Welcome New Neighbors

New families moving into our community have been greeted with a welcome basket and a copy of the latest newsletter. These new neighbors are: Alan and Terri Jeffcoat on Friendly Lane, Bobby Q Pixley, Sherman Creek/Restful Drive, RC Butler of Restful Lane. Greet these folks and make a new friend.

From the Chairman’s Desk

Well, the holidays are now upon us and as we all get ready for the new year coming up, you know... saying bye to 2008 and Hello 2009. I have something to say.

Folks, I wish to say to each and everyone it has been an honor and privilege to serve our neighbors in Turner Community. The new chairman is Fred Peters, so help him as y’all have helped and volunteered with me.

Signing off... y’all friend,
Richard Mirus

Men’s Coffee Hour

Sometimes I would like to be a little mouse and be able to sit in on one of the men’s Monday morning coffee hours. If they have as much fun and can tell such tall tales as are told on game night, they must have a ball. They also get some work done to the community building. Look around the next time you visit the building and see what has been done. For more info call Jim Parker at 997-1228 or Fred Peters at 997-1952.

Homemade Goodies

We have had 3 sweet ladies who have stepped up, rolled up their sleeves, donned their aprons, turned up the heat and produced jams, jellies, preserves and breads for our Welcome Baskets. These ladies are Shirley Donnahue, Reba Peters, and Diane Parker. Thanks to these ladies we now have a variety of sweets for the baskets. Again, if you have any jelly jars or any small self-sealing jars, I would be interested as I am almost out. Call Jeanette Gibbs at 997-1582.

Rocky Top 4-H Club News

The Rocky Top 4-H Club held their Community Halloween Party on Oct. 31st. We had about 20 all together including parents. Which was o.k. considering it was right after school and a football game night. But next year be prepared for a real good fun time. The planning for it is already on the go and it promises to be a good time. So don't forget about us next year. It will be held the Saturday before Halloween and during the day like it was before. But Thank You to everyone who came and helped and provided candy.

Our next meeting will be Nov. 9th with our new Officers being sworn in and Nicki Taul will be conducting a Record Book Journal. For info on a club near you call 479-474-5286 and ask for Nicki Taul-4-H Agent, or call me at 217-0280.

ROCKY TOP 4-H CLUB NEWS

Well we survived another successful year at the Crawford County Fair. We had 16 members make the Junior Livestock Sale. They were Alexander Balandran, Seren & Will Deputy, Cody Wise, Miranda Creel & Samantha Riggs from our Community. We had Dillon & Dalton Hall, Lindsey & Madison Shepherd, Allison Harrison, Kenzie Watson, Rylli Hammond, Lillian & Madelyn & Annie Claire Beasley.
Lillian Beasley & Seren Deputy competed in the Junior Miss Crawford County Fair Pageant and Annie Claire Beasley competed in the Princess Pageant at the Crawford County Fair with Annie Beasley being the first runner up.

Eleven members compete in the 4-H Poultry Chain. They were Annie, Madelyn & Lillian Beasley, Will Deputy, Rose Rippee, Dalton & Dillon Hall, Rylli Hammond & Alexander Balandran and Kenzie Watson with the Champion Pen.

Lillian, Madelyn & Annie Beasley competed also with Market Lambs.

Competing with Market Goats were: Allison Harrison, Rylli Hammond, Cody Wise with the Reserve Champion and Dalton Hall with the Grand Champion. Madison & Lindsey Shepherd, Seren Deputy and Alexander Balandran, Dillon Hall.

In the Breeding Meat Goats class we had Alexander Balandran, Cody Wise, Seren & Will Deputy. They all had some Reserve & Champions.

Shylo & Triston Hamby competed with their rabbits.

Cody Wise & Bri Ellen Millsap competed at the Horse show right before the Fair. Cody Wise also competed at the 2008 Mulberry Mule Days.

We had 4-H members compete in Photography and crafts, Jr. foods, Jr. Canning, Horticulture.

Our club had a 4-H Float promoting Arkansas 4-H Centennial. We had a Club Educational Booth and won first place with it.

At the AR/Okla State Fair we had Rylli Hammond, Cody Wise, Alexander Balandran & Lillian Beasley compete with their 4-H Poultry Chain. Lillian Beasley competed in the Market Lamb class & Dalton Hall competed with his Market Hog and received "Super Showmanship". Lillian, Madelyn & Annie Claire Beasley also competed with their other Poultry and won several Reserve Championship-all 3 of them!

We had Dalton Hall go on to the Arkansas State Fair in Little Rock and placed very high with his Market Goat and also placed 4th place in his age group out of 17 in the Showmanship class.

At our last meeting new Officers were elected for the 2008-2009 year, they are: President-Lillian Beasley; V-President Alexander Balandran; Recreational Leader- Dalton Hall; Samantha Riggs as Secretary, Cody Wise as Reporter; Madelyn Beasley as our Photographer and Miranda Creel as our Treasurer.

We will be very busy the next few months. We are having our Annual Halloween Community Party. We will be shopping for toys to take to Children's Hospital, planning our Club Christmas Party, and preparing our Record Book Journals that are due in January. We will have a very active & busy 2009.

We are having our 4-H Club Achievement Banquet. We reward the kids for all their hard work with some getting certain rewards. We would like to have as many of you come and sit in and help us celebrate their hard work and speak to the kids.

October is also our 4-H Promotional month. Members have worn their club t-shirts and given a talk to their classes at School. The club’s Educational Booth is traveling to different businesses all month. We have handed out bookmarks, pamphlets and spreading the word!!

We thank all of you for your support during the year and we do appreciate it. For any info on joining 4-H call me- Luann Wise @ 217-0280 or the Crawford County Extension Office and ask for Nicki Taul @ 470-474-5286. Rocky Top 4-H Club

Quilters host Friday Night Pajama Party

With the persistence of our oldest quilter, Hazel Holt, we followed through with one of our conversations while quilting on every Wednesday! On Friday, October 24th, the Turner Community Quilting Club ladies pieced together an evening of fun and fellowship with quilting, baking and a thimble of work! All had such a great time we are thinking about having one in the summer of 2009! Most of the ladies are seasoned quilters with one raw edge in the block-Charlotte. This was only her third time to quilt! In all there were ten ladies framing out the evening ranging in age 48-almost 88: Hazel Holt, Doris Riggs, Willie Ruth Jones, Ina Daily, Loretta Holt, Mildred Sims, Jeanette Gibbs, Marilyn Marshall, Arlene Riggs, and Charlotte Holt. Unfortunately, Doris and Arlene Riggs and Willie Ruth Jones were unable to spend the night.

They said it couldn’t be done! (some scoffers) But it was!! Your just stitchin’ in the ditch if you think these ladies don’t have what it takes to stay up most of the night and sleep in a bed roll on the cold floor of the community building. Friday night at about 7:30 pm, the ladies ate supper together, some ate Hazel’s homemade chicken noodle soup while others ate what they brought and some ate before they came. Jeanette brought an interesting dish-bacon wrapped jalapeno’s stuffed with cream cheese (without the seeds) hoppin’ hot and yummy!

Our Loretta turned 71 and we helped her celebrate it with a strawberry cake made by Mildred and presents too! Loretta brought fixins to make her famous cinnamon rolls and some that wasn’t staying overnight asked if Loretta could bake them so they could enjoy the rolls before returning home--sooooo being the good egg she is, Loretta baked the rolls that night! When the cake had been cut and presents opened and the cinnamon rolls sampled, we went back to quilting, and all the while we noticed the heating unit didn’t seem to be doing any good, our noses were getting colder by the minute. By now it was 11 pm. We were bound and determined to stay. Hazel suggested to Marilyn to go to her house and get the space heater she had and Willie Ruth said she had one also. After Marilyn fetched the heaters and got them going it seemed to take the chill out of the room. Another pot of coffee brewed, sewing needles threaded and flying in and out of the quilts being worked on the ladies were diligently trying to finish one before going to sleep! And they did!! Another quilt framed and ready to start on, it had been a productive evening. Making our beds and getting in them was no small feet. As a matter of fact, some one of us even faced de-feet bent over trying to get into bed!! Some crazy noises were being made by most all the ladies during the night, I think it is called snoring or something like that!ha!

On Saturday morning, we woke up with sunlight streaming in the windows. We had smiles on our faces-yes, we did it, we had made it through, now if we could just get up? How? Roll over and crawl to a chair and push up or sit up and yell “I need the bathroom now, help pull me up” ha! After all the RFD is just next door!! Breakfast was great: biscuits, gravy, bacon, eggs, hash browns, juice and coffee, and more cinnamon rolls. The best part for me was when we held hands in a circle in the kitchen and prayed, thanking God for friends and family, celebrating another birthday, good food, and fellowship. These quilters love their hobby and when it becomes a job, it wouldn’t be fun anymore. An elderly woman once told her teenage granddaughter-pick a job you love and you will never work a day in your life.

CONGRATULATIONS LADIES YOU DID IT! You went where none of you had been in a real long stitch of a time and slept overnight in your jammies on a bed-roll.

Remember: A day hemmed in prayer never unravels!