The "Lumberjack Days" name, tarnished in recent years as legal troubles chipped away at its storied image, could return to Stillwater.
But whether that happens isn't entirely clear, because opinions differ on how the name could be used — or whether it should be used at all.
Lumberjack Days in its latter years was associated with large and often boisterous regional festivals, attracting tens of thousands of people to downtown Stillwater each July.
"It's unfortunate that this past few years of controversy could have damaged the name," said Brad Glynn, one of five organizers of "Stillwater Log Jam," the new summer event that replaced Lumberjack Days. "I hope people remember the good things."
The rights to the name were pried loose from David Eckberg, the longtime Lumberjack Days coordinator, when he recently pleaded guilty to tax evasion. In the plea agreement, Eckberg surrendered the name to the city of Stillwater after years of debate about who really owned it.
The city held a contract with the Lumberjack Days Festival Association — an apparently defunct nonprofit group — but had been doing business directly with Eckberg and his St. Croix Events company.
Mike Polehna, a City Council member and longtime booster of Lumberjack Days, said the festival group claimed ownership of the Lumberjack Days name. Polehna said he and fellow City Council member Tom Weidner tried to buy the name with their own money last year to return it to the city.
"They just wanted too much money," Polehna said of the group. "We were going to buy it personally and donate it as a gift to the city. I really hated to see that name die but it just wasn't worth the cost."