Naubinway Festivities Draw Bigger Crowds This Year
By Paul Gingras

The winner in the non-commercial division of the Lumberjack Parade, Russ Schultz' float "Thomas' Uncle Dinky," rolls through Naubinway Wednesday, July 4. Pictured (from left) are Ben Schultz, Trisha McEvers, and Ryan McEvers. Jack McEvers and Allison Schultz are hidden in the front car. Hidden in the caboose is Katie Schultz. All are the grandchildren of Russ Schultz, with the exception of Trisha, his daughter. (Photograph by Jason McEvers)

"Everything seemed bigger and better this year," said Lonnie Wyse of Naubinway, who helped judge floats at the Naubinway Independence Day celebration Wednesday, July 4.

"We thought having the parade in the middle of the week, added to high gas prices, would bring attendance down, but exactly the opposite happened. There were far more people in town" than in previous years, she said.

The celebration began with the Kiddie Parade Tuesday, July 3.

Events throughout the Fourth of July brought throngs of visitors to the village, which lies along the shoreline of Lake Michigan. The annual Black Bear Run took place, and at the Naubinway Pavilion, a number of children's games began at 11 a.m. Usually, daytime events end at about 2 p.m., but they lasted longer this year, Mrs. Wyse said.

Several booths closed when they ran out of food, and the Knights of Columbus struggled to keep up with demands for food at its fish fry.

Also drawing people to the event was the nearby Top of the Lake Snowmobile Museum and Welcome Center, which held its grand opening in the morning and hosted visitors until the fireworks display at dusk.

Judges expected four or five parade floats in each of two divisions, but this year, nine rolled down the street in the commercial division, and seven in the noncommercial division.

People were waiting along the street for an hour and a half before the parade, in which the Engadine High School Band boomed through town and did a "fantastic job," Mrs. Wyse said, with about 16 students playing, compared with eight to 10 performers last year.

Organizers named this year's procession the "Lumberjack Parade."

The winning float was called "Noah Da Original Lumberjack, Eh," produced by the Naubinway Christian Fellowship. Surrounded by stuffed animals, a figure of Noah chopped wood, as if he were in the process of building his ark.

The Cove Bar of Naubinway took second place with a float called "The Logger Camp," which depicted lumberjacks sawing a log, amidst greenery and a pile of lumber.

The Hiawatha Sportsman's Club and Naubinway Merchants took third with a float depicting a combination of logs and signs advertising the fireworks display.

In the non-commercial division, Russ Schultz of Naubinway won first place for his float called "Thomas' Uncle Dinky." The creative float was a three-part train, which Mr. Schultz built himself. The first section depicted an engine, followed by two trailers hauling wood.

Children and adults threw candy from all floats.

The Big Mack Pack Snowmobile Club took second place for its float called "The Logging Camp," on which men sawed wood in front of a small log cabin.

The Livermore family of Germfask took third place. Family members adorned themselves in old-style, western dress and rode horses. The first rider did some fancy high-step riding and other tricks for the crowd, Mrs. Wyse said. Four single riders trailed behind, followed by a horse hauling an old-fashioned, two-seated buggy.

The fireworks display also pulled in a big crowd this year, Mrs. Wyse said, describing the show as "fantastic."