GFWC Progressive Chautauqua Circle Study Club
The GFWC/lowa Progressive Chautauqua Circle Study Club met 1:25 p.m. Feb. 26 at Regency Center.
The meeting was called to order and the members recited the Pledge of Allegiance. Roll was called with nine members in attendance.
Carolyn Biere presented the devotions, “8 Steps of Gratitude that Will Change your Lives.” The members considered all the things for which they were grateful.
The minutes of the previous meeting were read and approved. The treasurer’s report showed $50 had been paid for the scholarship and sent to SWCC.
Thank you notes were read from Sharon Snodgrass for assistance at the Historical Village, Peg Anderson for decorating the music room of the Edaburn House and Rural lowa Crisis and Intervention Center.
Judy Weese reported the members had performed 2,020 hours of volunteer work in 2018. New reporting forms were distributed by Weese for reporting volunteer hours and donations in 2019.
After a motion by Gerri Henderson and seconded by Biere, it was approved to make a $50 donation to the school for safety improvements.
Linda Huffman reported she had attended the Family Ties meeting. It handles the Congregate meals. The meal cost is $3.75 or a free will offering. The attendance is 15 to 20 people, plus the meals that are delivered Monday through Friday.
Members were informed about the United Charitable Association, women’s home in Lenox for women in a transitional status. It has four rooms – two singles, one for a family and one for a mother and child.
A total of $70 was collected for domestic violence. Henderson will shop as needed, purchase gift cards and donate funds for them to use. Discussion followed on how much club members should donate, but was tabled for next month.
Reports included:
Bloodmobile – Betty Wallace reported they made the quota last time. Rita Harris is now handling the kitchen staffing. The next bloodmobile will be April 15.
Caller – Mary Morris is doing the calling.
Community involvement – no report.
Domestic violence – Henderson reported the donation of $147. Donation of wash cloths, bags and toiletries are appreciated.
District scholarships – Ten applications were received.
Law scholarship – Eight applications were received.
Creating writing scholarship – Seven entries were received.
Greeting Cards – Wallace.
Reading – Linda Hughes reported the membership had 100 percent participation.
It was reported Vaughn Seckington will turn 100 this year, and there will be a celebration May 4 at Creston First United Methodist Church.
David Hargrove will present the program at the Bancroft party.
The collect was read in unison.
Henderson presented the program and talked about abuse later in life. She circulated the Rural lowa Crisis Center’s “wish list” of their needs for donations. She reported 48 bags had been made and distributed. Also, $177.80 had been collected and donated to the Adopt a Family. She described the availability of services in Creston and explained the needs.
Morris presented the program on conservation and minimizing our “global footprint.” She reminded the members to check their heating system every year and to maintain their smoke alarms and fire extinguishers. She talked about downsizing your home, adding hand rails and grab bars, and discussed water conservation tips.
The next meeting will be the anniversary party 1 p.m. March 12 at Betty Wallace’s home.
The meeting adjourned at 3:15 p.m.
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Union County Genealogical Society
Jane Briley presided over the Feb. 25 meeting of Union County Genealogical Society. Twelve members answered roll call to their favorite or least favorite part of the society’s webpage.
Kathy Parmenter and Saundra Leininger reviewed the planned programs for the coming year and announced the First Saturday Workshops would follow “Genealogy around the World.”
Leininger presented the program on the society’s webpage. She stated that 10,822 Union County cemetery records were presently offered on the webpage. Another 6,250 records are ready for submission.
The next First Saturday Workshop, “Researching Your Irish Roots,” will be from noon until 3 p.m. March 2 at Gibson Memorial Library. The presenter will be Theresa McCormick Liewer.
The next regular meeting will be 6 p.m. March 25 at the library. Leininger will present the program on church records.
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Ladies Literary Circle
For the Feb. 22 Ladies Literary Circle meeting, 14 members met at the home of Joanne Gibson. Following roll call and approval of the secretary’s report and the treasurer’s comments, the day’s program was introduced.
Jean Ide reviewed “The Bregdan Chronicles,” a historical fiction romance series written by Ginny Dye. Ide got hooked on the first book, “Storm Clouds Rolling,” and didn’t stop reading until she finished the last in the series, book No. 13.
Written from a woman’s point of view, the first book introduces the mains characters – Carrie, Rose, Robert and Thomas plus Granite, the horse. The plot starts out in 1860 on the opulent Cromwell Plantation in Virginia.
Supported with accurate historical facts, the main protagonist struggles between the ways of the South and the devastating truth about slavery. When the “storm clouds” start to roll over the southern states, there is talk about Virginia succeeding from the Union. Carrie is forced to made choices. Because of her close friendship with the Cromwell Plantation slaves, she is compelled to sidestep her heritage and dreams and participate in the anti-slave activities contrary her to upbringing.
Ide read excerpts from the book to reveal the author’s writing style. The author puts the reader inside the characters – what they are thinking, what they are experiencing whether one be white or black, free or slave, Southern or Northern. Dye has an amazing talent that appeals to one’s imagination.
What is interesting about this series is it is timeless, for it relates to today’s challenges in an ever-changing world. Numerous lessons are to be learned in this series, such as one needs to learn how to handle setbacks and sorrow.
Midge Scurlock will be the host for the March 4 meeting at which time Stephani Finley will introduce the book, “In Defense of Food,” by Michael Pollan.
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Afton Federated Garden Club
Members of Afton Federated Garden Club met 1:30 p.m. Feb. 9 at Afton Community Center. President Shirley Wallace called the meeting to order at 1:40 p.m. with members repeating the Pledge of Allegiance and Club Collect. Ginny Quick did roll call.
Minutes of the December Christmas meeting were read by Wallace from the newspaper article. Motion to accept the minutes after corrections, was made by Judy Weese and seconded by Joan Johnson. Kathy Tapken gave the treasurer’s report. Bonnie Morris made a motion to accept the report and Iris Smith seconded the motion. Weese made and Johnson seconded the motion to pay Donna. Weese presented a bill for the program covers and Wallace presented a bill for postage. It was suggested that Wallace present a bill for printer cartridges and she said she would the next time she gets them. Johnson made a motion, seconded by Quick to pay the bills.
Joan Hackett, a former long-time member of AFGC, passed away. Tapken made a motion, seconded by Beth McGrath that the club send a donation to the Alzheimer Association in Joan’s name.
Wallace sent in the club Book of Evidence.
For correspondence, the Afton Food Pantry sent a thank you for the donation at Christmas time, Greenfield Garden Club sent a thank you for the fall luncheon and members received a card and letter from Olive Kerns. Wallace would like the group to use the information and material from Kerns and make a book dedicated to her.
The Henry Wallace workshop will be held March 23 at Orient Methodist Church.
Members will meet half an hour early for the March meeting to work on the Butterfly Garden, and will meet at Judy Harmon’s at 10 a.m. before the April meeting to help with her yard work.
It was discussed about doing a plant exchange instead of a plant sale. The club will decide at the March meeting.
Wallace suggested members make a donation to Afton Community Center for the use of their building. They mentioned a new oven. Iris Smith made a motion seconded by McGrath to donate money toward the new oven.
The club talked about going to the Hollingsworth Peony Gardens in Maryville, Missouri, for a club tour. Quick will keep in touch with them to find out a good time for them.
Polly McCoy has decided to leave the club, so we needed someone to take over as horticulture reporter. Morris volunteered to take over these duties. McCoy was also the care facility member correspondence, but members will fill that opening later when it is needed. The September meeting program needed filled, and Morris volunteered to fill that position, too.
The group discussed what they could do to get credit for the different things they do for the Book of Evidence checklist. Wallace said she would work on that.
All repeated the Conservation Pledge, then Wallace gave a wonderful slide presentation of her trip to France. She had slides of Monet’s Gardens and of Normandy. Hopefully for those members who weren’t able to be there, she will share her slides again sometime.
Quick and McGrath served a delicious lunch.
The next meeting will be 1 p.m. March 8 at the Butterfly Garden, then, at 1:30 p.m. at Afton Community Center. Smith and Weese will be hostesses and Mike Boldon will have the program on annuals.
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Crest Area Theatre
Eight Crest Area Theatre members attended the general membership meeting on Monday, Feb. 4, on the stage of the Performing Arts Center. Linda Huffman chaired the meeting. Discussion was held on a communication system between backstage and the sound booth in the auditorium. More research will be done on this and will be reported on at the March meeting. A new spotlight has been purchased for future shows.
Jerry Huffman decided not to direct a show at this time. Other ideas for the group’s 46th season were discussed. An improv night was suggested for a future time, perhaps in 2020. The next scheduled performance will be “Music Man - Concert Version” to be given 6 p.m. Sunday, June 30, at the McKinley Park bandshell. This will be a part of Creston’s 150th anniversary celebration. John Calahan will direct and he will announce auditions at a later date.
The next meeting will be 7 p.m. Monday, March 4, on the Performing Arts Center stage. Anyone interested in any aspect of theater is invited to attend.
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Elzevir Reading Circle
GFWC/Elzevir Reading Circle met 1:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 8, at the home of Carol Brentnall. President Linda Topliff conducted the meeting. Roll call was answered with members telling of a current book they were reading. The minutes of the January meeting were read and approved. The treasurer’s report was given with money having been sent to SWCC for the GFWC scholarship.
Twenty-five and 50-year Elzevir members’ names are to be sent to GFWC. Members were reminded to bring a purse to the April meeting packed with items a woman in need might find useful. More discussion will be held at the next meeting March 8 to be held at Topliff’s. Terry Ammon will give program. The meeting closed with members reciting Mary Stewart’s “Club Collect.” Motion to adjourn was made and approved.
Jean Davis reviewed the book, “All The Light We Cannot See” by Anthony Doerr, winner of the 2015 Pulitzer Prize for fiction.
Marie-Laure, a young French girl lives in Paris with her father, who is the master locksmith at the Museum of Natural History. Though totally blind since the age of six, she learns to navigate her community with the aid of a cane and the miniature scale model of the town built by her father. When the Nazis occupy Paris, they flee to Saint Malo and the home of her great-uncle. Marie-Laure’s father has the museum’s most valuable jewel with him, which legend says is cursed to the loved ones of those who possess it. Before long, the Germans take Saint Malo and Marie-Laure joins the resistance movement. She is the message runner. Her great-uncle sends them from a radio hidden in the attic.
Werner, a German boy trained at a brutal military academy, is charged with locating and destroying resistance radio transmitters. On special assignment, he is ordered to the Saint Malo region where the resistance is known to still be active.
Sergeant Major von Rumpel is a Nazi diamond appraiser who gathers confiscated treasures in Europe and Russia on behalf of the German high command. He is on the trail of a 133-carat diamond worth millions and rumored to be in Saint Malo.
During the final days of WWII, Marie-Laure, Werner and von Rumpel’s lives collide in a struggle for survival from the devastation of war, misguided trust and human greed.
Though historical fiction, the book is loosely based on events during WWII. The book is written with parallel story lines for the main characters, which become convincingly real during the unfolding of the tragedies and triumphs of their lives.
After the program, refreshments in the Valentine theme and socialization were enjoyed.
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Ladies Lakeshore Auxiliary
Ladies Lakeshore Auxiliary met Feb. 27. Canasta winners were Rose Blakesley, first; Cheri Lilly, second; and Barb Bills, third.
Mary Kline won the door prize.
Gwen Sandeman will host cards and chatter Wednesday, March 6.