Winlock, Washington, this small town of 1,472 in Lewis County has come alive every June since 1921 – over 100 years – for its annual Egg Day.  Out of curiosity I have had this event on my calendar since last year when someone suggested I check out Winlock and its “largest egg in the world”.

In 1920 Jacob “Jake” Erving began the first chicken hatchery in Winlock with several thousand egg laying hens. That year, with the growing egg and poultry business in Winlock, on June 1, 1920 Erving was one of the 175 poultrymen from the town who joined the Washington Cooperative Egg & Poultry Association. Within a year it became clear to the Co-op that Winlock needed a building of its own. The site was completed in 1922 and was one of the largest Co-op stations in the state. The Winlock News noted that "Half of the eggs produced in Winlock were shipped to New York state; in 1923, New York received 38,400 dozen (460,800 eggs) -- in one weekend -- from Winlock.” Ultimately town boosters billed Winlock as the "Egg and Poultry Capital of the World”.

The other reason to celebrate in 1921 was the completion of the first concrete road between Winlock and Cowlitz Corner. This road replaced the ones made of wood or gravel that were short lived and didn’t provide for a very smooth trip.  The community decided to celebrate, and called the event the “Winlock Poultry and Egg Day”. About 1000 people attended and it was decided to hold this event every year. Egg Day has only been postposed four times since then, for World War II from 1943-1946. Even during Covid, the community still joined together for a parade and egg salad sandwiches.

Friday night of each year’s Egg Day and the Royal Coronation of the Egg Queen is the official start of the annual celebration.  I attended the coronation where three young women, ages 11-15, were vying for the title, and five young girls and two young boys who would round out the royalty, all becoming Egg Princesses and Princes.  The three judges represented the community and previous coronations. As part of the contest, each contestant demonstrated or talked about their talents, followed by one or two questions asked by the event’s emcee.  Finally, the winners were selected, and Kailie was crowned the 2023 Egg Queen.

Saturday morning started with a delicious egg breakfast at the Senior Center, prepared and served by members of the Center. After getting my eggs I decided to sit with some people that appeared to be regular Egg Day participants, all three who had been coming to Egg Day from other towns, as far as Salem, Oregon. Bob left Winlock after high school and lived in a variety of places over the years, including Salem his current residence.  But he ALWAYS comes back for Egg Days.

A parade was scheduled to start at 11:00 am, but chairs were lining up much earlier. I had time so I visited the Winlock Historical Museum, in a building that has previously been City Hall. The museum was a narrow, but tall building with a beautiful staircase to the second floor. I learned a lot about the history of this town, but the items representing poultry and eggs were most evident, showing the important role they played in the last one hundred years. My favorite item was a collection of Egg Day pins dating back to the 1940’s.

 Next door, the Winlock Timberland Library was active the school with children’s activities extending throughout the day.

Train whistles were the most repetitive sound I heard throughout day. The tracks run north and south and essentially divide the small town in half. Most of the events take place on the east side of the tracks, and the elementary school, where the “Vendor Egg-Stravaganza” is on the west. There was a constant stream of people walking across the tracks all day long.

The Winlock Custom Car Show was on display one block nearer to the railroad tracks from Fir Street the where the parade would take place. I don’t recall that I’d ever been at a custom car show, and I learned that these cars were all modified in one way or another by the owners or previous owners.Most were fairly old, back to the 1930’s, but they were all shining clean. My favorite was a 1956 green Porsche Spectator, with Edgar as its driver.

Finally, the parade started. Other than in the line for free ice cream cones, every inch of the parade route was occupied by the spectators. The usual parade participants were there starting with the presentation of the national, state, county and local flags. Also marching were the Winlock Cardinals school band and dance team, floats, town leaders, Scouts, the Onalaska Apple Harvest float with their queen. (Onalaska is an unincorporated town 12 miles away), and many more, including several walking chickens. At the end of the parade, a long line formed for the free egg salad sandwiches that were distributed to parade attendees.

 The last event of the day for me was a dance performance by the Winlock Dance Center.  Adorable young girls and boys, local and from neighboring communities, performed a variety of dances from hip hop to tap and many in between.  Before I left, I wandered down to the “Vendor Egg-Stravaganza” at the elementary school, where over 40 businesses showed and old their wares, and included several food trucks.

Like many towns, Winlock too has a collection of a favorite animals. There’s is the chicken. I counted six multicolored roosters sitting on street corners, at businesses and even one in the front of the Winlock Historical Museum. They made me smile each time one popped out from within the crowds.

 It was clear to me that this event is extremely important to the Winlock community.  There are sixteen members of the Lions Club of Winlock Egg Day Committee, defined as “folks who showed up at the meetings of and/or did stuff and all the folks who helped these folks”. I didn’t miss much, but I didn’t see the swap meet, used book sale, the Reptile Road Show, and either of the evening events – a line dancing party, a street dance with live music, and a beer garden. But I did see enough of this group of people to know that the members of this beautiful community will always be there for each other, no matter what.