Afton Federated Garden Club
Members of the Afton Federated Garden Club met at the Afton Community Center at 1:30 p.m. Nov. 11. President Shirley Wallace called the meeting to order at 1:35 p.m. with members repeating the Pledge of Allegiance and Club Collect. Roll call was answered by 12 members.
Secretary’s report was read by Monica Huddleson. Ginny Quick made a motion to accept the minutes as read. Audrey McDowell seconded the motion. Treasurer’s report was given by Wallace as Bev Rowe was unable to be there. Yearly club dues were paid by most of the members present. Rowe paid the annual dues to the Iowa Arboretum and also voted on behalf of the club. Kathy Tapken made a motion and Marilyn Larimore seconded to reimburse Quick for the table favor aprons at the fall luncheon. Motion was made by Donna Thomas and seconded by Judy Weese to have Vice President Iris Smith as co-treasurer for the rest of Rowe’s term as she plans to be gone most of the winter.
Donna Thomas sent birthday cards to Jane Nichols and Audrey McDowell for September birthdays and one to Wallace for October. Thomas sent a sympathy card to Polly McCoy for the loss of her husband.
Wallace shared a thank you card from the Bevington Garden Club President Nancy Meyers thanking members for such a nice fall luncheon meal and program. She enclosed a donation to help with the costs. Bev Anderson and Dona King also sent cards. The “Apron Lady,” Teresa Minard, sent a card thanking the club for having her give her program.
The Henry Wallace Holiday Boutique will be Nov. 17-19.
Wallace attended the district president’s meeting Oct. 10 and learned of a new threat to maple trees – the Longhorn Asian beetle, which is in Illinois now. Also, bumble bees will soon be on the endangered list. Wallace signed the club up to be in charge of the silent auction and Pledge of Allegiance for the district meeting, which will be Monday, June 5, in Indianola.
The club project for 2017 will be in Creston with details to be decided upon next year.
Members worked on getting details ready for Weese, who prints the yearly programs. The club had decided to try to include the names and years served of all past club presidents. Weese found quite a few of them, but she was still missing some years. The club members updated their addresses, phone and cell phone numbers and email addresses where needed. The calling committee, Loretta Kelly for Afton, Iris Smith for Creston and Thomas for Lorimor, agreed to continue through 2017. The club had signed up for meetings and programs at the fall luncheon and checked to see that all months were filled. It was discussed and decided to have the plant sale from 1 to 6 p.m. May 12 with regular meeting being held at 11:30 a.m. The Union County Fair will be July 19-26.
The club discussed its monthly flower, the marigold, its origins and uses. December’s flower will be the poinsettia.
Thomas made a motion and Smith seconded to adjourn and everyone repeated the Conservation Pledge.
Huddleson gave the program on wildflowers across North America. A wildflower is a plant that can grow on its own in nature. Wildflowers that originated in the U.S. are called "natives" and those brought in are called "naturalized." Huddleson shared how to figure how much seed is needed for an area you plan to use, how to tell weeds from wildflowers and how to plant wildflowers in the fall. She also talked about herbal and medicinal uses for wildflowers and handed out a list of some of them. Huddleson handed out a list of several wildflower websites to visit for information. One of them is GardenWeb Forums at www.gardenweb.com, said to be the largest gardening site. Floridata Plantencyclopedia, www.floridata.com, is another popular site.
Hostesses Tapken and Huddleson served a pumpkin-themed lunch.
The Christmas meeting will be Dec. 2 at Arispe. The club will meet at 11:30 a.m. for lunch and have a grab-bag exchange afterwards. Each member is to bring a food-pantry donation. Wallace will make the reservations.
After the meeting, the group prepared for the open to the public wreath-making project that started at 4 p.m. Wallace and Quick donated the evergreen boughs and brought supplies so each person could make a wreath. Members and guests provided the trimmings for the wreaths. A free-will donation was accepted to help with the cost of supplies. Wallace gave detailed instructions so all could put their wreaths together. Several members donated their wreaths to care facilities in the area.
— — — — — —
Ladies Lakeshore Auxiliary
Ladies Lakeshore Auxiliary met Nov. 30.
Canasta winners were Linda Clark, first; Connie Bailey, second; and Loretta Kelly, third.
Kelly won the door prize.
The next cards and chatter will be a snack day noon Wednesday, Dec. 14. Members are to bring food for the food pantry.
— — — — — —
Friends of the Library
Friends of the Library met Nov. 21 at the library with the following members present: Emily Cook, Starr Cure, Jessica Duncan, Judy Hoakison, Cari Jack, Amanda Kissell, Marisue Lewis, Kay Raymond, Julie Schieffer, Ann Coulter and David Hargrove. Guests were Connie Maxson from the Board of Trustees and Marion James, attorney.
The minutes were approved as written and the treasurer’s report was placed on file for audit.
Sue Teutsch announced the theme for the summer reading programs is “Building a Better World.” This year, the theme is for all ages.
Grant writing was discussed.
Coulter, Library Board of Trustee’s president, announced there is a new logo. The campaign committee will have clever tote bags for sale Dec. 1 at the restored Creston Depot during the winter parade. The Annabel Lee Murder Mystery will be held Feb. 10-12 at the library.
There will be no charge for photos with Santa this year. Stop by and take your own photo with Mr. and Mrs. Claus, and have cider and donut holes from 4:30 to 7 p.m. before the winter parade.
Dates for the scrapbooking event are from 8:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 25, and from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 26. The location is Quilts and Other Notions Creative Center.
The next meeting will be 6 p.m. Dec. 19 at the library.
— — — — — —
GFWC Progressive Chautauqua Circle
Club President Connie Edsall called the meeting to order 1:30 p.m. Nov. 22, at Gibson Memorial Library in Creston and led the members in the Pledge of Allegiance. Roll call was taken with each member responding with a favorite author or book. Sixteen members were present.
The minutes of the previous meeting were read and were approved as corrected. Sharon Booth read devotions about Thanksgiving and “A Prayer for Thanksgiving.” The treasurer’s report was given by Beverly Butler and was accepted.
Jerri Henderson spoke for RICC and distributed a report showing the purchases she had made for one mom and one child. She will wrap the gifts.
Edsall gave the president’s report on the district convention and said she received very positive feedback regarding good food, good speakers, that everyone enjoyed the convention and it ran very smoothly. Special recognition was given to Peg Anderson as the best president.
Kay Ritter reported on the blood mobile, during which 144 people participated and 128 pints of blood were collected, which was a record turnout.
Caller Mary Morris reported she had called Polly and Vaughn about the meeting.
Dr. David Hargrove, library director, presented an entertaining and informative program titled, “For All the Marbles,” detailing the history of the Creston library building, the goals of the library board, the programs held at the library, the need for meeting space and updates on the building project. He encouraged participation and support of the library and commented on the changing uses of the library for meetings and computers/internet usage.
Judy Weese asked the reporting forms detailing hours and donations be submitted soon. Since the club supported RAGBRAI, members can include donated food and volunteer hours under the section for special projects.
Edsall read correspondence from the state and reported Sydney Dunphy received the scholarship.
Anderson reported money was left over from the district convention and $133 will be refunded to the club.
Scholarship Chair Pat Butcher reported on the scholarship applications she had reviewed. Ritter reported on the greeting cards she had sent.
The audit committee reported the treasurer’s books had been reviewed.
Members gave favorable comments that the tour of Creston was very interesting, especially the information on operation of the ReRun Shop and the visit to the back room sorting area.
The next meeting will be 12:30 p.m. Monday, Dec. 12, at The Windrow.
After discussion, it was moved by Ritter and seconded by Joyce, the club will collect and donate $50 to the Christmas Basket Club. Donations were collected.
Butcher reported she was working on the Wounded Warrior Project and has two possible candidates: a woman currently having a low income, who was a Korean War veteran and a woman who was a nurse and has a service-connected disability. Joyce moved and Judy Woods seconded to give $50 in gas cards and to give $50 in a Wal-Mart gift card.
Henderson collected donations for the family and reported $130 was collected.
The club members read the Club Collect and adjourned at 3:12 p.m. Refreshments were served by the committee.
— — — — — —
Union County Genealogical Society
Union County Genealogical Society met Nov. 28 at the library in Creston with 10 members sharing finger-food treats at their annual holiday observance.
Jane Briley presided at the business meeting. Lynn Schlaht reported details of a fundraising activity in another city. Roger Nurnberg gave an update on collecting data for an update of Graceland Cemetery burials. He also reported on a follow-up of cleaning tombstones in Leas Cemetery. All readable stones have been put on Find-A-Grave website.
The month of March was set as a goal for establishing the society’s website.
Elaine Brown reported she has a good supply of Union County cemetery books, which the society has for sale. Some are available for sale at the library.
Officers for 2017 were elected as follows: president – Briley, vice president – Tessa Hull, secretary – Jackie Shafar and treasurer – Schlaht.
No regular meeting will be held in December. The next meeting is Jan. 23.
Officers and other interested members will meet Dec. 28 for a planning session of 2017 programs.
— — — — — —
Kiwanis
The weekly Kiwanis meeting was held 12:05 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 29, at The Windrow meeting room with 23 members and one guest. President Chris Eaton presided, Ed Ritter gave the prayer and Victoria Brammer was the finemaster.
The program was given by Ritter representing the Creston Historical Village. He told the society was started in 1966 with 22 members and about the expansion and updates that have been added since that time. The church on the property is still being used today for weddings and other gatherings.