Hellooooo
Brookfield !!!
By
Bill Thudium
#157, June 8,
2009
bill@smithmotor.com
We
are beginning to look right down the barrel of Brookfield’s 150th
Birthday celebration now that Summer Fun Days is over. All eyes now
turn toward the tons of things yet to be done and the great fun being
planned!! While folks were enjoying the sunny afternoon on Saturday
in the Park about a dozen of us met with the Tracy Lawrence talent
agent at Burlington Field to map out strategies for the night of the
big concert. The stage/sound man was also on hand as there was
considerable discussion regarding how we get heavy 18 wheelers on and
off or our football field without damaging the turf or the in-ground
watering system. The stage will also have to be there the entire
week as well so finding a way to keep from killing the grass
underneath it is a focus as well. Our local Police, Firemen,
Ambulance Department and County Sheriff’s Department are all
pitching in to help with parking, security, and safety arrangements.
Kjersten Parn,
chairwoman of the Concert Committee, has been in a bit of a panic
worrying over publicity issues, thinking plans might not be well
enough organized, not enough tickets being sold, etc…. She was
pleased to have the agent tell her Saturday that her committee is
very well organized, much more so than most they deal with, further
indicating the only reason the ticket sales have not gone as well as
we expected so far is because we chose not to have reserved seating,
explaining many people are simply waiting to buy them closer to the
date of the concert.
Last week the
Bushwacker Committee had a load of logs delivered to the lot where
the old Stanley Hotel used to stand - dropped in that spot in order
not to get in the way of Summer Fun Days. This week they moved the
logs to the East Twin Park and the men began constructing a 10’ by
12’ log cabin. The cabin will be used by the Keystone Kops
following a bank robbery chase for a subsequent shootout, and is also
sure to used by the “South Fork Regulators” for a shootout
reenactment as well. It would also be a great background for the
Husband Calling contest!!!!
Now for your Good
News and hopefully some Interesting
Stories!
Get
Your Tracy Lawrence Tickets!! –
We have been receiving inquiries recently from people wondering if
tickets remain for this special Sesquicentennial concert on July
25th. Please know
we still have plenty of
tickets available, however it will be
important for everyone to get them ordered as soon as possible.
Remember we held the price down on these tickets to $20/person in
order to make this terrific performer available to almost everyone
who would like to see & hear him during our 150th
birthday celebration. Brookfield has never hosted a concert like
this and we are excited for our community to have this opportunity to
enjoy a nationally known entertainer, at a price nearly everyone can
afford.
The Sesqui Concert
Committee is seriously considering organizing an annual event,
assuming this concert is as successful as expected. The plan being
to use future proceeds from each event to help supplement the budget
of the Brookfield Area Growth Partnership and add annually to a fund
for the folks who stage Brookfield’s 175th
Birthday in 2034!!
In the meantime we
need for you to get on the computer or telephone and get your tickets
ordered!! The Sesquicentennial Corporation has a significant
investment in this concert and really needs to re-coop much of it
prior to the week of the Sesquicentennial in order to help cover our
many other Celebration related expenses.
Tickets are available
locally at all of the banks, Chamber of Commerce office, Devoy-Baker
Ins., Smith Motor, Cupp & Wallace and the City Offices. You
may purchase them securely with a credit card by calling the Chamber
at 660-258-7255 or online at brookfieldmochamber.com.
Sesqui Books, plates, steins & ornaments can also be purchased
in this way.
Sesquicentennial Days – Saturday & Sunday –
Saturday, July 25
celebrates our rural heritage with Agriculture Day!! This day is
absolutely jammed full of activities in the Twin Parks and elsewhere
in town. The Parks will include crafters & various vendors,
numerous displays, a tractor show, train rides for the kids,
children’s games , baby show, quilt show, recognition of
multi-generational farm families, Premium Wine of Missouri, bingo,
chainsaw artist demonstrations, re-enactment of a historical
Brookfield bank robbery and shoot out, up the full length of Main
Street to the log cabin in the East Twin Park, parade, The Horse
Whisperer, kids pedal tractor race, South Fork Regulars Gun Fight,
adult contests, beard contest and Kangaroo Kourt, and culminating
with the Tracy Lawrence Concert at Burlington Field at 8:30 p.m.
Sunday the 26th
is the last but most certainly not the least important of our
Celebration. We will celebrate our Religious heritage with an all
Church picnic and singing in the Twin Parks, we will bury our time
capsule that afternoon and conclude a week of celebration with a
Frank Runyeon Productions – non-denomination Christian program for
youth and adults at the High School gymnasium. Mr. Runyeon is a well
known television actor and his program is titled “Sermon on the
Mount and Hollywood vs. Faith.” The Churches of Brookfield have
joined forces to sponsor what will surely be a moving experience for
everyone and a very fitting end to a great week long 150th
Birthday Party!
Jubilee
Belle Fashion Show Committee –
Tri-Chairwomen, Shane Thudium, Brenda DeVoy and Ann Smith are asking
folks to check their closets and wardrobes for “antique clothing”
that you would be willing to let the committee use for a style show
during the Celebration on July 21st
at 6 p.m. Anyone interested in loaning clothing or participating by
wearing period dress is encouraged to get in touch with Brenda DeVoy
at 660-258-3322, Ann at 258-0000, or Shane at 5707. This event will
be held in the Park Baptist Fellowship Center.
Questions
About Digging Up The Time Capsule
– I learned from Committee Chairwoman Karen Grant that plans are to
open the 1959 Time Capsule prior to the Celebration and display all
of the items in our downtown Sesqui Museum during the week. The 1959
Capsule will be re-buried and the 2009 Capsule buried on Sunday, July
26, in a special ceremony at the Twin Parks Oval.
June
Weather Is A Little Fickle’d Around Here-
Fun Days has been a staple for the Brookfield Chamber of Commerce for
a couple of decades now but every year the first weekend in June is a
crap shoot when it comes to the weather!!! Saturday morning we were
all prepared to set up the Sesquicentennial Booth in the East Twin
Park for a full day of providing information and selling tickets and
novelties. At 7:30 a.m. the sky unloaded on us and then proceeded to
shower off and on for the next three and a half hours. Fortunately
our wet volunteers were able to get a tent set up (courtesy of
Devoy-Baker Ins) and that problem was solved. By noon the sun was out
and the crowds arrived!
I couldn’t begin
to count the number of times we have experienced similar Saturdays
over the years during Summer Fun Days weekend, but you know it almost
always turns out to be a great weekend for Brookfield and this one
was no exception!
Personal
Note – Monday I attended the funeral
of a longtime friend and classmate, Danny Lyford, who passed away of
a terminal cancer on June 4th
at age 58. In 1978 Danny married Brenda Gall in Brookfield and they
had two children, Jason, St. Joseph and Marli, North Kansas City. He
is survived by his children & two grandchildren, Donavan &
Austin, two sisters, Carla Stroud and Peggy Wheatcraft, and a brother
Harold (Corky). He was preceded in death by his parents Harold &
Edith, brothers Gale and Larry and sister Deanna.
Danny was born on
July 4th, 1950,
just three months ahead of me. We started out in kindergarten
together and finished up 13 years later at our high school graduation
in 1968. Danny joined several of us from Brookfield in College at
Kirksville State Teacher’s College the next year, each of us
realizing varying levels of success!! Danny’s interest was much
stronger for playing cards in the lobby than in attending classes -
admittedly my focus wasn’t much better at the time!! Strange now
but for some reason we called Danny “Cheese” in high school and
the name stuck from then on. Isn’t it odd how so many people had
nicknames back then - folks just don’t seem to do that so much any
more. Anyway, Danny went to work for Burlington Northern Railroad as
a conductor following his college years and worked out of state for
much of that time. His son, Jason went to school in Brookfield and
was the same age as our youngest, which meant their activities did
cause the two of us to cross paths from time to time when Danny was
in town. However we had lost touch with each other the last several
years. So much so that I was unaware of his health condition until
just a few days ago when we learned he was gravely ill and living in
St. Joseph with his son. Danny had a contagious laughter and always
wore the beginning of a smile on his face. One of those guys you
couldn’t help but enjoy being around. Sure would have liked to
have had a chance to say my goodbyes.
Our deepest sympathy
to the Lyford family for their loss. We will miss our friend and
classmate.
Birthdays
– June 9th, Matt
Parn (our son in law), Darcy Lane, Don Hope,
Ed Kennedy, Lauren Bush, Pat Gooch, MacKenzie St Clair, June 10th,
Carolee Hall, Graham Smith, Cathy Wombwell, Jim Saccaro, Allen
Stephen, Cheri (Pope) Hunt, June 11th,
Madyson Berry, Mackenzie Clark, Vanessa Shaw, Anne Greenway, June
12th, Jan Gray,
Mike Moore, Grant Burch, Mary Shaul, June 13th,
Kim Molloy, Jonathan Young, Jill Fletcher, Jim Bennett, James Cowan,
Jennifer Darby, June 14th,
Abby Sattman, Olivia Thudium, Tschannen, Kirby Asher, Whitney Decker,
Jeremy Elson, Mickey Beach, June 15th,
Jerry Wine, Scott Wohogemuth, Donald Russell, Caleb Buckallew.
Anniversaries
– June 9th,
Ernie & Kathy Libby, Jack & Gladys Dietzel, June 10th,
Mike and Darcy Lane, Glenn & Stacy Bragg, Eric & Paula
Jessen, Jerald & Janell Mundell, June 11th,
Mike & Rita McVicar, Mr. & Mrs. Travis Stanfield, June 12th,
Don & Shannon Moser, Buck & Mary Farrenkopf, June 13th,
Carl & JoAnn Bunten, Mr. & Mrs. Nathan Gordon, June 14th,
Pat & Terry Swift, Dan & Nancy Jackson, Mickey & Martha
Beach, Mr. & Mrs. Chris Zumbrunnen, June 15th,
Galen & Susan Hicks, Ron & Waverly Dixon.
Thanks as always for
reading Hellooooo
Brookfield !!! Please remember
to shop our Linn County businesses first and don’t forget to let me
know when you have Good News or
Interesting Stories!