Brad Pattershall crawled his way to the finish line 36 years ago. It was the Yarmouth Clam Festival’s inaugural Diaper Derby, and he was nine months old.
Pattershall, now a Portland lawyer, returned to the scene last summer with his first-place trophy and ribbon and the front-page newspaper article from 1973 announcing his victory (his mother had saved it all!).
In the UPI photo, Brad wore a paper crown, and his stroller tray displayed his trophy and ribbon. The caption read, “Winning runs in the family,” and explained that Brad’s mother, Linda Livada, had also worn a crown, as Miss Maine in 1967.
The artifacts were tarnished and tattered with age, but Pattershall’s bright and shiny one-year-old daughter was also in his arms — she’d been in training for the crawler class, and she was about to become the next generation to try for the Diaper Derby championship.
But when the crawler heat began, the unexpected happened. Sofia Pattershall froze at the starting line. No amount of enticement from her mother, waving Sofia’s favorite toys from the finish line, could get her to crawl forward. She wasn’t ready for the heat of competition.
Now, a year later, the Pattershalls are excited to return to the race once again — they think Sofia’s ready. “She’s become a good runner, and I think she can compete in the toddler class,” said Pattershall.
Will winning run in the Pattershall family this year? Find out at the 36th Annual Yarmouth Clam Festival Diaper Derby.
The big race begins at noon, Sunday, July 19, on the Merrill Memorial Library Lawn. Registration is open to all and begins at 10:00 am.
Coordinators expect up to 300 crawlers and toddlers to register for the event.
The Yarmouth Clam Festival is a fundraising event organized by the Yarmouth Chamber of Commerce to support non-profit organizations that benefit the community. About 3,000 volunteers prepare food, attend food booths, park cars, and keep the grounds clean. Admission to the Festival and its vast offering of entertainment is free. The non-profit groups generate income through food sales to actively benefit the Yarmouth community year-round.
