Mike Garlinghouse didn’t grow up in Murphysboro. But in 1968, as a first-year teacher, he started volunteering with the Apple Festival—and as he puts it, he was hooked.

Nearly six decades later, Mike serves as Assistant General Chairman, managing much of the logistics and storage behind the festival. And for Mike, that has always meant real, physical work.

In 2002, while moving bleachers, he jumped off a trailer and tore his ACL. He got back up, kept working and went for the next unit. Surgery came later.

That story tells you a lot about Mike.

We get to enjoy the parade, the music and the events because people like him have spent decades doing the work that makes them possible.

He may not have been born in Murphysboro, but he’s ours now.

Thank you, Mike, for sharing your Murphysboro Apple Festival story—and for nearly six decades of work behind so many of ours.