For the next two years, construction will proceed for the Don Welge Memorial Bridge. This new bridge connecting Chester and Perryville will be much wider and taller, allowing more space for vehicles and preventing floods. The current bridge has been one of the most important structures for the region’s economy since 1944. Today, over 6,000 vehicles use the bridge each day, allowing trailer trucks to cross between Illinois and Missouri. Including these trucks are those from Gilster-Mary Lee. Don Welge dreamed of having a bigger and better bridge built to support Chester and the surrounding areas.
Welge has had some of the greatest impact on the city of Chester. He graduated from CHS in 1953, being part of the band, FFA, and the yearbook. He later graduated from LSU in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in 1957 with a degree in agricultural economics. Don Welge was very involved in our community. He was the President of both the Chester and Perryville Chambers of Commerce at different times, and he was very active in both. Welge went on to help in establishing the Perryville – Chester Development Corporation, which worked to support businesses and projects in both communities. He was on the school board for St. John Lutheran School and served as President of the Boy Scout council. Welge helped establish the Cohen fund which provided many opportunities for Scouts and still does today. He served on advisory boards for SIUC, SEMO, and LSU, and was one of the founders of the Kaskaskia 4th of July Ceremony.
After graduating from college, Don Welge transformed his family’s business, Gilster-Milling Company, into a large food manufacturing company over the next 60 years. Today, Gilster-Mary Lee sells products in all 50 states, all provinces in Canada, and many other parts of the world. Welge took pride in the fact that his company provided jobs to those in small communities like Chester and Perryville, especially during tough economic times. He was later inducted into the LSU Alumni Hall of Distinction, was a finalist in the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Competitions, the SIU Businessperson of the Year, and Citizen of the Year twice in Chester and once in Perryville.
He was one of the strongest advocates for the bridge’s construction in the last years of his life. After his passing, Louisiana State University created the Welge Beyond the Farm Certificate Fund, which is a program designed to strengthen food supply chains across the country. For these reasons, many wished for the new bridge to be named after Welge. In March of 2023, it was officially declared that state Representative David Friess created a bill to bestow the name to the bridge. Don Welge’s legacy has made Chester, Perryville, and many other small communities much better, and naming the bridge after him couldn’t be a more fitting honor.
