General Pleasonton Days set for Oct. 6, 7

This weekend, the residents in Pleasanton will enjoy a weekend packed with history and adventure.

On Oct. 6 and 7, the city of Pleasanton will conduct its First Annual General Pleasonton Days, event committee member Rose Troth said. The event which has been named in honor of General Alfred Pleasonton who fought in the Civil War, will possibly become an annual occurrence, Troth said.

According to Troth, the name of the weekend celebration bears a unique spelling because the U.S. Army general for whom Pleasanton was originally named spelled his name with an "o" instead of an "a," which is different than the way the town's name is spelled today. Troth is not certain what caused the difference in the spelling of the town from that of General Pleasonton.

Troth said community members decided that Pleasanton needed to have a yearly celebration just as surrounding towns do.

"We decided to do something because all of the other little towns have stuff. Pleasanton doesn't have anything, and it's about the biggest town in the county," she said.

The weekend events will begin with a horseshoe pitch at 9 a.m. Saturday morning followed by the first ever General Pleasonton Days' Parade at 11 a.m. The parade is expected to have more than 80 floats to entertain parade guests, Troth said.

Saturday will be full of various children's activities such as a bubble gum blowing contest and a children's stick horse race, among others. Also, several activities for the adults such as the longest beard and longest mustache contest for the men and the men and women's nail driving contest will be taking place throughout the day, a written statement provided by the committee said.

During the weekend's events, free admission will be granted to the Mine Creek Battlefield State Historic Site. Allowing guests to partake in self-guided tours of the battlefield, the written statement said.

Sunday morning events will include an old fashioned community church service which is being sponsored by area churches. Service attendees are encouraged to bring lawn chairs.

Also, on Sunday event participants can partake in a historical poker run. Poker run participants will be required to pay a small fee in order to partake in the event. This fee will help offset the cost of conducting the weekend's events. According to Troth, the committee has also conducted a raffle and accepted donations in an effort to fund the weekend's events. Most of the weekend's events are open to the public free of charge, Troth said.