Godahl celebrates summer's last hurrah

By KURT NESBITT

Journal Staff Writer

GODAHL -- For many of the folks at Godahl Days, the annual celebration is a kind of last chance to enjoy summer.

As in most other farming communities, talk of the fall harvest is just starting to dominate conversations between farmers.

For others, Monday was an atypical getaway from the usual grind in the office, the store or the plant.

And plenty of children and teenagers were on hand to enjoy the last hurrah for their summer vacation, since most school districts are starting classes today.

Godahl Days is held every Labor Day in a town that surrounds the intersections of Brown County roads 10 and 6. The invisible border between Brown County and Watonwan County runs straight through the middle of town.

The center of Godahl is the co-op general store, which was started by a group of farmers in 1894 to shorten the amount of time it took them to get goods and supplies.

The annual celebration began 48 years ago simply for the purpose of sustaining the town by gathering enough money to pay for the maintenance of the four houses, the Godahl Recreational Center, the park and the baseball field and the general store. It is organized by the seven families that live in the Godahl area.

"I think it's pretty amazing that a community with only four houses can come up with 100 workers," said Carlie Olson, a Lake Hanska resident whose husband was raised near Godahl. "It really shows the community spirit in the area."

Olson said the crowd for Godahl Days was "a little higher than average", estimating it in between 1,000 and 1,500 people.

Since the village is split between Watonwan County and Brown County, the celebration attracts visitors and parade participants to Godahl from New Ulm, Sleepy Eye, Hanska and particularly St. James, which is only 10 miles due south down Watonwan County Road 4.

The highlight of Godahl Days is the parade. Like most, it begins with an escort from the county sheriff's department, followed by and American Legion color guard and a trailer displaying the seals of all branches of the United State military, blaring the Star Spangled Banner through a set of small stereo speakers.

The floats started coming steadily after the color guard turned the corner. There was the grand marshal, Gladys Askeland, and the St. James High School marching band and drill team.

Young kids had a large role to play in the parade, as the Godahl baseball teams rode hay wagons along with a few more kids in battery-powered cars.

Farm implements, classic cars and area fire departments were also heavily represented with several classic tractors, Ford Model A's and Model T's, fire engines and ambulances dispersed throughout the 60-unit parade.

As with many other parades, candy tossing -- and the kids who scramble to pick up the most loot -- is always a big part of the annual ride.

The parade featured Miss Godahl, Sarah Westman, who rode the float holding her daughter Maya with her two princesses. All three were crowned at a ceremony hours before the parade.

Throughout the whole affair, paradegoers lined County Road 6 with row after row of folding lawn chairs. Some had staked out spots as early as one hour in advance. One man asked, "Doesn't it start at 12:30? The paper had it at 12:30. But I guess it's 1."

In addition to being the last parade of summer, Godahl Days also offers the standard summer outdoor celebration fare, which many people flocked towards after the parade ended.

The day began with a "Battle of The Bands" where gospel, bluegrass, country, folk and old-time music duke it out to see who's this year's champion.

Kids played carnival-style games with a ring toss and a dunk tank. Many more gathered under a small picnic shelter for a game of Bingo.

The Godahl Rookies baseball team wore their red uniforms on the field for warm-ups against the Rookies team from nearby Hanska. The Godahl Midget team played against the Midget team from Leavenworth and ended the day with a game against their fathers.

Inside the recreation center, a long queue of hungry visitors lined the walls, meal tickets in hand. The menu offered a choice between a hot beef, a shaved pork sandwich or a hot dog. There was also a table full of deserts that were wrapped tightly to small plastic plates.

And once the food was eaten, the dances danced and the last few baseballs thrown with hopes of dunking the unlucky person sitting over the tank, everyone packed up and headed home.