Photo by Linda King
The Hesper-Mabel Steam Engine Days celebration, scheduled for September 10-13, will bring community history to life through displays, demonstrations, parades, food, and longstanding local traditions.
Mabel Historical Preservation, a committee of the Hesper-Mabel Historical Society, continues to help residents and visitors connect with Mabel’s history.
The Larson Hardware Store, a Mabel icon, will feature three window displays during the celebration. Two windows will showcase Rodney Tollefsrud’s Farmall collection, reflecting this year’s featured tractor, while the third will highlight owner Joe Larson’s collection.
Mabel Historical Preservation also helped bring back the town’s 1890 jail cell several years ago. The restored piece of local history now makes its annual appearance in the town’s two parades.
Another featured piece of local history will be the projector from Mabel’s former theatre, which festivalgoers will be able to view this year.
A Mabel Grenadiers display will be set up in the Vatland Building across from the Mabel Community Center. Visitors can also stop by the group’s booth in the vendor building on the festival grounds to watch colored slides from Steam Engine Days in the early 1960s.
At the Mabel Historical Preservation booth, the group will offer grab bags of commemorative buttons for $3 each. Each bag includes five randomly selected buttons from seven decades, including the 1960s through the 2020s, giving visitors a chance to build their collections and trade with friends.
The imposing steam engines can be seen throughout the weekend at work on the grounds plowing, threshing sawing logs, crushing rocks, corn shelling and more. They will also be in both parades.
The antique tractor pull on Sunday morning will offer visitors another opportunity to experience the area’s rich agricultural history.
Softball has a long history in the Hesper and Mabel area, and that tradition continues each year with the slow pitch softball tournament during Steam Engine Days.
The tournament will take place on the Loren Hawks softball diamond at the Steam Engine Grounds.
Hawks is remembered as a local softball figure in both Hesper and Mabel, and his name remains closely tied to the sport in the region. Mention his name, and many residents can recall stories about the team he managed over the years.
After exploring town, watching the parade, and walking the Steam Engine Days grounds, visitors will have several opportunities to enjoy a meal. The Hesper Lutheran Church food stand, which traces its roots to the first Steam Engine Days celebration in Hesper, will serve breakfast from 7:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
Make sure to purchase a raffle ticket from local businesses for the 1954 Farmall Super M-TA tractor, and if you are lucky, you might be able to take a piece of history home or some cash. The drawing is Sunday, September 13.
September Events
• September 10-13, Hesper-Mabel Steam Engine Days, Mabel, Minnesota
• September 18-20, Applefest, La Crescent, Minnesota
• September 19, Fall for Harmony, Harmony, Minnesota
Do not forget to pick up your free copy of Visit Bluff Country at one of more than 1,000 locations across 35 counties in Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. Visit Bluff Country magazine is dedicated to promoting tourism throughout scenic Bluff Country.
For festival updates, travel ideas, and recommendations on where to eat, play, and sleep, visit us online at www.visitbluffcountry.com.
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