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 Smiles and waves were also part of the fanfare, and while every
child did a great job onstage, the winners announced were: Cutest
Lil' Farmer - Morgan Usherwood, Little Miss Mount Pulaski Karsyn
Wilham and Junior Miss Mount Pulaski - Reagan Titus.
Each of those winners were all looking forward to the opportunity to
ride in Saturday’s parade, a bonus of winning for sure.
The fried chicken dinner was the main event in the food tent while
the cold beverages flowed in the Jaycee’s Beer Tent as New City Road
performed a variety music.
Saturday morning’s lineup included a ton of exercise if you were
willing to get out of bed early enough.
To kick things off, Industry Fitness offered a class that included
some flipping of large tractor tires on the town square. Co-owners
Josh Stewart and Rebecca Bobell were spotted leading a group of
sweaty individuals at the 7:30 a.m. event.
 Then the “Top of the Hill 5K” saw 28 brave souls come out and not
just risk the chance of rain but also the attempt to conquer the
hills of Mount Pulaski. Each and every individual succeeded, with
19-year-old Jacob Albert of Decatur coming in first with a time of
19:51.
Emily (Allspach) Bucy came in second with a time of 20:58, a
personal record for the seasoned runner and mother of two, who
recently ran through the mountains in Colorado. “A few weeks ago I
ran in Leadville, Colorado over a mountain in the middle of the
night and it was a blast!” Incidentally, Leadville is a small town
and known as the “Two Mile High” town due to its high elevation.
Allspach was there to help pace six guys who were running 100 miles.
The Top of the Hill 5K she ran effortlessly and as she crossed the
finish line smiling and breathing normal she no doubt looked like
she could run to Pontiac, Illinois and beyond if necessary.
Abigail Coers, another gal who runs all over this country, finished
third overall with a time of 21:33.
Coming in fourth was Tony Zurkhammer, with a personal record of
22:23.
In the kids division, Kaidon Higgins of Latham was the winner with
his best time ever, 23:45. Eleven-year-old Daniel McCormick of Mount
Pulaski also finished the race in decent time and he was spotted
stretching his legs out after the final run up the Washington Street
hill. “My legs are cramping,” he said and added with his signature
smile, “That hill was killer.” Daniel waited around for his
grandmother, Sara McCormick, to finish the race and offer his
congratulations to her.
In fact, all the racers, many of whom hailed from running clubs out
of Springfield, Decatur, Lincoln and Bloomington waited around and
offered encouragement and high fives to each other, as one-by-one
they crossed the finish line.
 Aaron and Jennifer Wilham also made running a family affair with
their three daughters. Meanwhile Zion Lutheran teacher Lori Allen
finished the race with the delivery truck full of mums coming up
closely behind and she could not resist taking a selfie with the
truck in the background.
As the trophies and medals and t-shirts were handed out pictures
were taken and then many of the runners headed over to the Mount
Pulaski Christian Church pancake and sausage breakfast.
Following breakfast, True Form Fitness took to the stage for a Zumba
class, taught by Stephanie Bailey and Alyssa Barger. More sweating
on the square took place. With two fitness centers in town, this is
about to be one fit community in the near future, as many residents
are well on their way to a better and healthier lifestyle.
Hold that thought. First the Bake-Off and the Chili Cook-Off.
Winners names who were called in the Bake-Off competitions included
Lynn Lakin, Ashleigh Berry and Jamie Jones.
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Meanwhile, the winners of the Chili Cook-Off were Matt and Julie Bobell. Kids
helped serve the chili in this competition as well, and the community was
invited to take home any extra baked goods from the Bake-Off. A win-win for
everybody.
Moving on over to the Kiddie Tractor Pull, the competition was tough here.
Several youngsters completed the “full pull” and some even had to pull twice in
a battle to see who would win. Too many winners to keep track of here, as there
were multiple age groups and so many participants. This event sponsored by the
Jaycees is always a hit among the kids and it’s a treat to see so many young
tractor pull enthusiasts.
Other kid’s activities on the square Saturday included face painting, story
time, bingo and even a movie on the courthouse lawn.
For the big kids in all of us, there was an amazing car show that featured
everything from a 1971 Case Tractor to vintage automobiles of various makes and
models. Please see the slideshow for a closer look at all the fabulous forms of
transportation that donned the northeast side of the square.
A terrific concert by the Community Band also took place in the gazebo on the
courthouse lawn.
Demonstrations of rug-hooking and barrel-making also were featured at the Mount
Pulaski Courthouse.
There was also an ongoing Market Days Vendor Fair on the square, as well as
Bounce House, etc. keeping the kids entertained for hours with their colorful
and bouncy attractions.
Keeping up with the “Where a kid can be a kid” theme was the afternoon parade.
Perhaps one of the biggest kids of our community, retired teacher Mary Ann
Radtke, served as the Parade Grand Marshall. The parade had many fabulous
entries to go along with the firetrucks and tractors that also make the parade
outstanding. Parade winners for the day were Team Landon in First Place,
Moochelle’s Kid Kare in second and Girl Scout troop 1070 in third.
Rounding out Saturday’s events were the Anchor 6:19 band featuring Mount Pulaski
native Joe Pharis on drums.
The Brickyard also sponsored an eating contest, but for those who wanted to sit
down and take their time eating a meal, the F.O.P. served a delicious pulled
pork dinner in the big tent.
Hypnotist William Mitchell also entertained the crowd and the band, 90’s
Daughter headlined the Jaycees Beer Tent.
In addition to the Fall Festival activities, there were some class reunions in
town for the weekend. The Class of 1986 held their 30th year reunion at the
Brickyard while another group held their festivities at the American Legion
Home.
All in all it was a great weekend, as the weather turned out to be perfect
following the disappearance of the early Saturday morning cloudy skies.
Finally, just the gathering of friends, family and familiar faces always make
the weekend a fabulous experience. Whether you are just coming back to Mount
Pulaski for a brief visit or you live your life here on a daily basis, it’s nice
to know it is a place “Where a kid can be a kid.”
[Teena Lowery]
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