"The parade starts in five minutes!" yelled Katie.
"The wagons are ready!" called Joy.
The twins ran to the front of the parade.
Mr. and Mrs. Pinker sat up high in a covered wagon.
The Pinker children crowded behind them.
"They're traveling just like Howard Lightfoot Jackson and his family!" cried Joy.
"Who?" asked Katie.
"The first family in Willow Creek!" answered Joy.
"Huh?" Katie stared at her twin.
"What do you mean?"
Before Joy could answer, Mr. Pinker shook the reins and his horses started moving.
AJ came running.
"Katie! Ms. Henderson is here!" he yelled.
"She's in the Model T!"
"Who?" asked Joy.
"The oldest person in Willow Creek!" said AJ.
"What?" cried Joy.
"Hello, kids!" Ms. Henderson called. "I've come to the parade!"
"Let's get this car started,"
said Grandpa Henderson, rubbing his hands together.
"First, we pull this and turn that."
Grandpa Henderson jumped out of the car and hurried around to the front.
"Now I turn and pull this handle."
He turned and pulled.
"It started!" everyone shouted.
"It just takes practice," said Grandpa Henderson.
"It's running away!" everyone screamed.
The Model T began rolling toward the street.
"Get in!" cried Ms. Henderson.
Grandpa Henderson jumped in the car beside his sister.
"Here we go!" he shouted.
"See you at the park!" called the Earthworms.
The high school marching band lined up behind a giant birthday cake.
Then Mrs. Penkov blew her whistle.
"Campers!" she called.
"Get into place behind the band!"
Emily and Carlos unrolled the banner.
"The Willow Creek Day Campers!" read Katie. "That's us!"
The band started playing.
Luke climbed onto his stilts.
"Woo-hoo!" he yelled.
The day campers headed toward Main Street.
As they turned the corner, Joy saw her family.
"Mom, Dad!" she shouted, waving her ribbon twirler.
"Grandpa!" Aunt Sally stood outside Fried Pie Heaven.
"Hello, Aunt Sally!" shouted Katie and Joy.
They turned onto Walnut Street and paraded into the town park.
The band kept playing while everyone ate watermelon and drank lemonade.
Then the mayor made a speech, and the Willow Creek Singers performed old songs.
Finally Mrs. Penkov stepped onto the platform to address the crowd.
"As you know, the day campers had a scavenger hunt this summer."
"Yes, they did. And they were real pests!"
Pete from the post office shouted, laughing.
The crowd laughed too.
Mrs. Penkov continued.
"Now it's time to announce the winners.
Guess what?" The campers held their breath.
"We have a tie!"
The campers gasped.
"Two teams completed their lists.
Both found Willow Creek treasures.
One team found a piece of history—the oldest grave in Willow Creek at the burial place of the first settling family."
Mrs. Penkov unrolled a crayon rubbing.
"Howard Lightfoot Jackson,1848."
"The other team found a living treasure—our oldest citizen," continued Mrs. Penkov.
"Cora Mae Henderson—103 years old.
So the winners are the Tornadoes and the Earthworms!
Each team member wins a ticket for a free day at Big Surf Water Park!" said Mrs. Penkov.
"Big Surf!" cried the Tornadoes and the Earthworms.
"The Double Dip!" cried Joy and Laura.
"The Slippery Spin!" cried Katie and Luke.
The Tornadoes and the Earthworms jumped with joy.
Later that evening, they sat beside the creek and watched fireworks explode in the sky.
"Day camp is over," said Joy with a sigh.
"But we have Willow Creek T-shirts to keep forever," said Laura.
"And we all won the scavenger hunt!" said Luke.
"And we all get to go to Big Surf!" said AJ.
Katie grinned. "Best of all, we still have the rest of the summer to have fun in our Willow Creek!"