PHILLIPS — Nine days in August are set aside for fun in this small western Maine community.

The 56th annual Old Home Days begins at 8 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 10, when amateur photographers bring their entries to Phillips Hardware on Main Street. Dozens of photos of scenery, animals and people will be displayed in the storefront windows all week for passers-by to enjoy.

During Old Home Days, there will be a volleyball tournament, street dance, a lumbering competition, truck pull and plenty of food and fun for the youngsters.

This year’s honored couple, Nana and Kermit Haines, started their life together in 1975, with nine children between them and two more added later. Today, the couple has 26 grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.

“We have been collecting children most of our lives,” Nana said. “Now we have children in Seattle, California, Arkansas, Iowa, Florida and Maine.”

She retired as a steamship company traffic manager and wrote a book, titled “About International Trade: A Collection of Common Definitions, Abbreviations and Slang Terminology.”

Her husband retired from the General Telephone Co., now known as GTE Corp. He served in the Korean War and is active in veterans’ organizations. Both have devoted their retirement years to volunteer work and community service.

This year’s parade continues the tradition of rambunctious crowd-pleasing themes. Judges will view entries in the “Duck Dynasty — Phillips Style” float competition.

When the parade starts down Main Street at 5 p. m., many visitors may choose to view it from picnic tables as they enjoy a chicken barbecue and bean-hole beans at the Community House. The Aug. 16 float competition is still open for registration, according to Janet Bredeau-White, perennial Old Home Days organizer.

Fifty years ago, the 27 members of the Phillips High School graduating class went their separate ways, but many of them will return to ride the Class of 1963 float in the parade. The aging volunteer base which has organized events for more than five decades needs the younger generations to help, according to Bredeau-White.

“This could be the last Old Home Days,” she said. “We need reliable and trustworthy volunteers to help for 2014.”

Those willing to help can call Steve and Jill Smith at 639-5621.

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