Gully Day: It’s All About Fun!

Gully Day this year actually started on Gully Day Eve with a whist tournament in the Gully Hall. Almost fifty people entered the tournament and whether you were a good player or maybe not so good a player, everyone had a great time!  When it was all over the grand champions of Gully were Carole Tharaldson and Cheryl Plante; they received $140.00 in prize money . Second prize went to Dwight Husby and Jerry Wang and the award for last place, or to be politically correct "most improved" went to Pete Anderson and Marion Ask.

On the actual Gully Day, July 22nd, events started around 10:00 in the hall with apple bread and coffee. The bread, (purchased from Raphael's in Bemidji), was a delight and the many loaves all disappeared. People visited and reminisced prior to the Local Music Showcase starting at 11:30.

Meanwhile outdoors, Nancy Schmidt and her assistants provided kid's games down the hill from the hall.

The local music began with Les Torgerson on trombone and Sharon Johnson on piano aptly playing jazz favorites like Sweet Georgia Brown. Next nine year old Catherine Graftaas accompanied by her father, Brian, on  guitar sang such tunes as Ode to Lutefisk. The nine year old can really sing and is totally comfortable on stage. Then the Andrews Sisters appeared on the Gully stage for the third time in the last eight months. They have built quite a following, thanks to Leah Carlson, Terri Godtland and Trudee Torgerson. The last performers were Carole and Tanya Tharaldson. What "brought the house down" was Carole's last song which she wrote and dedicated to Betty Brinkman and the Gully Cafe. The song was just about the way things are!

After a lunch or stretch break, at 1:00 the Knowledge Bowl began. The defending champions were from north of Gully and the challengers from the south. There were five members on each team. Until about one - half way through, the competition was close,  then the north started to gain a lead.    About that time the competition got controversial on an answer about Ferdinand Magellan. The judges had to be called in to make a decision and ruled in favor of the north. There was much outcry from the spectators from the south; but the decision stood. Debbie Pletschett later commented "Did you notice the judges were all sitting on the north side of the building?"

The south had a mathematical chance of still winning when they went into the bonus round. However it was all over after the first question when asked "What is the longest of the three rivers north of Gully--the Red Lake, the Clearwater, or the Lost?" All five members on the south agreed it was the Lost River. The correct answer was the Red Lake. This undid any chance of victory. Final score: North 101; South 56.

After the event there was still some grumbling of the north getting softball questions lobbed to them. This was impossible because all questions were random. One particular grump said the event was rigged! In the end everyone had a great time (except for the grump!)

Immediately after the Knowledge Bowl there was an auction of a Gully History Book donated by Eileen Vanderport. Since no books are available and the book will not be printed again, this was a sought after item. Jimmy Paulson and Albert Graftaas were the auctioneers with Cali Carlson being the book presenter. There were many people bidding and it quickly was at $150; then people started dropping out and the bids finally stopped at $400.00.  Wanda Rydeen, who grew up in Gully, had the winning bid. A big thank you to Wanda from the Gully 100 committee.

Mylo was the next to entertain us with Rock and Roll song parodies and stories. He played guitar and piano and billed himself "The Original Rock and Roll Farmer!" It was apparent Mylo the Silo had recently done some dieting since the Gully 100 Committee got his photographs. He entertained for about 80 minutes.

After Mylo it was a walk down the hill for the Tug- of- War. The women from north of town had never beaten the women from the south, but this year the north women won in two straight pulls. The opposite was true for the men. The north men had never lost to the south but this year the south men won in two easy pulls. 

Then back up to the hall to listen and dance to Albert Mikesh. Albert, at 84, hasn't lost a beat. He still plays five instruments and it's easy to see why he is in the North Dakota Hall of Fame for music.  He played for over two hours and people danced the whole time, particularly Tony Weber who didn't appear to ever miss a dance. 

Albert also drew out of a bucket the winning ticket for the quilt raffle; the winner was Gabby Lizakowski from Blaine, MN.

AT 8:00 p.m. the Accoust Hicks started playing at Shorty's new entertainment Center. They had great dancing music and a blend that everyone enjoyed. Most people stayed until the wee hours when the band quit.

The goal of the Gully 100 Committee is for everyone to have a good time. We're pretty sure everyone did ( except for maybe the old grump).