Wanda English Burnett - Editor

Mother Nature smiled almost the whole time the Holton Jamboree was held Friday and Saturday this past weekend at the Holton Community Park off Versailles Street.

The festival, which had been revived from 20 years ago, made its debut once again with a good crowd and a number of booths offering a variety of activities.

Friday night was kicked off with Cynthia Melton hitting all the high notes as she sang the Star Spangled Banner. The Sun Bonnet Sue and Straw Hat Sam Contest followed with these results: Jayden Hunger, daughter of Ron and Malena Hunger of Versailles took the trophy and title of Sun Bonnet Sue for 2006 with Austin Lee, son of Kevin and Rebecca Lee of Versailles, taking the trophy and title of Straw Hat Sam for 2006.

Third runner up for Sun Bonnet Sue was Anna McCreary, daughter of Bob and April McCreary of Batesville; second runner up was Bailey Hon, daughter of Jerry and Becky Hon of Holton; and first runner up was Lilli Hilton, daughter of Greg and Amber Hilton of Holton.

Second runner up for the Straw Hat Sam Contest was Jay Cornett, son of Jeff and Aimee Cornett of Versailles; first runner up was Brenden Scott Stucker, son of Christopher and Christie Stucker of Hanover.

Other contestants who participated included: Dakota Brunner, son of Angie Brunner and Dwane Patrick Jr. of Osgood; Christian James Comer, son of Jay and Karen Comer of Osgood; Bryer Franklin, son of Bryan and Farrah Franklin of Milan; Logan Hon, son of Jerry and Becky Hon of Holton; Jack Rork, son of James and Candy Rork of Versailles; and Blake Schneider, son of Jeff and Kristi Schneider of Seymour.

The evening continued with great rock music from local bands: The Promise Reason, Endless Rumor with the headline band being High Voltage.

Saturday morning began with a donut-eating contest in which nine contestants vied for the title of eating the most donuts in just two minutes. That title would go to Clayton Douglas, 18, of Holton, who managed to down six Krispy Kreme donuts, donated by the Versailles Super Valu, in under two minutes.

Holton’s first parade, other than a Halloween parade with just a couple of vehicles in it, began at 10:00 a.m. with great participation. Nearly 50 entries were registered in the parade that began at the Holton United Methodist Church on Versailles Street and ended in front of the community park, again on Versailles Street. The event was emceed by Cynthia Melton and Wanda Burnett. Paul and Rhonda Tunny were in charge of getting the parade organized.

The day continued with a number of games and activities along with hourly raffles. At 5:00 p.m. when it was announced that the youngest person in attendance would be honored, the prize went to Lucie Nicholson, four-month-old daughter of Hank and Jennifer Nicholson of Holton. The oldest person in attendance at 5:00 p.m. on Saturday was Wilbur Myers, 77, of Holton.

Stacy Lynn and the Wildcards kicked off an evening of music that had people dancing on the lawn. Jerry Gilpin of M&N Productions provided the sound system for both days. Saturday night’s lineup had to be cut a little short due to high winds and an impending storm forecast.

Gary Franklin of Holton was the lucky winner of the quilt that had old pictures depicting the town transferred onto quilt blocks in the colors of the Holton Warhorses - red and white.

The Holton Hometowners were pleased with the turnout and will be in preparation for next year’s event.

 

WANDA ENGLISH BURNETT PHOTO Pictured are Sun Bonnet Sue 2006 (second from left standing): Jayden Hunger, and Straw Hat Sam 2006 (center front) Austin Lee and their court: Bailey Hon, 2nd runner up; Anna McCreary, 3rd runner up; Lilli Hilton, 1st runner-up; Brenden Scott Stucker, 1st runner-up and Jay Cornett, 2nd runner-up. The children received trophies and ribbon, and a bucket of goodies compliments of RJ's Food Mart in Holton. Gretchen Moore headed up the contest.