Carlton Happenings

With the annual Carlton Daze celebration just around the corner, I am dedicating this column to all the ways we celebrate our city. Over the years, how many unique community celebrations has Carlton had? I checked at the Carlton County Historical Society to find out. I didn’t find an exact number but saw there have been several celebrations over the years, including a street fair that started in 1914 and a cabbage festival held in late fall.

At one time there was a July Fourth at Carlton, beginning with a parade starting at the Village Hall, then a baseball game between Carlton and Wrenshall, and horse racing on Thomson Road. There were races for men and ladies, a potato race, an egg race for ladies, foot races for kids and a peanut contest for boys age 10 and under. The day ended with a best-looking baby contest, a band concert and boxing and wrestling matches. It sounded like a fun day with activities for all ages.

In March of 1918 there was a short parade of the Red Cross Bandage Class. The ladies marched in formation in their crisp white uniforms, and the community marching band supported their efforts.

Another Carlton celebration, held in August of 1926, was the Calf Club show and the street fair, which were formerly two events. The events were combined to make it more interesting for the area farmers and to bring more people to the town of Carlton. Carlton Commercial Club president Louis Scheidermayer appointed a committee to organize sports, the grounds, concessions, advertising, calf club show, canned goods and the agricultural exhibit.

We must not forget the Centennial Celebration of the city of Carlton, originally known as Northern Pacific Junction. Held July 23-26, 1981, the celebration of the city’s 100 years brought everyone together with races, a rodeo at the Aanerud farm, auction, steak fry, pancake breakfast, garden tractor pull and too many other activities to mention. The centennial committee worked many hours to make the celebration one to remember. Committee members were Meredith English, Nils Nystrom, Linda Seboe and Joe Wojtysiak. The centennial flag was designed by Carlton High School health and physical education teacher Meredith English. Let us not forget our famous resident Charlotte Zacher, the 1989 grand marshal of our Sunday parade.

The community has always been supportive of Carlton celebrations. Please come and join the fun. This year the Carlton Daze Celebration will be held July 29-31. There will be many activities including music, food, volleyball, softball, bean bag tournaments, crafters and so much more. For more information and a schedule of events turn to Page 10 of this week’s Pine Knot News or visit http://www.carltonchamber.com.

Included in that listing you will find an event near and dear to my heart: the Robert Rodd Scholarship Spaghetti Feed fundraiser, 4-8 p.m. Friday, July 29 at the Four Seasons complex. Cost: $12/adult, $8/ages 6-12, and free for age 5 and under. All proceeds go to the Rodd Scholarship fund. To volunteer or donate to this event, call me at 218-310-6065.

Look for my regular listings for the Carlton VFW, Chamber and other organizations and venues to return in my next column. In the meantime, if you know of a special Carlton community event or person who should be recognized, please contact me at 218-310-6065 or [email protected].

See you at Carlton Daze!