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Heroes on parade Mail Tribune / Jim Craven Former hostages Arnie Alford, left, and Steve Derry were grand marshals in the Gold Dust Day parade in Gold Hill Saturday. Jason Weber, the third Gold Hill man taken hostage last October by Ecuadoran guerrillas, was back to work at Erickson Air-Crane and unable to attend. Former hostages add touches of luster, gratitude to annual hometown parade By DANI DODGE For months, the people of Gold Hill prayed, hoped and cried over the fate of three of its residents who were kidnapped by Ecuadoran guerrillas. Saturday, those same people and others from the Rogue Valley celebrated the men's safe return. Steve Derry, 40, Arnie Alford, 41, and Jason Weber, 29, were the grand marshals at Saturday's Gold Dust Day parade - a one-mile 45-entry promenade straight down the main street of tiny rural Gold Hill. Thousands of people lined the road. "They are heroes to everybody in town," said Cheryl Joseph, 37, the president of the Gold Nugget Club, a coordinating council of nonprofit and service groups in Gold Hill. "Everyone wanted them to have a special welcome home." The three Gold Hill men were among a group of 10 abducted Oct. 12 from a South American oil camp. Two French pilots escaped. A Missouri oil technician, Ron Sanders, was murdered Jan. 31. The Gold Hill men, employees at Erickson Air-Crane, were held for 141 days. Then, in February, Erickson Air-Crane and other employers negotiated a $13 million ransom. The men were released March 1. While the men were held by the rebels, residents of Gold Hill tied yellow ribbons around tree trunks and mailbox posts. Many in the community wanted to hold a parade right away to celebrate the return, but the men "weren't ready," Joseph said. She said she was honored that they finally consented to Saturday's celebration. Weber was unable to attend the parade because he was back to work and had to take a helicopter down to a fire in California. But Derry and Alford, who have not yet returned to work, rode in the parade atop a restored fire truck: a shiny red 1949 Seagrave city pumper. "This is just kind of our way of saying thanks," Alford said. Derry said, "It's a nice way to pay the community back for its support." People along the parade route hooted, hollered and clapped as the men came by throwing out candy to the youngsters. "They look good," said Debi Goodman, 45, of Ashland, as they passed. "Their eyes are bright." Earlier that day, Gold Hill resident Leslie Moore mused on the town's grand marshals as she fed her great-grandson bites of syrupy pancakes at the event's pancake breakfast. "They may never have known how much what they went through inspired some people," Moore, 48, said. "I would hope the parade would let them know." Art Nichols, 66, of Medford, went to Gold Dust Day to show off his 1955 turquoise Thunderbird in the car show. But he said he's really been awed by the hometown heroes. "They went through quite an ordeal down there and represented their city and company quite well," he said. "It made you feel good to see them on that truck, because it sure could have had another ending." Janet Rosecrans, 65, said she's been attending Gold Dust Day since a piece of pie and coffee cost a quarter. She said it's pretty impressive to have men now considered national celebrities heading up their parade. "I think we've had the oldest person in town before as grand marshal," Rosecrans said. "But we've never had anything like hostages." Derry, Alford and Weber do fit into a certain category of grand marshals, according to Joseph. "Our grand marshals are always special guests," she said. "We've had oldest and we've had youngest, but we've also had people who made a difference. "Their unfortunate experience brought our community together." Reach reporter Dani Dodge at 776-4471, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.