King Turkey Day schedule of events
All week King Turkey Day medallion hunt begins Monday in Worthington.
9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Monday through Friday: Paycheck’s Treasure Chest is open at The Stag, 412 10th St., Worthington
Thursday, Sept. 12
5 to 8 p.m.: Bouncy Houses, downtown pavilion (corner of Second Avenue and 10th Street).
5 to 8 p.m.: Idisbug Face Painting, downtown pavilion.
5 to 9 p.m.: King Turkey Day Mixer, downtown pavilion.
5 to 9 p.m.: Beer Garden, downtown pavilion.
5 to 9 p.m.: Music by Chris Bertrand, downtown pavilion.
5 to 9 p.m.: “Chalk The Walk”, downtown pavilion. Friday, Sept. 13
4 p.m.: Food vendors open along Second Avenue, between 10th and 11th streets.
4 to 5:30 p.m.: Music by Gabriel Michael, downtown pavilion.
4 to 8 p.m.: Inflatables, Wells Fargo parking lot along Second Avenue.
4 to 8 p.m.: Kids activities, 11th Street.
4 to 8 p.m.: Nerf Wars, JBS Fieldhouse, 700 Second Ave.
Globe file photo
ond Ave., Worthington.
4 to 8 p.m.: Nerf Wars, JBS Fieldhouse, 700 Second Ave.
4 to 8 p.m.: Teddy Bear Mobile, 11th Street.
4 to 8 p.m.: Inflatables, Second Avenue.
4 to 8 p.m.: Pork Chop Feed until gone, Eagles Club, 205 Oxford St., Worthington.
5 p.m.: Turkey Town Throw Down Races, Nobles County Speedway, 1600 Stower Dr., Worthington.
6:30 to 8:30 p.m.: Music by Acenzo, downtown pavilion.
4 to 8 p.m.: Teddy Bear Mobile, 11th Street.
4 to 11:59 p.m.: Beer Garden, downtown pavilion.
6 to 8:30 p.m.: Music by Blue Dirt Road, downtown pavilion.
6:30 to 7 p.m.: Lucky Duck Race, Firehall hill, Second Avenue.
7 p.m. to 1 a.m.: Courtesy rides offered by Palma Customs. Call (507) 370-3966.
9 p.m. to Midnight: Music by IV Play, downtown pavilion.
Saturday, Sept. 14
7 a.m. to Noon: Farmers Market, Ace Hardware parking lot.
8 to 11 a.m.: Pancake
breakfast, Worthington Fire Hall, 830 Second Ave.
9 a.m.: YMCA 5K Walk, 5K and 10K Run, starting from Sixth Avenue and 10th Street.
9 a.m. to Noon: Bloody Mary and Texas Orange Juice Bar, Beer Garden, downtown pavilion.
9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.: Paycheck’s Treasure Chest open, The Stag, 412 10th St.
10 a.m.: Food Vendors open on Second Avenue, between 10th and 11th streets.
10 a.m. to 8 p.m.: Kids activities, 11th Street.
10 a.m. to Noon: Inflatables, Wells Fargo parking lot along Second Avenue.
10 a.m. to Noon: Nerf Wars, JBS Fieldhouse, 700 Second Ave.
11 a.m. to 1 p.m.: First United Methodist Church meal, 408 11th St., Worthington.
11:30 a.m. to 11:59 p.m.: Beer Garden, downtown pavilion.
1 p.m.: Featured Speaker Dave McCauley, 10th Street.
1:30 p.m.: Great Gobbler Gallop, 10th Street.
2 p.m.: Grand Parade, 10th Street.
3 to 5:30 p.m.: Music by Tristan Marquardt, downtown pavilion.
4 to 7 p.m.: Traditional Turkey Smorgasbord until gone, Elks Lodge, 1105 Sec-
7 p.m. to 1 a.m.: Courtesy rides by Palma Customs. Call (507) 370-3966.
8 p.m.: 50/50 Split the Pot raffle drawing, downtown pavilion.
9 p.m. to Midnight: Music by 3 Hour Download, downtown pavilion. Sunday, Sept. 15
9:30 a.m.: 27th annual Ecumenical Country Western Service, First Lutheran Church, 1200 Fourth Ave., Worthington. Featuring Musician Paul Summers.
1 to 3 p.m.: Farm Heritage Center dedication and Classic Car Roll-In, Pioneer Village, 1600 Stower Dr., Worthington. Ceremony begins at 2 p.m.
Law Office
Drealan, Kvilhaug, Hoefker & Co
Rolling Hills Bank & Trust
Echo Electric Supply
J. Briones Construction, LLC
Johnson Builders & Realty, Inc.
Henderson Financial & Insurance
Nobles Abstract & Title
J & J Auto Wash
Dean Hokeness
Jaycox Powersports
Eric Juarez Construction
Worthington Regional Healthcare Foundation
Edward Jones - Jim Lesnar
Midwest Country Feeds
Southwest Hearing Technologies
Todd Schroeder Mowing
Lawn Gators
Edina Realty -Staci Murphy
Worthington Ag Parts
Rickers Photography Studio Noon Kiwanis T’s Cleaning
Titan Machinery
Ruby Begonia (black bird) and Paycheck are coaxed to run at the start of the 2023 Great Gobbler Gallop on 10th Street in downtown Worthington.
King Turkey Day celebrates 85th anniversary
THE GLOBE Editor’s Note: The following news stories were originally printed in the Worthington Daily Globe in August and October of 1939.
King Gobble to be insignia of annual celebration in city
Worthington will entertain royalty soon.
Committees of the Civic and Commerce Association have begun preparations for the biggest coronation service in the history of the community, to be staged Thursday, Oct. 5, on the courthouse square with thousands of people from a wide area surrounding Worthington as invited guests.
The king to be crowned that day is King Gobble the First, who will come to Worthington to recognize this community officially as the leading turkey growing and marketing center in the world.
With the number of turkeys grown in the Worthington trade area and packed in Worthington rapidly nearing the million mark, the C&C committee has adopted King Turkey as the official insignia for an annual fall festival to be launched here. The idea was given the approval of the C&C members at the meeting Tuesday night.
To crown turkey
The committee has already made arrangements for King Turkey himself to arrive on Oct. 5 to take up his permanent residence here. The coronation ceremony and court of honor on the afternoon of that day will climax a big parade to be staged by local businessmen and civic groups.
Vincent Hollaren, chairman of the C&C public relations committee, says that committees will be appointed this week to carry out plans for the program.
J.R. King, C&C secretary, says that plans are under way for a full day of entertainment and special features, all of which will be offered free to visitors through the courtesy of the businessmen.
The King Turkey festival will be held here the same week as a national
Contributed / Nobles County Historical
THANKSGIVING dinners on the hoof headed the brilliant fiesta — Worthington’s First King Turkey Day on Thursday, Oct. 5, 1939. This image shows the gobbling flocks soon after their release, and before they stretched out along the street to paint double bands of bronze and vermillion for over a block.
turkey school for turkey graders and breeders sponsored by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
City pleased with good reception of first fall King Turkey festivities; Probably will be repeated next year with new improvements Worthington stopped today to take stock of its first King Turkey fall festival and decided that the event will be staged again next year — with improvements.
King Turkey and the coronation ceremony, together with the parade which led up to it, made a big hit with the thousands who came to Worthington for the day.
Other features were also popular, especially the rides for the kids, the soapbox derby and the pavement dance in the evening.
The holiday crowd was difficult to estimate because it was well scattered over town, but C&C
officials said that the estimated crowd of 10,000 might easily be doubled in another year or two.
King Gobble, now a permanent resident of Worthington, will go into retirement for his appearance next year.
Drum Corps performs
The evening program was extremely well attended, beginning with the Drum and Bugle corps at 5 p.m. After supper events opened with a band concert at the reviewing stand which was linked up with a community sing, something new as an open air stunt in Worthington.
Equally successful was the pavement dance on Third avenue music for which was furnished by the Radio Sodbusters.
Dancing covered about half the block, the improvised floor surrounded by a throng of spectators jammed 12 deep.
Parade is feature Parade officials praised the spirit which turned
out a parade better than expectations.
The cooperation of the schools was given special commendation. The pupils and teachers were largely responsible for the big turnout in the divisions for comic characters, doll buggies, pets, bicycles and miniature floats.
Major floats were presented by the BPW, the AAUW, Kiwanis, Sportsmen’s Club, Worthington Creamery, Boote’s, Legion, Farm Bureau, 4-H Clubs, high school
King Gobble
Contributed / Nobles
and junior college. Pancake stand has biggest rush Busiest spot in the downtown section of Worthington throughout King Turkey Day was the pancake stand in the square, where a factory expert with a corps of local assistants from about 10:30 a.m. to about 5 p.m. baked and served more than 7,500 cakes. Had griddle space been available to speed the serving, this number could easily have doubled.
At the serving counter business and professional men changed shifts throughout the day, enjoying the opportunity of informal contacts with friends from all over the
Worthington trade area. Each serving consisted of two large cakes, generous pats of Worthington butter, smothered in syrup. It was a treat for the patient, however, as getting to the serving stand involved a long wait from the very beginning. May, undoubtedly, passed up the feature because they did not want to take the time. Originally mapped to take place on the Ninth street side of the county building, the scene was shifted before serving started because of the chilly early morning breeze.
Society
County Historical Society
Restin, Up KING GOBBLE has been given a corner of the Worthington airport in which to rest up for the strenuous festivities which are anticipated next October when Worthington will present its second annual King Turkey day.
TURKEY: page H3
Come hungry to the KTD pancake feed
BY HOPE MOURAL
The Globe
WORTHINGTON — Preparations have been underway for some weeks now for King Turkey Day’s annual Pancake Feed, which will take place from 8 to 11 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 14, at the Worthington Fire Hall.
“We’re planning for around 1,100 people to attend… we’ve been smoking some of the sausage for a while now,” said Adam Dahlquist, secretary/treasurer of the King Turkey Day Board of Directors.
Dahlquist said the event — which is free and open to the public — will feature the same menu as years past, including pancakes, sausage links, orange juice and coffee. Milk will also be served courtesy of Ocheda Dairy Farm, of rural Worthington.
The Saturday morning pancake breakfast has been a part of King Turkey Day since its inception 85 years ago and is still going strong. In fact, the feed is one of the most attended events to happen throughout the weekend’s festivities.
his 2,000 pounds of majesty.
First annual Turkey Festival is off to flying start Worthington got the first annual King Turkey day off to a flying start today. A crowd well over the 10,000 mark jammed the streets to witness the largest civic parade ever staged here.
A memorable feature of the monster parade was the solid block and a half of turkeys, urged along by a corps of members of the Independent Dairy and Produce Workers union, which headed the proces sion in its initial appearance on Tenth Street. From then on it was a riot of color and animation climaxed by appearance of the King himself in all
King Gobble The nine-foot statue of King Turkey drew gasps of admiration from thousands at the coronation ceremony here this afternoon. It was built by Victor Hackbarth and Cy Amundson. Hackbarth, art teacher in the
Dahlquist said he enjoys that not only is this a community event but it’s made possible by that exact same community.
“We rely heavily on our volunteers and get a lot of help from local businesses,” said Dahlquist. Including those who
Worthington schools, designed the bird, made the models and supervised the molding and finishing. Amundson, manual arts teacher, built the heavy frame to specifications and covered it ready for the finishing touches. The creation is probably the most remarkable of its kind ever built in the Midwest.
rotate shifts, between 30 and 50 volunteers are present at the pancake feed to help pull off such a feat. Whether it’s serving, mixing, cleaning or just keeping the line organized and moving, they’re all needed to make the event run smoothly.
Off to a good start (Globe Opinion)
King Gobble won a place in the hearts of the people of the Worthington community. It looks as if we have a natural for building a permanent fall festival.
Victor Hackbarth and Cy Amundson of the high school staff are to be
Dahlquist gave a special shoutout to Culligan Water Conditioning’s Nathan Holt, who “leads the charge” and wouldn’t function as well without his direction.
“We’re OK on volunteers right now but wouldn’t turn anyone
congratulated on their masterpiece, the statue of a turkey which had the crowds gasping with admiration. The committees who labored to put over the celebration did a good job and found enjoyment in doing it. Civic groups pitched in to help put it over. The general spirit of
down if they wanted to help,” said Dahlquist.
“Everyone is such a huge help.”
Email the board at kingturkeyday@gmail. com or call (507) 372-2919 if interested in volunteering for the pancake feed.
goodwill is one of the best things that has happened in Worthington for many a year. We should start now to improve on the idea next year. We have King Turkey, we have a lot of goodwill and some experience. With these we should make the Worthington fall festival tops.
Tim Middagh / The Globe
The King Turkey Day pancake feed is a tradition as old as King Turkey Day itself, boasting 85 years in 2024.
King Turkey Day 10K celebrates 45 years
BY SCOTT MANSCH
The Globe
WORTHINGTON —
Conventional wisdom says the summer officially ended on Labor Day, but for nearly 50 years the city of Worthington and its sports-minded population has disagreed.
Once again this year summer fun extends into mid-September with the annual King Turkey Day celebration. A signature event of the big party is the King Turkey Day 10K race, which kicks off festivities on Saturday, Sept. 14, in downtown Worthington.
“It’s unique,” said race director Erin Benz. “A lot of communities have their events in the summer, and not the fall. This race and the King Turkey Day 10K gives people a reason to get out of the house and celebrate.”
This is the 45th annual King Turkey Day 10K, a competitive 6.2-mile race that attracts serious runners and fitness-seeking folks from across southwest Minnesota and beyond. Hundreds of runners and walkers typically register.
“It brings a lot of people from all over back to the area,” Benz said. “It’s a good way for people to come back home. We see a
lot of people coming back year after year because they like it so much.”
Benz, a Windom native and 2016 graduate of Worthington High, works for the YMCA as its Program Development Director. This is her first year as Turkey Day 10K race director.
But she’s not really a rookie. Benz helped with the race for years while assisting former race director Kris Hohensee, who now works for Forward Worthington. Benz is ready for the big day.
“I have a lot of really great volunteers who are willing to be positioned on the route, making sure people know where they’re going and to provide water,” she said. “We have about 40 volunteers just on the route itself. We’ll also have two race leaders on side-by-sides helping the first runners get to the finish line and every one else after that. “We have many people helping with setup and tear-down, and putting runner packets together. It’s a lot of work, but a lot of hands make the event run smoothly.”
Benz, a former volleyball and softball player at Worthington High who now coaches the Stingrays swimming team in town, realizes how much King Turkey Day means to the community. She is doing all she can to make sure the King Turkey Day 10K lives up to its successful legacy.
“We’re trying to bring a lot of fun to the race,” she said. “We will have music at the starting line and finish line and try to make it more of a familyfriendly event. Yes, there is a lot of competition to it, but there are also a lot
Tim Middagh / The Globe
walk
of families that like to make a fun day out of it and start their Turkey Day off right.”
A total of 333 runners and walkers participated a year ago. The event, which begins at 9 a.m., features a 10K and 5K races, plus a 5K walk. There is an entry fee for each event. Runners receive T-shirts and packets filled with other racing swag. Water and fruit is available at the finish line. An awards ceremony will follow.
The King Turkey Day 10K was started in 1980,
primarily by a group of Worthington runners who called themselves the Okabena Bay Area Striders. The first race had 101 runners and attracted a record 711 competitors in 1997. Jerrold Wynia, a northwest Iowa native and former All-American distance runner at Dordt University in Sioux City, Iowa, owns the race record after running a blistering 29:37 in 1983.
Last year, Worthington High counselor Jesse Nitzschke won his third consecutive 10K men’s title with a time of 33:44. Also winning for the third straight year in the women’s division was former Worthington High cross country star Kaitlin Goforth, who finished in 40:21.
There is considerable construction ongoing in downtown Worthington these days. But not to worry.
“A lot of folks were a little nervous about what the route would look like, but it will stay the same,” Benz said. “We’re very grateful the construction won’t interfere with it.”
The 10K starting line is near the hospital and the finish line is near the courthouse. The track takes the runners on a scenic trip around Lake Okabena.
