Not even poor weather could stop the residents of Charleston from celebrating the Fourth of July.

Despite the warnings of possible rain, hundreds of people attended the various events sponsored by the city during the 16th annual Red, White and Blue Days festival Tuesday.

“[The rain] might have affected our crowd in the park on the Fourth,” said Betty Coffrin, member of the Red, White and Blue Days committee. “After the parade, some people may have been wet and gone home, but other than that, I don’t think it had a big effect.”

The highlight of the festival was the parade, which traveled from the Square to Morton Park. Hundreds of people lined the streets from Sixth Street to Harrison Avenue and onto Division Street.

“My favorite event is the parade,” said Coffrin. “I like to see the veterans. They get excited to walk in the parade.”

Though it began to rain during the parade, most of the attendees stayed at the park to witness the annual bell ringing ceremony. The ceremony, as well as the rest of the festival, commemorated the 175th anniversary for the founding of Coles County and Charleston.

“It was an opportunity for a nice celebration. It’s nice to note our history and background,” said Coffrin. “The bell ringers were representative of the county and the city.”

Jan Eads was the first bell ringer during the ceremony. Eads currently serves as chairperson of the Coles County board, and she is the first female to ever hold the position. Eads represented the change and progression that Coles County and Charleston have seen.

Mayor John Inyart was the second bell ringer, representing all the residents of Charleston.

“It was a nice time to [celebrate],” Inyart said. “We had a lot of distinguished folks there to share it with us.”

The next three bell ringers, Jeannie Doty, Darrell Eaton and Ronnie Lanman, were descendants of original Charleston residents. These individuals were chosen to represent the past history of Charleston.

Former Illinois Governor Jim Edgar also took part in the bell ringing ceremony. Edgar was announced as being “Charleston’s favorite son” during his introduction.

The final bell ringers were the members of the Hall family from Charleston. Jason Hall and his family moved to Charleston last August when he was hired as assistant athletic director for Compliance and Academic Services. The Hall family was chosen to represent the future of the city of Charleston.

In addition to the parade and bell ringing, three other individuals from Charleston received recognition at the festival.

Caleb Hearst, 4, son of John and Melissa Hearst, was named Little Mister Firecracker. Jaryn Carter-Alvis, 4, daughter of Jamie and Erin Carter-Alvis, was named Little Miss Firecracker.

Finalists for the Little Mister and Miss Firecracker pageant are randomly chosen, said Coffrin. Then, buckets are placed out with the finalists’ names, and whichever finalist earns the most donations is crowned with the title. Winners received a crown, flowers and a $25 gift certificate.

Another top winner was Jerry Halsey, who was named Coles County’s 15th Farmer of the Year. Halsey was born in Douglas County, but he was raised on a farm in Coles County.

In 1960, Halsey adopted his family’s interest in farming and began raising corn and soybeans. In addition to crops, Halsey also raised quarterhorses until 1993, when he sold some of his 30 horses and kept the rest to use for work on the farm.

The winner is based on several criteria including major contribution to agriculture in Coles County, use of innovate techniques in farming, willingness to help other farmers, community involvement outside of agriculture and serving as a role model to young farmers.

Halsey’s family has played an integral role in his life in Coles County, with many of his family members remaining in the area.

“I’d like to thank my family,” Halsey said. “Without them, this would not be possible.”

In addition to the celebration of history, the festival also provided countless opportunities for entertainment. The highlights of the entertainment at the festival were performances by country music artists Josh Gracin and Trent Tomlinson.

As Gracin, who earned his stardom from appearing on “American Idol,” prepared to take the stage Monday, the crowd began to scream chants of, “Josh! Josh! Josh!” Once Gracin took the stage, the crowd completely roared with screams.

“I’m not really into country music so it’s often hard for me to really get into a performance,” said Coffrin, “He [Gracin] did a great job and put on a great show.”

Tuesday provided an opportunity for young children to join in the fun. The Charleston Jaycees hosted their annual Kid’s Games event, where children ages 3-12 played such games as foot races, potato sack races and water balloon toss.

With over nearly 50 children participating, the Jaycees awarded such prizes as dimes, pens, and toys such as backscratchers.

While their children were participating in the Kid’s Games, parents had an opportunity to purchase child identification kits at a booth also sponsored by the Jaycees, along with the Coles County Sheriff’s Department.

These ID kits contained copies of the child’s fingerprints, a DNA sample, home address and date of birth. ID kits such as these have become a popular item nationwide because they provide an easy way to keep this information on file in case a child is ever missing.

“We’ve never had the opportunity to do this in Charleston,” said Christina White, president of the Jaycees.

Another opportunity offered at the festival was the chance to record a message to send to the troops fighting in the Middle East. State Senator Dale Righter, R-Mattoon, and his staff sponsored the recording opportunity. All the recordings will be compiled together on one CD, called “Voices From Home,” and more than 500 copies will be sent to troops overseas.

The climax of the festival came with the fireworks display Tuesday evening at Coles County Memorial Airport. Hundreds of people were in attendance at the fireworks, but many left early when rain began to downpour.

Madeline Babcock, 7, said she enjoyed the fireworks in Charleston but thought the one’s in Arthur were better because they made shapes.

“I liked the oval, pink and green ones best,” Babcock said.

According to Coffrin, the Red, White and Blue Days committee will begin meeting again soon to begin planning the event for next year. She says that support from the community is appreciated with the fundraising efforts.

“One of the main purposes of the committee is to have these concerts continue to be free and to avoid putting on a charge for special seating,” she said. “I would like to see more funding come available if we’d like to keep these things up.”

A young girl picks up candy at the Fourth of July parade on Division Street on Tuesday afternoon. The festival commemorated the 175th anniversary of the founding of Coles County.

(more…)