St. Elmo Area News

ANNOUNCEMENTS
Wednesday, Nov. 3
• Wright’s Corner Unit of Home and Community Education, 1 p.m., Loudon Town House.
Thursday, Nov. 4
• St. Elmo Business Association, noon, Mary Ann’s Restaurant.
• The Wheatland Unit of Home and Community Education, 1:30 p.m., home of Fern Moore.
• The St. Elmo Education Foundation, 7 p.m., unit office.
• St. Elmo Women’s Civic Club, 7 p.m., St. Elmo Public Library. The program will be given by Debbie Evans on her missionary work. Members attending are to take their orders for candies, nuts and cakes to the meeting so the chairman Anna Jean Rhodes can compile them and turn them in.
Saturday, Nov. 6
• At  bedtime, you might want to set you clock back one hour.
Sunday, Nov. 7
• Daylight Saving Time will end at 2 a.m.
• The Historical Vandalia Inc. and Fayette County Museum fundraiser, the second Season of Entertainment, will be held at 2 p.m. in the Vandalia First United Methodist Church Fellowship Hall. This will be “The Life of Amelia Earhart, American Aviator (1897-1037),” presented by Barbara Kay of Glen Carbon. Refreshments will be served after the program. Individual tickets are $15 and may be purchased at the Fayette County Museum, Vandalia.
• A Community Thanksgiving Service sponsored by the St. Elmo Ministerial Alliance will be held at 7 p.m. at First Church of God. The Rev. John Eisfelder, pastor of First United Methodist Church, will give the message.
Monday, Nov. 8
• St. Elmo Lions Club, 6 p.m., Mary Ann’s Restaurant.
Tuesday, Nov. 9
• American Legion Post #420, 7 p.m., Legion Home.
• Friendship Quilt Club, 7 p.m., St. Elmo Public Library.
Thursday, Nov. 11
• Lunch Bunch noon, Mary Ann’s Restaurant.
• Post-Polio Survivors and Friends of East Central Illinois, 5-6:30 p.m., Sarah Bush Lincoln Education Center, Charleston.
• The St. Elmo District Library Board, 7 p.m., St. Elmo Public Library.
• Effingham Chapter #110 Order of the Eastern Star will meet at 7:30 p.m. in the Effingham Masonic Temple and election of officers will be held.
Future Special Events
• Friday, Nov. 12 – St. Elmo Cub Scout Pack #444 will host a spaghetti dinner from 6-8 p.m. in the St. Elmo Elementary School. Tickets cost $6 for adults and $4 for children 3-11. Under the age of 2 will eat free. Proceeds from the dinner will go to C.A.P.S. and the St. Elmo Food Pantry. There also will be a dessert auction at 7 p.m., and the proceeds will go to the Scouts.
• Sunday, Nov. 14, St. Mary’s Catholic Church annual fall church dinner will be held 11 a.m.-2 p.m., in the church parish hall. It will include turkey or roast beef with all the trimmings. Tickets are $8 for adults and $4 for children ages 6-12. Preschoolers will eat free of charge. There also will be a 50/50 auction.
• Saturday, Nov. 20– Christmas in St. Elmo. Co-sponsored by the St. Elmo Business Association and the Ministerial Alliance. More will be given on this later.
HCE International Night
The annual International Night sponsored by the Fayette County Home and Community Education was held the evening of Oct. 28 at the St. Elmo Phillips Building, with 41 attending:  Bingham/Ramsey Unit, three; Sefton Unit, eight; St. Elmo Unit, two; St. Peter Unit, five; Vandalia Day Unit, eight; Wheatland Unit, seven; Wright’s Corner Unit, six; and two guests, the Rev. John Eisfelder, pastor of the St. Elmo First United Methodist Church, who gave the program, and Myrna Manley of Windsor.
The Wheatland Unit has 10 members in the unit and had the best percentage of attendance.
The St. Elmo Unit was in charge of decorations, and Karen Denning and Loretta Heischmidt decorated with pumpkins, fall leaves, scarecrows, fall placemats and napkins.
Sefton Unit was in charge of registration, Wright’s Corner Unit was in charge of the beverages, Vandalia Day Unit arranged the potluck food on the serving tables, and Bingham/Ramsey, St. Peter and Wheatland units were in charge of the cleanup.
Eisfelder gave the potluck meal blessing and after the meal gave an excellent program on Israel and the Holy Land. He showed a lot of pictures.
County HCE President Flo Allen passed around cards to be signed for Director Ginger Boas, who was moved from Fayette County to the Champaign County and to welcome the new director, Rachelle Hollinshead.
Allen also made the following announcements:  Each dress made for a child in Africa has to be put in a sealed gallon bag with the size of the dress on the outside, Veterans’ cards have to be at the Nov. 22 County HCE board meeting, pink Yoplait seals will be collected through December, and HCE members have to have their 2010 volunteer hour sheets to her in December.
Masonic Lodge
The St. Elmo Masonic Lodge #769 had a regular meeting the evening of Oct. 24 and discussed the chili dinner that was scheduled for Oct. 29 and the trick or treat handouts outside the lodge building on Oct. 30. Those present were Charles Bosomworth, Xon Hanna, Steve Koehler, Dale Sperry, Roger Sperry, Doug Waldo, Don Watson and Ron Weber.
About 60 attended the chili supper held the evening of Oct. 29 at the Phillips Building. The fundraiser was for Caring & Sharing, and scholarships.
New U of I Extension County Directors
University of Illinois had 24 new county directors for 85 counties begin providing leadership in the multi-county units on Nov. 1. Three county-level positions for 17 counties are yet to be filled.
Robert Hoeft, interim associate dean for Extension and Outreach, said, “Reorganizing the U of I Extension offices statewide has been a difficult process, but we are very pleased with the caliber of the personnel in the key leadership positions.
“We are living in tough economic times, but I am confident that our county directors will rise to the challenge and provide meaningful programs and services to the counties in their jurisdiction.”
Rachelle Hollinshead is the new Clay, Effingham, Fayette and Jasper counties director. The Fayette/Clay former director, Ginger Boas, is the director for Champaign, Ford, Iroquois and Vermillion counties.
For the 102 counties, only one director has one county, Cook, and only one has two counties. Ten have three counties each, eight have four counties each and four have five counties each.
The position of a director for Bond, Clinton, Jefferson, Marion and Washington counties has not been filled.  Other positions to be filled are a director for five counties and one for seven counties.
New Extension educators will be announced in early November and begin in their new positions on July 1, 2011.
County HCE
Fayette County Home and Community Education Board met the morning of Oct. 25 at the Vandalia Extension Office.
The board displayed 47 dresses made by the Bingham/Ramsey, Sefton, St. Peter and Wheatland units for African children. They will be shipped after each dress is put in a zip-lock gallon bag with the size on it. S is for age 2, 3, 4; M is for age 5,6,7; L is for 8,9,10; and XL is for 11,12.
Units still can participate in the county project.
Vandalia Mayor Rick Gottman was at the meeting and had his picture taken.
Also at the meeting were Fayette County Extension Director Ginger Boas and Rachel Hollinshead. Boas (who also is Clay County Extension director) announced that she has been moved to Champaign County, and Hollinshead will be the new extension director for Fayette, Clay, Effingham and Jasper counties. The change was effective on Nov. 1.
At the meeting, Mary Smith was reinstated as the county HCE secretary.
As the county HCE fundraiser, tickets are being sold by the units for a $100 gift certificate from Wal-Mart. Tickets are $1 each or six for $5. The drawing will be held at the County HCE Board Christmas party on Dec.20.
Christmas cards without envelopes will be boxed for the veterans and they have to be at the Nov. 22 meeting of the board. Any HCE member can give cards for the veterans, but her name and address have to be on the back and she can put a message inside the card.
Pennies for Friendship were to be mailed by Nov. 1 from the units to Dorothy Harpster, the county HCE treasurer, who has to send them to the state HCE.
For the meeting, HCE President Flo Allen furnished coffee and doughnut holes.  On the table was a pink candle. All those who attended the meeting wore pink in observance of cancer day.
After the board meeting, those present went to the Vandalia Depot for the past and present officers meeting. They were: Evelyn Probst of the Bingham/Ramsey Unit; Flo Allen, Panzi Blackwell, Shirley Klitzing, Carol Oldham and Phyllis Pryor of the Sefton Unit; Karen Denning of the St. Elmo Unit; Dorothy Harpster of the St. Peter Unit; Anita Smith of the Vandalia Day Unit; Karen Hyde and Joyce Moore of the Wheatland Unit; and Irene Reed and Mary Smith of the Wright’s Corner Unit.
Allen had her grandson, Randy, join them for lunch.
Friendship Manor
October had interesting activities for residents of the Friendship Manor Nursing Home. They included decorating the halls, two days going to McDonald’s and driving through the country, one afternoon they were served apple cider and apple butter biscuits, two afternoons of crafts and an afternoon for a birthday party.
Residents with October birthdays were Fanny Rhodes, Marilyn Francis and Ray Taylor. Employees with October birthdays were Linda Siegrist, Sue Levitt, Cindy Caraway, Susie Ingram, Lisa Rebbe and Jaynie Terry.
Decorations included Dumbo, who was born 1940, and Charlie Brown, who was born 1950. Cakes, ice cream and punch were served the afternoon of Oct. 20.
The last special activity was 6-8 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 30, when the nursing home residents handed out trick or treats to youngsters through the sixth grade who visited the home.
Lions Club Candy Sales
Instead of having a regular meeting, St. Elmo Lions Club members went door-to-door from 5-7 p.m. on Oct. 25 to sell bags of Heath Bars. Going door-to-door were the following Lloyd Stanley and LeMar Marchman, John Crawford and Lewis Crawford, Bob Lowe and Don Crawford, Charlie Moore and Bob Wells, Mark Lash and Roger Fulk, Dick Lowe and Dave Maxey.
Many bags were sold.
For those who were missed or want more bags of Heath bars, they are available at Mary Ann’s Restaurant, Fayette County Bank and Larry’s Barber Shop. They are $4 a bag or three for $10.
The next club meeting will be at 6 p.m. on Nov. 8 at Mary Ann’s Restaurant.
Make a Difference Day
October 23 was the Royal Neighbors of America #5784 Make a Difference Day. A picture with the items collected for the Lighthouse Pregnancy Center at Vandalia was taken with the following present: Ina Abendroth, Rosemary Owen, Irene Reed, Marjorie Sarver, Shirley Smith, Della Stewart and Leona Wright. Sending items were Nancy Arnold, Jean Brown and Betty Wright.
The 143 items collected were the following:  14 blankets, 26 onesies,  20 sleepers, three bonnets, three caps, 40 pair of socks, six pair of shoes, eight bibs, three packages of baby wipes, five powders, nine bars of soap, two lotions, one oil, one baby wash, one Q-tips and one diaper ointment. Abendroth and Owen took them to the Pregnancy Center.
RNA
Royal Neighbors of America #5784 had its monthly meeting the afternoon of October 28 at the Phillips Building, and present were members Ina Abendroth, Rosemary Owen, Irene Reed, Marjorie Sarver, Shirley Smith, Della Stewart and Leona Wright, and a guest, Nancy Arnold.
It was decided to collect items for the veterans by Nov. 15. Items that can be given to any RNA member include the following that would be appreciated: Puzzles, magazines, stationary, stamps, soaps, tissues, ink pens and anything a male or female could wear or use, except any liquid they could drink.
Thanksgiving Day dinners for shut-ins will be prepared by the First Church of God, and RNA will pay for the turkeys.
The RNA #5784 annual Christmas dinner will be at noon on Saturday, Dec. 4, at First Church of God S.H.E.D. Everyone is welcome to the dinner, which will be catered by the Good Old Days at Brownstown. Tickets are $5 for adults and $3 for children ages3-12. Those attending are asked to take for Caring and Sharing a non-perishable food or a new toy. Entertainment will be by Tom Fredrigon and the St. Elmo Christian Church group. For reservations, you need to call Della Stewart at 829-3394 or Irene Reed at 829-5156 by Dec. 1.
In November, instead of the fourth Wednesday, RNA will meet at 1 p.m. on the third Wednesday, Nov.18, at the Phillips Building.
RhodesSide Gleanings
After I left Friendship Manor Nursing Home at the end of May, I thought it would not be too long before I was able to go to church and organization meetings, etc. The summer was passing quickly for me, even though I was not able to get out of the house without help.
Post-polio symptoms started in the late 1970s, when I had to start using a cane some of the time. In the 1980s, I was having to use the cane more and more, and also had to get a motorized cart to help me cover long distances I couldn’t walk – in a mall, in a hotel, at plot tours (I was a seed salesperson), to the mailbox, etc.
In the 1990s it was getting harder for me to get up, sit down, etc., and in the early 2000s, my balance gave out – I either had to use two canes or a walker, because both hands had to be on something. I could not have carried my shoulder purse with two canes, so I went to a three-wheeled walker.
When I was in the nursing home and was able to start walking, I had to use a regular walker. My three-wheeled walker was taken there, and I tried to use it, but it wasn’t as sturdy as a regular walker. I was hoping when I got home and walked more, I could go back to the three-wheeler, but that didn’t work out. And it was harder for me to get down the few steps into my garage, even with help.
Years ago, I thought I might have to be in a wheelchair when I was 85. In August of this year, I decided (even though I am only 81) I needed to be in a motorized wheelchair and have a wheelchair van so I could get back to church and go places. Leatha Newberry went with me to Champaign to the wheelchair/van open house.
The next week, a chair was brought here for me to try, and one day, a man came driving a handicapped van to show me how to use one. The next week, the chair man came with another chair, one that had a lift, reclined, etc. The third Thursday in September, I had to be evaluated for Medicare by a therapist at Charleston and also had to have measurements taken. Leatha Newberry also went with me this time. The next week, I had to go back to Dr. Schwarm for more evaluations.
I have a handicap van held for me. When the wheelchair that is being made for me arrives in Champaign it will have to be taken to the van place for a day or so. I will be able to get in the van through a door that when opened puts down a lift.
The door is on the passenger side. I will drive in, then turn into the driver side (the driver chair will be taken out) and lock my chair in place so I don’t have to get out of it. That is why the chair has to go to the van place, so everything can be adjusted.
I was expecting to get the wheelchair and van by the middle of October, but “red tape” and more “red tape” takes much longer than it should, and all the papers have to be finalized before the chair can be built.
Two weeks ago, the wheelchair man brought me a chair to use until I get my new one. Recently I had a ramp built in the garage so I can get out of the house and into a van. The man knew I had wanted to go to the XCO meeting, but had to cancel because my new chair did not come, so he volunteered to bring a van to load my chair and would follow me if I could drive my car, then stay in Mt. Vernon until my meeting was over, load my chair and follow me back home, so I got to reinstate my reservation I had cancelled.
By myself, I can get out of the house, down the ramp, around to the driver’s side of my car, but I need someone to move the wheelchair back from the car door so I can close it. I wish our church van was a handicap van, but it isn’t.
I really hope that it won’t be too much longer before my chair and van comes!

Members of the Royal Neighbors of America #5784 are shown with items they collected for Lighthouse Pregnancy Center in Vandalia for Make a Difference Day. In front, from left to right, are Marjorie Sarver, Irene Reed, Leona Wright, Rosemary Owen and Della Stewart. In back are Ina Abendroth and Shirley Smith.