People and Catching Up

(Above) Some oldtimers from Stanhope catching up.

There's alot to that comes to mind when you are talking about Watermelon Day. The rides, the food, and games but there's one important factor that make it one of the best, the people. It's your family members that you see a few times a year or old classmates and friends from far and near. You talk about things from back in the day and what you've been up since the last Watermelon Day. Here's a few encounters from this Watermelon Warrior.

Ran into Jamie Berhow at the train ride. He was watching his youngest, Gunner James, go round and round on the train ride. "I'm probably gonna get sunburn," Jamie remarked. "This is his favorite ride. I keep telling him, 'Bud, there's other rides too' but he loves the train and probably won't get off for an hour."

Bumped into one of Boone's Bravest, Justin "Bubba" Adams and his wife Tracy. We were hashing old stories about running around town as kids. Bubba and Tracy are expecting their first child (a baby girl) this November. Congrats to Bubba and Tracy! See you and the little one at next year's Watermelon Day.

Talked to Vicki Hill at the bingo stand and told her about our story about Saratoga Days on this site. She mentioned we should put Stanhope's rock 'n roll band on our site. Done. Check out Two Feet Deep by clicking here.

Then as we were heading towards the watermelon stand we ran into avid readers of this site, Kathy and Dean Martensen. Gave us a few shout outs about our updates, so we send a shout out back!

I could go on forever about folks we ran into, but have to work Monday and would still be typing this post. Great to see a huge turn out and looking forward to seeing you all next year!

The Train Ordeal

You've read our guest post earlier from first timers Joe and Kathryn. After some coaxing from Adam and Sarah Young, they got them to ride one of our favorite rides, the train. Those of us in our crew were a little nervous, so we sent veteran train rider Sullivan Tighe (red shirt and wearing his ultra cool train shades) to supervise. Everyone boarded the train and they were off for a couple rounds until... it stopped en route.



What seemed to be a need for more gas... turned out to be that the train was just being a little fussy. Reports from the scene that we have gathered say that it is believed that this train has been used at every Watermelon Day since the beginning. Joe who was getting nervous told reporters later, " I kept thinking, jeez, my first ride and I break the thing." Above in the circle, Joe helps to push from the back. The train fired up and the returned back on its route.



All is well, as Joe and Kathryn were all smiles. Our expert rider, Sullivan, helped keep them calm throught the crisis... it's gotta be the shades.

Hitting the Park

After getting more than this Watermelon Warrior's fill of Lionburgers, it was time to test our luck at some of the game stands. Our crew headed over to the bingo stand. One buck gets you 3 cards, it was a good deal so we sat down and played the "Captial T" version of the game (which means you have to get all of the numbers on the top row left to right and all the numbers under the letter 'I').

It was firece competiton, you coould cu the intensity with a knife, then suddenly one of the folks in our crew yells, "BINGO!"



Here's Sarah Young getting a high five, all the numbers were right!

Since we had som out of staters with us, we hit the rides next. Thus, our next post is about "the Train Ordeal".

1st-Timer Weighs in on the Watermelon Day '06

(Above) Kathryn and Joe get decked out in their new Stanhope duds. Lookin' sharp guys!

This is a guest post from Kathryn Posch and Joe Gauer, from Kansas City, Missouri. They came up with Adam and Sarah Young (and future baby on the way!). This was Joe and Kathryn's first Watermelon Day. After a little bragging about one of the best small town festivals ever, they decided to come up and check out. Kathryn and Joe are getting married in September. Congrats Kathryn and Joe! We'll see you next year!

Hello Planet Earth! This is guest blogger and Watermelon Day First-Timer, Joe. I hail from 5 hours south of Stanhope in northwestern Missouri and decided to make the first of many annual pilgrimmages to the promised land for unique experience. As a long-time watermelon enthusiast, I had thought I'd seen everything when it came to watermelon.

But as we speak, I am knee-deep in every kind of watermelon you could imagine -- seeded, seedless, pink, reddish-pink, and many more varieties I'd love to get in to but just don't have the time. I mugged for several personal photos, but was caught unaware when the press snapped the picture that may or not make it to the cover of the Record News (note: this out of towner almost upset many of you by referring to it as simply the "Stanhope Record News" but found out it covered many area towns thanks to local celebrity Adam Young. My apologies...)

My scorecard for the event:

Watermelon: A+
Ambience: "Slice of the good life" indeed
Kiddie Train Ride: Suprisingly dangerous for someone 6' 200 lbs. (we'll post the "Train Ordeal" later)
Overall experience: Loved it!

That's all from me, see you next year Warrior Nation! Until then, keep it real.

UPDATE #9 - Parade is done... LET'S EAT!

While we missed a ton of other great floats, we end our coverage here as Tilford and his parade team wrap up the parade with his sign, "Thank You For Coming!"


One of the "Hamilton County's Finest" in a Ellsworth-Jewell-Stanhope PD squad car opens up Highway 17 (Parker Street) back to its regular traffic schedule. Let's head to the food!


After the parade everyone heads to the food stand. The lines get long at first, but the wait is well worth it. Homemade pies, hot dogs, annd yes the Famous Stanhope Lionburger. Above is the Young clan table, after the parade.

Now before PETA freaks out on us, a Lionburger isn't made of lion... its your basic made-rite beef burger. You know, Watermelon Day is put on by the Lions... made by volunteers and club members, so its a Lionburger, get it? Now I don't know what those volunteers do to this simple loose meat sandwich... but they are just dang good, I had 3.

Now lets hit some rides and games...

Update #8 - Parade... almost through...

THE FAIR IS AROUND THE CORNER: It was great to see this Watermelon Warrior's old 4-H Club in the parade. Looks like they still have some creative kids building things for their events. Oh the memories, right? Good to see you guys, it takes me back.


THE PIANO MAN (or kids): Here was a great entry from Amazing Grace Piano Studio. I heard the music coming down the route and thought, "This has got to be a CD palying." Sure enough I was wrong, it was these kids jammin' on the keyboard with a little ragtime bit. Great stuff!


BETTER THAN THE BEST BEEF JERKY IN THE WORLD: Stanhope Locker was out in force at the parade (I'm sure they are OUT of jerky by now, looking at the time now. They should be on the Register's list of the "100 Things in Iowa You Should Eat Before You Die" list as we explained on this link: click here.



CLASS OF 1956: Here's the Stanhope High Class of 1956 with their out house in which they post a sign that says, "50 Years of Being Out!" Congrats on your 50th Year Reunion.

Almost done...

Update #7 - more of the parade...

What's a parade without Shriners? Here the Zag-A-Zig, music truck that provides festive background music at Watermelon Day every year. Sponsored by the Stanhope Development Group.


FREEDOM ISN'T FREE: Here's the entry from the Hamilton County Military Families Support Group. It was great to see them as they blared "Proud to be an American" by Lee Greenwood. Today, when you enjoying another slice of Watermelon or playing another round of bingo, take a minute to think about the men and women in uniform and Veterans who make it possible for all of us to enjoy a day of fun in Stanhope and every where across this great country.


ONLY IN IOWA: For our out of state readers, this is a manure spreader. Yes an antique one. Just had to share.

Jeez, we took a lot of photos.... more to come from the parade!

Update #6 - This was a big parade..

What's a parade with politicians, right? Here's the Hamilton County Republicans (nice paint job on the float by the way!). Native Stanhopean and Hamilton County Supervisor David Young and others walked in the parade. We try to stay bi-partisan here at Stanhope State, but for some reason the University's camera would work when the Democrats entry went by, oh well...


Here was nifty chruch entry from Our Savior's Luthern Church, Jesus (in the white wearing a ball cap) and the Boys (Apostles?). They stopped along the route, Jesus would raise his arms, and 'the Boys' squirted super soakers.


Here's the RED HOT entry from Young's Storage Center & Harcourt Equipment. A 1963 Buick Le Sabre, almost restored to its 'off the line' look. Just back from the Buick Club of America's National Convention in Rochester, Minnesota. Where proud owner Rick Young won one of the "Most Traveled" Award for actually driving this classic up to the event. A Big Shout Out to Rick for this honor.

More parade coverage coming...

Update #5 - We're heading back

We're experiencing a little technical difficulties with uploading photos right now (hey, this is our first try at this live blogging stuff). So we're heading back to the park to get more stories. Currently, here's a few of the stories we are working on as a part of our coverage of the 49th Stanhope Watermelon Day, sponsored by the Stanhope Lions:

- Parade Wrap Up

- Lunch Time! (ummmm Lionburgers...)

- Guest Post from a couple's first Watermelon Day

- It's the People That You See, what watermeln Day is all about

- FREE Watermelon!

- Volunteers, the engine that keep Watermelon Day going

- And a complete Watermelon Day wrap up from the "Post game Tailgate Party" at stanhope State University

While you wait for more updates checkout Stanhope's rock 'n roll band, Two Feet Deep at their link by clicking here.

Happy Watermelon Day!

LIVE Update #4 - Parade and Fire Trucks

Watermelon Day is under way. After a few technical difficulties (needing bateries, thanks to the folks at Sparky's for their swift service), we got the Stanhope State camera up and going.

What beautiful weather! After a week of "Hotter than Fort Dodge" conditions, it was purfect weather for the parade. We spoke with Tilford Teig (one of the parade organizers) about the parade at the raffle stand. He was excited to see so many entries and an even bigger crowd for the parade this year. Now some highlights from the parade.

It's not a parade without fire trucks and this parade had a lot. Here's one of the rigs from "Stanhope's Bravest" the Stanhope Volunteer Fire and rescue. Lookin' sharp guys!

One of the other towns that entered a truck was this tanker courtesy of "Jewell's Bravest."

I think this was one of our favorite entries in the fire truck division. We talked about the recovery efforts in Stratford at this link: click here. Around here people never forget, and once again the Straford folks showed how classy they are by simply thanking all in area who help with the tornado clean up. Shout out to "Stratford's Bravest."

More parade picks in update #5!

LIVE Update #3 - Going to the Parade

Well, we're off to the parade and then its Lion Burger Time!

We'll explain it all after lunch.

Hope to get some great pictures.

Happy Watermelon Day!

LIVE Post #2 - Watermelon Day Update

(Above) "The Scene Before the BIG Day" taken at Iowa and Parker Street in Stanhope. We apologize in advance for the dark picture, it was 8:49pm when this photo was taken of the sacred Stanhope Park. But everything is set!

The Day Before Update

Our correspondents headed over from the Jewell extention office of Stanhope State University to check out the final planning. Rumor was there was some balloons to be made for one of the popular stands, the Dart Stand. But after a few years of hours of blowing up balloons, they decided to go with circles. They painted the circles in maroon in honor of South High.

So what was supposed to be a preview, preporation post for Watermelon Day, turned into a Watermelon Day Eve mini tailgate with family.

And in the end, the core of Watermelon Day is about family, reunions and cathing up. Fun was had by all and we found some good scoop.

GOOD SCOOP
We have learned that one of the younger members of the Watermelon Warrior Nation, Carter Young (AKA the 'the Carter Man') will be driving the first float in tomorrow's parade. The float is a small gas engine Model T replica pulling a gigantic watermelon. From what our correspondents have learned, this was a reward. Young Carter, 9 years old, has been volunteering for his Grandma Robert at another Stanhope Icon, "Wednesday Night in the Park." Kudos to Carter for this honor and his work this week helping the guy set up for the 49th Watermelon Day.

That's all for tonight. See you at the parade at 10:30am.

LIVE Post #1 - The Eve of Watermelon Day

(Above) This is a picture of the Stanhope School from way back in the day. Source: Stanhope Website

First Update: Stanhope Alumni Banquet

Our first update makes a stop through Ellsworth. I wonder if the "bunch who beat Ellsworth 3-2" were there. Tonight the alumni of Stanhope High School gather for their annual banquet. This event always kicks off the Watermelon Day Festivities.

This correspondent was on his way back from the Stanhope State Extention office in Des Moines. So I decided just swing by and gage what kind of crowd they were having tonight. Although I didn't go in (we didn't want to crash the event), from this Watermelon Warriors' estimate, it had to be a full house. Cars and pickups were lined up and down the street, plus the parking area was packed.

Now this Watermelon Warrior wasn't even born when graduating classes were roming the halls of Stanhope High, but I have been told a little history. To make sure I got my facts straight, I checked the history section on the Stanhope Website and here's what i found:

In 1893 the first school in town limits was erected. It first employed Miss Belle Iverson as teacher and Mrs. Olmstead as the first principal. Mr. Fred Runkle came in 1902 as superintendent. He expanded the curriculum to include the first year of high school. There were three teachers by that time: Mr. Runkle, superintendent and higher grades; Pearl Watson, intermediate grades; and Belle Iverson, primary grades. In 1914 an eight-room brick building was constructed on school grounds. In 1923 four more classrooms and a gymnasium were added. Then again in 1952 four more rooms were added.

In 1958, the school districts of Ellsworth, Randal, Stanhope, and Jewell were combined into the present South Hamilton School District in Jewell, Iowa. The last graduating class in the Stanhope Community School was in 1962. Ultimately, the brick school building and gymnasium was torn down and the Park View Apartments were constructed on the old school grounds.

Additionally, they were known as the Stanhope Vikings. Largely because of the the majority of the first Stanhopeans came from Norway and Sweden. The school colors were blue and white. We'll try to get some pictures of some vintage Stanhope High gear this weekend.

The sources used for the historical background on the Stanhope website are by Ed Nass from Webster City. He has a GREAT website on the history Hamilton County, Iowa. Here's the link: click here

Do you have memories and stories to share about the Stanhope School? Post a comment at the bottom of this post.

More updates coming soon!

Let the LIVE Updates Begin!

(Above) The latest version of our fierce mascot, the Mighty Watermelon Warrior. Running and ready for the 49th Stanhope Watermelon Day!

Leading up to the Stanhope National Holiday we have been experiencing some "Hotter than Fort Dodge Weather" in the Watermelon Warrior Nation. But thanks to a good shot of rain from Mother Nature, tomorrow's 49th Watermelon Day looks to have almost perfect weather. We'll start posting some stories tonight on the Eve of Watermelon Day. Below is the schedule posted by the Stanhope Lions in the South Hamilton Record News. Special thanks to Stanhope State Correspondent Rick Young for the email.

The 49th Stanhope Watermelon Day
Saturday, July 22nd, 2006 (Rain Date is Sunday, July 23rd)
Sponsored by the Stanhope Lions

Friday, July 21st
6:30pm Stanhope Alumni Banquet, Ellsworth Gym

Saturday, July 22nd
10:30am PARADE - Theme: "Have a Good Time, It's No. 49!
11:00am Rides, Stands and Bingo are Open
11:30am Food Stand Opens (Homemade Pies!)
11:30am Elite Power Tumbling
1-5:00pm Free Watermelon (Bring your own fork!)
12:30pm Drummers
1:00pm Pedal Tractor Pull
1:00pm Frozen T-Shirt Contest
1:30pm Water Wars
1:30pm FRAUGHT Band
2:30pm Sugar Creek Cloggers
3:00pm Seed Spitting Contest
3:30pm Sugar Creek Cloggers
3:30pm Sliced Pizza Sales
4:00pm Mercy 1 Life Flight Helicopter Landing
5:00pm WAUKEE BIG BAND
5:30pm T-Ball Games (Weather Permitting)
7:00pm Free Watermelon (Bring your own fork!)
8:00pm Drawing for Winners of $750 Cash (1 - $500, 1 - 100, 6 - $25 Winners)
Only one winner per family only

Our Stanhope State News Team will try to cover as much as we can this weekend. We sincerely hope you enjoy the sights and stories from our coverage of the 49th Stanhope Watermelon Day!

Do you have any news or good stories you want us to cover this weekend? Send an email to stanhopestate@yahoo.com.

Pictures from the Watermelon Warrior Nation

We recieved a couple of great vintage photos of Stanhope from the Watermelon Warrior Nation. (Ah, the power of a Google Image search). Enjoy!

(Above) Stanhope State University Board of Governors member, Mike Clabaugh found this great team photo of the 1908 Stanhope City Team. The caption reads, "This is the bunch that beat Ellsworth 3-2 on Tuesday." If any one can identify the players, please send an email to stanhopestate@yahoo.com.

Avid Ebayer Jeremiah Ubben found this old school photo of the main drag in Stanhope. There was no date to go along with this photo, so we are asking the Watermelon Warrior Nation to help identify the date and maybe some of the stores. If you have some answers, email stanhopestate@yahoo.com.

Thanks to Jeremiah and Mike for these great finds, if you find any more, send 'em our way!

Watermelon Day, Updates and Shout Outs

(Above) We Google imaged Stanhope and found this photo of the old Stanhope entrance sign on the northside of town from 10 years ago. The Graphics Department at Stanhope State did a little modifications in honor of Watermelon Day this week.

The 49th Stanhope Watermelon Day is this Saturday and we can hardly wait. Here are a few campus updates and announcements.

LIVE BLOGGING from Stanhope Watermelon Day!

That’s right, we will be posting a few updates through out the day here at Stanhope State. Stay posted for comments and possible guest bloggers from the Stanhope National Holiday. Interested in being a guest blogger? Email stanhopestate@yahoo.com.

The Strawberry Stand Shout Out

We were recently added to the links at The Six Strawberry Stand. Our policy is, you link us, we link you! They thank us by sharing a great Strawberry Watermelon Drink. Check out the recipe by clicking on this link here and here.

Watermelon Warrior Greetings from Seattle

Stanzel’s Space gave a shout out for the “100 Things” post last week. You can read his story by clicking here. The Board of Governors at Stanhope State recommend adding Stanzel’s Space to your weekly reads. He has great political blurbs, humorous links and updates on which ever marathon he's running in. PLUS, he has the classic speech from Braveheart playing in the back ground. Fires you up every time.

Check out our new links (at the top to the right) and stay tuned for more updates this week.

The Register Missed One... Big Time!

The Sunday Des Moines Register had a very popular article entitled, "100 Things to Eat in Iowa Before You Die," you can read the list by clicking on this link: http://desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060709/ENT02/607090306/1048.

While they did compile a very impressive list (We double concur with Mabe's Pizza in Decorah and The Steak Taco at Tasty Taco in Des Moines), but they forgot one Central Iowa's legendary snacks, the World Famous Stanhope Beef Jerky from the Stanhope Locker.

Now, there are hundreds of others that probably didn't make the cut and we are sure they are all great. But how can you say that Stanhope Beef Jerky didn't break the top 100?

WATERMELON WARRIOR CALL TO ACTION
Let Erin Crawford know about the "Better Than the Best Beef Jerky in the World" by dropping her a line at ecrawford@dmreg.com or send a letter to: 100 Things to Eat Before You Die, Des Moines Register, 715 Locust St., Des Moines, IA 50309.