Founder’s Day

First things first: about yesterday’s post. I do not have Microsoft Word on this computer (yet). I only have Open Office which is free and gets me by, BUT I don’t know how to add images to documents. I have found that I can post things to my blog and then copy them over to an Open Office document and then they’ll copy over just fine, so I’ve done that a few times before. However, yesterday it wasn’t working and it was making me late for church. I finally was able to get it to work (thanks to my husband) and I rushed out the door and completely forgot to delete the post. And I’m going to leave it up because, well, it’s pretty hilarious… mostly because I didn’t mean for it to be.

Anyway:
Founder’s Day is NOT a national holiday, so when people ask my what my favorite holiday is, I say “The Fourth of July.” But I love Founder’s Day more (don’t tell Uncle Sam. The last thing I want is that accusatory old finger in my face). Ever since I was a kid, I would look forward to Founder’s Day in wild anticipation.
Ivan Lee wakes everyone up by firing the anvil. We don’t need no stinking alarms in THIS town… not when we can be scared out of our beds by the sound of what seems to be a terrorist attack on our town!
We have 5K and 10K races, a pancake breakfast, kids game, a tractor show… some years there’s a talent show, some years there’s a parade! There’s always a BBQ and auction at the Firehouse, and there’s always a family dance at the old gym at 8 pm. There’s usually a sports tournament of some kind, but this year it was cancelled on account of some celebrations going on in Winslow… they commemorated Arizona’s 100th birthday.
Something new this year was a boutique. I signed up to sale my crafty-crafts, and it was so much fun! My cheeks hurt because I smiled so much.
I woke up at 5:30 on Saturday morning to get ready. I was also in charge of the kids’ games, and I needed to make sure I had myself and everything ready BEFORE the pancake breakfast started. The rest of Founder’s Day can go to the dogs, but if I miss that breakfast… my Founder’s Day will never be more than just mediocre.
I tried to wake my son up to go with me, and he tried to hide his entire BODY under his pillow.

“I wanna just stay here…”
Eventually, I prodded them BOTH out of bed.

“Mom,” my daughter said, “I need a coat. It’s freakin’ cold out there.”

It actually wasn’t too bad! It was a little chilly in the morning -just like mornings should be, and the rest of the day it was nice and warm! I love Founder’s Days that are nice and warm. We ate it up at the pancake breakfast, and headed straight to the park to set up the kids games… after my nice volunteers showed up to run the kids games, I shot over to the boutique and set up shop.
I didn’t get any pictures of the boutique, but here’s a few aprons I had for sale:

I cropped these pictures so you could be spared seeing my bathroom… but the changes didn’t save even though I tried my hardest to MAKE them. But because I have other things to do but sit and crop toilet paper rolls out of pictures, you’re just going to have to suffer. Sorry!!!

And my personal favorite:

The painted aprons sold much better than my cutesy stitched aprons… but I expected that. Country women don’t want cute aprons -function and sturdiness come before cuteness every time. And it’s much easier to paint on aprons than it is to stitch bias tape onto them, so I’m not complaining! My dahling husband suggested I widen my variety and include matching flour sack dishcloths and crocheted hot pads. I think it’s a great idea -one that I’ll be sort of implementing when I have the time. Making aprons and hot pads is definitely NOT a priority for me right now, but it’s a fun hobby.
At least until the dishes get outta hand… then it’s just a pain in rear.

My Aunt Julie and Aunt Cat put together and amazing display at the church and I took some more pictures there. By the time I made it to the church, I had done the pancake breakfast, the kids games set up, the two-hour boutique, the kids games take down, the BBQ lunch and auction… and I was TIRED!
Here’s a picture of my great-great grandmother’s dress, and a few of her really GREAT granddaughters. We’re great, right?

I snapped about one million pictures of the display -there was so much family and town history that I just couldn’t STOP myself! Plus every year for Christmas, I give my siblings family history gifts, and all of the pictures I took will be burned to a CD for sure! My brothers and sister will love them. I just know it.
My Dad did part of the display, and he did a great job. Here’s a sample of it:

I spent HOURS playing on my great-grandpa’s saddle as a kid. The saddle horn was the best part. It’s image is forever ingrained in my memory. Aaaand here it is:

I believe it’s made out of nickel.
I was really disappointed that I was so tired because history is a passion of mine. My heart gets all thumpety around historic displays and my palms get all tingly in antique shops… the display was what I was most looking forward to! I did find ample picture-taking material, and I was excited about that, but I found myself near tears looking at the displays around me. I’m sure my exhaustion had more than a little something to do with it, but what really sent me over the edge was the program from the dedication of the old post office on Main Street.

It opened and closed with a prayer -there was a band concert! Things just AREN’T that way anymore! I’m sure in the 60’s there were women just as weepy-eyed over the same issue… wishing things were as simple as they were in the 40s. But as it is: I miss the simple times.
I wish I could have been there to see this display of milk on my great-great grandfather’s porch:

I wish I could have seen my great-grandparents put on this skit in the which my tiny great grandmother attempted to beat my great grandfather with a broom:

And look at the littest guy in this picture… he’s my grandpa Hansen!
It was so amazing to just sit and take it all in… it was even more amazing when my husband came and picked up my son who was more than ready for a nap. He’d been everywhere I’d been and was just as tired. My dad had the girl, and had had her since the BBQ/Auction.
I didn’t make it to the auction in time to get a bidding number, but my Dad did… so when a zumba class punch card came up for auction, I snagged his number and bid on it. I bought one, and they put it under my Dad’s name. A little while later, a pink doll trunk went up for auction. It was filled with froofy tulle dresses and the most beautiful little doll my daughter had ever seen… and Dad bought that as well. Finally, Dad bid on some piano lessons that my aunt wanted.
So when my Dad, a six foot three cowboy in wranglers and boots, went to settle up with the auctioneer, he paid for zumba classes, a sweet little doll, and a six months of piano lessons.
My friend pulled me aside and said, “We want to know where we need to be to watch your Dad do zumba. We’ll pay good money to see that.”
I would too! But I imagine he’d look about as awkward as I do when I do it.

After I left the display, I went to a birthday party and then I went and picked up my daughter. After leaving home at 7:30 AM, I walked back through my front door at 5:30 PM. After a hot bowl of stew and a rest, we all got dressed up and stopped off at a friend’s house for sweet crepes on our way to the family dance.
I’m not big on dances, but my husband loves them… I’m not kidding. We had a great time dancing together, and it left us excited for next year.

Founder’s Day is the VERY best.