Parables
Parish Picnic
By Agnes Kobishop
Our parish picnics were resumed on the parish grounds in 1970. Our first ones were only a one-day affair, but each year we got a little braver and we began to add a few things and then the big jump to a two-day affair. Added were fish boil, talent show, pony rides, carriage rides, games and competitive games for the youngsters (remember Toss the Bull?).
We had the white elephant auction with Elgie Suplicki. That guy could sell anything. For bingo at Jefferson School, we had to haul tables from Ehr Hall to the gym and back again. Boy, those were the days! Mark and Kathy Genovese made those delicious roast beef sandwiches for us on Saturday evenings.
I remember the time, just as we were beginning to serve sandwiches that a storm (a storm at St. Joes Picnic? Unheard of!) blew up, and we had people holding onto the tent poles so we wouldnt lose the tent.
One year when we had charcoal chicken dinners, the vendor forgot to put us on his calendar. By luck, he was charcoaling chicken at Bukolt Park, so Walt Helbach hauled them to St. Joes for our dinner. And we are not going to forget the delicious chicken dinners Florence Sankey cooked up for us for so many years.
We had some good times, thanks to all our parishioners who helped make the parish picnics the success they were and are still the best!