About Cedar Lake        Events         News         Links         Contact         Home

Events

COME AND HAVE SOME GOOD OLD-FASHIONED FUN AT OUR FOURTH OF JULY CELEBRATION!
For one day every year the sleepy little town of Mikana wakes up and shows its stuff. On the day of “The Biggest Little Parade in the World”, approximately two to three thousand people come to enjoy a day of down home excitement.

We have street vendors, games for young and old, music, and the PARADE.

To top it off, the following night magnificent fireworks are exploded over Red Cedar Lake from Tagalong golf course. Just the sight of hundreds of boats with their running lights glistening in the evening, as folks gather to watch on the lake, is beautiful.

The fireworks are sponsored by the Mikana Parade Committee, area businesses and private donations.
 

2010 - OUR 31ST PARADE!!!
THE MIKANA/CEDAR LAKE TOWNSHIP PARADE COMMITTEE
PRESENTS
"THE BIGGEST LITTLE PARADE IN THE WORLD"
SATURDAY, JULY 3, 2010
EVENTS OF THE DAY
FOOD AND FUN STARTS AT 11:00 AM
EVENTS SPONSORED BY THE PARADE COMMITTEE
BEFORE AND AFTER THE PARADE:

CHILDREN'S GAMES: FREE MOON WALK & MINI-TRAIN RIDES

THE RAFFLE DRAWING WILL BEGIN IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE PARADE.
TICKETS FOR THE RAFFLE WILL BE ON SALE UP TO THE TIME OF THE RAFFLE. LOOK FOR TICKET TABLES AND ROAMING TICKET SELLERS TO PURCHASE YOURS!

2:00 PM: THE PARADE BEGINS!!

PLAQUES & CASH PRIZES WILL BE AWARDED FOR FLOATS IN THE FOLLOWING CATEGORIES:
1. MOST PATRIOTIC, 2. MOST CREATIVE, 3. MOST HUMOROUS

2010 GRAND MARSHALLS & ROYALTY
GRAND MARSHALS: HAZEL EVERTSEN & HER SON IRWIN

MIKANA’S QUEEN: TONJA RAE HOLT
ATTENDANT:  ABBIGAIL HOLT
LITTLE MISS MIKANA: EMMA LEAMY
ATTENDANT: ANNA LEAMY

THE FIREWORKS WILL BE HELD ON SUNDAY, JULY 4, AT TAGALONG GOLF & RESORT.  THEY WILL BE FEATURING FOOD & DRINKS SPECIALS, ALONG WITH ENTERTAINMENT.  THE FIREWORKS WILL BE HELD AT DUSK, APPROXIMATELY 9:30 PM.

 

A "LITTLE PARADE" INFORMATION
"THE BIGGEST LITTLE PARADE IN THE WORLD" was started on July 4th, 1980. In April of 1980, The United States Hockey team defeated the Russian team in the Olympics and a small group of people, fired with patriotic pride, got together and marched through town waving flags.

That summer was the year of gas shortages and people were requested not to travel on the Fourth of July. The idea was to have a parade and Fourth of July celebration right in Mikana. Local businesses were consulted and the enthusiasm spread. Jeanne Wolff came up with the name of the parade, saying, "If we are going to have a parade, let's have the biggest little parade in the world." She worked very hard on publicity, (even trying to get into the Guinness Book Of World Records).

In the next few years, Elsie Bartels invested her own money to have parade buttons made, and the rest of the group agonized over whether they could sell enough buttons to return her investment. They did. Now the buttons are a guaranteed seller. Many people have button collections that go all the way back to the beginning of the parade. There is now a collection of all the parade buttons displayed in the Cedar Lake Town Hall, created and donated by Howard and Emily Helfert.

Some of the highlights of the parade have been: Jeanne Wolff dressed as the Statue of Liberty, the Lombardo family as swamp monsters, and Bob Quillen's outhouse. Joyce Jarzyna has been our Drum Majorette every year of the parade, leading "Joyce's Jewels" a group of local ladies singing patriotic songs. Our youngest participant was Tom Plahn, pulled in a wagon dressed as a clown, and our oldest is George Dana of Sarona, who came for many years impressively dressed as Uncle Sam: looking as if he just stepped off a recruiting poster! We have also had Minutemen, a Chinese Dragon from Long Lake, and Cathy Hatfield as Lady Godiva. Yes, she was clothed!

We have had many fine people as our Grand Marshals, some life-long residents, who have been justly honored for their many contributions to our Township.

MIKANA QUEEN, LITTLE MISS, AND ATTENDANTS

Our Mikana Queen, Little Miss Mikana, and their attendants are another important part of the parade. We are very proud of our democratic way of choosing these young ladies: the names of the girls living in Cedar Lake Township are placed in a hat and drawn. The Queen and attendant must be age 13 to 16, and the Little Miss and her attendant must be age 5 to 9, by the Fourth of July. The first name picked in each category is asked to become Queen or Little Miss. The next name drawn is asked to be an attendant.

The Mikana Queen, Little Miss Mikana, and their attendants are installed in a ceremony on the Saturday preceding the parade. After the Coronation, there is punch and treats supplied by volunteers.

As the parade grew and the committee started to actually make money, it was decided that the money not needed for the support of the parade should be used to benefit the Township of Cedar Lake. Some of the things done with the money include wiring the Town Hall for a sound system, street banners with a goose logo proclaiming "Mikana: Headwaters of Red Cedar River", and a historical marker in the park near the dam, explaining the history of Mikana. Christmas street decorations were purchased in conjunction with Barb's General Store and monies were also used to refurbish the Mikana float, which was re-done a few years ago in a very patriotic theme: red, white, and blue, with American flags.

We have purchased tactical defense equipment (official wording for flack jacket) for Officer Pete Weatherhead (approximately $1,500), donated $500 to the Birchwood Community Education Project for their library program, bought new sound equipment for the day of the parade, and "Welcome to Mikana" signs which are erected at either end of town.

The Parade Committee also spent its monies on new comfortable chairs for the Town Board members, paid for half the cost of new vertical blinds for the Cedar Lake Town Hall, and donates $1,000.00 every year to the fireworks. Money was also spent to re-decorate the "Home Town Spirit" float.  In 2009, we purchased a $5,000 Stryker cot for the Birchwood Ambulance EMT's.

If you wish to enter a float, please contact Norma Jean Jankowski, 219-669-1815 Parade Line-Up Chairperson, at
(715)-234-0022.

For Publicity Information, please contact Sara Wojciehowski at 234-9258.

 


Police: On November 13, 2006 Ben Kornbroke began reporting to Pete Weatherhead as the Police Chief for the Village of Birchwood. Pete will be the Officer in Command and have primary responsibility for the Town of Cedar Lake and secondary responsibility for the Village of Birchwood, Town of Edgewater, Town of Birchwood and the Town of Wilson, while Ben will have primary responsibility for the Village of Birchwood and secondary responsibility for the other four Towns. As growth continues and criminal activity expands, the demands on Pete’s time have far exceeded his available time. Because of our location in the northeast corner of Barron County and the other Towns also being in the remote corners of their Counties, Pete’s coverage is critical. His ability to work the area and solve crimes has been not only a benefit to us, but to each of the four counties he covers. Pete had a 93% clearance of cases this year which is outstanding. As a result of the addition of a second full time officer and equipment, our share of Police Protection has gone up to $ 90,700 from $ 33,000.


Town Shop: We celebrated the grand opening for the Town Shop in September 2006 with over 100 residents in attendance. It is state of the art and built to handle the Town’s needs for many years to come. We are working with Barron County to have them keep up to three County trucks in the shop during the winter season. This will allow those plowing to get to their trucks more quickly, get the roads plowed more quickly, and to save fuel.

We have already agreed to rent a space to the County for one truck in the shop for $2,500 for the season. Our timing on the shop could not have been better. Brill State Bank gave us the best finance option at $400,000 @ 3.75% for 10 years fixed.


Levy Limits: You may or not be aware that while Madison has not imposed spending limits on the State they have in fact imposed limits on Counties, Cities, Villages and Towns. Wisconsin State Statute Sec. 66.0602 provides that Towns may not increase the local tax levy for 2006 (to be collected in 2007) by more than the greater of 2% or the percentage change in new construction less improvements removed from the assessment roll in the last year. It restricts the local tax levy but not the mil rate. Because we have been keeping our local tax levy low by using reserves, going forward this limit may cause us to not have enough money to complete necessary road work or other projects. In the statute there is a provision for exceptions as follows: “towns under 2,000 in population may exceed the levy increase limit otherwise applicable under this section to the town if the town board adopts a resolution supporting an increase and places the question on the agenda of an annual town meeting or a special town meeting and if the annual or special town meeting adopts a resolution endorsing the town board’s resolution.” It is unclear at this point whether it will be necessary to do this but the Town board wanted you to know we may pursue it next year if we feel the levy limits are keeping us from doing the right thing for the Town of Cedar Lake. Whether or not we exceed the levy limits, our budget must be approved every year at a special town meeting held in November. This town meeting approves the budget and the levy and is voted on by those residents who attend. The Town is still one of the best forms of government. It allows for an individual to be heard. The Town Board meets the second Monday of every month at 6:30 pm in the Cedar Lake Town Hall. Please come and help your town. Please also watch for the date of the Annual Town Meeting. It is usually in April.
 



Headwaters of the Red Cedar River, Red Cedar, Hemlock and Balsam Lakes