STAR, Idaho — Star’s annual hometown celebration parade is set to shut down State Street Friday morning for the 4th of July. But this year, the parade means a little more for one group. I'm your Star neighborhood reporter, Alexander Huddleston, speaking with a group honoring a man who spent decades giving back to kids in Star.
See the Star man being honored in this year's Hometown Celebration Parade:
"The way he loved this town. He was born here, raised here, and he died here. He didn't want to go anywhere else," said a teary-eyed Camden Haney.
This Friday, the city of Star will be celebrating the 4th of July with the annual hometown celebration parade. However, one of the groups taking part is using the event as a memorial.
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Camden added, "He's a guy worth remembering."
Delbert Stevens was a lifelong Star local, whose family farm ran for decades growing corn, hay, wheat, beets, mint, and cattle.
"We knew what it was to work. It's one of those things that when you lived on a farm, you did work," shrugged Stevens in a 2023 interview with the City of Star.
Del worked and worked for decades raising animals, offering affordable boarding for other horses, and over the years, he began to share his work ethic with others.
Brinley, Camden's daughter, smiled, saying, "I worked for my horse, Cascade, over here."
"The deal was, you worked here for a year, you would get a real nice horse," added Camden.
Stevens ran a business on his land that began serving as more of a community epicenter.
Brittany Deacon, another friend of the old cowboy, explained, "The program he had going, I met a lot of wonderful people, we all just became this family, and we are all different and unique."
"Del would sit out here for hours and talk to anyone about nothing," giggled Camden.
Brinley nodded, saying, "He got me into horses and got me into wanting to do that stuff."
"Del was just a good man. He was the last of his kind," cried Camden.
Sadly, Stevens succumbed to his long battle with cancer on August 14th, 2024.
The young girl fought tears, explaining, "It's really hard because you can see how the effect of his passing has affected the horses, the land, even the people who have worked on this land."
So for this year's parade, a group of riders who got horses from Del will ride alongside his favorite horse, mounted with his saddle, empty.
"That horse will be in the front," exclaimed Camden.
Brinley finished with, "Just to honor him for that and give him a last hurrah."
You can enjoy the parade and see all of Del's horses on State Street at 10 am.
