CEMETERY MEETINGS

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

The Hublersburg Cemetery Association’s annual meeting will be held next Saturday, Jan. 24, at 10 a.m., at the Walker Township Building. Call Chuck Ingram at 814-383-4092 for more info on the Hublersburg Cemetery.

All lot owners and anyone who is interested in supporting these associations is asked to attend the respective meetings.

YARD SALE

The Marsh Creek Brotherhood Park and the Pleasant Valley Ladies Aid Society are planning to have a Yard Sale to dispose of the contents in the Brotherhood Park building. The liquidation sale will be held on Friday, Jan. 23, and Saturday, Jan. 24, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day.

The building contents include banquet/meal preparation items, plates, serving bowls, cups, coffee pots, pots and pans, a large mixer, folding tables, folding chairs, a chair rack (on wheels) to hang the chairs on and numerous kitchen-related items. In addition, there are 500+ canning jars that will be sold along with some butchering tools and supplies.

Brotherhood Park is located along Richner Hollow Road in the Marsh Creek area of rural Howard. For more info on the yard sale call Mary at 814-355-9580.

The sale is being held since membership in the Brotherhood Park and Ladies Aid has dwindled over the past several years. There are no longer enough younger, interested folks to continue the traditions that were held for more than 50 years at the Brotherhood Park.

Fond memories going back to my youth and teenage years are of preparing for the annual Harvest Day in the fall. Church folks, the youth group and community volunteers would gather to pick apples from farm fields nearby that were pressed for cider to make homemade apple butter that was sold by the pint and quart.

Homemade soups were cooked and simmered over open fires at the Brotherhood Park during Harvest Day, and it was a nice time of fellowship, with generations of folks working side by side for the well-being of the community. Those same folks would do whole hog butcherings to sell sausage to raise funds to continue to pay the taxes and upkeep of the two acres of land and buildings.

Most often, money raised from the fundraisers was given to those in the community who suffered through fires or serious illnesses.

But time has passed, with many of the original men of the Brotherhood Park having passed away now, and there are only about six or seven members of the Ladies Aid left, most of which are all over the age of 80 by now and just not able to pull off the traditional events that had previously been held at the Brotherhood Park.

Lately, the metal Morton-styled building has been used for family reunions and small banquets, but with funds dwindling rapidly, it’s time to close the doors on an era that dates back to the 1930’s when the land for the park was donated by the Wensel family who lived on the farm nearby. Later, the Shreffler family took action to see that a separate deed was established when they sold their farm, naming the Brotherhood Park as the official owners of the land.

The Brotherhood Park land was part of the original farm that is now owned by the (Emery) Watson family. The building and lot will be sold separately following the liquidation yard sale.

Mark your calendar for the yard sale dates where you can make acceptable offers on the items you are interested in and you should be prepared to take what you buy with you that day.

BENEFIT FOR MIKE

A benefit is planned for Mike Neff at The Golden Axe on Feb. 21.

Mike has been off work since June due to liver failure and he finally was able to receive a liver transplant operation at John Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Md., just before Thanksgiving in November. Mike must travel to the follow-up appointments from the surgery every 10 days in Baltimore, a more than four hour drive.

Please join us in helping to ease the financial burden for Mike and his family by attending or donating to the event.

On Feb. 21, there will be a Scottish Doubles Pool tourney with registration at 11 a.m. The tournament starts at noon and the cost is $30 per team.

Other activities during the day will include a 50/50 drawing, Cornhole and Dart competitions, Axe throwing, a basket raffle and food and drinks. All proceeds from the event will go directly to Mike to help with his daily living expenses and travel costs.

Here’s how you can help! Donations are needed, whether they be baskets and prizes for the raffle, food and drink donations or gas cards and money to help Mike during his frequent trips to Baltimore and with medications and daily expenses.

I’ll have more on this benefit as it gets closer. Your support would mean the world to Mike and his wife, Lori.

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.

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.

SHOE DRIVE

Marsh Creek Brethren in Christ Church will be collecting shoes again this year for the Gospel Tide’s “Your Soles for Their Souls” collection campaign. The Shoe Drive is underway and will continue until March 1.

Last year the Tide received 7,500 pairs of shoes. The goal this year is to collect 10,000 pairs. We’re hoping that other churches, businesses or individuals will search their closets and shoe racks and donate to the campaign.

Our church coordinator is Bonnie Young, who is willing to pick up shoes locally or arrange for convenient pick-up in the community, ranging from Bellefonte to Lock Haven and all the little towns in between. We have congregation members living in Bellefonte, Julian, Milesburg, Blanchard, Howard, Lamar and Lock Haven who would be able to help with collection efforts as well. Folks can call Bonnie at 570-962-2665 for pick-up or to schedule drop offs at her home in Beech Creek.

All sizes of shoes, sneakers, boots and sandals need to be new or only gently worn. Shoe strings need to be included, and it’s best to tie the pair together using the shoe strings so they don’t get separated in shipment.

This is the fifth year the Marsh Creek BIC Church has collected shoes to support Gospel Tide, and thanks to the community support we’ve exceeded our goal each year.

UPCOMING EVENTS

— Country Jam will be held at the Yearick Center in Howard on Sunday, Jan. 25, from 2-6 p.m. This is an afternoon of free music hosted by the Back Porch String Band. If you play an instrument, bring it along and join in. Or, just sit back and relax to the toe-tappin’, hand clappin’ tunes. Those attending are asked to bring a snack to share and a few dollars to drop in the hat to benefit the Howard Fire Company.

— Howard VFW’s Auxiliary will host a Breakfast Buffet at the club on Sunday, Feb. 8, from 10 a.m. until noon. The cost is $12 for adults.

— Centre Ballroom will sponsor a dance on Sunday, Feb. 8, from 2-5 p.m., at Lambert Hall in Bellefonte. Cost is $10/person and we ask that you bring a snack to share. Call Rod at 717-543-8348 for more info.

CALENDARS

& ORNAMENTS

Howard Parks and Recreation has their 2025 hand-painted Christmas ornaments and their 2026 calendars for sale. 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 the last four 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.

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

Proceeds from the sale of these items are used to keep the parks in town beautiful all year long. 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 $4 a pound and 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 of orders 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.

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 known for his Holy Moments in History lectures. Mike will once again amaze his listeners with the inside stories about how this historic moment came about. During his lecture, Mike will also point out how the role of those believing in God influenced those events leading to our nation’s freedom and democracy.

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.

Many will remember Mike as being a history teacher at Bucktail High School, where he spent 33 years before his retirement. He is a 1967 graduate of Lock Haven University and earned his Master of Education degree from Penn State University.

Mike and his wife, Janice, live in Lock Haven and are faithful members of the Bald Eagle United Presbyterian Church in Mill Hall.

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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.