Longtime parade volunteer to serve as Nevada Day grand marshal
Submitted by editor on Mon, 10/17/2016 - 2:10pm
Bernie Allen walked in his first Nevada Day Parade 70 years ago. He turned his little red wagon into a covered wagon and hitched it to his dog. He walked alongside his pup dressed as a miner, using equipment borrowed from a neighbor. This year, he will lead the procession through downtown Carson City as the grand marshal.
“I never thought for 10 seconds I would be chosen,” he said. “I was very excited, elated. I just couldn’t believe it.”
Allen, 79, moved to Carson City when he was 4 years old. His father came to work on the Virginia & Truckee Railroad.
While Allen worked for the United States Postal Service, working as a postmaster in Coleville, Calif., he maintained a passion for railroads, passed down from his father.
He worked on the first effort to restore the V&T Railroad in the 1960s and helped lay much of the track for the train in Mills Park.
Through his association with the railroad community, Allen participated in several parades throughout the years
“I think it’s one of the most unique things one can do,” he said. “It’s the state’s largest parade, and now we’re one of the only states that celebrate its admission day into the Union.”
His float for the Carson City Railroad Association, depicting a railcar moving up and down a track built on a trailer won the Governor’s Cup that year in the Nevada Day Parade.
“Everything was mechanical on it,” Allen said. “It really represented what it was supposed to be doing.”
He started volunteering with the Nevada Day committee, selling buttons out of the old office inside the Chamber of Commerce building.
He then took over organizing the floats as the parade director for the past 12 years.
“He’s done an amazing job,” said Ken Hamilton, executive director of Nevada Day, Inc. “When I came on board in 2010, he really was my right-hand man. I could not have taken this on without his expertise."
Allen said he has been preparing for the role since he was asked last year to serve as marshal.
“I’ve been looking forward to it all year,” he said.
His wife, Pat, will ride with him in the wagon at the front of the parade. His two daughters will come home to celebrate with him — even though he’s still somewhat in disbelief.
“Usually, they choose celebrities,” he said. “I’m a little guy who volunteers.”
Hamilton disagrees. He said Allen was the obvious choice to represent the “Nevada Day: Then and Now” theme for the 2016 parade.
“We felt it was just a no-brainer,” Hamilton said. “He’s really been an integral part of the parade for the last 50 years, whether he was in it or behind the scenes.”
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