First Maize Days - In the 1950s, the City of Friona celebrated its birthday in September/October with plenty of activities including a pony express horse race, cooking events, and a parade with tons of floats. This tradition culminated in 1956 as Friona celebrated its 50th birthday. However, in 1957, the emphasis shifted from a birthday celebration to a celebration of harvest and thus "Maize Days" was born. Agriculture exhibits and a "Maize Queen" contest were added to the list of activities and the rest is history.
***
The Harvest Moon - The full Moon that happens nearest to the fall equinox (September 22 or 23) always takes on the name "Harvest Moon" (see photo on front page). Unlike other full Moons, this full Moon rises at nearly the same time-around sunset-for several evenings in a row, giving farmers several extra evenings of moonlight and allowing them to finish their harvests before the frosts of fall arrive. While September's full Moon is usually known as the Harvest Moon, if October's full Moon happens to occur closer to the equinox than September's, it takes on the name "Harvest Moon" instead. In this case, September's full Moon is referred to as the Corn Moon.
***
Tickets Still Available - The Friona Volunteer Fire Department's "50 for 50" fundraiser drawing will take place at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, September 17th at the City Park. Only 1,000 tickets will be sold. Tickets can be purchased from any member of the Friona Volunteer Fire Department. They will also be selling sausage wraps in the park on Saturday.
***
Attention All Reunioneers - Please send photos of your class reunions to frionastar@wtrt.net so we can add you to next week's edition.
***
Next week - More Miss Friona and Little Miss photos along with parade and reunion photos.
***
Save The Date - The 6th National Night Out is scheduled for Tuesday, October 4, 2022 from 6-8 p.m. at the Law Enforcement Center in Farwell, Texas.Call 806-481-3303 for information.
***
National Days
September 15: Felt Hat Day
September 16: Cinnamon Raisin Bread Day
September 17: Constitution & Citizenship Day
September 18: Cheeseburger Day
September 19: Talk Like a Pirate Day
September 20: Punch Day
September 21: Pecan Cookie Day
***
Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar announced this week that he will send cities, counties, transit systems and special purpose districts $1.04 billion in local sales tax allocations for September. The total disbursements represent a 13.1 percent increase over the amount paid out in September 2021. These allocations are based on sales made in July by businesses that report tax monthly.
The City of Friona will receive $51,750.93 in sales tax allocation for the month of September. This is a modest 0.35% increase over the $51,567.78 received in September of 2021. However, the 2022 year-to-date total of $571,672.87 is still a whopping 30.88% higher than the $436,770.13 received last year during the same time frame.
The Friona Economic Development Corporation (FEDC) will receive $12,937.73 of the allocation for its operating budget.