GORDONVILLE PICNIC, MUD RACES ATTRACT MORE THAN 4,000

GORDONVILLE, Mo. -- More than 4,000 people turned out for the annual Gordonville Fire Department Picnic last weekend.

Highlighting the annual event were the mud races.

More than 150 trucks and other vehicles, registered for the mudbath, held in Gordonville Park Saturday afternoon.

Crowds gathered to watch as truck, dunebuggies, three-wheelers and four-wheelers made their passes through the mud.

Unlucky competitors sometimes swamped their trucks and had to be towed out.

In one instance Saturday, a man caught his leg between a tractor bar and truck. He was taken to a Cape Girardeau hospital where he was treated and released.

"Everybody has a good time here," said Gordonville Fire Chief Roger English. "Plenty of food and sodas were available. We went through more than 200 cases of sodas."

Following the mud races, a dance was held. In between, during the day, youngsters had their own contests, in pedal tractor pulls.