HARCOURT - As you drive into Harcourt, you have to make a couple of turns before you get to the two blocks of Ash Street that make up the business district.
There you will find the Red Hen Diner, right next to the post office and down the street from that, Engquist Lumber.
If you look carefully as you continue, you might see a man who looks a lot like Norman Rockwell working behind an easel.
On an ordinary Saturday, the street would be pretty quiet but this wasn't an ordinary day.
It was the annual Harcourt Appreciation Day and residents and visitors turned out to attend the garage sales, watch the parade, stroll the car show and then head to the city park for some fun, games and water balloon tossing.
Jim Heggen lives across the street from the park. He's been running the water balloon toss for several decades. Getting ready means gathering a dozen volunteers and about 500 balloons then filling them the night before. They end up waiting for their flight in a rubber swimming pool full of water in the back of his truck.
"We make sure we get the grenade water balloons," he said.
The launcher looks like a giant slingshot. The distance launched depends on the age and agility of the person doing the catching.
"I try not to hit innocent victims," he said.
While catching a water balloon might not seem that difficult, most years he only ends up handing out a few prizes for success.
"We give them a candy bar if they catch it," he said. "We usually don't give more than five away."
Inflation hasn't caught up with the game. It was 25 cents for three balloons when he began running it and it's still the same price.
Nathan Godfrey, 10, of Harcourt was one of the first to offer up a quarter to try his luck. After 50 cents worth of balloons, he had pretty much set the bar for others to exceed, catching three out of six. He had a little trouble explaining his exact technique, but he hinted that using your forearms was a critical part of the process.
Scott Engquist is another long-time volunteer. He was helping run the ring toss. He joked he's had the job forever.
"This is not a job you get rid of," he said.
Engquist had enjoyed watching the parade, but took a pass on the garage sale. He had to work.
Kallen Anderson lives just outside of Harcourt. She was helping run the duck pond game with a number of her fellow Lost Grove Leaders 4-H Club members.
She had taken the morning to hit some of the garage sales, but hadn't made any purchases.
"I'm kind of picky," she said.
She had to miss the parade.
"I had to go back home and walk beans," she said.
Donna Brundage is the mayor of Harcourt. Her home faces the parade route and several of the cars on display at the car show were parked on her lawn.
"It doesn't bother me a bit," she said. "I love to look at the cars."
One of them even brought back some memories for her.
"I had a boyfriend that drove that," she said, pointing to a turquoise 1954 Chevy convertible.
Contact Hans Madsen at (515) 573-2141 or hmadsen@messengernews.net
