About Town

By Ida and Doris Lessenden

March 5, 2004

It is windy and chilly while reporting on this first day of March. Yesterday there was a little rain and snow in Eads, quite a bit of snow at Kit Carson, and no snow at Haswell and Arlington around our family’s homes. Well, we must be patient. We need to pray for more moisture.

Floyd Cordova is back home in Haswell after a long hospital stay. His daughter, Shae, did a lot of painting and rearranging of rooms at home to make life a little easier they hope. Floyd became paralyzed after he had the misfortune in April, l996 of having seven hay bales fall on him. If his wife, Billie, hadn’t been there with him, he might have lost his life. He is a jolly man to visit with and we think he would like to have folks stop by to visit him.

The Eads Chamber of Commerce hosted a wonderful breakfast Saturday morning as a part of the Snow Goose Festival which brought a lot of bird watchers in to the Lamar Cow Palace. This is where the center of the activities took place. Terry Laird of Eads was one of the 30 artists and vendors who had booths at the Cow Palace. The bird watchers had several seminars, tours of the wind farm, Camp Amache, Willow Creek Park, and the farms and lakes where geese fly in to feed. The bird watchers were excited to identify 48 different species of birds they saw. They will bring even more people to enjoy the sites and hospitality of Southeastern Colorado next year. So if you saw two big Neoplan busses around the Eads fair grounds and the county, it was probably the folks who were touring as part of the Snow Goose Festival.

Many Eads Eagle fans were in Lamar last Tuesday, Friday, and Saturday to attend the District Basketball Tournament. In the end, the Lady Eagles and boys team earned the second place plaques which guaranteed them a chance to play in the Regional Tournament. So, this Saturday, March 6^th all roads will lead to the La Junta Tiger gym for the play-offs to see which two teams get to go to the Colorado State Tournaments.

As fans for many years of the Eads Eagles., we would like to encourage everyone who attends the tournament to dress in purple or gold and to try to sit in the same section.

This would also help our cheerleaders and would promote school and community spirit.

The Spring Sing -Spiration will be on Sunday, March 21^st. This will be an inspiring evening of beautiful music at the United Methodist Church in Eads. The New Generation ladies will host a fundraiser soup supper to gain remodeling funds for the kitchen. Those of us who ate at their December soup luncheon know that they serve great food. Local musicians will play the piano, organ, and other instruments, while churches share in the singing program. This is a community worship service. The congregation will be able to sing by reading the words on the projection screen donated by Thomas Liesen’s family.

Some of our middle school students will be competing in the Regional Science Fair this week in Lamar. This is a marvelous opportunity for science students. Doris has many good memories of taking many Eads students to the State Science Fair in Boulder during the 60’s and 70’s. Her first student who won a trip was Patsy Koch Livingston with her project experimenting with various pie crust recipes. Some of her students, Mike Shotton, Ted Abrams, Gary Shotton, Chuck Bowen, and other student researchers continued on to do their college studies related to the subject of their Science Fair Project.

The Haswell Westenders had their monthly card party with snacks at the Senior Center Sunday evening. Actually, when we were there, we thought it was a "supper", but they call it "snacks". Another service they have is on the first Wednesday of the month a traveling certified beautician who comes to the center where people can get hair cuts and other hair and beauty services.

March 1 to 14^th is a Surviving Artists half price sale of selected articles in the middle room of the Artist of the Plains Gallery in Eads. The artists are planning a chili supper April 1^st where you can buy a pottery bowl made by Kit Carson Artist, Kevin Dawson filled with chili. Why not mark your calendars now for these events?

A number of people from Eads have made journeys in groups or couples to Pueblo and Colorado Springs to see the movie, "The Passion of the Christ". The people we have talked to seem to have an aura of awesomeness after viewing this movie. Maybe it is humbleness and gratitude to see the realization of what Jesus did for us.

Nearly every afternoon, I am at the Nursing Home visiting my mother and Aunt Rosamond, but Monday I stayed home because of the weather. I am so glad I was home, because Red and Glaida Craven of Kit Carson came to Eads to deliver some of Glaida’s oil paintings to the Artists of the Plains Gallery. While Glaida was at the Gallery with Lill Penn, it was my chance to ask more questions of my favorite 94 year old cowboy friend, Red. Forrest (Red) has a wealth of information to answer my curious questions about quick sand, cow punching in the 20’s and 30’s, economics, stories about homesteaders, and other western tales. I will read his book again, "Call Me Red."

The 4-H Fun Festival will be hosted in Eads Friday, March 5^th beginning at 6:00 p.m. at the Community Building. This is a free event and chance to see many of our youth perform musically or in skits or dance routines.

Many people around the community are walking more, weighing more, and eating more fruits. A 10K/5 A Day half-way party is planned at the high school Multi-Purpose room for Thursday, March 4^th to encourage the participants.

Parents who want their young children to be a part of the 4-H program as a Clover Bud member can call Shawn or Brandi Roberson in Eads. There are some fine projects youngsters can take depending on their maturity under the age of 9.

On Mondays and Tuesdays there are many cars around the Eads Senior Center because a number of ladies are inside cleaning and painting all kinds of lovely ceramics. On Tuesdays there are even more cars on Maine Street and 13^th’ Street because a number of serious Bridge players converge at the Center. Mondays and Wednesday afternoons other people like to play pitch at the Center at 1:00 p.m. We encourage you to check out one of these activities if you haven’t done so.

Robin Musgrave and Doris went to Lamar to the town meeting to hear Robin’s cousin’s wife, Congresswoman Marilyn Musgrave at Blackwell Station Saturday. There were people there from Crowley County, Baca, Prowers, Kiowa, and Bent counties. I, Doris, was favorably impressed last week when I saw her defending her views and values on the Larry King Show where she was pitted against the mayor of San Francisco. She told us that she had also been invited on the Peter Jennings show and other talk shows.