Plans heat up for Desloge Labor Day fest
Parade marshal chosen, beer garden to be dedicated
DAN SCHUNKS, dschunks@dailyjournalonline.com
It’s almost time for the annual Labor Day blowout in Desloge, when American labor is celebrated with a parade, carnival games, local and live music, fantastic fair food and many more activities to entertain the entire family.
The fun begins Friday and last through Monday. Check out previous articles for the schedule of events.
This year, the four-day picnic’s theme is “This Little Town of Mine,” celebrating the area’s mining heritage. And this year, the parade marshal is a familiar face, and the beer garden will be dedicated to the memory of a man who appreciated the annual get-together.
Beer Garden Dedication
Pete Selzer and his mother, Joy Thurston, share a carefree moment. The two accidentally died of carbon monoxide poisoning earlier this month. (Submitted by the family)
In honor and in memory of Pete Selzer, who with his mother accidentally died of carbon monoxide poisoning at home earlier this month, the beer garden at this year’s Desloge Labor Day Picnic will be dedicated as the 2023 Pete Selzer Memorial Beer Garden.
Executive Director Cheri Henderson said the honor is being bestowed for “Pete’s dedication to the Labor Day Picnic.”
The dedication will be on Labor Day Monday which would have been Pete’s birthday. A toast led by his friend, Justin Colton, will be given at 2:30 p.m., followed by a few words and a moment of silence in memory of this educator, coach, and civic supporter.
The beer garden is sponsored by Mid America Carpenter’s Regional Council, Bryant Restoration, Hub’s Pub and Grill, and Grey Eagle Distribution.
Parade Grand Marshall
Desloge’s longtime police chief and North County’s school board president, James “Jebo” Bullock, has been announced as the grand marshall for the 2023 Desloge Labor Day Picnic.
Chief Bullock is a Bonne Terre native and a 1974 graduate of North County High School. He and his wife Marsha were married in 1977 and have lived in Desloge the last 45 years. They have two daughters, Carolyn Bullock and Jamie Rawson, and are the proud grandparents of six grandchildren.
James “Jebo” Bullock, longtime Desloge police chief, has been named the grand marshal of the four-day Labor Day Picnic that runs from Friday through Monday.
Bullock has been a member of the Desloge Police Department since 1981 and has served as chief of police since 1995, for a total of 42 years of civic service to the city.
Bullock’s hobbies include hunting, fishing, skeet and trap shooting. He is also actively involved as a deacon of the First Baptist Church of East Bonne Terre, vice chairman of the 911 Board of Directors, a member of the National Association of Chiefs of Police, a member of the Mineral Area Drug Task Force Board of Directors, President of the North County School Board, a lifelong member of the National Rifle Association, and a member of the Lead Belt Gun Club.
