Small Town Stuff

I know I've talked about the Manhattan Potato Festival. We live here in Manhattan and always are sure to take in the festivities.

I grew up in a small but growing town just 10 miles east of Manhattan-Belgrade. Back in about 1962 they started their own Fall Festival and have carried on the tradition ever since. It's really in the family because right from the beginning, my Mom started dressing in outlandish costumes and walking in the parade. She "retired" from that in the 1990's and I still have people telling me the Belgrade Fall Festival will never be the same without her.

BUT-now the next generations are coming along. This year my 15-year-old grandson rode the football players float. Not Mom's outlandish costumes, for sure, but at least the tradition is still there. Actually, Chris would DIE before he tried anything like that. He probably would die of embarrassment watching her if she were still around to do it.

The curly-haired one, number 85 is our Belgrade Panther pride and joy.

Honoring our firefighters.

There was a pancake breakfast at the Senior Center, a free barbecue, crafts in the park-a true small town celebration.

Afterward, Stan and I drove 25 miles to the cement plant where he worked for 39 years. It was the plant's 100 anniversary and they had a barbecue, giveaways, and tours of the plant. I wasn't going to go on the tour, I had toured a few years ago, but they convinced Stan he had to see the new equipment in the control room (he was a lab technician there), and I didn't want to sit around waiting for him so we went together. The reason I didn't want to go was because the kiln where they fire the cement rock gets VERY hot-over 2,000 degrees-and we spend quite a bit of time fairly close to it. Being at that "magic age," I could really sweat! Well, I donned a hardhat, picked up some earplugs and went on in anyway. It was alright to see it once more, but I did get tired of our tour guide continually asking me if I was OK. What was up with that? I wasn't even the oldest one on the tour! I didn't even start sweating til we left the plant!

Big day-we could have gone back to Belgrade for the homecoming game, but we decided we had traipsed around the valley enough for one day. Besides, it was unseasonably hot for September and I hadn't cooled down from the kiln yet.