Waltz turns 150: Parade, car, tractor show, more set for celebration festival

WALTZ -- The Village of Waltz is celebrating its 150th birthday this week.

The Waltz 150 Festival, a Sesquicentennial Celebration, will be held Friday through Sunday throughout the community.

It's expected to be the biggest celebration Waltz has seen since the village's Centennial Celebration in 1972, Scott Adkins, executive director of the Waltz Improvement Association, said.

The Waltz 150 Festival will be similar to Waltz's long-time and popular Homecoming.

“In the tradition of the original Waltz Homecoming that was held annually from about the early 1900's until 2009, the 150th Celebration Festival will feature a carnival midway, festival parade, classic car and vintage tractor show, food, craft and general vendors, beer tent, local bands and entertainment and much more,” Adkins said. “Several local businesses, churches and organizations have also committed to participate in the festivities. The event will be the largest celebration since Waltz marked its 100th birthday in 1972.”

Waltz is located in Huron Charter Township in Wayne County, just north of the Monroe County line. It was originally settled in 1857 by Joseph Waltz Sr. The 22-acre Joseph Waltz Park is named for the founder.

“This small community was officially platted with the State of Michigan by his son, Joseph Waltz Jr., in 1872. Located along what was then the Holly, Wayne and Monroe Railway, the village was an important rail stop for coal, water and other supplies, as well as providing an important passenger transportation link between Detroit and Toledo," Adkins said. "Waltz was also one of the first communities in southeast Michigan to have telephone service in the late 1800s provided by the Peoples Telephone Company, founded in Waltz. The phone service later expanded throughout Monroe and Wayne Counties."

The Waltz Improvement Association was founded in 1920 to provide recreation, civic and community programs for residents. This non-profit community organization has a history of hosting events and activities and supporting local causes.

The association has accomplished much through the years. In 1947, it acquired the 22-acre parcel of land and developed the park; later, it added buildings, a ball field and a playground to the space. The association also started a youth baseball, adult baseball and Boy Scout programs, built a skating rink and started a Christmas tree lighting, Easter egg hunt and dances. In recent years, the association built a soccer field.

The Waltz Homecoming, one of the oldest festivals in the region, began around 1890 and ran until 1995. Homecoming returned in 2001 after a six-year hiatus and ran until 2008.

Homecomings offered family games, a picnic, music and an ice cream social. After the Depression, amusement rides, a beer garden and a parade were added. The high-point of the Homecoming was in the 1980's, when the festival was expanded to five days.

For more information on the Waltz Improvement Association and the Waltz 150 Celebration, visit  https://www.waltzimprovementassoc.com or @WaltzImprovementAssoc on Facebook. Those interested also can contact the association at waltzimprovementassn@gmail.com or (734) 619-7967.

The Centennial Celebration in 1972

The Village of Waltz’s 1972 Centennial was a grand celebration that even included skydiving demonstrations.

Held in July, the event drew thousands to the village and featured street dancing, dinners, contests, ball games, free beer, fireworks, a dinner and the biggest event, a parade.

Bertha (Piotraschke) Staschke, age 94, was named centennial queen. She died the next April.

The State of Michigan provided a resolution:

“Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring) that the members of the Michigan Legislature take this opportunity to congratulate Waltz upon the centennial celebration of the platting of the village, to convey to the residents of the Waltz area every success in their centennial year 1972 and to urge citizens of the state to visit this pleasant area of the State of Michigan and to participate in the centennial celebration.”

The resolution was adopted by the House on June 9, 1972, and by the Senate on June 14, 1972.

The centennial, Alvin Lyons from the Waltz Improvement Association, said, “was beautiful all the way through.”

In 1997, in honor of the village’s 125th birthday, the area’s largest birthday cake was baked.

This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: Waltz 150th celebration to include parade, car, tractor show