“Love your neighbor as yourself.” Luke 22:39

The thought for the day is: “Wherever I am and in all that I do, follow the example of Jesus.

Some ladies representing the Weisbrod Auxiliary came last Friday to help us play Bingo and serve delicious root beer floats. It was fun, plus it was so good to see lady friends that we like to visit with. Linda Hopkins was the Bingo caller, and was glad to have the help of the ladies to visit, help serve refreshments, and deliver the money basket to the winners of each Bingo game and blackout.

Ella Splitter of Sheridan Lake is a senior and a wrestler for the Lamar Thunder team, who has won another champion placing at a recent meet. I saw joyous photos of her and her parents, David and Dennill, and siblings. As I remember, her older brothers were wrestlers with the Eads Eagle team. How nice now, some years later, that the schools offer girls wrestling as an optional sport for young women in recent years.

Marisa Dixon, an Eads High School graduate and graduate of Fort Hays State University in Kansas, was hosted with a gorgeous bridal shower in the Eads Senior Citizen Center. When we entered the party room, many candles were flickering in tall clear glass vases. The guests enjoyed a lovely buffet lunch provided by the hostesses and organized by the lead hostess, Lori (Weirich) Elder, and her mother, Dawna (Howard) Weirich. The hostesses seated Marisa on a beige wing-backed chair set on a colorful tapestry rug before a navy blue velvet wall divider that made such a pretty setting for photos. Marisa’s young cousins, Saige and Sloan Sagner and Caroline Buck, carried the lovely gifts to Marisa to open. Marisa and Grady Bunck will enjoy these in their home in Kearny, Nebraska, where Grady is a chiropractor and Marisa works for the University af Nebraska Athletic Department.

One of the nicest inventions recently is that we can watch local high school teams play basketball streamed on our televisions. It is wonderful for people who can’t get out in the cold weather to get see the games in action! The Eads girls won both games over Stratton and Idalia, while the boys lost a tight game to Stratton, and won over Idalia. We don’t know most of the players on the court, but Terry and Areta Laird solved that problem for us by bringing us a program listing the players. Here is a list of the Eads players: Girls - Bailey Sierra, Peyton Eder, Alessandra Paez, Kara Wilson, Lexi Shotton, Jordyn Turrcotte, Kennedy Gyruman, Savanna Brown, Anna Woolert, Tailee Weeks-Johnson, Aspen Nelson, Addison Courkamp, and Mia Crow. These young ladies are coached by Trey Eder, assisted by Justin McCloud and Kaylee Wilson.

The Eads boys team is coached by Weston Meardon, who is assisted by Remington Brandt. Those team members are: Anthony Paez, Adyn Hough, Karsten Buller, Kaiden Dunlap, Gaige Rittgers, Stocken Mitchek, Weston Michek, Jason Bletzacker, Case Nelson, and Landon Zimmerman.

Many hearts are saddened because of the loss of Verna (Kelley) Ebright of Eads. Verna was the President of our Eads graduating seniors of 1955. She was the mother of two daughters, Marilyn, who died of cancer at a young age, and Karen and Mike Bryant of Lamar, who is the CEO of Prowers Medical Center. Verna worked for many years as an executive of our local bank. She more recently resided at Prairie Pines Assisted Living Community, but was looking forward to returning to her home on Hickman Street to care for her lawns and flowers. Verna was always interested in her large family of relatives.

Guests who are invited need to RSVP to Marla Darnell by February 4 so that all the foods can be ordered and prepared by party time February 14, Valentines Day, at Weisbod Health.

Reminder: no matter what age you are, it is important to buy or make a card or cards for those people who are special to you. Remember to tell people that you love them.

You can buy or order lovely Valentine flowers and gifts at most all stores in most towns in the area. I like to buy from Safeway or Thoughts in Bloom in Lamar, or Sue Dwyer’s Koda Flower shop in Burlington. Mrs. Dwyer is so accommodating. An example - she and her three young children delivered all the flowers and plants all the way from Burlington to Haswell the morning of my brother, Virgil’s, funeral. I encourage you, men and women, boys and girls, to create a Valentine or buy something special or loving for the person(s) who are extra special in your lives to you.

Mr. and Mrs. Justin Lenox sponsored a bus load of Future Farmers of America members from Eads to the National Western Stock Show at the Denver Coliseum last week. It was a great day for the students to see lots of livestock exhibits, many commercial exhibits, and a rodeo last week.