Holiday happenings: Santa Claus to visit Arcadia

Kay Burr from Pittsburg and Kenny Kunstal from the state of Virginia send Merry Christmas greetings to AHS Our Gang. They enjoy reading of the activities of this group throughout the years.

Since the Nov. 19 dinner and business meeting of JOY, followed by the monthly church board meeting, JOY has now saved enough Best Choice UPC labels to send in its yearly refund certificate for this year.

Thank you to the fine folks who have been saving for us. The class sends funds regularly to mission workers from Arcadia Christian Church, and help with local activities, such as when Santa comes to town. Thank you to those who helped this year and we will appreciate your continued help for this coming year. A special thanks goes to Joyce Stephens who kept the seals trimmed and counted for the class and furnished many from her own pantry.

The third Annual Arcadia area holiday dinner, held at the Arcadia Community Center on Saturday, Dec. 8, was very successful and enjoyed by 90 people who lined up at the food counter after signing their names and receiving a ticket from Scott Ball.

Numbers were drawn throughout the evening and many gifts were won during the dinner time. About 30 dinners were delivered to folks who called in, or came themselves and took dinner home. It was a very fine evening enjoyed by a big, noisy room full of happy people. Thank you to the fine cooks who spent long hours in baking, cooking, peeling and chopping. We also give thanks to the young ladies who kept the tables cleared and drinks poured, etc., and the men who put up and took down tables and chairs and brushing the crumbs away.

Attendees brought a table full of canned and boxed foods for Christmas baskets to be shared with those in this area for their Christmas dinners.

Look forward to Santa Claus coming to town on Saturday, Dec. 15. Refreshments will be served. The city and those in charge give thanks to all who worked hard to make this event special for kids, as well as parents.

We are sorry to learn of the death of Buddy Cliff Roufs, 55, resident of rural Mapleton, Kan., who died Wednesday Dec. 5, 2012, at his home. He was the son of Clifford Antone Roufs and Margaret Ballard Roufs. He married Pamela Shepherd in March 2009. He is survived by his mother, Margaret White, of Hutchinson, Kan. She is a former Arcadian and attended Arcadia schools; a sister, Antoinette Roufs, survives, also in Hutchinson. His Arcadia grandparents were Mr. and Mrs. Truman Ballard who had a business in Arcadia and lived rural Arcadia for many years. Condolences to the family.