Midvale 4th Grand Marshals Announced
Alan and Varina Pickett are this year’s Grand Marshals for the Annual Midvale 4th of July parade, which provides a great opportunity for me to reflect on, and share, their history and service to the community.
Alan was born in Weiser, ID and raised in Midvale, making him a fourth generation of Pickett’s to live in the valley. He attended Midvale High School where he played basketball, was an active member in the FFA and student body leadership, and graduated as class valedictorian in 1978. Alan attended the College of Idaho where he earned a Bachelor’s degree in history and wrote an honors thesis, “Lucifer’s Lust: A History of the Seven Devil’s Mining District 1863-1920”, which should be available through the Weiser Historical Museum beginning this August.
Varina (Van Veldhuizen) was raised about 2,550 miles away from Midvale, outside of Fairbanks, AK. She attended West Valley High School where she played clarinet in the marching band, raised sheep through 4-H, and was an active participant in Key Club (a community service organization). Varina graduated in 1980, then came to Idaho to pursue her Bachelors’ degree in Elementary Education at the College of Idaho where she became the college’s first Truman Scholar. On a return trip to college in the late summer of 1982, Varina was driving down Highway 95 where she noticed a pretty little farm with a red barn in the canyon between Cambridge and Midvale. Serendipitously enough, that farm would shortly come to be her home.
Alan and Varina met during the fall semester of their senior year at the College of Idaho and were married on May 28, 1984. They moved back to the family farm in Midvale and purchased the adjoining Harold Guy property, expanding the beef cattle operation. They continued raising cattle for the next 37 years until (mostly) retiring in 2021 when the Whitener’s took over running the farming business. Alan and Varina also raised their two children, Melissa and Joe, on the farm.
Varina worked as an aide and substitute teacher for the Cambridge Elementary School from 1984-1985 before being hired as the 3rd and 4th grade teacher at Midvale School District in the fall of 1985. Varina will be entering her 40th and last year of teaching at Midvale School this upcoming fall. Over the years, she has taught every grade from kindergarten through 6th and 11th grade Reading, though most of her years were spent teaching some combination of 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, and/or 6th grades. Varina has educated at least two generations of Midvale youth and has been dedicated to providing the best education she can to Midvale’s children. She earned her Master’s degree in Elementary Math Education from Western Governor’s University in 2011 and has taken a wide variety of courses over her summers to stay-up-to-date with the best practices in education. She was also my favorite (and toughest) teacher. (And Mom, you’ll be happy to see I didn’t use “good” as a descriptor in this write up, ha, ha.) Varina also helped keep books for the Midvale Rangers and Tri-Valley Titans volleyball teams from 2002-2006 and helped with FCCLA projects.
Alan has also been active in the community over the years. He has helped to coach both boys’ and girls’ basketball from the youth recreation league working with elementary students through the varsity level. Alan was the Upper County Landfill caretaker from 1984-1992 and the ditch tender from 1984-1990. Alan is currently a commissioner for both the Midvale Cemetery Board and for the Washington County Historical Preservation Board.
On a more personal note, I am grateful for the many opportunities my parents provided to my brother and me to explore our interests and our country growing up. I am thankful for the love of reading, learning, and Star Trek, and the appreciation for the natural world that they instilled in us. I know they have touched the lives of many people in the community and am proud to see them honored in the 4th of July parade.
Live long and prosper!
Your Daughter - Melissa
