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Emden Homecoming festivities
continue into Saturday
[July 21, 2026]
In the morning, people were out
looking for deals at one of many garage sales in town.
At Luther Field on the edge of town, there was a wiffleball
tournament going on most of the day.
Just outside the Emden Community House, the Sons of the American
Legion were selling grilled pork chops.
Around two, people lined the streets of Emden for the homecoming
parade. As always, many children brought bags to hold all the candy
they hoped to get. A couple were also handing out Italian ices and
pop ice to keep everyone cool.
This year’s parade theme was “Stars and Stripes and Small Town
Spirit,” which was represented by some of the floats.
For instance, one float was
decorated in red, white and blue with stars plus USA 1776 to 2026.
Leading the way in the parade were
the Emden American Legion Post 506, Sons of the American Legion and
Emden Legion Auxiliary Unit 506 and these groups served as grand
marshals.
2025 Logan County Fair Queen Julia
Collins, Junior Miss Courtney Cecil and Little Miss Vayda rode
through the route in a convertible. It was the final parade for the
fair royalty since their reigns will end August 4.
Others in the parade line up
included area businesses, organizations and churches. As a reminder
Jesus is here with us, St. Peter’s Lutheran Church had an inflatable
Jesus on one of their floats.
Several elected officials and candidates for office also had parade
entries as did the Logan County Tourism Bureau and Heartland
Community College.
Residents of the neighboring village of Hartsburg carried a sign
with the motto, “small town, big heart.”
Tractors representing the farming community included Farmall, Allis
Chalmers, Minneapolis Moline and John Deere tractors and Kubota UTV.
There were also a few Humvees, gators and one semi cab.
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Cars in the parade ranged from
antiques to newer models.
Rounding up the entries, Hartem
athletes rode atop a couple of the Emden Fire Protection District.
Kiddie Tractor pull
After the parade was over, 20 children of various ages and sizes
participated in the kiddie tractor pull hosted by the Logan County
Farm Bureau Young Leaders. Many people came to cheer on the
participants.
The three classes were lightweight, for kids weighing up to 45
pounds, middleweight for those who weighed between 46 and 65 pounds
and heavyweight for those who weighed between 66 and 100 pounds.
All the kids tried hard and some in each class even did a full pull.
Out of the nine kids competing in the lightweight class, two did
full pulls on their first try resulting in a pull off between the
three. Ultimately, Mia Conrady won first place with a pull of 34
feet 3 inches.
There were two out of six kids competing in the middleweight class
who did full pulls on their first try. In the pull off, Calvin Slaby
got the farthest at 33 feet 2 ˝ inches.
In the heavyweight class, there were five participants and three of
them did full pulls on their first try. The pull off was won by Anna
Wrage whose pull was 36 feet 10 inches.
The top three winners in each class received trophies plus small
cash prizes donated by Farmers State Bank of Emden.
Once the pull was over, the top
three winners in each category posed for photos followed by a group
photo of everyone who participated.
Carnival style games, face painting, bouncy houses, and Bingo games
continued Saturday evening.
Musical entertainment was provided by the rock band Stereotypical.
It was another great homecoming weekend for those who came to enjoy
the festivities and small town spirit.
Emden Homecoming Saturday photo slideshow part 1
Emden Homecoming Saturday photo slideshow part 2
Emden Homecoming Saturday photo slideshow part 3
Emden Homecoming Saturday photo slideshow part 4
Logan
County Farm Bureau Young Leaders kiddie tractor pull videos
[Angela Reiners]
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