If you’ve hung around the St. Charles County dart scene long enough, you’ve likely run into Jerry “Old Duster” Faulkner at a bar throwing darts. Jerry has been a part of the ADA Family since 2009 as well as various other leagues in the area. Jerry always sticks out from the crowd at an event. With a dart case dangling from his hip, he proudly displays darts in one hand and a double Jack and Coke in the other. His powerful laugh is enough to make anyone on the throw line stop to see what Old Duster was chuckling at this time. His dart stance is a bit unusual but more than that the famous “Jerry darts” were known for the amount of time it took him to stand, concentrate and throw three darts at the board. Everyone has their own routine at the throw line; Jerry’s is as unique as anyone else’s. It’s definitely an interesting approach, but no doubt part of what we love about him.

Nearly two years to the day, Jerry was unexpectedly rushed to the hospital with a life-threatening stomach aneurysm. The St. Charles County dart community was in immediate shock. League members quickly began lending their support and offering condolences. Some St. Charles County ADA members were throwing against England via Skype at a Dartbrokers event in Illinois at the time of the incident. Players observed a brief moment of silence for Jerry upon receiving the news.

Jerry traveled the road to recovery at St. Joseph’s Hospital with the support of his lovely wife Brenda and a whole community rallying around him. ADL teammates and opponents would visit him every opportunity they had. With each new face that walked into his hospital room, Old Duster would have the usual big smile on his face; like any time you would run into him at Hero’s Pub and Grill, his favorite bar.

This past month the American Dart League of St. Charles County joined together with Hero’s owner Michelle Gacki and organized an “Appreciation Tournament” for Jerry. Of course, what event wouldn’t be complete without the man himself? The Old Duster walked through the door with his family, cracked a couple jokes, gave out some famous Jerry hugs and even threw a few darts… just like old times. The ADA is so thankful for everyone’s support; Sharissa Rockwell, Phil Lucido, the Hero’s staff, local business contributions and everyone that showed up to play. When all was said and done, we raised close to $1000.00 for the Faulkner Family. We couldn’t be happier with the turn out.

Get well soon, Jerry. We want you back on the board as soon as possible. The next Jack and Coke is on me