Fort Dodge to celebrate Juneteenth

Event set for Saturday at H.C. Meriwether Park

A major American historical event and a much more local development will be marked Saturday during a Juneteenth celebration.

That major historical event is Juneteenth itself.

Juneteenth is a national holiday commemorating June 19, 1865, which is the day that Union troops entered Galveston, Texas, and declared that all the slaves in that state were at last free. That date is often considered the final end of slavery in the United States, although it took a constitutional amendment ratified later that year to truly eliminate it.

"It's a very important day in history for everyone," said Sherry Washington, the president of the Pleasant Valley Awareness Committee, which organized the upcoming celebration.

"Everyone is just very united when it comes to Juneteenth," she added.

The local development is the complete reconstruction of the basketball courts in H.C. Meriwether Park in Pleasant Valley.

The celebration will begin at 11 a.m. Saturday in that park on 10th Avenue Southwest.

First on the agenda is a ribbon cutting ceremony conducted by the Ambassadors of the Greater Fort Dodge Growth Alliance, which will mark the completion of the basketball courts.

The old basketball courts in the park were essentially ripped out and replaced in a $442,000 job completed last summer. Nels Pederson Co. Inc., of Badger, was the general contractor.

Following the ribbon cutting, these courts will be put to use during a basketball tournament.

There will also be a car show at the park. Throughout the day, there will be vendors and food at the park as well.

Washington said a sign listing the members of the Pleasant Valley Awareness Committee will be mounted on the fence that surrounds the courts.

The past and present committee members are Dessie Amerison, Lori Branderhorst, former Councilman Neven Conrad, Councilwoman Jen Crimmins, Perry Bender, Helen Gully, Jameel Hameed, former Webster County Supervisor Merrill Leffler, state Rep. Ann Meyer, former Councilman Terry Moehnke, Jessica Moffitt, Charles Mosley, Greg Naylor, Brent Nelson, Councilman Cameron Nelson, Roger Porter, Murphy Washington, Sherry Washington, Nate Naylor, Brandon Presswood and Vickie Zimmer.

IF YOU GO

What: Juneteenth Celebration

When: 11 a.m. Saturday

Where: H.C. Meriwether Park, 10th Avenue Southwest