LARNED — A longtime local family was honored as Grand Marshal of the annual Santa Fe Trail Days Parade, while three days of events celebrated components of 150 years of community life last weekend.
The Erway family headed the parade Saturday, representing six generations of residence in the community celebrating its 150th anniversary. Landon, with his wife Alyssa, is a third-generation legacy as the local State Farm agent. The parade theme was “All Roads Lead Home.”
Since his return to Larned after college, Erway is a member of the Larned Area Chamber and Pawnee County Economic Board of Directors, serving currently as treasurer, and was named Emerging Leader of the year at the Chamber Banquet last November.
While Erway was honored with receiving the title of Grand Marshal, he noted that his family was not alone in longtime contributions to the community. “There are a lot of families here that could have been named in this way,” he said. “I’m just proud to be able to represent all of them for what they have done.”
Trail Days events
With three dozen preregistered entries and a few latecomers, the 31st parade embodied a successful weekend of community activity, noted Larned Area Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Alex Filbert. “I wouldn’t say that Santa Fe Trail Days is Larned’s signature event, but I would say that it is the one that we work the hardest on,” Filbert said.
After three full days of events, programs and activities, Filbert has yet to secure a final tally. “I’ve got some pretty good reviews from vendors and spectators,” she said. “All in all, it was a great weekend.”
Santa Fe Trail Days Rodeo
The Fourth annual Santa Fe Trail Rodeo was a big part of the event schedule over the first two days of the weekend. Camdyn Rausch was crowned the 2023 Miss Santa Fe Trail Rodeo Queen and presided over events at the Pawnee County Rodeo Arena Friday and Saturday. The pageant featured four contestants and consisted of horsemanship, modeling, speech, interview and rodeo knowledge.
Friday night was billed as “Tough Enough to Wear Pink,” while Saturday’s theme saluted heroes honoring veterans and first responders.
