CITIES MARK FOURTH WITH PIE-EATING, PARADE; JACKSON CELEBRATES FOURTH WITH ANNUAL JAYCEES FESTIVITIES

JACKSON -- Overnight showers may have helped rather than hurt attendance Friday at the Jackson Jaycees Fourth of July celebration held in Jackson City Park.

Evening showers dumped about a half-inch of rain in the region, which dropped daytime highs down to a comfortable 80 degrees with low humidity. Rick Saupe, event chairman for the Jaycees, said the low heat and humidity made the day perfect for playing in the park.

"As far as the weather goes, unless it rains, this is perfect," said Saupe as he viewed the slightly overcast sky. "It feels great out here right now."

Gray skies and moderate temperatures didn't keep thousands of people from attending the annual community celebration sponsored by the Jaycees in observance of Independence Day and Jackson's 183rd birthday. Horseshoe-throwing enthusiasts, volleyball fans and car buffs flocked to the park to participate in day-long events scheduled.

The mud volleyball tournament was the perennial favorite event of the day, Saupe said, but this year's car show was a close second. A full field of 48 teams registered to slog it out in the mud pits, which Jaycee members had to be rewet using fire hoses, despite the help from Mother Nature.

More than 125 vehicles -- the largest participation ever -- were registered to compete in the car show.

Participation was also great for other events during the day, including pie and watermelon eating contests, a tractor pedal pull competition and a Hubble Creek regatta. Evening found the park crowded with people for the anual municipal band concert and fireworks display.

"We have a little bit of something for everyone in the family," Saupe said. "The mud volleyball is probably the main attraction, but we've tried to schedule the day so there's something offered for everyone all day long."

Jaycee member Donnie Glueck agreed. "It's a good inexpensive day for everyone," he said. "People could come out here and not spend a dime if they didn't want to."

Nine-year old Lela Payne of Jackson was the youngest volleyball player in the tournament. She said she decided to play on the Jackson Manor team for a very simple reason. "I like to play in the mud and I like to play with a bunch of balls, so I decided it'd be fun," she said. "I got to meet a lot of people."

Payne's mom, Pam Taylor, who works at Jackson Manor, said she didn't want her daughter to play in the tournament but gave in after co-workers said they needed her to round out the team. "I didn't want her to do it, but she wanted to and they told me to let her play," she laughed. "It's the first and only time she could play in the mud and get away with it."

Cheryl Thiele, another Jackson Manor player, has played in the tournament for five years. She said Payne was helping the team to its best finish ever. "This is our best year yet," Thiele said while rinsing off mud under an outdoor shower. "She was our good luck charm or something. I'm going to make sure she plays again next year."

Saupe said many organizations worked together to make the holiday festivities happen. This is a joint effort, he said, and everyone works together to make it special for the entire community.

"We don't try to make money at this," he said. "We do it as a service to the community. All of the different groups help to make this easier for us."

Moderate and dry temperatures will continue throughout the holiday weekend. Southeast Missouri can expect comfortable daytime temperatures of around 80 degrees with lows in the mid-to-upper-50s at night. The beginning of the week will bring increasingly warm and humid temperatures with a chance of thunderstorms.