PHOTO PROVIDED Mike Palischak will be offering a Holy Moments in History lecture at the Bald Eagle United Presbyterian Church in Mill Hall on Jan. 28 at 10 a.m. Palischak will speak on the Declaration of Independence in recognition of our country’s 250th anniversary.

CEMETERY MEETING

Jacksonville Cemetery Association will be holding their annual meeting on Saturday, Jan. 17, at 1 p.m., at the Marion Township municipal building in Jacksonville.

Thank you to the township supervisors for allowing the cemetery association to use your meeting room for the cemetery meeting.

All lot owners and anyone who is interested in supporting the association is asked to attend.

VFW BREAKFAST

Howard VFW’s Auxiliary will host a Breakfast Buffet at the club on Sunday, Jan. 11, from 10 a.m. until noon. The cost is $12 for adults.

Mark your calendar that the next breakfast will be held on Feb. 8.

LIONS NEWS

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 Jan. 22 at the Beech Creek Fire social hall. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. and Bingo starts at 6:30 p.m.

Howard Area Lions Food Bank will be open on Monday, Jan. 19, from noon to 3 p.m., at the former Beech Creek Elementary School. Bring any large sturdy boxes that you have for food distribution.

The Lions Club has straw whisk brooms for sale. I believe they are $14 each. Ask any Lion or call Lion Denny Bechdel at 570-962-3218 if you’re interested in purchasing a broom. The proceeds from broom sales benefit the blind.

The Lions Club collects used glasses that are sent overseas to underprivileged countries for individuals to be fitted with. If you have eye glasses to donate you can bring them to any Lions Club function and they’ll know what to do with them there.

The eye glasses (prescription lens and even “readers”) are collected all year long, so keep that in mind when you get new glasses. There’s a drop box in the foyer of the bank in Beech Creek if you’d want to place them there. Funeral directors will also collect them for the Lions Clubs, too.

Mark your calendar for the Howard Area Lions Sweetheart Dinner that will be held on Saturday, Feb. 14. This is a free meal for local residents who are 60+ years of age that live in the Howard Area Lions servicing area. Sweetheart Raffle tickets are on sale now and will also be sold at the dinner. Contact Lion George Mochan at 814-482-0507 if you can sell some tickets before the dinner. Proceeds from the raffle are what pays the rent at the food bank headquarters in Beech Creek.

UPCOMING EVENTS

— The Light of the World Clothing Bank will be open today, Jan. 9, from 2:30 to 5 p.m., at St. John’s United Church of Christ, 145 W. Linn St., Bellefonte. Clothing in all sizes is available along with shoes, coats, bedding and more! Everything is free, but if you’d like to make a monetary donation to the church it would be appreciated.

Unfortunately, the clothing bank will not be open on Saturday this month.

Please check the church website at www.bellefonteucc.com for weather cancellation updates. For more info, please call the church at 814-355-9072.

— Howard United Methodist Church will have a soup sale and luncheon on Thursday, Jan. 15, from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m., at the church fellowship hall.

Come for a sit down lunch that costs just $10 and comes with soup, salad, a roll, a piece of pie and your drink. Take-out quarts of soup are sold for $9 each.

It’s best to pre-order your take-out quarts so that you’re sure to get the flavors you like.

The soup flavors are vegetable beef, ham and bean, chicken noodle and chicken corn.

Call or text your pre-orders of soup to Patti at 814-625-2182 before Sunday, Jan. 11.

Soup comes in freezable containers so stock up for the winter days still ahead.

The soup sales are a fundraiser that the church uses to help others in our community who are in need.

CALENDARS

& ORNAMENTS

Howard Parks and Recreation has their 2025 hand-painted Christmas ornaments and their 2026 calendars for sale. The ornaments were a little late in getting here until right before Christmas. This is the fifth year that the ornaments have been made with Jan Heverly’s help and use of her glazes, tools and kiln. Unfortunately, the kiln broke and that caused the delay.

The ceramic ornament this year is of a Christmas stocking and each has detailed and unique artwork. You will want to add the ornament to your collection for only $10.

There may still be a few ornaments left from previous years if you want to start your collection now!

The calendars are also $10 and this year feature recipes from Howard folks who kindly submitted them for this year’s calendar. You won’t want to miss out on the calendar, because once the year is over you’ll have the recipes to use for years to come.

Proceeds from the ornaments and calendars go towards helping to keep the parks in town beautiful all year long.

There is also a supply of Howard T-shirts in a variety of sizes that are being sold for $20.

If you are interested in any of these items to support the Howard Parks and Recreation Committee, please call Debbie at 814-625-0054.

SAUSAGE SALE

Faith Chapel Church is having their annual sausage sale. Sausage is sold by the 5-pound bag and is $20 per bag. The sausage is loose and is salt and pepper flavored.

Orders must be placed before Jan. 18 and can be done by calling Jay Pletcher at 570-962-2746 or Charlie Day at 814-355-0784.

Pick-up will be at the church on Thursday, Feb. 5, from noon to 5 p.m., or on Friday, Feb. 6, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

I apologize for the error in last week’s newspaper. Jay and I got our wires crossed on the cost when he called for my order, but we have it corrected now. The sausage is $4 per pound.

SEAFOOD BUFFET

Sugar Valley Fire Company is having an all you can eat Seafood Buffet tomorrow, Jan. 10, from 3-6:30 p.m.

Boom-boom shrimp, breaded shrimp, Old Bay shrimp, lemon pepper fish, battered fish, scallops, coleslaw, stewed tomatoes, mac and cheese, fries, clam strips and chicken fingers will be on the menu. Prices are $25 for those 13 and older; $13 for children ages 6-12 and little tykes ages five and younger can eat for free.

There will be two buffet lines so not much wait time. Meals are available for dine-in or take-outs.

HOLY MOMENTS

Our nation will be celebrating its 250th anniversary of our Independence this year, and Bald Eagle United Presbyterian Church in Mill Hall is planning an event for the community that you will not want to miss!

In recognition of our country’s 250th birthday the church will be offering a historical lecture, presenting information on the events leading up to the Declaration of Independence.

The lecture will include the document itself along with the signers of this national birth certificate which began our existence as the United States of America.

This lecture will be brought to you by Michael Palischak, a well known, masterful historian and retired history teacher, who is also known for this Holy Moments in History lectures. Mike will once again amaze his listeners with the inside stories about how this historic moment came about.

History buffs will love learning important facts and information that you didn’t already know, and even if you’re not a history buff, you will enjoy this informative story about the birth of the United States.

The lecture will be held on Wednesday, Jan. 28, at 10 a.m., at the church at 111 Main St., Mill Hall. There is plenty of parking and a handicap ramp to the rear of the church that will provide easy entry to the church sanctuary.

The lecture is free and open to anyone who would like to attend. Sweet treats and beverages will be provided as well.

More information will be coming on this historic Holy Moments in History lecture!

FIRE NEWS

— Centre Hall Fire Company had a record breaking crowd — 127 players — at their First Friday Bingo on Jan. 2. Everyone had a great time, especially the Early Bird players who helped to support Penn State’s THON. There were four early bird games and a small raffle that netted $1,005 for THON, and then an anonymous donor matched $1,000 so Centre Hall Fire Company will be donating $2,005 to THON.

— Centre Hall Fire Company’s annual spring gun raffle will be held on May 16, 2026. Tickets are $10 and available from any fire company member or at the fire station during training nights or events.

— Centre Hall Fire Company will have their First Friday of the month Bingo on Feb. 6 at the fire station. 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. Bingo players are encouraged to support the Jared Box Project by bringing items to pack into a Jared Box for a child who is hospitalized. If you bring three items from the suggested toy list of items to fill a shoe box then you’ll receive a free Early Bird Packet.

The Jared Box Project is designed to provide special boxes filled with toys and activities to entertain and put a smile on the face of a child while they are hospitalized. All items must be new. No food items. No tiny items due to choking hazards. No snow globes or glass items that can break. No pencil sharpeners. No bubbles. No holiday items. Keep in mind, toys need to fit into a plastic shoe box.

Some of the items to consider donating are crayons and coloring books, colored pencils, Play-Doh, stickers, Matchbox cars, dolls, card games (like Go Fish, Old Maids or Uno), puzzles, books, stuffed animals, Lego kits, craft kits and travel games (like Connect 4, Checkers or Trouble).

— Millheim Fire Company has their gun raffle chances for sale so ask a fireman if you’re interested. The raffle will be held on April 11, 2026. Tickets are $10 each or 3/$20. There are 25 prizes to be won including guns, cash, a Yeti cooler, binoculars and range finders.

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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.