Organizers Call Jane Days A Success

Courtesy photo Mary Bell Banks served as the Grand Marshal for the Jane Days parade on Saturday.
Courtesy photo Mary Bell Banks served as the Grand Marshal for the Jane Days parade on Saturday.

With cooperating fall weather and a fleet of dedicated volunteers, the second annual Jane Days drew a number of neighbors who wanted to celebrate Jane's heritage.

Hosted by the Jane Preservation Society, residents and visitors were treated to old-time games, a cake walk, a parade, a car and tractor show, and more on Saturday in Jane.

"We had quite the crowd," said Jane Preservation Society treasurer Gayla Baker, who worked with Amanda Carr to oversee the festivities.

"We had triple the number of cars, the weather was beautiful and we had a very good turnout for the parade," Baker said. "Everyone enjoyed the whole day."

Quite a few years ago, neighbors celebrated Jane Days, but the festival faded away in time. Some 20 years later, Jane residents wanted to bring back the festival for families and relive some old-time fun.

With two festivals under their belt, organizers are reviewing what has worked well so far. A few tweaks made this year were great changes, including moving the parade time from the afternoon to the morning and adding more children's games, Baker said.

"The children's games were a hit," she said, adding that the kids also loved the bouncy house.

Those who attended had compliments for the hard-working organizers and volunteers.

"People told us they had a good time. They thanked us for having Jane Days. We didn't hear anything negative," Baker said.

From a milking contest to a chicken lunch and a car and tractor show, folks had plenty of opportunities to have fun, have some good food and visit.

A pageant on Saturday, with several categories, was one of several highlights of the day.

Several McDonald County neighbors were named winners in their category at the pageant, including Prairie Princess -- Anabella Woodruff; Miss Jane -- Natalie Wofford; Tiny Tot Girl -- Lily Pierson; Tiny Tot Boy -- Zane Mitchell; Baby Jane Girl -- Paisley Kae Self; and Baby Jane Boy -- Eli Mitchell.

Baker praised Carr for all her work and said the team of helpers really worked hard to pull off another successful Jane Days.

"We had excellent help," Baker said. "It's unbelievable."

Many participants -- such as a number of vendor booths -- completed the picture. The 911 Center, McDonald County Sheriff's Office, McDonald County Historical Society and others had booths and provided helpful information.

"We appreciate all our donors, people who worked, people who had booths," Baker said. "We couldn't have been successful without them."

General News on 10/04/2018