Since 1930, the village of Suring has hosted celebrations on Labor Day weekend.
The festivities for the 95th annual event began Aug. 29 and continued through Sept. 1. Much of the fun was based out of Veterans Memorial Park, yet a brat fry, rummage and book sale took place within walking distance of the park.
A major highlight of the first day was the evening 4X4 truck pull, sanctioned by the Wisconsin Upper Michigan Pulling Association. Bleachers were filled with attendees who witnessed the eardrum shredding power.
“I’ve been going to these Labor Day events my whole life, and the truck pulls are my favorite,” said Wayne Heise, of Suring. “The noise from those trucks rattles every window in town.”
The 20th annual chili cook-off took place Aug. 30. Dozens of contestants cradled their 18-quart Nesco slow cookers into the Suring fire station during midmorning, and hoped for the best.
With the fire engines parked outside, hundreds of people toured the seemingly endless labyrinth of tables crowned with cups of chili.
College student Presley Hanson and her friend, Brooke Murray, flew up from Florida to serve chili.
“I fly up every year to help my grandma, Linda Hanson, with the chili competition,” Hanson said. “It’s s a family tradition, and, frankly, I think her chili is the best.”
All who sampled the chillis were encouraged to vote for their favorite.
“My son’s chili is pretty good, I think it’s the best one out of all of them I tried,” said Mike Zahn, of Chute Pond. “Some chili was very good, and while others were not so good.”
After the 235 votes were tallied in the afternoon, the results were, Dan McDermid, first place; Rachel Otradovec, second place; and Ryan Zahn, third place.
The chili cook-off was hosted by Baking on the 45th Parallel, a Suring community club dedicated to preserving local traditions.
“When the Suring Lioness Club disbanded years ago, members of the Suring community rallied together to continue hosting some of the annual events,” club leader Carol Andrews said. “Those events included the chili cook-off, Labor Day pie sale, Christmas cookie walk and the Easter-egg hunt.”
The unique name of the club is due to Suring’s place on the globe, halfway between the North Pole and the equator, right on the 45th parallel.
“Proceeds from the events are directed back into the Suring community,” Andrews said. “The club awards scholarships and gives to local projects each year.”
The antique and stock tractor pull Aug. 30 drew many local pullers to the track.
Nick Hoeft, of Gillett, recently got into tractor pulling after acquiring a 1948 Farmall M.
“I just picked this tractor up at an auction last year,” Hoeft said. “It doesn’t have a lot of power, but I still enjoy the time spent at the track.”
Dean Hansen, of Maple Valley, has been pulling tractors for decades. He pulled a Minneapolis-Moline M5, not his usual competition tractor.
“I left my real pulling-tractor, the Allis-Chalmers 180, at home,” Hansen said. “I just wanted to see how this little Moline would pull since I did some carburetor work to it.”
By evening, the soft put-put and purr of antique tractors morphed into the screaming whistles of turbochargers and the growl of engine blocks about to burst.
NEW Motorsports, a tractor and truck pulling club based in northeast Wisconsin, hosted a pull for its hot-farm tractor class competitors.
“The night pulls are definitely more exciting to watch than the day pulls,” Heise said. “I think the tractors which pull at night are even louder than the trucks.”
The scent of engine exhaust lingered into the afternoon on Aug. 31, as a demolition derby competition provided entertainment.
At nightfall, fireworks lit up Suring’s skyline. The blasts of thunder and showers of color continued for a solid hour, as the gazing crowd cheered.
The Sept. 1 parade was blessed with perfect weather. American flags danced with the light breeze as hundreds of onlookers lined Main Street, some of whom staked their claim early.
“When we drove through town this morning, it wasn’t even 7 o’clock and there were people sitting in chairs,” said Alan Dickson, of Suring.
Dickson and his wife, Gloria, have a long history with the celebrations.
“My wife and I have been going this parade for 70 years, and it seems that people start arriving earlier and earlier,” Dickson said.
As the morning sun beamed, grand marshals Jay and Katie Tousey lead the long line of parade floats to the American Legion Post where there was waiting chicken booyah and homemade pies.
