Palmer Day has come and gone but the joy and camaraderie from the event still lingers as organizers assess and start planning for next year.

On what was a glorious day, weather-wise, the annual Palmer Twp. Saturday celebration kicked off with  a 9 a.m. 5k Walk/Run. At noon there was the ever-popular parade followed by kid’s games from 1-3 p.m., cozy couple races from 2-2:30 p.m., bingo from 2-4 p.m., a horseshoe tournament from 2-3 p.m., a bean bag tournament at 2 p.m. and hammerschlagen starting at 6:30 p.m.

The event also featured a car show, food booths, a beer garden, live music and several bouncy houses for the youngsters.

The parade spotlighted  69 parade entries with float winners being Briggs lake General Store (first place); B & J Evergreen (second place) and Briggs Lake Nursery (third place).

Carol and George Frey were the honorary Grand Marshals for this year’s event.

Patriotism 

Abounds

Back in 2012, Mark S Rinehart and his family moved to the Palmer area and they started attending the Palmer Day events and parade.

In those first years, Mark noticed how Patriotic the parade was and wanted to be a part of it.

In 2015, Mark had his two grandsons and their mothers run up and down the parade route passing out about 200 USA 6” stick flags to other kids and Veterans waiting for the parade to start.

This idea grew more and more each year where Mark was adding 100 or more flags each Palmer Day.

This year, 2024 is the Rinehart family’s 12th year. Five years ago, they started to enter their Patriotic Hay Wagon into the parade and have had several family members and friends walking along handing out USA flags

This year, the Rineharts handed out 2,000 free 6” USA stick flags.  In addition, they also handed out 2,000 free Pledge of Allegiance, 3” x 3” cards.  

“We think this gentle reminder will help Americans in our communities love America again and appreciate those who have sacrificed so much to allow us to be free including my Uncle Earl Tuck Rinehart, who gave his life during WWII in the Pacific Theater,” said Mark.

Mark and his wife, Karen both come from military families. 

“We love America, and we love all of our Veterans, Police, Fire, and EMT’s,” he said.