Every year our small community celebrates a bank raid gone bad.Most communities have some kind of annual celebration. In Northfield, we host the "Defeat of Jesse James Days" the second weekend in September. As the story goes Jesse James (a bankrobbing outlaw) came with his gang into town with the intention of robbing our fair city's bank. Joseph Lee Heywood refused to open the safe; a towns person alerted those on the Main Street; the gang had been drinking and were not in top form. As a result, Heywood was shot, a gunfight erupted on the Main Street killing a gang member, some of the James gang were captured and the gang broke up. Therefore, we emphasize the "Defeat" part.
I've always enjoyed this weekend. Though we're really Midwestern farmers, for 3 - 4 days we act like we're from the Wild West. When you go downtown, you see lots of cowboy attire. Bridge Square (a small section in the middle of town with a monument and fountain) is filled with food vendors. We went there a couple of times and ate roasted corn on the cob, cheese curds, lemonade, corn dogs, funnel cakes and dippin' dots (tiny frozen balls of ice cream).
Other highlights of the weekend are an Artist's Walk along the river, an arts and crafts sale at Central Park, a rodeo, an old car show, re-enactments of the bank raid, a kiddie parade, Bingo, a beer garden with various bands and the Grand Parade to close out the weekend.
As I said, I like this weekend. The weather is usually good and it's a nice way to finish up the summer. After these few days, the town of Northfield is ready to settle down to the rigors and schedule of the fresh school year.
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