Annual community event draws crowd
By Holly Neumann
Friends, family, fun and lutefisk were all part of the 59th annual Iola Winter Carnival.
Young and old traveled from near and far for the event.
Forrest Myer, 6, and his brother Hudson, 3, came from Fremont with their dad to participate in the children’s fishing tournament on Lake Iola.
Forrest was sure he was going to catch some fish.
“I don’t know which one, or what species of fish,” he said.
He was sure his dad would catch the biggest one.
“He is the strongest in my family,” said Forrest. “So he might catch the biggest.”
Hudson disagreed.
“I am strong,” he said. “I am going to catch the biggest ‘shishy.’ But Daddy is still the best fisher guy.”
Skijoring
Later in the day, nine racers, along with their dogs, took to the trails at the Iola Winter Sports Club to take part in the skijoring event.
Among them was Cory Sauer and his dog Darwin.
“Darwin is a savage,” said Sauer. “We run together a lot, so I thought we would give this a try.”
He admitted he was nervous at the start.
“I was amazed at how calm all the dogs are,” he said. “And the racers were all really nice.”
Sauer was in awe over the beautiful trails.
“It is absolutely stunning out here,” he said.
Along with the beauty came some distractions for Darwin.
Sauer yelled to his dog to focus as they were nearing the half-way point of the race. Darwin seemed to be more interested in the people cheering for him.
Lutefisk Supper
A highlight of the weekend is the annual Norwegian Lutefisk Supper held at Iola-Scandinavia High School.
Nearly 1,000 meals, made from 400 pounds of cod, 550 pounds of lutefisk, 300 pounds of meatballs, 550 potatoes and 13 cases of lefse, were served.
Steve Olson, who has volunteered for 10 years, was in charge of rinsing the Lutefisk and transferring it to trays to be cooked.
“I like everything about helping,” he said. “The camaraderie, the fellowship. We see people from all over the state that come back here year after year.”
According to Olson, eating Lutefisk is an acquired taste.
“It’s good for you,” he said. “I can hardly wait until the first batch comes out of the cooker. You put some melted butter on it and some pepper. There is nothing better.”
Conrad Joseph, of Wausau, agreed.
Joseph got in line an hour before the meal started.
“It’s worth the wait,” he said. “This is my ninth time here. I guess you could say I am a regular. I love seeing all these Norwegians come together.”
Mike Mazemke organizes the event and was proud of the turnout.
“All the volunteers that come together to make this happen is pretty amazing,” he said. “From the ladies that roll the meatballs to food preparation and clean up, it is a phenomenal event. Everyone takes pride in what they are doing.”
He said the word “Norwegian” is an interesting term when one lives in Iola.
“It’s like a cloud comes over this town the Monday before the Winter Carnival and everyone gets in the spirit,” said Mazemke. “And when that cloud rolls in, we are all Norwegian for the weekend.”
Jodi Schmoldt, of Iola, agreed.
“It is great seeing the people come out year after year for the Norwegian Supper,” she said. “It’s like a reunion. Everyone is Norwegian for the day.”
Schmoldt thinks Iola-Scandinavia is a little piece of paradise.
“And we celebrate that on this weekend,” she said.
Ski jumping
Closing out the weekend was the Central Ski Jumping and Nordic Combined Championships at Iola Winter Sports Club.
Although conditions on the hill were not in prime, over 50 jumpers participated.
Volunteers worked at prepping the hills to ensure the safety of the jumpers.
There were some spills, but everyone got up and went back up this hills again.
Gordan Trantow, of Stevens Point, attended the ski jumping for the first time.
“I was at the Norwegian Supper yesterday and heard about the event,” he said. “I don’t live that far from here, and I had no idea this ski hill was even here.”
He was impressed by the young jumpers on the hills.
“I just saw a little guy take a spill and he got right back up and went on the 30m hill without batting an eye,” he said. “Who knows, maybe I will be here jumping next year. Of course, I don’t know if 62 years of age is a good time to start.”
His 7-year-old granddaughter, Ivy Scott, told him anyone can fly.
“If you give it a try Grandpa, so will I,” she said.
Trantow plans to return next year.
“I think we found our little piece of heaven, right here in Iola,” he said. “I thought I was just coming here for the Lutefisk on Saturday, but what a great weekend this truly is.”