Parade princess named

Every year Osceola holds a traditional Fourth of July parade, and every year there is one person who leads the parade — the Parade Marshal.

It is an honor to be chosen as parade marshal. To receive this honor, a nomination is needed from a community member. The candidate needs to be involved in the community and community service. The committee which chooses the parade marshal, looks at all nominees and then makes its decision.

Chuck Snell saw all of this and nominated Irvel Oshel to be this year’s parade marshal.

This year’s parade marshal (also called the parade princess this year, because of the fairy tale theme) was chosen based on the fact that she is involved in many things including the Eastern Star, Query Club, the Murray Methodist Church and United Methodist Women.

Oshel also volunteers at the local school, hospital, on the Conservation board, is a member of the Red Hat Club and this past spring she was awarded the honorary Member Award from the local FFA chapter.

When Oshel was asked if she would be the parade marshal she said, “I’m so happy I could faint!” Even though she is very excited she is also very humbled to receive this honor.

When asked why she thought she was chosen she said, “I like people, I like to help people and think of others because others have thought of me.”

For nearly 60 years she was married to the late Clyde Oshel. They lived on the same farm for 52 years. She has two children and five grandchildren.

She said she is excited that all of her grandchildren are looking at careers in the agricultural field. This makes her very proud because the farm and agriculture is something very close to her heart. She was a farmer’s wife, she taught school for 11 years, and then she became deputy clerk of court.

She is always busy, and doesn’t seem to have time to be bored.

“When the children were growing up we never allowed the “B” word in the house, bored,” she said, “I was a wife, a mother, and now being a grandmother is just the frosting on the cake.”