SHOE DRIVE

Time is drawing near for the end of the 2025 Shoe Drive for Gospel Tide in Chambersburg. This is the fourth year that the Gospel Tide has collected shoes to aid in their ministry. Marsh Creek Brethren in Christ Church is one of about 25 churches that are collecting gently used shoes, sneakers, sandals and boots for The Tide’s “Your Soles for Their Souls” drive that is being held until the end of March.

Marsh Creek BIC Church would like to collect 500 pairs of shoes this year for the drive. So far, they’ve received close to 400 pairs. The shoes need to be in really great shape, clean and have the shoe strings tied together (or be in a bag) so they don’t get separated.

Gospel Tide has a goal to collect 10,000 pairs of shoes this year. Last year their goal was to collect 5,000 pairs and they far exceeded their goal by collecting 6,500 pairs of shoes.

Bonnie will be taking the shoes to The Tide office in early April, so there’s still time to go through your closets and donate. Call Bonnie at 570-962-2665 for local pick-up or to drop off at her home.

WEEKEND EVENTS

Milesburg Museum and Historical Society has Easter Eggs yet to sell to raise funds for the museum. There are peanut butter and coconut eggs available for $10 a dozen. They are already bagged and ready for pickup. The eggs are being sold at the museum on Saturday’s from 8 a.m. until noon. And as weather warms the eggs will be for sale outside the Milesburg post office until they are all gone. Call 814-404-4021 or 814-404-8365 for more info.

Logan Grange #109 is having a Drive-Thru Soup Sale on March 22 from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. at their Grange Hall at 122 N. Main St., Pleasant Gap. The soup flavors are chicken corn noodle, ham and bean and chili and will be sold for $9 per quart. To make sure you get yours, preorders can be placed by calling 814-360-5756, by sending a private message on their Facebook page or by sending an email to logangrange109@gmail.com. Walk-in sales will also be filled until they’re all sold out!

A pool tournament benefit has been organized to help the Hausers who lost everything in a fire last month at their Marsh Creek home. Many of you probably know Darren and Stasy from their S D Kitchen cooking at the Beech Creek Legion.

Since the fire, Darren and his son, Quintavius, have been staying with his daughter, Ivy, for now, until they can find an apartment or make other living arrangements. Darren’s girlfriend, Stasy, also lost things in the fire as well.

The pool benefit will be held at the Linger Inn in Beech Creek on Saturday, March 22. The entry fee is $20 per team with a 50 percent payout. The benefit will include a 50/50 and basket raffle. The doors open at 10 a.m. for registration and pool shooting starts at 11 a.m.

If you are willing to help with any donations please reach out to Ivy using her cell phone, 814-482-1588. Please leave your name and a brief message and she’ll return your call when she’s able to.

Country Jam will be held at the Howard fire hall on Sunday, March 23, from 2 – 6 p.m. Hosted by the Back Porch String Band, Country Jam is held the fourth Sunday of each month, except in December. It’s an afternoon of free music, snacks and fellowship. If you have an instrument, bring it along and play with the bands that are there, or you can come just to listen to the hand-clappin’, toe-tappin’ tunes!

EASTER EGG HUNT

New Hope Fellowship Church is having an Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday, April 19, starting at 11 a.m. at the church. There are more than 5,000 Easter eggs filled for the kiddos to find. There will also be food, games and golden ticket prizes to win! This year the church has Dairy Queen, Burger King and McDonald’s gift prizes along with kids meals at Denny’s. Weis in Mill Hall has also been generous and donated a $50 grocery gift card.

Bring the whole family and enjoy the activities at New Hope Fellowship Church located at 6436 Nittany Valley Drive, (Route 64), Mill Hall.

SCOUTING DINNER

Scout Troop 66 in Pleasant Gap will be hosting a Spaghetti Dinner on Saturday, March 29, from 4-6 p.m. The dinner is being held to help the scout troop raise funds for their trip to Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico. The scouts are planning to spend about 12 days in June of 2026 at the Philmont Scout Ranch, camping out, hiking and seeing local attractions in the area. The spaghetti dinner will be held at the Pleasant Gap American Legion Post 867, 435 S. Main St., Pleasant Gap. The cost for a meal is $12, available by sit down dining or take-out meals. Monetary donations to assist Troop 66 on their Philmont trip will also be accepted and appreciated. For more info call 814-404-5432.

ROTARY DINNER

Bellefonte Area Rotary is offering a Chicken and Waffles Day on Thursday, April 3. Two meal times will be offered so you won’t miss out! You’ll be able to eat from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and again from 4-7 p.m. The chicken and waffles also comes with mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans and dessert. The cost is $10 for adults, $5 for children ages 4-12 years and those younger can eat for free. The meals are served at the Logan Grange Hall, 120 N. Main St., Pleasant Gap. Call Dave at 717-468-2573 for more info.

CEMETERY NEWS

Romola Cemetery in Marsh Creek will have their annual meeting on Monday, March 24, at 7 p.m., at Romola Bible Church. All lot owners are encouraged to attend. Contact Ron Heverly at 814-625-2116 for more info.

The annual meeting of Schenck’s Cemetery Association will be held on Wednesday, March 26, at 10 a.m., in the Howard United Methodist Church. All lot owners and those interested in the wellbeing of the cemetery are encouraged to attend.

The cemetery will be cleaned in early April. If you have decorations on the gravesites that you want to save you should remove them before April 6. (Otherwise they will be taken off and discarded as trash.)

For more info about Schenck’s Cemetery please feel free to contact Association President Barb Elling at 570-748-8631.

LIONS NEWS

Howard Area Lions Bingo will be held on Thursday, March 27, at the Beech Creek Fire Company’s social hall. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. and Bingo starts at 6:30 p.m.

At the last Bingo we sang ‘Happy Birthday’ to Maxine Chubb!

Howard Area Lions has a medical equipment program where the club loans out (free of charge) medical related items that individuals may be in need of. Canes, walkers, wheel chairs, bed side potties, shower chairs and hospital beds are just a few of the things that you can borrow. The Lions have been getting calls asking for wheel chairs and currently all of the wheel chairs are loaned out. If you have a wheel chair that you borrowed from the Lions Club and aren’t using it please return it so that others may use the items.

If you have medical equipment items that you’d like to donate to the Lions please call Denny at 570-962-3218 to arrange for a drop off time or local pick up, if need be. The Lions ask that people not just leave the items outside the storage facility, because they may get wet if it rains, so it’s best to make arrangements to drop off the items so that Lion Denny can be there to put them away.

Yard sale days will soon be coming so if you see a wheel chair in great shape please consider purchasing it and donating it to the Lions Club to help others in our community. The Lions will be happy to provide you with an in-kind donation receipt for your tax records if you request one.

Milesburg Lions Club holds a weekly Bingo every Thursday night at the Milesburg Community Center. Doors open at 5 p.m. and Bingo starts at 6:45 p.m.

UPCOMING BINGOS

Centre Hall Fire Company’s first Friday of the month Bingo will be on April 4. Doors and the kitchen open at 5:30 p.m. The Early Bird games begin at 6:30 p.m. and regular Bingo starts at 7 p.m.

KBR Bingo and More will host benefit Bingos this weekend. Doors open at 11 a.m. and Bingo starts at 1 p.m. Bingo is held on the third floor of the Piper Museum, 1 Piper Way, Lock Haven. On Saturday the Bingo will benefit the PA Riot Navy travel softball team and on Sunday the Bingo will help the Millbrook Playhouse.

Howard Grange is also holding a Cash Bingo on April 6 at the fire hall. Doors open at noon and Bingo starts at 2 p.m. Tickets are $20 in advance or $25 at the door. In addition to Bingo there will also be rip tickets, a basket raffle, 50/50 and lots of good food. Get your Bingo tickets from any Howard Grange member or by calling Anita Thompson at 814-571-4160.

A benefit Bingo will be held on Saturday, April 5, at the Centre Hall Fire Company for Kenzie Jones, an eight year old girl who has been diagnosed with an autoimmune disease that attacks the kidneys. Kenzie will be starting home dialysis soon, and then will be put on the list to receive a kidney transplant. The Bingo benefit will begin at 6 p.m. Doors open at 4:30 p.m. and there will be lots of food available along with a basket raffle and other raffles during the event. Tickets are $25. If you can donate a basket for the raffle please contact Amy Boob before March 31 to let her know you’ll help. For more info on Kenzie’s Bingo or to get tickets call Amy at 814-360-7099.

SEAFOOD IN SUGAR VALLEY

Sugar Valley Fire Company is offering an all you can eat Seafood Buffet on March 29 from 3-6:30 p.m. at the fire station. Boom boom shrimp, deep fried breaded shrimp, Old Bay shrimp, lemon pepper fish, battered fish, scallops, coleslaw, stewed tomatoes, mac and cheese, fries, clam strips and chicken fingers are just some of the items on the menu. The cost is $25 for adults and $13 for children ages 6-12. Little tykes ages 5 and under can eat for free. Dine in or take-out options are both available.

POT PIE SALE

Wingate Faith Church is holding a ham and chicken pot pie sale on Monday, April 7, from 4 p.m. until sold out. Quarts of pot pie with bread samples will be $9 each. Place your pre-orders by calling Janette at 814-883-0893 anytime. Pickup is by drive-thru service in the church parking lot starting at 4 p.m. on April 7. Walk-in sales are welcomed until they’re all sold out! This is the last pot pie sale until the fall, so stock up. The pot pie comes in freezable containers. The church is located at 111 Runville Road, Bellefonte (which is just behind the Sheetz Store near the BEA High School).

APRIL EVENTS

St. John’s Lutheran Church will have a food distribution on Thursday, April 3. From 4-6 p.m. residents of the area may come to the drive-up distribution at the church at 216 McAllister St., Bellefonte. The food distribution is usually held on the first Thursday of each month, so mark your calendar accordingly. There aren’t any income restrictions but there are a few questions for those coming the first time. Call Leilani (“Loni”) at 814-548-7835 for more info.

Friendship Community Center in Beech Creek is having a Spring Bazaar on April 4-5. On Friday the hours are from 6-9 p.m. and on Saturday the hours will be from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m. There are several vendors that will be there and many have items that will make great Easter basket fillers. There are candles, home decor, Easter eggs and decorated cookies for Easter time to name just a few. The kitchen will be open with platters available to eat in or take out. There will also be ham and bean soup that will be served by the bowl for $3 or by the quart for $7. Come get some soup to take home and enjoy later.

Light of the World Clothing Bank will be open from 2:30-5 p.m. on Friday, April 4, and from 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday, April 5. The clothing bank is at St. John’s United Church of Christ, 145 W. Linn St., Bellefonte. Clothing in all sizes, shoes, bedding and more is free for those who need it. If it makes you feel better to give a donation that’s acceptable and will help the church provide more things for future monthly distributions.

Howard United Methodist Church will host the Penn State Trombones on Sunday, April 27. The service begins at 9 a.m. and all are invited. Bring a few dollars to drop in their case to help the musical students.

NV AMISH BENEFIT

The Amish community in Nittany Valley is holding a benefit dinner on Saturday, March 29, at the Walker Township fire hall in Hublersburg. The dinner is served from noon to 7 p.m. and you can pick your time slot to eat. Reservations can be made by calling Sylvia at 814-810-7959 or Dorothy at 814-810-8664. The price is $22 for adults ages 18-64; $20 for senior citizens 65 and over and also for those ages 11-17; $9 for children 5-10 years old and younger kiddos can eat for free. Walk-ins are welcomed, but you may have to wait a few minutes until a table comes available. The proceeds from this benefit meal will be used to help with school expenses for the Amish schools in the area.

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Howard Happenings is written and compiled by Tammy Coakley who can be reached by email at tammysue0115@gmail.com or by telephone at 814-625-2684.