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ANNOUNCEMENTS
Thursday, January 14
• St. Elmo Public Library District Board, 6 p.m., St. Elmo Public Library.
• Effingham Chapter #110, Order of the Eastern Star, 7 p.m., Effingham Masonic Temple.

Monday, January 18
• Historical Vandalia Inc. Board, 6:30 p.m., Fayette County Museum, Vandalia.
• St. Elmo Board of Education, 7:30 p.m.
Rhodes-Side Gleanings – Year 1963 Continues
Because the church didn’t have air conditioning, on July 7 the church started having Sunday school and church service both at 9:30 a.m. Many times after church, we went to Marchmans or Coxes for coffee.
In July at the Methodist Southern Illinois Conference, Bishop Voigt consecrated the Rev. Dale and Alice Walker as missionaries of the Methodist Church, and they were to serve in Sumatra. Dale, son of George and Elanor Walker, grew up in St. Elmo,
On the 25th Phil was elected president of the Vit-Em-In Sunday school class.
On Aug. 12, I started steaming off the wallpaper in the upstairs north bedroom. The next day, I finished taking off the wallpaper and gave the walls an undercoat, then started painting the walls, two sides in pink and white on the two sides that had windows. Painted the woodwork and the floor, made pink and white checked curtains and bed skirt, and the room was mostly done by the end of the month. On the 31st Phil went to his Mom’s to get a cupboard for Phyllis’ room.
On the 15th Phil went to Vandalia to participate in the district plowing match and came in fifth.
On Aug. 23, we made ice cream to take to the Vit-Em-In class going away party for the Sammy Gillespies and the Joe Kerseys.
Steve started in the first grade on Aug. 29. He was almost the last on the bus, which came about 8 a.m., and in the evening, was about the first off the bus and was here around 4 p.m.
We started redoing Steve’s room in September. Took off wallpaper, painted the floor, painted the walls light blue and made bright blue curtains. Phil put up shelves and cut out the curtain rod brackets. I upholstered a footstool in his room. The room was completed in early November.
The Sept. 9 Banner had pictures of cute St. Elmo children, and Steve and Phyllis were together in a picture. This is in the scrapbook.
Phil participated in the Sept. 15 level-land plowing contest, but didn’t place.
A big crowd attended the first PTA meeting held in September, and I was the program chairman moderator for the evening’s program, a panel discussion on “Who Does Johnny’s Homework?” There were four teachers and two parents on the panel.
The afternoon of Sept. 27, I went with B. J. and LeMar and Phil took Steve, Phyllis, Lee, Jay and Melissa to St. Louis to the Ringling Brothers Circus; got home at 2 a.m.
On Oct. 1, my diary says, teacher Anna Griffin pulled Steve’s loose tooth.
My diary for Oct. 6 says “Sunday School and Church a.m. – I’m not teaching this year.”
In October, Zona Beck of Decatur, Phil’s sister, was elected the 18-hole handicap chairman for the Decatur Scovill Women’s Golf Association. She also received six golf awards.
On Oct. 16, I cut out 16 garments, and the next day I had visitors for a while, but made two jumpers, a blouse and slim Jims, and that night went to Woman’s Club.
On the 30th I took the kids and Keith Cox trick or treating. On the 31st Steve went to the PTA Halloween carnival as Hansel and Phyllis went as Gretel, and each received a dollar.
Steve came home from school sick on Nov. 5; he threw up till 2 a.m. Phyllis got sick the evening of the 6th and during the night Mom, Phil and I got sick.
We had to take turns in the one small bathroom, but sometimes one was throwing up in the lavatory and one in the stool. On the 7th, the diary says, “Everyone laid around today – weak as a cat!”
Steve got to go to school on the 8th so I guess the bug was not a long-term one, thank goodness! But Phyllis did throw up again on the 8th.
The afternoon of the 8th a man from Vandalia came to see me about giving a news program on the radio.
I had an extension phone put in upstairs on the19th.
On Nov. 22, President Kennedy was assassinated, and I watched the events on TV. The Eastern Star installation service was that night, but it wasn’t happy for us.
I watched Kennedy’s funeral on TV all day on the 25th.
Phil burned grass on the 28th, Thanksgiving Day. It got out of control and burned a shed; the fire department came out.
That night Earl, Alice, Mom and Zona were here for supper that had turkey and all the trimmings.
Sunday, Dec. 8, was the first day for Vandalia Radio WPMB. The next day, I started giving a five-minute St. Elmo news program before noon Monday through Saturday.
Steve was in the school Christmas program the evening of the 10th. We went to Coxes on the 20th for the Cox, Marchman, Rhodes gift exchange.
Our neighbor north of us, Harve Smith, died the 23rd.
On Christmas Day, I had to give the news on WPMB.
New Year’s Eve, the Marchmans and us helped the Coxes give a party for 40 some; didn’t get home until 3:30 a.m. The kids spent the night with grandparents Earl and Alice Rodes.
—
On Dec. 1, the National Day of Giving, Jane Chapman, president of the Illinois Association for Home and Community Education, presented Sam Kuhnert, founder of NubAbilty, a donation for camp scholarships.
This past year, Jana Kuhnert, mother of Sam, attended the IAHCE annual conference in Effingham sharing the great story about Sam and his battle with his “limb difference.”
Sam overcame his difference and earned a college scholarship to play baseball.
NubaBility is a not-for-profit organization that holds sport-related camps all over the United States, and the camps are for youth with limb differences. They have participants from all over the world attend these camps.  For further information on NubAbility go to nubability.org.
With the donation from the membership of the IAHCE four campers will be able to attend a camp this year. HCE is a volunteer organization working to improve the quality of life for families and communities through leadership development, volunteer service and education.
For more information on how to join HCE contact your local county U of I Extension Office for contact information. Pictured above are Sam Kuhnert, founder of NubAbility, and Jane Chapman, president of the IAHCE.