Week of May 26th

“Save The Frogs!” No, this isn’t some Sci-Fi movie coming to a theater near you. It’s an event that started last year, and because of its cause and popularity, it’s happening again this year.

I mentioned this event a couple of months ago and gave you a preview of what will happen this year. I mentioned at the time that I would give you more news later. It is now later, so I will keep my promise to you, while at the same time putting a smile on my buddy Vic’s face. Now Vic is so much into this project that he is thinking seriously about selling his country home and moving to a very comfortable “pad” in a nearby pond. Enough digressing!

During the month of June, the “Save The Frogs!” committee is planning events to coincide with the Three Rivers Water Festival. That 80-foot-long mural, which was created by the young people at TRAM (Three Rivers Area Mentoring), will once again hang on the fence by the Scidmore Park Petting Zoo.

On July 19, more information and activities planned by the committee will be available at the Huss School Festival. This festival attracts hundreds of visitors for fun, good food, great music, plus information that is very important for our health and the health of our planet.

We recently spent a weekend in Battle Creek attending the Lions Club State Convention. It is held in a different location every year so that the same Lions don’t have to travel a long distance each year. Last year, the convention was held in Shipshewana, Indiana, so everyone had a distance to travel, except for those Lions living here in St. Joe, Cass, and Branch Counties.

The convention was held at McCamly Plaza, which is an older hotel located right downtown Battle Creek. With the recent press coverage of what’s been happening in Battle Creek, we weren’t that excited about being any part of the eleven o’clock news. This didn’t stop us from attending, however, because we were looking forward to spending time with our Lion friends.

The weekend was fun. We started off with a Thursday evening picnic at Cornwell’s in Turkeyville. It was a picnic atmosphere, but, because of the chilly weather, we dined inside. We learned that they have a campground on the property, so perhaps we’ll spend another weekend there this summer.

Altogether, the weekend was a success. We were able to spend plenty of time visiting, because this is one time when we weren’t obligated to attend meetings like we had in previous years. The only real disadvantage to where we stayed was the parking. There just wasn’t any real FREE place to park without having to walk some distance. Otherwise, it’s always great getting together with friends and talking about what’s going on in each other’s lives, and of course, it’s great to get Out and About.

I try not to use this column that much for providing FREE advertising, but every so often, something comes along that is for a good cause and I’m pretty sure that you folks would really like to hear about. Such is the case with the spring “Indoor Yard and Bake Sale” hosted by Light and Life Wesleyan Church, 15765 Hoffman Road, directly across the road from the UAW Hall, on the west side of Three Rivers. It happens this Saturday, May 31, from 9 AM until 3 PM. This fundraiser will help support their community outreach programs. As I’m sure you’ve read in this paper, this promises to be a sale you won’t want to miss. A lawn mower, refrigerator, and stove/oven are a couple of the big items you’ll find there, and, of course, you’ll find an abundance of home-made baked goods. Leave the credit cards at home, because the sales are CASH ONLY and ALL SALES ARE FINAL. We’ll see you there.

A couple of things to remember:

Friendship is like a book. It takes a few minutes to burn, but it takes years to write.

Old friends are GOLD! New friends are like a DIAMOND! If you get a diamond, don’t forget the gold, because to hold a diamond, you always need a base of gold.

See you Out and About!

Submitted by Norm Stutesman