Lake news
By TOOTSIE SNELLING
Marion County Park & Lake reporter
What a great way to end summer! The fireworks show Sunday evening was beautiful. The wind seemed to blow them away to the southeast and they didn't fall down over the lake like last year, but everyone around me "oohed and ahhed." We were starting to get a little impatient when they didn't start, but it was explained to me later that they got caught in the rain near McPherson and some of the fuses got damp and they had to rewired them. The rain that was predicted came through early enough to wet down the grass but didn't cancel the show. Thanks Shawmar Oil and Gas for the great show! It was spectacular.
The firemen also put on quite a show. They backed a truck down on the jetty and were squirting water on the jet skiers and boaters as well as into the swimming area, to the delight of the kids who were swimming. All of the trucks were a sight to see around the lake hall and the firefighters helped Dale block the roads and with crowd control.
I never asked anyone how many people they served in the hall but it looked busy most of the time. All of the money collected went to the Marion County fire districts to be used for updating equipment. These guys put their lives on the line when fighting fires and most are volunteers, and they need the best there is. (We all hope that we never have to call them but if we do we want the best).
We had a good crowd over the weekend despite the windy conditions. You might know the wind would blow on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday and then on Monday when everyone goes home it was a nice day. That's Kansas and everyone is used to it.
Fishing was good for channel cat and flathead. Almost all of the campers who fished for channel cat had nice stringers full.
Some guys really hit the jackpot. Mike Benson of Peabody caught a 50-pound flathead Friday. Richard Hull of El Dorado caught a 41-pound flathead Saturday. Paul White of McPherson caught a five-pound channel cat and David Yates caught a seven-and-one-half-pound channel. Get your pole and come fishing — the channel are biting!
Did you see the flock of pelicans we had out here a couple of weeks ago? They sure were fun to watch and pretty, too. It's getting that time of year that the birds and butterflies are migrating. If you get a big bunch of them on some of your flowers, let me know. I finally got my tags and am ready to catch and tag them.
I tried to keep in touch with my brother over the weekend. He lives around Tampa, Fla., and was taking quite a battering with Hurricane Frances. He finally lost electricity Sunday but hadn't sustained any major damage when I last talked to him. When Hurricane Charlie went through this past week, they traveled to Orlando to their daughter's to get away from it and found themselves right in the middle of it. This time they stayed home and sat it out. Now they wait to see what Ivan will do!
They always tell us they are afraid of the Kansas tornadoes but I tell them that at least they blow through in a few minutes, we don't have to wait a week to see where they will hit, and we don't get 20 inches of rain with them!
September always is a busy month: first Labor Day, state fair, Art in the Park, and Hillsboro's Arts & Crafts Fair, then Old Settlers' Day. Gosh, I hope I can keep up.
