FIREWORKS AND FROLIC: CITIES CELEBRATE NATION'S BIRTH

Melvin Gately milked a Jersey cow named Jellybean to victory during a Fourth of July milking contest at Arena Park Saturday afternoon. The milking cows were supplied by Kierchdoerfer Jersey Farm.

Area residents celebrated the Fourth of July with everything from fireworks to mud volleyball.

Both Cape Girardeau and Jackson held Fourth of July celebrations.

This was the 10th year for Jackson's celebration. The annual event is coordinated by the Jackson Jaycees.

Parking places were difficult to find as thousands visited the Jackson City Park to view everything from bed races to mud volleyball.

The crowd was not as large at Arena Park in Cape Girardeau. But it was steady throughout the day, from a 10 a.m. parade through an evening concert and fireworks.

The mud volleyball games have been the featured attraction at Jackson over the years.

Nickie Trankler of Jackson played dirty and loved it. So did virtually everyone else who played volleyball in the mud pits.

"We do this for fun," said the Southeast Missouri State University college student as she smiled through the oozing brown stuff that covered her from head to toe.

Trankler and her teammates enjoyed getting muddy. But after each of their matches, they cleaned up under the outdoor shower.

The mud weighed them down, she said. "We are dragging out there."

Forty-eight teams competed in the double-elimination event this year. The matches, which ran throughout the day, were played in three mud pits.

Craig Hutson, 18, of Jackson and his friends played three matches before being eliminated.

"Don't be afraid of getting dirty," he advised as he and his teammates headed for the shower after losing for the final time.

"We had fun," said Hutson.

Teammate Jeremy Penny, 18, of Jackson said he wanted to play mud volleyball before joining the Marines.

Penny doubted the experience would help him with boot camp.

"The mud gets really thick," said Penny.

A volleyball contest also was featured at the Cape Girardeau event, but the big crowd attraction proved to be a milking contest Saturday afternoon, pitting Melvin Gateley, retired school principal and currently a Cape Girardeau City Councilman, against David Hitt, director of emergency operations for Cape Girardeau County.

Gateley won the first 30-second round of the contest, but Hitt came away a winner during the second 30-second round. Gateley, however, was the overall winner with most milk for the two rounds.

A number of challenges were settled during the afternoon milking contest, conducted by Bud Hager, who served as a judge. Don Kelpe of AmerenUE won against Cape Girardeau fireman David Scherer. The ladies joined the action, with Jennifer Baker winning over Diane Kelpe.

The two Fourth of July festivals included everything from children's rides, musical fare from gospel to rock 'n' roll, a car show and hot air balloons, and plenty of food.

The festivals ended with a concert by the Jackson Municipal Band at Jackson and the Compton Heights Band at Cape Girardeau, both culminated by fireworks.

"Our largest crowds are usually here for the evening concert and the fireworks display," said Charles Thrower, past commander of VFW Post 3838, a sponsor for the Arena Park festival. "During the day, we've probably seen as many as 3,000 people come and go."

"We have enough fireworks to take on a small country," said Jackson festival co-chairman Dave Murphy, prior to the fireworks show.

Murphy said the cloudy skies and a breeze made it comfortable to be outdoors in the summer heat.

Murphy smiled as he watched festival-goers celebrate the holiday. "It is America. You can't beat being out and seeing all the stuff."

The Fourth of July activities started in downtown Cape Girardeau at 7 a.m. Friday, when the Delta Queen and Mississippi Queen paddlewheelers docked along the Mississippi river in downtown Cape Girardeau.

The two "Queens" were participating in the 20th annual Great Steamboat Race, from New Orleans to St. Louis. The race represents the famous riverboat duel of 1870 between the Robert E. Lee and the Natchez steamboats.

More than 800 passengers and crew, from both boats, were in Cape Girardeau from 7 a.m. to about 1 p.m., when the two large paddlerwheelers left for the final leg of the race.

During the stay here, passengers and crew members conducted "Cap'n Foghorns Floating Follies." The follies were held aboard the Mississippi Queen, after being rained out at the scheduled appearance at the Courthouse Park gazebo.