About Town

By Ida and Doris Lessenden

August 20, 2004

T. J. Watts, Trice Watts, Milton Watts, Craig Hansen, and Levi Kraft of Eads won the Ranch Rodeo competition over eleven teams Sunday at the Prowers County Fair. Some of the events were wild cow milking, branding, trailer loading and double mugging. Congratulations, cowboys!

The David Engelhardt-Shellie Gonzales wedding was the big event on the social calendar in Eads Saturday. The invitations said "Shot Gun Wedding". We gathered out at the gun club for the ceremony on the grassy area. The morning was cloudy but just as the ceremony began, the sun burst out. We liked the vows, the poem, and the scriptures. The guests were invited to lunch, a trap shoot, and later a dance. We wish the couple a happy life together.

Tyler Ellicott has come to Eads for two weeks with his grandparents, George and Dorothy Ellicott. They traveled up to Chase County, Nebraska to watch his cousins, Tanner and Allison, in the 4-H livestock competition a few days and then returned to do the gardening.

Maxine Voss was surprised with an early birthday party Sunday when her daughter-in-law, Terry Voss, baked and decorated two pretty cakes. She and Rhonda Kreuger served the cakes with ice cream and punch. Maxine’s daughter, Carolyn, and grandchildren were here from Denver as well as a number of grandchildren and great grandchildren.

Tally and Tanaia Hansen and T. J. and Trice Watts have all won berths in the Colorado State Junior Rodeo Finals in Salida this weekend. So their families will be traveling to the mountains to watch the youth in team roping, break away calf roping, and the barrel events.

Congratulations to Airman Sarah Puls who graduated recently from the Traffic Management Course in San Antonio, Texas. She is stationed in Oklahoma. Sarah is the daughter of Steve and Lynn Puls of Eads.

Last week we saw Darryl Adamson and some helpers painting the field bleachers. They looked great for the fans who attended the "Backwards Baseball" tournament on Saturday. Through the years we have regarded Darryl with great admiration for his dedicated good work to the whole school campus and grounds work.

Congratulations to Dr. Lauren Grasmick of Lamar and formerly of Eads who has received her Ph.D. in Education and Human Resource Studies with a specialization in Community College Leadership through Colorado State University. She is the daughter of John and Lynn Lefferdink of Lamar.

The people who went out to the community building to have pot luck dinner with the Arapaho and Cheyenne Indians were pleased and thrilled to see and hear the dancers and speakers. The meat and some foods were catered by Betty Cahill and staff. There probably would have been an even larger crowd if it were not for the county employee’s picnic and swim party and the school registration for grades K to 10. However, there was a large audience and even more when about 150 or more Indians came. Six young men of high school and college age danced in fabulously colorful attire with big remarkable feather headdresses and bustles. An elder and about five braves sang and beat the rhythms on a large drum. A lovely girl and darling little toddler also danced in white and turquoise dress. Most of the people came from the Wyoming Wind River Reservation and School. The biggest contingent was youth about ages 14 to 20. Some of the boys and girls had just won several Wyoming State Track championships. They used their athletic abilities in the strenuous dancing. One outstanding youth was featured as the "prairie chicken dancer". He won a track scholarship to the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque. On his arm was the hide of the first fox he caught. Part of his headdress was tall porcupine quills trimmed with tuffs of reddish deer fur. This was a terrific experience for the audience to meet and hear from some of the descendants of survivors of the Sand Creek Massacre who were running from the Chivington site towards Lander and Casper, Wyoming. One of their main goals is to maintain and learn their native language and learn more about their culture.

Morrell Koch, Eads senior, has returned from a fabulous two week trip to Australia where she flew for 13 hours to Brisbane. She stayed one and half weeks on the Gold Coast at Surfer’s Paradise where she played basketball at the arena with eight teams from the USA and eight teams from New Zealand and Australia. She was also privileged to spend time in the capitol of Sydney. Morrell said she had a marvelous time there. I see that she is busy helping her parents, Barry and Suzzette, on their farm and ranch.

**A number of Spady and Lessenden relatives traveled to Kearney, Nebraska over the weekend to attend the wedding of Chad Spady. Chad is Hazel Spady’s grandson and the son of Roger and Vernie of Lamar.

Dave Ellicott, Eads and Colorado State University graduate, has been honored this week at the Alpha Gamma Rho National Convention in Columbus, Ohio an outstanding award. Of the Fraternity’s 58,000 members 712 men were selected to be honored for the "Brothers of the Century Award" to recognize the "best of the best" of members in their fraternity’s first 100 years. Dave has had a 25 year career in beef consulting and is the founder and manager of 7 Pepper Food Products. He and Tami, have two sons, Matt of Colby, Kansas, and Tyler. They live near Platteville, Colorado. **The City Market at the park was wrapped in mist Saturday morning. New vendors were Trudy Briggs of Haswell with wonderful pastries and breads and Deb Kliesen of Eads with lots of pretty crafts and home decorator items.

Congratulations to nine year old Marisa Dixon of Eads who was one of 139 entries in the annual Art Contests sponsored across the state by electric co-ops and the Colorado Country Life Magazine. Students ranging from age 4 to 17 won four tickets to Six Flags Elitch Gardens in Denver. This is just right for Marisa and her family, Michael, Shannon, and Dylan.

Dr. Cathryn Anderson was in Eads Monday for the Library Board meeting and other errands. She attended the party of her nephews, Nick II and Nick III Jimenez Sunday in Cheraw. Nick is a pre-vet student at CSU-Fort Collins.

Cardon and Joyce Berry had lunch with Wally and Phyllis Mosher in the Springs Saturday. Their main mission was to bring home nice white tables for the United Methodist Church which a generous benefactor had arranged to be given to the church.

Through out the summer, Marty Barnett, his three sons and other workers have put in long hours of setting new cement, tall fences, basketball goals, a tennis court and space for other recreational activities with in the fenced area south of the school track.

Junior and Wendy (Fadness) McDowell have moved to a ranch home east of town. We welcome them back to our community as well as Abigail and Trey to our school. They and their little brother, Cade, are anticipating the arrival of a baby sister, most any day now. Junior works at the Heritage Hog Farm. Wendy is a registered nurse and homemaker.

We were delighted to have Ida’s niece, Grace Paige and husband, Jack, from Texas, their son, Bruce, from Oklahoma, and Ida’s nephew, Don Peterson from Kansas come last weekend. We drove over to Virgil and Wanda’s ranch north of Arlington for a great supper and time of visiting.

This Saturday is the Eads Red Hatters luncheon out at the home of Janie Bush and then a short meeting at 2:30 p.m. at Our Place to plan the float for the Fair Parade.

Kit Carson Day is Saturday, September 4^th. It is always nice to see folk from Eads there for the barbeque, melodrama, parade, family games, and other events.

We often see Lougene Jacobs go into Weisbrod on Sundays to visit folks there. She is known about town for her beautiful smile and friendly greetings.

Show love to others young and old. Encourage them while they are near; For when they’ve gone to their reward, Your loudest praise they will not hear - by D. De Haan.