Publisher’s Perspective

Chad Koenen

The call of the loon and opportunity to see wiener dogs racing on the baseball field was too much to pass up the other weekend in Vergas. Each of the past two years our family vacation happened to land on the same weekend as Looney Days, which I can only attribute to bad luck and a crazy summer schedule of events/activities.

So earlier this year when I found out we would be around for Looney Days I made sure to keep the weekend open on our schedule.

After having to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and to a certain extent in 2021 as well, it appeared as though Looney Days was back in full force two weekends ago. The crowds of people walking from downtown to Loon Park was amazing to see throughout the weekend. 

The countless events that were taking place from Friday until when the parade ended on Sunday was truly remarkable. One of the best parts of Vergas are the number of walking paths and accessibility for pedestrians. You don’t always think about how nice it is to be able to walk from downtown Vergas to Loon Park and beyond, but to see the droves of people walking throughout the weekend shows you how important it is to have walking paths available for pedestrians (even fat guys like me appreciate having the ability to not have to walk on the road).

Of course the events don’t happen without the hard work of the members of the Vergas Community Club, many of whom were in Vergas from sun up to sun down throughout the weekend. They were there to work at the various events in order to make sure other people can enjoy themselves at an event like the loon calling contest. The same can be said for the Turkey Days celebration in Frazee where many of the same volunteers are responsible for essentially putting on the entire festival from start to finish. 

My youngest daughter Korie was even able to partake in the parade this year as she was a member of the Henning Festival royalty float. Following the parade, while we sipped on a shake near Vergas Hardware Store, she said she had a lot of fun in the parade as it was a longer parade route and there were so many people who were in attendance. A few of the other parents whose children were on the float made similar comments about all of the businesses and people coming together in the community for the celebration. 

In a town the size of Vergas it has always struck me on how many businesses are in the community, which of course continues to grow thanks to the new Altona Square in downtown Vergas. The new grocery store, bakery and 24 hour fitness center will be an amazing  addition to the community.

While I was able to attend Looney Days this year we were out of town during Turkey Days. From what I heard the crowds were quite large at a number of the events and the parade was once again a highlight of the celebration. 

Summer is just about over, but it is nice to be back to normal after two years of dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. Thank you to all of the volunteers who have helped to make sure our summer festivities in Frazee, Vergas and Wolf Lake a reality. Many of them give up their time so that other people can enjoy themselves during the celebrations. Without their help these celebrations will no longer be able to be held.

Palace Cafe

Count me in as one of the people who were excited to hear the Palace Cafe will not close its doors for good. The past few months have been filled with uncertainty over whether a new person could be located to operate Frazee’s only restaurant. 

We already had a limited number of dining options so to lose a place that is so important to the downtown Frazee area would have been a real challenge. 

We wish the new operators of the restaurant good luck and hope the community supports their effort.