By Jim Beers
KASKASKIA, Illinois – The 2026 “Let Freedom Ring” Patriotic Ceremony took place Saturday July 4th at the Kaskaskia Island Immaculate Conception Church. Dangerously high and humid temperatures forced the event to be moved inside the church where air conditioning saved the day.
As it turned out the heat wasn’t the only culprit to merit the move inside, because to everybody’s surprise, shortly after the beginning of the event, clouds arrived and a storm erupted. All were saved from getting wet inside the safe and dry confines of the church.
The Chester Municipal Band, under the direction of Steve Colonel, provided a 30-mimute patriotic concert at 12:30 p.m. prior to the start of the official program. At 1:00 P.M., Master of Ceremonies Nate Brown welcomed everyone to the event as the band performed the State if Illinois theme song, “Illinois”.
Members of the American Legion Post 487 of Chester and the Chester VFW 3553 featured a combined Color Guard and the Chester Boy Scouts led everyone in the reciting of the Pledge of Allegiance. The Chester Municipal Band followed with the playing of the National Anthem, “The Star Spangled Banner”, as directed by Melanie Johnson, Randolph County Circuit Clerk. Featured Vocalist for the day was Steve Colonel, newly retired Chester High School Band Director.
Reverend Gregory Gallager OMI Oblate of Mary Immaculate provided a nice Invocation, followed by the playing of “ASHOKAN Farewell” by the band.
Tom Welge of Chester, son of the late Don Welge, one of the original organizers and leaders of the event, provided a brief welcome. He further gave a very informative summary of the progress of the construction of the Don Welge Memorial Bridge.
Welge also provided important information about the Grand Opening and Ribbon Cutting Ceremony for the new bridge to take place this coming Saturday July 11th. An exciting morning of related activities will kick off at 7 a.m. with a 5K Race across the bridge, followed by a brief Patriotic Concert by the Chester Municipal Bridge at approximately 10:30 a.m. and the official Ribbon Cutting Ceremony to begin at 11 a.m. There will be time for guests to “Walk the Bridge” prior to and immediately following the ceremony.
Randolph County Historian NSDAR, Emily Lyons, a former resident of Kaskaskia Island, provided her annual Kaskaskia Island Updates and welcomed everyone to the Island for the 2026 event.
Another tradition of the event was a very brief pair of “Acknowledgements” from Kenneth Ragland, who represented VFW Post 3553 and Paul McCormick, American Legion Post 487, both of Chester. Their brevity was greatly appreciated.
Next on the program was the performance of the highly anticipated military tune, “The Armed Forces Medley”, by the Chester Municipal Band. This is always a crowd favorite as the song features the theme songs of the five traditional branches of the United States Armed Forces, including the Army, Coast Guard, Navy, Marines, and the Air Force.
The sixth branch of the U.S. Armed Forces is the newly created, “Space Force”. The theme song for this new branch of Armed Forces has been written, but music is not available yet. As each theme song was played by the band, past and present members of those branches in attendance were asked to stand and be recognized.
Mayor Joe Eggemeyer of Chester was present and gave a brief set of remarks. Mayor Larry Riney of Perryville was unable to attend the ceremony this year, but he was recognized and thanked for his contributions.
Another favorite part of all Patriotic Ceremonies was provided by the combined Firing Squad of the American Legion Post 487 of Chester and the VFW Post 3553 of Chester. The members of this unit went outside in front of the church and fired a 21-Gun Salute to honor the memory of all fallen soldiers that have died since the beginning of the 250-year history of the United States. Immediately following the 21-Gun Salute, Mitchell Colonel of Springfield, Illinois (formerly of Chester) played “TAPS”.
Steve Colonel then sang, “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” as accompanied the Chester Municipal Band and directed by Melony Johnson.
Guest Speaker for the 2026 Let Freedom Ring Ceremony was R. Shane Wagner. Wagner is a 2005 Graduate of Chester High School, and currently serves as the IDNR Ranger at the Fort Kaskaskia State Historic Site; Liberty Bell of the West Shrine.
Wagner presented a very informative message titled, “Celebrating 250 Years of America’s Freedom”. This talk tied-in several extremely interesting aspects of Kaskaskia Island’s important involvement of the Revolutionary War. Wagner is a highly educated historian and loves delving into any opportunity to share his knowledge of and interest in historical facts and events.
Prior to the conclusion of the program, local residents, and or former residents, of Kaskaskia Island always conduct a traditional bell-ringing ceremony titled, “Bells Ring for Liberty”.
This year’s bell ringers included members of the Klein Family including Derek Klein, Mary Klein Brown, and Cara Klein Bader. In early years the bell ringers actually rang the official Liberty Bell of the West which is housed on Kaskaskia Island. In recent years the bells in the Immaculate Conception Church of Mary have been rung to protect the aging Liberty Bell of the West which is housed in its own building next to the church.
To close the ceremony, Steve Colonel sang, “God Bless America” as the Chester Municipal Band accompanied him as directed by Melanie Johnson, Randolph County Circuit Clerk.
The Benediction was given by Reverend Gregory Gallagher, OMI Oblate of Mary Immaculate, followed by the Retiring of the Colors by the Chester Boy Scouts.
It was noted by numerous people in attendance that the acoustics inside the church really added to the fantastic sound of the music being provided by the Chester Municipal Band. All-in-all, the 2026 Patriotic Ceremony was deemed a huge success and all in attendance seemed to be impressed with all aspects of the 56th Annual event.
The combined Firing Squad of the Chester American Legion Post 487 and the Chester VFW Post 3553 provide a 21-Gun Salute.at the 56trh Annual Patriotic Ceremony on Kaskaskia Island. Jim Beers Photo
Reverend Gregory Gallagher OMI Oblate of Mary Immaculate gave both the Invocation and the Benediction at the 2026 Patriotic Ceremony July 4th on Kaskaskia Island. To the left is Emily Lyons, Randolph County Historian NSDAR, who provided the annual Kaskaskia Welcome and Updates. Jim Beers Photo
The Kaskaskia Church was the location of the 56th Annual Patriotic Ceremony on Saturday July 4, 2026. The event was moved inside this year due to the extreme heat. A packed house enjoyed the event in the beautiful surroundings of the Immaculate Conception Church of Mary. Jim Beers Photo
Paul McCormick (left, standing) and Kenneth Ragland (right, sitting), provided acknowledgements at the 2026 Kaskaskia Island Patriotic Ceremony. McCormick represented the Chester American Legion Post 487 and Ragland represented the Chester VFW Post 3553. Jim Bers Photo
Mayor Joe Eggemeyer of Chester offered remarks at the 56th Annual Patriotic Ceremony on Kaskaskia Island. Jim Beers Photo
Shane Wagner, IDNR Ranger at Fort Kaskaskia State Historic Site, was the Guest Speaker at the 56th Annual Kaskaskia Island Patriotic Ceremony. His speech was titled, “Celebrating 250 Year of America’s Freedom. Jim Beers Photo
Steve Colonel of Chester was the Guest Soloist and the Director of the Chester Municipal Bands of Chester at the 56trh Annual Kaskaskia Island Patriotic Ceremony. Jim Beers Photo
Mitchell Colonel of Springfield, Illinois, formerly of Chester, played “TAPS” at the 56th Annual Patriotic Ceremony on Kaskaskia Island. Jim Beers Photo