YARD SALES

If your town, community or housing development is having yard sales please let me know. Individual yard sales will not be listed, only specific towns or communities. If you put up signs to advertise your yard sales please remember to go back and take them down.

— Howard Community Yard Sale dates are today and tomorrow, May 1-2.

— Howard Grange will have a food tent set up in the parking lot at the Howard Borough Building during the Howard Yard Sales on Friday from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. selling breakfast sandwiches, hamburgers, hot dogs, their famous Cheeseburger Soup, baked goods and drinks. Stop by and patronize the Howard Grange since all their money stays local and helps people in our town and the surrounding community.

— Bargains and Blessings Community Closet will be open on Saturday, May 2, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., at Faith Chapel United Methodist 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. Bags will be provided.

— Howard Fire Company’s Annual Indoor Yard Sale will be on May 7-9. Sale hours will be from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Thursday and Friday and from 8 a.m. to noon on Saturday. The kitchen will be open on Thursday and Friday until 5 p.m.

Donations of clean and working items can be dropped off at the fire hall on Monday, May 4, and Tuesday, May 5, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. and on Wednesday, May 6, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Please do not bring tires, car seats, tv’s, computers or keyboards as donations. And please, no wet clothing items. Please make sure that your items are in working condition and if not, put them in your own trash can at home, rather than our yard sale crew having to put them in the dumpster.

— Milesburg Community Yard Sales will be on May 15-16.

— Bellefonte’s Community Yard Sales will also be on May 15 and May 16.

— Woolrich Community Yard Sales will be on Saturday, May 16.

— Mill Hall’s Community Yard Sales will be on May 29-30.

— Centre Hall Community Yard Sale dates are June 26-27.

MEMORIAL SERVICE

Fairview Cemetery will be holding clean-up activities starting on May 1, so please visit the cemetery and take off the grave decorations of your loved ones that you want to keep. If you care to remove all the old and faded items that would be much appreciated by the clean-up volunteers.

Please do not remove the American flags that are placed on the graves of the veterans buried at the cemetery. Allowing the flags to stand will make it easier for the volunteers to put the new flags on for the upcoming Memorial Day holiday.

The cemetery will be having their annual Memorial Service on Sunday, May 17, at 2 p.m., at the church/cemetery grounds. The guest speaker this year will be Representative Paul Takac. Donations for the upkeep (grass mowing) of the cemetery will be accepted during the memorial ceremony. If you have loved ones buried at the cemetery please consider providing a monetary gift to the Fairview Cemetery.

Fairview Cemetery is located in Boggs Township at the intersection of Bullit Run Road and Fairview Road and just up the hill from Curtin Hollow Road. If you have any questions about the Fairview Church or the Fairview Cemetery, please call Pastor Dave Etters or his wife, Sabrina, at 814-355-2815.

LIONS CHARTER DAY

Howard Area Lions Club will soon be celebrating 50 years of serving the community. The Lions Club was chartered on May 5, 1976. There were 63 men who signed the original charter, and today only six of those men are still living.

It was on June 1, 2021, that the Howard Area Lions Club opened their membership to women. A Centre County Lioness Club was dwindling in membership and several of the women had husbands who were active with the Howard club. Those “Lady Lions” as I fondly refer to them as, were welcomed into the Howard club as members, and today there are 13 women involved with the Howard Area Lions.

The Lions motto is WE SERVE, and for the past 50 years the men and women involved with the Howard Area Lions Club have served their community well.

I hope to have a more indepth article about our local Lions Club for you later this month, after I’ve been able to get some photos at the Club’s meeting scheduled for May 19. .

In the meantime, the Lions Club is always looking for new members, and you don’t have to live in Howard to be involved. See any Lion member for an application today!

LIONS NEWS

Howard Area Lions Food Bank distribution dates will be on May 4 and May 18. Distribution is handled from the former Beech Creek Elementary and runs from noon until 3 p.m. Bring a sturdy box (or boxes) with you. A large number of boxes are needed each month for the food distributions.

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 May 14 at the Beech Creek Fire Company social hall. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. and Bingo starts at 6:30 p.m.

If Bingo players bring a bag(s) full of candy valued at $5 or more, they will get $5 off their Bingo packet price during the May 14 Bingo night. Please make sure the candy is individually wrapped pieces and no chocolate because it melts too easily.

The candy will be used by the Lions Club to throw to spectators at the Memorial Day parade in Beech Creek.

The Lions business meeting on Tuesday, May 19, will be held at the Beech Creek Fire Company social hall since the Howard fire hall is not available because of Election Day.

Howard Area Lions will have their Memorial Service on Friday, May 22, at the Foster Joseph Sayers Medal of Honor Memorial Monument at the breast of the dam. The Lions will be coordinating the program with the Centre County Veterans Affairs office this year. Both the Centre and Clinton County Veterans Affairs offices participate each year, but take turns in helping to formally organize the annual program.

During the memorial program the new bricks in the Walk of Honor at the monument are unveiled. Anyone can purchase an engraved brick with a veterans name on it for the walkway. I think the bricks are $65. If you’re interested in purchasing a brick and having it engraved so it can be laid in the walkway for this year’s memorial service, you can contact Lion Lloyd Rhoades for an application. Lion Lloyd’s email is lar2psu@gmail.com or you can call him at 814-355-1776.

More info will follow on the memorial service as it draws closer.

FIRE NEWS

— Centre Hall Fire Company’s First Friday of the Month Bingo will be held this evening, May 1. The bonus organization that the fire company will be helping to raise funds for will be the HOPE Fund of Penns Valley. This fund helps folks in the Penns Valley area who are in need, whether it be because of a serious illness, house fire or some other “crises” that is happening to them.

— 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.

UPCOMING EVENTS

— Howard Grange will have a food tent set up during the Howard Yard Sale today, May 1, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. The Grange will offer breakfast sandwiches (until sold out), hamburgers, hot dogs, cheeseburger soup, drinks and baked goods. The location of the food tent will be in the Howard Borough Building parking lot.

— Howard VFW Post #8269 will have a Chicken BBQ on Saturday, May 2. The chicken should be ready at 11 a.m. You can get half a chicken, macaroni salad, potato salad, baked beans and a roll for $15. Come early because it sells out fast!

— Milesburg Food Bank is open on Tuesday, May 5, from 1-3 p.m. This food distribution is held the first Tuesday of each month at the Milesburg Presbyterian Church.

— Food distribution will be on Thursday, May 7, from 4-6 p.m., at St. John’s Lutheran Church, 216 McAllister St., Bellefonte. There aren’t any income guidelines but a few questions are asked for those attending for the first time. For more info on these food distributions held the first Thursday of each month, call Leilani “Loni” at 814-548-7835.

— Howard VFW’s Spring Gun Drawing will be on Saturday, May 9, from noon to 5 p.m., at the club along Walnut Street in Howard. Tickets are $10 each and can be obtained by stopping at the VFW Club or by seeing a club member.

— The Howard Scouts are hosting a Mother’s Dinner on Saturday, May 9, at the Howard United Methodist Church. Take your mom out for dinner with the proceeds benefiting Scout Troop 353.

The menu for this special dinner honoring mothers will be stuffed chicken breast, mashed potatoes with gravy, green beans, cole slaw, applesauce, rolls with butter and strawberry shortcake! Reservations must be made by calling Patti at 814-625-2182. You can pick your eating hour from 3-4 p.m., 4:30-5 p.m. or 6-7 p.m. Take-out meals must also be reserved and must be picked up between 2-3 p.m. The meals will cost $15 for adults, $10 for children ages 5-12 and free for little ones.

Make your reservations early and get a $25 Weis gift card courtesy of Howard United Methodist Church!

— Centre Ballroom is sponsoring a ballroom dance on Sunday, May 10, from 2-5 p.m., at Lambert Hall in Bellefonte. The dance will start with a swing dance lesson. The cost is $10/person and those attending should bring a snack to share. Call Rod at 717-543-8348 for more info.

— Wingate Faith Church will be having a Summer Kick-off Picnic at the church on Friday, May 15, from 4-6:30 p.m. The meal will be pulled pork sandwiches, baked beans, pasta salad, coleslaw, desserts and a drink. The cost will be $12 for adults; $6 for students and those ages 6 and younger get to eat free.

If you have a birthday during May and show your ID to verify your birthdate, you’ll get to eat for free! Wingate Faith Church is located at 111 Runville Road, Bellefonte, behind the Sheetz store and beside Wingate Elementary. For more info call Janette at 814-883-0893.

— Beech Creek Wesleyan Church will have the free Mobile Food Pantry at the church on Thursday, May 21, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Anyone may come and receive food. This distribution is being administered by the New Love Center in Jersey Shore.

The food distribution will be held at the church, 217 Main St., Beech Creek.

— Milesburg Museum is having a bronze sign made that lists the 15 Patriots from Milesburg as well as the 17 founding families of Milesburg to commemorate America250. An unveiling ceremony is being planned for June 28, at 4 p.m., at the Milesburg Post Office. There will be birthday cake, also!

Milesburg was settled in the 1760, before the Revolutionary War, and the town proudly boasts that Milesburg had the most Patriots from Centre County!

More info will be coming closer to the Patriot unveiling and celebration date.

— Friends of the Egg Hill Church in Spring Mills will be honoring America’s 250th with a patriotic music celebration, a graveside memorial service honoring a Revolutionary War veteran buried in the church cemetery and having special guest speakers on July 18. For more info call Beth Kennedy at 814-777-1333, or visit their Facebook page for other events being held at Egg Hill Church. Monetary donations can be sent to Friends of Egg Hill Church, 221 Norman Ave., Pleasant Gap, PA 16823.

— — — —

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.