WAPAK, Ohio (WLIO) - St. Joseph Catholic Church honored the veterans in their community this Independence Day with its 76th annual "St. Joes Festival."
The festival is held yearly at the Auglaize County Fairgrounds to raise funds for the Holy Face of Jesus parish, and features food trucks, inflatable games, cake wheels, raffles, and children's games. The celebration kicked off in the morning with the "Rocket to the Moon" 5K, and continued in the afternoon with a performance of the national anthem with the VFW Color Guard in attendance.
The event started in 1951 to help raise funds for a football team, and now serves as a way to bring members of the parish together every 4th of July.
"It's a chance for a lot of folks to come back and reunite for a little bit of a reunion for each year," Bob Kohlrieser, chairman with the organizing committee.
In honor of Independence Day, volunteers compiled a list of area veterans dating back to the Civil War and made a banner to honor those with us and those who have passed.
"People are very happy to go and look for their grandpa, their uncles, and their aunts — there are women on the list as well," said Munday. "People really enjoy the banners because they like talking about their family members and what they did in honor of our country."
"I think it's important to recognize what we've done for this country and what we've given up — the time away from our families," said Leo Munday, veteran and organizer.
"I've been away from my sons for months on end, and they grow up. The one thing we don't have is time, but a lot of service members would give up a lot of their time to defend this country."
The festival ended with a live music performance and a firework show in the evening.
