The 2021 Fish Days Parade Marshalls are Ed and Betty Bruner of Lake Andes.

Ed and Betty are lifelong Charles Mix County residents from the Geddes area who have lived in Lake Andes for the past 52 years.

Ed and Betty have been married for 72 ½ years! They were blessed with four children. Two of their children live in Colorado and one in the Madison area. One of their children has passed away.

They have 13 grandchildren, 13 great-grandchildren, and 3 great-great-grandchildren.

The Bruners look forward to the Fish Days weekend festivities every year.

Betty fondly remembers coming to town as a little girl before the streets were paved. “Seemed like every year was muddy, but it was still such fun,” Betty said. She added that they always had to have a new dress to come to town for the events.

Betty’s favorite part of Fish Days was the potluck dinner that they always had after the queen contest many years ago. She added that they always enjoy the parade as well. She also remembers bringing their family to town to go on the rides. Ed also is a lifelong Fish Days attendee.

He remembers when the Native Americans would set up a tent in town and perform pow-wow dances throughout the weekend.

Ed noted that the whole weekend is great – a little bit of everything going on.

Betty spent most of her career working at the bank, retiring after 30 years. Ed joined the Air Force and when he returned, he worked at the Ft. Randall dam. He then worked for the Charles Mix County Highway department for many years. He also worked for the White Swan Township running the road grader. He is a lifetime member of the American Legion and the KC’s. He was also a volunteer fireman in Geddes and served on the church council.

When Betty got the call that they had been chosen as the Parade Marshalls this year, she said that she was so surprised! She asked Ed if he wanted to ride in the parade as the Marshalls and she joked that she was even more surprised when he said yes!

Ed and Betty want to thank the Fish Days committee for choosing them and hope that everyone has a great Fish Days!