by Dennis Dalman
editor@thenewsleaders.com
One would have thought that St. Joseph had become a major metro city all of a sudden Monday and Tuesday during the city’s annual Fourth of July Festival.
There were tens of thousands of jam-packed people in the streets and on the grounds of St. Joseph Catholic Church.
The JoeTown Rocks concert was, as usual, a great crowd-pleaser, with its variety of music from talent of every age group. The night was capped with a tribute to the music of Bobby Vee, a concert that featured Vee’s two sons and some relatives, among others.
The next day, on a sultry-hot-but-slightly-breezy morning, people began lining up very early with blankets and chairs and coolers along the sidewalks and side streets of St. Joseph’s main street for the big parade. The two-hour, 103-unit parade featured no high-school marching bands, but it had plenty of vehicles, floats, trucks, trucks and more trucks – many of them blasting their horns loudly all along the parade route. Some of the units were political, Democrat and Republican; some were local companies; others represented pro-life groups; still others were members of activities groups like National Karate. There were also classic cars, antique tractors and honored celebrities, including St. Joseph Mayor Rick Schultz, Parade Grand Marshals Jerry and Patty Wetterling and St. Joseph Seniors of the Year Chuck and Mary Kay Kern. One of the crowd-pleasers this year was a contingent of Shetland ponies, with two of them so small and delicate they drew oohs-and-ahs and smiles from spectators.
After the parade, there was a concert by local favorite Smoke’N Guns, as well as a wide variety of snacks and beverages from food vendors, bingo, the annual Catholic Parish Quilt Auction and lots of games for children.
After the parade, there was a long traffic jam leading from St. Joseph eastbound on CR 75. The traffic jam was proof of the sheer number of out-of-towners who visited St. Joseph for the parade and other activities.
The American Legion Color Guard of St. Joseph proudly leads the St. Joseph Fourth of July Parade as huge crowds all along the parade route applaud loudly. The parade attracted many thousands of people to St. Joseph, with crowds lining the route in some places seven and eight rows wide and spilling into side streets for lack of room.
Jerry and Patty Wetterling wave and smile to applauding spectators at the Fourth of July Parade in St. Joseph. The Wetterlings, parents of Jacob Wetterling, were honored this year as Grand Marshals of the parade.
Grand Marshals Jerry and Patty Wetteling wave to applauding spectators in the St. Joseph Fourth of July parade. The Wetterlings are the parents of Jacob Wetterling, who was abducted and murdered 28 years ago while riding his bicycle on his way home in St. Joseph.
Every year Julianne Buttweiler (left) and her mother, Theresa Blommer, St. Joseph, get in line for the famous Joeburgers and fries. Theresa has lived in St. Joseph since 1960.
Diane Duckworth, Sartell, serves the famous Joeburgers to a Stearns County deputy Monday at Joetown Rocks in St. Joseph.
Lochlan Bain, 18 months, Sartell, dances to the music at Joetown Rocks 2017.
The Killer Vees take the stage to “Remember Bobbie Vee” at Joetown Rocks 2017.
Kendra Horn, 14, (left) and sister Kylie, 11, of St. Cloud win a chocolate cake at the cake stand at Joetown Rocks 2017.
Luiz Byers of St. Cloud holds his son, Hudson, who is eager for the St. Joseph Fourth of July parade to start.
People gather at Joetown Rocks 2017 to listen to the music and see the fireworks.
Beautiful, impressive horses pull the Sentry Bank wagon at the St. Joseph Fourth of July parade, which was attended by tens of thousands of people.
Chuck and Mary Kay Kern, the senior citizen St. Joseph King and Queen, wave to onlookers during the Fourth of July parade.
The youthful Solar Band of St. Cloud draws appreciative applause from spectators at the St. Joseph Fourth of July parade.
A St. Stephen Fire Truck was one of more than 100 units in the St. Joseph Fourth of July parade.
A float carrying veterans of the Vietnam War draws cheers from many among the spectators at the St. Joseph Fourth of July parade. The spectators, throughout the parade, demonstrated pride and respect in the military and patriotic parade units.
