At Long Last... Ag Day

On Friday, March 24th, Ag Day was held for the first time at the Event Center, which is the old National Guard Armory on the south skirt of town. The space provided ground level access and those with displays and tables filled the area to the walls.

Colorful displays and customer handouts were all on display for those making the rounds. Agricultural entities as well as businesses from across the Hi-Line brought the people through the doors. Several banks, the museum, real estate agencies, wildlife and nature business, and military/homeland security agencies provided informational videos, leaflets, and contests that kept the crowd pleased. It was also an opportunity for people to catch up with their neighbors and family after the harsh winter that went through earlier. Don’t forget those much-sought-after freebies!

The CattleWomen had their annual pie baking contest, and getting selected for the elite and distinguished honor of tasting and sampling the entries were Vance Spencer, Pat Murray and Garrett Witmer. Their taste buds favored the lemon sour cream pie created by the culinary skills of Sue Olsen of Whitewater. Second place was awarded to Perri Jacobs and Kathy Waters’ was selected for third.

Vance and Pat also judged entries in the kids’ cupcake contest. In the age 9-17 category first place was won by Brishley Witmer and second place was awarded to Erin Solberg. Young and inspiring cooks eight years and younger competed as well; Cote and Andie French received the nod for first place, and Tavi Lulloff was second.

This article could have easily been titled, “FINISHING UP WHAT I STARTED,” or as our old friend, Paul Harvey used to say, “…the rest of the story.” This reporter had approached Pierre about setting up a table at the event to do a display, get in some PR, and have a couple door prizes; he agreed to it – since I agreed to man the table.

With a quick put-together format, a tablecloth, and questionnaire in hand, the day arrived. Forms were prepared with questions about the service and rating of the PCN from the view of local readers. The PCN is grateful for the overwhelming A+ received on a majority of responses. Input was gathered on what the readers would like to see and the answers were varied – from more human interest stories, older (previous) weekly tidbits from writers, and several requests to include some comics. While the paper can’t guarantee anything, all suggestions will be taken into consideration.

What was strong in the opinion of readers is the involvement of the Publisher Pierre Bibbs. Another plus was the community spirit and participation by the newspaper staff. There were quite a few who said they contribute articles for the paper; the rest of you are welcome to.

The Event Center was met with mixed opinions as to the venue. The Center offered easy, quick cleaning of floors and a nice kitchen. There were comments as to the space being ample enough for the crowd that was in attendance. Some felt crowded as tables were tightly arranged on the floor space.

Outside. the level entrance was a welcome, especially to the handicapped and elderly. There were remarks about so few handicapped parking places. Some stated the parking lot did not allow enough parking space compared to the City Hall.

There were also those who preferred the event at the City Hall due to the BBQ and dinner fundraiser hosted by the Volunteer Fire Department.

With that being said, that brings us to the drawings from the entries that signed up at the PCN table. Winning a year’s subscription to the PCN was Ron Soiseth; winning the roasted coffee beans and mug was Shilo Messerly; and Conni French won the spring floral arrangement.

Testing the brain cells with a quick quiz, the results were mixed, Shari Solberg was the winner for her answer to the question, “Who was the first one to ride in the Court House elevator?” No one was correct, Shari’s name was drawn from several that had written down Judge McKeon; the first one to ride it was Willis McKeon. For the question as to the combined age of the PCN Staff, Nancy Ereaux was closest…within 2 years of the ages. Both will receive cash prizes.

This article is a tad delayed from hitting the pages in a timely fashion and an apology is extended. The evening of the 24th of March a quick slip on the ice at the back door at 9 p.m. made for a quick trip to the ER. After delays and surgery, I was released from the hospital on April 26. So, I am back to work, non-weight bearing on my leg, still on parole working toward release for good behavior and happy to be “on the street” again. Thank you for your patience.