Sundae in the Park

Past Years of Sundae in the Park

by Dana Beck ~ 2011

In the early days, when sweltering summers and work hours were long and chores were plenty, families looked for new ways to break away from the drudgery of everyday tasks, and enjoy their leisure time. Picnics and ice cream socials provided the perfect out-let for neighbors and friends to meet. Baskets of food were filled, a buckboard was hitched as family members headed to a designated park or chosen site. Once there, the day was filled with a host of activities.

Men arm-wrestled and threw horseshoes. Children chased one another and discovered new playmates. Women gathered to discuss fashions or share recipes and a young man and a pretty girl would first meet. Just like the first days of summer our parents enjoyed, the Sellwood-Moreland community has established their own outdoor celebration called the Sundae in the Park.

What started as merely a small neighborhood gathering in the summer of 1979 called Sundae in the Park, has now become one of the most highly anticipated annual events in the Sellwood-Moreland community. Scheduled on the first Sunday in August, a team of volunteers constructed a stage in the middle of Sellwood Park. Under a canopy of Douglas firs and a cool afternoon breeze, residents arrived to enjoy the festivities of local musicians, feast on a variety of foods and join in a few outdoor activities. The first Sundae in the Park was a pleasant event with hours of laughter, plenty of socializing, and smiles and salutations all day long.

The creation of an old fashioned ice cream social was established by the leaders of the Sellwood-Moreland Neighborhood Association (SMILE). Board members wanted to present an award or create a celebration dedicated those individuals and volunteers who donated endless hours and hard work to the variety of neighborhood projects. A Sundae in the Park committee was created and volunteers Donna Holycross, Eloise Pepin, Pam Jensen and Alyce Dingler helped in forming the first festivities and events for this special celebration. Molly Zimmerman was elected as the chairwoman and she was instrumental in inspiring group members for the next five years. Scouring high and low through-out the business district, the ladies came away with some unusual entertainment for the first year’s show. Spectators were treated to a
multitude of musical talent that they never knew existed in their own backyard.

Under the comfort of a white gazebo especially built for the musicians, some of the first performers included groups like Bill Stalnakerr and his Ecotopia Brass band. Don Snedecor’s barbershop quartet called Four on the Floor brought back melodies and songs of the early 1890’s. Immediately following was the RC Printing kazoo band made up of local residents. Rick Meyers finished the afternoon by showcasing his talents with a variety of different instruments while encouraging the spectators to sing along with his tunes from the 1800’s.

Sponsored by the Sellwood-Moreland Improvement League and Local 99 of the musical performers’ trust fund, the musical acts were well received by those who attended the event. The musicians and performers were such a big hit that they were invited back the next year and the Sundae in the Park has been an annual event for the past 33 years.

Other special events during the afternoon also included a fashion show that was presented by the Milwaukie Historical Society. As accounted in the September 1979 issue of the Sellwood Bee, “local bathing beauties and beach boys … modeled antique swimwear” that was first issued for bathers by the Jantzen Company.

Balloons and old fashioned skimmers (hats) were available as memorabilia at the first year’s event and a few silk- screened Sundae in the Park banners were created and designed by Ed Thibodeau.

During the next 30 years a host of residents continued to make the Sundae in the Park a successful draw. The late Thelma Skelton chaired the event for 11 years with the assistance of Minnie Crawford, Alice Knudsen and Kathryn Sohm. During the 1990’s Bob and Jan Paeth added a touch of old-fashioned atmosphere as spectators were encouraged to dress-up in turn of the century costumes. Prizes were given to the best dressed couples and a memento photo available by photographer Jim Miller. Bob Paeth even offered to mow the front yards of the winning block of neighbors who could gather the most attendees to the Sunday festivities.

Entertainment continued to delight the crowd which included the Surefire Blue Grass Band, Tall Jazz, the Rose City Banjoliers and a rousing ending to the evening events with the entrance of the kilted men of Kells Irish Band. The actors from the Lady Bug Theatre provided laughter and fun filled screams for the kids.

As the millennium arrived Pam Orser volunteered to step in as the new coordinator for the Sundae in the Park. Pam invited local musicians to perform and provided top notch entertainment for the children. Henrik Bothe wowed the kids with his juggling and unicycle abilities. Other events during the years would include snakes, spiders and other scaly creatures for little hands to touch and view. Some of the largest crowds attended the festivities under the six-year tenure of Pam Orser. By 2007 new chairman Reid Kells introduced prizes for the best super hero contest. When Portland Park Bureau officials requested help in finding a date to present their Movies in the Park event, Reid suggested a joint venture with Sundae in the Park. You can enjoy the Sundae in the Park activities and entertainment from noon until 5pm, when the Park Bureau takes over. Music continues through-out the evening hours until dusk, where families can gather on blankets spread across the greenery for Movies in the Park.

Since 2009 the Sundae in the Park Committee has been headed by Nancy Walsh with the assistance of committee members Dana Beck, Lynne Chowning, Gail Hoffnagle, Eric Norberg, and Pam Orser. Committee members are always on the search for new and innovative games, musicians, and information booths that will top last year’s event and entice spectators to anxiously await for the next Sundae in the Park.

Where there’s music there’s bound to be food, and Sundae in Park events has seen it’s share of different food vendors.

For the first few years food was simple. Hot dogs were sold for 30 cents and hot buttered popcorn and refreshing soft drinks were available for the small sum of 19 cents. Old-fashioned ice cream sundaes were the highlight of the event, just like the ice cream socials your grandparents use to attend. And the cost was just a quarter. Now these same old-fashioned sundaes can be purchased at the Sundae in the Park for the modest price of 50 cents. A bargain if there ever was one.

Entertainment and contests for the little ones has been an important element of the Sundae in the Park. Past events at the Sundae in the Park have featured both exciting and entertaining acts that include irresistible fun for young and old, from a hula hoop contest to the best-dressed action hero to the jumping castle to the line of children gathered to try their luck on the rock climbing wall. There’s always something new each year. Last year’s activities included a baseball game, hacky-sack group, a bingo contest, croquette, a petting zoo, face painting, hat making, and relay races. Our motto is be there or be square!

Baseball has always been a summer activity and the Sundae in the Park has been host to one of the longest neighborhood rivals. It’s the annual Hainleys-against-the-Heibergs baseball game that starts around 10am and ends with the start of the entertainment. Everyone is invited to join one of the teams and try your luck at the plate. This highly competitive contest has featured fun, frolicking and evil underhandedness by both sides in recruiting the best baseball players available(during one of the yearly contests the Heiberg team recruited Genevieve Hainley to pitch against her own sons!). To the winner goes the spoils of declaring that their team has the superior baseball skills versus the other.

Whichever team wins, there is plenty of boasting, chest-pounding and braggadocio to fill a horse stall. It continues throughout the day, and into the wee hours of the night, and the rest of the year.

If you like the music, then the Sundae in the Park has plenty to offer: some of the past performers have included the following entertainers….

Past Performers Corner
at Sundae in the Park

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Tall Jazz has been one of the signature groups invited to perform at the Sunday in the Park for over the last 10 years. This group consists of Dan Presley on the bass, Mike Horsfall on the piano and vibes and David Averre on the drums.

Athena and the River City Boys – These three teenage sensations first performed at the 1998 Sundae in the Park. Athena Patterson, Martin Stevens and Tristan Schumacher together have captivated audiences with their bluegrass sounds around the Northwest and Bluegrass competitions. If you like Hank Williams “Hey Good Lookin”, L.McAuliffe’s “Steel Guitar Rag” or “Foggy Mt. Breakdown” by Earl Scruggs than you’ll enjoy Athena and the River City Boys.

Melao De Cuba – Melao transforms elements of Afro-Cuban and Spanish music into vibrant dance music. You’ll be hard pressed to just sit in your chair as the sounds of Melao De Cuba will have you swaying your hips and clicking your heels.

Festival Brass – With an ensemble of a seven piece brass, Festival Brass offers a variety of Fourth of July songs and traditional tunes for those young and old to hum along and clap your hands to the rhythm of the beat.

Henrik Bothe – He walks on ladders juggles on ten foot unicycles and makes children laugh so hard that they splay ice cream out of their noses. With a variety of balancing spinning plates on sticks or escaping from a straight jacket or swinging ropes wildly about his head, Henrik brings a montage of funny tricks to where ever he entertains.

Mad Science – Make it, Break it, Test it, Shake it, Mad Science offers a hands on demonstration of chemicals that pop, fizz, smoke and shrill. If your kids like to touch gooey substances or taste hazy clouds of smoke than don’t miss out and attend a Mad Science event at the Sundae in the Park.