Remembering Mayor Honey, make way for ducklings and flood recovery

While strolling, I wondered whatever happened to Lexie Kincade.

Happy birthday to Movidene Cutler, Colette Hendrickson, Bob Dacus, Carol Lee, Gabe Pfefferkorn, Shirley Glastetter, Dallon Horman, Janie Rauch, Kathy Rice, Wayne Held, Athena Hampton, Mike Dumey, Thelma Haney, Gerald Beck, Scott Barnhart, Andrea Horman, Deidra Coleson, Lisa Stagoski, Richie Swain, Veronica Bennett, Carl Hunter, Opal Stevens, Debbie Graviett, Janice Eftink, Jamie Keller, Don Seyer, Dean Smith, Geralyn Siebert, Krist Uhrhan and Matt Hanlon.

Happy anniversary to Scott and Leslie Horman, Jason and Sabrina Pobst, Carl and Mary Ann Kagle, Shannon and Jennifer Brown, Steve and Regina Wall, Pam and Lester Eichhorn and Jack and Sue Wessel.

Pool at 75

The weather cooperated, and 215 swimmers participated in the grand seasonal opening of the pool at Harmon Field last Saturday. In commemoration of the 75th anniversary of the pool, admission throughout the summer is 75 cents per person. Swimming classes are set to start, with the first session June 15-26 and the second, July 13-24.

There was an article in the Southeast Missourian last Monday written by Savanna Maue regarding the origins of the pool in 1940. We would like to give credit to Oscar T. Honey, mayor from 1935 to 1940 and director of the 140th Infantry Band, who did so many wonderful things for Chaffee. He spearheaded the move for the pool along with many other projects that we continue to enjoy to this day.

This Friday night is the HEEHAW show put on by Classy Chassy Country and Friends at the VFW in Chaffee. The fun starts at 7 p.m.; $6 for adults, $3 for ages 6 through 12 and free for younger than six.

Aaron Horrell tells us that The Painted Wren Gallery at Bilderbach Plaza in Cape has recently started a new Paint For a Cause. This one is for St. Jude Children's Hospital. They are working with WarChild Riding Group so the canvas subject is, appropriately, a motorcycle. Drop by and paint for one minute for only a $1 donation for a great cause! The "cause" will end July 18.

Duck update

We have a wood duck update for you. After seeing the pair in our backyard and later finding six eggs in the nest box, we stayed on alert hoping for another sighting of the pair. Richard put his trail camera in place so we could monitor the comings and goings. A male sparrow that continuously perched in the opening kept triggering the camera and we didn't see any sign of the ducks.

We were pretty bummed out until early Sunday morning, when I saw the pair perched atop the pecan tree stumps. The hen is now sitting on the eggs, and the sparrow, which seemed to be guarding the entry, has given up his post. The drake drops by daily to check on her. Since he doesn't share egg-sitting duties, I read that she takes a break twice a day. We're uncertain of the number of eggs, but we will keep an eye on the activity and see how many little ones take the long jump in 28 to 30 days.

Help for flood victims

The Mississippi River has been on the rise, and flooding continues to be a problem throughout Texas. There continues to be an outpouring of help to those who have lost their homes and family members. Especially hard hit was Wimberly near San Marcos, with many losing family members, their homes and cars. Although many of the houses were 40 feet above the Blanco River, several feet of water rushed through their homes. We were told that residents' laundry is picked up daily from each home and returned clean and folded with a chocolate kiss on top. Whether it is doing laundry, donating money or items, the cleanup from these floodwaters will obviously go on for months.

We in Southeast Missouri are familiar with damage flooding causes, and whether it is Southeast Missouri or big Texas, there are those who are always willing to lend a hand in any way they can. Anheuser-Busch temporarily quit brewing beer in its Georgia plant and sent 50,000 cans of emergency water to Texas and Oklahoma.

Special words

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

Our thoughts and prayers are with those who are missing loved ones, our homebound, those in hospitals and nursing homes. Email your news and comments to darbuck2@airmail.net or leave a message at 573-887-6430 or 214-207-7839.

And then ...

Then there was the Texas total May rainfall that could cover the entire state in 8 inches of water.