Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
During the Maxwell Street portion of the Ontonagon Labor Festival, a Lip Sync contest was held. Cecilee Brookings took second in the High School Division, but would have scored higher with this leap, if it was still track season. Winning the high school division was sister Shania Brookins. Collette Brookins won the pre-school competition. The elementary division was won by Dyceson Drew, followed by Adam Graff and Joel Davis with third place won by Steve Graff and Paul Davis. The adult division was won by Mary Frank, second Kristy Dobbins and third Hank Johnson.
ONTONAGON - Huge crowds and great weather ushered in the 60th anniversary of the Ontonagon Labor Day Festival in Ontonagon over the weekend.
It was estimated that 5,000 people lined the streets for the large Festival Parade on Sunday as floats and bands made their way down River Street.
Competition for float prizes was stiff and the Norwich Country Club with its "Dukes of Hazard 39 years later," float scored first place in the open division. All the Dukes of Hazard characters were there. Boss Hogg had his own car as did the ever chasing police. The Daisy Dukes, cousins Bo and Luke, Enos the deputy, Rosco P Coltrane and others were depicted in perfect detail from the television series.
Second place went to the LaBine Family "Bill LaBine and the Giant Bean Stock." It was a celebration of family and roots. Bill and Dode LaBine, nine children and 22 grandchildren, took part. Members of the family were dressed as different "LaBines". There were butter LaBines, green LaBine, LaBines and Pork, Black LaBines and even Jumping LaBines surrounded the float. The family patriarchs were flanked by a large giant and real bean stocks.
The Ontonagon Golf Course Circus took third with all the circus characters, trapezes artist, bearded lady, lion tamer (with a young little lion), fat lady, stilt walker and the rest.
In fourth place, the Stein Club saluted the Ontonagon Emergency Technicians, who were the parade Marshalls. They also saluted the "first" EMT's who took care of service men and women around the globe.
The Dream Girls also chose circus as their theme and carded fifth place.
The Aspirus Ontonagon Hospital Float won the George Hoefferle Memorial Trophy for the best commercial float. They depicted some of the big positive changes taking place with the new $3.4 million revamping of the emergency room and other areas of the hospital.
The Cub Scouts claimed the Youth Division with Rodeo Princess Grace Lundberg and Ontonagon County Fair Princess Annali Store featured.
The streets were alive with the sound of music from Marty's Goldenairs, Superior Pipes and Drums, Bessemer, Hurley, Ontonagon High School Bands and the Copper Country Band.
The Goldenaires, always a crowd favorite, and the Pipes and Drums, held a concert after the parade. The large crowd sang Happy Birthday to Goldenaire Director Dan Pitrone. Ontonagon is always the last performance of the season for the Goldenaires and they received a huge send off.
One of the goldenaire performers said the crowd was the "largest they have seen for the annual Festival Parade."
Those large crowds were evident throughout the weekend especially at the annual Maxwell Street Day on Saturday. Festival co-chairman Bill Chabot commented that the number of venders and shoppers broke all previous records.
Following the parade and concert there was music, food and beverages at the Recreation center where the winning 50-50 ticket was drawn. The ticket number was 1574 and won by Karen Lahti of Houghton.
The festival wound up Monday with the Kiddies Parade and games sponsored by the Knights of Columbus.
