Life on the high plains: Wellington's early festivities

By Arlene Ahlbrandt and Wayne Sundberg
Correspondents

Small towns don't have to wait a hundred years before getting folks together to celebrate something. They typically commemorate national holidays, recognize key events in their town's history, observe planting times and celebrate harvests.

Interestingly enough, Wellington did not have Fourth of July celebrations during its early history. There was too much competition from surrounding communities like Nunn, LaPorte and Fort Collins. Add to that, a town ordinance forbade fireworks or firecrackers on any public street or alley, except "...the night of July 3, when they may be fired on Cleveland Avenue from 5 o'clock p.m. until 12 o'clock midnight."

What did early Wellingtonians celebrate? Three years after the town's founding in 1905, the first Harvest Jubilee was held on Sept. 12 and 13, 1908. Attendance the first day was estimated at 3,000 people, boosted by an excursion train from Boulder with four packed coach cars. The Fort Collins band led a parade featuring horse riders, "the (William Howard) Taft goat driven by Georgie Miller and the (William Jennings) Bryan mule driven by William Waddle," which added a little contemporary presidential politics to the parade. This was followed by a concert and games, like a potato race and a sack race. The second day's spirit was dampened when the "sudden and tragic death" of an area farmer, O.W. Lee, was announced. Attendance still reached 1,500 souls. There were baseball games and pony races, as well as judges looking at displays of sugar beets, corn, beans and turnips and a multitude of other produce. These Harvest Jubilees continued thru 1912. The Wellington Commercial Club cancelled the festivities the next year.

The Wellington Fire Department held its own annual event in those early days as a way to raise funds. In February 1914, its annual Big Fireman's Doin' consisted of a supper and entertainment, costing $1 per ticket. More than 200 attended and danced until 2:30 a.m. The event cleared $86. In July, more than 100 Wellington citizens traveled by train to Fort Collins, at $1 per fare, for that city's Semi-Centennial Celebration of the founding of the military fort in 1864.

In the 1920s there was an attempt to bring back the idea of tying a celebration to the harvest season. This time it was called a Harvest Festival, complete with a parade of local organizations, fancy horses, decorated buggies, draft animals and a band. There was a carnival and a Saturday night dance to music by the Wellington Bandits.

By 1930, this event had evolved into the North Larimer County Fair. The agriculture theme still dominated, and "the town hall was filled to overflowing with the agricultural displays. Fort Collins, LaPorte, Waverly, Timnath and Buckeye districts all contributed to make the fair a success in this department." Times were tough as the nation slid into the Great Depression, and people were hard pressed to find reasons to celebrate. During the World War II years, there were patriotic parades in most towns.

In the 1950s, the Wellington Lions Club put on a black-faced minstrel show, and this was the annual community get-together. In June 1967, what would become one of Wellington's biggest festivities, the Well-O-Rama, came into being. Originally used to celebrate the completion of Highway 1 from Fort Collins through Wellington to U.S. Highway 87 (now Interstate 25), it became an annual celebration for the town. The name was chosen from entries submitted in a contest. Bill Hess, husband of Jeanene Eyestone Hess, came up with the catchy name. The event continued for ten years before falling by the wayside due to lack of interest. In 1986, there was another attempt to create a community celebration with an August Family Funfest. This eventually was combined with a Fourth of July celebration, now complete with a parade, a car show and a fireworks display. For the past several years, Wellington's Christmas Parade of Lights has been a very popular affair.

This September will bring what is planned to be Wellington's biggest party, the Wellington Centennial celebration, on Sept. 16, 17 and 18. There will be a Friday night street dance, a Saturday parade, ceremonies honoring long-time Wellington families, children's games, firefighters' contests, and fireworks to rival the popular July 4 displays.

The North Forty News will publish a Wellington Centennial Section in its September issue with a complete calendar of events and lots of local history.