HomeNewsLocal News STATE OF THE CITY 2000 (Leisure & Tourism): Local folks, visitors find a lot to do in 1999
STATE OF THE CITY 2000 (Leisure & Tourism): Local folks, visitors find a lot to do in 1999
Written by by Lindsay Nusz
Wednesday, 26 January 2000
Between a local recreation program, camping and fishing at a nearby reservoir, and a handful of festivals
Between a local recreation program, camping and fishing at a nearby reservoir, and a handful of festivals and special events, area residents had a lot of options in which to invest their leisure time in 1999.
Hillsboro Rec Commission
From adult racquetball leagues to after-school activities for the children, the Hillsboro Recreation Commission offered a variety of recreational options this past year.
Lonnie Isaac, HRC director since September 1998, said one of the biggest accomplishments of the year was upgrading Memorial Field for use by the new Hillsboro High School baseball program in spring and area tournaments in summer.
More than 200 tons of infield material was applied to the field, dugouts were upgraded, and a new portable fence was installed. In addition, batting cages were added at both Memorial Field and at the Hillsboro Sports Complex.
Isaac said the improvements strengthened Hillsboro’s ability to attract summer tournaments.
“More improvements are needed, but they can’t be done until we know if we have the location permanently,” Isaac said. The Adobe House historical complex may use the property to expand its options in the near future.
“Our after-school events are big,” Isaac said about the HRC program. “We our trying a lot of different activities.”
After-school activities provide children with a place to go and things to do from 3:30 to 5 p.m. while their parents are still at work.
“Right now we are trying to get a variety of activities,” he said. “At this current time we are only having activities on Tuesdays.”
A free dance class was started in January and an arts and crafts class may follow in February.
“In March and April we are thinking of an outside activity such as a track club,” Isaac said.
New activities that will be introduced to participants will be a fishing derby, kite-flying contest, one-day field trips and a youth soccer program in spring.
He also sees a need for more non-sport activities for both adults and youth.
“This is an area in which I hope to see continued growth,” Isaac said. “If there are people in town who have a skill they would like to teach or see taught, give the rec department a call and will see what we can do.”
Marion Reservoir
Camping and water-based activities continued to be popular at Marion Reservoir. Fishing continues year round, but camping is more prevalent in the warmer months.
“Wind surfing is dying down, and personal water craft is becoming very popular,” said park ranger Terry Holt. PWCs are one- to three-man water crafts known.
“Typically every weekend we are full,” Holt said.
Visitation remained steady in 1999. The previous year, visitation was calculated at 319,100. The number for 1999 was computed at 367,000.
Improvements were made in 1999 to Cottonwood Point, a popular camping area. Water and 50-amp electrical hookups were added. Cottonwood Point is one of the busiest sites in the entire Tulsa District of the Corps of Engineers, Holt said.
The Tulsa District includes lakes in Kansas, Texas and Oklahoma.
Additional progress consisted of special camp sites that are available to people with handicaps. The addition of two new day-use shelters has been another accomplishment.
“We are consistently striving to improve our facilities and meet the needs of our visitors,” Holt said.
Hillsboro Golf Association
Membership to the Hillsboro Golf Association continued to increase this year, as it did last year, and is expected to do the same in 2000, according to Carl Long, HGA president.
“We have sold about 20 or 30 memberships since last year,” said Long.
The local golf course continued to draw many people from Wichita, Newton and other surrounding cities. Long said the course is popular not only for its location in a small town, but also the cost and overall atmosphere.
“Every weekend seems to be busy at the course,” Long said, “holiday weekends especially, and part of that is due to good weather. We hold a tournament every month and our turnouts have been good.”
The HGA is discussing the possibility of building a new equipment shed at the course.
“Other plans are just to keep things in good condition,” Long said. “We don’t have any significant plans for the upcoming year at this time.”
Arts & Crafts Fair
As in previous years, half the vendors at the 1999 Arts & Crafts Fair, held Sept. 18, were from Kansas, and the majority of the others came from either Oklahoma or Missouri. A total of 386 vendors took part, plus 27 food concessions.
“It’s very interesting that we are getting more vendors from the north,” said Aldina Franz, fair director. “We had vendors from Minnesota, Louisiana, North Dakota, Kentucky and even Tennessee.
“We had a light rain, but it didn’t seem to hamper sales,” she added. “Many vendors even commented that they would prefer the rain over wind any day.”
Some estimated that as many as 40,000 people walked the rainy streets that Saturday. But Franz isn’t so sure.
“I think 40,000 is a pretty heavy number,” she said. “I think it was closer to 30,000 due to the weather.”
Updating the mailing list is already under way for the 2000 fair.
“We are always working on the fair,” Franz said. “By March we will be sending out applications to the vendors.”
Historical sites
Travelers from afar made it to Hillsboro this year to see some of the historical sites the town has to offer.
“The majority of visitors are in-state,” said David Wiebe, curator of the Adobe House complex. “But the others aren’t just travelers passing through. They are people who want to explore there heritage, who make an effort to visit our historical sites.”
Wiebe said attendance at the complex was up slightly. “Tour groups, an identified number of people, was up in 1999,” he said. “We had an estimated 45 groups compared to 40 groups in 1998.”
Sales in the gift shop were also up this year by almost one-third from a year ago.
“We had a super experience with family reunions,” he said. “It’s great when you sell the book written by an author related to the family who is visiting.” Such was the case at the Martin Jost family reunion.
Completion of the Friesen Mill endowment fund was another highlight for 1999.
“The process began in 1992 and has continued into 1999,” Wiebe said. “It has taken a lot longer than expected. All bills are payed and a $15,000 endowment can be used for any repairs, or for anything else to do with the mill.”
Prospects for 2000 look bright. “We are looking forward to a good year,” said Peggy Goertzen, chair of the Hillsboro Historical Society and Museum Board.
“We will continue to develop the Werderhaus plan, as well as restoration of the Bartel stone house (located north of Hillsboro),” Goertzen said.
The Werderhaus would be a reproduction of the type of house/ barns that were common to Mennonites living in Poland.
Hillsboro Folk Festival
Nearly 1000 people attended this year’s Hillsboro Folk Festival on Memorial Day weekend.
A new feature was a flea market for antiques and collectibles. Planners expect the feature to grow following a good response in its initial year.
“Some will donate items and we will get all the profits, while others will vend on their own,” Goertzen said.
As always, the Folk Festival allowed visitors to witness crafts and chores from the pioneer days. Carving wood, spinning wool, baking bread in a brick oven, shelling corn and churning butter were among the activities.
“Children even had the opportunity to milk a cow,” Goertzen said.
This year’s festival is planned for May 27. As part of that weekend an all-class Hillsboro High School reunion is being planned.
“I would signify the reunion as one of the featured events,” Goertzen said. “There should be lots of people in town. It will be a grand time.”
CVB activities
A new promotional brochure for the City of Hillsboro was one of the projects the Hillsboro Convention & Visitors Bureau (CVB) undertook to increase tourism.
“We quickly used up 10,000 copies of the brochure in its first run.” said Don Ratzlaff, outgoing board chair. “It was well-received. We made some changes and are currently in the process of reprinting it.”
To help pay for this and other projects, the board raised money by selling boxed lunches and tulip bulbs.
The board is organizing the all-class reunion set for spring.
“Hillsboro had an all-class reunion during its centennial celebration years ago and it was a very popular event,” Ratzlaff said. “We hope to repeat that success in 2000, and then see if there’s interest in continuing on a regular interval.”
Marion County Fair
An estimated 6,000 to 8,000 people attended the four-day Marion County Fair in August. The commercial exhibits were filled to capacity with 44 indoor and 10 to 15 outdoor exhibitors.
A magician and Streetside, a “do-wop” musical group, were featured free entertainment.
“Streetside was well attended,” said Vida Bartel, who coordinated the 1999 fair. “They were definitely a hit. Many people have asked to see them on the schedule again next year.”
The rodeo attendance was up, and the demolition derby maintained its popularity as the fair’s finale on Saturday night.
“A new contractor helped us gain a new audience for the rodeo,” Bartel said. “New events such as a muttin-bustin’ event and a wild cow riding event brought in local participants. We will have the same contractor next year.”
A highlight for 2000 will be the Dean Shorts puppet show Wednesday and Thursday nights. On Wednesday night, country singer Lorena Prater will bring her talents to the stage.
Bartel, who was elected fair board chair for the coming year, is also expecting a new carnival.
“Lewellen is a family owned business out of Andover,” she said. “They will bring with them new rides, concessions and games.”
