Observations all along the line - Kimball & the Southern Panhandle First
Observations all along the line - Kimball & the Southern Panhandle First
During the Farmer's Day Parade, the Mule Track Oxen Team walked down 2nd Street. They were named the Class H parade winners.
Keith Schoene rode his 1940 Case Tractor in the Farmer's Day Parade and won first place in parade Class F in the parade awards.
Katie Ryan, left, holds the raffle bucket while Susie Abramson draws out a ticket for the quilt raffle Friday night at the Kimball Friendship Center, which was held after the soup supper. John Faden was the winner of the quilt.
Kimball celebrated its 88th annual Farmer's Day over the weekend as the community celebrated and honored its everyday heroes.
The celebration kicked off Friday as families gathered at the movie in the park, while others chose to attend the Kimball Theater Group's production of Superhero Sanitarium. Superhero Sanitarium, directed by Tom O'Brien, was performed at the museum downtown. The cast of six delivered a memorable performance. It was a delight to watch the likes of Aidalyn Williams, Dan Laughlin, Josh Enevoldsen and O'Brien portray superheroes pretending to be crazy in order to hide their true abilities. Tiffany Dae delighted the audience with her portrayal of the corrupt reporter Lois Lancaster, while Sydney Yalshevec played the doctor and added credibility to the superheroes' crazy story.
Once the play was over many could walk right over to Good Times where a beer garden was the highlight of the night. The band Country Fried played a lively performance and entertained all in attendance, and the party lasted to the wee hours of the morning.
Not everyone partied too hardy because there was a large crowd who participated in the annual Fun Run at 8 a.m. Saturday morning. The Fun Run kicked off Saturday's events. For those who not participate in the two or five mile run, the parade dignitary coffee was held at the museum until about 9:30 a.m.. The pie contest was also held, and after a tough competition, the judges awarded Eileen Rowley first place for her coconut cream pie. She had 171 total points in the contest. Mariane Culek got second with 160 points for her pecan pie. The pies were judged based on their presentation, crust and overall taste.
Just before the parade began, the selected dignitaries were honored in front of the crowd that had assembled at the corner of 2nd and Chestnut streets. The Parade Grand Marshals were Cork and Bernita Brown, the Outstanding Homemaker was Nancy Miller, and the Outstanding Farmers were the Franks family. The parade queen and her ladies in waiting were also crowned at that time. These ladies were selected based on their completion of an essay at the high school. The essays were written on the theme of small towns and community benefits. Ivana Valle was crowned queen, while the first lady in waiting was Jobany Martinez and the second lady in waiting was Madie Snyder.
After the dignitary recognitions, the parade started just around the corner. The parade was led by the honor guard, followed by Kimball's everyday heroes - the firefighters and emergency workers. The floats in the parade ranged from showing appreciation for men and women in uniform to referencing the everyday hero by personifying them as masked superheroes. Some of the most memorable from the businesses were First Tier Bank, led by a waving Superman. Also, Motel Kimball stood out with their truck full of AmeriCorps team members. The Children of the Kimball Police Department also made quite the impression, dressed in their tiny uniforms that mimicked the heroes of the day - the service men and women. The Kimball FFA showed its appreciation with many of its members riding atop a large float in honor of the parade's theme.
The parade ended and many lined up for the hamburger feed, which had been made possible not only by many local businesses, but also by those who volunteered their time to make all of the burgers. Mitch Brown, Brian Williams and Ty Garrett spent a lot of time grilling roughly 2,000 burgers.
The afternoon called for a migration to Gotte Park, where activities for the whole family were found. A classic car show, along with lawn mower pull, greased pole contest, and FFA table branding were just some of the excitement offered throughout the rest of the day. The Kimball Theater group put on two more performances of Superhero Sanitarium, one on Saturday evening and the last on Sunday afternoon. The weekend wrapped up with the Kamikaze remote control airshow out at the airport.
The week prior to the festivities were spent getting ready and cleaning up downtown. The cracks in the road were filled and local children even lent a helping hand. Junior Girl Scouts Troop 209 spent some time sweeping the front of different downtown businesses. This activity also gave them a chance to earn their bronze awards, which is the highest award a junior girl scout can achieve. Tanya Cook supervised her girls, Maddie Cook, Melai Casimiro and Alicia Vrbas. Other members of the troop not present were Savannah Eggli and Samantha Bemis. Also, second troop leader Nicole Cook was not present. However, Troop 209 worked hard in order to help make fronts of businesses presentable for Farmer's Day.
