Lars Scannell The fish burgers were what came most quickly to Lars’ mind. “They’re amazing,” he said. He said he also likes the jousting. “He likes all of it,” Lars’ dad, Tim, said. “It’s, like, made for him.”
In anticipation of Fisherman’s Picnic, several community members were asked to describe their favorite Fisherman’s Picnic memory or activity. Here are their answers:
Kieran Scannell Lars’ older brother, Kieran, said he looks forward to the five-mile trail run on Pincushion. He kept thinking about all the things his little brother liked, however, and said, “Lars likes the bingo tent. He’s there all the time.” Upon thinking of the bingo tent, Lars pointed out that he won a nice prize at midnight one year.
Brenna Hay “One of my favorite things to do is walk around and look at stuff with friends,” she said.
Neil Hansen Neil grew up in Lutsen and said he would come into town during Fisherman’s Picnic and spend the weekend at his cousin Jeff Mark’s house. Neil always looked forward to the carnival that would come to town, he said, and he always hoped he’d have 50 cents or so to spend downtown. He also enjoyed seeing people he wouldn’t ordinarily see during summer vacation.
Pat Zankman Pat’s favorite memory? “When my son Nathan came out and with his cousins won the hospital bedpan race called Silence is Golden.’ …It was one of those delightful races and I’m sorry they don’t still have it.” Theobject of the race was to see who could finish the race the fastest and with the most water in their bedpan.
Rod Wannebo Rod, who grew up in Grand Marais, said “I can’t think of anything except cold weather.” He remembers one year when the Picnic started out really hot and then got down to 40 degrees in a very short period of time. He said he also liked the parades. Now that he has retired, he enjoys playing in the Fisherman’s Picnic tennis tournament. “I get excited about that,” he said.
Donna Clothier Donna said she used to enjoy all the sidewalk sales during Fisherman’s Picnic. One of her favorite memories happened about 25 years ago just after she had returned from a long canoe trip. She was feeling pretty strong, and her brother-in-law convinced her to enter the canoe races with him. They got all the way out to the buoy when he yelled, “Come on now, give it all you’ve got!” All she’s got? She had already given it, she thought! She also remembered her husband and nephew crashing into another canoe and capsizing in another race.
Mike Carlson, Grand Marais Lions Club “My favorite Fisherman’s Picnic activity is thawing fish!” Mike said. He loves going to the freezer with his glasses fogging up “in near-blind conditions” and hauling across a slippery floor 50-pound boxes of fish packed in ice. Mike also really enjoys the Library Friends book sale. “The parade is always fun,” he added. “It stretches out much longer than you’d expect for a small town.”
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