Snow Fest Traditional Cache
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Size: 
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The story of Two Rivers Snow Fest is an interesting one. It started back in July 1936 when a WPA crew was working on what is present day Riverside Park (14th & School Streets). One of the workers turned over a shovelful of dirt and, much to his surprise, found snow underneath. The snow had been buried during work the previous winter and, insulated by the soil, had survived the heat of spring and summer. The snow bank was four feet deep and 10 feet long.
"City Manager E. J. Donnelly of Two Rivers reached for his telephone to call the cops this morning when William Rehrauer (Two Rivers) rushed to the city hall and yelled for Donnelly to stop a snowball fight on a WPA park project. Donnelly dropped the telephone to dodge a snowball that Rehrauer brought with him as proof that WPA workers really were having a snowball fight." Manitowoc Herald Times - Manitowoc, Wisconsin - Thursday, July 09, 1936 - Page 1
The story spread quickly and the national news wires caught wind of it, but the folks in Manitowoc were not too sure of the truthfulness of the story. Manitowoc Mayor Arthur Schuetze scoffed at the entire affair and called it nothing but a publicity stunt. Two Rivers City Manager E. J. Donnelly made a believer out of Mayor Schuetze when he walked into his office and dumped a bucket of snow on his city hall desk.
Two Rivers was celebrating its 100th birthday in 1936, and a Two Rivers snowplow, filled with the recently discovered snow, made an appearance in the Centennial Parade.
The year 1937 marked the first annual Two Rivers Snow Fest. The event was highlighted by a parade, a snowball fight between VIP's from Manitowoc and Two Rivers, and the crowning of the first Snow Queen and her court on an ice throne at Walsh Field.
The American Legion sponsored the event the first several years. Snow Fest took a hiatus during the war years, but returned as an annual event at Neshotah Park until its final year in 1998.
How the snow was preserved from year to year was a closely guarded secret for many years, known only to a few local residents. When asked, some of the old timers, with a twinkle in their eye, just shrug their shoulders and say they don't know - but some of them say it was buried in the side of Picnic Hill near the cache site. Fact or fiction? Either way, it is an interesting story.
** Congratulations to whosyadaddy on another FTF! Hope you enjoyed the hunt! **
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