a lot safer now,” he smiled.
That safety means he trains a day or two every year, along with a couple of his fellow firemen, to make sure the show goes off without a hitch. That training used to take place in Montana and now is held in Southern Idaho.
On the day of the big fireworks show, July 4, held at Grangeville High School, GVFD members spend nearly the entire day setting up for the 10 p.m. event.
“It’s about a $19,000 show this year,” he said. “So, yes, it’s changed a lot. We get a lot of compliments. We could not do it without all the support from the community and local businesses and the volunteer firemen and their families who help collect those funds.”
John has also been responsible for the big boom firework heard at each rodeo for the past 40 years. That’s 40 times three days of rodeos: 120 big booms.
“That’s called the salute,” he said. “We’re trying to figure out how I can still do it this year and maintain my grand marshal duties.”
John is also a member of the Salmon River Rural Fire Department and the White Bird Volunteer Fire Department. He is a member of the Grangeville Elks Lodge and the Grangeville Lions, and he and Annelle are members of Camas Prairie Cruisers.
“My family was involved in the community in many ways,” he said. “It’s what you do to give back.”
Thirteen years ago, after Miller Hardware had closed, John kept a little piece of his past by opening a locksmith business underneath the store.
“I had always worked with locks and making keys at Miller, so I just decided to keep on with it. I enjoy it,” he said.
The Urbahns enjoy spending time with their family, as well as time at their home in White Bird. They like to ride UTVs and hope to do some traveling this year.
“I was surprised about being chosen as grand marshal,” John said. “It’s really quite an honor.”