ELLINWOOD — Providing an opportunity to see friends and family, the 38th annual After Harvest Festival was celebrated at Ellinwood in a big way over the past few days.

Yesterday morning festival-goers were treated to the annual parade beginning with a fly over from Ellinwood Flying Service. The Wolf Four Mill steam whistle that once blew daily from 1908 to 1971 now welcomed residents and out-of towners to Ellinwood. The powerful whistle once reminded workers of the morning work time, noon and the end of the work day.

One of the first floats was the Ellinwood American Legion Flag trailer which carries 90 flags. The flags include every state flag, P.O.W. flags and every American flag. The trailer was built in 1983 by Ellinwood American Legion members Leland Mall, Leonard Kasselman and Charlie Carmin and is in many parades in the area. The trailer is a 100 feet long.

Antique cars, class floats, farm machinery, Ellinwood High School cheerleaders, a cyldesdale horse-drawn beer wagon, and the Grand Marshals are just a sampling of the floats viewed.

The theme for this year was "Kansas 150th -Follow the yellow brick road" chosen by the Ellinwood Rotary Club. The Grand Marshals were Marion and Vernon DeWerff, long-time residents, and very active in the community.

"It was just a blast to see everyone," said Marion. "I’ve enjoyed my five minutes of glory. I’ve enjoyed every minute of it."

The all-around winner of the parade was Ellinwood District Hospital and in second place was the Ellinwood retired firemen. The announcer was Joe Curtis, and the judges were Mary Herter, Jenny Kasselman and Rob Fisher.

Winner of the class reunion float was the Wheatland float. Students, who attended Wheatland School, were invited to attend a reunion after the parade. Wheatland School was the largest rural school in the county. It began in 1950 and was consolidated with Ellinwood in 1966.

The well-attended event took place at UCC church.

The annual event ended with a dance at City Park last night.