Main Street News: August 1st

Barnesville has been a busy place the last couple of weeks.  It’s been exciting to see visitors in our community. The recent Clay County Fair and last week’s Community Picnic have all been well attended. It’s been more than great to have all of these opportunities to celebrate together, work together and play together as a community!

I hope that you were able to attend the Evening at Blue Eagle Park Community Picnic on Thursday, July 28th. A beautiful July evening was the setting for our gathering. There was good food, great music, activities galore and wonderful conversation with friends and neighbors.  The Main Street Program and the Promotions Committee would like to thank the Barnesville Lions, the Barnesville Booster Club and the City of Barnesville for their sponsorship of the picnic and its activities. Without their donations, the event would not have been possible.

Special thanks goes to Trever Moen and the entire Public Works Department, Guy Swenson, Barnesville Police Department and Barnesville Ambulance for their help and work at the park getting everything prepared and equipped. A huge thank you goes to Valley Care and Rehab for their donation of the macaroni salad.  It was delicious! Also thank you to the Barnesville Area Community Fund for donating the water. The evening was made complete with the Eagle Cafe Club cooking the meal.

The park was busy with all kinds of activities. Inflatable games are always a hit for children of and age. The return of the barrel train and fireworks created excitement for all! The DJ’s music and activities rounded out the fun. Several community organizations and groups were there with treats after dinner.  Special Thanks to all these folks for their efforts at making the picnic so much fun.

I would also like to congratulate Alexis Pederson as being crowned as Miss Barnesville 2016 and Ava Foster for being crowned Princess Blue Eagle! I know Alexis and Ava will represent us well! You will be able to see them riding in the Potato Days parade, various area parades, Showcase, and the picnic next year. Special thanks to all of the local support for this year’s Miss Barnesville crowning, as well as the many hours put in by the Miss Barnesville Committee. These ladies are wonderful to work with. We would love to hear any suggestions about how to promote Miss Barnesville going forward!

We would also like to thank all of the volunteers who came and helped with the games, served food, or just had other jobs throughout the evening.  They are too numerous to mention.  The Main Street Promotions Committee of Lindsay Bontjes, Michelle Field, Janet Rasmussen, Brooke Fradet, Jill Moen, Katie Van Den Einde, and Cindy Zander have put in many hours of planning and preparing for this event. Without their willingness and efforts, it would not be held. Thank you to the Main Street Board of Directors for their support.  Everyone’s help and commitment is what makes living in a small town like Barnesville so great!

Main Street News: July 25th

This week’s Evening at Blue Eagle Park Community Picnic will be held on Thursday, July 28th.  This is an annual event that many residents look forward to each year. This year’s Community Picnic will continue with the tradition of fun activities, food and fireworks.

Come over for a delicious meal. From 6:00-7:30, pulled pork, brat or hot dog plate meals are all available for a minimal charge. We have to thank the Eagle Café for catering the event, as well as Valley Care and Rehab for donating the delicious macaroni salad! The park will be alive with activities, treats, music and entertainment. Many community organizations will be serving treats for free or small charge. Help support worthwhile organizations that in turn support many programs and activities in our town. The Barnesville Area Community Fund is also providing water for everyone with dinner!  

Double A DJ will return with great music and games for everyone. Have some fun with the Hula Hoop contest, water balloon toss or limbo contest. It is such a treat to see those ‘young & old’ residents participate and enjoy themselves. Our hometown hero’s will also be at the picnic for kids to get an up close look at the police vehicle and ambulance. We are hoping AirMed will also be able to join us that night!

This year at the picnic, we will also be crowning our 78th Miss Barnesville and Princess Blue Eagle. At 7:30 pm we will be find out who the winner is that will be representing our town for the next year.

The DJ music and games, excellent food and inflatable games will more than complete the evening. We will top the evening off with a return of the favorite - fireworks!  Shot over the lake it promises to be another excellent show. We have to thank the Barnesville Lions for their generous donation to make this possible year after year! Bring your lawn chairs and blankets to use on our natural “stadium-style” hill to enjoy the beautiful display.

Many businesses and organizations in town have graciously donated again this year to defray the cost of the inflatable games and activities for the kids. Their contribution helps to keep this a free activity for everyone. Special thanks to everyone for their support!

As you can see, the Community Picnic has become more than a meal. It is a great opportunity to enjoy summer and make new friends or see some old ones as we celebrate Barnesville’s home town spirit. It is a night of fun for all ages and a gathering to enjoy the community in which we choose to live and work and raise our families.  We look forward to seeing you there! 

Main Street News: July 18th

Are you new to town?  Do you enjoy gathering with friends and neighbors for some relaxation and visiting? Would you like to meet new people? The Evening at Blue Eagle Park Community Picnic is just the answer for all of you saying YES! This year’s Picnic will be held on Thursday, July 28th. This annual event is a great time for all Barnesville residents to gather and enjoy good food, and participate in family activities. This year’s Community Picnic will continue the tradition of fun with many things to do or just provide an opportunity to sit and visit with your friends and neighbors. What a great opportunity to enjoy summer and make new friends or see some old ones as we celebrate Barnesville’s home town spirit.

Our picnic dinner will be served from 6:00 – 7:30 pm with hot dogs, brats, pulled pork sandwiches. Each meal will also include chips, beans, and lemonade. We also can’t forget the infamous macaroni salad donated by Valley Care and Rehab. From 7-9 pm, the park will be alive with games, games and more games as well as numerous local organizations will be us with treats. Inflatable games are available for no charge for the children from 6-9:30 pm. There are opportunities to visit with those organizations and representatives from the Police and Ambulance Departments. We are also hoping AirMed will be able to join us this year. Stop by to learn more about all of these entities and say thank you to them for their services!

Entertainment for every age will be provided.  Double A DJ will be playing your favorite music with dancing games and activities, so bring your dancing shoes too!! We will also crown our new Princess Blue Eagle and Miss Barnesville starting at 7:30. Around 10 pm, the evening will close with fireworks over Blue Eagle Lake. It is perfect way to end a wonderful night. Bring your lawn chair or blanket and join us on the hill for a celebration for the eyes.

A special thank you for the donations and support of the event goes out to Valley Care and Rehab, the Barnesville Booster Club, Barnesville Lion’s, Barnesville Area Community Fund and the City of Barnesville. Without them this event would not be possible.  THANK YOU!

Mark your calendars for Thursday, July 28th. The Community Picnic and Blue Eagle Park won’t be the same without you!

Main Street News: July 11th

I don’t know about you, but I think this summer is flying by. I can’t believe it is already the middle of July! The summer seems to always be so busy for everyone, and it is no different in the Main Street Office. Show ‘n Shine classic car shows are still running the 2nd Thursday of the month until September. We had a great turnout at our June show with over 75 cars! The Booster club and the VFW Ladies Auxiliary were put to the test of feeding all of the hungry car enthusiasts! We are hoping to see many of the cars back on Front Street this Thursday from 5-8 pm. Be sure to come check it out!

The next big Main Street event is the Community Picnic. The Community Picnic is back for the 23^rd year on Thursday, July 28^th. Looking at the number of years some of the events in Barnesville have been running, I’m so impressed by the community to keep them going. The number that sticks out to me the most is Miss Barnesville’s 78 years of the pageant! That is remarkable! It takes a lot of people to grow those numbers!

Another area event that has been running a number of years is the Clay County Fair. I hope you all make it down to the fairgrounds this week. The fair draws many people into town that not only patronize the fair, but benefit many local businesses as well.  Being a 4-H member when I was younger the county fair was always a highlight of my summer, as I’m sure it is for many of you as well. I not only got to eat fair food for almost every meal, but I also got to take in the excitement of seeing all of the exhibits, animals, and shows. There were many memories made on the fairgrounds, and I hope you made some for yourself this year too.

                

Main Street News: July 4th

I hope everyone had a wonderful 4^th of the July holiday! Maybe you spent it with family and friends, either in town or by the lake. More than likely you probably even saw some fireworks shoot up into the sky and illuminate the night with all of the bright colors. Speaking of fireworks, the 23^rd annual Community Picnic is just around the corner. Mark your calendars for the night of Thursday, July 28th. There will be a picnic supper served including pulled pork sandwiches, hot dogs, brats and all the fixings! There will also be plenty of entertainment including a live DJ, barrel train, crowning of Miss Barnesville & Princess Blue Eagle and free inflatable games for the kids. And you can’t forget about the fireworks! The night will be capped off with a fantastic firework show starting at 10 o’clock pm. The Community Picnic is a great time for everyone to have some fun at Blue Eagle Park.

The Community Picnic is a great reminder of what the idea of community is. A strong town is a lot more than the streets and the buildings—it's about the wonderful people that live here. Everyone has their own definition of a community. Some say it’s getting along and trusting your neighbors, others might say it is a feeling of fellowship with others that share common attitudes and interests. I think it is how people come together. Each person brings their skills and talents to this town and takes on a responsibility to support its efforts.

I hope to see you all at the Community Picnic to join in on the fun and excitement in this town we call home.

Main Street News: June 27th

What a week! Last week was very busy with both planting at Friendship Park and the annual golf tournament. The weather was absolutely beautiful for the 70 golfers that took part. We had a tie for the winners, Dean’s Bulk Service and Labellken Homes both walked away with a score of 30. I’m sure it was a combination of working up an appetite from all of the golfing and the smells from the grill that made everyone ready for supper. I want to thank Dave Hanson and Becky Stahl for helping grill the steaks and many local restaurants for their help preparing a delicious meal! I also want to thank everyone who sponsored a hole and donated door prizes.

As many of you probably saw, there has been more progress at Friendship Park! One of the final steps of this project was planting. Our Design Committee met a few weeks ago to plant the perennials. This included a dwarf lilac tree in honor of our past director, Karen Hagen, who dedicated so much of her time to this project. We also met last Monday to plant the annuals. I want to thank Ruth and Darrel Thomas for all of their help coming up with a plan. It looks so beautiful!  Our Design Committee has been working with the family of Pearl Davis to create this park in her memory. When we were done planting on Monday, we sat inside the gazebo to rest our feet. We asked the people who knew Pearl if they thought she would be happy with Friendship Park. Their next words were, “without a doubt!”

Like Father, Like Son

Our community is full of some amazing fathers, but on this Father’s Day I would like to recognize two people who go above and beyond the normal fatherly duties. Last week the flower baskets went up on Front Street, just as they do every summer. Last summer, Duane Morey and Pete Larson stepped up last summer and took on the responsibility of watering the flowers downtown, along with their sons. This year, I went straight to these men when it came time to find someone for this task. When asked, it was no question that both of them were going to do it again. To many this might not seem that crazy. Our town is filled with a countless number of people who go out of their way to do something for the community. But the hidden story here is that these men are using this opportunity to teach their sons about community service, while also making some long lasting memories.

When talking to Duane, he chuckled and said his sons enjoy helping because they usually get a treat for breakfast that morning! Although that might be part of it, the boys are taking much more away from this than a sugar high. They might not think about it now, but I guarantee these boys will look back on these times and remember how their dads were showing them to give of themselves for others, and in this case the community. I want to thank these father-son teams for taking time out of their summer weekends to help the community out, especially on this past Father’s Day weekend.