Benton County News • Foley Fun Days 2021 • Page 1B
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SCHEDULE
OF EVENTS Friday, June 18 All City Garage Sales 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. .. Friends of Library Used Book Sale Foley City Council Chambers
Saturday, June 19 All City Garage Sales 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. ..........................Kids Bike Safety Rodeo Foley’s Lions Park Age 10 & under 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. .. Friends of Library Used Book Sale Foley City Council Chambers
Monday, June 21 500 Card Party 7:30 a.m. ...................................................Medallion Hunt Foley City Hall 4-7 p.m. ..................................................Mobile Sign Shop In front of Mille Lacs Veterinary Clinic. 6 p.m. ............................................................ 5K Run/Walk Registration begins at 4:30 p.m. Sponsored by Falcon National Bank 6-10 p.m. .............................................Carnival-Armband 7 p.m. ............................... Foley Ambassador Coronation Downtown - Main Stage Coronation end to 11 p.m. ............... Music: Saddletramp
Tuesday, June 22 Reading with Royalty 7:30 a.m. ....................................................Medallion Hunt Foley City Hall 1-5 p.m. ...............................................Carnival-Armband 5-8 p.m................................ Heavenly Hot Rod Car Show St. John’s Catholic Church parking lot. Bring a non-perishable food item for the CROSS Center. 6 p.m. ........................................................... Kiddie Parade Registration begins at 5:45 p.m. 6-8 p.m................................................... Family Fun Night Dewey Street Join for a Safari Adventures, such as Feed Herman, the Hungry Hippo, Finding Ernestine, the Elephant’s tail, Tossing Bananas to the Monkeys and other jungle-related activities. 6-8 p.m. ............................................................ Petting Zoo Sponsored by FFA 6-10 p.m. .............................................Carnival-Armband 7 p.m. ........................................................ Waterball Fight Broadway Avenue and Dewey Street 7:30-10:30 p.m. ....................................Music: The Future
Wednesday, June 19 7:30 a.m. ....................................................Medallion Hunt Foley City Hall 1 p.m. .........................................Bingo with Foley Royalty Foley City Hall 1-5 p.m.................................................Carnival-Armband 6:30 pm.....................................................................Parade Parade end to 11 p.m. ...................................Music: Stifle
*Button Drawings/Button sales $2 a button * Medallion Hunt: Clues posted each morning. The first to find the medallion and bring it to Foley City Hall wins a $100 prize. *Armband sales are $25 in advance and $30 at the ticket box. They will be available at Foley City Hall and other local businesses.
Skaggs brings
’57 Cameo back to life Will display in Heavenly Hot Rod Show BY JAKOB KOUNKEL STAFF WRITER
ST. CLOUD – Tucked away neatly in Mel Skaggs’ St. Cloud garage is a 1957 Chevrolet Cameo pickup truck, one of only about 10,000 of its kind. To Skaggs, who poured his heart and soul into restoring the vehicle, there is nothing else quite like it. Skaggs will enter the vehicle into the Heavenly Hot Rod Show Tuesday, June 22, during Foley Fun Days. The event will take place from 5- 8 p.m. in the St. John’s Catholic Church parking lot in Foley. About eight years ago, after saving some money and doing a little digging, Skaggs found the ’57 gem on an online auction website and contacted the owner. Skaggs agreed to buy without seeing the vehicle and hauled it home on a prayer. “I bought it in Iowa,” Skaggs said. “When I got it home, I found out it was a whole lot worse than
Mel Skaggs lets his Heavenly Hot Rod Show entry sit in his driveway June 8 at his house in St. Cloud. He was doing some minor cleaning in preparation for the show.
I thought it was.” The Cameo needed a new cab, a deep clean and years of functional work. Skaggs found a new cab in Idaho – a fortunate find – then methodically put the rest together with help. Skaggs enlisted his two sons, Brian and Tom Skaggs, and the late Rick Grundhoefer for help in reviving the onceoperational pickup truck. Allin-all, between working jobs and finding the right parts for the project, it took three years to restore the truck to the pristine condition of today. “We tore it down to every bolt and nut,” Skaggs said. “We took it right down to nothing.” Since repairing the Cameo, maintenance has been a breeze. Skaggs changes the oil after taking the truck out
of its winter hibernation and puts about 1,000 miles on it every spring and summer. He wishes he could drive it more, especially after putting in the work to make it operational again. “It turned out much nicer than I expected,” Skaggs said. “I just wanted a driver – one that I could drive and go out and have fun with.” Even though work can get in the way, Skaggs goes for joy rides as much as he can, and when he does, he and his Cameo turn heads. “A lot of people don’t know about the Cameo,” Skaggs said. “They just know about a pickup, and this is totally different. A lot of people tell me that I must’ve customized it, but I didn’t. It’s all original.” Of all the bells and
whistles and of all the work Skaggs has poured into the project, the most frequently asked question he gets about the truck is related to the color. The truck is a deep blue that cannot be found in a store anywhere. It is a result of trial and error – the first two blues they tried were not the perfect hue Skaggs was hoping for. But, as the adage goes, the third time was the charm. “The color was purely by accident,” Skaggs said. … “It’s not a color that you can go and buy at the store.” Skaggs, who takes up car repair projects because he likes to tear vehicles apart and put them back together, takes pride in the vehicle. He has fallen in love with the Cameo and not just for the material aspects of it. Though he admits the vehicle is cool, the time, effort, resources and care he poured into the Cameo At left is a trophy Mel Skaggs won in the 2019 Heavenly Hot Rod Show in Foley. makes it special to him. In the future, Skaggs is The trophy is heavy, made of all iron parts. looking for another project, though likely not a total restoration. He does not know what he wants to pursue, but he knows he wants the color to be flat black – a look he has come to like. “That pickup, I don’t know if I would ever part with that,” Skaggs said. “That’s deep in my heart.”
Mel Skaggs checks his mailbox from his 1957 Chevrolet Cameo June 8 outside his house in St. Cloud. The mailbox is a similar lookalike of the vehicle.
Page 4B • Foley Fun Days 2021 • Benton County News
Foley Fun Days Buttons are available at the following locations:
• Brenny’s Oil • Foley City Hall
(320) 294-5544
(320) 968-7262
• Frandsen Bank & Trust
12500 MN-23, Milaca, MN
190 Glen St., Foley MN
• Falcon National Bank
Benton Insurance Services Get help from an expert to make sure you have the coverage you need.
• The Foley Ambassadors
Ryan Christiansen Benton Ins. Service (320) 968-6973 | TTY 711 ryanc@bentonins.net www.bentonins.net
FOLEY MEDICAL CENTER
Providing Care For Your Entire Family
Kevin Stiles, MD Enjoy Foley Fun Days!
OPEN: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday & Friday • 8 to 4 Closed Thursdays • Closed July 4 & 5
471 Hwy. 23, Foley, MN 56329 | (320) 968-7234
Call us at...
1325 29th Ave NE Sauk Rapids, MN 56379
Left to right: Brandon, Wayne, Jordan, Charlie, Sam and not pictured Mark
Schedule your car service at
Murphy Chevrolet in Foley! We appreciate your patience and loyalty during the craziness of the past year. We are a family business, now in our 4th generation. We are fully staffed and ready to take care of your vehicle through the many years you may own it. Our lot may seem empty, but if you are in need of something give us a call... we have inventory arriving weekly. With time and patience we will find the vehicle you are looking for.
Stop in and see us today!
211 Glen Street • Foley, MN 56329 Open Monday-Friday 8-5:30 • Sat 8-12 www.murphychevrolet.com Phone: 320-968-6239
Shop Local Watch for our Chamber Member balloons in the parade! Foley Auto Glass Foley Collision Center JMJ Transmission, Inc. Murphy Chevrolet Big Brothers Big Sisters C.A.R.E. - Community Action Respecting Elders Central MN Arts Board Cross Center of Benton County New Life Church of Foley Gerhardson Chiropractic LLC. Health, Heart, Home Molacek Family Eyecare Snap Fitness The Gardens at Foley Benton Insurance Services Calibration Financial Compeer Financial Falcon National Bank First National Bank of Milaca Frandsen Bank & Trust Great River Federal Credit Union
Mid Minnesota Money Management SC Solutions, LLC Stangl & Jaskowiak LTD State Farm Insurance The Insurance Shoppe Thorsten Financial Tri- County Insurance Sable Inn Bed & Breakfast Kent Precision Food Groups Silt Sock Benton Economic Partnership City of Foley Foley Community Education Foley Public Schools Benton County News Benton County Abstract Purpose Driven Realtor Team Edina Realty Advanced Appraisal Sauk Rapids Inc. Bloom Salon Brenny Oil Co. Cutting Edge Salon
Distinctive Cabinet Design, Inc. Foley Fuel & Lumber Foley Funeral Home Foley Hardware Grand Champion Meats- Foley Helmbrecht Builders Henry Embroidery & Screen Printing Kalton Communications Mighty Pine Ranch LLC Murphy Chevrolet Neighborhood Plumbing, Heating & Air Conditioning Priority Investigations and Protective Services Restore 24 Royal Renovations Schu-Tran Specialized Transportation X-Cel Energy Subway The ROC WebWizard Works, Inc.
Thank You for Your Support! P.O. Box 499, Foley, MN 56329 | 320-968-2017