Weather doesn’t dampen Labor Day spirits

DESLOGE — The overnight rain Friday night didn’t damper the spirit at the Desloge Labor Day Picnic Saturday. A continuous surge of people filled the park throughout the day as cloudy weather kept the temperatures in 70s.

“I’m glad that the rain is holding off today,” said Desloge Mayor David Kater on Saturday afternoon. “I think we are going to get lucky with the weather today. We did great last night (Friday night). The crowd is filtering in and I think we will be packed by this evening.”

Kater mentioned he had already talked to several residents from neighboring communities that were at the picnic.

“I’ve met people from Arcadia Valley and Potosi that were here this morning,” he said. “This event draws more than just Desloge residents.”

Lois Ann Meyer, who helped with the advance wristband sales on Friday, said Friday was a great start for the Labor Day Picnic.

“That was the busiest Friday we have had,” she said. “I think the weather and the fact all of the high school football teams were on the road had something to do with the crowd. The people that would have gone to the home games came out to the picnic instead.”

Chamber President Betty Coale is in her rookie season heading up the picnic. However, Coale brings several years of experience to the table as she owns and operates a concession stand that travels to fairs and festivals throughout the year.

“So far, so good,” she said. “We sold out of the wristbands last night. Even though we had a good turnout, I would have liked to have seen more people here Friday night. Today is looking promising as the park is filling up.”

Coale said local residents should come out to the picnic to catch up on old times with friends and check out the good food that is available.

“We have good food here and you can socialize with all of your friends,” Coale said. “We have music going all weekend. We have a bigger carnival than we had in the past. It’s going to be a lot of fun.”

Today the wiffle ball tournament will kick things off at 10 a.m. It will be held at Brightwell Park. Sign-ups will take place at 9 a.m. A church service will be held at 10:30 a.m. at the park. Rev. Chuck Lotz of the Park Hills Freewill Baptist Church will give the service. A youth service will follow. Mark Dean will perform from noon-2 p.m.

The Memphis Boys will perform from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. Music Unlimited will have a street dance from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.

The parade will kick things off on Monday. The line-up will begin at 7 a.m. at the middle school. Due to the construction of Desloge’s new soccer field, the lineup procedure for the Desloge Labor Day parade has changed.

 All labor groups, parade entries on horseback and antique tractors will need to report to the North County Intermediate School on Elm Street, formerly Cantwell Elementary. All other entries should report to the middle school. The parade will get under way at 9 a.m.

The Leadwood Masonic Lodge #598 will offer the MoCHIP Program for children throughout the day at no charge. The program offers parents child identification kits. Each child goes through several stations that include pictures, DNA samples and teeth impressions. The kit is useful to law enforcement in the event a child becomes missing.

The antique tractor pull will begin at 10 a.m. New to the picnic this year is the pedaled tractor pull. It will start at 2 p.m.

Sign-ups for the volleyball tournament will start at 11 a.m. The tournament will begin at noon. The entry fee is $25.

GTO will perform from noon until 5 p.m.

Chris Cline is a reporter for the Daily Journal. Contact him at 573-431-2010, ext. 114 or at ccline@dailyjournalonline.com.