“A happy heart makes a cheerful face.” Proverbs 15: 18

The Mike Johnson Memorial Sorting Event was held Saturday evening under the pavilion at the fairgrounds in Eads. A large number of cowboys and cowgirls came to compete and reminisce about their friend, Mike Johnson. Mike was a local cattleman who also served on the fair board and took an active interest in his three daughters’ participation in 4-H and school sports.

The Eads Christian Church hosted gospel singer, Dusty Workman, during the church service and for a Saturday concert last week.

Another gospel concert that has free admission is in La Junta at the Otero Junior College Campus. The Legacy, formerly Blackwood Gospel Singers, will be performing in the Ed Stafford Auditorium at 6:30 p.m. July 20. The Trinity Lutheran Church family is hosting this fine quartet.

The big day we have been anticipating for many months, the “Maine Street Bash,” will finally be here next July 29. There is no fee, just walk into this street festival beginning from 11:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. Children and teens can enjoy the park play equipment, and there will be a Kids Zone also. Also, there will be continuous movies in the Plains Theatre. The board of the Crow Luther Cultural Events Center has arranged for food vendors and the Ice Cream Shoppe to be open, as well as other food booths. There will also be a beer garden. The county museum will be open in the afternoon. One can enjoy the coolness of the Eads Senior Citizen Center to look at the amazing quilt display. There will also be quilts in the museum. People can vote on their favorite at the “Gloria Peck Quilt Show.” There will be a car and motorcycle show on Maine Street. People can sign up to enter the corn hole and horseshoe tournaments. In between those activities, people can dance to the music near the CLCEC stage.

The courthouse park and county library will be the sites for a few more Wednesdays of the summer reading program from 1:00 to 2:30 p.m. My little nieces are always so happy and excited afterwards with all they have heard and seen, as well as the books and crafts in their take home bag.

Judy Beeson of Stratton visited the Kit Carson churches last Sunday to tell about the Good Samaritan gift boxes and to leave boxes for families to prepare for her the pick up in October. This is part of the mission work started by the Billy Graham family where people can fill red-green shoe boxes with toys, clothes, dry foods, hygiene items, and gifts to be sent the children all over the world. They are sent more to poverty areas or places hit by sudden storms or other disasters. We enjoyed visiting with Judy when she came to Eads to visit us. Many people like our family are indebted to Judy for her guidance in caring for our parents’ transition into the nursing home years ago.

Eads is now the home town of the 11 and under champion baseball team. These young boys won the USSSA state tournament in Arvada. Players were Will Barnett, Jax Cordova, Mason Sierra, Madyx Hough, Liam Eder, Luke Barnett, Dallas Alley, Brantley Buller, Jaxon Bohlander, Mayz Gourley, and Chael Cordova. They were coached by Kyle Barnett and Brian Bohlander, assisted by manager Cody Cordova and assistant manager, Karsten Buller. It is exciting to visualize the potential of these boys.

There are several Eads girls who play softball with the Rival team to the south of us. Recently they played in the “Battle of the Plains” in Hays, Kansas, where they won the runner-up title of girls age 16 and under. They were Kara Wilson, Anna Wollert, Rachel Kopasz, Bailey Sierra, Lexi Shotton, and Savanna Brown.

It is good to read Jack Johnson’s articles. He was a writer for the Range Ledger in Cheyenne Wells when it was published. Jack grew up in the Wild Horse community and graduated from Kit Carson in the late 1950s. After college, he spent most of his engineer career working in many countries in Africa and Asia. He is so knowledgeable, and knows how the cook various dishes, which makes our church dinners enjoyable.

The Weisbrod Hospital Auxiliary met last week. They were glad to have Linda Trosper back with them because she has been very ill for several months. Activity Director Jaton Wallace told the members about the activities that the residents are enjoying.

Following the most recent Eads Chamber of Commerce meeting, Jan Richards has been designing a banner for the chamber, which has been commissioned to be printed before the Maine Street Bash and Kiowa County Fair.

Remember, the Eads senior citizens’ noon dinner is July 19. It is pot luck or donation.

County fair exhibitors, you have about two months to have your exhibits ready to enter in the Kiowa County Fair. The exhibit books remain the same as last year. If you are wondering about categories, you could call Krystal Eikenberg at the Extension Office at 719-438-5321, or call me because I keep a book handy. Let’s get busy and enter whatever your skill or talent is. 

The Lord’s blessings be with you.