sesser homecoming part 4

Sesser Homecoming Commemorative Issue • June, 200938

‘You’ve Come a Long Way Baby’

From a modest beginning in 1950 the Sesser Homecoming has evolved through the years and is now one of the longest running and most successful summer festivals in Southern Illinois.

Large crowds attended the first Sesser Homecoming in 1950. (photo provided)

Sesser Homecoming Commemorative Issue • June, 2009 39

By Jim Muir

In 1950 Harry Truman was president, Hopalong Cassidy was the most popular character

on television, a gallon of gas cost 20-cents, a loaf of bread could be purchased for 14-cents and a group of business owners and civic lead-ers pooled their resources and time to start the Sesser Homecoming. Fast forward the calendar nearly six decades and a lot of things have changed. Ol’ Harry and Hopalong are no longer with us, gas costs $2.50 a gallon (at this minute) and a loaf of bread will set you back two bucks. The one constant from that nearly 60-year-old list is the venerable Sesser Homecoming which is still alive, thriving and do-ing quite well, thank you. Sesser businessman George Slan-kard, a pillar of the community and perhaps ‘the’ driving force behind getting the first Homecoming off the ground remembers exact details about that inaugural event. “I went to 63 business owners and individuals in Sesser and asked them to donate $20 each to help get the first Homecoming off the ground,” Slankard said. “And I distinctly remember that all but two donated the money. That’s how the Homecoming was funded from the beginning.” From the records that are available the Homecoming took a few years to evolve to the event that is now held each year in the Sesser City Park on the third weekend in June. The first-ever Homecoming was held in the City Park on Saturday September 9 and Sunday Septem-ber 10. According to records the

Sesser VFW actually organized the first event. One oddity about those early years is that the Home-coming was not necessarily held on the same date each year or for that matter the same month. For instance, the first event was held on September 9-10, 1950 and the next year was held on Friday and Saturday, June 30 and July 1, 1951. In year three the Home-coming was held on Friday, Satur-day and Sunday, August 1, 2 and 3, 1952. Because no re-cords or news-paper accounts can be found it’s believed that the Homecoming was not held in 1953, 1954 or 1955 but

then resumed again in 1956 and hasn’t missed a year since. In the early 1960s the Homecoming was moved to Sesser’s Main Street but after a short stay was move back to the City Park where it has been ever since. Keith Ward, a fixture as emcee of the Homecoming for five decades, said the first Homecoming was really nothing more than a political rally. “Gov. Adlai Stevenson attended the first Homecoming and even crowned the first queen,” Ward recalled. “It was really a day of speeches and people who attended dressed up, men wore suits and women wore dresses and hats. It was really just a political rally. There has been a lot of things change since that very first Home-coming.” A listing of dignitaries who at-tended was published in the Sept. 7, 1950 edition of the Sesser Re-view and included along with Gov.

Stevenson, state Rep. Harry W. McClintock, West Frankfort, Rep. Clyde Choate, Anna, state Sen. Clyde Lee, Mt. Vernon and former

“I went to 63 busi-ness owners and individuals in Sesser in 1950 and asked them to donate $20 each to help get the first Homecoming off the ground. And I distinctly remem-ber that all but two donated the money.”

– George Slankard, longtime Sesser businessman

“Come Sunday, Gov. Stevenson stole the show as he road in the first parade and later crowned the first queen while sandwiching in a speech praising improving safety records in Illinois coal mines.” – Excerpt from the Sesser Review, Sept. 7, 1950 –


state Rep. Louis Lewis, of Christo-pher. Under a banner headline that read, “Governor Stevenson Here Sunday – Speech to Highlight 1st Homecoming” the front page story carried this excerpt: “Come Sunday, Gov. Stevenson stole the show as he road in the first parade and later crowned the first queen while sandwiching a speech praising improving safety records in Illinois coal mines.” The first queens’ court in 1950 consisted of Phyllis Van Hoore-beke, Wanda Spotanski, Mary Lou Hammonds, Thelma Ann Young and Emma Jean Sulcer. Ward said after that initial Home-coming that centered on politics the event evolved into one where entertainment, carnival rides and the popular coronation was the focus. And of course that extremely popular sweet corn and barbecue – longtime favorites at the June event – came along a few years later. Ward recalled an amusing story in the early days when the first men-tion was made about providing free entertainment – a yearly staple of the event. “When it was first mentioned about providing free entertainment some of the members of the Homecom-ing Association just had a fit and said there was no way we could do it,” recalled Ward. “And then when we said we were going to pay a band, I don’t even remember who it was now, $250 to perform, one member said ‘you people have lost your mind’ and walked out of the meeting.”

Ward said providing free entertain-ment is something the Homecom-ing Association looks at with pride. “I look out from the stage every year and I see people that I know could not afford to see the caliber of talent that we provide,” said Ward. “People start setting up their lawn chairs early on Thursday morning to get a good seat.”

Ward said the homecoming was initiated as a way to draw residents back to the Franklin County com-munity. “It was designed initially to pro-mote the city of Sesser and have a coming home for residents and I think the success shows that people love to come here every year,” said Ward. “A lot of people gear their

“We see a jump every year in June in sales tax. It’s something that the entire community is proud of.” – Sesser Mayor Ned Mitchell –

The Sale Barn was always a beehive activity at the Homecoming in the early days. The parade of horses was a popular feature..

(photo provided)


vacations around the Homecoming. It’s an annual trip back home for them, I think that speaks volumes about what we’ve been able to do, and do well for more nearly 60 years.” Ward said the Sesser Homecoming Association has done a remarkable job through the years channeling revenue from the event back into the community. “Every bit of the money goes right back into the community,” said Ward. “The stage here in the park, the pavilion and the lights in the park was all built with money from the homecoming. It’s an event that people from all over the area looks forward to each year and we’re proud of that. It’s something that the entire community takes a lot of pride in and it just continues to grow each year.” Still held at the spacious Sesser City Park, Ward talked about the popularity of the event by not-ing that it is quite ordinary for the Friday and Saturday night perfor-mances and carnival to draw 6,000 to 8,000 people – to a community of 2,000. “The entertainment has always been free and it’s just a good fam-ily atmosphere,” said Ward. “We’re expecting the same thing this year.” Sesser Mayor Ned Mitchell said the annual Rend Lake Days is one of the oldest running festivals in Southern Illinois. “It provides a great opportunity for people that have been away from here to come back home and visit and we see an influx of people from throughout the area,” said Mitchell.

“The fact that the event has contin-ued on for 50 years is a tribute to volunteerism. It would have never survived without the generosity of people donating their time.” Mitchell said it also provides an economic boost for the small com-munity. “We see a jump every year in June in sales tax,” Mitchell said. “It’s something that the entire commu-nity is proud of.” Jim Kelly, who has been associ-ated with the Homecoming Asso-ciation for nearly 50 years, laughed when talking about the way the event is “loosely-ran.” “It’s an all-volunteer event and everybody knows their job and just does their job. There’s not a tremendous amount of planning from year to year, everybody just knows what to do,” said Kelly. “I’ve stayed involved because I enjoy it and because it’s something that benefits the entire community. I think the Homecoming has helped put Sesser on the Southern Illinois map.” Being able to provide help to the city and to the local school district has provided motivation for Jim

Dorris, a 40-year volunteer with the Homecoming Association. “We’ve been able to do a lot of things to help the city,” Dorris. “We built two new buildings in the park and gave them to the city and we give the Sesser-Valier Booster Club about $3,000 a year. Every-thing we make goes right back into the community, that’s what I like. The reason I’ve stayed involved all these years is because we’re help-ing the community and especially the schools. I think that’s the most important thing in any community – the schools.” While Slankard was around for that first-ever Homecoming in 1950 and helped solicit funds to meet expenses that first year he’s still active in the Homecoming Associa-tion and feels like the annual event has not yet reached its pinnacle. “It’s been amazing the progress that has been made,” Slankard said. “I’ve stayed with it because I’m still a big believer in promoting Sesser. While I take a lot of pride in where the Homecoming started and where it’s at now I still think there is plenty of room for continued growth.”


By Jim Muir The Sesser Homecoming Associa-tion has strong bonds with many vendors throughout the region but none has been longer and more en-during than its union with Jackson Shows & Rides. Despite a few rain showers, an oc-casional storm and a few ominous

black clouds it has

been a marriage that has endured for 50 years. “They’re just good folks,” said Jim Dorris, longtime SHA member. “They’re dependable and they’ve done a great job throughout the years.” A brief conversation with Jim Jack-son, Jr. and its evident the feeling is mutual. “There are communities I prefer to go to above others and Sesser is

one of those communities,” said Jackson, Jr. “We’ve always been treated well there and they’ve al-ways ran a first-class operation.” Les Jackson Shows & Rides first made an appearance with its car-nivals and side shows in the mid-1950s three generations later the name ‘Jackson’ is still associated with the popular midway at the Sesser Homecoming. Les Jackson passed away several years ago and the business was taken over by his Jim Jackson, Sr., now 74 years old and still doing a

COME ONE...

COME ALL

For more than five decades Jackson Shows and Rides have thrilled

youngsters at the carnival and midway at Sesser Homecoming


little part-time work with his three children who now also run carni-vals. Catching up with a carnival own-er/worker in the summer is not easy task but the senior Jackson recently stopped long enough to visit by telephone and talk about his many years in Sesser. On this particular day the elder Jackson, who had open-heart surgery in January, was helping family mem-bers get ready for a carnival in Southeast Missouri. “Actually, I’m retired and I’m not really working, more than any-thing I’m just standing around in the way,” he laughed. “That’s about all I can do these days.” Jackson, Sr. first got into the business with his dad in 1950 and said the association with Sesser has “always been very good.” He said the original carnival operated by his dad (Les) has now branched off to three carnivals operated by his children. “I met some really good people in Sesser through the years,” said Jackson, Sr. “We always enjoyed going there because you knew there would be good crowds and

everything would be top-notch.” Jackson, Jr. has missed very few Sesser Homecomings and said it’s still one of his favorite events to work. “It’s called the homecoming and that’s what it is for me … it’s like coming back home. I basically grew up in Sesser one week out of every summer,” said Jackson, Jr. “I have probably attended every homecoming except a couple in the early 1990s since.” Jackson, Jr. is not exaggerating with that statement and said that it became family lore that he attended

the first Homecoming in Sesser when he was less than a month old. “I was actually born at Pinck-neyville Hospital and attended my first Sesser Homecoming when I

was two weeks old,” Jackson, Jr. said. “So, when I say I grew up there, I really did. I can remember going to nickel matinees down at the Opera House when I was a kid and we were in town, so that dates me a little.” The longevity of the annual event

is what sets Sesser aside from other community events that begin and fail. “They do things right in Sesser and they always have,” said Jack-son, Jr. “Otherwise they would have folded up a long time ago. You don’t see a lot of events that last this long.” The Jacksons have traveled virtu-

ally the same circuit year after year traveling through March through October in Alabama, Missouri, Il-linois, Tennessee and Georgia. Randall Crocker said the fact that the Homecoming Association con-tinued to book the Jackson family speaks volumes about the effort they provided each summer. “Even back to Les Jackson and then Jim Sr. and Jim Jr. they always did exactly what they said they would do,” said Crocker. “They’re a first-class operation and it’s been a very good run through the years with them.”

“I met some really good people in Sesser through the years. We always enjoyed going there because you knew there would be good crowds and everything would be top-notch.”

– Jim Jackson, Sr. –


By Jim MuirPhotos by Chris Kays

In 1950 Sesser business-man George Slankard called on more than 60 businesses and organiza-

tions asking each to contribute $20 to begin an annual event that would be called Sesser Homecoming. Walter Vander, a retired Sesser

business owner and now age 93, was one of those that happily kicked a $20 dollar bill into the pot to help get the then-fledg-ling event off the ground.

“I can really say that I’ve been a part of the homecoming for-ever,” said Vander who oper-ated an appliance and gas busi-ness in Sesser for more than 30 years. “The Homecoming has

“If they had it … I was there, I never missed a year. I enjoyed it, I enjoyed the music.” – Clarence “Dinger” Jones, 101-year-old Sesser resident –

“If they had it … I was there, I never missed a year. I enjoyed it, I enjoyed the music.” – Clarence “Dinger” Jones, 101-year-old Sesser resident –

Walter Vander (l) and Clarence “Dinger” Jones.


always been real important to me and to everybody in Sesser.” Vander said the annual event was also important to his daughters, Irma, Trudy and Connie. “They were like the other young people in Sesser, wait-ing for the carnival to come to town,” he said.

Vander said in the early days of the event he worked at the con-cession stand on a yearly basis. “I had the appliance store and I donated refrigerators and stoves that they used in the concession and later on when they start-ed fixing roast-ed ears of corn I set a 500-gal-lon tank of gas over there, all free,” he said. “I worked there every year for many years. I have great memories of the Homecoming.” Clarence “Ding-er” Jones was honored during the 2008 Sesser Homecoming as Sesser’s Citizen of the Year. During the ceremony longtime emcee Keith Ward recalled a meeting he had with Jones only a few days prior. Ward inquired what Jones would be doing on that particular day and the quick reply was a “Dinger-ism” that

“I can really say that I’ve been a part of the homecoming forever. The Home-coming has always been real important to me and to everybody in Sesser.” – Walter Vander, 93-year-old Sesser resident –

brought the house down. “Ain’t gonna do a dern thing,” Dinger said. “And the best part is that I’m not going to get started ‘til after lunch.”

Jones, who will turn 102 in August, said he does not recall ever missing a Homecoming. “If they had it … I was there, I never missed a year,” said Jones. “I enjoyed it, I enjoyed the

music.” A native of the Sesser area and a retired farmer, Jones said he plans to attend the 2009 event marking his 56th Homecoming. “If the good Lord’s willing I plan to be there,” Jones said.

Walter Vander (l) and Clarence “Dinger” Jones.


What has proven to be the most important and most used item

throughout the years at the an-nual Sesser Homecoming? Sure lawn chairs are important and on some years an umbrella is a must. And certainly sun screen and insect repellant could help prevent some uncomfort-able situations later. But, hands-down the answer to that question has to be a camera. From the early black and white days, through Polaroid, In-stamatic, point and shoot and right though high-tech, high-resolution digital photography equipment and cellular phones that are capable of taking pho-tos cameras have captured the sights of that wonderful third week in June. And be assured that sometimes those sights really turned out to be quite a sight. And it could be said that the history of the Sesser Homecom-ing and the camera both have quite a few similarities. Both have adapted to change, both have aged well, both have got-ten better through the years and

certainly both are more popular now than ever. Just think about how many times since that first Homecom-ing in 1950 that a photographer gave instructions to ‘smile’ or ‘say cheese’ or ‘move a little closer together.’ Just think about the smiles, happy times, laughs, exciting moments, embarrassing moments, disappointments and pure joy that have been captured through the lens of a camera. Think about some of the people in those pictures, people who were instrumental in shaping the history of this event who are no longer with us. Just think about the number of times a button has been pushed during the last six decades to capture all those photos. How many scrapbooks and photo albums could be filled with all those pictures? Thousands? Millions? The number would be mind-boggling. Just think what the Sesser Homecoming would have been like without all those wonderful cameras. And of course all those photos can’t be mentioned without rec-ognizing all those photographers

that have helped document the rich history of this event. Some are amateurs, evident by a pic-ture maybe just a little off-center or a little out of focus while some are professionals who possess the ability to capture clear, sharp photos that really do tell a story. Regardless, the photos taken by both are priceless. Moments in time … that’s re-ally what the Sesser Homecom-ing is about. Moments in time for wide-eyed youngsters who can’t wait for the carnival to get to town, moments in time for car enthusiasts, moments in time for young teenage girls vying to wear that special crown on Saturday night, moments in time for country music fans who will once again with lawn chair in hand fill the Sesser City Park, moments in time for those looking for a shade tree and barbecue sandwich, and most importantly moments in time to smile at a stranger or hug an old friend. Moments in time – wonderfully captured through the eyes of a photographer and the lens of a camera. Cherished moments in time at the Sesser Homecoming … were you there?


Here’s a look at the Sesser Homecoming food by the numbers:

36 – The number of pound of hot dogs used. 100-plus – The number of wonderful volunteers it takes to make the Sesser Home. 160 – The number of 22-pound bags of ice used in 2008. 180 –180 – The number of 16-pound pork shoulders used to make barbecue sandwiches. 360 – The number of Bunny Bread hotdog buns used. 400 – The number of pounds of hamburgers used. 875 -- The number of hamburger patties used. 3,000 – The number of pounds (1-1/2 tons) of barbecue meat used on an average year. 3,000 – The number of Bunny Bread hamburger buns used. 3,520 – The number of pounds (1-3/4 tons) of ice used. 6,000 –6,000 – The number of ears of sweet corn painstakingly grilled each year. 6,500 – The number of bottles of soda and water sold in 2008. 10,000 - plus – The number of hungry people who will visit the Sesser Homecoming each year.

Question: How much food does it take to feed the Sesser Homecoming? Answer: A Bunch! While the free nightly entertainment, those gut-churning carnival rides and the always popular coronation ceremony is certainly responsible for a portion of the large crowds that converge on Sesser every year for the annual RRend Lake Days there’s also a large number of folks who flock to the Franklin County community for no other reason than that scrumptious barbecue and mouth-watering sweet corn.


Rodney GilbertMark MillerRodney GilbertMark Miller

102 West CallieP.O. Box 624

Sesser, Illinois 62884(618) 625-2411

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Krista ComptonSesser | 618–625–5100


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