The 19th-annual Nestor Falls Lions Club’s Winter Carnival and Fish Derby once again was a success with the collaboration of volunteers, sponsors, and enthusiastic participants.
“It went really, really well,” organizer Nadine Storey said. “It was a good weekend, beautiful weather, everyone had fun . . . most of the people I’ve talked to won something so they were happy.
“There were lots of prizes. All the sponsors came through, which was great,” she added.
The weekend of family fun kicked off Saturday with games for children at the Nestor Falls School, followed by hay rides and snow golf later in the day.
For adults, the annual cribbage tournament started a 1 p.m. and ran into late afternoon, with Gloria George and Wayne Helliar coming in first place over Ron and Doris Valiant.
Charles Harrison and Cynthia Cave took third.
Others took part in the poker derby, picking up cards either by snowmachine or vehicle from Nestor Falls to Sioux Narrows. Duane Wilton claimed top prize, followed by Joanne Haney in second and Becky Crowe third.
Still others spent the most of the day out on the ice, trying to reel up the winning catch during the annual fish derby.
To win, anglers had to catch a fish closest to the pre-selected size. For northerns, the size to match was 26 inches, for walleyes 17.5, crappies 14, and lake trout 23.
Lanny Freeman topped the winners for the lake trout were, with Earl Sandmoen second and Frank Berg in third. For northerns, Gerald Arch took first, followed by Carman Helder and Clint Brown third.
Doug Johnson won the crappie category, with Margaret Holmstead in second and Casey Crawford in third. And just one walleye was caught, with Thatcher Haggberg claiming the prize.
Saturday night was capped off with spot prize giveaways and a dance featuring Will Baranowski’s Yowza DJ Service.
To wind down the weekend’s festivities, a number of people were on hand Sunday at 8 a.m. for a pancake breakfast, followed by a broomball tournament and the annual “Balls over the Falls” event.
“It was a pretty good time out, actually,” said Sioux Narrows Nestor Falls Mayor Jerry O’Leary. “I flipped burgers until 5 p.m., then I got up the next morning and flipped pancakes.”
Overall, hundreds of prizes–donated by local and district businesses–were given away over the weekend.
“Without those guys’ help, we wouldn’t have been able to do it,” noted organizer Howard Dodd.
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
