Survival Days has been a fun, lively major celebration in West Concord for 41 years, but through the decades West Concord has enjoyed some truly rip-roaring festivals.
In the 1930’s Homecoming Celebrations/Fall Festivals were held in September. They weren’t the kind of homecoming celebrations that we associate with high schools and football today. Instead, former residents were invited to come home to West Concord, visit with their old friends, and have a good time. These were BIG celebrations. Midway rides filled the two blocks of Main Street. A stage was set up on the corner of highway 56 and Main for speakers and free vaudeville acts, paid for by the city. The Jay Gould Street Show at the 1936 Homecoming included a balloon ascension. Popular in the 1930’s when times were tough and people needed their spirits lifted, no pun intended, an aeronaut would hold on to ropes or a trapeze connected to a balloon filled with coal gas or hydrogen as it ascended. When the balloon reached an impressive height, high above the crowd, the aeronaut detached from the balloon, dropped quickly, and opened a parachute that allowed him/her to safely descend back down to the watchful crowd. The balloon itself would gradually deflate and harmlessly land somewhere nearby. The Enterprise estimated the aeronaut at the 1936 festival began the descent at 5000 feet—impressive for the times.
The year before, 1935, brought a special celebration—the 50th anniversary of the founding of West Concord. Held on Friday, October 11th—it almost didn’t happen.
It took until an early September Businessmen’s Association meeting to decide to hold the event and then committees really got to work. They planned a parade that was over a mile long. School was closed for the day. A stage was set up on Main Street complete with amplifier and floodlights and U.S. Congressman Theodore Christianson was secured as the speaker for the day. That was quite a coup as Christianson had also been Minnesota’s governor for 3 terms and was a well known figure. The heart of his speech was about thrift—something everyone was mighty familiar with in those Depression days. To promote the gala day, a caravan of autos with a pep band to boot visited towns in the area, personally inviting them to the celebration. October 11th turned out to be a beautiful day and a successful one. The Rochester Elks Drum Corps and the West Concord High School band provided music in the parade. N.I.S. (Neighborhood Improvement Society) won the prize for the most beautiful float. Stores in town ran specials, like Tildens: 100 pairs of hosiery and 50 pairs of gloves, each for 5 cents. Bargains galore.
In 1939 no celebration was held—for an all too familiar reason. Work was being done on Highway 56. There were no celebrations during the war years of 1941-1945.
Gasoline and rubber rationing prohibited traveling to and hosting large events. Even 50 acres of the State Fair Grounds were taken over by an airplane propeller plant.
In the summer of 1946 with the war finally ended, West Concord planned a Victory Homecoming Festival. This time summer was chosen for a three day celebration, July 19-21. Rides, shows, and other free acts were all booked for the town’s enjoyment.
Prizes would be given for the best parade entries and for winners of sports’ contests.
There were to be bicycle and foot races, tug of war, and a town ball game between Lake City and West Concord.
The week after the event the Enterprise reported that the crowds were beyond all expectations and that it was a challenge for the cafes and eateries to keep up with the appetites of those attending. Hundreds of cars lined the streets to enjoy the free entertainment and the Midway. The parade had approximately 30 floats and other entries, as well. The winning floats were the Eden Progressive 4-H float and the West Concord Butter & Cheese, Lampert Yards, and Speckeens floats.
The following summer, July 21-23, 1947 another lollapalooza event was planned. It surprised me that instead of a weekend event, this Mid-Summer Celebration was held on a Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Nearly 70 businessmen comprised the 11 committees that put together another successful festival. What superb civic cooperation!
That year people were invited to have airplane rides provided by Kenyon Aircraft Service on a field just 1/2 mile north of town on Highway 56. For $2.00 (approx $30 today) local residents could experience flying for themselves. At the parade, balloons, whistles, pennies, and pencils were tossed to the crowd. West Concord’s Butter and Cheese Float, scooped and handed out ice cream cones along the parade route. There were a couple of disappointments. The Midway rides did not get set up in time to be enjoyed on Monday. The journey from their last location took longer than they had anticipated. The Dodge County sheriff closed down some concessions as they were violating state gambling rules—don’t you wonder what that was about? Also the weather was so beautiful that farmers could only join the festivities in the evenings as they took advantage of the pleasant days to accomplish their farm work.
In July 1949 West Concord celebrated the Centennial of the organizing of the Minnesota Territory. There were two special entries noted in that parade: 80 horses and riders from the Dodge County Saddle Club and Floyd Miller’s truck filled with holstein cows and a sign that said the cows were being shipped to California.
Enjoy your favorite summer celebration and maybe try a new one—see you at Survival Days!
