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West Salem’s June Dairy Days once again celebrated the dairy industry while drawing the crowds.

In its 38th year, the annual three-day event spanned May 30 through June 1. June Dairy Days Committee president Tamie Batzel said most events had good participation or attendance, and new events this year will likely be back again.

“It was great,” Batzel said.

Highlights, as usual, were Friday night’s fireworks show and Saturday’s parade, which had 77 entrants; this year’s parade marshal was Jim Quinn.

New events, though, proved to be quite popular as well, such as the belly dancers on Sunday.

“The belly dancers were a huge hit,” Batzel said. “More likely than not we’ll be bringing them back.”

Another new event that drew a good crowd was a show by Rockin’ Recess Saturday afternoon, which featured interactive music and fun for kids.

“It wasn’t just the kids out there; the adults were dancing around, too,” Batzel said.

Sunday’s Kiddie Tractor Pull, also new, had a good number of youths participate.

Batzel said the committee will likely review some events in hopes of attracting more participation next year. The Community Care & Share Food Pantry Day on Sunday — a fundraiser for the local food shelf — may have done better with more advertising, she said. The Saturday evening teen dance — held this year at La Scher’s on Leonard instead of in the street — may lure more youths with a time change.

Still, attendance overall was positive, Batzel said. And weather was more accommodating than the rainy June Dairy Days in 2006. This year, rain only fell briefly late Friday afternoon and late Saturday night, but no events had to be canceled.

The weather was also pleasant for a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Saturday during the annual West Salem Baseball Alumni Game. The pre-game event marked a $70,000 renovation to the ball field. It was the first game played on the new field, and Panther varsity coach Chuck Ihle and Friends of West Salem Baseball chair Tom Holven threw out the ceremonial first pitches.

From a public safety standpoint, West Salem Police Chief Charles Ashbeck said there were no major incidents. He noted there were a few minor incidents to which police responded, but, overall, he said people were well behaved.

“The downtown was busy, but, for the most part, people were pretty calm,” Ashbeck said.

Parking was not a major issue either, Ashbeck said. Portions of downtown were blocked off from vehicular traffic during June Dairy Days and some streets had temporary no-parking times, but motorists were obedient and respective.

“We had one vehicle towed, but really, for the most part, everyone was compliant,” he said.

Ashbeck also noted there were no medical emergencies associated with June Dairy Days.

With the many events during June Dairy Days, there were a number of winners reported at some of the competitions. Some winners included:

In the June Dairy Days recipe contest for dips and spreads, Blanche Tryggestad took first.

In the men’s softball tournament, Animal House was the champ in the 12-inch softball tournament; River City Ready Mix/Bud Light won the senior men’s tourney.

In the 4-H softball tourney, Lower Big Creek/Country Lanes/Bangor Township won the youth division; Striped Fish won the junior division; and St. Joe’s won the senior division.

For the Big Wheel Races, contestants were broken down into three age categories. Caleb Chojnacki was first for 3 year olds, followed by Adam Burkhardt and Evan Schwier. For the 4 year olds, Ryan Nickles took first, followed by Julia Hesselberg and Orin Schwier. And Sydney Rowan won it for the 5 year olds, followed by Austin Ross and Jakob Kazynski.

The Kiddie Tractor Pull was also divided by ages. For the 4 year olds, Dominic Johnson was first, followed by Ashlee Garbers and Logan Penzkover. For the 5 year olds, Kolton Eilers won, followed by Josh Marken and Haley Jones. And in the 6-year-old category, Eli Elsen took first, followed by Kyle Stair and Chase Penzkover. Logan Penzkover won the grand prize of a John Deere pedal tractor.

The roller blade race was won by April Nabes with a time of 11:46. Chet Haley was second (13:55) and Jamie Holt was third (14:21).

The Table Rock Trott Fun Run/Walk drew 151 contestants. In the 5K, Morgan Mulholland had the best time for the women with a time of 23:09, and Jared Haldeman (18:08) had the top time for the men. In the 10K, Heidi Lyga (46:06) had the top time for the women, and Jared Kasten (36:22) had the best time for the men.

This year’s June Dairy Days button design winner was Lisa Hendrickson.

Batzel said she was pleased with this year’s June Dairy Days, and she and the committee extend their appreciation to those who made it a success.

“(We want to give) a thank you to all those who volunteered and helped in June Dairy Days, a thank you to all the businesses and a big thanks to all those in attendance,” she said.

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