Freeman

This photo is included in a gallery of images taken by Jeremy Waltner at the 2026 Rames-Bender Post 152 Fourth of July Parade.

Bryce Sattler messaged me on Facebook following last year’s Fourth of July parade and told me I was lucky to be carrying a camera, or he would have targeted me with a water balloon from the Menno Mad Frogs' signature float, which always features a nonstop assault on parade-goers.

Fireworks are pictured on the night of Sunday, July 5 from the vantage point of the Freeman Prairie Arboretum; the buildings in the foreground are part of the campus of Heritage Hall Museum & Archives.

The Freeman Blacksox bus rumbles down Fifth Street in Menno late Saturday morning, July 4 for the Rames-Bender Post 152 of the American Legion Independence Day parade.

The sun rises on a historic Saturday morning — July 4, 2026.

This banner recognizing Jerome Hoff's military service is one of 15 that now hang on Menno's Fifth Street, put up in time for Saturday's Fourth of July parade.

This was the scene at the Freeman High School parking lot just after 10 p.m. Wednesday night, July 1, as a group of high school boys put on a fireworks show.

The following story and column appear in the July 1 edition of the Freeman Courier.

The Marion/Freeman 8-and-under softball team is pictured after winning the 8U League Tournament championship in Marion on Sunday, June 28.

Here's a look at what's happening in our local communities this week