Jackson Homecomers opening night rained out

The first evening of the Jackson Homecomers celebration lasted only about half an hour. It ended in a torrential downpour.

At 6:30 p.m., Mayor Barbara Lohr welcomed everyone.

The Jackson Municipal Band performs during the 105th Jackson Homecomers celebration Tuesday on the lawn of the Cape Girardeau County Courthouse in Jackson. A severe thunderstorm moved through Jackson a short time later, causing outdoor performances to be canceled and the carnival to be shut down. More photos are in a gallery at semissourian.com. (Adam Vogler)

"We here in Jackson really like to celebrate," she said. "Hopefully this rain will hold off for a while and let us have our party. But as always, we are here because we want to have fun, a lot of that good food and we want to have fellowship with all of our friends and neighbors."

Folks gathered in lawn chairs in anticipation of the Jackson Municipal Band's performance. It was a pretty sizable crowd considering the threat of rain, Wendy Hayes, co-organizer of Homecomers, said.

But the rain didn't hold off. The band made it through four songs and after the "Liechtensteiner Polka" had to call it quits to keep some instruments from being ruined by the light rain that had begun to fall.

Undaunted, the crowd continued to sit and chat, moving lawn chairs under trees to avoid the droplets. Children still rode in the bumper boats.

The last two girls to brave the bumper rides were neighbors Allie Nugent, 4, and Jayden Wipfler, 3. The two girls giggled as the boat bumped the empty boats around them. Drops of rain didn't concern them. And when the first big lightning bolt lit up the sky, Wipfler beamed and yelled, "Fireworks."

By 7 p.m., the rain was coming down steadily, with lightning strikes illuminating the sky behind the colorful lights of the carnival rides.

Rides were abandoned and more and more people crowded under tents, awnings and trees, hoping the sky would clear.

Minutes later, light rain became torrential waves falling from dark clouds, wind whipped the flags about and the water finally breached the leaves of the trees, sending the festivalgoers running to cars. At 7:25 p.m., the power went out in the blocks surrounding Barton Square.

Hazel Henson is 94 years old and has been attending the festival since she was 10. In all of those years, she only missed two nights. Henson knew the forecast, but the rain didn't faze her. She wasn't going to miss opening night.

"I used to enjoy it all, all the rides and everything, but I got where I just come to see the people now, and there's been so many of them gone," she said. "So many of my friends have passed away. But I still enjoy coming. I like their music. They always have something on the stage I like."

Henson said she remembers when people came to the festival in wagons and horses.

"These streets didn't look like this then," she said. She remembers back to when her brother had a hamburger and homemade ice cream stand.

"I'd come and run the streets with my friends," she said.

Henson will be back later this week with her grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Hayes said if it should rain Thursday or Friday, the talent show will be in the American Legion Hall. She also said she expects a big crowd for the finale on Saturday evening. St. Louis-based Motown Review will perform, with members who have played with popular Motown artists such as the Four Tops, Aretha Franklin and the Temptations.

botto@semissourian.com

Pertinent address:

Barton Square, Jackson, Mo.