Easter, spring memories include looking for both eggs, boys

By Darla Buckhannon

Happy Easter!

Happy birthday to Roberta Grojean, Steve Whitaker, Jeff Dacus, Tammy Eifert, Paul Keller, Jennifer Vandeven, Betty Walton, Robbie Coomer, Celeste Shields, Gretchen Davie, Georgia Smith, Angie Dees, Denice Jackson, Chris Kerber, Jeremy Hahn, Zahara Ressel, Hunter Teegarden, Gaytane Gardner, Shannon Harrell, Brent Wessel, Toshi Darby, Deborah Russell, Dorothy Statler, Linda Uhrhan, Jennifer Eichhorn, Gabriel Seabaugh, Jeremy Schlitt and Helene Chism.

Happy anniversary to Jake and Renee Hitt, David and Terra Owens, Larry and Marilyn Mott, Mike and Linda Senciboy, Mark and Tina Pobst and Lee and Marlene Powers.

We wish everyone a blessed Easter. We all have memories of special Easter Sundays with our families. In our family it was a new dress to wear to church, whether it was made by our mother or as we got older and learned to sew, by each of us. There were plenty of races to the sewing machine during that time! There was also competition as to whom would be wearing the most distinctive, and in my sister Ruth's case, the biggest hat. It was also the time of year we got to get new Sunday shoes. Although I wanted a pair of shiny black patent leather shoes like my best friend, it was always white shoes because they went better with the delightful pastel dresses my mother made for me.

There were also those Easter-egg hunts. For years, my best friend and I thought the Easter Bunny lived under the gazebo at Circle Park. Since many Easter Sundays were cold, our mother hid eggs in the house. Invariably, there was always one that was discovered weeks afterward when the unpleasant scent drew us in. My younger sister Jo and I delighted in watching the women at the Lutheran church across the street from our house hide the Easter eggs during their early service. The kids would come out with their baskets to gather the hidden eggs. On many a Sunday, my sister and I were also watching for the good-looking Wessel and Meyr boys!

We celebrate Easter knowing it is much more than colorful eggs and chocolate bunnies but about Jesus Christ who died on the cross and on this day was resurrected from death, giving infinite life to those of us who believe.

Coming soon

We hope someone will call to report their first hummingbird sighting of the season! They are due! In the woods, listen for whippoorwills calling and turkeys gobbling. On occasion my sister Jo sends pictures of the many turkeys in her yard at her home in Wisconsin. Some days she sees as many as 50! I would have my shotgun in hand bagging the one per day limit now that turkey season is underway in Wisconsin.

The calendar

According to the Missouri Department of Conservation calendar, the average date of the last frost in central and southern Missouri was yesterday. Hooray! We are ready to plant!

The Lyrid meteor shower peaks Saturday.

Mosquito spraying in the evenings starts soon, so be sure to put fresh water in your birdbaths the following morning.

Remember to file your taxes by midnight Tuesday (April 18).

Pet Clinic is 3 to 5 p.m. Friday behind City Hall.

Great news from the Chamber of Commerce: German Days has been changed to Germanfest and scheduled for the weekend of Oct 13 and 14 rather than mid-August. They are able to get more rides and amusements for attendees. It is a lovely time of year and we will not be fighting off mosquitoes. That also happens to be the weekend of the Chaffee High School Alumni activities with the banquet scheduled for Oct. 14.

City Council meets tomorrow night at 7 p.m. at City Hall. An update on the sewer project will be given along with other important updates. Whether it is construction or avoiding pot holes, people have to be flexible contending with delays, or, maybe it is tall grass, bad sidewalks, barking dogs or other annoyances. As we know, there are doers and there are complainers. Those involved in their community and participating in civic activities voice their concerns to their council persons, get on the agenda for city council meetings and vote while others sit around complaining. Did you vote in this month's election?

As always

Remember to tell those special people in your life that you love them -- those three words mean so very much.

Email your news to darbuck2@airmail.net or leave a message at (573) 887-6430 or (214) 207-7839.

And then ...

Then there was the demise of Crayola's dandelion hue.