St. Elmo News

ANNOUNCEMENTS
Thursday, April 25
• Exxon Mobil Annuitants, noon, Chinatown Restaurant, Litchfield.
• The St. Elmo Unit of Home and Community Education, 1:30 p.m., St. Elmo Public Library.
Saturday, April 27
• The St. Elmo Community Clothes Closet, 9 a.m.-noon, First United Methodist Church Parsonage.
Monday, April 29
• The St. Elmo Board of Education April meeting was changed from the third Monday to next Monday to allow the board to reorganize per the canvassed election results, as required per Illinois statutes. The revised agenda will start at 7:30 p.m. in the unit office.
Wednesday, May 1
• Wright’s Corner Unit of Home and Community Education, 1 p.m., Loudon Town House.
• Reverb Youth Group, 6:30 p.m., St. Elmo Christian Church.
• Kids Klub, 7 p.m., First Church of God S.H.E.D.
Thursday, May 2
• National Day of Prayer service, noon, in front of St. Elmo City Hall.
• There will not be a SEBA meeting.
• The Wheatland Unit of Home and Community Education, 1 p.m.
• The St. Elmo Women’s Civic Club will have dinner at Old Capitol View Restaurant in Vandalia. To carpool, they will meet at 5:30 p.m. in St. Mary’s Catholic Church parking lot.
Fayette County Museum Cookbook Info
The 35th anniversary of the Fayette County Museum will be in 2014. 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 RR 2, Box 205, St. Elmo, Ill. 62458 or they can be sent to her email address: [email protected].
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 and Miscellaneous. Recipes are to start by listing all of the ingredients, followed by method of incorporating each of them in the recipe.
The time needed to collect recipes, type, proofread, 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.
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.
Historical Vandalia Inc.
President Steve Durbin of Vandalia opened the board of directors meeting of Historical Vandalia Inc. at 6:30 p.m. on April 15 at the Fayette County Museum, with the following board members present: Jim Brewer of Ramsey; Marilyn Beyes of Smithboro; Anna Jean Rhodes of St. Elmo; and Donna Blair, Joyce Mueller, Phil Shroyer and Mary Truitt of Vandalia.
Visiting the museum in March were 161 people. Two new items, books, have been received for the museum. Some of the refurbished pictures have been hung upstairs since the March meeting.
The membership total now comes to 87. The total of $4,085 received from the members includes $450 designated for the restoration fund – the remainder is used for the operation fund.
The Fayette County School Art Show in March had 255 entries from 112 students from nine schools and one home school.
Because an organization had scheduled a dinner the same evening, April 19, as the museum fundraising spaghetti dinner, the Historical Vandalia Inc. dinner was canceled.
Cookbook Chairman Rhodes reported that she has started collecting recipes for the cookbook for Fayette County Museum’s 35th anniversary in 2014. The 300-recipe cookbook will be available for sale before Christmas of this year.
It was reported that the upstairs wall light fixtures were finished.
The date for the annual Artworks Gallery Town and Country Art Show upstairs in the museum is June 15-23. More will be given on this later.
Several volunteers still are needed to help at the museum different days of the week. Anyone who is available is asked to call the Fayette County Museum at 283-4866.
Embarras River District UMW
The Embarras River District United Methodist Women Spring Meeting was held April 18 in the United Methodist Church at Watson, with about 50 in attendance.
After registration, all kinds of breakfast refreshments were served in the fellowship hall.
Opening the meeting at 9:30 a.m. was the Watson UMW president, Jenny Springer.
The invocation was given by the Watson pastor, the Rev. Jim Whitaker, who lives in Neoga. District UMW President Sharon Niksch of Casey did the introductions of the district officers.
Devotions and a memorial service were given by Linda Connelly of Paris. Those in this area remembered were Virginia Schumacher of Altamont and Margaret Durbin of Brownstown.
Because of the pouring down rain en route, the Illinois Great Rivers Conference UMW President Marjorie Stout of Illiopolis was a little late in arriving to extend her greetings to the Embarras River District UMW.
Treasurer Joanne Downs of Mattoon was in charge of the morning offering, which came to almost $450 for UMW missions.
After singing the UMW Purpose Song, the awards unit recognition was given. The Rainbow Units and the Love Units included Altamont and Brownstown/Emmanuel. Brownstown/Emmanuel was included in the UMW Reading Units reporting and the Spirited Servant Units.
Cloydia Larimore, director of development at the Cunningham Children’s Home, gave the morning message.
A luncheon of soups, sandwiches, fruit and cookies was served by the Watson UMW. After the meal, Whittaker sang several hymns, with his wife Rhonda at the piano. She of Neoga is the president of the Cunningham Children’s Home board.
Several district UMW officers gave a skit on participating in the UMW.
Vera Jones of East St. Louis gave the afternoon program on the Lessie Bates Davis Neighborhood House in East St. Louis.
Units took to the district meeting feminine hygiene products, disposable razors, new washcloths for the Lessie Bates Davis Neighborhood House and women’s ankle or low cut socks, McDonald’s Box Tops for Education, gift cards for Walmart and Subway for Cunningham Children’s Home.
Those attending the district meeting included Connie Green, Carol Henna, Carol Severns and Marilyn Yakel of the Brownstown/Emmanuel UMW and Anna Jean Rhodes of St. Elmo, who is a member at large of the Embarras River District UMW.
Vit-Em-In Class Potluck
Even though it was a rainy evening, with some roads being covered in water, several were able to attend the 6 p.m. April 18 potluck of the Vit-Em-In Sunday school class in the Fellowship Hall of the First United Methodist Church: Elizabeth Bail, Bob Cox, Helen Koonce, Frank and Delva Krost, Richard Lowe (who gave the meal blessing), Rosemary Owen, Anna Jean Rhodes, and Jack and Marilyn Sproat and a guest, Dee Newberry.
After the meal, President Delva had a short business meeting.
Minutes of the March meeting were approved as read and the treasurer’s report was given. There was no other business.
Rhodes read an article on Vitamin F (Friends), “Burned Biscuits – A Lesson We All Could Learn,” and a humorous one about using a cell phone in public.
Lowe Baptism
Benjamin Richard Lowe, 4-year-old son of Richard and Julie Lowe of St. Elmo, was baptized by the Rev. Dan Laack during the April 21 morning worship of First United Methodist Church.
Attending the service were his paternal grandparents, Chuck and Beth Lowe of Waco, Texas; maternal grandparents, Ben and Darlene Forbes of St. Elmo; and paternal great-grandfather, Richard (Dick) Lowe of St. Elmo.
Other family members attending were Mr. and Mrs. Brenner Lowe and two girls of Waco, Texas; Bob Lowe, John and Betty Lowe, Maybelle Barnes, Doc Tish and the Stoney Forbes family, and the Lynn Voelker family, all of St. Elmo., all of St. Elmo; and the Todd Voelker family of Altamont.
St. Elmo Christian Church
During the April 21 worship services at the St. Elmo Christian Church, Pastor Tom Fedrigon baptized Samantha Myers, Paige Shelly and David Stine. Becoming members of the church by transfer were Jim and Nancy Brasel, Margie Cummings, and David and Bridget Watkins.