The 24th Annual Worm Race at the New Carlisle Public Library on June 22 did not disappoint. Back in 1999 when children’s librarian Maggie Bollar moved to the community with her brand new master’s degree and head full of creative ideas and I was on the staff of a weekly newspaper, I covered the first Worm Race.
To say it was weird is an understatement.
Young folks were asked to bring earthworms to the library in a cup. The race track looked like a large target on the floor. The worms were placed in the middle then the distance they crawled within a specific time was recorded. It was weird but the kids were rather enthusiastic.
The idea caught on and every year the event grew. The target shaped race track was replaced by a wooden ramp six feet long and elevated three feet on one end. Worm coaches would stand behind the ramp and were allowed to blow on the worms but not touch them. A “zamboni” had to be invented to clean up any “stuff” that the racers in one heat might leave behind. Each heat would require a clean crawling surface, of course.
Fast forward to 2023 and 75 people were on hand for the 24th annual worm races. Volunteers William Buffenbarger and Blaze Risner registered 33 worms and their coaches.
Some worm names were apparently meant to intimidate other competitors: Godzilla, Raptor Blue, Two-Headed Alien, Wormie, Sir Squigims II, Hip-Hop, The Worm with No Name, Freddy, Herald, Gerald, Fasty, Piggy, and of course there had to be a Mario.
Volunteers included Rachel Rigsby, Orion Rigsby, Linda Hesskew and Madison.
August Flack, and Luca Talbott handled the staging of the heats and the measuring. Each racing team was introduced then whole room counted down to each start. Miss Maggie recorded the announced distances.
The big excitement in the 2023 races were the new red fishing worm racers. These slimy little athletes were not about to let the big thick earthworms push them around. Nope. To the amazement of the crowd as the race progressed one little red worm stopped racing and curled up like it was giving up, then it formed itself into a ball and rolled down the ramp.
Records were shattered. The crowd went wild.
Three huge trophies were presented, and other places were given prizes and small trophies.
Rory Zedaker was one of the winners following in the footsteps of her brother Dorian Nagle, who won last year’s worm race. Cool thing is that their mom, Chelsey Zedaker, took home the gold when she was a little girl. Miss Maggie believes this may be the beginning of a worm racing dynasty.
Many of the prizes were donated by Linda Heskew and her granddaughter, Madison. Rick and Teresa Baker donated scientific learning toys. No one went home empty handed. I was assured that no one would take their racing worms fishing to celebrate. The racers were to be rewarded with relocation into gardens.
During the organized chaos of the event, I looked over at Miss Maggie and asked her if 24 years ago she thought this event would grow into something this big. She just shook her head and smiled in amazement.
Next year will be the 25th run of the race and I imagine big things will be happening. The Kentucky Derby has nothing over New Carlisle.
Mark your calendars – The George Rogers Clark Chapter of the VFW in Enon will sponsor fireworks on July 3 at dusk. Food trucks and games begin at 5 p.m. As usual the fireworks will be started by the firing of the full-sized cannon from the First Mad River Light Artillery and the Fair at New Boston. Enon’s Fourth of July Parade will be on July 4, starting at 2 p.m. Sponsored by the Enon - Mad River Township Fire department, it starts at Greenon Schools, progresses through the construction area on Xenia Road and ends at the Firehouse on Main Street.
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