K of C Fun Day continues to grow
by Peter Jakey, Managing Editor
Youth and adults alike went down the main hill at the Knights of Columbus grounds in every conceivable way.
One young man went down Superman-style with his hands out and his stomach flat on his sled.
Others went down backwards, on knees, or just screaming, but the one thing everyone had in common on the exceptionally slick hill were huge grins and bright smiles. While the Knights of Columbus Family Fun Day has been conducted on-and-off since 1982, the 2009 event may have been one of the best-ever with 268 people attending, up from 200 a year ago.
?Every year it is getting bigger because of word of mouth,? said chairman Rob Vogelheim. ?People come out, have a good time, tell all of their friends and bring more people out.?
?It went really good,? said fellow organizer Rich Lenard. ?We had excellent weather.? WEATHER FROM the previous day created the biggest problem, as the above average temperatures melted a lot of snow and left the slick surface.
It cooled down into the low 30 degree Fahrenheit range by Sunday afternoon, with bright sunshine, but the track got faster and faster as sledders packed the snow down. The young people, who really enjoy getting snowmobile rides back up the hill, didn?t mind.
Organizers were a little nervous when a young man was injured and emergency medical technicians (EMTs) were asked to respond to the scene. As a precautionary measure he was carted to an ambulance, but the family was in the hall before the end of the afternoon so the young man?s condition was fine.
?I think we are going to do things a little different, so we have a little more control on the hills, so nobody gets hurt,? said Lenard. ?It?s about having it for the kids.? Inside the hall, more fun was to be had with the local Girl Scouts organizing games, a craft activity and face painting.
?IT WENT great, there was tons of kids here,? said Edie Budnik, who has run the indoor events for the last two years. ?There were lots of
There also was plenty of food with hot dogs, homemade chili, salad and a dessert. ?I think it is very nice that the Knights of Columbus do this for the community,? said Paul Centala of Posen, who brought his family. ?It would be nice to see more people out at these functions and just to see more people come and enjoy the day.?
Vogelheim said, ?We had plenty of food and think the weather played a role in the turnout.?
A week before, the weather would have kept everyone inside the hall with temperatures near zero degrees Fahrenheit.
Lenard, who commended the sponsors, said the event wasn?t intended to make money, as funds raised will go back in to making next year?s event all the better. The Fessler family won the toboggan donated by the Rogers City Do It Center.