By Doris Lessenden  

The chorus of one of my favorite songs: “ God Bless America, Land that I love, Stand beside her and Guide her through the night with the light from above,  From the mountains to the Prairies, to the Oceans white with foam.  God Bless America, My Home sweet home.”   Irving Berlin  1940’s

The talk of the town has been the opening of the Eads Consumer’s Gas and Grill which is brand new…like fully constructed on its place on the land of the former Voss-Michael’s Garage and Café.   Many people have pleasant memories of meals and lounging around in the Michael’s site.  Now people can enjoy this new business in such a spacious room with lots of booths by the windows and about eight or more tables with chairs.  Visitors are just so astounded by the variety of beverages and foods cooked in the kitchen which I have tried.  At the football game a junior high boy stopped by my van eating a big piece of fried chicken which smelled so good!  He told me that it was from the new Gas and Grill.  He must have had several pieces on Friday and more on Saturday. We were surprised to see all the varieties of packages of candies, chips, jerky, and other goodies that people like.    It must be a fun to have a job there because it is amazing to see how many people just pull their vehicle over and go in to buy things.  There were people from all walks of life when I was there.   The Board President, Mike Weirich was there watching and visiting Friday.  Another Board member, Jeff Salisbury and CEO Mandy Adamson was carrying fried chicken and hamburgers out of the kitchen to the display warmers.   It is definitely a fine and wonderful asset to our town.

Mary Ilene Eder’s life was honored Saturday morning by her family and friends who came to her funeral at the Eads United Methodist Church.   Her good friend and former

Pastor, Nancy Peacock, returned from Pueblo to officiate the memorial service.  Her sons, Terry and Roger and families and daughter, Marilyn Popejoy and families came from several states for their last goodbye.  Ilene loved her hometown.  This winter when she realized she would not get to hold a Kiowa County Press, she lamented to me, from Kansas City, “How am I going to get any news from home?”   I tried to send her my copies of the About Town News column, but I know it is just not like the printed Press.    

While readers can still buy the Press at local businesses, everyone can read the Kiowa County Press FREE any time any day. Just go to www.kiowacountypress.net. No charge No need to signup. Everything in the printed Press and more is waiting at your finger tips. Since January the views have been outstanding - over 5000 readers in September 2016.

The Eads Volleyball team and the Eads Football team lost out in the League and Quarter Final play-offs last week-end.  Both teams have had good seasons but someone has to lose.  On the other hand, that hasn’t happened much in our lives in Eads through the years.   But we try to be good sports.

The room was full of Eads Senior Citizens last Wednesday noon for the monthly pot luck meal.  Marsha Schmitt Mousel and Pam Mousel brought Glaida Craven from Kit Carson to the dinner along with Rita Mousel.  Glaida brought wonderfully pretty autumn leaf cookies that she had made and painted with fall colors.  We were so glad to have our Coordinator, Sharon Frazee, with us before she returned to Denver the next day for chemo therapy treatments.  Our next monthly pot luck meal will be Wednesday, November 16th

Because of the low fog on Sunday morning, I didn’t notice the changes around the new Love’s Store.  When I returned from Kit Carson, I saw that they have added green grass and some pine trees during the week to compliment the trees that were already planted on the grounds.  It is nice to see the yellow-orange lights around the building and gas pumps.  With the COOP relocating to the north end of Eads also, it will be a good place for those over 3,000 a-day trucks that pass by on Highway 287 as they travel the Ports-to-the-Plains highway that traverses from Mexico to Canada through the USA.

Mrs. Charlene Reed Gifford, the Third Grade teacher, in Eads has organized the Adopted Grandchildren program with Weisbrod ECU (Nursing Home) for many years.

You can ask most any high school student or alumni and they can tell you who their Adopted Grandparent was.  I heartily commend Mrs. Gifford for all her work and planning that she does each month because it brings such joy to the residents and also the children.

The residents and visitors who attended the 2:00 p.m. Chapel at the ECU had a real treat because Pastor Maynard and Mrs. Dorothy Seaman of the Sheridan Lake Bible Church came with pianist, Mrs. Barb Wanderlingh and Lydia Splitter, Alex White, Kayla Wanderlingh and Abbey Hudson.  The four young people were outstanding singers and if you have never met the Seaman couple, I want you to know there are extraordinary people who have been married 60 years and really do have a love for the Lord in their lives.  They have spent much of their lives as missionaries in Nepal and even sang “How Great Thou Art” for us in Nepalese.  At the end of the hour, Lydia, told about some of her experiences in the European country of Romania where she helped with four orphanages and older youth Bible clubs last summer.  When young people have the chance and desire to travel to see other cultures, they usually find it educational and uplifting.

Bobbie Scott and her two youngest children drove from Kansas City to Eads over the week-end to take some belongings of her mother, Connie McPherson, home with her.  It was sad for me to see because I have missed the passing of Connie.  But it was good to see Bobbi’s father, Don, and brother, Donnie, and Ginger and their daughters, Layla and Carmen, helping her. 

Next week will be National Election Day and Veteran’s Day.  If you have not voted, please please VOTE soon.  And I hope you will take time to greet and be thankful for the many veterans’ who live among us in our county.