CYLINDER - After nearly two years of planning, the Cylinder quasquicentennial kicked off in a big way in the tiny Palo Alto County community this weekend.
With about 100 residents today, the town's population quickly multiplied Saturday morning as people came by the hundreds to take in the festivities and catch a glimpse of some Cylinder history around town.
Several families with Cylinder ties came for the celebration, with each group wearing personalized T-shirts bearing their family name for the parade.
"A lot of families and kids who were born and raised around here have come back," said Deb Weisbrod, a member of the quasquicentennial committee. "There have been lots of school and family get-togethers."
In the former Cylinder United Methodist Church, which has been converted into a museum depicting the town's history since the church closed in 1995, several natives of the community came to look through 125 years of artifacts on display and to read up on the many stories of how the town got its unique name.
"We're the only Cylinder in the United States, or in the world, probably," said Jan Endicott, president of the Cylinder Heritage Center. "There are a lot of articles out there on how the town got its name. One says a threshing machine came through and lost a cylinder in the creek where it stayed for years, so they named the creek Cylinder Creek and the railroad came through and named the town after the creek. There are different stories from different times, but it all boils down to the cylinder in a creek."
Harlan Wherspann, of Emmetsburg, grew up around Cylinder and graduated from the Cylinder Consolidated School, which has been closed for about 35 years. The building was most recently used as an office for the Prairie Lakes AEA.
"It's been 60 years since I graduated in 1950," he said. "The town's changed a little since then. I grew up on a farm that I still have. It's been kind of fun to come back and look around. I'm hoping I can look through the school, I'd really like to see that."
Lowell and Shirley Campe, of Emmetsburg, and their family were well represented at the celebration Saturday. Sporting lime green T-shirts with "Campe Crew" printed on them, the family was one of several in the parade.
"We have four generations with us today," Lowell Campe said. "We're in Emmetsburg now, but lived in Cylinder for quite a few years, and our kids went to school here. We've been in the area 47 years."
Gerald Barth, of Forest City, took some time to stop by the Cylinder Town Hall to chat with some Cylinder School alumni and to look at the class pictures and sports trophies on display. Barth taught high school agriculture and science in Cylinder for four years.
"I've seen quite a few former students that have come back today," he said. "I taught from 1956 to 1960, it was my first teaching job, and they all still recognized me. I had quite a few of them in classes or study hall."
Barth said he remembers Fourth of July baseball tournaments and the girls' basketball team that qualified for the state tournament most about the community.
"I'd say Cylinder was most known for its baseball tournament," he said. "All the little towns around here had a team and about 20 teams would come to town and play on the Fourth of July. That was a big thing for this little town."
Besides the many historical displays and reunions taking place, the celebration also included a parade, dinner, carnival, musical entertainment and fireworks.
Weisbrod said a celebration of such magnitude wouldn't not have been possible without the help of the entire community.
"It's been awesome," she said. "It's taken one heck of a community effort to get this done and it has been fun to plan. We're definitely seeing a lot of community spirit here today. If you've ever been from Cylinder at all in your life, you will always be from Cylinder."
Contact Emilie Nelson at (515) 573-2141 or enelson@messengernews.net
