LIONS NEWS

Howard Area Lions will have their food distribution on Monday, Oct. 20, from noon to 3 p.m., at the former Beech Creek Elementary School. Bring a sturdy box (or boxes) with you as there is always a need for larger boxes for food distributions.

Food distribution is for those residents who live in the Centre County areas of Blanchard, Howard, Hunter Run, Lamar, Marsh Creek, Monument, Mount Eagle and Orviston, and those living in the Clinton County area of Beech Creek Borough and Beech Creek Township.

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.

Howard Area Lions Bingo will be held on Thursday, Oct. 23, at the Beech Creek Fire Company social hall. Doors and the kitchen open at 5:30 p.m. and Bingo starts at 6:30 p.m.

APPLE FEST

The 2025 Apple Festival at the Eagle Iron Works and Curtin Village will be happening on Saturday, Oct. 18, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., at 251 Curtin Village Road in Howard, Pa. Admission is just $5 — and children under 10 get in free!

Come hungry and enjoy fresh-pressed apple cider, homemade apple butter on locally baked bread, caramel apples, apple cider donuts, and — for guests 21 and over — hard apple cider. Fresh apple cider will also be available for purchase to take home and enjoy.

Stay for lunch with BBQ chicken hot off the grill, courtesy of Lock Haven’s Old Corner Grill & Bottle Shop. Tap your toes to live music from The Stevedores, performing from noon to 3 p.m. Kids will love painting pumpkins, climbing straw bales, shelling corn and crafting cornhusk dolls and gourd birdhouses — and most children’s activities are included with admission!

Please note that visits with goats and bunnies from McHugh Family Farm may require a small additional fee.

Tour the historic Curtin Mansion and iron furnace at no additional cost, watch cider being pressed and shop local vendors offering wood crafts, flavored hickory syrups and more. And don’t forget to grab an ice cream sandwich — the perfect finish to a festive fall outing.

Admission fee proceeds support the preservation of Eagle Iron Works and Curtin Village, managed by the volunteer-run Roland Curtin Foundation. This event is made possible by a grant from The Happy Valley Adventure Bureau and the Centre County Board of Commissioners.

BREAKFAST BENEFIT

Susquehanna Valley Big Twins Motorcycle Club is having a breakfast benefit from 7-11 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 18, to benefit fellow biker and friend, Bill Boyer. Bill suffered a stroke which has left him bed/wheelchair bound and in need of 24/7 care.

The breakfast meals are $10 for adults and $6 for ages 6-12. Younger kiddos get to eat free!

In addition to the breakfast benefit that morning there will also be a basket raffle.

Let’s rally together to show our love and support to Bill and his family.

SVBTMC is located at 84 Harley Dr., (Woolrich area), Lock Haven. The club has a mission to help the youth and those in need in our area and they do that by hosting a breakfast each month at their club house.

Visit their website or call the clubhouse for info on how to join the club, to volunteer at club events or to donate a prize or basket for the benefits each month!

FALL FESTIVAL

On Saturday, Oct. 11, the Porter Township Fall Festival will be happening at the Porter Township Park, 35 Washington Ave., Mill Hall. (along Rt. 64 in Lamar). The festival will run from noon to 5 p.m. Free admission, free popcorn, free cotton candy along with other family friendly fun, games, music and barrel train rides. Craft vendors will be selling throughout the day. Food will be available and sold by the Nittany Valley Fire Company. Call Chris to be a vendor or for more festival info at 814-571-5798.

WEEKEND EVENTS

— Pathway to Christ Church is having a curbside Chicken BBQ on Saturday, Oct. 11, from 11 a.m. until gone. The meal features ½ chicken, mac and cheese, baked beans and apple crisp for dessert for a donation. (The suggested price to donate for each meal is $15.)

— Pathway to Christ Church is having a Pumpkin Patch at the church on Sunday, Oct. 19, from noon to 2 p.m. The Pumpkin Patch consists of pumpkin decorating kits, while supplies last! There will also be a fall hayride and free popcorn for everyone! The event and activities is free and everyone is invited to come have fun at Pathway to Christ Church, 502 McElhattan Drive, McElhattan.

— Howard VFW’s Auxiliary will be holding an All You Can Eat Breakfast Buffet at the club on Sunday, Oct. 12, from 10 a.m. until noon. The cost is $12 for adults. Additional breakfast buffets will be held on Nov. 9 and Dec. 14.

— Centre Ballroom will have a dance on Sunday, Oct. 12, from 2-5 p.m., at Lambert Hall, Bellefonte. Cost is $10/person and you should bring a snack to share.

FIRE NEWS

Walker Township Fire Company is having a gun raffle on Saturday, Oct. 18, from 5-11 p.m., at the fire station in Hublersburg. Tickets are $10 each and will be available at the door until sold out. There are 25 gun and cash prizes on the ticket stub. Lots of food and a DJ will be there handling the music.

Howard Fire Company’s Annual Punkin Chunkin will be held on Saturday, Oct. 18, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., at the beach area of Bald Eagle State Park. If you’d like to be an arts and crafts vendor, visit the fire company’s website, www.howardfire.com, and get an application there. Or, email Kathi or Cindy at chunkincrafts@gmail.com for more info.

Walker Township Fire Company is having an Open House at the fire station in Hublersburg on Saturday, Oct. 25, from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m.. Food and games will be provided. Tor Michaels will be there broadcasting live. Come see the brand new Rescue truck that has recently been put into service and also the brand new tanker truck. The fire company took delivery of the new pieces over the summer, but only the rescue is in service at this time. The Open House is for everyone to see the fire units, to ask questions and to get an application if you’d like to volunteer with the fire company. For more info about the WTFC, call Jim at 814-280-6302.

Howard Fire Company’s annual Gun Raffle will be held on Nov. 8 from noon to 5 p.m. Tickets are $10. There are 10 cash and 10 gun prizes this year along with a special Bingo game ball prize of a gun cabinet with three mystery guns.

Centre Hall Fire Company offers a first Friday of each month Bingo at the fire station. The next Bingo will be held on Nov. 7. Get your tickets at the fire station for Centre Hall Fire Company’s Gun Raffle that will be held May 16, 2026.

FCC SUPPLIES

The Friendship Community Center in Beech Creek is asking for the community’s support in providing donations that will help to keep the expenses down at the center. Items that are needed are paper towels, toilet paper, toilet cleaning products, Dawn dish washing liquid, Fabuloso multi-purpose cleaning products and 32-gallon garbage bags. By donating these items it keeps the costs down so that the rental fees won’t have to be raised. Gift cards to Walmart and Dollar General are also useful for when the center needs to buy certain items that are needed that they don’t already have. Items can be dropped off at the FCC on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday evenings when the library is open from 3-7 p.m.

If you’d like to rent the FCC for your party or gathering, call Pam at 570-295-9592 for reservation information.

BARGAINS & BLESSINGS

Bargains and Blessings Community Closet will have their final sale of the fall on Oct. 18, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., at Faith Chapel Church, 551 Hunter Run Road, Howard.

Gently used, good quality clothing, shoes and accessories for the entire family are available. Sizes range from infants to 3X and are priced at $5 per bag full.

Bargains & Blessings Community Closet is an outreach of Faith Chapel United Methodist Church that serves Beech Creek, Blanchard, Howard and the surrounding areas.

Faith Chapel’s members invite you to worship with the congregation on Sunday mornings at 9 a.m. Check their Facebook page, www.facebook.com/faithchapelumc, for more info.

POTPIE RETURNS

Wingate Faith Church is having pot pie fundraisers this fall. The church offers ham or chicken pot pie with samples of bread for $9 a quart. The next pot pie sale will be on Monday, Oct. 13, with pick-up beginning at 4 p.m. until all sold out.

Pre-ordering is best, so that you’re guaranteed to get yours! Pre-orders can be called in to Janette at 814-883-0893 and then just come to the church fellowship hall at 4 p.m. to get yours.

Mark your calendars that the last pot-pie sale this fall will be on Nov. 10.

Wingate Faith Church is located at 111 Runville Road, Bellefonte, which is directly behind the Sheetz store in Wingate and sits next to Wingate Elementary.

BABY BENEFIT

A basket benefit is planned for Saturday, Oct. 18, at the Beech Creek-Blanchard Fire Company social hall. The benefit is for baby Coy Shade and his family and will run from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Coy was born six weeks early and weighed just over two pounds. He had to spend several weeks in the NICU at UPMC in Harrisburg before being life-flighted to the Children’s Hospital in Pittsburgh where he had to undergo open heart surgery.

Coy’s parents, Seth and Vanessa, were finally able to bring him home to join his big brother, Cooper. Vanessa has been off work with minimal income to provide constant care for Coy and Seth is juggling his HVAC business to go to doctor appointments and help at home when needed. Cooper is in kindergarten and trying to adjust to school and all that goes with having a new baby in the house!

Brenda (Shade) Frazier (Seth’s aunt) and Kim (Hanley) Holzer are organizing this benefit to help ease the financial burden for the Shade family as they focus on Coy’s recovery and having their two little boys continue to grow strong and healthy.

Donations of baskets are needed to help make the benefit a success. The community has been rallying and so far (I’ve heard) there are more than 135 baskets that are going to be donated for the benefit. The more baskets, the better, so if you can provide a basket, gift card or prize for the benefit please let Kim (570-449-2890) or Brenda (570-660-5283) know. There’s also a list of items that are needed and if you care to donate that would be awesome! Those items are bottled water, soda, coffee, hot dogs and buns, hamburgers and buns, mustard, ketchup and other condiments, baked goods, plates, napkins, cups and silverware. Venmo donations can also be sent to Seth’s sister, Emily, at Emily-Shade-5.

Food donations are also being accepted. Come hungry since there will be food platters selling for $8 that will include your choice of BBQ or Texas-style hotdog, macaroni or pasta salad, baked beans and a drink.

Let’s continue to rally around this baby and his family and show our love and community support to all of them. Please keep baby Coy and his family in your prayers, too!

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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.