Festus Knights of Columbus Clown Club members said bringing smiles to children’s faces is the inspiration for their participation in parades and other events.
Larry Gebhardt, 75, and Ted Bahr, 64, both of Festus, and Chuck Reecht, 76, of Crystal City recently gathered at the Knights of Columbus Council 1230 Hall in Festus to discuss their experiences and the need to attract more young clowns.
Gebhardt said he enjoys spreading joy to youngsters during Clown Club events, like the annual Twin City Area Chamber of Commerce Christmas Parade, the clowns’ biggest event.
“The reason I like being a clown, I like to watch the kids get enjoyment of receiving the candy, and then, the people sitting there telling you thank you or Merry Christmas,” he said. “ Many years ago, a friend of mine (and fellow clown) would give out doggy treats to the dogs. He called them yap-yap treats.”
Gebhardt, Bahr and Reecht said they can always use additional clowns.
“(Having) more clowns makes it easier on everybody,” Gebhardt said. “If they enjoy kids and the smile on their faces, yes, they should try being a clown.”
And there are plenty of opportunities for the clowns to perform.
“We do the Special Olympics in De Soto on the De Soto football field in April,” Gebhardt said. “We do the children’s Christmas party here at the Knights of Columbus Hall. We’ll have balloon animals. It’s for the council’s children.
“We do a Main and Mill (intersection in Festus) roadblock each October. It’s a Knights of Columbus fundraising event, giving out Tootsie Rolls. It’s called a Tootsie Roll drive for (people who are) developmentally disabled.”
The Clown Club has a membership of about 40, although not every member takes part in all club events, Bahr said.
“It totally varies from occasion to occasion,” he said.
Anyone may join the club, the men said.
“There are some kids who are clowns with us,” Bahr said. “We have kids down to age 12. They’re relatives of our clowns. We also have some women clowns.”
“We don’t turn away anybody,” Reecht said.
Bahr said the Clown Club has no officers, only members, adding that the willingness to participate is the only requirement to become a clown, other than the ability to travel the length of the Christmas Parade route.
“You do not need to be in Knights of Columbus to participate in Clown Club,” he said. “The kids aren’t members. We have to open it up or we won’t have that many clowns. We won’t have enough.”
A prospective new clown does not even need to purchase his or her own items, although some create their own clown looks, Bahr said.
“We supply everything -- makeup, costumes,” he said. “We’ve got closets full of suits, makeup. There are people who make their own, come in dressed up.”
The men said the Knights of Columbus Clown Club is sometimes mistaken for a similar group that previously operated in the Festus-Crystal City area.
“There was a Twin City Clown Club,” Bahr said. “It wasn’t affiliated with the Knights.”
He said he has attempted to learn exactly when the Knights of Columbus Clown Club started, but the best he can estimate is “sometime in the 1970s.”
All three men said one of the more memorable incidents they experienced as clowns involved animals.
“Remember that time when they put us behind the horses?” Gebhardt asked the others.
“We started off at the end of the parade,” Bahr recalled. “After that, we told them, don’t do that anymore. There were horse droppings. Plus, the parade went too fast. You had to run to keep up. We move slower than the parade because we’re giving out candy.”
“We hand candy to each kid,” Gebhardt added. “You can’t give the candy out fast enough.”
The men compared being in the Clown Club to working for the U.S. Postal Service.
“We walk in the parade in any kind of weather,” Reecht said. “Snow, rain, sleet, cold. If the parade’s on, we’re on. There’s no ‘We ain’t doing it.’”
“Like postmen,” Bahr added.
The men said they realize not everyone is thrilled to meet a clown face to face.
“There are more and more kids each year afraid of clowns,” Bahr said.
“I think it’s because of the movies, the clown down in the sewer,” Reecht added.
In the Stephen King story “It,” an alien takes the form of a clown called Pennywise who lives in the sewer.
“Some of the kids don’t like scary clowns. You kind of have to watch when you go up on kids, some are afraid,” Reecht said.
Gebhardt said the fear can extend to some older people.
Nevertheless, members of the Clown Club get their share of adulation, Gebhart said.
“Even adults will want to hug you,” he said.
The men said members of the Clown Club do not necessarily adopt clown names, although Reecht became known for a costume he used to wear.
“I used to be called ‘the Kamikaze Clown’ because I wore goggles and a helmet and stuff, like a World War II fighter pilot,” he said. “Then, the goggles broke. I still wear the helmet.”
For more information about the Clown Club, call Bahr at 636-543-5674.