Once upon a time, a popular event was the Iola-to-Humboldt innertube race.
It started out as a lark in 1969, when Bill Haire and friends tossed innertubes in the Neosho River below the dam west of town and floated down to Humboldt.
The leisurely trip caught on, and before long became an annual tradition for the area’s youth. Over the next several years entries increased, vessels became more sophisticated and competition reared its head — at least for some.
The race’s death knell came when officialdom marched in.
A young lad went over the dam at Humboldt in his tube, got caught in undertow and by most accounts came close to drowning. That brought whatever the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks or whatever it was called then onto the scene.
The state boys insisted on lifejackets — not a bad idea — and laid out rules and regulations, exercising their rights as protectors of waterways and those who use them.
As could be expected, once oversight entered the equation, the event was doomed. No one wept. In fact area mothers were delighted because the event always took place on Mother’s Day.
In Wednesday’s Register we noted that Don Nickels won the race for the third straight year in 1974. I don’t remember how much longer it went on, but not many years.
Often, the river was running at a crisp rate from spring rains, which made the journey quick and the river easy to negotiate.
Other times it was as low as it has been of late, which required dedication and a strong back to make it the 10 miles or so by river to Humboldt — lots of pushing and tugging through shallows.
A commonality was most rafters ended up with a cherry red sunburn.
