All the volunteers wore cowboy hats

You had to wear a cowboy hat. St. Francois County Sheriff Dan Bullock said so.

Volunteers at the Bonne Terre Senior and their guests who had neglected to bring their own cowboy hats were handed a straw one to wear during the Volunteer Roundup celebration to honor volunteers. The event, which had a Western theme, included lunch and entertainment by Bullock’s musical group, “The Sheriff and His Deputies.”

Administrator Kimberly Dollar awarded certificates of appreciation to those who have helped the senior center in some manner during the past year.

Nick Barsha, 89, has delivered Meals on Wheels for the senior center for 22 years. When he began, the center did not have a kitchen and Flat River provided the meals.

“I got started when I was at a dinner at St. Joe Catholic church and the priest at the time mentioned something about Meals on Wheels,”  Barsha recalled. “I thought that would be something I’d enjoy, so I went the next day and I’ve been driving ever since.”

Barsha said he enjoys volunteering for the senior center because it keeps him busy one day a week. He has delivered to as many as 22 clients and as few as 12. Many of the people to whom he brought meals have since died.

“I remember one time when I got stuck in the ice and snow and couldn’t get out,” he related. “This was at a farm that was out on the east side. You had to drive off the highway to a road to the house.

“We shoveled rock under the wheels and after about two hours, we finally got out.”

Anyone who would like to volunteer at the senior center is asked to call Dollar at 573-358-3726.

“It’s a worthwhile thing that needs to get done,” Barsha said.

Paula Barr is a reporter for the Daily Journal and can be reached at 573-431-2010, ext. 172 or at pbarr@dailyjournalonline.com.