Caseville Cheeseburger Fest & the Men of the Sacred Hearts
Bringing Jesus to a Cheeseburger Crowd!
Wednesday, August 14, 2024, began warm and just got hotter. My partner Joe Bauer and I had work to do during the day, but we made the two-hour trip north to Caseville, Michigan (on the tip of the thumb) for the Cheeseburger Festival and parade that began at 5:00 PM Wednesday night(????).
We arrived and parked on the far east side of town, then walked the mile back to the west side, where the parade was going to begin. Did I say it was hot with no wind?
As we walked through town to join our hosts, Arrow Osborn from Waterville, Ohio, and America Needs Fatima from Saginaw, we noted that there were lots of spectator chairs set up along both sides of Main Street. We noted that many independent food trucks were making cheeseburgers and that there were maybe a zillion kids scooting about—well, maybe not a zillion, but lots of kids without the yoke of a parent raining them in.
As you can see from the photos, there were equal amounts of young parents and older parents, empty nesters, and old people caring for real old people who were out to have a darn good time.
(middle) Joe Bauer, David Tay, and Father Yesu Mulakaleti from Sacred Heart Parish in Bad Ax, Mi. Before the parade began, we spoke to Father about the parish Consecration of the Sacred Heart for his parish.
There are two Dairy Queens in Caseville, and just about every child had one in there hands while the adults had a beer. It is a party town, and this was a big party with a parade.
The 5 PM parade started going around 5:30 PM. If you have ever marched in a parade, you know the standard start: slow, trot, and then run to keep up, followed by a stop.
You can see Joe and I passing out the "Lost Without Him" prayer card.
Get your prayer card HERE today!
We have a system: We hold the card up and let people see what it is. If they reach for it, we will help out and pass it to them.
We distributed 750 cards and ran out again towards the parade's end. I could not carry 1000 cards in my blue apron as the Jesus card is 4" X 6" is larger than the normal 3" x 5" card.
I was on one side of the street, and Joe was on the other. We both heard people saying how nice it was to have Our Lady of Fatima in the parade and us passing out Holy Cards.
Everyone was polite and civil towards us, despite our wearing very Catholic shirts.
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The parade officials said there were 80,000 people in Caseville for the parade.
That, my friends, is lots of folks jammed into a small town on Saginaw Bay, Michigan. We are ultimately so thankful to God for the gift it was to bring Jesus to people in such a small but significant way.
- David Tay
