Steamboat Pilot & Today

Oak Creek — Through the decades, Oak Creek has morphed from a booming mining town to a hippie refuge to the fiercely independent and eclectic town it is today.

To honor its many eras, along with the town's centennial and Labor Day, the Oak Creek Labor Day Committee, a volunteer organization charged with planning the five-day party, has designated this year's celebration theme "The Good Old Days."

"It doesn't matter which decade was your best, we just want you to dress up," said Candy Johnson, the committee's secretary and treasurer.

Coupling the town's favorite holiday with its 100th birthday has put the Labor Day Committee to task, she said.

"Every year, someone has a new suggestion for us, that's why we keep growing," she said. "We just can't do it all in three days."

The town's annual Labor Day celebration began more than 90 years ago as a way for coal companies to honor the area's miners, she said. Throughout the years, the town has been charged with maintaining the celebration, much to the town's delight.

"Whenever you talk about Labor Day in Oak Creek, the people around here get very prideful that their celebration has continued," she said. "We're all really proud of our town."

In keeping with the theme, the five-day celebration is incorporating old-time races including egg, peanut, bed, bartender and bicycle races down Main Street. The town's 100th birthday party is from 2 to 7 p.m. Sunday at Decker Park.

"We expect we'll have more people than ever before because it's the town's (centennial), and people have been saving up to come back," she said.

This year's grand marshals are historian Mike Yurich and longtime resident Sandy Wisecup.

"Those two really represent the diversity in Oak Creek," Johnson said.

A parade, costume contest, live music, children's fishing derby and events in the park will keep everyone in the family busy for days, she said.

"We really try to find something for every age, because we want everyone involved," she said.

Johnson said picking her favorite event from the massive five-day event schedule is nearly impossible. Instead, her favorite thing is something intangible.

"I love how Labor Day brings this community together," she said. "Whatever our differences are, they fade away for the weekend. It's going to be one long, heck of a party."

Volunteers, sponsors and participants have always made Labor Day what it is, she said.

"If it were not for the people that bring so much to this event, it would not have been able to have happened for the last 93 years," she said. "Our goal, as a committee, is to make our sponsors and our community proud."

Also during Labor Day weekend, one of Oak Creek's most notable characters, Jean Paul "The Weatherman" Caouette, will host two presentations on climate at 8 p.m. Aug. 31 and at 7 p.m. Sept. 2 at the Paradigm Theater. Caouette, who recently was featured on The Weather Channel's "Epic Conditions," said he is eager to share his knowledge and passion for the weather with the town.

"I'm just trying to inform people about what's really going on with the climate and what's coming down the road," he said.

- To reach Alexis DeLaCruz, call 871-4234

or e-mail adelacruz@steamboatpilot.com