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St. Elmo News

ANNOUNCEMENTS
Wednesday, March 5
• Wright’s Corner Unit of Home and Community Education, 1 p.m., Loudon Town House.
• Reverb Youth, 6 p.m., St. Elmo Christian Church.
• Kids’ Klub, 7-8 p.m., First Church of God S.H.E.D.
Thursday, March 6
• St. Elmo Business Association, noon, Mary Ann’s Restaurant.
• The Wheatland Unit of Home and Community Education, 1:30 p.m.
• St. Elmo Women’s Civic Club, 7 p.m., St. Elmo Public Library.
Saturday, March 8
• Lions Club annual pancake and sausage breakfast, 7 a.m.-1 p.m., at the Phillips Building. Tickets available at the door are $5 per person. There also will be a 50/50 drawing.
• St. Elmo Community Clothes Closet, 9 a.m.-noon, First United Methodist Church Parsonage.
• Mark Kilzer benefit, starts at 3 p.m., Carriage House Event Center, Altamont. Meal served from 4:30-6:30 p.m., live auction at 6:30 p.m. There also will be a silent auction, 50/50 drawing, face-painting, live music and cash bar. If you want to donate, call Jen Logue at 217-240-0940 or Heather Behl at 217-821-0563. All proceeds go to Kilzer to help defray expenses incurred during his hospitalization and recovery from injuries sustained in a car accident.
Sunday, March 9
• Daylight savings time starts at 2 a.m. Remember to set your clocks FORWARD one hour.
• Wolf Creek Cluster of United Methodist Churches will have Lenten services at 4 p.m. starting today at the St. Elmo First United Methodist Church. The host church is responsible for the order of worship and music, and will provide finger foods, desserts and beverages in the Fellowship Hall after the service. The offering collected will be 50 percent for Lessie Bates Davis Neighborhood House in East St. Louis, 25 percent for the Brownstown Backpack Program and 25 percent for the Vandalia Lighthouse Pregnancy Center.
Monday, March 10
• St. Elmo Lions Club, 6 p.m., Mary Ann’s Restaurant.
• Fayette County Extension Foundation, 7 p.m., Vandalia Extension Office.
Tuesday, March 11
• Avena Township Park Board, 6 p.m., St. Elmo Community Park Centennial Building.
• American Legion Post #420, 7 p.m., American Legion Home.
• Fayette County Board, 7 p.m., Fayette County Courthouse, Vandalia.
Wednesday, March 12
• Reverb Youth, 6 p.m., St. Elmo Christian Church.
• Kids’ Klub, 7-8 p.m., First Church of God S.H.E.D.
Thursday, March 13.
• Lunch Bunch, noon, Mary Ann’s Restaurant.
• The St. Elmo Library District Board, 7 p.m., St. Elmo Public Library.
• The Effingham Chapter #110 Order of the Eastern Star, 7:30 p.m., Effingham Masonic Temple.
Fayette County HCE Board
Fayette County Home and Community Education Board met the morning of Feb. 24 in the Vandalia Extension Office, with the following present: Flo Allen, Panzi Blackwell, Shirley Klitzing and Phyllis Pryor of the Sefton Unit, Dorothy Harpster of the St. Peter Unit, Anna Jean Rhodes of the St. Elmo Unit, Donna Blair, Joyce Mueller, Debbie Segrest and Anita Smith of the Vandalia Day Unit and Karen Hyde of the Wheatland Unit. Others present were Debbie Swain of the Sefton Unit and Ashley Davis of the Vandalia Day Unit.
President Allen opened the meeting with all giving the pledge of allegiance. The county HCE membership remains at 118.
Blackwell carried out the IAHCE 2014 theme “Been Cookin’ 90 Years” by displaying a framed poem she wrote (and read to the group) and also several mini items used when cooking.
Also carrying out the theme is a basket filled with a cookbook and goodies that will be taken to the IAHCE annual conference March 19-21 at Decatur and put on the auction table. Fayette County HCE also is taking to the conference a table centerpiece that depicts the theme. Delegates to the conference are Blair and Smith.
The annual HCE Get-Acquainted Day will be on Thursday, April 10, at the Brownstown Golden Years Club building. Registration will be at 9 a.m. and a brunch potluck at 9:30 p.m. Those attending are asked to wear an apron. Also each unit is to take a $5 door prize.
Segrest appointed the Get-Acquainted Day responsibilities to the following units: Decorations, Sefton; registration, St. Elmo; beverages, Bingham/Ramsey; arrange food on the serving tables, Vandalia Day; and clean up, St. Peter, Wheatland and Wright’s Corner.
Vandalia Day Unit has a committee, HCE Honeys, which is helping Relay for Life with fundraisers. There was a chili supper held the evening of Feb. 22 at the Vandalia Eagles Club and, even though there were several conflicts, the dinner made $375. Shane England of Vandalia won the kitchen basket. Ron Rauch of Vandalia won the 50/50 drawing, but returned the $28 that Larry England matched to make $56 for the Relay for Life.
On Saturday, March 15, from 12-3 p.m., HCE Honeys will have vegetable soup, chili, sandwiches, dessert and beverage at noon at the Eagles Club. The cost is $6.
The HCE Honeys also are selling chances on a quilt made by Lorraine Collenburger of Coffeen. They are $1 each or six for $5 and the quilt will be given at the June Relay for Life.
On the committee are Ashley Davis, Donna Blair, Carol Bridges, Tammy England, Janice Evans, Any Hall, Brittany Nichols, Debbie Segrest and Anita Smith.
A quilt show will be held at Brookstone Estates in Vandalia on March 22, from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Included will be old quilts, baby quilts, hand-quilted and machine-quilted quilts. The public is welcome to enter quilts and/or attend the show. There is no entry or admission fee.
Prizes will be awarded in each category and Fayette County HCE was asked to judge the quilts, and those who volunteered to judge are Elizabeth Kasten, Phyllis Pryor and Debbie Swain, all of the Sefton Unit.
Units are asked to start thinking of a farm family to be nominated for the 2015 IAHCE award. Pictures and history of the family are needed for submission.
Past and Present Officers will go to Los Amigos in Vandalia at 11:30 a.m. on Monday, April 28.
After the board meeting, all but Blackwell ate lunch at the Golden Circle Nutrition Program in Vandalia.
Lions Club
District 1-L Gov. Stephen Frankenstein was a guest at the St. Elmo Lions Club meeting held the evening of February 24 at Mary Ann’s Restaurant. On the program he talked about this year’s Lions Slogan, “Follow Your Dreams.”
In addition to Frankenstein, another guest welcomed was Holly Huffer.
The club’s annual pancake and sausage breakfast will be on Saturday, March 8, from 7 a.m.-1 p.m., at the Phillips Building. Tickets are $5 and can be purchased from any Lions Club member or at the door. All proceeds go to the high school scholarship program. There also will be a 50/50 drawing.
The Lions Club driver safety program will be held on Tuesday and Wednesday, April 15-16, at St. Elmo Christian Church. To sign up, call Mona Stanley at 829-5437.
President Dave Maxey opened the meeting with all giving the pledge of allegiance. Pee Wee Denton led in prayer. Other members present were Dave Cox, Don Crawford, John Crawford, Lewis Crawford, Roger Fulk, Max Hollinshead, Dee Newberry, Alan Nevergall, Rex Reeder, Lloyd Stanley and Bob Wells.
Royal Neighbors of America
Royal Neighbors of America #5784 voted at the Feb. 26 meeting at the Phillips Building to donate money for buns and table service to the FFA livestock judging contest that will be held March 8, to give matching funds of $250 to the Mark Kilzer benefit if the national office approves, to take sodas to Aperion Care of St. Elmo for St. Patrick’s Day and to donate $75 to the Fayette County Extension Foundation spaghetti dinner that will be held March 30 at the Brownstown Firehouse.
Those attending to chart the February business were Chairman Della Stewart, Jean Brown, Marjorie Sarver, Shirley Smith, Betty Wright and Leona Wright.
The next meeting will be at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, March 26, at the Phillips Building.
St. Elmo Unit HCE
After the meeting opened with the pledge of allegiance, Karen Denning, Mary Myers, Anna Jean Rhodes and Sharon Shelton answered roll call by naming a favorite pie and the one mentioned the most was pecan, but several other favorites also were mentioned.
The meeting of the St. Elmo Unit of Home and Community Education was held the afternoon of Feb. 26 at the St. Elmo Public Library.
Reports on the January and February Fayette County HCE Board meetings were given. For the Fayette County Extension Foundation spaghetti dinner on March 30, HCE members are asked to donate pies, cakes and cookies that will be used for the dinner dessert and for a bake sale. St. Elmo Unit is to be in charge of the registration at the HCE Get-Acquainted Day on April 10.
Shelton gave the special feature, “Full House? Purge!” She started with a quiz. Shelton also gave the major lesson, “Managing a Gluten Free Diet.” She used posters with information on them.
Denning read a humorous article on funny sayings of little children..
Shelton was the hostess and she served gluten free chocolate cupcakes topped with gluten free chocolate icing, iced tea and sodas. She also gave each one tangelos to take home with them.
Polio Survivors
Polio Survivors and Friends of East Central Illinois held the first meeting of 2014 at 1 p.m. on Saturday, March 1, at the Sarah Bush Lincoln Education Center in Mattoon, with the following attending: Mary Lou Replogle of Charleston, Dawn Maple of Mattoon, Lee Hopper of Sullivan, Monty and Linda Carpenter of Cooksmill, Anna Jean Rhodes of St. Elmo and Hemlata Udaiwal of India who is a student at the Lake Land College.
This is one of the support groups that helps polio survivors who now have a variety of PPS (post-polio syndrome) symptoms. Support groups provide a forum for people to learn from each other about how to enhance the quality of their lives.
The goal is to empower members with tools necessary to continue a life of dignity and independence
Because polio survivors who now have PPS and need much medical assistance, one of the items shared was how to save on real estate tax. Handicapped persons can ask at the county courthouse for a form to be filled out and signed by a doctor.
Senior citizens also can fill out another form at the county courthouse to save on real estate taxes.
In the absence of the chairman of the group, Glee Helms, Replogle conducted the meeting. There was much shared and discussed on the common health concern of post polio.
The next meeting of Polio Survivors and Friends of East Central Illinois will be at 1 p.m. on Saturday, April 5, at the Sarah Bush Lincoln Education Center. All polio survivors and friends from throughout the area are invited and urged to attend.
Rhodes-Side Gleanings on Squibb
I was hoping June Squibb would receive the Oscar trophy for Best Supporting Actress.
The evening of Feb. 28, I went to the National Road Interpretive Center in Vandalia to see “Nebraska” and her performance was excellent.
At the Oscars on Sunday evening on ABC, she was shown several times and she looked great.
Five were nominated for Best Supporting Actress and she was not the winner. At age 84, she was the oldest of all the Oscar nominees.
Sunday afternoon, I received a call from Virginia Stine of Wingate, Md. – she wanted me to be sure to watch the Oscar Awards.
Stine’s husband, the late Paul Stine, was related to June. Paul’s mother, Mayme, was a sister to Ed Force, who was June’s maternal grandfather. He was the father of her mother Joybelle.
Paul Stine was born and reared south of St. Elmo, on a farm just three-quarters of a mile south of me. After Paul’s dad died his mom left the farm and moved into St. Elmo. Phil and I were married in February 1949, so Mayme wasn’t our neighbor, but was a good friend. Adrian and Irene Potter and family were our neighbors and had moved to the Stine farm before Phil and I were married.
During the oil boom, my folks moved from St. Elmo to Vandalia. We lived on Eighth Street and I went to Lincoln School for half a year when in the fifh grade. June also went to Lincoln School and we lived not too far apart, so we played together some. I didn’t know until this year that she had a relative connection to St. Elmo.
The last time I saw June was in December 1961. Bob and Jeanne Cox, LeMar and Billye Jo Marchman, and Phil and I went to St. Louis to see the play “Gypsy” that starred Ethel Merman, and June was in it. After the play we went backstage to have a short visit with June.
 

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