Sesser Homecoming Part 4 by Michael Thomas

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From a modest beginning in 1950 the Sesser Homecoming has evolved through the years and is now one of the longest running and most successful summer festivals in Southern Illinois.

Large crowds attended the first Sesser Homecoming in 1950.

(photo provided)

Sesser Homecoming Commemorative Issue • June, 2009

By Jim Muir

n 1950 Harry Truman was president, Hopalong Cassidy was the most popular character on television, a gallon of gas cost 20-cents, a loaf of bread could be purchased for 14-cents and a group of business owners and civic leaders pooled their resources and time to start the Sesser Homecoming. Fast forward the calendar nearly six decades and a lot of things have changed. Ol’ Harry and Hopalong are no longer with us, gas costs $2.50 a gallon (at this minute) and a loaf of bread will set you back two bucks. The one constant from that nearly 60-year-old list is the venerable Sesser Homecoming which is still alive, thriving and doing quite well, thank you. Sesser businessman George Slankard, a pillar of the community and perhaps ‘the’ driving force behind getting the first Homecoming off the ground remembers exact details about that inaugural event. “I went to 63 business owners and individuals in Sesser and asked them to donate $20 each to help get the first Homecoming off the ground,” Slankard said. “And I distinctly remember that all but two donated the money. That’s how the Homecoming was funded from the beginning.” From the records that are available the Homecoming took a few years to evolve to the event that is now held each year in the Sesser City Park on the third weekend in June. The first-ever Homecoming was held in the City Park on Saturday September 9 and Sunday September 10. According to records the

“I went to 63 business owners and individuals in Sesser in 1950 and asked them to donate $20 each to help get the first Homecoming off the ground. And I distinctly remember that all but two donated the money.” – George Slankard, longtime Sesser businessman

then resumed again in 1956 and hasn’t missed a year since. In the early 1960s the Homecoming was moved to Sesser’s Main Street but after a short stay was move back to the City Park where it has been ever since. Keith Ward, a fixture as emcee of the Homecoming for five decades, said the first Homecoming was really nothing more than a political rally. “Gov. Adlai Stevenson attended the first Homecoming and even crowned the first queen,” Ward recalled. “It was really a day of speeches and people who attended dressed up, men wore suits and women wore dresses and hats. It was really just a political rally. There has been a lot of things change since that very first Homecoming.”

Sesser VFW actually organized the first event. One oddity about those early years is that the HomeA listing of dignitaries who atcoming was not necessarily held tended was published in the Sept. on the same date each year or for 7, 1950 edition of the Sesser Rethat matter the same month. For view and included along with Gov. instance, the first event was held on September 9-10, 1950 and the “Come Sunday, Gov. Stevenson next year was held on Friday stole the show as he road in the and Saturday, June 30 and July first parade and later crowned the 1, 1951. In year first queen while sandwiching in a three the Homecoming was held speech praising improving safety on Friday, Satur- records in Illinois coal mines.” day and Sunday, August 1, 2 and – Excerpt from the Sesser Review, Sept. 7, 1950 – 3, 1952. Because no records or newspaper accounts can be found it’s believed that the Homecoming was not held in 1953, 1954 or 1955 but

Stevenson, state Rep. Harry W. McClintock, West Frankfort, Rep. Clyde Choate, Anna, state Sen. Clyde Lee, Mt. Vernon and former

Sesser Homecoming Commemorative Issue • June, 2009

state Rep. Louis Lewis, of Christopher. Under a banner headline that read, “Governor Stevenson Here Sunday – Speech to Highlight 1st Homecoming” the front page story carried this excerpt: “Come Sunday, Gov. Stevenson stole the show as he road in the first parade and later crowned the first queen while sandwiching a speech praising improving safety records in Illinois coal mines.” The first queens’ court in 1950 consisted of Phyllis Van Hoorebeke, Wanda Spotanski, Mary Lou Hammonds, Thelma Ann Young and Emma Jean Sulcer. Ward said after that initial Homecoming that centered on politics the event evolved into one where entertainment, carnival rides and the popular coronation was the focus. And of course that extremely popular sweet corn and barbecue – longtime favorites at the June event – came along a few years later.

“We see a jump every year in June in sales tax. It’s something that the entire community is proud of.” – Sesser Mayor Ned Mitchell –

Ward said providing free entertainment is something the Homecoming Association looks at with pride. “I look out from the stage every year and I see people that I know could not afford to see the caliber of talent that we provide,” said Ward. “People start setting up their lawn chairs early on Thursday morning to get a good seat.”

Ward said the homecoming was initiated as a way to draw residents back to the Franklin County community. “It was designed initially to promote the city of Sesser and have a coming home for residents and I think the success shows that people love to come here every year,” said Ward. “A lot of people gear their

Ward recalled an amusing story in the early days when the first mention was made about providing free entertainment – a yearly staple of the event. “When it was first mentioned about providing free entertainment some of the members of the Homecoming Association just had a fit and said there was no way we could do it,” recalled Ward. “And then when we said we were going to pay a band, I don’t even remember who it was now, $250 to perform, one member said ‘you people have lost your mind’ and walked out of the meeting.”

The Sale Barn was always a beehive activity at the Homecoming in the early days. The parade of horses was a popular feature..

Sesser Homecoming Commemorative Issue • June, 2009

(photo provided)

vacations around the Homecoming. It’s an annual trip back home for them, I think that speaks volumes about what we’ve been able to do, and do well for more nearly 60 years.” Ward said the Sesser Homecoming Association has done a remarkable job through the years channeling revenue from the event back into the community. “Every bit of the money goes right back into the community,” said Ward. “The stage here in the park, the pavilion and the lights in the park was all built with money from the homecoming. It’s an event that people from all over the area looks forward to each year and we’re proud of that. It’s something that the entire community takes a lot of pride in and it just continues to grow each year.” Still held at the spacious Sesser City Park, Ward talked about the popularity of the event by noting that it is quite ordinary for the Friday and Saturday night performances and carnival to draw 6,000 to 8,000 people – to a community of 2,000. “The entertainment has always been free and it’s just a good family atmosphere,” said Ward. “We’re expecting the same thing this year.” Sesser Mayor Ned Mitchell said the annual Rend Lake Days is one of the oldest running festivals in Southern Illinois.

“The fact that the event has continued on for 50 years is a tribute to volunteerism. It would have never survived without the generosity of people donating their time.” Mitchell said it also provides an economic boost for the small community. “We see a jump every year in June in sales tax,” Mitchell said. “It’s something that the entire community is proud of.” Jim Kelly, who has been associated with the Homecoming Association for nearly 50 years, laughed when talking about the way the event is “loosely-ran.” “It’s an all-volunteer event and everybody knows their job and just does their job. There’s not a tremendous amount of planning from year to year, everybody just knows what to do,” said Kelly. “I’ve stayed involved because I enjoy it and because it’s something that benefits the entire community. I think the Homecoming has helped put Sesser on the Southern Illinois map.”

“It provides a great opportunity for people that have been away from here to come back home and visit Being able to provide help to the and we see an influx of people from city and to the local school district throughout the area,” said Mitchell. has provided motivation for Jim

Dorris, a 40-year volunteer with the Homecoming Association. “We’ve been able to do a lot of things to help the city,” Dorris. “We built two new buildings in the park and gave them to the city and we give the Sesser-Valier Booster Club about $3,000 a year. Everything we make goes right back into the community, that’s what I like. The reason I’ve stayed involved all these years is because we’re helping the community and especially the schools. I think that’s the most important thing in any community – the schools.” While Slankard was around for that first-ever Homecoming in 1950 and helped solicit funds to meet expenses that first year he’s still active in the Homecoming Association and feels like the annual event has not yet reached its pinnacle. “It’s been amazing the progress that has been made,” Slankard said. “I’ve stayed with it because I’m still a big believer in promoting Sesser. While I take a lot of pride in where the Homecoming started and where it’s at now I still think there is plenty of room for continued growth.”

Sesser Homecoming Commemorative Issue • June, 2009

. . . E N O L E L A M O E C M O C

rilled h t e v s ha ing e d i om dR s an Homec w o r h on S at Sesse s k c a es J midway d a c d de five rnival an n a h ore t at the ca m r Fo sters g n black one of those communities,” said u yo

By Jim Muir The Sesser Homecoming Association has strong bonds with many vendors throughout the region but none has been longer and more enduring than its union with Jackson Shows & Rides. Despite a few rain showers, an occasional storm and a few ominous

clouds it has been a marriage that has endured for 50 years.

Jackson, Jr. “We’ve always been treated well there and they’ve always ran a first-class operation.”

“They’re just good folks,” said Jim Dorris, longtime SHA member. “They’re dependable and they’ve done a great job throughout the years.”

Les Jackson Shows & Rides first made an appearance with its carnivals and side shows in the mid1950s three generations later the name ‘Jackson’ is still associated with the popular midway at the Sesser Homecoming.

A brief conversation with Jim Jackson, Jr. and its evident the feeling is mutual. “There are communities I prefer to go to above others and Sesser is

Les Jackson passed away several years ago and the business was taken over by his Jim Jackson, Sr., now 74 years old and still doing a

Sesser Homecoming Commemorative Issue • June, 2009

little part-time work with his three everything would be top-notch.” children who now also run carnivals. Jackson, Jr. has missed very few Sesser Homecomings and said it’s Catching up with a carnival own- still one of his favorite events to er/worker in the summer is not work. easy task but the senior Jackson recently stopped long enough to “It’s called the homecoming and visit by telephone and talk about that’s what it is for me … it’s like his many years in Sesser. On this coming back home. I basically particular day the elder Jackson, grew up in Sesser one week out of who had open-heart surgery in every summer,” said Jackson, Jr. January, was helping family mem- “I have probably attended every bers get ready for a carnival in homecoming except a couple in the Southeast Missouri. early 1990s since.” “Actually, I’m retired and I’m not really working, more than anything I’m just standing around in the way,” he laughed. “That’s about all I can do these days.”

Jackson, Jr. is not exaggerating with that statement and said that it became family lore that he attended

Jackson, Sr. first got into the business with his dad in 1950 and said the association with Sesser has “always been very good.” He said the original carnival operated by his dad (Les) has now branched off to three carnivals operated by his children. “I met some really good people in Sesser through the years,” said Jackson, Sr. “We always enjoyed going there because you knew there would be good crowds and

was two weeks old,” Jackson, Jr. said. “So, when I say I grew up there, I really did. I can remember going to nickel matinees down at the Opera House when I was a kid and we were in town, so that dates me a little.” The longevity of the annual event is what sets Sesser aside from other community events that begin and fail. “They do things right in Sesser and they always have,” said Jackson, Jr. “Otherwise they would have folded up a long time ago. You don’t see a lot of events that last this long.”

the first Homecoming in Sesser when he was less than a month old. “I was actually born at Pinckneyville Hospital and attended my first Sesser Homecoming when I

“I met some really good people in Sesser through the years. We always enjoyed going there because you knew there would be good crowds and everything would be top-notch.” – Jim Jackson, Sr. –

The Jacksons have traveled virtually the same circuit year after year traveling through March through October in Alabama, Missouri, Illinois, Tennessee and Georgia. Randall Crocker said the fact that the Homecoming Association continued to book the Jackson family speaks volumes about the effort they provided each summer. “Even back to Les Jackson and then Jim Sr. and Jim Jr. they always did exactly what they said they would do,” said Crocker. “They’re a first-class operation and it’s been a very good run through the years with them.”

Sesser Homecoming Commemorative Issue • June, 2009

Walter Vand

By Jim Muir Photos by Chris Kays

n 1950 Sesser businessman George Slankard called on more than 60 businesses and organizations asking each to contribute $20 to begin an annual event that would be called Sesser Homecoming. Walter Vander, a retired Sesser

business owner and now age 93, was one of those that happily kicked a $20 dollar bill into the pot to help get the then-fledgling event off the ground.

“I can really say that I’ve been a part of the homecoming forever,” said Vander who operated an appliance and gas business in Sesser for more than 30 years. “The Homecoming has

“If they had it … I was there, I never missed “If they had it … I was there, I never missed a year. I enjoyed it, I enjoyed the music.” a year. I enjoyed it, I enjoyed the music.” ClarenceJones, “Dinger” Jones, 101-year-old Sesser – Clarence–“Dinger” 101-year-old Sesser resident – resident –

Sesser Homecoming Commemorative Issue • June, 2009

“I can really say that I’ve been a part of the homecoming forever. The Homecoming has always been real important to me and to everybody in Sesser.” – Walter Vander, 93-year-old Sesser resident –

Vander said in the early days of the event he worked at the concession stand on a yearly basis.

“I had the appliance store and I donated refrigerators and stoves that they used in the concession and later on when they started fixing roasted ears of corn I set a 500-gallon tank of gas over there, all free,” he said. “I worked there every year for many years. der (l) and Clarence “Dinger” Jones. I have great memories of the always been real important to me and to everybody in Sesser.” Homecoming.” Vander said the annual event was also important to his daughters, Irma, Trudy and Connie. “They were like the other young people in Sesser, waiting for the carnival to come to town,” he said.

Clarence “Dinger” Jones was honored during the 2008 Sesser Homecoming as Sesser’s Citizen of the Year. During the ceremony longtime emcee Keith Ward recalled a meeting he had with Jones only a few days prior. Ward inquired what Jones would be doing on that particular day and the quick reply was a “Dinger-ism” that

brought the house down. “Ain’t gonna do a dern thing,” Dinger said. “And the best part is that I’m not going to get started ‘til after lunch.” Jones, who will turn 102 in August, said he does not recall ever missing a Homecoming.

music.”

“If they had it … I was there, I never missed a year,” said Jones. “I enjoyed it, I enjoyed the

A native of the Sesser area and a retired farmer, Jones said he plans to attend the 2009 event marking his 56th Homecoming. “If the good Lord’s willing I plan to be there,” Jones said.

Sesser Homecoming Commemorative Issue • June, 2009

hat has proven to be the most important and most used item throughout the years at the annual Sesser Homecoming? Sure lawn chairs are important and on some years an umbrella is a must. And certainly sun screen and insect repellant could help prevent some uncomfortable situations later. But, hands-down the answer to that question has to be a camera. From the early black and white days, through Polaroid, Instamatic, point and shoot and right though high-tech, highresolution digital photography equipment and cellular phones that are capable of taking photos cameras have captured the sights of that wonderful third week in June. And be assured that sometimes those sights really turned out to be quite a sight. And it could be said that the history of the Sesser Homecoming and the camera both have quite a few similarities. Both have adapted to change, both have aged well, both have gotten better through the years and

certainly both are more popular now than ever. Just think about how many times since that first Homecoming in 1950 that a photographer gave instructions to ‘smile’ or ‘say cheese’ or ‘move a little closer together.’ Just think about the smiles, happy times, laughs, exciting moments, embarrassing moments, disappointments and pure joy that have been captured through the lens of a camera. Think about some of the people in those pictures, people who were instrumental in shaping the history of this event who are no longer with us. Just think about the number of times a button has been pushed during the last six decades to capture all those photos. How many scrapbooks and photo albums could be filled with all those pictures? Thousands? Millions? The number would be mind-boggling. Just think what the Sesser Homecoming would have been like without all those wonderful cameras. And of course all those photos can’t be mentioned without recognizing all those photographers

that have helped document the rich history of this event. Some are amateurs, evident by a picture maybe just a little off-center or a little out of focus while some are professionals who possess the ability to capture clear, sharp photos that really do tell a story. Regardless, the photos taken by both are priceless. Moments in time … that’s really what the Sesser Homecoming is about. Moments in time for wide-eyed youngsters who can’t wait for the carnival to get to town, moments in time for car enthusiasts, moments in time for young teenage girls vying to wear that special crown on Saturday night, moments in time for country music fans who will once again with lawn chair in hand fill the Sesser City Park, moments in time for those looking for a shade tree and barbecue sandwich, and most importantly moments in time to smile at a stranger or hug an old friend. Moments in time – wonderfully captured through the eyes of a photographer and the lens of a camera. Cherished moments in time at the Sesser Homecoming … were you there?

Sesser Homecoming Commemorative Issue • June, 2009

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Question: How much food does it take to feed the Sesser Homecoming? Answer: A Bunch! While the free nightly entertainment, those gut-churning carnival rides and the always popular coronation ceremony is certainly responsible for a portion of the large crowds that converge on Sesser every year for the annual Rend Lake Days there’s also a large number of folks who flock to the Franklin County community for no other reason than that scrumptious barbecue and mouth-watering sweet corn.

Here’s a look at the Sesser Homecoming food by the numbers:

36 – The number of pound of hot dogs used. 100-plus – The number of wonderful volunteers it takes to make the Sesser Home. 160 – The number of 22-pound bags of ice used in 2008. 180 – The number of 16-pound pork shoulders used to make barbecue sandwiches. 360 – The number of Bunny Bread hotdog buns used. 400 – The number of pounds of hamburgers used. 875 -- The number of hamburger patties used. 3,000 – The number of pounds (1-1/2 tons) of barbecue meat used on an average year. 3,000 – The number of Bunny Bread hamburger buns used. 3,520 – The number of pounds (1-3/4 tons) of ice used. 6,000 – The number of ears of sweet corn painstakingly grilled each year. 6,500 – The number of bottles of soda and water sold in 2008. 10,000 - plus – The number of hungry people who will visit the Sesser Homecoming each year. Sesser Homecoming Commemorative Issue • June, 2009

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Sesser Homecoming Commemorative Issue • June, 2009

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