This Year's Pickford Hay Days Is a Celebration of 'Home'
By Amy Polk

At right: Linda Raynard of Pickford, 8, dressed as a "mom," showed the crowds at the Pickford Hay Days Kiddies Parade Friday night, August 4, that there's nothing like home cooking. Participants in the Kiddies Parade received free ice cream for their creative costumes and variations on the theme, "There's No Place Like Home."

The scene in Watson's Shoe Store window shows children playing with old fashioned toys at home, activities for rainy days. A nearby sign reads, "There's No Place Like Home."

The sentimental image of home was one of many interpretations of this year's Pickford Hay Days theme, which appeared on everything from T-shirts to parade floats last week, August 2 to August 6. Many who marched in the Friday evening parade reprised the roles from The Wizard of Oz, recalling its famous line repeated by Dorothy when she wanted to return to Kansas, "There's no place like home."

People this year were encouraged to celebrate their hometown of Pickford and any other town where they were born or now reside. The Kiddies Parade included children from Chicago. Melanie and Jim Bolton's one-year-old grandson, Jonah Fetter of Lansing, rode in the parade as a Michigan State University Spartan. Eightyear old Linda Raynard of Pickford dished up a platter of homemade baked goods and dressed as "a mom" to demonstrate the appeal of home cooking.

Erin Smith of Cedarville, dressed as the Scarecrow character from the Wizard of Oz, rides "Bailey," in the Pickford Hay Days Parade Saturday, August 5. Her costume reflected this year's theme, "There's No Place Like Home."

Riding in the main Hay Days parade Saturday were the Yooper Red Hats under the banner, "There's No Place Like Home to Hang Your Red Hat," and Old Mission Bank's child-sized home, with cars and a snowmobile in the yard. Several entries declared, "There's No Place Like Home on the Farm," while the Pickford 4-H Livestock Club promoted home as the best place to be at Christmas with a festive float of Yuletide decorations.

Pickford's Kaylynn Portice was named the 2006 Hay Days Queen, selected for her essay about her dream for the future. Her dream, she wrote, is to help people, and she quoted Thomas Edison: "We make a living from what we get. We make a life from what we give."

Pickford's Senior Citizens Club was represented by (from left) Eugene Crawford of Sault Ste. Marie, who escorted his sister, Evelyn Debro of Pickford, this year's Hay Days Belle. They were joined by the 2005 Belle, Idena Dodds of Pickford, who was escorted by her grandson, Spencer Dugan of Rudyard.

Other candidates were Chelsea Belonga, Alicia Bjunes, and Cheyenne Cline.

She suggested starting programs like free tutoring after school, visiting elderly people in surrounding communities, or starting a community-wide recycling program.

"All that matters is that I help someone along the way," she wrote. "I know I may not be able to help everyone."

A list of winners in some of the events that took place over the Hay Days week follows.

Horseshoe Tournament: First Place the team of Ron Nettleton and Dick Fischer; 2nd Place Bo Jermain and Jackie Jermain team.

Checkers Tournament Lou Markstrom, 65, was the winner in the adult division, while Bram Schroeder, 10, won the youth division.

Hay Days Parade Best Class Reunion Float: Class of 1996; Best Commercial or Business Entry: Old Mission Bank; Best Organization or Club Entry: Pickford Senior Citizens' collection of senior dolls seated in a cozy living room scene; Best Walking Entry: Pickford Elementary Cheerleaders for the second year running; Best Musical Group: Pickford High School Band; Best Theme Entry: Pickford 4-H Livestock Club; Best Antique Vehicle: Dennis Panik's 1929 Chevy Landau; Best Team of Horses: Linda English's miniature horses; Best Equestrian Entry: Chippewa County Sheriff's Posse; Best Off-Road Vehicle: Rutledge Racing, and Best Comical Entry: Watson's Shoe Store's "Rocky the Clown," portrayed by Tommy Curtis. Special Recognition Awards went to the Yooper Red Hats and Law-White Veterans of Foreign Wars and Ladies Auxiliary and Pickford American Legion color guard marchers.

Haybale Races This year's event was changed from the previous round bale races that used teams, and pitted individuals against each other to push rectangular bales in wheelbarrows down the street. There were 12 participants in a race, and winners follow: 1st Place Charlie Halsey, 12; 2nd Place Travis Reich, 10; 3rd Place Kylee Fitzpatrick, 11.

Garden Tractor Pull

0-600-Pound Class: 1st Mickayla Fegan of Brimley; 2nd Jonathan Kamper of Pickford; 3rd Logan Fegan of Brimley.

601-800-Pound Turf Class: 1st Caitlyn Hancock of Kinross; 2nd Tyler Rye of Pickford.

601-800-Pound Bar Class: 1st Logan Fegan of Brimley with the only full pull of the day; 2nd Mickayla Fegan of Brimley; 3rd Tyler Rye of Pickford.

8 0 1 1 , 0 0 0 P o u n d "Heavyweight" Class: 1st Mickayla Fegan of Brimley; 2nd Logan Fegan of Brimley; 3rd Travis Rye of Pickford.

Horse-Pulling Contest - A dozen horsepulling teams participated in the contest, which took place Saturday afternoon. Dave Esslin won the horsemanship award in the lightweight division, and Jason Storey won the horsemanship award in the heavyweight contest.

Lightweight Division Places (topped at 7,000 pounds): 1st Dave Esslin of Goetzville; 2nd Blake Landoski of Freeland; 3rd Jim Cripe of Goetzville; 4th Jim Rye of Pickford, 5th Bob Hall of Pickford. Heavyweight Division (topped

at 7,500 pounds): 1st Barney Osborn's team, driven by Dustin Esslin; 2nd Jason Storey of Stalwart; 3rd Bill Huffman of East Jordan, 4th Ralph Bennett of DeTour, 5th Joe Harrison of Goetzville; 6th Cal Hall of Pickford, and 7th Mark Landoski of Freeland.