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Give Me A Brake!
by Keith Brake
July 7, 2008
What a crowd!
Hundreds - no, more likely more than a thousand - people packed into the square and even more were on hand along the parade route for "Let Freedom Ring" on Saturday, July 5.
The square was sardine can of activities and people. I turned around once while telecasting the parade on Local Channel 3, and there weren't too many blades of grass that didn't have something on top of them!
Roger Allen, long-time local observer with the Montezuma Republican and the Lions Club, said that other than the visits by RAGBRAI, Saturday's crowd was the largest he has seen in Montezuma since 1968, when there was another major community celebration.
The major celebration this time, of course, was the dedication of the Bill of Rights Monument. John Carlson, in his fine column the next day in The Des Moines Register, said about 400 people gathered in front of the courthouse for that event.
I don't know where the crowd for the ceremony ended and the crowd for the kids' games began!
LuLu and LeRoy sculpted balloons for kids from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. without a letup.
Youngsters kept Al Buseman and his Smiley Face Train busy until well after 1 p.m.
The Lions Club sold out of chicken by 12:15. All other food vendors, including Ellie's Soda Fountain, and the Montezuma Country Club's pie and ice cream venue, sold out as well.
We told Sammy Lien, the Minnesotan who brings the air bounce rides, that we possibly could have a larger crowd than normal. So, instead of bringing two rides, which he has done in the past, he kept five on board from his previous engagement, and set up all five here in Montezuma. Was he ever glad he did. "If we hadn't, we would have had incredible lines," Lien told us.
Children were enjoying a bunch of games and some very nice prizes brought by Montezuma Nursing & Rehab Center.
The cheerleaders' pie-in-the-face booth was busy every time I looked up. Those girls may still be washing whipped topping out of their hair and ears.
I think the Sons of Union Veterans encampment had its share of visitors.
The big parade had 65 entries and thanks to Rick Warden and the firefighters for staging it and keeping it spread out.
The children's toy, bike and pet parade was fun, as usual, and thanks go to Marlene Johnson for organizing it, and thanks, too, to parents and grandparents for their help.
The patriotic choir sounded great on the courthouse steps before the Bill of Rights dedication ceremony.
Headin' Home, the gospel quartet provided by Cornerstone Baptist Church, provided a really nice touch. At one time, with the quartet on the east side of the square, Pastor George Salnave's sound system on the courthouse steps, and the Sugar Creek Cloggers on the west side, we had sound coming at people from three different directions.
We spoke with various vendors on the courthouse lawn and most seemed very pleased with the size of the crowd and the success of their efforts.
The petting zoo stayed busy, and people visited the quilting show at Vannoy Chevrolet.
In addition, the first Montezuma Cookout Contest was held and the aroma started filling the air on the east side of the square early in the day, with the smell of the Lions' chicken barbecue filling the air on the west side.
Dick Bruxvoort of Lake Ponderosa was the grand cookout champion. He also won in the pork category and won for showmanship.
Bryce Wehrle of Lynnville won in the beef category. Jorma Erkamaa of Lake Ponderosa won for poultry and Robin Carmichael of Brooklyn won in the open class.
What was the reason for the larger-than-usual crowd?
The Bill of Rights dedication had to be first and foremost.
But, there also was the impact of gasoline prices , which are approaching $4 a gallon locally and have gone over that mark in many areas. It's causing people to stay closer to home this summer.
"Staycations," as Pastor Charles Klink of United Methodist Church put it.
Saturday night, the fireworks show over Lake Ponderosa was spectacular as always. I don't think there were quite as many boats out as in some previous years. But think about it - it costs a lot of money to run a boat and a car. The crowd along Diamond Trail Road was as large as usual. I'm always amazed that what appears to be a major traffic jam in the making gets cleared out by the Poweshiek County Sheriff's Department in about 10 minutes!
Then on Sunday, there was a big crowd on the west courthouse lawn for the ecumenical church service. Rev. Klink is a big Bill of Rights advocate, and his sermon was geared toward our freedoms. Friends of his, Gordon Johnson of Davenport, and his wife, dressed in 1776 period costuming, were on hand. Gordon did a dramatic reading of the Declaration of Independence.
Montezuma Magazine is brought to you by LeRoy and LuLu, the Kingdom Klowns of Iowa. Visit our website at www.clownsiniowa.com and click on the 'Montezuma Magazine' tab.