I've been writing for the Western Kentucky Catholic monthly newspaper for several years as well as a weekly for the McCracken Perspective for over a year, which is now a monthly. I was asked to write about the picnics and socials held here since their beginning. I will attempt to give as much information as I can come up with and credit to those responsible for the success of these parish activities. However I was only a child of 7 years when these picnics began and I remember a lot but will be giving some information based on some older people of the neighborhood.

My first recollection goes back to 1925 when Father Paul Barrett was sent here to replace Father Mark Maser. I'm told by Azilee Poat that Fr. Maser had strawberry festivals annually, which were held for parishioners only. I remember we had Socials beginning in the Fall after Fr. Barrett came. They were held in the (now) old school building and they involved a drink stand, an ice cream stand and a fish pond where kids could spend a nickel and get some kind of prize. A Bingo stand and card playing was very popular. Eucher was the game played most then and Sheep required concentration and was played by many. These socials grew each year till we needed more space for picnics.

Fr. Barrett came to St. John to raise money to build a new church. He started a clean up program on the property on the north side of the school, which involved a steep hill with a creek that separated the hill from a nice level area that extended to George Kaufman's property. It was a dense forest that only a rabbit could go through. With the help of the boys in the 6th 7th and 8th grades, with Father leading the way swinging an axe and pulling one end of a crosscut saw, that area was soon called the picnic grounds. Walking bridges were built across that creek to allow access from the parking lot on top of the hill to the picnic grounds below. Those boys who helped were; Bertram Willett, Cletus Wurth, John Wurth, Clifford Poat, Aubrey Poat, James Wurth, Roy Wurth, Linus Wurth, Cletus Krimple, Conroy Englert, and Cornelius Phelps. There were probably more who helped and I'm sorry if I left you out.

The profit from these socials and picnics were deposited in the bank as the "Building Fund". Money was solicited from every member of the parish. Some borrowed money, some donated property in stead of money. This was during the most severe "Depression" of all time. The goal was to raise $25,000.00 to build the present beautiful St. John Church. The estimate for the construction was $35,000.00, however it was built for $25,000.00 plus the interest accrued. The church building was started in 1932 after moving the old frame church across the road so as to make room for the new one. Mass was offered every morning in the old church while it was being moved and until the new one was completed. The contract was let to a Paducah native, William B. Roettis. The architect was Thomas J. Nolan from Louisville, Ky. The comer stone was laid on September 4, 1932 and on June 25, 1933, the church was completed. The church was dedicated by The Rev. John A. Floersh Bishop of Louisville.

The socials quickly grew into what is now known as the St. John picnic and Barbecue, is an annual event that started about 1930 and continued through Fr. Barrett's 13 year tenure and Fr. Raymond G. Hill who replaced him in 1938 and continued on till the boys were leaving for world war 2 in such numbers that it was decided to discontinue having the picnics. The picnics were reinstated in 1975, while Msgr. Anthony G. Higdon was Pastor. The picnics have continued to be a community get together that gets bigger each year and is annually advertised as "The Biggest Little Picnic in Kentucky." The last, (1999) was the largest ever. The proceeds from these events go 100% toward the education of our children in our Parochial schools.

And now going back to the early picnics on those newly cleared grounds, only the under brush and dead trees were removed. All the trees were left for shade and it was a beautiful area for the picnics. In those days, we had no electricity in the area, so we had to improvise with kerosene lights. Theodore Scheer was in charge of lighting. We would have a working in the days before the picnic date, when every man and boy was expected to be there to work and help get ready for the big day and night which run to near midnight. Uncle Tedder as he was called would get his crew together to fill bottles with kerosene, place a rope wick in the bottle that reached to the bottom and a wire was tied around the neck of the bottle with a hook formed at the end of the wire, to be hung on wires that were strung all over the grounds where light would be needed. On the evening of the picnic the lighting crew with a torch in hand would follow those trails and light all those wicks. It was a pretty sight, all those hundreds of bottle lights glowing at one time, and they made ample light for a successful night of picnicking.

Every thing by way of meat and food for these picnics was donated by the parishioners. Sheep were bought on foot and kept at Tony Poat's Farm till just before picnic time, when a general working of the men of the parish would be called to slaughter the sheep and process the meat for barbecuing. Boys were used to keep watch over the carcasses and see that no flies lit while the preparing took place. The day before the picnic the cooking would start over huge open pits with metal grates covering the hot coals. Much help was needed for this barbecuing process. Steve Wurth was in charge and he was respected as the most qualified, best outdoor cook, to be had, and he performed this chore year after year. His help consisted of his son Denis, Firman Wurth, Sebastian Kaufman, John Poat, Carl Poat. Oscar Poat, Melvin Poat and many more. Picnic Day, (it started well before noon and continued till midnight) the dinner enclosure needed a lot of help too. Dora Poat was in charge, Mae Wurth made the coffee, Deena Kaufman, Maggie Wurth, Freddie Wurth, Azilee Poat and Dora Durbin together with many young men and ladies took care of serving the people.

The dinning enclosure was circled with a tall fence and an entrance gate that was manned before and during the noon meal as well as the evening meal. I don't remember for sure the price for those meals but I think it was $2.50 for all you wanted to eat. The fried chicken, which was a very popular part of the meal, and all the vegetables, salads, cakes and pies were all prepared in the homes and brought the morning of the picnic· It was surely a feast that did the advertising for future picnics. Ice cream was an important food in a booth, or stand by itself, was produced by parishioners also. Loretta Harper was in charge with Frank Greif, Carl Poat, Minnie Greif, and many boys to crank the freezers, made the ice cream. Mary Ann Krimple was in charge of the ice cream serving booth, with girls of the parish waiting on customers.

The Bingo Stand, which was always a big attraction, was headed by Riley Durbin. He was in charge of securing prizes to be given throughout the day and night. Michael Hardware in Paducah always looked forward to furnishing nice winners prizes. Riley was assisted by his sons Richard and Lawrence and others who sold the cards for each game and seen to collecting each time. The Drink Stand was run by Frank Kaufman, George Haas, Ray Poat and George Luigs. That also was a separate stand that sold many cold drinks for 5 cents each. Advertising was a specialty, that was done by Riley Durbin, a couple of months prior to the picnic date. He made a large sign that hung over highway 45 that told the picnic story and the date, it could be read in either direction. After the first 2 or 3 years he made a double sign that was erected on the parking lot near the highway. Future years required only the date to be changed.

The Band Stand was a permanent one that was used by the entertainers that was Frank Greif's charge, as he secured the band that played for the crowd. Those first picnics had a very good band called The Tilghman Band. One of the entertainers was Joe Grimm who played the part of comedian and clown. The band stand was also used by the politicians, who looked forward to the St. John Picnic to debate and argue politics. Order on the grounds was in charge of Herman Englert Sr. who was either a deputy sheriff or a county patrolman as long as I can remember. He was assisted by available deputy sheriffs who volunteered their services. Parking cars was a big job and was taken care of by Feildon Toon and Joe Felts. I can't say enough for the dedication of the parishioners of St. John to volunteer their help to raise money to build the beautiful church that since 1933 we have loved and worshiped in. These picnics continued through the years until the early 40s when so many of our young men were drafted to serve in World War II, it was decided to discontinue the picnics until years later.

The Picnic and Barbecue was restarted in 1975 by Msgr. Anthony G. Higdon who was Pastor at the time. It was a different picnic though as times had changed and so had the system. We started having the picnics in the area around and in the old school building and the festivities grew from small to a big event over the years. The picnic report of 1980 showed a net profit of $23,663.15. The net profit for our picnic in 1999 was $105,043.60. You can see that we've had a big improvement in the past 20 years. It would be impossible to give credit to any one person or any group of persons for the success of this annual event.

We had political speaking at all the picnics. They were led in prayer by our Pastor. At the picnic on Sept. 7, 1985, Senator Wendell Ford (D) Vs. Larry Forgy (R), Spoke with U.S. Representative Carroll Hubbard as the MC. Other local speakers took turns. The Neihoff Brothers were the featured band artists. In 1986, speakers included Steve Beshear, (Lieutenant governor) , former Governor Julian Carroll, Superintendent of Public Instruction Alice McDonald. Agriculture Commissioner David Boswell, Anne Moore a Paducah gubernatorial candidate. Carroll Hubbard was the MC. Live Music was provided by the Country Dudes from 2 to 4:30 pm. Country IZ and the Neihoff Brothers played from 6:30 to 10 pm. Louis Roof & Sonny Felts were picnic Chairmen that year. Father Louis Piskula was our Pastor then. We showed a net profit of $31,707.75, up $3,121.74 from the previous year. After serving a total of 15 years as chairman of the Dinner Program for the picnics, Edith Wurth tendered her resignation as of September 13, 1990. The net profit that year was $54,175.03. Father Benjamin Luther was the Pastor. In 1994 the net profit was $62,784.61. After a decision by the picnic committee to raffle an automobile the net profit in 1995 soared to $90,999.93. In 1996 the net profit was $96,343.17. In 1997 the net profit was $99,018.03. In 1998 our net income was $101,124.10. In 1999 our last picnic we had a net profit of $105.043.60.

The picnics have grown over the years, with added incentive, added growth of the Parish and I predict it will continue to grow. It (the picnic) has been a savior for our Parochial School System, with all profits going toward the education of our children at St. John and at St. Mary Schools. The Msgr. Anthony G. Higdon Knights of Columbus Council #10962 has been a boon to St. John as more than 100 men of the Parish belong and take active part in doing the improvements to the parish property. Many projects have been completed by the KC's that have made our community more modern and livable. Like building and paving parking lots, installing security lighting, air conditioning the Gym, which is used for picnic dinners and other parish affairs, improvements to the picnic area, (barbecue pits and cookers) painting the woodwork at church, purchase and installing a beautiful "Right To Life Memorial" and flag poles on the church lawn. The Knights have purchased 12 acres of land near the church and built a very modern and beautiful building for council activities. It is now available for rent for almost any kind of activities that would require a lot of space.

In closing, I would like to say this story required some research and remembering things that happened in the past. I hope it will provide the information necessary for your program.

Sincerely, Richard Durbin