Laddonia plans for birthday blowout

By: Dave Faries, Editor
Posted 2/28/21

Melissa Deimeke has an old suitcase that is helping out as she and others plan Laddonia’s Sesquicentennial celebration.

The case was handed down from a relative, Jack Folta. Inside are notes and …

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Laddonia plans for birthday blowout

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Melissa Deimeke has an old suitcase that is helping out as she and others plan Laddonia’s Sesquicentennial celebration.

The case was handed down from a relative, Jack Folta. Inside are notes and information used by those planning the community’s Centennial celebration 50 years ago – the beard contest, the queen contest and other events that framed the event in 1971.

“I had family on that planning board, too,” Deimeke said with a laugh.

So there will be a beard contest. And a queen contest. And games gleaned from a 1928 list of student activities from the old school. The list also a family heirloom, collected along with local history books by Deimeke’s grandmother, Janice Erdel.

Laddonia’s Sesquicentennial will take place in tandem with the city’s annual Fourth of July event, which features what many call the region’s best fireworks display. Saturday, July 3, will play host to many of the activities related to the 150th celebration. But Sesquicentennial fun will continue into July 4.

In fact, the t-shirt commemorating the event features the 150th on the front and Independence Day on the back.

“They are kind of mixed together,” Deimeke said.

There are some unique features in the works to highlight the city’s founding, such as a special post office cancel stamp. And calls are out to old time baseball teams around the state. But she is hesitant to share more.

“We’re in the early planning stage,” Deimeke pointed out.

Planning is the work of the Laddonia Missouri Athletic Association board and dozens of volunteers who move everything from street banners to horseshoe toss from talk to reality. It began in earnest two years ago, when Deimeke began collecting old photographs of Laddonia.

The board is sending out fundraising letters, taking part in events in order to raise money and trying to move the puzzle pieces that games, vendors and displays are at this point in the process.

On March 6, the first of these fundraising events takes place, a bingo night with a raffle, door prizes and vendors. The event takes place in the Farber Community Building, with games starting at 6 p.m.

One twist in the works is a more extensive fireworks display for the Fourth of July event. And the board usually spends over $10,000 on that one feature.

Deimeke doesn’t yet know how crowded the Sesquicentennial will be. But, she added, “the Fourth has gotten pretty big.”


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