BY GRADY EBELHAR, SPECIAL TO THE WESTERN KENTUCKY CATHOLIC

As picnic season is in full swing in the Diocese of Owensboro, Kentucky, let us look back at an odd occurrence that took place many years ago.

In July 1907 a big storm swept across Daviess County. The most disastrous electrical and wind storm for years swept the county shortly after noon and as a result one person died and 18 were injured.

The greatest amount of damage in the county was at Haynes Station near Whitesville, where a picnic was being given by St. Mary Parish. Over 3,000 people were in attendance that Saturday.  There was no shelter and when the rain and electrical storm came through, the bulk of the crowd was forced to remain out in the open, becoming thoroughly drenched. Some 300 persons found shelter in a barn a short distance away and about 20 people crowded into a booth on the picnic grounds.

It was those in the booth that suffered more severely. The wind that came with the rain blew a tree down and it fell across the booth, crushing it to the ground. The persons who had taken shelter there were caught in the debris and four of them were severely injured.

Those who had remained on the picnic grounds went to the assistance of the injured immediately after the tree fell. Ben Hardesty was found unconscious and his only visible injury was a broken ankle. On examination by a doctor, it was found that he sustained serious internal injuries and a fractured skull.

H.G. Sapp and his 12-year-old son were both injured. The boy was taken from the debris in an unconscious condition. One of his arms was severely hurt and he appeared to have been struck by lightning. Anna Mattingly had one of her arms crushed and had severe bruises about the head and face after she was struck by the falling tree. Two other people, Willie Drury and Mrs. Elijah Stietler, were shocked by lightning and were injured slightly.

Most had come to the picnic either by horse and buggy, walked, or took a train from Owensboro.

Parish picnics were for years a big homecoming for former parishioners, who would come home every year to see old friends of the past. The big part of the picnics was the dinner stands, ice cream stands, drink stands and the gaming stands. Most would top off the picnic visit by stopping to play bingo. 

The picnic of today’s time is different because most parishes have a school building or a parish hall in case of bad weather. Several small parishes have stopped having picnics due to the shortage of help, and several parishes have gone with drive-thru picnics.

I am sure in the next 50 years it will be quite different. In 2015, when the Daviess County Bicentennial celebrated 200 years, a time capsule was placed back in the ground at the Daviess County Courthouse. I placed approximately 40 pictures of the St. Mary Magdalene’s 2015 picnic in the capsule. It will be opened in the year 2065 so people will be able to see what an old-fashioned picnic looked like.

Grady Ebelhar belongs to St. Mary Magdalene Parish in Sorgho.

Originally printed in the August 2025 issue of The Western Kentucky Catholic.