VFW Post 1797
VFW Post 1797 met March 12 at the Elks Lodge in Creston; 10 members and guests were present for dinner.
Commander Gary O’Daniels called the meeting to order at 7 p.m. with 11 members present.
The post draped the charter for veteran Charlie Weil. Service officers reported 80 hours of community service, 15 hours for honor guard and 59 hours at the hospital. Minutes and QM reports were read and approved.
In old business, Williamson Legion raised $2,200 from the soup supper for Union County Honor Flight.
In new business, the district 4 spring meeting will be held Saturday, April 13, in Ottumwa. The state VFW fundraiser is underway for a 2018 Ford Escape or $15,000 cash option. Tickets are $20 and can be purchased from Denny Abel at 641-782-0517. The drawing will be June 8.
An application for VFW Scout of the Year is out, but has not yet been returned. It is due at state headquarters by April 2.
First call for officers for the year 2019-20 were held. The meeting adjourned at 8 p.m.
The next meeting will be Tuesday, April 9, at the Elks Lodge with dinner at 6 p.m. and meeting to follow at 7 p.m. All war veterans are encouraged to attend.
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Kiwanis
The weekly Kiwanis meeting was held 12:05 p.m. Tuesday, March 19, at the Windrow meeting room with 18 members and two guests. President Terry Freeman presided, Jim Nelson gave the prayer and Chris Gordy was the finemaster.
Julie Lang, with MATURA and Kiwanis member, accepted a check for the crockpot program to purchase six crockpots for families that attended and finished nutrition and recipe classes. The classes were sponsored by the Union County Extension office, MATURA and Creston Kiwanis Club.
The club now has tickets for the Annual Jack Keuter Pancake Day fundraiser which will be from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 26, at First United Methodist Church in Creston. This is the group’s biggest fundraiser of the year. The money raised will provide scholarships and services to many children and groups that work with children’s funds through out the year. See any member for tickets or leave a message on the Creston Kiwanis Facebook page.
Members signed up to help with the pancake fundraiser.
The program was given by Kyle Weaver, owner of Weaver Meats in Afton. He discussed the history of the business and their recent expansion and new building. Weaver told the club about the new monthly bacon of the month flavors and the different cuts of meat they process for retail and wholesale customers. He also discussed some of the differences of grass-fed vs. corn-fed beef.
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Friends of the Library
The Friends of the Library (FOL) Board met March 18 with the following members present: Cynthia Blakely, Starr Cure, Judy Hoakison, Jane King, Sarah King, Bunny Norton, Julie Schieffer, Ann Coulter and David Hargrove.
The agenda and minutes were approved, and the treasurer’s report will be placed on file for audit.
Coulter thanked FOL for their help with the St. Patrick’s Day event. The auction went well as did FOL’s automotive basket. Seventy-five tickets were sold.
Hargrove echoed Coulter’s thanks to FOL. Several community conflicts contributed to a smaller attendance for the St. Patrick’s dinner and auction. Leftover food was sent to the food pantry. The new circulation system will be in place next month. Hargrove is working on grants.
National Library Week is April 8-12. Stop in the library as it celebrates the week with the following programs – Monday, April 8, Hargrove will explore the topic of “Sesquicentennial Sources: A Bibliographic History of Creston, Iowa;” at 9 a.m. Tuesday, April 9, Michelle Wilson from Radiant Wellness Solutions will lead a session of chair yoga, no yoga mat needed; at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 10, Linda McCain will present “Prisoners of War in Iowa;” Lego-Mania will be at 4 p.m.; and 8:15 a.m. Thursday, April 12, the library will host the UCDA business coffee.
Cure reported there are 10 crates of used books to be sorted. No date was set for this project.
FOL’s next event will be the Scholastic book sale on July 4.
The next meeting will be 6 p.m. April 15 at the library.
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Elzevir Reading Circle
The monthly GFWC Elzevir Reading Circle meeting was held 1:30 p.m. Friday, March 8, at the home of Linda Topliff.
Members told of books they were reading to answer roll call, or what they were looking forward to when spring comes. The minutes were read and approved as written and the treasurer’s report was given.
The latest news and notes from GFWC were shared. The names of Carol Brentnall, Alice Bowers, Jean Paul and Francine Weckerlin will be sent to GFWC as 25-50 year GFWC members. GFWC/Iowa State Convention will be held April 12-13 at Best Western in Marshalltown.
Terry Ammon shared information she had written about the history of Elzevir to be included in the upcoming 150 year Creston Sesquicentennial celebration. The meeting was adjourned after the reciting of Mary Stewart’s “Club Collect.”
Ammon reviewed the book “The Notebook” by Nicholas Sparks. The story of Noah and Allie is a testament to love – it is not a memoir – it is a novel. Sparks said his wife’s grandparents inspired the story.
Through the telling of their love story – a story with a stormy beginning – we feel the passion and fire of first love and the pain they both endure when it ends. Allie’s parents don’t approve of their love. They didn’t think Noah was good enough for their daughter, because he didn’t have the social standing, education or enough money for their daughter.
When Noah goes off to serve in World War II, it seems to mark the end of their love affair. Her mother didn’t give her the many letters that Noah wrote to her pouring his feelings and his heart out to her. In the interim, Allie becomes involved with another man. But when Noah returns to their small town years 14 years later to restore the house of his dreams, on the cusp of Allie’s marriage, it soon becomes clear that their romance is anything but over.
The frame of the central story takes place in a modern day nursing home in the 90s. Noah, an elderly man reads a romantic story from his notebook to a fellow patient, Allie. "The Notebook" is a tender love story about the enduring power of love. The novel was later adopted into a popular film by the same name in 2004.
Topliff served delicious refreshments. The next meeting will be April 12 at the home of Jean Davis with Topliff giving the program. Members are reminded to bring a purse to the next meeting filled with anything ladies can use such as cosmetics, socks, gift cards, etc.
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St. John’s United Church of Christ
St. John’s Women’s Evening Fellowship met Monday, March 11. Joan Chubick led devotions. Joyce Clark showed the group a plastic mat that Lavonne Motsinger crocheted for the homeless. These colorful mats are made out of grocery sacks that are collected, cut, tied and crocheted. A group of ladies from Winterset do this as a mission project. The mats are then taken to Des Moines to be used for the homeless to lay on.
The least coin was collected. The bake sale held March 7 at Bunn-O-Matic was a great success. The group voted to donate the money made to the church. Others items of business which was voted on were to donate again this year to the blanket fund, Heifer Project and Food For Life. In other business, a date for the next soup supper was set for Monday, April 8. Plans for this event were finalized. This date is a regular meeting date, so there will no meeting in April.
It was noted the Women of St. John’s is down to serve at Open Table on Tuesday, April 16. A reminder was made that there will be an Easter breakfast served before church services Easter Sunday, April 21. Refreshments was served by Sharon Gile, and Connie Loomis won the trivia prize.
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Ladies Lakeshore Auxiliary
Ladies Lakeshore Auxiliary met March 20.
Canasta winners were Linda Clark, first; Rose Blakesley, second; and Janice Munstermann, third.
Gwen Sandeman won the door prize.
Cheri Lilly will host cards and chatter Wednesday, March 27.