Santa to visit Arcadia on Dec. 11

Activity in the Arcadia Community Center has been busy the last of November and into December.

The chicken noodle dinner was delicious, and thanks to the Bridgewater family, Santa will be near the Christmas tree with treats for all on the evening of Dec. 11 at 6:30 p.m.

On Dec. 4, the senior breakfast was well attended by the older generation when seated and a young waitress and young waiter took the orders and brought back food from the kitchen. Even that was a treat for senior citizens. All this came compliments of the Freewill Baptist Church from Oskaloosa. Seniors say thank you.

The day after Santa goes on his way to cheer young folks in other areas, the community fundraiser begins at 11 a.m. Dec. 12 in the Community Center. Merchants in surrounding areas have given gifts for drawings that will be held that afternoon. Proceeds will go toward Kevin Murphy's medical expenses. He suffered a broken neck as a result of a motorcycle accident.

Scheduled to rent the community center Dec. 19 is Glen Darlington for the American Legion, and Dec. 26, the Steve Morris family.

The AHS Our Gang plans to start the new year with meetings in the center on the fourth Saturday of each month. The Jan. 22 meeting will be a chili feed.

Friday night last week, Delton Watt attended the Gaither Singers performance in Kansas City. He attended with a group from his Fayette, Mo., church.

Jerry and Mike, two hunter friends from Louisiana, along with Raymond Kalm, enjoyed dinner in the farm home of neighbor Vickie and Larry Shead on Tuesday evening, Dec. 1. The newcomers were guests in Raymond's home for a few days.

On Tuesday, Nov. 30, fire destroyed the home of Lee Stroud, 74, south of Arcadia on 605 S. Nelson St. While trying to light a fire in the wood stove, the carpet and a chair caught fire. Jim Medley went to his rescue and got Lee out of the house. Due to serious burns, Stroud was air lifted to Springfield, Mo., and later to a Tulsa hospital. The residence was a total loss. Besides the Crawford County Sheriff's Department, the Arcadia and Arma fire departments and Crawford County EMS answered the calls. As of today, reports say Stroud is slowly showing improvement. The destroyed house was known as the Charlie and Gladys Zeiger home for many years.

Betty and Lou Dehn took a home-cooked dinner to her parents, Earl and Olllie Hill in Versailles, Mo., on Thanksgiving Day. They were joined by other nearby relatives who took covered dishes to finish out a completed holiday dinner. The Dehns stayed in Missouri until Saturday where they helped burn brush piles, a dangerous job for the older generations.

Jack and Mary Lee Payne celebrated Thanksgiving on Friday at David and Amy Carpenter's home in Raymore, Mo.

Many family and friends attended, including Cindy, Ron and Seth Morton; Rev. James O'Dell, Nikki, Laney and Cooper O'Dell; Kelly and Steve Base, Ben and Faith Base; Sherry Payne-Sisney, Mindy and Jaxson Payne; Alta Carpenter; York, Jeannie, Brad and Loren Jewell; Also, Drew and Lane Carpenter, Jessie and Hardy Dunn. All enjoyed roast turkey, ham and all the side dishes and many desserts. A great time was had by all.

On the eve of Thanksgiving, Mark, Haley, Katy and Benjamin Shead hosted a buffet dinner. Guests for the evening were Michael and Chrisi Shead and her two sisters, Lilly 13, and Elaine 9, Playford from Michigan; Maria and Clayton Whitson and her sister Mitzi, Joel, Cademon and Atalie Ray from Oklahoma; Jim and Mindy Bettymer, Damian, Max, Ian from Midlothian, Ill.; Larry and Vickie Shead and great-grandmother to the young ones, Mary V. Shead.

A brief note from Betty and Emory Briggs in Nowata, Okla., says they were sorry to miss the chicken noodle dinner in Arcadia, but it was a busy holiday time for them. On Sunday, they entertained 28 of Betty's family.

On Thursday, Emory's family was the guest. Lois and her family spent Thanksgiving weekend with them. Besides family, their church is welcoming a new pastor.

Emory is one of the Sunday School teachers. Arcadia Christian Church welcomes them back anytime they can come. Last Sunday, Dec. 5, they missed the church dinner, (compliments as a Christmas gift to our church, chicken was furnished by pastors Willa and Charles Cable) where 30 were present to enjoy.

That evening, Patty Peterson, Willa and Charles Cable, and Brandy Mellon as sponsors took the youth group to Countryside Christian Church in Pittsburg for the large, interesting nativity scene. They had dinner out that evening.

This is a reminder for folks to turn in their best choice UPCs. They need to be sent before Dec. 31. M.V. Shead (638-4491) is willing to pick them up if need be. Thank you for being thoughtful of this.