JOUR DE FETE: A DAY TO HONOR THOSE WHO SAVED STE. GENEVIEVE

It will go down in history as the heroic confluence of the will and the wall, the sand and savvy that saved Ste. Genevieve.

But there is much more to the story of last summer's flood and the valiant effort of the people who worked day and night to keep the historical buildings intact.

Ste. Genevieve will use the 28th annual Jour de Fete, scheduled for Aug. 13-14, to celebrate the town's victory over the Great Flood of 1993. Opening ceremonies will be at 10 a.m. at the Interpretive Center, Main and Merchant Streets.

At 11 a.m. Saturday, there will be a ribbon cutting ceremony at the foot of Merchant Street. Federal, state, county and city officials will attend the ceremony along with mayors of dozens of other cities who helped in the flood fight last year.

After the ribbon-cutting ceremony those in attendance will be invited to walk the two blocks to Washington Street and stand atop the sandbag wall that saved the town. The wall will be lined with flags representing the 50 nations who either sent volunteers, messages of encouragement or contributions to Ste. Genevieve.

Guard rails will be inserted to keep guests from falling to the floodplain below. "We plan to have that portion of the wall preserved as a permanent attraction in Ste. Genevieve," said Ron Inman, chairman of the Jour de Fete Committee.

There were no safety features last August. Volunteers walked the wall constantly, day and night, rain and shine, to search for leaks and sand boils. The walkers were inches from the perilous Mississippi, and as much as 20 feet above the protected land on the other side of the wall.

Hundreds of local citizens began frantically filling sandbags to resume an earlier fight against the rising Mississippi River in early June last year. When the world learned why the citizens were trying so hard to save their town, people from all across the country and several foreign countries came to Ste. Genevieve to help.

In the town of 4,400 people, some 60 miles south of St. Louis, there are literally dozens of homes built by the pioneer French long before the Louisiana Purchase.

Some of the buildings, with walls of vertical logs, were occupied by French citizens even before the muskets of the Revolutionary War cooled.

There was a much different war in 1993. It had to do with a worthy cause. The courageous and desperate fight continued through 100-degree heat with Mississippi Valley humidity severely testing those who entered the battle.

The fight continued through incessant torrential rains. Despite the fact that surrounding levees were succumbing to the swelling Mississippi, the people of Ste. Genevieve and their new friends never gave up. Most of the levees in Ste. Genevieve held past the record 49-foot crest of Aug. 9.

The fight took its toll on the streets of Ste. Genevieve. Military vehicles, crawler tractors, and a score of heavy trucks used to haul the sandbags and rock to the riverbanks had pulverized the streets. Many of them were still not repaired.

The drainage and sanitary sewage systems were torn asunder. But somehow the repairs have been made and the town is gradually regaining its infrastructure and grace.

The Jour de Fete, which means Day of Celebration, has taken place each year since 1966 with the exception of last year. The affair has attracted tens of thousands of visitors to the community, which was born in 1749. The town is the oldest in the middle Mississippi Valley.

The celebration will include more than 500 craft merchants plying their trade along Main Street. This is the largest craft show in Missouri.

Many of the historic homes will be open both days from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. There will be a nominal fee for admission to most of the homes. But admission to the Felix Valle State Historic site will be free.

A 5-kilometer race and one-mile fun run will start at 8 a.m. Saturday. The race will begin and end at the municipal pool in Ste. Genevieve City Park.

A birds of prey exhibit will be at the rear of the Bolduc-LeMeilleur House, Main and Market Streets and will be hosted by the Wild Bird Sanctuary of Stt. Louis. The exhibit will be open throughout the weekend.

A live steam engine exhibit will be working on the bank of the La Riviere Cabouri, on South Main Street south of the Bolduc House, throughout the weekend.

Colonial craft demonstrations will take place on both days at Second and Merchant Streets on the grounds of the Felix Valle and Mammy Shaw houses. Costumed crafters will demonstrate spinning, weaving, pottery, scrimshaw, wheat weaving and basketry.

A detachment of French Marines, "la Campagnie Francaise de la marine de Fort de Chartres" will be encamped in the area behind the Mammy Shaw House. They will be joined by a company of Spanish soldiery, costumed as they would have been when the old town flew the flag of Carlos III of Spain.

The odors of campfire cookery will mix with the acrid smells of cordite, wafting from the muzzles of the black powder musketry.

The Classy Cruisers will host a car show on the grounds of the Knights of Columbus Hall, 600 Market Street, all day Sunday. Admission is $1.

Antique displays will be in the show windows of local merchants throughout the downtown area.