GLADSTONE, Mich. (WZMQ) – In addition to its annual parade and Independence Day celebration, the City of Gladstone will host the 9th annual US Log Rolling Open on July 4.
Gladstone has been home to the event since 2018. Rollers spent Wednesday and Thursday preparing for this year’s competition. 31 athletes, primarily from across the Midwest, will face off in Van Cleve Park.
Two athletes roll on a log at the same time, each trying to knock the other into the water. Nine-time world champion log roller Dan McDonough says the sport is a fun way to honor the area’s logging heritage.
“It was a lumberjack skill,” he said. “They would drive the logs down the river, and that’s where they developed the sport. We’ve been doing it for years and years. Escanaba and Gladstone used to hold the world championships for log rolling back in the ’30s and ’40s, so it’s just kind of a renewal of that American tradition.”
The event also includes another piece of local history in the form of a boom running competition.
“They had booms set up all across the country, and you had to be pretty agile because they would run from log to log,” explained McDonough. “If you fell, good chance you’d either be crushed or drowned. These guys were pretty highly skilled. It’s just fun to watch.”
Log rolling is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. For more information on the US Log Rolling Open, click here.
