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Front Page Sunday: MCP, Sept. 18, 1941: Welcome to Harvest Home Fesitval
Front Page Sunday is presented by the Mason County Historical Society in partnership with Mason County Press. During this series we will bring to you select front pages of the Mason County Press when it was a weekly newspaper, from 1938 to 1976 and then 1986-1987.
By Rob Alway, Editor-in-Chief
The Thursday, Sept. 18, 1941 edition of the Mason County Press pays tribute to the 10th annual Harvest Home Festival which was scheduled to begin that day through Saturday, Sept. 20, 1941. I have found newspapers referencing a “harvest festival” in Scottville prior to 1931, but I believe that it’s likely the festival was formally named the Harvest Home Festival beginning in 1931. The first reference I can find to a celebration or carnival in Scottville dates back to 1910 when an ox roast was held to celebrate the paving of some of the town’s streets.
The 1941 Harvest Home Festival would be the last festival held until September 1947. Less than three months after the festival, Japan bombed Pearl Harbor and the United States entered World War II.
As you can see, the name has evolved over the years, just like now it is called the Fall Festival. And, yes, we know that many people miss the old Harvest Festival, as do I. The committee that now runs the Fall Festival is always looking for volunteers who can make it bigger and better. Contact City Manager Jimmy Newkirk about plans for next year’s celebration if you’d like to bring back the old days.
My apologies that some of these pages are difficult to read. This particular copy of the edition, which someone generously gave to me, is slightly faded.
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