“Blessed are the peacemakers” Matthew 5:9

One of the highlights of last week for many families associated with the Eads Future Farmers of America chapter was the Hired-Hand Auction and the potluck dinner in the Eads school gymnasium. Several men and FFA members fried the meats and french fries in the shop, then carried them to the tables where younger members also served the salads and desserts. After the dinner, auctioneer Rob Morlan of Eads was assisted by auctioneer Larry Lusher of Lamar while they auctioned each member who is then obligated to work eight hours for the buyer. Most students were sold for $250 to $400 or more. This is the main fundraiser for this large campus organization. As they were being auctioned, senior Morgyn Johnson showed photo slides of each member and read their individual skills and achievements. Tim and Gloria Trosper and Rod and Pam Cole were a great help to educator, Miss Tia Konig by assisting with the pie auction, and meal entrees. Gloria asked Marla Rasmussen, Braylynn Eder, Krissy Ray and Donald Oswald to bake pies for the contest. I bought the sweet potato pie created by Marla, and it is so artistically lovely that I still haven’t wanted to cut a piece. She made pastry leaves with stems made of tiny cinnamon rolled rosettes and placed these rosettes all around the pie crust crimping. The auctioneers also sold many bags of donated seed corn and metal works made by the students, such as a fire pit, barbeque barrel on a stand, room décor, and a wooden plant box.

The Eads and Kit Carson girls rose very early last Friday morning to be in Lamar and on the volleyball court by 8:30 a.m. for the regional tournament. At the end of the day, Kit Carson will be headed back to State this week to defend their champion title from last year.

Saturday was the warmest day of the week, and how nice for the quarter final playoff football game between Kit Carson and Eads at the Eads High School field. The Wildcats will be moving on to the semi-final game next weekend.

Sunday night was the annual 4-H Achievement banquet. This is the time for a fine meal, and a time for the youth to shine and be recognized. The Outstanding Senior member is Hatch Nelson. The Outstanding Intermediate member is Alexa Nelson and the Junior top member is Mia Crow. “Friends of 4-H” was awarded to Tom and Cathy Davis and their HealthMart stores.

Last Sunday, a group of people boarded the tour bus at Haswell, Eads, and Kit Carson to spend the week in Branson, Missouri. The trip was organized by Wanda Lessenden to see pre-Christmas shows. Sunday night, my sister, Virgyln, drove down from Manhattan to Topeka to visit her brothers, Dwight, Virgil and Wanda, and other friends. Quite a few Eads senior citizens were on the bus trip, so we didn’t have as many at the monthly brunch. We certainly appreciated that Pastor Janita Krayniack came from Cheyenne Wells to make homemade biscuits and gravy to be served with Gail Voss’s delicious egg-bacon dish and other foods.

Pastor Krayniak is recruiting singers for the annual Cantata, which she will be directing. The choir will sing “Christmas Canticles” December 8. Practices are Sundays beginning at 1:30 p.m., so you readers are welcome to come to practice or listen.

Prairie Pines welcomes a new resident, Frances, from Flagler. This is nice because she can visit with the Laurel and Eunice Neimann of Flagler, who are also residents of the Pines. Our community is blessed because we have a hospital and a senior living facility in our town so people can live in or move between the facilities as their health needs may change. I have observed that our Physical Therapists, Dr. Dennis Bartha and Joe Zinger, are vital to the people who live in these two homes, as well as PA Dawn Back and FNP Jessica Hyman who visit residents in both homes.

Last Friday, there were many buses around Eads High School where coaches Dawn James and Sue Fox organized the Middle School Knowledge Bowl. Local men and women helped as readers and timekeepers for this meet.

We have seen pick-ups and workers around the former Travelodge motel east of JJ’s Restaurant. Some of us are wondering if they will make some apartments there since there is such a need for housing in Eads.

The Chamber of Commerce met last week. They will be setting out Drawing Buckets in some of the Chamber member stores for four weeks of Drawings of Eads Bucks before Christmas.

Gail Voss left town to drive to South Dakota last week. Her son, Brett Rusher, asked her to come up to be the cook during the “working” of the buffalos. Brett manages a large ranch of buffalos and horses. When I asked if “working” means branding, but she said, “they don’t brand buffalos, but the cowboys doctor them and tag them.” We can learn something every day! Gail assured us that she will be back to bake those two turkeys that Marsha Schmitt Mousel is bringing to us for November 20.

Senior citizens can call to reserve a meal at the Eads school cafeteria for the November 21 Thanksgiving dinner for senior citizens at 1:00 p.m. Also that week is the Hospital Auxiliary Bazaar at the Community Building in Eads, which is a festive holiday time to buy gifts and eat out.