Iowa’s Rose Parade

Fifty years ago a small town just north of Hwy. 30 held a rose festival. A year later that Marshall County town was formally declared Iowa’s Rose Capital.

State Center has remained small. The 2000 Census put its population at 1,349. It has also retained its sense of community and community celebrations. The 2008 Rose Festival was held over the course of several days. The last day is June 22nd when there will be a church service in the rose garden, waterball fights at the volunteer fire station, and a concert by Jason Brown at the high school practice field. Fireworks will cap off the event.

A parade was held on Saturday. There were musicians, flags, queens, a rose bud, clowns, motorcycles, fire trucks, a horse drawn wagon, politicians, area businesses and organizations, Abraham Lincoln, and even Santa Claus. In honor of the 50th anniversary, several past queens participated in the parade, including the 1959 Rose Queen Chris Gamble Roskoff.

Several other activities also took place on Saturday. One local business hosted a display of quilts made by local residents over the years, including one dating back to the 1800’s. A spelling bee was held at a historic one-room school house. The local round of competitions was held for the Bill Riley Talent Show.

Greg Robinson was a toddler when the first festival was held and he keeps returning for them. Born in State Center but now living in Maneater, Robinson said he attends for “the parade itself” and for “the people, old friends.” Although, he added that as a child he would probably have answered that the attended for the carnival.

Another feature of State Center, although not one included in the festival schedule, are the coal trains. One older gentleman told me there are about 20 trains a day that pass through carrying coal from Wyoming. In about two hours I saw two trains with coal heading eastward and one train with empty cars heading west.

If you want to enjoy the festivaties in 2009, the Rose Fesitval is held the third weekend in June.

M.R. Field covers local events for AroundDesMoines.com.