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New rope means a brighter-looking Tug Fest

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By Mary Louise Speer | Saturday, July 22, 2006 12:00 AM CDT | () comments

Larry Fisher/QUAD-CITY TIMES Tug Fest volunteers check out the new rope delivered Friday in LeClaire for this year’s tug-of-war over the Mississippi River.

LeCLAIRE, Iowa — Hundreds of hands have gripped the 2,700-foot Tug Fest rope in 19 years of competition across the Mississippi River. On Friday, that proud history gave way to the future with the arrival of a bright yellow replacement.

A few people viewed the rope, wrapped around a large spool, during a short ceremony in LeClaire before it was taken across the river to Port Byron, Ill.

The untested rope will take center stage at the 20th annual tug-of-war between the cross-river rivals Aug. 12. As always, the Mississippi will be shut down to traffic for two hours at 1 p.m. that Saturday as 11 teams rub grit and sweat into the gleaming strands. To date, LeClaire has 10 wins and Port Byron has scored nine victories in the yearly contest.

“To me, the rope is a symbol of indescribable pride that connects two towns, two states and thousands of wonderful Midwestern people who share a common passion that can only be felt in the heart,” Iowa Tug Fest president Angela Mapes said Friday. “The rope signifies not just an event, but a tradition that will be a part of history in these small little river towns, Port Byron and LeClaire, for many years to come.”

The tug-of-war teams may not find much of a difference as they spar for bistate mastery. The new 2,700-foot rope probably will chafe skin just as much as the original, and the diameter is the same at 11/8 inches. The old rope was a shade lighter at 680 pounds compared with the new one at about 750 pounds.

But there are a few important differences, said Dave Bass, who serves on LeClaire’s Tug committee. The first rope was purchased in 1987 by the Illinois committee. Its replacement was custom-spun as a continuous length of polypropylene instead of being spliced together in sections, he said.

The bright yellow will be easy to see when the rope is ferried across the Mississippi and secured on the LeClaire side. “When it was that old black-and-yellow rope, it was hard to see it. We’ll be able to see it in the water and when they pull it tight,” Cindy Bruhn of LeClaire said.

The rope was purchased through a partnership with K&K True Value Hardware of Bettendorf, the LeClaire Tug Committee and the J.M. Foster Division of Belding Walbridge, Bass said.

Mapes assigned him the task of coming up with a new rope, but, for a time, it looked as though that was mission impossible, he said. Between the three groups, they came up with enough funds just in time for the 20th annual event. The old rope will stay in storage for a while, though, Illinois Tug Master Alan Black said.

“I don’t know if performance-wise it will make any difference, but the old rope had a splice in it, which was an issue once in awhile,” he said. “It’s a luxury to have two ropes.”

Both towns will have plenty of entertainment for everyone. Port Byron will host the Tug Fest Volleyball Tournament on Aug. 13 at Dorrance Park and LeClaire will host a special Aug. 12 evening concert with entertainers Steve Azar and Trent Willmon.

“We wanted to show off our newly paved levee, and the best way was to bring entertainment in because we’re very proud of what the city of LeClaire has done to improve the community,” Iowa Tug Fest vice president Jane Lakeman said.

Contact the city desk at (563) 383-2245 or newsroom@qctimes.com.