Blue skies for Homecomers

Opening night for the 100th Homecomers celebration would have delighted Marybeth Williams.

Everyone else worried about predicted rain, but the clouds disappeared.

"I called Marybeth on her cell phone and said, 'Would you talk to somebody up there and give us some pretty weather?' And by golly, I think she did," Jackson Mayor Barbara Lohr told the crowd in opening remarks before dedicating this year's Homecomers to Williams, who died April 27.

Williams, executive director of the Jackson Chamber of Commerce, enthusiastically led the Homecomers entertainment each year. Lohr's voice wavered with every mention of Williams' name in the city's proclamation, which will be added to the city's newest time capsule. The crowd responded with a standing ovation.

But everyone present for the 100th opening night of Homecomers, Lohr said, "is taking part in history."

The six candidates for Miss Homecomers mingled with the crowd while the Jackson Municipal Band tuned up. Short lines formed at the DeMolay Home Made Ice Cream Stand and the Optimist Club's traditional fish fry wagon.

Peg Wolf said she loves the food the best, but this year the American Legion's traditional burgers tasted different -- not bad, just different. American Legion commander David Hitt said the burgers were different, but he didn't know which brand was being used.

He presented plaques to Bill Poe, Homecomers committee chairman for 30 years and a volunteer for 60 years, and his assistant for the last 25 years, Tom Sperling.

Poe said he resigned his post recently because his eyesight and hearing are failing. He sat in a folding chair near the American Legion booth, surrounded by the sound of music, children happily shrieking on carnival rides and friends greeting one another.

The people walking by Tuesday carried colorful paper fans advertising banks and political candidates.

Gladys Siebert and a friend sat at a card table on the High Street sidewalk, selling raffle tickets for the VFW. Siebert, a Jackson resident for 60 years, was looking forward to seeing her son, Dennis, play his clarinet with the municipal band.

As darkness fell, Miss Homecomer candidates Alexis Bogenpohl, Taylor Bollinger, Laurie Clippard, Lacey Lohmann, Andrea Moore and Alice Quigley took to the stage for performances, as did Mary Bauer, Miss Missouri's Outstanding Teen. Marybeth Williams' husband, Kirk, was master of ceremonies for the pageant. Clippard finished the night with two titles: Miss Congeniality and Miss Homecomers; Bogenpohl was first runner-up for the queen's crown.

Earlier, Linda Penzel, who worked with Marybeth Williams for a decade's worth of Miss Homecomer pageants, said while this year's event was tough to put together, it was also among the most gratifying because 35 former queens have agreed to be at Saturday's closing ceremony.

Penzel's eyes often filled with tears at the thought of just how much Marybeth Williams would have loved Tuesday's whirl of Homecomer activities.

"She's here," Penzel said, glancing at the blue sky above. "There's not a doubt in my mind."

pmcnichol@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 127

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David Hitt talks about Homecomers events

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