Douglas Fourth of July Committee selects Grand Marshals Kearney and Ruby
Juneau - Though they have nothing whatsoever to do with Juneau's 2010 Fourth of July parade theme, "America's Kids," two Douglas postal workers have been selected as the community's grand marshals for the Douglas parade: Levi Kearney and Dean Ruby, both long-standing residents of Douglas.
Levi Kearney was born in Juneau in 1959. He is, according to committee member Joy Baker, "related to half the town." A fourth generation Alaskan, his great grandparents were Johnathan Penglas and Catherine Cashen, who were married and buried in Douglas.
A graduate of Juneau-Douglas High School, Kearney was raised in Juneau with his older brothers, Kenneth Jr. and John, by his parents, Beverly Kearney and the late Ken Kearney. He recalls attending St. Ann's Catholic School for second grade, and one of his standout memories from his early years in Juneau is winning the trout derby in Montana Creek in 1973.
Levi has been employed by the post office since 1980. When he's not sorting mail, he also likes to bowl. In 1996, he won the state single's championship with a score of 794 with a handicap.
Dean Ruby was born and raised in southern Ohio. Graduating from high school in 1979, he joined the Air Force. Working on various missile systems, he bounced from South Dakota to Italy and Belgium before meeting his wife, Cindy, in Arizona in 1988.
After his retirement in 1992, Ruby, his wife and their two kids moved up to Juneau. In 1995, he began working for the Postal Service's Mendenhall station, and in 1999 he transferred to the Douglas station, where he is now employed with Levi.
In keeping with the relaxed attitude of the community of Douglas, which lacks a mayor, city assembly and is no longer an official town since it was incorporated into the City and Borough of Juneau in 1970, only six of the 20 committee members were on hand to select the two marshals.
Asked about the selection process, which does not include an application and is informal, to say the least, Baker said that the committee tries to pick people who have done something special or significant for the city. Past grandmarshals have included Claudette Curtis, Carlene Bednarowitz and Barbara Bell, who used to serve breakfast at the Gastineau Elementary School.
"Everybody on Douglas loves Dean and Lee (Levi); they're just friendly to everyone and that's why we picked them," Baker said.