“Give thanks in all circumstances.” 1 Thessalonians 5:18 (NIV)

Every day, I think or say: “I am so glad I live in Eads, America. I am so thankful for my wise and loving parents and family,” and on and on!

I bought two tickets so I could sit in our Plains Theatre “balcony” to watch the two performances of the “Wizard of Oz.” It was a pleasure to see the little children and the teenagers act and sing. It was marvelous to watch how our own Eads director, Merina Lowe, and her assistant young, Callen Hoffman, placed students in acting parts, and they just bloomed. I am. We are so proud of this Children’s Theatre group, which also involved youth from Wiley and other towns.

The July 4 weekend was a busy time for many families around Kiowa County. In Eads, the Children’s Parade down Maine Street was a real treat to many people. Jamie Lane Jensen was the key leader who arranged the festivities. I saw several of her Prairie Pines coworkers who were volunteering to cook and serve the lunch. Some coworkers who I recognized were Tristin Sheridan and Bandy Thompson. They had hamburgers and other treats for a donation. Children were having fun on the playground equipment. Many family groups were having picnics, while others were warming up for the big Corn Hole tournament.

The parade was delightful to watch with the little children. They just went too fast to recognize most of them. One adult told me that they really do try to get the little ones to go slower and to not clump together, but when they begin the parade, many of them seem to just pedal as fast as they can! It was humorous to see an adult weaving in and out of the parade on a toy car. I thought he might be trying to be a type of clown, but someone told me they thought it was Jaime’s brother, Reagan Lane, who was trying to corral some speedsters. Then it was fine with me because I hold Reagan Lane in high respect. I was one of his wrestling fans, and now I am also glad that he serves as a wrestling coach. Another wonderful feature of the parade was that the Sheriff’s white truck led the parade with blinking red, white, and blue lights while projecting loud patriotic music. It was followed by American Legion Commander Dan Richards driving a truck honoring veterans from several towns. They were Calvin Melcher, Douglas Melcher, Jesse Herrera, Louie Torres, Alfred Adame, LeRoy Miller, and Joe Baca of Holly, Lamar, Bristol, and Granada, and Areta Blooding Laird and Dan Richards of Eads. We were pleased that they took time to come into the senior citizens’ center afterwards to enjoy our brunch with us.

I heard of other families who had good times at some of our area lakes and Jackson’s Pond to fish and picnic. Some families went to places where they could boat and camp out. The Stolzenberger –Voss family told me that they had a good time camping out, boating, and eating good foods. Others told me that Blue Lake near Haswell and Arlington is fuller of water this year than in many years!

The evening of July 4, many people went to the Haswell Senior Center where they had a great pot luck picnic and visiting as well as watching some fireworks displayed.

Alice Glover and Realynn Riley of Eads left La Junta on the Amtrak train and traveled overnight to Chicago, Illinois. They had a great time dining and enjoying the sleeper cars coming and going. Alice’s son, Richard, and Koy met them in Chicago, along with granddaughter, Chevaun, and her husband, Josh, and children, Ellie, Ollie, and baby, Jude. They had such a good time enjoying Richard’s good cooking, and especially one of his specialties, homemade pineapple ice cream that he mastered while he was stationed in Hawaii while serving our country in the Navy. Besides all the beautiful sight-seeing around Cincinnati, Ohio, and seeing their new home, they had quite an adventure on the Amtrak

We were delighted at Weisbrod last Sunday, along with those who live over at Prairie Pines, to have Pastor Lane and Deborah Gooden come to lead and share in a church service. They also told us about their outstanding Vacation Bible School recently. We were interested to hear about their several grandchildren, who live in Eads and Cheyenne Wells, who ended the season in final baseball games in Limon and Hugo also with their cousin, Blue Ellis’ son.

We are sad to hear of the death of Jessie James. He and his wife, Nancy, live in Burlington, and have been active for many years in the Eads and Burlington Baptist churches.

D. L. Weeks of Eads celebrated his 80^th birthday last weekend with his family. He was an educator, and then worked for the Colorado Interstate Gas Company for many years.

Terry and Areta Blooding Laird spent the weekend at the Pottawatomie Indian Tribe’s Pow Wow in Shawnee, Oklahoma. This is a traditional gathering in different areas of the USA of descendants of the tribe.

Our sympathy is extended to the families of Phillip Hollis of Fruita. He was in the Eads class of 1957.

Congratulations to Dr. Joe Wagner, Eads educator, who won a prestigious fellowship to attend and share at a science institute. He is an esteemed educator and counselor to students at Eads High School.