St. Elmo News
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Wednesday, Nov. 2
• Wright’s Corner Unit of Home and Community Education, 1 p.m., Loudon Town House.
Thursday, Nov. 3
• 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. The program will be given by Noma Moore on fundraising ideas. Members are reminded to turn in their fruitcake, nuts and candy orders at the meeting.
Saturday, Nov. 5
• Polio Survivors and Friends of East Central Illinois will meet at 1 p.m. at Sarah Bush Lincoln Education Center, Mattoon. Those who wish can meet at 11:30 a.m. to eat at the airport restaurant, which is close to the hospital.
Sunday, Nov. 6
• Daylight Savings Time will revert back to Standard Time at 2 a.m.
• The second seasonal event offered by the Historical Vandalia Inc. will be presented at 2 p.m. in the Vandalia First United Methodist Church Wesley Hall. It will be “The Koenig Family During World War II,” given by Jerry Koenig of Chesterfield, MO. Tickets can be bought at the door.
• The Community Thanksgiving Service will be held at 6 p.m. at Freedom Reigns in Christ Church. The speaker will be Rev. Bob Miller of First Assembly of God Church. A fellowship time will follow the service, which is sponsored by the St. Elmo Ministerial Alliance.
Monday, Nov. 7
• The St. Elmo City Council, 7 p.m., Phillips Building.
Tuesday, Nov. 8
• The Avena Township Park Board, 6 p.m., St. Elmo Community Park Centennial Building. The meeting time has been changed back to the second Tuesday of each month, and the meetings have been set for 6 p.m., not 7 p.m., as in the past.
• The St. Elmo District Library Board has changed this month’s meeting date to tonight. It will meet at 7 p.m. at the St. Elmo Public Library.
• American Legion Post #420. 7 p.m., American Legion Home.
• The Fayette County Board, 7 p.m., Fayette County Courthouse, Vandalia.
• Junior/senior high fall band concert, 7 p.m., high school gym.
Thursday, Nov. 10
• The Lunch Bunch, noon at Mary Ann’s Restaurant.
• The St. Elmo Unit of Home and Community Education will meet at 1:30 p.m. at the St. Elmo Public Library.
• The Effingham Chapter #110 Order of the Eastern Star, 7:30 p.m., Effingham Masonic Temple.
Future Events
• The First United Methodist Church will take Sunday school pictures, starting at 9:30 a.m. on Nov. 13.
• St. Mary’s Catholic Church annual turkey dinner will be held from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 13.
• The University of Illinois will host a workshop, “Finding Your Get-Up and Go,” at 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 16, at the Effingham Extension Office. There is a $5 fee per person to cover the cost of materials. Those interested can pre-register by calling 217-347-7773.
Kessel Funeral Home is Now C&A
Pagel Funeral Home
Following is an important funeral home announcement that is on the Internet:
“I wanted to take this opportunity to let everyone know that we have sold the funeral home, and we will be moving to St. Louis. As of Nov. 1, the Kessel Funeral Home will become the C&A Pagel Funeral Home.
“After 22 years as funeral director and owner, I am excited and looking forward to the next chapter in my life. Although I am not now sure what I am going to do just yet, I do know that I will be taking a sabbatical from the funeral industry.
“I am thankful for all of the wonderful people I have had a chance to meet, and I am honored to have had the chance to serve the community the past 16 years. “The new owners will be Clayton and Anita Pagel. Clayton is a second-generation funeral director and currently operates the Pagel funeral homes in St. Peter, Edgewood and Watson with his father and brother.
“For any families who have prearrangements, everything you have setup here will transfer with the sale of the funeral home.
All contracts will be honored, and there is nothing further that you need to do.
“If you have any question regarding your prearrangements after the sale, feel free to call.
“I will take many great memories with me of my time here in St. Elmo, and I am honored to have had the opportunity to care for you and your family in your time of loss.
“Sincerely, Valerie and Craig Worley.”
The Worleys have twin sons, Marcus and Vincent, who will be 4 years old on December 1.
Clayton Pagel’s father is Ronald C. Pagel of Hartsville and his brother is Anthony Pagel of Edgewood.
Clayton graduated from Effingham High School and Worsham College in Wheaton in 1999, and will observe his 46th birthday on Dec. 29.
Anita grew up in Washington, Ind., and went to Vincennes University and Lake Land College, and has a nursing degree.
She also has an insurance license and has her own insurance business that has access to various companies.
Their two daughters are Melinda Hoss, who is a senior at Effingham High School, and 25-year-old Melissa Russel, who is working on her nursing degree. Melissa and her husband, Neil, have a 2-year old daughter, Bella.
Persons wanting the St. Elmo C&A Pagel Funeral Home can call 829-5432.
Fayette County HCE
The Fayette County Board of Home and Community Education met the morning of Oct. 24 at the Vandalia Extension Office, with the following present: President Flo Allen, First Vice Phyllis Pryor, International Chairwoman Shirley Klitzing and Cultural Enrichment Chairwoman Debbie Swain, all of the Sefton Unit; Second Co-Vice Anna Jean Rhodes of the St. Elmo Unit; Secretary Mary Smith and Family Issues Chairwoman Irene Reed, both of the Wright’s Corner Unit; Treasurer Dorothy Harpster of the St. Peter Unit; Debbie Segrest, chairman of the Vandalia Day Unit; and Karen Hyde, chairman of the Wheatland Unit.
Swain furnished small chocolate and vanilla cake donuts to go with coffee.
The meeting opened with the pledge of allegiance. Most units have sent their Pennies for Friendship to Harpster, who has to have them by Nov. 1 to send to the state HCE.
Fayette County HCE is selling tickets for a $100 Wal-Mart gift certificate.
Each unit was given tickets to sell – the fundraiser is for the county budget. Tickets are $1 each or six for $5. The drawing for the gift certificate will be at the county HCE Christmas party on Dec. 19.
HCE members who signed Christmas cards for the veterans were to take them to the October board meeting.
If members signed cards that were not taken, they have to be given to Community Outreach before Nov. 10, because they have to be banded together and sent to Friends of Our Troops and postmarked before the November board meeting.
Members of some of the units are making bright and cheery cotton pillowcases for hospital children’s cancer wards.
After the business meeting, the semiannual past and present officers luncheon was held at Denny’s in Vandalia.
Present were Allen, Klitzing, Pryor and Swain of the Sefton Unit; Karen Denning and Rhodes of the St. Elmo Unit; Reed and Smith of the Wright’s Corner Unit; Harpster of the St. Peter Unit; and Hyde of the Wheatland Unit.
Lions Club Candy Sales
The St. Elmo Lions Club annually sells Halloween candy through a fundraiser to help with the high school scholarships the club gives each year. This year the candy was sold door-to-door from 5-7 p.m. on Oct. 24 by club members Don Crawford, Pee Wee Denton, Mark Lash, Bob Lowe, Richard Lowe, LeMar Marchman, Dave Maxey, Rex Reeder, Lloyd Stanley and Bob Wells.
After the sales, they went to Mary Ann’s Restaurant for supper, but had no business meeting.
The Lions Club still has a few bags of the Heath milk chocolate English toffee bars ,and they can be bought at Mary Ann’s Restaurant. They are $4 per bag.
Royal Neighbors of America
At the regular meeting of Royal Neighbors of America #5784 held the afternoon of Oct. 26 at the Phillips Building, paperwork was completed for the Christmas dinner that will be held at noon on Saturday, Dec. 3, at the First Church of God S.H.E.D. All are welcome, but reservations need to be made by Wednesday, Nov. 23, by calling Della Stewart at 829-3394.
Items were collected for veterans and will be sent to the VA Hospital in Marion. This is for the RNA Make a Difference Day, and paperwork was completed for this activity.
Other business discussed included voting to pay for turkeys for the community Thanksgiving Day dinner and hams for the community Christmas Day dinner.
The November meeting will be held at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 16, at the Phillips Building.
Following are the items collected for veterans: two pair of sunglasses, 69 bars of soap, 23 packages of powder, two mousse, 11 deodorants, 19 lotions, 15 handkerchiefs, one thermometer, one box of candy, 76 magazines, 45 pencils, two boxes of envelopes, 20 hair nets, four shower caps, three spiral notebooks, one Farmer’s Almanac, one Bible quiz book, one crossword puzzle book, 28 toothpastes, 14 toothbrushes, 52 razors, three packages of razor cartridges, six dental floss, 10 combs, two shoelaces, six shaving cream, 14 shampoos, three hair conditioners, 27 T-shirts, 12 body wash, 41 pair of underwear, one necklace and earrings, 74 Christmas cards and four pair of eyeglasses.
Those present at the meeting were RNA members Ina Abendroth, Jean Brown, Marjorie Sarver, Della Stewart, Betty Wright, Leona Wright and Shirley Wright, and guests Paula Brunk of Brownstown and Jill Stewart of Urbana.
HCE International Night
Scotland was the country featured at the Fayette County Home and Community Education International Night held the evening of Oct. 27 at the Phillips Building, with 35 members and two guests present. During the registration, recorded Scottish music was played.
After the potluck, President Flo Allen introduced the speaker, Joyce Mueller, a member of the Vandalia Day Unit, who had spent a week in Scotland in the fall of 2006. She told about the places she visited and showed on three folding screens pictures she had taken. Mueller is a descendent of Robert the Bruce, King of Scotland.
Those present were guests, a past HCE District 6 director, Debbie Borries of Effingham, and Nancy Arnold of Brownstown and the following HCE members: Evelyn Probst, May Della Probst and Veda Stout of the Bingham/Ramsey Unit; Flo Allen, Panzi Blackwell (who gave the meal blessing and was in charge of the Scottish music), Sally Behrends, Elizabeth Kasten, LaVonne Kramer, Shirley Klitzing, Shirley Mattes, Phyllis Pryor, Debbie Swain, Marge Weiss, Marilyn Yakel of the Sefton Unit;
Neva Carter, Karen Denning, Mary Myers, Anna Jean Rhodes and Karen Wegscheid of the St.Elmo Unit; Dorothy Harpster, Luella Rubin and Sandra Runge of the St. Peter Unit; Joyce Carter, Carrie Hill, Joyce Mueller, Alvenia Noffsinger and Anita Smith of the Vandalia Day Unit; Joan Aderman, Karen Hyde and Joyce Moore of the Wheatland Unit; and Kate Jennings, Rosemary Owen, Irene Reed, Mary Smith and Una Tish of the Wright’s Corner Unit;
International Chairman Shirley Klitzing planned the program and assigned duties to the seven county units – decorations, St. Elmo (Karen Denning decorated the tables with centerpieces of fall pumpkins and scarecrows and used fall colors of placemats and orange napkins); registration, St. Peter; making beverages, Wright’s Corner; arranging food on the tables, Vandalia; and cleanup, Bingham/Ramsey, Sefton and Wheatland.