The first time Dewey Livingston marched in the Western Weekend parade, he blended in with a group of young parents pushing strollers. They called themselves the Baby Boomers, and they wore T-shirts with a wailing infant on the front.
Forty-two years later, Mr. Livingston has been selected as this year’s Western Weekend Grand Marshal. He will appear at the head of the parade, chauffeured alongside his two grandchildren, ages 7 and 11, who have long since left their strollers.
As West Marin’s leading historian, Mr. Livingston is accustomed to writing about others who have claimed the spotlight, and he’s a bit shy about stepping into one himself. “I was kind of stunned,” he said. “It’s a great honor.”
This year’s celebration, the 77th, will take place on June 6 and 7, with the parade at noon on Sunday. As always, the weekend will feature the farm bureau’s chicken barbecue, the Rotary Club’s chili cook-off, a youth art exhibit and a Saturday night barn dance.
Upon learning about his selection as Grand Marshal, Mr. Livingston’s first thought was that he should share the position with his brother, who is also active in civic affairs and happens to be named Marshall. “He’s done an incredible amount for the community over the last 50 years,” he said.
So has Dewey.
Now 72, he has been chronicling local history for decades. A former historical researcher for the Point Reyes National Seashore and Golden Gate National Recreation Area, he helped create the Jack Mason Museum of West Marin History, where he now volunteers.
Last year, he published his magnum opus: “Point Reyes and Tomales Bay: A History of the Land and Its People,” a 400-year survey that touches on prehistory and extends up to the 1970s.
“Switching from being an observer to a focal point is going to be an adjustment,” said Mr. Livingston, a longtime Inverness resident. “It will be a reversal, because for all these years, I’ve taken pictures of the parade for the historical record and for my own edification.”
In his work as a historian, and later as a friend, Mr. Livingston has become well acquainted with the family of this year’s Junior Grand Marshal, Eva Taylor, a Tomales High School senior and seventh-generation dairy farmer. She’s president of the Tomales chapter of the Future Farmers of America and an award-winning member of the California 4-H Shotgun Team. She’ll be showing market hogs at this year’s Sonoma County Fair.
“I spend about two hours in the barn every day,” she said. “If you need me between the hours of 6 and 7 a.m., or between 3 and 4 p.m. after school, I’m in the barn.”
Her parents are John and Karen Taylor, who operate Bivalve Dairy, two miles north of town. Her great-grandmother was Scotty Mendoza, who started an earlier iteration of the Junior Grand Marshal program—the Western Weekend Queen contest.
Ms. Taylor loves feeding the calves on the ranch, and as a middle schooler at Nicasio School, she left early on Wednesdays to make cheese and butter with her dad. “I was in charge,” she said. “My dad kind of just sat back and listened and did what I told him.”
This year’s Western Weekend is the first since 11 families left the Point Reyes National Seashore after a legal settlement ended most historic ranching there.
“This year it’s especially important to highlight agriculture and what is left of it, because of those families that we lost,” Ms. Taylor said.
For a schedule of events, visit www.westernweekend.org.