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Abraham Lincoln snips the ribbon
on the 55th annual National Railsplitting Festival
[August 31, 2026]
On Saturday morning the 55th
Annual National Railsplitting Festival kicked off with a ribbon
cutting ceremony in front of the front steps of the Postville
Courthouse in Lincoln.
Railsplitter committee members Darlene Bogolka, Bob Rankin, and
Heidi Mueller spoke at the event along with comments offered by City
of Lincoln Department of Tourism Director of Tourism Scott McCoy.
Others in the group behind the ribbon included committee members,
professional railsplit competitors, several youths that were
participating in the various reenactments around the grounds, Logan
County royalty Little Miss Finley Farmer and Junior Miss Falyn
Farmer, and Abraham Lincoln.
The cut was led by Nila Smith of Lincoln Daily News with Karen and
John Castelein holding the ribbon. The comment was made that the
annual ribbon cutting had been done under various conditions from
hot to cold, to windy and rainy, but never had it been done in
August.
The event began with Begolka
welcoming everyone and offering some plugs for the various events on
the lawn of Postville Courthouse, in Postville Park, and across the
street at the VFW.
Heidi Mueller and Bob Rankin, who
together manager all the official competitions on the back lawn of
the courthouse were next to address the audience. Mueller said that
she was hopeful everyone would come back and enjoy the competitions
as spectators were always welcome and needed to cheer the
competitors on. She added that if there was anyone who would like to
try some of the events, they were always open and would be helped
along the way. Rankin added that they have extra tools for anyone to
borrow and they’d be happy to get anyone equipped.
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McCoy was invited to say a few
words. He said that he felt that the move to bring the two festivals
to the same weekend was a good move to help improve attendance at
both festivals. He said that in recent weeks, he has had the
pleasure of getting to know the members of the local Railsplitting
organization and has made some friendships along the way.
Smith acknowledged the Little and
Junior Miss and drew attention to the splitters who were behind the
ribbon along with the youth present, encouraging the youth to stay
involved and look to take on leadership roles when they are adults
so as to keep the festival going into the next generations.
Mr. Lincoln was then called upon.
His job was to snip the ribbon after the posed picture, but he was
also invited to offer up a few words if he so chose. He opened by
saying, “I know that everybody appreciates politicians who speak
briefly so……..in conclusion.” After pausing for the anticipated
chuckle, he continued on “Welcome to the Railplitting Festival.”
Then it was time for the posed
picture and the snipping of the ribbon. The crowd assisted with the
countdown to the snip and then Mr. Lincoln cut the ribbon on the
weekend event.
2026 Annual National
Railsplitting Festival Ribbon Cut video
[Nila Smith]
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