ELLINWOOD — Jonell Niles, known around town for showing up with a camera in hand, will ride at the front of this year’s After Harvest Festival Parade on July 18.
For years, Niles has watched the Ellinwood After Harvest Festival Parade from the same spot, camera raised, capturing the floats, the fire trucks, the cheer squads and the classic cars as they roll by.
This year, for the first time, she’ll see it from a different angle entirely — as the parade’s Grand Marshal, riding at the front of the procession she has spent so long documenting from the sidelines.
Niles admits the honor caught her off guard. When organizers first reached out, her instinct was to wonder why they’d picked her. She doesn’t see herself as doing anything extraordinary — just using whatever skills she has to help the people and place she calls home.
“I am nothing special and the things I do, I do because I truly enjoy helping people or helping out my community,” she said. “My thought has always been, if I have a talent or gift, why wouldn’t I want to use that to help others? But, I am deeply honored to be chosen. I personally know or have heard of many of the honorees from previous years and I’m humbled to be included in their company.”
A hometown feeling, found again
Niles isn’t originally from Ellinwood. She moved to Barton County in 1992, settling briefly in Hoisington and Great Bend before landing just south of Ellinwood in 1994. She moved inside the city limits in 2012. But the town reminded her right away of Oakley, the community where she grew up, and she says she was grateful to raise her two sons, Matt and Ryan, in a place with that same small-town feel — the kind where security isn’t something you have to think about and neighbors simply look out for one another.
That spirit of neighbors helping neighbors is, in her mind, Ellinwood’s defining trait. She points to the town’s response during a flood several years ago.
“I remember taking a few pictures that day – in between filling bags – and there were people of all ages helping out: kids as young as 3-4, men and women 70+, bankers, teachers, electricians, farmers – all working together to help each other. It’s a feeling of community you just can’t describe.”
A resume built on quiet service
Niles has contributed to the community in many ways over the years. She’s served on the boards of the Chamber of Commerce, Eagle Backerz, the Legion Auxiliary, the Child Development Center and the Recreation Commission, among others — work that has touched children’s programs, school scholarships, daycare expansion and local business support alike.
One project stands out, though: helping organize the renaming of Ellinwood’s south ball fields as the Stephen Richter Memorial Fields. Niles served alongside Richter on three different boards and remembers his enthusiasm for helping the town’s children and families. Being part of honoring his legacy, she said, is something she hopes will inspire others to get involved in their own community, too.
The parade, through her lens
Niles’s love for the parade goes back years, sweltering July heat and all.
“I love seeing all the class reunion floats, the cheer squad and different sports teams, the first responders, the old cars and all the people just out having a good time,” she said. “One of the parts of the parade that I truly loved and miss was the plane flyover signaling the beginning of the parade. You’d hear it coming and that was the first indicator that the fun was about to begin! I know some of the pilots have retired or passed on but I would love to see that tradition be brought back.”
This year, riding up front will mean a role reversal of sorts. Niles said she’s looking forward to seeing the parade from a vantage point she’s never had before – with a spare camera in hand.
“If all goes according to plan, my older son, Matt, will be driving the convertible I’ll be riding in (courtesy of my friends Ed and Diane Nemnich). My younger son, Ryan, will be manning my normal photo-taking spot and will take photos for me until I complete the parade route,” she said. “Then I will reclaim my camera and get back to doing what I love!”
