News Update - July 5, 2009

Here Comes The King….

Clydesdales Set To Gallop Along
Valmeyer Parade Route Today

by Carol Floarke

The world-famous Budweiser Clydesdales hitch, pulling their red, white and gold beer wagon, will come to life today in Valmeyer accompanied with the cheers and applause of onlookers along the Centennial Parade route. Don't miss your chance to see the team in person during Sunday's Valmeyer Mid-Summer Celebration parade stepping off at 2 p.m. from the original town school site. They will be led by our own Bud Light Brigade marching band, playing their signature song, “Here Comes The Come (the Anheuser-Busch theme.)”

It was in 1933, shortly after the repeal of Prohibition, when the Clydesdales became part of Anheuser-Busch.  August A. Busch Jr. decided to present a hitch of the mighty horses to his father to commemorate the first bottle of post-Prohibition beer brewed in St. Louis. Mr. Busch told his father that he had bought a new car and asked him to take a look. But instead of a Model T, Mr. Busch’s father gazed upon a Clydesdale hitch pulling a red, white and gold beer wagon. Realizing the promotional potential of a horse-drawn beer wagon, Mr. Busch had the team sent by rail to New York City. The Clydesdales began a tour which included delivering a case of beer to President Franklin D. Roosevelt at The White House.

During the initial years on the road, the Clydesdales were transported by train. Now, the horses travel in style aboard custom-designed tractor-trailers. The Clydesdale hitches travel some 100,000 miles a year, and with each mile they cover, so continues the Anheuser-Busch tradition.

Valmeyer Fireworks Light Up The Sky

A “V” for Valmeyer! The Valmeyer Jaycees put on yet another colossal fireworks display last night as part of the Mid-Summer Celebration. Hundreds of people came to Borsch Park and surrounding areas to witness the spectacle.  

Columbia’s fireworks display will begin just after 9 p.m. Sunday night. There will be music, food and other entertainment throughout the day at the American Legion Park. The washers tournament begins at 1:30 p.m., and kloepper hands will be dealt at 5 p.m. All musical entertainment on Sunday, including the acts scheduled for Metter Park, will be moved to the American Legion Park. Bands on Sunday’s line-up in Columbia include Two Grumpy Old Men, Morland Drive, the Belleville Community Band, Columbia Sängerbund and Michael Lacey and his New Orleans Swing.