We made a trip up to Ohio this past Sunday to celebrate Dave's son, Davie's birthday. It was a nice drive and the trees were still beautiful.  They are now getting past their peak, but I still enjoyed them. It’s kind of like being in an art gallery with all the oohing and awing over each different color. We noticed on the way back as the sun was setting that they took a golden look as they had been dusted with gold dust. Little Dave is Down Syndrome and he celebrated his 58th birthday.  Although he has some health issues, he is doing well and was quite excited about this special celebration. We stopped at some roadside farm markets looking for bushels of apples but could not find any. I had thought about making some apple butter from a recipe I found using the crock pot.  I have not given up on that yet as I may still be able to get some apples.

 

Another celebration this week was held by the Sheltered Workshop.  This was held to honor those students who work there on a daily basis.  My little cousin Mark Queen was honored as the Employee of the Year.  He was quite excited over this recognition.  Mark is now living in a group home in Salem and is very happy about his new surroundings. Celebrating with him was Ruby Oldaker, Chester Harper and Mike Queen. We miss Mark in East View but this certainly is a great move for him.

 

Appalachian Teen Challenge held a banquet at the Bridgeport Conference Center this past week. If you have not heard about this group, make it a point to do so now.  They can be reached at 304-384-9074 or www.teenchallengecares.com. The evening included a wonderful meal and a video presentation of a new location to build a new facility on Route 19 in Clarksburg.  There were several testimonies from students who attend this facility and how their lives have been changed.  These testimonies were very powerful. The choir, which was made up of about 18 boys did a presentation and they too did a quality job. They are always in need of nutrition and hygiene products. If you are a group would like to adopt this as a project, contact them at the above telephone number. It appeared that there were approximately 275 people in attendance. Once again it was one of those events that I did not know to many of those in attendance. My son Michael purchased a table of ten and invited Dave and I, Leslie and Dixon Pruitt, Dixon's sister Lisa and her guest , Terry Waxman and Cathy and Dan Fisher to join him.

 

In keeping with their mission, the Progressive Women's Association of Harrison County sponsored another culture event.  This is to observe October as Italian Culture Month.  The group will be honoring Kathy Goings as the First Italian American Woman to serve as mayor of Clarksburg. A wonderful program has been planned and a luncheon will be held at the Uptown Event Center.  I will share all the details with you in the next column.

 

If you are looking for some exercise, try raking the leaves.  It’s a great workout. End up with a little fire in those new fire pits we all have on our back porches and try roasting a few marshmallows and making a s'more with some hot cider or cocoa. Happy Fall.

 

Keep in touch and until next week "Now You Have Heard It Through the Grapevine."