St. Elmo News

ANNOUNCEMENTS
Wednesday, December 11
• St. Elmo Christian Church Reverb Sweet Treat Surprise Cookie Delivery, 6-8 p.m.
• Kids Klub, 6:30 p.m., First Church of God S.H.E.D.
Thursday, December 12
• Lunch Bunch, noon, Mary Ann’s Restaurant.
• The Effingham Chapter #110 Order of the Eastern Star, 7:30 p.m., Effingham Masonic Temple.
Friday, December 13
• Santa’s Secret Helpers Christmas gifts have to be taken to St. Elmo City Hall by this Friday. Included with the unwrapped gift has to be the tag telling who the gift is for – the tag was taken from the Christmas tree at city hall. The tag should be in the box or attached to the top with tape.
Saturday, December 14
• St. Elmo Community Clothes Closet, 9 a.m.-noon, First United Methodist Church Parsonage.
• This is the day for Caring and Sharing box pickup.
• Fayette County Museum Holiday Open House will be from 4-6:30 p.m. Baroque Folk will perform period music in period costumes on replica recorders and other instruments. See Baroque Folk article at end of announcements.
Sunday, December 15
• The annual children’s Christmas program of the First United Methodist Church will be given at the 10:35 a.m. morning worship.
• The Wolf Creek Cluster of United Methodist Churches annual Christmas program, 4 p.m., St. Elmo First United Methodist Church. The Rev. Dan Laack will deliver the Christmas message. Following the service, refreshments will be served in the church Fellowship Hall.
Monday, December 16
• The St. Elmo Elementary Christmas Program 7 p.m., High School Gymnasium.
• St. Elmo Board of Education, 7:30 p.m., Unit Office.
Tuesday, December 17
• The Fayette County Home and Community Education Board Christmas party, 11 a.m., Ponderosa in Vandalia. Instead of having a $5 gift exchange, those attending are asked to take a donation for Lighthouse Pregnancy Center in Vandalia. (The December meeting usually is held on the third Monday, but the date was changed for this year).
• The St. Elmo Public Library District staff luncheon, noon, Brownstown Hitchin’ Post. The St. Elmo Public Library, Brownstown Branch Library and Beecher City Branch Library will open at 2 p.m.
• Lions Club annual Christmas meeting with guests, 6 p.m., Mary Ann’s Restaurant.
• The St. Elmo Holiday Basketball Holiday Tournament starts Tuesday.
Wednesday, December 18
• St. Elmo Christian Church Reverb Youth will go caroling 6-8 p.m.
Thursday, December 19
• The Wheatland Unit of Home and Community Education, 11 a.m., Hitchin’ Post at Brownstown.
• Exxon/Mobil Annuitants, noon, Vandalia Ponderosa.
Baroque Folk
Baroque Folk was formed in 1979 in Vandalia and is a nonprofit organization with proceeds donated to help support historic sites locally. The recorders used by the group for this performance will include sopranino, soprano, alto, tenor and bass recorders.
Recorders are a 14th-century improvement of an instrument played in the Middle Ages. They had an enormous vogue in the music life of the 16th and 17th centuries, and continued their popularity in the first decades of the 18th century. Today, popular musical groups, sung as Mannheim Steamroller, use the recorder in their performances.
Christmas CDs of the Baroque Folk will be available for purchase at the open house for $15, with all proceeds going toward the restoration of the upper story of the museum.
For more information about Baroque Folk, contact Bunny Brosman at 283-4267 or the Fayette County Museum at 283-4866.
Also available at the open house will be the Fayette County Museum’s 35th Anniversary Cookbook for $15, with all proceeds going toward the restoration of the upper story of the museum.
Friendly Neighbors
After the pledge of allegiance and R. W. Smith giving the meal blessing, Friendly Neighbors enjoyed a potluck at noon on Dec. 3 at the Phillips Building. In addition to ham furnished, a variety of dishes, including homemade rolls, completed the Thanksgiving meal.
Others present were Shirley Smith of Altamont, Cora Miley of Beecher City; Marybelle Ledbetter of Brownstown; and Richard Lowe, Bob and Joanne Owen, Rosemary Owen, Irene Reed, Marjorie Sarver, Mary Smith, Laverne and Leona Wright, and Oliver Wright, all of St. Elmo.
Those attending took wrapped white elephant gifts, which were exchanged during musical chairs music.
CCW Christmas Party
The Council of Catholic Women had a dinner Christmas party at Mary Ann’s Restaurant the evening of Dec. 3.
A short business meeting was held to vote to donate to Caring and Sharing in St. Elmo and Brownstown. After the business meeting and Dutch dinner, games were played.
At each place setting there were assorted candies and a tree ornament.
Providing the games were the officers, Ann Rowland, Karen Denning, Pat Porter and Mona Durbin and the winners were Libby Kessel, Deb Hough, Durbin and Lamina Buzzard.
Others present were Helen Bergman, Lucille Koeberlein, Lavonne Kramer, Mary Myers, Carol Rine and Betty Springman.
Wright’s Corner HCE
Wright’s Corner Unit of Home and Community Education had a Christmas party at 11 a.m. on Dec. 4 at Mary Ann’s Restaurant, with the following attending: Ina Abendroth, Janice Garrison, Kate Jennings, Irene Reed, Rosemary Owen, Mary Smith, Shirley Smith, Una Tish, Helen Wright and Leona Wright.
After the meal, they made candy-filled stockings for Friendship Manor Nursing Home residents. They also donated to Caring and Sharing.
Garrison was in charge of games for the entertainment. Winners of the Christmas song game were Mary Smith and Tish; winners of the fill-in-blanks game were Jennings, Owen and Tish; and winners of the bingo game were Abendroth, Jennings and Reed, who filled out the black-out bingo.
Those who were not game winners received candy or cookies – Shirley Smith, Helen Wright and Leona Wright.
Reverb Youth Christmas Party
At the Dec. 4 meeting of the Reverb Youth at the St. Elmo Christian Church, a Christmas dinner was enjoyed by 57 students. Many ladies of the church provided ham, chips and dessert. The program included the nativity story and fun games.
The Dec.11 meeting will be the Reverb Treat Surprise Cookie Delivery, and on Dec. 18, the group will go caroling. Reverb Youth then will take a vacation until Jan. 8.
Polio Survivors Christmas Get-together
Polio Survivors and Friends of East Central Illinois met at Ryan’s Family Dining at Effingham at 2 p.m. on Dec. 7, with the following present: Marian Martin and Carol Shepherd of Altamont; Roger Roney of Lovington; Bob and June Myers and Brenda Myers of Neoga; Mike and Jerelyn Green of Arthur; Betty Anderson, Glee Helms, Mary Lou Replogle and husband, all of Charleston; and Anna Jean Rhodes of St. Elmo.
Helms served as hostess for the Christmas party. She provided a game she had written – blanks had to be filled in on polio questions.
The winner, Brenda Myers, received a brush and comb set. Rhodes read a couple humorous articles. Much of the time at Ryan’s was spent visiting.
Helms gave to each one a rolled paper sheet that when unrolled had “Count Your Blessings” – Count your blessings instead of your crosses; count your gains instead of your loses; count your joys instead of your woes; count your friends instead of your foes; count your smiles instead of your tears; count your courage instead of your fears; count your full years instead of your lean; count your kind deeds instead of your mean; count your health instead of your wealth; count on God instead of yourself.
There was a death on Thanksgiving Day of a member of the “polio family” ­– Delores Hopper, wife of Lee Hopper of Sullivan.
The Hoppers were present for the November meeting of Polio Survivors held at Sarah Bush Lincoln Education Center.
Several polio survivors attended the funeral. The organization gave a memorial in her honor to Allenville Christian Church.
The “Count Your Blessings” poem was written in Delores’s memory. Helms decided to end the Polio Survivors Christmas party with a copy of it that contains thoughts that will help all remember priorities, especially this holiday season.
Polio Survivors and Friends of East Central Illinois will not meet in January or February. The next meeting will be at 1 p.m. on Saturday, March 1, at Sarah Bush Lincoln Education Center.
Royal Neighbors Christmas Dinner
Present for the Royal Neighbors of America #5784 Christmas dinner held at noon on Dec. 7 in the First Church of God S.H.E.D. were 114 adults and 11 children. The meal was catered by Niemerg’s Steak House of Effingham.
Della Stewart opened with a welcome, and Marsha Lilly Wright gave the meal blessing. After the meal, the entertainment was given by the Beecher City Kitchen Band, and the members were Nelda Kline, Anna Ruth Lilly, Peggy Smith and Betty Clark.
An end-of-the-year report on RNA was given by Stewart. Jack Wike gave some RNA history.
RNA #5784 presented Ina Abendroth with a check for $500 due to the recent loss of her home in the November 17th tornado. Presenting her with the check were Alexziah Hagler, Lilly-Wright and Stewart.
The work and trophies were on display from 4-H club members whose dues were paid by RNA.
At the Christmas dinner, items were collected for the St. Elmo Lions Club Caring and Sharing program, and some of the club members were present to receive them and were recognized.
Also recognized were RNA members.
All children present received a small gift. The poinsettias used on the tables for decoration were given as door prizes and were won by Nola Booher, Al Nevergall, Linda Smith, Michael Stewart, Mike Cole, Pat Logsdon, Alexziah Hagler, Leatha Newberry, Margaret Haslett, Peggy Walls, Anna Ruth Lilly, Rosemary Owen, Harry Braasch, Delva Krost, Trista Altman, Melvin Williams, Vernus Lytle, Jack Wike, Very Miller, Ron Wells, Laura Feezel, Elizabeth Bail, Marjorie Sarver, Bob Owen and Susie Hollinshead.
The meeting closed with a thank you to everyone for their support for RNA during the year.
Rhodes-Side Gleanings
Fifty years ago, I was giving news over the new Vandalia radio station – WPMB. The station opened the afternoon of Sunday, Dec. 8, 1963.
I started giving the St. Elmo News the next day and was on Monday through Saturday.
I had been contacted on Nov. 8 to give the St. Elmo News.
By phone, I taped the news ahead of time and the tape was played at 12:40 p.m. each day.
I have the flyer that says, “The Nation’s Newest Radio Station is on the Air!”
The opening broadcast was as 1 p.m. that Sunday.
The flyer stated the daily broadcasts were 7 a.m.-5 p.m., with Fayette County news at 9 a.m. and 12:20 p.m.; Greenville news at noon; St. Elmo news at 12:40 p.m.; and good entertainment always.
During the St. Elmo news, I would give some of the news, take a break for the station to do an ad, more news, another break, then the final news.
I don’t remember what year I started contacting St. Elmo businesses for their ads and reading the ads myself on the St. Elmo news.
It was shortly after being on WPMB I started writing news for the St. Elmo Banner.
For over eight years I continued giving the news on WPMB and writing for the Banner, but Steve and Phyllis were becoming involved in many activities, so I quit doing the news to have more time for them.
On July 24, 1986, Tom Wright came to see if I would give the St. Elmo News again over WPMB, and I said I would. I was to give it by before 8 a.m. on Monday, July 28, but a storm had the station off the air.
I taped the news and it was given at noon. This time I started being on WMPB Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings.
I first gave it live over the phone, then for several years I taped it ahead of time and it was on the radio before 8 a.m.; it was mostly a five-minute program so was mainly announcements.
A few years ago, the station changed the St. Elmo News to be on after 8 a.m. and I now give it live over the phone when Dan Michael calls me around 8:10 a.m. Monday’s news is limited to two pages (10 minutes), but sometimes on Thursdays or Fridays I have three pages of news – one time I had almost five pages – without a break. I have been with WPMB 35 of their 50 years.
In the fhe fall of 2004 I started writing the St. Elmo News in The Leader-Union in Vandalia. Delores Murphy, who died in December 2003, had written the news for many years.
In July 2006, the new newspaper in St. Elmo, The Devonion, started and asked me to write the St. Elmo News. The St. Elmo Banner whose office now is in Altamont asked me in March 2009 to again write for the Banner.
The St. Elmo news for the paper back in the 1960s and early 1970s included reports on organizations and the school board and much personal news – visitors, hospital column, college column, birthday column, etc. Most of the news now is announcements and organization reports and some personal news items.