Back in 1966, the Last Fling was born on Labor Day weekend with a lot of help from the Naperville Area Chamber of Commerce. Originally, a variety of festivities were set up in the Centennial Beach parking area, followed by “the best parade ever,” according to folks who reminisced about 60 years ago.
The Last Fling was originally started by Rick Motta, a local business owner, before management of the family-fun four-day festival, a popular event that just kept growing, was handed over to the Naperville Jaycees in 1981.
The Good Old Toys
In 1989, Tom Kuhn, aka “Kuhner,” a tractor-loving Napervillian, founded “The Good Old Toys,” a group of local hobbyists who preserve and share Naperville’s rich agricultural and farming heritage. Fun-loving members collect and restore, then display antique farm machinery at local car shows and then some.
What’s become tradition is the good old boys who make up The Good Old Toys showcase their fully-restored vintage tractors (such as classic green John Deere models) every September in the Naperville Labor Day Parade behind the golf carts that carry organizers of the Naperville Jaycees Last Fling as well as family members and their mascot Frank E. Fling.
Thanks for all the friendly waves of community spirit during the Naperville Labor Parade on Mon., Sept. 7, 2026. God bless America’s first 250 years!
Update! Upon request, Kuhner provided his current membership list of The Good Old Toys. Folks who visit the annual Classic Car Show set up along Jackson Avenue on the Saturday before Father’s Day have become familiar with many of the vintage tractors and a wagon. Those vehicles also find their way to the annual Labor Day Parade hosted by the Naperville Jaycees. (PN Photo, 2016)
