“May the God of HOPE fill you with all JOY and PEACE as you trust in the Lord.” Romans 15:13

Mary Marble, formerly of Chivington, will be celebrating her 93rd birthday this week according to her daughter, Alta McBee. Greetings for her card shower may be mailed to 6690 CR UU, Lamar, CO, 81052. Mary will appreciate cards even after her big day, August 11.

The Demolition Derby that Justin Lenox arranged with the cooperation of the Fair Board, was a popular event last Saturday. The winners of the children, teens, and adult divisions were pleased with their cash prizes. We heard that the crowd enjoyed watching the Derby despite the muddy arena that had to be drained by manual labor.

There is not space to tell about all the new features of the Maine Street Bash but here are some highlights of that beautiful sunny day God gave us until about 9:30 p.m. when things had to wind down because of the impending rain. It was indeed fun, entertaining, and just so splendid! I liked seeing the multi-colored vendor tents back to back on Maine Street. There were varied products offered like Kenan and Ashley Gooden’s beef sticks, Larry and Carla Gifford sold a lot of furniture from two households, Jody Johnson Buck’s paintings were so gorgeous, jewelry, and about 35 other vendor tents. Having the food court was terrific! Steve and Dang Glode of Eads and their friends and family from Thialand were a real hit with their Thia entrees and beautifully carved melons. Plus Charlie and Mary Vasquez sold out of Mexican foods, Smokin Willie’s truck was there, as well as Home Town Gas and Grill serving a hamburger meal specials. Entrepreneurs, Kevan Hebberd and Steve Blythe, brought their snow cone and funnel cake machines to please the crowds too. Inside the Plains Theatre it was bustling with activity of Darwin Nelson’s Kaeroke singing and Jennifer Crow and Tracey Smith manned the concession stand all day and night! The Vasquez’s manage the Maine Scoop Ice Cream store and they said the girls were busy all day to night.

Valorie Briggs, Laurie and Joe Musgrave, and Betsy Barnett were assisted by willing teens and adults to help with the KidZone games and the first ever big plastic water walking ball. This game took a lot of work and supervision but kids who were still in line until they had to close. Oh course, Edie (Nordquist) Lombardo was busy the whole time painting faces with artistic designs. Sheriff Casey Sheridan’s deputy staff and Avery Snover thrilled the youth when they erected the Rock Climbing Wall and shot off fireworks near 9:27 p.m. The Crow-Luther group was so thankful to the teens and adults who helped in many ways as volunteers for the games, set up, tickets, and of course Terry Riley for his sound system to accentuate the outstanding teen singers, young adult singers and the Band JUDI. The outstanding singers were: Jamie Crockett, Jared Weeks, Rhett Uhland, Brittany Gonzales, Echo Crockett, Rhiley Unrah, Alicia James, Dustin Nelson, Joe Musgrave and Elise Crockett. Men from KLMR, Ethan Denton, Robert Townsand and his son, added to the zest of the day by interviewing vendors and spot lighting happenings. Board members Kim Richards, Marty Miller, Laurie Musgrave, Betsy Barnett, Terry Riley, Alicia James, Connie Shotton, and Charlene Gifford and no doubt others worked overtime to bring a new kind of street festival to Eads.

Marty Barnett worked for about two weeks to paint and restore the outside of a building on Maine Street.  Marty spent many weeks remodeling and painting all the rooms.  He is such a good builder and contractor!

Mike and Sara Crawford and Brooke and Jaxon took a cruise in the Bahamas in July. Both their children will be attending Fort Hays State University in Kansas this month.

Congratulations to Cody and Shayla Fry of Eads who gave birth to a beautiful little dark haired girl, Olivia. Her brother, Tucker, welcomes her to their home in Eads.

The first ever Color Run in Eads was such a fun happening for the participants and Prairie Pines residents who will receive benefits from this fund raiser. Kudos goes to organizer-board member, Rhonda (Davis) Uhland, and her sisters, daughters, daughter-in-laws, and other relatives who helped with this memorable time.

Another ongoing benefit for Prairie Pines is the chance to buy raffle tickets for $50.00 which will add up to give some people very handsome rewards on September 15th. Board President Mike Lening and board members Theresa Weber, Tom Davis, Rhonda Uhland and Michelle Wyckoff can answer questions and sell tickets. Mike spoke about the use of raffle funds on video with the Kiowa County Press a few weeks ago.

Congratulations to Kelly Darnell and Brandon Dunlap who were married Saturday in the Lamar Cow Palace where the guests enjoyed a dinner and dancing. Brandon is a farmer-rancher and Kelly is employed at Weisbrod and a nursing student at Otero Junior College.

Cathy (Tom) Davis and Chelsea (Kevin) Davis opened their new Demitasse Coffee Shop and Exercise Gym on the corner of Maine and 13th Street. These ladies brew up and mix up a variety of coffees and ice smoothie drinks as well as sell other snacks and specialty foods. There are many pretty and cozy places to sit to sip your tasty drink, study, read a book, or visit. Lovely plants are for sale now and they will add seasonal and holiday flowers in the future! The big gym area holds an amazing amount of exercise equipment! It is astounding to see. The gym will be open 24 hours a day via key card members. Everywhere you look there are lovely touches of décor and design in the coffee shop plus historical pieces. What I like is that they saved the tiny black and white floor tiles that remind me of the soda fountain that was there in the ‘40’s and 50’s. My parents, Virgil and Ida, used to buy us treats there on Saturday afternoons.

The Chamber of Commerce met last Tuesday to make plans to serve the county fair breakfasts. Treasurer Marilyn Baxter says that the cost of bacon is so staggering that we usually just “break even.” So your donation of a dollar or two or three would be helpful to fund these breakfasts. President Dennis Pearson and Officer, John Courkamp, stated that they are hopeful for lots of helpers, come to cook.

Dr. Tim Richardt at the Weisbrod Therapy Department is certified to do Trigger Point Dry Needling. I highly recommend this, because I only had three dry shots Monday afternoon and after 25 years of shoulder pain, I am already able to sleep and move better.

Good news, Karen Jones of the County Agent’s Office has the County Fair Premium books out. There are new exhibit classes for persons over the age of 70. There are more classes for Advanced/Professional artists, photographers, fancy work, and quilting categories. It is time to get your book to decide what you will be bringing in to the Exhibit halls on Wednesday, Sept. 6 at 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. (note time change) or Thursday morning Sept. 7th at 7:00 to 9:00 a.m. for judging.

The Weisbrod Extended Care Unit residents are grateful to the parents and grandparents who took time to bring their children to the “Back to School” Fashion Show last Tuesday arranged by Teri Castle-Simmons. Those children who modeled were Aaron Musgrave, Jordynn Turcotte, Nash Galloway , Kielee and Carson Fagan, Saige Sagner, Whitlee Specht, Kendra Kraft, and Zoie Kraft.