Although attendance was down a bit and there were no special activities, the sixth-annual Chapple Day festivities last weekend proved to be a great time for those who attended.
Since it’s inception in 1999, Chapple Days has become a regular mid-summer feature in Barwick and beyond.
Rilla Race, who chairs the Chapple Heritage Committee, said yesterday attendance was down slightly this year from last, when the event coincided with a massive school reunion.
The perfect weather also may have kept people at their cabins.
Nevertheless, for the 80 people who showed up Friday night at the Both farm for a barbecue, and the 200 on Saturday who watched the tractor pull there, it was time well-spent.
For one thing, aficionados of antique tractors had an eyeful at the Both farm, where many classic examples—including a vintage 1920 Rumely kerosene model—were on display.
All of them were in running condition and most of them competed in the tractor pull.
There was, of course, the usual luncheon fare prepared by the heritage committee, where for $4 you got a sandwich, carrot sticks, a drink, and dessert.
Meanwhile, down at the waterfront in Barwick on Saturday afternoon, there was a magnificent display of classic and contemporary cars—all polished and waxed to the hilt.
The show and shine actually was a contest in which the public was invited to vote for their favourite car.
When the ballots were counted around 3:30 p.m., the people chose the magnificent wine-coloured 1969 Camaro RS belonging to Terry Goliquer as the best in show.
This car not only was a treat for the eyes, but under the hood it was obvious its beauty was much more than skin deep.
Second place went to a beautifully-restored 1939 Ford sedan belonging to Albert Leek of Emo while third prize was awarded to the 1972 Mustang Mach 1 belonging to Betty and Wayne Salchert of Devlin.
For those who wanted to do more than look at cars, there were the ever-popular pontoon boat rides. Load after load of people rode the boat either upstream to Emo or downstream to visit the Manitou Mounds.
Among them was Thunder Bay-Rainy River MP Ken Boshcoff, who was attending Chapple Days for the first time since his election last year.
And finally, there was a combined fun rally and poker rally, in which car exhibitors and volunteers in teams of two were invited to try their hands at five physical activities, ranging from hanging and folding clothes to pulling and reinserting the spark plugs from the heads of a V-8 engine.
The overall winners were George Oltsher of Barwick and his daughter, Erin Daniels. Second place went to Alex Anderson and Steve Halvorsen while Albert and Christopher Leek claimed third-place honours.
Upon completion of each of the five events, each team drew a card for a poker hand and when the scores were tallied, the three kings held by Anthony Leek and Lance Salchert proved to be the hand to beat.
Oltsher and Daniels proved to be two-time winners when their pair of kings (10 high) nudged out pair of kings (nine high) held by Ben Zajarny and Penny Armstrong.
The next major event on the agenda for Chapple is the annual fall dinner, slated for sometime in November.
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
