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St. Elmo News

ANNOUNCEMENTS
Saturday, July 6
• Because of the Fourth of July weekend, the St. Elmo Community Clothes Closet will not be open today, but will be open next Saturday. Also, as of this week, it is open Monday evenings for the summer months.
• Polio Survivors and Friends of East Central Illinois, 1 p.m., Sarah Bush Lincoln Education Center, Mattoon. Those who wish to eat lunch together can do so in the hospital cafeteria at noon.

• Fayette County Fair begins. The horse show will be at 10 a.m.; 4-H rabbit show check-in is at 1:30 p.m. and the show is at 2 p.m. At 6 p.m., the 4-H livestock exhibitors mandatory meeting will be held. The 4-H goat wethers check-in/weigh-in is at 7 p.m. and by 8 p.m., all 4-H animals must be on the fairgrounds.
Sunday, July 7
• The First United Methodist Church has switched services for this Sunday only. The morning worship will be at 9:30 a.m. and Sunday school at 10:30 a.m. This is because several are planning to attend the 1:15 p.m. Christian Day Festivities at Busch Stadium.
• The St. Elmo First Christian Church will have their worship services at the regular times – 8:30 and 10:30 a.m. (the 10:30 a.m. service will end at 11:20 a.m.). Those planning go to the Christian Day at Busch Stadium will leave on the church bus at 10:40 a.m.
• Busch Stadium Christian Day this Sunday will be a featured speaker after the game – Willie Robertson of Duck Dynasty. Members of the Cardinals and Marlins also are to share testimonies.
• Fayette County Fair-11 a.m. will be the check of livestock health papers, livestock records and entries for 4-H livestock shows. At noon, there will be the check-in of 4-H poultry show exhibits and the show will start. At 1 p.m. is the weigh-in of market swine, sheep, beef and dairy steers. The 4-H goat show will be at 4 p.m.
Monday, July 8
• St. Elmo Community Clothes Closet will now be open from 5-7 p.m. on Mondays.
• St. Elmo Lions Club, 6 p.m., Mary Ann’s Restaurant.
• Fayette County Fair-4-H sheep show is at 8 a.m. 4-H beef show/dairy steer show is at 11 a.m.
Tuesday, July 9
• The Avena Township Park Board, 6 p.m., St. Elmo Community Park Centennial Building.
• American Legion Post #420, 7 p.m., Legion Home.
• The Fayette County Board, 7 p.m., Fayette County Courthouse, Vandalia.
• Fayette County Fair-4-H swine show at 8 a.m. 4-H auction at 6 p.m.; St. Louis Cardinals tickets will be auctioned off (see article that follows).
Wednesday, July 10
• Check in for the 4-H dog show, 1:30 p.m., and the show will be at 2 p.m. All 4-H dairy entries must on the fairgrounds by 3 p.m. The cat show will be at 5 p.m.
Thursday, July 11
• For the July activity, the HCE Wheatland Unit will meet at 9:45 a.m. at The Cross in Effingham. Their appointment at the nearby Hodgson flour mill is at 10 a.m.
• Lunch Bunch, noon, Mary Ann’s Restaurant.
• The St. Elmo Library District Board, 7 p.m., St. Elmo Public Library.
• The officers of the St. Elmo Women’s Civic Club will meet at 7 p.m. in St. Mary’s Catholic Church Parish Hall to set up the budget and programs for the 2013/14 club year.
• The Effingham Chapter #110 Order of the Eastern Star, 7:30 p.m., Effingham Masonic Temple.
Auction off St. Louis Cardinals Tickets
Ehrhardt Tool and Machine of Granite City has donated four St. Louis Cardinal tickets to the Fayette County Extension Foundation to auction off at the Fayette County Livestock Committee’s 4-H Auction, which starts at 6 p.m. next Tuesday at the Fayette County Fairgrounds in Brownstown.
The tickets will be the last item auctioned off at the 4-H auction that evening. The tickets are for seats behind the third base dugout for the Sept. 23 game against the Washington Nationals. The face value of the tickets is $440.
Proceeds from the sale of the tickets will go to the Fayette County Extension Foundation, a non-profit organization that conducts fundraising in support of 4-H and Extension in Fayette County. For more info, contact the Fayette County Extension office at 118 N. Sixth St., Vandalia, or call 283-2753.
Concert at Vandalia First Presbyterian Church
The Midwest Winds Ensemble, a group of musicians in the U.S. Air Force Band of Mid-America from Scott Air Force will be in concert at the First Presbyterian Church at 1221 W. Fillmore, Vandalia, at 2 p.m. on Sunday. The concert is free and will feature patriotic music. Refreshments will be served.
Fayette County Museum Cookbook
The 35th anniversary of the Fayette County Museum will be in 2014, and to celebrate the anniversary, a cookbook is being planned to be available this fall for Christmas gifts.
Recipes from at least 150 adult contributors from people throughout Fayette County are needed for the 300-recipe book. Each contributor’s name and town will be printed next to the recipe. Some recipes may need to have a “Recipe Note” (anecdotal, historical, personal) to follow.
Anna Jean Rhodes is in charge of the book, and recipes can be sent to her at RR2, Box 205, St. Elmo, Ill. 62458 or they can be sent to her email address: cookbookrhodes@frontier.com.
Each contributor needs to check the recipe(s) for accuracy, but sometimes there is a question that needs to be asked so, when sending Rhodes the recipes, include your address and/or phone number.
The categories will be Appetizers and Beverages, Soups and Salads, Vegetables, Main Dishes, Breads and Rolls, Desserts, Miscellaneous. Recipes are to start by listing all of the ingredients, followed by method of incorporating each of them in the recipe.
The amount of time it takes to collect recipes, type, proofread and organize them according to category, etc., is the reason recipes need to be sent to Rhodes starting now.
Historical Vandalia Inc. is in charge of the museum located in the old Presbyterian Church at the corner of Main and Kennedy Boulevard, and proceeds from the sale of the cookbook will go to the Museum restoration. The front of the cookbook will have a picture of the museum. The personal pages in the book will give the history of the museum.
Kingdom Rock Bible School
St. Elmo Christian Church had vacation Bible school June 21-23 in the evenings. The average was 50 kids and 40 teachers. The VBS raised $485 for the Bond County Camp.
Crafts included a handprint craft, cross stitch and picture frame. They studied Nehemiah, Jesus on the cross and rising again, and Josiah. They had a bounce house, played dance tag and had obstacle courses. Refreshments included cookies and ice cream sundaes.
Fayette County HCE
The Fayette County Home and Community Education Board met the morning of June 24 at the Vandalia Extension Office, with the following present: Flo Allen, Panzi Blackwell, Shirley Klitzing, Phyllis Pryor and Debbie Swain, all of the Sefton Unit; Dorothy Harpster of the St. Peter Unit; Anna Jean Rhodes of the St. Elmo Unit; Joyce Mueller, Debbie Segrest and Anita Smith of the Vandalia Day Unit; and Mary Smith of the Wright’s Corner Unit.
The pledge of allegiance opened the meeting. Vandalia Day Unit reported that two new members joined HCE at their June meeting – Britany Nichols and her mother, Loretta Ashley.
Swain told information on “Letters to Heroes” she had received from the IAHCE Cultural Enrichment officer. Cards have to be homemade according to certain specifications. A date will be set and announced later by Allen for unit members willing to help with this cultural enrichment activity
Allen told that tiny books sealed and included in some Cheerios cereal are being collected to be sent to another country and some unit members may want to do this.
Segrest reported that the postage for manufacturer’s coupons recently sent overseas was $27 to send the boxed 21,232 coupons. More coupons were collected at this meeting.
The Sefton Unit took 30 pounds of aluminum can tabs to McDonald’s for the Ronald McDonald House. The Brownstown Elementary School had collected the tabs for the Sefton Unit. The unit also took five bears and three dolls to Fayette County Hospital.
A letter was read about the Vandalia Tools for School, but the board decided not to contribute because several of the units do a similar project in their own communities.
After the meeting closed the following ate lunch at the Capitol View Restaurant: Allen, Harpster, Klitzing, Mueller, Pryor, Rhodes, Mary Smith, Segrest and Swain.
Lions Club Officer Installation
The June 24 banquet of the St. Elmo Lions Club for spouses/guests held at Mary Ann’s Restaurant was for the installation of the 2013-14 officers elected at the May meeting. Lloyd Stanley, the member with the longest years of service, was the installing officer.
The new officers are: Dave Maxey, president; Randy Wolf, first vice; Roger Fulk, second vice; Lloyd Stanley, third vice; Don Crawford, secretary/treasurer; Mark Lash, tail twister; Lewis Crawford, lion tamer; Bob Lowe, Pee Wee Denton and Roger Fulk, membership committee; Bob Wells and Richard Lowe, two-year directors; John Crawford and Mark Lash, one-year directors; and Dee Newberry and LeMar Marchman, reporters.
Those present were Don Crawford, John Crawford, Pee Wee and Helen Denton, Roger Fulk, Max and Susie Hollinshead, Mark and Tammy Lash, Bob Lowe, Richard Lowe, LeMar and Billye Jo Marchman, Dave and Joann Maxey, Rex Reeder, Lloyd and Mona Stanley, and Bob and Ellie Wells.
Joann Maxey and Mona Stanley decorated the tables with baskets of flowers.
Royal Neighbors Birthday Social
The birthdays of all of the members of the Royal Neighbors of America #5784 were celebrated at the Altamont McDonald’s at 4:30 p.m. on June 26 with a Ronald McDonald birthday cake. Those present were Raymond and Ruth Lilly of Beecher City, Shirley Smith, Jacie Hosick, Bella Hosick, Jeremy and Jill Wright, all of Altamont, and Ina Abendroth, Rosemary Owen, Marjorie Sarver, Della Stewart, Betty Wright, Leona Wright and Oliver and Edna Wright, all of St. Elmo.
RNA #5784 charter was signed on June 10, 1909, at Spring Hill Camp at Hissong, which was located just south of the Springhill Church in rural Beecher City. Della Stewart is the third generation of her family to lead RNA.
For the business meeting, credit information was charted and all were reminded to collect school supplies for the Wednesday, July 24, meeting that will be held at 1 p.m. at the Phillips Building.
St. Elmo HCE
The pledge of allegiance opened the meeting of the St. Elmo Unit of Home and Community Education the afternoon of June 27 at the St. Elmo Public Library with the following members present: Karen Denning, Loretta Heischmidt, Noma Moore, Anita Pagel, Anna Jean Rhodes and Karen Wegscheid. Roll call was answered with “Do you plant a garden?”
A report on the June Fayette County HCE Board meeting was given. A report also was given on the Fayette County HCE’s 65th annual meeting held June 18. Denning read the memorials for deceased members Freda Willms and Joyce Drees given at the annual meeting memorial service.
The two members who joined in the summer of 2013, Moore and Pagel, were not able to be at the annual meeting, so they received their flowers and Aim for the Homemaker card at this meeting. Denning was one of the nominees for Homemaker of the Year and showed the certificate she had received at the annual meeting.
Dues for the St. Elmo HCE Unit are $15 – $13 is for the county HCE and $2 remains in the local treasury for miscellaneous needs. Anyone interested in HCE is invited to join.
For the July special activity St. Elmo HCE will go to the Flesor’s Candy Kitchen at Tuscola. The plans are to leave at 9 a.m. on Thursday, July 25. There will be a guided tour of the candy factory. Lunch then will be eaten in the restaurant. After lunch, those attending can decide where else to go in the Tuscola area.
Moore gave the May special feature lesson “Coping with Food Allergies,” Wegscheid gave the June special feature lesson, “Gifts from the Heart-Ideas on Giving,” and Denning gave the June major lesson, “Celebrations and Traditions.”
Refreshments of angel food cake, with toppings of cherries and chocolate pudding, and iced tea were served by Moore.
Rhodes-Side Gleanings
Twenty-eight years ago, my daughter Phyllis went on the 4-H trip to Washington, D. C., June 21-29, 1975. In July of that year, she participated in the Fayette County 4-H public speaking contest and won the trophy for her speech. The speech was printed in the National 4-H News magazine in December 1975. I thought you might like to read it for the 4th of July holidays.
 “What Citizenship Means to Me” by Phyllis Rhodes
Are you a good American citizen?…one who accepts your responsibility to try to become strong and useful so that through you, your country may become greater and better?
Did you know that the average cycle of the world’s great civilizations has been 200 years? As nations, they progressed through this sequence: Bondage to spiritual faith to great courage to liberty to abundance to selfishness to complacency to apathy to dependency and back go bondage.
America soon will be 200 years old. Will she follow the path of past civilizations?  (Where does she stand now in the historical sequence?) Or will America rise to face challenges that confront her? It depends upon each one of us individual citizens.
Citizenship broadly is defined as “being a citizen of a certain country”. But being a good citizen is not automatic through birthright.
As citizens we have certain privileges: Worship as we choose…meet with other people when and where we please…speak or write our opinions without hindrance…choose our careers freely….be secure in our homes.
These privileges are guaranteed in the Constitution of the United States. Some are so common that we often forget what great privileges they are.
But, along with accepting the freedoms and privileges of this country, everyone must accept a share of the responsibilities for preserving them for future generations.
Our 4-H pledge emphasizes good citizenship and its responsibilities. Here’s my interpretation:
I pledge my head to clearer thinking.
I, as an individual, shall think things over before making a decision, learn about both sides of an issue, then make a fair judgment; search for the truth, be slow to believe suspicions, stand by truth regardless of my personal likes and dislikes; keep informed by reading, asking question, listening; keep my self-respect and help others keep theirs.
I pledge my heart to greater loyalty.
I shall be loyal to my country, support it and try to improve it; practice and teach principals of good citizenship, beginning inside my home; be fair with all people, even those who are different; not shirk my duty, vote each and every time I am entitled to do so, pay taxes understandingly; respect and obey laws.
I pledge my hands to larger service.
I shall become involved  in community activities such as youth and civic groups; work to make my community a better place to live; help conserve our nation’s resources and preserve its beauty by keeping America clean; willingly accept public office in community and country.
I pledge my health to better living.
I shall take care of my body by eating right and getting rest and exercise necessary for good physical, mental and emotional health; protect the health of others as well as my own; realize the welfare of our country depends upon those who are physically fit for daily work.
What does citizenship mean to you? It should mean sharing in individual responsibilities necessary for clearer thinking, greater loyalty, larger service and better living for club, community, country and world.
As former President Dwight Eisenhower once said: “The important thing is to do something, and not excuse yourself with the thought that ‘I can do so little it will make no difference’. It does make a difference. America is people, not things. If each of us continually tries to do his own job a little better, and raise his personal standards a little higher, our country will gain in strength and character.”
America is almost 200 years old. Will America follow the path of past civilizations to bondage? Or will she rise up to face challenges that confront her?
It all depends upon you…and You…and YOU…and me.
 

Holding Ronald’s Birthday cake for the R N A # 5784 annual birthday are Jacie and Bella Hosick of Altamont.

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