Submitted by Fred South, PAHS Archivist
Prophetstown Area Historical Society’s Fred South takes a look back at a beloved Prophetstown event, Kids Day. Beginning in 1930 Kids Day was a celebration featuring live music, dances, parades, food and of course rides, all catered to the children.
Enjoy numerous photos and fliers of Kids Days past in Remembering Kids Day.
6 Responses
My grandmother, Georgia Mathis, told my grandpa , Roscoe, that there should be a day just for kids. The birth of kids day.
Thanks Fred for your interesting news of years gone by. Yes I remember 2009 I was on that committee .
Keep up good work,
Loved these!! Thanks!
Mary Wolf
Kid’s Day: What happy memories of my grandmother making costumes for my brother and me so we could be in the parade. And then, the magical day was there when we could walk down to the center of town and get a fistful of free tickets to ride the kiddie rides. Our thumbs were painted to show that we had picked up our free tickets. Then, my brother and I would go to each store to pick up free goodies the merchats were giving out. It didn’t matter what they gave us. It was just the thrill of the “getting.” Finally, from the age of 5, being in the parade every year and riding the rides (especially the merry-go-round and the ponies) topped of the day.Kids’ Day was a wonderful part of my growing up in Prophetstown.
You just said it all, for us old Kids Day kids back then, good job! I loved the smell of the popcorn and caramel corn, hot dogs, the sound of the generators running the rides. The Ferris wheel was my favorite, and I remember 1959, with the Centennial going on. Someone took a picture from the top of the wheel and my sister and I were in the seat just below and it got into the Ptown Sesquicentennial pictures and I swear I remember that exact moment and hoping that I would live to be almost 100 and get to do it again. Thanks for sharing your memories.
Thanks Mary for sharing your memories.
I still have pictures of my parents, my brother, and me all dressed up in our special Sesquicentennial clothing.
Another highlight of Kids’ Day was the freshly made cotton candy. You don’t see that anymore. It comes prepackaged now. Prophetstown sure could “put it on” – Kids’ Day, 4th of July fireworks, and Saturday night drawings downtown – are just a few of the ones I remember.