Many entertained during Nelson Fun Days

Nelson Fun Days began with perfect weather Saturday morning. It would be anything but perfect when late afternoon arrived.

The days'events kicked off with breakfast prepared and served by the Nelson Community Club.

The temperature was cool and a light breeze wafted through Harbine Park as the fun run, walk and bike event took place.

Royce Schott and Vicki Ensign manned the washerboard table. The event attracted 24 teams with several more unable to compete because of board number limitations.

Washerboard is played using two boards. The boards measure 16" by 16" by 4". They are covered with outdoor carpet. There are three holes, four and a half inches round and five inches deep, set into the board. The boards are set 10' apart from front to front.

Players toss a metal washer, at least 2 15/16" around and weighing less than 4 1/2 ounces or less at the opposite board. The object is place the washer in one of the three holes. The hole closest to the player scores one point, the middle hole scores three points while the farthermost opening scores five points. The object is to reach exactly 21 points. A team which falls behind by 13-0 is forced to call mercy and is eliminated. Players can be forced to forfeit their match because of slow play

While corn hole is the more popular game, washerboard has its staunch defenders. This reporter inquired as to how the game came to Nuckolls County. He was told the game was brought back from California many decades ago. It quickly became a popular pastime.

The organized furicane known as the corgi races was one of the highlights.

It was an overload of cuteness as 20 corgis, Welsh, Pembroke and mixed, milled about with their owners.

There were fidgety corgis. There were fun corgis. There were feisty corgis. There were foolish corgis. But they all shared the corgi cuteness gene and sharp teeth.

The race course was delineated on three sides by fencing of a flexible nature.

The event was conducted with four qualifying heats. Each heat featured five corgis with varying agendas. The top three finishers in each heat advanced to the final 12-corgi championship fun for dog treats.

The heats featured a variety of performances and non-performances. Some corgis adopted the attitude of if you want to run, then you run, but I'm not going to.

Someone thought is was a good idea to line up 12 corgis and let them loose. Do not allow that person to operate anything with moving parts.

The winner of the race, Odie, resorted to slowing down his sister with a strategically placed butt-bite. Another corgi was so into the experience that they slipped under the finish line fence. He was captured more than two blocks away.

Lunch was served by the Sacred Heart Altar Society. The concession stand was a popular destination with a bun outage occurring as this reporter reached the window. Not his lucky day.

The afternoon kicked off with seven teams entered in the sand volleyball event.

The horseshoe contest attracted four teams with defending champions Robert Rich and Mike Sander repeating their success.

There was a brisk trade in commemorative t-shirts.

Weather alerts started popping up as the afternoon progressed. The threat of severe weather curtailed the rest of the day's activities.

The cardboard boat race and fireworks display were postponed until Sunday. The hamburger feed and beer garden were unable to proceed.

The Elk Creek Country Club hosted a two-person par 3 event. Lunch was available at the clubhouse courtesy of the PEO.

Full rounds of golf were played in the afternoon.

The fireworks display capped off the Nelson Fun Days run.