HOMECOMERS HAPPENINGS

The crowds were impressive at the 90th annual Homecomers.

Smiles, squeals of delight, the smell of food wafting through the crowd. Sound familiar? It should if you were in attendance at the 90th annual Jackson Homecomers.

Everyone seemed to be smiling from the babies in strollers to a lovely couple (who preferred to remain nameless) that have been coming to Homecomers since 1946.

Dedication in attending Homecomers seemed to be the norm with everyone this reporter spoke with. The difficult part was in getting people to give their names.

Children were not as shy. Little Alexis Mansker had been "scoping out the rides" because she needed to know what went fast and what went slow. After careful consideration she surprised her mother with choices of the "flying" elephants and baby swings.

Dillon Diebold "patiently" waited while his parents watched the talent show. Dillon finally convinced Dad it was time to ride the tilt-a-whirl.

United Expositions which provided the rides and games even brought some familiar faces. One dedicated worker said she had been coming to Jackson Homecomers for 15 years.

The midway provided a variety of entertainment for young and old. Everything from a live bunny rabbit to a stuffed purple tiger could be won at the various game booths.

The sound of the test-of-strength bell could be heard as young men were exhibiting their prowess and impressing their dates.

The ticket booth line lengthened as the evening progressed. Children scrambled to be first in line to ride the "flying" pink elephants, to cool off by powering a motor boat in a pool of water or to climb the stairs for that quick ride down the big slide.

The biggest smiles, however, were on the faces of parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, sisters and brothers, cousins and friends who were watching their "special" person perform in the talent show.

In addition to entrants from the local area, performers from Poplar Bluff, St. Genevieve and as far away as Ellington were on hand to compete.

Judy and Rodney Smith of Jackson said Homecomers was a tradition with them. Judy said she enjoyed the events but admitted the food was the big draw. Everyone was busy enjoying the corn dogs except for daughter Kyla who was waiting on pizza.

The family planned to make the DeMolay home-made ice cream stand their last stop before leaving.