“March on, My Soul, Be Strong!” Judges 5:21

As the days go by, most of us do need this encouragement to continue on and to march on, with positive thoughts and activities. Many of us are so accustomed to being around people, some of us lots of people, so life can get lonely alone in our homes. 

Little common things become more important and delightful. One of the services that has brought us gladness is when we have called Crow’s Stop and Shop Grocery store and their masked employees, Will Crow, Mollie Kelley, or Kaylee Wilson come in carrying bags foods. Will told me that, “It seems since people are staying home, they are baking and cooking more because they are surely buying a lot of products.” I know some of my families and friends have been baking more and how nice it is when we share with each other. 

Bonnie Morgan of Eads died this month at her home on France Street. Bonnie was a good helpmate to her husband, Ricky, who was so interested in restoring old cars. For many years they were leaders or very instrumental in organizing the Dusty Plains Auto Show during the Kiowa County Fair, which also added interest to the Fair Parade. Ricky was blessed that his daughter, Amy (Billy) Gourley and family and son, Brad (Erin) Morgan and families were here from Missouri for two weeks to spend time with their father, Ricky, and families. Bonnie had suffered and recovered several times from cancer during her life. 

Freda Hollis and Zelda Peterson, both of the Greeley area, enjoyed a get-to-gather to celebrate Freda’s 95^th birthday last week. Both ladies were classmates when they went to Eads High School. They say, “Life has been good to them.” 

Freda and Leo were our country neighbors where they raised three sons, Steve, Daniel, and Mark. I remember one day when she was looking at pretty little Karen Uhland, she said, “I wish I had such a little girl.” After she and Leo moved to Greeley, they did in fact give birth to a baby girl who they named, Bonita. Later, when I took a Spanish class, I learned that name means “pretty,” and she was and is pretty! 

Tim Hogan is retiring from the Kit Carson School after being a teacher there for 50 years. Since his fellow teacher’s cannot have a retirement party before May 1 when their school ends, they invite friends to send him a card. Address: Tim Hogan, KC School, Box 185, Kit Carson, CO 80825. Let’s do that! 

On the front page of the Range Ledger, subscribers were invited to fly a United States of America Flag. This portrays “Togetherness, Hope, and Strength.” I went right out to my driveway and put a flag in my “Lougene Jacobs cement flowerpot” among the pretty silk flowers that Ralynn Riley gave to me in February. 

Last Easter weekend, several families went to the lakes to fish. They caught a good number of fish which they shared with relatives. I saw a photo of Steve Glode of Eads holding a large long fish. I am not sure where he caught that fish, but I know he likes to go to Jackson’s Pond. Steve and his wife, Dang, are the folk who make oriental foods from recipes of her home country, Thailand, which are highly favored by a lot of people around here. He also delivers. 

Our vacuum cleaner man, Phil Deiterle, said he catches lots of fish in John Martin Reservoir from a kayak. But he added that fishing is great at the lakes south of Eads, at Blue Lake south of Haswell, and the ponds around Lamar. Nutritionists say a person should eat fish two times a week, so here a chance to get outside and fish around nature. 

My counselor friend, Dara Randel’s, good quote this week is: “Fear does not stop death. It stops life. And worrying does not take away tomorrow’s troubles. It takes away today’s peace.” 

Dara Randel and Tracey Weeks used their technology expertise to share Pastor Barton’s service and sermon from Trinity Lutheran Church the last two weeks members and friends of the sister congregations in Kit Carson and Lamar. 

Pastor Janita Kraniack has been sharing her sermons on Facebook also to her circuit of churches in Cheyenne Wells, Eads, and Haswell. She and her husband, Andrew, did the nicest thing. They made wooden crosses covered with chicken wire (small circles) and erected them in front of all three churches. She invited people to place silk or live flowers on them. I saw a photo taken by Glenda Stoker at Haswell Methodist Church. It was so pretty! Joyce Berry told me that the one in Eads was lovely too. Madonna (Wissel) Pollreis contacted some ladies in the community to ask them to sew some cloth masks for the Weisebrod Hospital staff and the Eads Clinic. To date the ladies have sewed 145 masks. Thank you, to all these wonderful volunteers. 

Mary Marble, who lives near Lamar, told Madonna that she is 96 years old and is still sewing. Last week she was making masks also. She said, “I live in Prowers County, but my heart will always be in Kiowa County.” 

Love always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. I Corinthians 13:7