As owner for more than 30 years of the Bachman, Kulik & Reinsmith Funeral Homes of Emmaus and Allentown, John Kulik has made a lot of friends and acquaintances.

On a sunny Saturday afternoon recently, nearly 1,000 of those friends and acquaintances flocked to Emmaus Community Park for an afternoon of free food, musical entertainment and socializing around the park band shell as Kulik sponsored a community appreciation day to mark the 150 years the roots of his business reach back into area history.

His two facilities serve more than 400 families each year.

John resides above the business in Emmaus, Dolores Kulik does the bookkeeping, daughter Christina Kulik Schantzenbach is the supervisor of the Emmaus facility, and son, Michael is preparing to become a licensed funeral director.

The celebration brought people from all over the Lehigh Valley to enjoy cold beverages and pulled pork sandwiches from Smokin' Smitty's Catering, of Salisbury Township, and music by the Walt Groller Orchestra polka band, of Whitehall, and the School's Out Band, of Emmaus.

Part of the festivities included the raffle of a 60-inch television which was awarded to Eugene Trexler, of Allentown.