AT 100, SEMINARY PICNIC STILL ABOUT COMMUNITY

Traditions come and traditions go, but the annual St. Vincent de Paul Parish Seminary Picnic in Perryville, Mo., seemingly will continue forever.

This past weekend the Seminary Picnic celebrated its 100th anniversary. Held on the grounds of St. Mary of the Barrens Seminary, the picnic has been a community event for area Catholics and non-Catholics alike for generations.

Walking the picnic grounds during this milestone event, one didn't have to look too hard to find folks whose grandparents, great-grandparents or even great-great-grandparents were annual regulars at the picnic. Quite a few could probably trace their lineage to ancestors who were at the first picnic in 1901.

The picnic has changed some since the early days when Perry County residents would converge on seminary grounds in horse-drawn wagons loaded with chickens and produce brought from their own farms. Electric lights were added in 1914. In 1933, it expanded in duration from one to two days. This year the picnic lasted for four days.

But the changes haven't really been that great. The old-time merry-go-round, hand-crafted in New York in 1905, remains a poplar fixture. And the beer garden windmill, absent for nearly 50 years and thought destroyed, was back in place for the 100th anniversary, restored using many of the original parts.

But attractions and activities aside, at its core the values of community and fellowship remain what the picnic is all about.

In times where much we reminisce about small-town life has faded into history, the Seminary Picnic continues to build new memories.

The people of the Perryville area -- and their many friends and relatives who have scattered over a much wider area -- are truly blessed to have a century-old tradition that continues to rekindle the best parts of American life once a year.