Celebrate Wrenshall and Brickyard Days on Saturday
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The Habhegger Brick Company was located southeast of the present-day Wrenshall school, along Pioneer Drive. This photo from 1899 shows men wheeling brick from drying racks in the yard to a kiln shed. From left to right are Morris Peterson, Bill Habhegger, unknown, Mike Murray, unknown, Matt Dahl, Barth Wolf, and Ike Hagle. Photos and information from the Carlton County Historical Society
It's been a while since the Habhegger Brick Company was a thriving business in the Wrenshall area, and even longer since Frederick Jacob Habhegger and his family of nine children bought 160 acres of land where Wrenshall is now located.
At its peak, the brickyard produced approximately 4 million bricks per year and employed 35 men, according to the city's website.
The brickyard closed in 1954 but it is remembered in the buildings around town - including the First Presbyterian Church and the Brickyard Restaurant, among others - made from the distinctive yellow brick.
The small Carlton County community also honors its founding business every summer by holding its annual Brickyard Days celebration.
This year's event kicks off Friday night with a Community Night Out celebration 5-7 p.m. at City Hall, 400 Alcohol Road. Meet your neighbors, local firefighters and city councilors. The fun includes music, Wrenshall fire trucks and Carlton County squad car. Free hot dogs, chips and refreshments will be provided.
Saturday offers a full day of fun, starting at 8 a.m. with a pancake breakfast at First Presbyterian Church. The Brickyard Days 5K walk/run starts at 9 a.m. in the school parking lot. Registration starts at 8 a.m. and the cost is $25.
The 11 a.m. parade starts in the school parking lot as well, with lineup at 10:30 a.m. George and Carol Anderson are grand marshals of this year's Brickyard Days parade. Look for kids in their new Raptor gear to march in Saturday's parade too, along with lots of other fun entries.
Following the parade, folks can wander to three different locations:
Head to the firehall for an open house, free ice cream, a pie sale and silent auction.
Events in the park after the parade include a bake sale, inflatables and bungee trampoline, fun and games, a jello eating contest starting at 1 p.m., knocker soccer, a selfie-scavenger hunt at 2 p.m., and "soak the superintendent and school board" under the water bucket. Cost is $5 for six tries. There will be Bingo at Silverbrook Town Hall.
A bean bag cornhole tournament starts at Bricks Pub and Grub at 1 p.m. and costs $20 per team; pre-register with the bartender if you can. Live music begins at 3 p.m. and goes until 8 p.m. at Bricks. Enjoy outside bar and food there too.