DORIS VINEYARD The grand marshalls of this year’s Labor Day parade have decades of experience of being mothers, grandmothers, employees, caretakers and volunteers in Mariposa County. They are two of the county’s most recognizable women.

Doris Vineyard and Marge DeLaMare share the honors this year when the parade steps off on Sept. 4 at 11 a.m. There are few people who are more suited for the honor.

Vineyard was raised on a farm in Merced, but

she and her husband moved to Mariposa in 1956. They lived in the house next to the town firehouse. The “button” for the town siren was in their home, which Vineyard got to push whenever there was a fire in town.

Vineyard’s husband passed away several years ago. She has two sons and a daughter, eight grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. When her children were young, she was a Girl Scout and Cub Scout leader.

MARGE DELAMARE Besides being a wife and mother, she kept the books for her husband’s business, was a member of the Methodist Church Choir and worked as a secretary at Mariposa County High School for over 35 years. “My many years at the high school, my association with all the students, parents and teachers and watching my children as well as all the others in school, participate in the various school sports and music programs was one of my favorite pastimes,” Vineyard said.

Her work didn’t stop with retirement. She continued to record information for the fire department, became a member of the board of directors for the Golden Agers and has been a member of the sheriff’s department’s SCOPE organization for 14 years. “I have the privilege of working with many of the young men and women who attended MCHS while I was there,” she said of her current volunteer work.

Mariposa County Sheriff Brian Muller said Vineyard’s unselfishness is evident every day. “Doris is the embodiment of what SCOPE and volunteerism is all about,” he said. “She goes about her tasks quietly, never seeking recognition for herself, but always recognizing the work and success of others. She puts the needs of others before herself and would rather listen to your problems and complaints than voice her own hardships and concerns.”

Muller continued, “Doris possesses a heart of goodness, kindness, care and love, and generously shares those precious traits with everyone she comes in contact with. She is a very special person, we are so fortunate to have her as a part of our department.”

Vineyard’s family is scattered living in Southern California, Benecia, Atwater, Nevada, England, West Virgina, Hawaii and Afghanistan. “All lines of communication are always busy,” she said.

“It is a pleasure and an honor to serve as one of the marshalls for the Mariposa County Fair parade and to call Mariposa County my home,” Vineyard concluded.

DeLaMare was born and raised in Nevada City and moved to Mariposa with her family in 1949. “The war was over,” she said. Her husband, Bob, worked in Yosemite National Park, and she drove a school bus, an occupation she maintained for 20 years. Even today, former bus passengers will come up and ask her if she remembers them. Most of them are retirees themselves now. now.

DeLaMare drove the school bus in to town, worked at the Capital Cafe and Gold Coin, and later at the MARIPOSA GAZETTE. At the end of the day, she drove the students home again. She worked at the

GAZETTE for 32 years, retiring at age 81, when she decided she didn’t want to learn to deal with the computers.

“She was the best employee we’ve had,”

GAZETTE publisher Dan Tucker said. Her reliability and conscientious work effort were “unmatched,” Tucker added.

DeLaMare and her husband had five children: Tom, Joan, Jenny, Margaret and John. They and her dozens of grandchildren and great-grandchildren live from Mariposa to Hawaii. When her children were young, she was a school volunteer and was active in PTA.

Even though DeLa- Mare has traveled extensively, including a trip to Hawaii for her 80th birthday, she has lived in the same Whitlock Road home since 1949. She works in the yard and drives to town to take care of errands.

Her family is her pride and joy. “I’ve got great kids,” DeLaMare said.