Celebrating the Fourth in glorious style
Get out the grill, gather the family, hang the red, white and blue and prepare to celebrate our country’s birthday this Sunday. The 4th of July has rolled around again, and the city will wrap up the day with a spectacular fireworks display that evening at Engler Park. The entertainment begins at 7 p.m. with the band “Unusual Suspects” furnishing the music. The Downtown Development Association will man the concession stand and offer nachos, hot dogs, and soft drinks for snacking, along with other snacks.
The fireworks display is scheduled to start at 9:15 p.m. Bring your lawn chairs or blanket and settle back to enjoy the dazzling show. Do take time to say a prayer of thanks for all the men and women who have served our country through the years to make it possible for us to enjoy this day; especially remembering those who are serving overseas now in far less than comfortable surroundings.
Gramps “guys only” trip … Marvin Hahn gathered up his grandsons and his courage and headed for Inverness, Fla. recently. Inverness is a small town about 75 miles north of Tampa and about the same distance from Orlando. The community is located in Citrus County about 25 miles from the Gulf. Marvin said he and his troop visited Fort Island Beach in Citrus County and were happy to find the beaches unsoiled by oil and county officials are optimistic that the oil will not reach that area.
Enjoying the vacation with Marvin were his grandsons: Sean Owens, age 15; Blake Hahn, age 13; Chase DeBlois, age 10 and Gage DeBlois, age 9. The energetic schedule included visits to Homosassa Springs State Park, Rainbow Springs State Park, and Gatorland. Grandpa also managed to keep up as they enjoyed a guided tour of the Rainbow River, visits to the beach, swimming in a spring-fed stream, bowling, miniature golf, roller skating, and a boat ride on a local lake. He also survived an exciting water gun war that ended in a truce with no casualties. Needless to say, everyone had a great time but grandpa was definitely tired when he got home. Way to go Marvin!
Along the Oregon Trail … Recently Jeanette and Keith Bishop, along with Mike and Carolyn Howard and Carolyn’s sister Mary Ellen, made a driving trip to Wyoming to visit Yellowstone National Park and Grand Teton Parks. Their travels followed the Oregon Trail in Nebraska where they visited Chimney Rock and Scottsdale. At Yellowstone they visited all the important tourist sites including the geysers, paint pots, mountains and the many waterfalls. They also had great luck when they went to Hayden Valley to search for animals and saw hundreds of bison and elk and even a large bull elk swimming the river near their car. The visit included a dinner at the Old Faithfull Inn located next to the Old Faithful geyser.
After Yellowstone and the Tetons a visit was made to the Little Bighorn National Battlefield, Devils Tower, Mount Rushmore and the Crazy Horse Monument in South Dakota and of course Wall Drug. The travelers then made the long drive home with a great collection of memories in tow.
Going Golden … Wayne and Dorothy Blumenberg celebrate their 50th wedding Anniversary on July 15. The couple can expect lots of well-wishes from friends and former FHS classmates
Best Wishes to Dr, Richard Winder on his recent retirement from Mineral Area Regional Medical Center. Dr. Winder was head of the hospital’s Emergency Department at the time of his retirement and had been in practice with MARMC for 30 years. He plans to follow a far more relaxed schedule and enjoy time with his wife, Maxine.
Philadelphia visit … Murphy and Mary Thomas, with their daughter Christina Jackson, and grandson, Daniel Jackson went to Philadelphia on June 24 – 27 for Murphy’s Air Force Security Unit’s 8th National Reunion. While Murphy reunited with old friends, the gals and Daniel filled the days with sight-seeing. Daniel greatly enjoyed seeing the historic places he had studied in 5th grade last year.
A houseful of family and friends … Elma and Sonny Jennings had a full house earlier this week that included a week’s visit from son Jay Jennings, and his wife, Debbie, their daughter Amy and husband Ryan and their two children Susannah, 7, and Markus, 22 months all of North Carolina. While Jay and his family were here, they also visited with Deb’s mother, Doris Denison. Elma and Sonny hosted two large dinners during the week’s visit that had guests Jeff Jennings, Kim and Adam Jennings and Riley Thurman also gathered around the family table.
A visit home … Ann Bohman was in town visiting friends for a few days this week. Ann, who taught in the Farmington Elementary School system for many years, moved to Montana last year to be near her children and their families. The visit entailed many get-togethers with friends, exchanging of news, and showing of pictures of the grandchildren.
A different challenge for golfers … A Glow Ball Tournament for the SFCC Ladies’ League will be held at the Country Club golf course this Friday, July 2. The challenge starts at dusk and 9 holes will be played. Dinner at the club will be served prior to taking to the course at dusk. The wacky tournament will be open to club members and a guest. All participants are urged to bring a really BIG flashlight. The fairways and greens will be marked with glow sticks and glow balls will be used. Probably a good idea if the players also wear Glow shirts so they can be seen.
Kudos to award winning KREI/KTJJ staffers … Staff of KREI/KTJJ were rewarded for their work at the June Missouri Broadcasters Convention. General manager Dick Womack received the Distinguished Broadcaster Award, Luke Turnbough won first place honors for severe weather coverage, and Louie Seiberlich was honored for a series of stories on the EPA in the Parkland. Jerret Rion was awarded a $1,000 broadcasters scholarship. Congratulations and hi fives to all.
Nominate one of our own … The Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry is seeking nominations to recognize the most important economic drivers and successful businesses in the state. The two awards include the Missouri Chamber Champion of Enterprise Award and the Missouri Fast Track Award, based on revenue growth of companies over the past four years. If someone you know is deserving of recognition, learn more and submit nominations online at www.mochamber.com.
Baby Boomers Reunion … The annual (We’re Not Getting any Younger) Baby Boomers Reunion concert will be held at the Centene Center on August 7th. This is the 8th annual classic rock concert that Dr. Kevin White and Bill Towler put together each year. This year features “one-hit wonders” from the 60’s – 80’s performed by all well-known local musicians, even some that aren’t known as musicians. Tickets go on sale July 1st at $8 each with all seats reserved. Better get your tickets early as this is always a sell-out.
Heat Alert … Anytime there is a heat advisory for our area, the Community Civic Center facility is available as a “cool down” station. Meals, and beds are not provided unless there is a power outage, but relief from the heat is available. Good to know with July and August ahead.
See you at Engler Park Sunday for the big celebration. What a town for fun!!!
