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With activities well underway before the official
kick off opening ceremony at 5:30 p.m. there was plenty to do and
take in while waiting. The opening ceremony was held immediately
following a grand musical performance by the youngsters of
Moochelle’s Kid Care.
Those children also led the crowd in the recitation
of the Pledge of Allegiance to the American Flag.
Following their performance, Mt. Pulaski Mayor Matt
Bobell took the podium to welcome visitors to the fall festival and
offer some personal thanks to the many volunteers it takes to pull
off a perfect fall festival.
Next to the podium was one such volunteer, Katie
Alsup who also welcomed guests before announcing the plaque awardees
for the 2024 festival.
She began with announcing that the Grand Marshal of
Mt. Pulaski Parade would be retired teacher Darrel Wernsing. She
read a brief biography of Wernsing’s lifetime achievements before
bringing him to the front for the plaque presentation.
The second announcement was for the 2024 Volunteers
of the year. The announcement was made that the recipient would by
husband wife duo Jeff and Linda Dirks. The Dirkses were not on hand
Friday evening, but their plaque was accepted by their son Caleb. He
shared that he had told his parents that they would be the
volunteers of the year and would be riding in the Saturday parade.
He drew a laugh from the audience when he said not surprisingly his
mom had had a lot of questions about all that. Finally he added that
his parents were quite happy to be honored in such a manner and
would be in the parade on Saturday.
The third award Alsop said was a new one just this year. She said
that it was intended to acknowledge the youth that are taking
interest in the community and volunteering to make a difference. She
said the first ever recipient exemplified the giving spirit as he
had helped with numerous events and activities in the community in
the past year. She said as a young person, he found that he had
many, many “moms” who enjoyed telling him what to do.
She then announced, much to the pleasure of the crowd
that the first ever youth volunteer of the year would go to teenager
Dean Mileham. Dean came up for a big hug from Also before accepting
his plaque.
After this there was a brief break while the organizers prepared for
the Little Miss and Junior Miss Mt. Pulaski pageant.
This year there were 13 Little Miss contestants, seven Junior Miss
contestants and one helper, Ross Jones who might have stolen the
show in the opinion of many.
At one point it was announced that perhaps Jones
should be named the honorary Little Mister Mt. Pulaski.
The 13 Little Miss contestants were:
Eliza meister
Kinsley Lahey
Brielia McDonnough
Zoie Steskal
Nora Smock
Eleyn white
Luci Bobell
Harlyn Gibbs
Amelia Clemens
Emery Hartman
Reese Deibert
Reese Jones
Piper Haffner
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The seven Junior Miss contestants were:
Ella Hall
Paislee Brinkley
Abbigale Martin
Lakin Titus
Khloe Carrall
Adeline Conn
Alma Meister
The Mistress of Ceremonies for the evening was
Jennifer Lakin, wife of Ty and daughter-in-law of the late Mike
Lakin. She commented that she was honored to be a part of the
pageant and that her father-in-law Mike Lakin had always enjoyed the
Mt. Pulaski Festival, being at all the events photographing and
reporting on the outcomes in his newspaper the Mt. Pulaski Times.
She moved on to introduce the judges for the evening,
the 2024 Little Miss and Junior Miss Logan County Olivia Harmsen and
Sophia Goodman respectively. The third judge for the evening was
Skye Kretzinger, the 2019 Miss Logan County Fair Queen.
The pageant began with all the Little Miss contestants being brought
up to the steps of the Mt. Pulaski Courthouse and introduced. Each
one waved and smiled at the audience as they were named.
Second, the Junior Miss contestants were brought up
in the same manner and also waved to the audience when their name
was called.
It had been said earlier in the evening that the theme for the 2024
Fall Festival was “Big Top on the Hill Top.” It was also shared that
when the littlest group came up one member at a time, they would be
asked a circus related question.
The little girls were then called one at a time and asked to
introduce themselves, tell their age, then answer the question “What
is your favorite circus animal.”
As the little girls came up, the answers they gave were as unique as
they were. One liked the camels just because they were cute. Another
liked lions because they are taught to walk on a tight rope. Another
like the elephants because they are “jiggly.”
Young Ross Jones stood on the steps and offered each young lady his
hand to assist them in navigating the steps. He would then handle
passing the microphone from Lakin to the contestant beside him. But
when one little gal came to the steps, he just couldn’t resist
telling the audience that Reese Jones was also his sister, drawing
chuckles from the crowd.
When all the Little Miss contestants had done their part, the Junior
Miss girls were called up in the same manner. Their special question
was “What do you like about the Mt. Pulaski Fall Festival.”
Again each one had a unique answer from enjoying time in town with
friends, visiting the vendor booths with family and just taking it
all in.
With the answers all given, the full group of Junior Miss
contestants were called to stand on the steps of the courthouse
again, with the full group of Little Miss contestants taking the
step lower.
The 2023 Little Miss Coley Olson and Junior Miss
Lindy Jones were called to the front to help with the crowning of
their 2024 successors.
The three judges deliberated for more than a few minutes and Lakin
commented that it must indeed be a very close race for them to be so
studious in making their decision. Finally, the votes were tallied,
and it was time to announce the winners.
The 2024 Little Miss Mt. Pulaski was announced as Piper Haffner and
the Junior Miss was announced as Adeline Conn. Both were crowned and
received their sashes with broadly smiling faces.
They received congratulations and more than a few “high fives” from
their fellow contestants who were soon dismissed from the courthouse
steps.
Both young ladies were all smiles as they posed for
their first official pictures as Mt. Pulaski royalty.
Both girls are expected to participate in the Fall Festival parade
and will be present for other fall festival activities as well.
[Nila Smith with photos by Julie Bobell and Smith]
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