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Steamboat parade’s marshals have deep county ties

Iacovettos pleased to have honor

Scott Franz

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■ Lincoln Avenue will be closed from Fifth Street to 11th Street from 5 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Monday for the Fourth of July Parade.

■ Veterans, military men and women, Reservists and National Guard members are invited to walk in Steamboat Springs’ Fourth of July Parade while the Holy Name Chorus sings patriotic songs. Those who want to participate should come to the staging area on Yampa Street between 9:30 and 10 a.m. Participants are asked to wear uniforms, veterans’ organization attire or a patriotic T-shirt. Look for “Uncle Sam” and the “God Bless America” banner.

Share your photos

Send your Fourth of July fireworks photos to share@SteamboatTo…, and look for a video of the celebration at SteamboatToday.com.

For more

■ Lincoln Avenue will be closed from Fifth Street to 11th Street from 5 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Monday for the Fourth of July Parade.



■ Veterans, military men and women, Reservists and National Guard members are invited to walk in Steamboat Springs’ Fourth of July Parade while the Holy Name Chorus sings patriotic songs. Those who want to participate should come to the staging area on Yampa Street between 9:30 and 10 a.m. Participants are asked to wear uniforms, veterans’ organization attire or a patriotic T-shirt. Look for “Uncle Sam” and the “God Bless America” banner.

This year’s grand marshals for Steamboat Springs’ Fourth of July Parade say they have attended every Independence Day parade in Steamboat since they bought Dream Island in 1952.



Angelo and Helen Iacovetto, both 88, have been married for 69 years and can trace their relationship back to Angelo’s father’s general store in Phippsburg, where the couple met when they were 19 years old. Being honored at this year’s parade is another milestone the couple intends to add to its already lengthy history in Routt County.

“We’re very pleased to have been given this honor,” Helen said. “I think it’s going to be quite a Fourth of July.”

The Iacovettos said that the parade, which drew thousands of spectators to Lincoln Avenue last year, has gotten bigger every year they’ve attended and that it’s a worthy recognition of the many ranchers, farmers and people who call the Yampa Valley home.

“Everybody gets together and makes a parade that’s really worth seeing,” Angelo said.

Angelo, who previously served as the postmaster general for the Hayden Coal Co., said he’s enjoyed helping businesses in Routt County get back on their feet.

“I’ve worked with a lot of restaurant owners, and I simply tell them they should take care of their customers like they would their own family,” he said.

Steamboat Springs Chamber Resort Association spokeswoman Michelle Krasilinec said the Iacovettos were selected as grand marshals because they “exemplify the spirit of hard work and dedication to Routt County and Steamboat.”

She cited Angelo’s purchase and development of Dream Island from a six-cabin property to a mobile home court and campground, and their restoration of the previously bankrupt Harbor Hotel in 1964 as reasons they should be recognized at the parade.

The couple also has managed the Inn at Thunderhead and the Glen Eden Ranch.

“They have raised generations of Iacovettos that have continued to contribute to real estate, ranching, the service industries and recreation,” Routt County resident Mary Effinger wrote in a letter to the Chamber recommending that the Iacovettos be named the grand marshals. “There are no strangers to the Iacovettos. They welcome everyone with warmth, humor, hard work, hospitality, dedication to family and community. That is what attracts visitors to the area and is the reason so many return.”

Effinger moved to Steamboat in 1971 and said she met the Iacovetto family while she looked into renting a property in Dream Island.

“They were just really helpful,” she said. “Even though they didn’t have a place for me, they were great people, the whole family.”

Steamboat’s Fourth of July Parade begins at 10 a.m. Monday on Lincoln Avenue.

To reach Scott Franz, call 970-871-4210

or email ScottFranz@SteamboatToday.com


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