Parade draws new entries, large crowds

About 107 entries turned out on a beautiful Saturday for Heritage Days Parade.

"What a glorious day we enjoyed for this year's Heritage Days Parade," said Marie Owen, who attended her final edition of the celebration as executive director of the McCook Heritage Days celebration. She plans to move to Texas with her husband, Don, this week.

"The parade had many great entries, (including) a band (that) traveled from Franklin, and a number of new businesses, churches, etc., that had never entered the parade before.

First place winners in-cluded:

* Community / Civic / Church: Southwest Nebraska Community Theatre.

* Large Business: MNB Team and Wagon

* Small Business: Carpenter Breland Funeral Home

* Horse Group: Janssen Team and Wagon.

* Youth Division: Little Rascals.

* Youth Division -- small group: Boy Scouts.

* Classic Car Winner: Don Hill 1951 Mercury.

* Antique Farm Machinery: Harley Shields.

* Antique Cars: Dyle Fritsche 1926 Model A

* Overall Grand Prize Traveling Trophy: Common Scents

Winners of the tennis ball dunk included Jon Graff, $500, Chad Stull, $300, P.J. Richards, $100, Garrett Wagner, $100, Connie Sughroue, $100, Courtney Cochran, $50, Carla Herrmann, $50, Bill Williams, $50, Taylor Frank, $25, Chad Stull, $25.

Band winners included:

* Sutherland Junior High, excellent

* Imperial Grade School, excellent

* McCook High School, excellent

* Cambridge High School, superior

* Franklin Middle School, superior

* Grant High School, superior

Best rating is superior, with excellent as a middle rating and good as the lowest rating.

About 30 turned out for the annual McCook Army Air Base Reunion, with 150 people touring the Memorial Garden, hangar and barracks at the base, according to Dale Cotton, McCook Army Air Base Historical Society president.