Old Settlers : Day 1

Instead of Farm Friday, the next three days will be featuring some of the highlights of our county Old Settlers Reunion.  This event has taken place every five years in our county since 1880 and it is a big event.  Our small town of about 1500 people balloons to between three to five thousand over the three days with activities and reunions taking place all day long.

     Thursday was the first official day and the parade is the first big event of the reunion.  Most of the businesses and clubs in the county have floats and there are lots of antique cars and tractors.  We are lucky enough to live a block away from the parade route, but Tyler still went 2 hrs early to make sure we had good seats for us and our friends.  The parade was about an hour and a half long and the kids gathered lots of candy and some fun swag, like a slinky.

The parade started with the color guard and then the American Legion Riders.  The motorcycles turned on their engines right across the street and we all were woke up and ready to go.

This excavator was one of the fun highlights.  It would turn 360 degrees and the man would go and get to a good spot and throw the candy at the kids.  They just couldn't believe how it was moving.

Eve was a first excited to see Willie the Wildcat (Kansas State's mascot) but was tired and didn't really want to get too close to him.

Later we went downtown and enjoyed some fun activities.  We went on a horse and carriage ride through down and Eve met a Frontier Man and enjoyed looking through his tepee. 

The sun was very hot, so we spent the rest of the afternoon and dinnertime at the house before heading back downtown to see the High School's Rock Band.  Eve and Daphne both had a good time dancing to the music.  Daphne was even wiggling when we put her down and Eve was happy to see some friends.  She rode on a few carnival rides and it was time to come home, although we couldn't really escape the reunion.  Since we only live a few blocks away, even with the windows closed we could here the band playing fun oldies until midnight.

Today we are looking forward to some more fun times.  The Pony Express will be stopping by, a free BBQ lunch, some more bands and street dancing are some of the highlights, but we are most excited about the Fashion Show.  Eve is going to be in a pioneer scene and she is so excited.  We can't wait to see her on the stage, so come check back tomorrow for lots of pictures from that.