Adam Swager serves a visitor a sno-cone made with his late father’s sno-cone making machine at the Scotts Days celebration July 20.
By Bruce Rolfe
Scotts resident Adam Swager loves to see his community come together.
To help reinforce that sense of community he brought an item to Scotts Days July 20 that was once an end of the school year tradition at Scotts Elementary School decades ago, bringing smiles to faces, just like it did
many years ago when his late father Vic Swager served up free sno-cones with a sno-cone making machine on the last day of school.
Adam’s brother Karl, said once in a while the old sno-cone machine was brought out for family gatherings but after Vic passed away the machine went into storage in his brother Luke Swager’s barn. Karl adds the sno-cone machine would be used occasionally at church functions, but for the most part it has been in storage. Karl said when someone brought up the idea of having sno-cones available at last year’s Scotts Days event, Luke’s wife, Amy Swager, said the sno-cone machine was still available.
Karl and his daughter Gianna Swager, served up sno-cones for residents to enjoy as a fundraiser for the Pride of Scotts following last year’s Scotts Day parade and Adam Swager continued the tradition after the July 20 parade, again turning any donations over to the Pride of Scotts.
Adam said serving sno-cones from his late father’s sno-cone making machine during the Scotts Day celebration like his father did many years ago, brought back memories of a very fun day Scotts elementary school students used to enjoy on the last day of school.
Swager not only remembered his father giving free sno-cones away to elementary school students, but also recalled Bob Nichols brought a team of horses and gave free rides on a wagon. He said someone else would donate a bunch of pennies that were placed in a sand pile for students to find.
“It was just a great way to bring the community together and enjoy the last bit of community before everybody headed off for their vacations at the end of the school year,” said Swager, who said his father was a teacher at Kalamazoo South Junior High.
As Adam served sno-cones to visitors July 20, he was amazed the old sno-cone making machine his father used decades ago, still functions properly.
“Number one, it’s marvelous to see that a 50-year-old machine is still working and in great shape. I got it oiled up last night and got it cleaned up again. Doing that kind of reminds me of the old man when he used to get it out and get it cleaned up for the last day of school. It’s nice to see an old piece of equipment working fine this much longer. It’s a testament to the way they used to build things back then,” said Swager.
The Scotts resident was also happy to be a part of a celebration that helped bring the community together, just like his father did.
“It’s nice to be able to bring that sense of the community back as a carnival,” said Adam.
The Scotts parade was well attended with a heavy presence of tractors, fire trucks brought by local fire departments, some old cars, kids on motorized vehicles, and other entries. Parade organizer King Perkins said there were approximately 50 entries that included 22 tractors and 14 old cars.
“All in all, I was very pleased with how the parade went. I think we had a very good crowd,” said Perkins.
After the parade the Pride of Scotts grounds were filled with activities ranging from a chicken dinner, old car show, a bounce house for the kids, vendors, and a drawing for an electric bike, which was won by Emily Davis of Scotts.
The Scotts area Garage Sales, a bake sale, chicken dinner, old car show, and vendor booths were also a part of Scotts Days.
The Scotts Olde Tyme Power And Equipment Association held Steamer Days in Scotts Mill County Park July 19, 20 and 21 in conjunction with Scotts Days.
Scotts Days is sponsored by the Pride of Scotts.
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