Menters chosen as Raymond Parade grand marshals

The Raymond Parade comes to town April 19

By Elizabeth Gabriel

(Updated: Wednesday, March 26, 2008, 10:22 PM)

The first thing you need to know about Raymond is that everybody knows everybody else. It's a small place (a Yahoo real estate Web site puts it at 2,157 population) and a lot of people stay put. And that means Raymond must have something keeping them there.

That's the case with 2008 Raymond Parade Grand Marshals Gere (pronounced Jerry) and Ed Menter, who will be cruising through the town they love April 19.

While sitting down for an interview in the Raymond General Store one Saturday morning, Ed and Gere said hello to a second cousin of Ed's (from the Calhoun family), their future daughter-in-law, their daughter and granddaughter and a couple of tables full of friends.

Everyone who walked in in the space of 45 minutes said hello, exchanged pleasantries and chatted. The store -- and Raymond -- is that kind of place.

Ed's family has had holdings there for generations. His mom was from the Footman family. His grandfather, Tom Gordon, drove the Cannonball Stage, so-called because the eight-horse team went full-bore for eight miles. The couple lives out on Road 600 on a chunk of the old home place, most of which has been sold.

Gere and Ed met in college -- Fresno State, as it was then -- and when Ed's dad, a veterinarian, was killed in a horse accident, they moved back to Raymond.

"It's quiet," Ed said. "It's a good place to raise kids."

The Menters raised two: Erin Lamont, 26, and Bryce Menter, 27. Both of them still live in town -- and they're neighbors. "The kids are true natives," said Gere.

Now there's another generation. Corin Lamont is 7 and goes to Raymond-Knowles Elementary School, where Grandma has worked for more than 20 years.

"Be sure to mention I was active in PTA," Gere said, "that was really important."

Over the years, she said, she's been a cook, an aid, she's given kids rides home -- just about anything that needs to be done. Ed, who now works several days a week in Santa Maria and commutes home, was on the school board for almost 10 years.

These are family people who care not only about their own children, but the children of the town.

And that's why Gere and a group of friends decided to start the Raymond Parade 22 years ago.

"It started for old-time family fun," she said. "It started for the kids."

The parade has gone on rain or shine ever since.

"One year Ed and the children used balsa wood and fixed up the quads as stealth bombers" Gere said.

Another time, her daughter and a friend decided to ride in the parade dressed as Southern belles with the big skirts and the huge picture hats. They rented the costumes from a place in Fresno.

It poured.

"I never will forget that by the end of the parade, those hats were soaked and draped all over their faces," Gere said.

Ed, 63, and Gere, 65, said they figure they were chosen grand marshals because "it's our time."

"When Judy (Leonard) from the committee called, I was just stunned," Gere said. "Ed was shaking his head. It is quite an honor. We're in an elite group of people."

Parade at 11 a.m. April 19

Entry forms available at Raymond General Store, Wildcat Station Feed & Supply and from the Raymond Community Association, P.O. Box 305, Raymond, CA 93653. Call (559) 689-3341 or (559) 689-3000. Forms must be returned to those places by April 12. Entry fee is $10 or for three or more, $20.

Stick horse barrel racing for 2- to 4-year-olds and 5- to 7-year-olds at 12:30 p.m., bull riding at 2:30 p.m.

For the craft and food fair: $20 for a craft space, $50 for a food space. Set-up is 7:30 to 10 a.m. Dismantling begins at 4 p.m.

Food booths must have a current permit from the Madera County Health Department and have a fire extinguisher. For more information, call numbers above.