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Barbecue, baked beans and brotherhood

Local laborers enjoy their day at the Du Quoin State Fair

By Tara Fasol, The Southern

Monday, September 1, 2008 9:05 PM CDT

DU QUOIN - Local laborers from unions across Southern Illinois joined for a Labor Day picnic Monday on the Du Quoin State Fairgrounds.

Plumbers and pipefitters, electrical workers, coal miners and others sat side by side on picnic tables, enjoying barbecue sandwiches, baked beans and the brotherhood of being a part of one big union family.

"This is like any union," said mechanic Terry Cochran of Murphysboro. "The more people you have, the better it is."

Cochran was waiting in line to refill his drink and talking with a number of other union members. He said he has been a union mechanic for 20 years and is now a part of Egyptian Electric 702.

Cochran said some union workers see each other frequently on the job. Others only get a chance to catch up once a year, at the picnic.

"A lot of the time, this is the only place you see some people," he said. "You run into them here, old friends."

United Mine Workers of America representatives were sitting under a shaded tent and handing out wristbands for free carnival rides.

International District Representative Steve Jones said the turnout for the picnic was comparable to years past. He was glad to see nearly every table full and many more people looking for a shady place to stand.

"This is to bring together our union members," he said. "It's a brotherhood and we have unity."

The laborers weren't the only people showing up for the event. Women pushed babies in strollers and lots of fairgoers came to the picnic to get a head start on enjoying musical entertainment that was provided.

Sitting on a picnic table right in the sun, Doris Beaty of Pinckneyville and her 5-month-old grandson, Darin Sowder, were tucked under a white umbrella to beat the heat.

Beaty said her family has been coming to the picnic for two years and it's a good way to get wristbands for all of her grandchildren.

Beaty said she has 12 grandchildren, including her tiny guest Monday, but wasn't going to be escorting them all to the fair.

"We enjoy bringing the grandkids and they give us the wristbands so they can ride the rides," she said. "We have 12, but not all of them live here, but most of them do."

tara.fasol@thesouthern.com / 351-5824