The Rosenow Farms Illinois team takes on F&S Enterprises Iowa team at Tug Fest on Saturday, August 10, in Port Byron.
Chris Deets was relaxed, standing against a fence and smoking a Marlboro 100 near where his tug team, Van Pelt’s Drywall, gathered along the Mississippi riverfront in LeClaire.
Spanning the Mississippi River, attached to winches in LeClaire and Port Byron was a 2,700-foot, 680-pound rope that 12 Iowa teams — 10 men’s teams, one woman’s team and an unofficial high school team — would pull with all their might in the 37th annual Tug Fest.
Wade Whiting, third from right, pulls with teammates from Veterans Choice during Tug Fest on Saturday in LeClaire.
Roy Dabner
“This is my first time,” said Deets, 34, of Davenport.
Asked why he was participating, Deets said, “They just asked, and I offered. You’ve got to help the people you work with.”
Deets said he and his team trained by pulling on a rope attached to a truck at work.
The weather for this year’s Tug Fest was perfect with the high temperature reaching only 76 degrees by 2:47 p.m. under mostly sunny skies with a gentle breeze to cool down the tuggers once they finished their jobs.
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Three-year-old Peyton Fick of Bettendorf sizes up her giant corn dog at Tug Fest on Saturday in LeClaire.
Roy Dabner
This year’s Tug Fest had the teams battling for two minutes rather than three minutes, said Frank Slaby, who pulled for F & S Enterprises and King’s Material.
“We lowered the time because we weren’t able to get the barge,” said Slaby, 50, of Pleasant Valley who was competing in his 12th Tug Fest.
Scenes from the 2024 Tug Fest on Saturday, August 10, in Port Byron.
Katelyn Metzger
“In the past fighting the river has been a real issue for us,” Slaby said. “We’re not taking a lot of rope in the last minute anyway so if it’s going to be in the river we may as well go two minutes. We’re getting all the rope that we can in two minutes anyway.”
Slaby is the sponsor of his team and competes on a regular land team in Illinois, Wisconsin, and Minnesota, among other places.
Cassie Whiting, right, of Eldridge pulls with the Iowa team in the all-women division of Tug Fest on Saturday in LeClaire.
Roy Dabner
“We’ve got a practice area in the skate park by LeClaire, and we have a gantry where we lift a 2,000-pound block up and down twice a week,” he said.
“This is a lot of fun,” Slaby added. “It’s good for the community and raises a lot of money for a lot of good foundations.”
Deets’ team competed second in the event against Black Fabrication. Deets and his teammates were not victorious, but still Deets called the experience “exhilarating.”
“I loved it,” he said. “It felt like I was fighting for my life. You just have to force your body to keep going as it wants to give up halfway through. It was a great team effort. We all dug in.”
Grant Rosenboom, 29, of LeClaire, who pulled for Van Pelt and a couple of other teams, said the two minute tug benefits both sides. “I think it’s going to be a lot more intense pull. There’s not a lot of break time so everyone’s just going to grab onto that rope and give it everything they’ve got.”
Spectators look on during one of the pulls during Tug Fest on Saturday in LeClaire.
Roy Dabner
When the two minutes were up, each team member was spent.
The event brought thousands of people to downtown LeClaire. There was a large crowd watching the tug teams compete, and even more people walking along the carnival midway. Kids rode the ride or played carnival games. Those people who weren’t watching the Tug Fest shopped at local stores or ate at one of the many restaurants LeClaire has to offer.
There were 11 official teams on each side of the river competing, each with at least 20 tuggers.
There were a number of husbands and wives tugging and pulling for each other.
Cassie Whiting, right, cheers for her husband Wade as he pulls for Veterans Choice during Tug Fest on Saturday in LeClaire.
Roy Dabner
Wade Whiting, 35, of Eldridge, was competing in his second Tug Fest, while his wife Cassie, 34, was competing in her sixth.
“I just love it,” said Cassie Whiting, who pulled for the women’s team representing First Central State Bank against opponent Hillsdale Storage. “I like the community feeling and everyone works together really hard and it’s just a lot of fun.”
Scenes from the 2024 Tug Fest on Saturday, August 10, in Port Byron.
Katelyn Metzger
Wade Whiting, who pulled for Veterans Choice Contractor, said it also was good for the businesses sponsoring teams to “get their names out there.”
Before each round, the team’s tug masters would go up and down the line telling the tuggers what needs to be done to win. A jar of a sticky substance was moved up and down the line so team members could smear some on their hands.
Scenes from the 2024 Tug Fest on Saturday, August 10, in Port Byron.
Katelyn Metzger
Michele Walsh, 37, LeClaire, was the tug master for the women’s team and explained what it takes to compete.
“It’s all legs,” Walsh said. “So, you drop with your legs, and you push with your legs. You don’t pull with your arms. Even though it’s a tug of war you really just hold onto the rope, and you push with your legs.
Members of the Larson Pump Illinois team compete against LeClaire Auto Iowa team in the Great River Tug Fest on Saturday, August 10, in Port Byron.
Katelyn Metzger
“The first pull is all important,” she added. “When you start, you’re running with the rope. And then it’ll stop you but it’s only because the rope dipped in the water. But if you push through that the rope comes out of the water and you just go flying, and if you can get the momentum going on that it’s a pretty good chance you’ll win.”
There were many people pulling for more than one team.
“I’m doing three today,” said Bob Dolan, 40, of Princeton, Iowa. “Many of us do more than one.”
Scenes from the 2024 Tug Fest on Saturday, August 10, in Port Byron.
Katelyn Metzger
Dolan’s first tugging event was with Carsten’s Flooring, which defeated Knapp’s Contracting and Storage in Round 2. “You can feel when you’re winning,” Dolan said. “It’s a whole different feel.”
A look across the Mississippi River at the Port Byron side, during Tug Fest on Saturday in LeClaire.
Roy Dabner
It was a tough day for the Iowa Teams. Of the 11 rounds, only two Iowa teams won — Carsten’s Flooring defeated Knapp’s Contracting & Storage and the Picknick Real Estate team defeated Strada Communication.
In the high school competition, the Port Byron Rams defeated the Pleasant Valley Spartans.
Cassie and Wade Whiting of Eldridge take time for a photograph prior to their events during Tug Fest on Saturday in LeClaire.
Roy Dabner
Despite the outcome, Cassie Whiting said, “I’ll be back next year. It’s just a lot of fun.”
Photos: 2024 Great River Tug Fest
Members of the Larson Pump Illinois team compete against LeClaire Auto Iowa team in the Great River Tug Fest on Saturday, August 10, in Port Byron.
Katelyn Metzger
Iowa contenders celebrate the end of Tug Fest 2024 on Saturday, August 10, 202, in LeClaire.
Roy Dabner
Scenes from the 2024 Tug Fest on Saturday, August 10, in Port Byron.
Katelyn Metzger
Chris Deets of Davenport is pictured prior to his event at Tug Fest on Saturday, August 10, 202, in LeClaire.
Roy Dabner
Scenes from the 2024 Tug Fest on Saturday, August 10, in Port Byron.
Katelyn Metzger
Cassie Whiting, right, cheers for her husband Wade as he pulls for Veterans Choice during Tug Fest on Saturday in LeClaire.
Roy Dabner
Scenes from the 2024 Tug Fest on Saturday, August 10, in Port Byron.
Katelyn Metzger
Cassie and Wade Whiting of Eldridge take time for a photograph prior to their events during Tug Fest on Saturday in LeClaire.
Roy Dabner
Scenes from the 2024 Tug Fest on Saturday, August 10, in Port Byron.
Katelyn Metzger
A look across the Mississippi River at the Port Byron side, during Tug Fest on Saturday in LeClaire.
Roy Dabner
Scenes from the 2024 Tug Fest on Saturday, August 10, in Port Byron.
Katelyn Metzger
Spectators look on during one of the pulls during Tug Fest on Saturday in LeClaire.
Roy Dabner
Scenes from the 2024 Tug Fest on Saturday, August 10, in Port Byron.
Katelyn Metzger
Cassie Whiting, right, of Eldridge pulls with the Iowa team in the all-women division of Tug Fest on Saturday in LeClaire.
Roy Dabner
Scenes from the 2024 Tug Fest on Saturday, August 10, in Port Byron.
Katelyn Metzger
Three-year-old Peyton Fick of Bettendorf sizes up her giant corn dog at Tug Fest on Saturday in LeClaire.
Roy Dabner
Scenes from the 2024 Tug Fest on Saturday, August 10, in Port Byron.
Katelyn Metzger
Wade Whiting, third from right, pulls with teammates from Veterans Choice during Tug Fest on Saturday in LeClaire.
Roy Dabner
Scenes from the 2024 Tug Fest on Saturday, August 10, in Port Byron.
Katelyn Metzger
Scenes from the 2024 Tug Fest on Saturday, August 10, in Port Byron.
Katelyn Metzger
Scenes from the 2024 Tug Fest on Saturday, August 10, in Port Byron.
Katelyn Metzger
Scenes from the 2024 Tug Fest on Saturday, August 10, in Port Byron.
Katelyn Metzger
Scenes from the 2024 Tug Fest on Saturday, August 9, in Port Byron.
KATELYN METZGER
Scenes from the 2024 Tug Fest on Saturday, August 10, in Port Byron.
Katelyn Metzger
Scenes from the 2024 Tug Fest on Saturday, August 10, in Port Byron.
Katelyn Metzger
Scenes from the 2024 Tug Fest on Saturday, August 10, in Port Byron.
Katelyn Metzger
Scenes from the 2024 Tug Fest on Saturday, August 10, in Port Byron.
Katelyn Metzger
Scenes from the 2024 Tug Fest on Saturday, August 10, in Port Byron.
Katelyn Metzger
Scenes from the 2024 Tug Fest on Saturday, August 10, in Port Byron.
Katelyn Metzger
Scenes from the 2024 Tug Fest on Saturday, August 10, in Port Byron.
Katelyn Metzger
Scenes from the 2024 Tug Fest on Saturday, August 10, in Port Byron.
Katelyn Metzger
Scenes from the 2024 Tug Fest on Saturday, August 10, in Port Byron.
Katelyn Metzger
Scenes from the 2024 Tug Fest on Saturday, August 10, in Port Byron.
Katelyn Metzger
Scenes from the 2024 Tug Fest on Saturday, August 10, in Port Byron.
Katelyn Metzger
Scenes from the 2024 Tug Fest on Saturday, August 10, in Port Byron.
Katelyn Metzger
Scenes from the 2024 Tug Fest on Saturday, August 10, in Port Byron.
Katelyn Metzger
Scenes from the 2024 Tug Fest on Saturday, August 10, in Port Byron.
Katelyn Metzger
Scenes from the 2024 Tug Fest on Saturday, August 10, in Port Byron.
Katelyn Metzger
Scenes from the 2024 Tug Fest on Saturday, August 10, in Port Byron.
Katelyn Metzger
Scenes from the 2024 Tug Fest on Saturday, August 10, in Port Byron.
Katelyn Metzger
Scenes from the 2024 Tug Fest on Saturday, August 10, in Port Byron.
Katelyn Metzger
Scenes from the 2024 Tug Fest on Saturday, August 10, in Port Byron.
Katelyn Metzger
Scenes from the 2024 Tug Fest on Saturday, August 10, in Port Byron.
Katelyn Metzger
Scenes from the 2024 Tug Fest on Saturday, August 10, in Port Byron.
Katelyn Metzger
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Publish date : 2024-08-10 13:30:00
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