Posted on

Lourdes Steeple Day full of fun, fellowship

Margaret A. Randak

Guest Columnist

Community event: July 31, beginning at 7:30 a.m.

Lourdes Steeple Day full of fun, fellowship

When you take a glance at the calendar you will see that the last Sunday of July is fast approaching which means it is time for the community of Lourdes to welcome friends, family and fellow parishioners to enjoy a day together at the 18th annual Lourdes Steeple Day on Sunday July 31.

There will be something for all ages to enjoy. A pancake and sausage breakfast starts at 7:30 a.m. and continues until 10:30 a.m.. The polka Mass will be officiated by our new pastor, Father Mark Murphy. Father Steve Garner who was our pastor for 4 years has been assigned to St. Mathew’s parish in Cedar Rapids.

The polka Mass with Leo Meitner band gets underway at 9 a.m. followed by a visit to OLL Stone City (cemetery) at 10 a.m. for an appreciation of our forefathers who sacrificed much for us.

Lourdes is located 14 miles north of New Hampton on Hwy 63 and is known for its lighted church steeple that can be viewed for miles around on a clear night. Thus our yearly celebration is called Steeple Day.

The tractor pull and softball games get underway at 10 a.m. and continue all day along with the bean bag tournament starting at 11 a.m. At 1 p.m. is the powder puff pull, which is always a crowd pleaser when the gals get their turn to pull the sled. Last year, we had 18 gals participate in the powder puff. lt is always interesting to see who will take first place in the weight classes. Will it be Jeff Nibaur’s Oliver 88, Denny Smith’s M Farmall, Francis Nibaur’s Oliver88, Tom Shatek’s 706 Farmall or Denny Ptacek’s Oliver 88 among others.

They have come a long ways from in 1998 (18 years ago) when some of the local guys got together and said “We should have a tractor pull.”

At noon the youngsters get into the fun for the kids pedal tractor pull. This is state sanctioned for ages 4 thru 11. You can see the pride of the parents and grandparents as they watch the children.

Among the items for the 2 p.m. auction is one of a kind 2016 autographed baseball by the St. Louis Cardinal’s ball team.

There are 24 names on it including coach Mike Matheny, Yadier Molina, Matt Carpenter, Jaime Garcia, Jonathan Braxton, Trevor Rosenthal and others on the Cardinals 2016 roster. Micheal Wacha is player no. 52 for the St. Louis Cardinals and is the grandson of parishioner Elaine Farrington. Micheal has been with the team for three years and lives in St. Louis.

Other auction items include a 45 by 60 crib quilt, lawn ornament and surprise boxes among others. There will also be an autographed baseball by Micheal Wacha.

The raffle drawings start at 4 p.m. First is a miscellaneous raffle followed by a caSh raffle. There were only 300 tickets of the cash raffle printed so there is a 1 in 10 chance of winning. You can contact any Our Lady of Lourdes parishioner for tickets for these raffles or Don Shatek at 641-330- 6542.

Of course Steeple Day also includes the traditional brats and burgers along with the delicious malts at the moo-mobile. And of course bingo and the country store. As the end of the day after enjoying the Steeple Day activities, which is always the last Sunday of July, we hope you will say “We came … We saw. We had Fun.” For any additional info, contact Denny Ptacek at 641-330-1572, Tom Shatek at 6412-330-8626 or Denny Smith at 641-330-8843.

Social Share

LATEST NEWS