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Hancock double celebration

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July 31st, 2014 by Ric Hanson

A double celebration is happening in Hancock this weekend. The city is hosting the annual Old Settler’s Picnic while Botna Bend Park celebrates their 50th anniversary. The party begins Friday night with a free teen dance on the streets of Hancock from 7pm to 10pm with soda for sale on site. Saturday begins with a Men’s softball tournament at the ball diamond at 10am and poker run registration in the beer garden. Vince Guyer, President of the Hancock Old Settler’s Association, says he gets a kick out of the kid’s games.

“The Kid’s races are something we have done for years. There are foot races. They have a shoe kick and several other small events like that. The kids get something whether they win or not. The children really enjoy it. The shoe kick is always my favorite to watch with the kids. It is funny to watch them try and kick their shoes as far as they can.”

The kids faces are held north of the white shelter in Hancock. A dance in the beer garden with live music from ‘Mr. Hand’ finishes off Saturday’s events. On Sunday, the Old Settler’s Picnic serves a pancake breakfast in the Hancock Fire Station at 8am with church service at 10 followed by a parade, a tug of war event and more live music. The picnic finishes with a benefit auction.

If you are more of an outdoor enthusiast Botna Bend Park outside of Hancock is digging in for their 50th anniversary in conjunction with the Saturday fun during the Old Settler’s Picnic. Jon Fenner, Park Ranger at Botna Bend, says activities start at 1-pm “We’re going to have the rededication of Botna Bend Park. It will be a short presentation. We’ll have some things to look at. We’re going to offer some refreshments of root beer floats and soft pretzels, kind of a nice treat on a summer day.”
Following the rededication, visitors will be able to learn all about Botna Bend Park.

“We have Jim Pease with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources is going to come out and do a river critter program at 2pm. We will have some guided walks with park staff and talk about the park and bison and elk. It will give people an idea why we exist and what we do around here and why the (Pottawattamie County) Conservation Board exists and why Botna Bend exists. We will have those on going for a couple of hours. Our environmental education staff will do some tree identification programs. They will also have some ongoing activities for kids. They are going to do a beak matching program and there is a nature quest, it’s kind of like a scavenger hunt around the park.”

All activities are free at the park. You also can access the Nishnabotna River to canoe, kayaking, raft or tube down the river or fish at the park. There are only a few openings to go down the river. If you are interested or need more information, contact the Botna Bend Park Office at 712-741-5465.

(Joel McCall/KNOD)