July 9, 1936 - another sweltering day in a sweltering summer - more than 4,000 people died across the country in a 13-day heat wave. As the rest of the Lakeshore area and the nation suffered in 104 degree heat that day, people in Two Rivers were enjoying the relatively cool 82 degree weather.

A WPA crew was hard at work at 14th and School Streets (working on Veterans Memorial Park) when one of them turned over a shovel full of dirt - only to uncover a pile of snow that had been buried during work the previous winter and had survived the stifling heat - insulated by the soil. The snow bank was 4 feet deep and 10 feet long. At about the same time, the late Leo Vieau and a friend were nearby digging for worms and uncovered ice in a marsh along the West Twin River.

The story hit the national news wires, but our friends in Manitowoc weren't too sure of the veracity of the story. Manitowoc Mayor Arthur Schuetze scoffed at the entire affair and called it nothing but a publicity stunt.

Not one to be called a hoaxster, Two Rivers City Manager C.J. Donnelly made a believer out of Mayor Schuetze when he walked into his office and dumped a bucket of snow on his city hall desk. Donnelly also made sure the local paper would be convinced by bringing a one-foot square chunk of the snow into its office to be photographed.

The local Junior Chamber of Commerce decided to play up the unusual event by having a snowball fight with the Manitowoc Junior Chamber - and SnoFest was born. The Robert E. Burns post of the American Legion sponsored the event for three years, hosting a festival with snowball fights, a snow queen pageant and other events at Walsh Field. The event wasn't held during the war years, but eventually returned as an annual event at Neshotah Park.

SnoFest was the city's most popular event for decades but, sadly, faded out after the 1998 event due to the lack of volunteer help needed to run the carnival, huge parade, music tent, food and refreshment stands, and social events at Neshotah Park. In many years, SnoFest featured a snow ball fight between VIPS from Manitowoc and Two Rivers. The annual parade featured a city truck filled to overflowing with snow! How that snow was preserved from the previous winter is still a closely held secret known by only a few lucky Two Rivers residents.

And we're not about to reveal it here.