RESIDENTS CELEBRATE NATION'S BIRTHDAY

JACKSON -- Ridge Morey, 2, had to be coaxed to give his mother, Cindy, a victory hug after she and teammates won a round.

Mom was the coach of Beauties and the Beast, one of 48 teams entered in the mud volleyball tournament at the Jackson Jaycees Independence Day celebration at City Park. She and teammates spent Thursday getting down and dirty.

Morey, a Cape Girardeau resident, laughed when her son eyed her mud-splattered clothes and limbs dubiously.

"Usually he's the one getting me dirty," she said.

This is the second year Morey has been in the tournament.

The best part of mud volleyball, she said, "is not trying to stay clean."

Morey's teammate, Cindy Richards, also of Cape Girardeau, rinsed the worst of the mud off Thursday morning.

"There's no sense in getting clean" before the next round of play, Richards said.

From the splat of the mud pits to the sizzle of the funnel cake booths, Independence Day was celebrated in style.

"It's a pretty good day," said Jaycee Tamie McClain, one of the organizers of the celebration. "It isn't very hot, and we've got a good turnout."

Danielle Ruble, 10, didn't play mud volleyball, but she got good and gooey just the same.

Danielle, who lives in Jackson, was named pie-eating champion Thursday.

She managed to chomp down a chocolate cream pie -- without the aid of her hands -- in "about five minutes," she estimated.

Asked if she likes chocolate cream pie, she replied, "Not so much anymore. I got it up my nose."

Danielle said her appetite is a little more restrained at home, but, she added, "I can eat a whole box of Nutty Buddy bars."

At the other end of the park, competitors squinted with concentration or called out friendly encouragement during the Knights of Columbus horseshoe tournament.

Ginard Rehkop of Patton said he participates in "about 20" horseshoe tournaments a year.

"They've got 40-something tournaments around here," he said.

Rehkop said he's been playing for 20 years. "They didn't have all the tournaments then like they do now," he said.

It's not uncommon for a tournament to last most of a day, he said, depending on how many people are signed up.

"It could go on until dark maybe," he said. "I doubt it will today, though."

Jackson, Cape Girardeau, Sikeston and several other area communities capped off the Fourth of July holiday with public fireworks displays.