The Glory Years of the Bluegill Frolic
submitted by the 2024 Bluegill Frolic Committee
The Inaugural Bluegill Frolic, held in 1939, was a celebration surrounding the official opening weekend of the Michigan fishing season.
4,000 attendees flooded Main Street, Marcellus, when festivities began on Saturday June 24, 1939. A parade with nearly 50 entries started the day off, followed by baseball games, talent shows, a water fight amongst the members of the fire department led by Chief Arthur Whitenight, live music and a casting exhibition put on by the South Bend Tackle Company filled the day.
The main event of the evening was the crowning of the Bluegill Frolic Queen, Marcellus high school senior Miss Berdeen Mckenzie.
In 1940 and 1941 attendance numbers nearly doubled. However, the event had to take a pause for WW 2. In 1946, The Bluegill Frolic resumed and was supported by a new patriotic enthusiasm. Now growing into a 2-day event, several thousand people would be on hand.
1946 Marked the first true fishing contest for the Frolic with prizes being awarded for biggest Bluegill and biggest bass. Big winners of the day were Tony Roscoski with a 13 oz Bluegill and Peach Fetters who weighed in a 5 ½ Lbs Bass caught from Hemlock Lake. Notable events included a trick-shooting exhibition by the Michigan State Police, a pet parade, and dance music provided by the Melville 4-piece orchestra.
By 1948 the Bluegill Frolic was drawing a huge crowd of over 15,000 people who enjoyed two full days of Frolic cheer. The Fishing contest would be highlighted by a big win for Mrs. Leonard Forreider when she topped the weights of biggest stringer and biggest Bluegill, winning $45 in cash and prizes, a literal windfall in an era in which the average weekly income was a mere $57.
The 1950’s and early 1960’s would see the pinnacle of popularity and notoriety of the Bluegill Frolic. Live coverage on WKZO radio along with newspaper men from as far away as Detroit would cover details of the weekend’s events. Esteemed members of the State Government as well as a few Hollywood celebrities appeared before crowds of 20,000 people. It was also in this era that the Bluegill Frolic Fishing contest would become a marquis event and the format would settle into three categories, big Bass, big Bluegill, and heaviest Bluegill stringer, a format that is still currently employed. Decades have seen many fish entered into the history books of the Marcellus Bluegill Frolic fishing contest. This celebration of the fishing season opener exceeded the height of popularity and excitement of which this small community had never seen.
With the village slogan in those early Frolic days of “YOU CAN CATCH FISH IN MARCELLUS MI!”, it was destined to be a success!
Unofficial record catches: Biggest Bass-Ken Laplace 8lb 14oz~1976 Biggest Bluegill-Ken “Bud” Rimes 1lb 5oz ~1961 Biggest Stringer-Owen Bucknell 11lb 5oz ~ 1976
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.