Cheery crowds came out to Crawfordsville Fun Days

CRAWFORDSVILLE — Small town charm continues in Southeast Iowa as Crawfordsville hosted a fun day for the community Saturday.

The day started with a biscuits and gravy breakfast at the fire station, followed by a parade.

The parade was sponsored by the United Church of Crawfordsville and was led by Grand Marshals and lifetime church members Duane and Ann Lewis.

Lewis have been married for over 51 years, have three daughters, and six grandchildren.

Duane and Ann love their community and have always been involved.

They coached softball, basketball, and volunteered for a combined 50 years as 4-H leaders and volunteering at the county fair.

Duane worked at the Crawfordsville Vet Clinic and Louisa County Soil and Water Conservation while Ann worked for a law office in Washington for 29 years.

The colors and a church banner were presented by Pack 32 Cubscouts of Crawfordsville and Wayland.

While there were a number of firetrucks in the parade, Donald Barlett drove the Crawfordsville Fire Department’s new 2007 International 4900 pumper.

Another participant for the parade included Pierce Duvall.

Duvall was diagnosed with a very rare cancerous tumor in the liver at six months old.

He underwent five rounds of chemotherapy at the U of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital before going to Lurie Children’s Hospital in Chicago for a liver resection, and two additional rounds of chemo at the University of Iowa.

Duvall is now five years cancer free!

He and his family chose to ride in the parade because they wanted to thank the Crawfordsville community that supported them so well with their love, prayers and support.

Following the parade, families flocked to the street in front of the fire station for the firefighter water wars.

The spray of the fire hoses hitting the keg in the air sprayed and cooled down the closest onlookers, all while creating puddles for children to splash in.

After many single eliminations, Matt Meyer won the water fights overall.

Lunch was served at the fire station, food trucks lined up beside the United Church of Crawfordsville, pony rides, kiddie tractor pulls, and children enjoyed face painting.

Eaton Good Kettle Corn set up their new-this-season food truck beside Delovely’s Donuts and JJ’s Sips.

The weekend wrapped with a sweet family friendly scavenger hunt.

“We had beautiful weather and a great turnout to enjoy our small town Iowa these last two days!” Crawfordsville Community Club posted on social media following the event.

Comments: AnnaMarie.Ward@southeastiowaunion.com