By Dixie Terry
Welcome January!
This month was named for the Roman God, “Janus” protector of gates and doorways. Janus is always depicted with two faces, one looking into the past and the other, looking into the future.
The birthstone for this new month is the Garnet and the official flower is the Carnation.
January is recognized as National Skin Awareness Month, Fiber Focus Month, Hot Tea Month, Oatmeal Month, Prunes for Breakfast Month, Ice Skating Month and Soup Month.
The second week of January is designated as Universal Letter Writing Month.
Some upcoming days to recognize include: Jan. 2–Science Fiction Day. Jan. 4–Trivia Day. Jan. 14–Dress Up Your Pet Day.
Your gently used furniture will be accepted for “The Unit” of Eagle House Ministries, to be donated to anyone in need. Call 618-771-7442 if you have furniture to give away.
The Thrift Shop of the Goreville Ministerial Alliance will be open on Tuesday, Jan. 21, and will be open each Tuesday and Thursday,9am to 4pm and each Saturday, 9am to noon. The shop will be closed, due to bad weather, when the Goreville School is closed.
The annual Joint Meeting of the GMA, for pastors, delegates and volunteers, will be on Thursday, Jan. 9, at 11:30am, with a lunch served at the Tunnel Hill Community of Christ Church.
The “Full Wolf Moon” will appear on Monday, Jan. 13, and is also known as the “Full Greetings Moon” and the “Snow Moon.”
Christms Day at my house found twenty family membes gathering for a noon-time feast, followed by an exchange of gifts and more feasting. Everyone had taken off for another gathering by 3pm and I was all alone and enjoying a nap.
The ice skating rink continues to welcome skaters, young and old, on Tower Square Plaza in Marion, that will continue through January. Contact for reservations at verymerrymarioncom.
The Eagle House Ministries provided a Christmas Day Feast for arrivals at their Buncombe Hill site and for home deliveries, a 30-year plus tradition.
Happy Birthday to You! Dec. 26–Jacob Billingsley, Reghan Goins, Andrew Sadlo! Dec. 27–Doug McCree, Mary Henley, Martha Jenkins! Dec. 28–Clark Madden, Ashlee Webb, Douglas Foster, Miranda Stafford, Kyndall Webb, Megan Webb! Dec. 29–Larry Kammerer, Larry Morse, Zachary Sullivan, Alyssa Berry! Dec. 30–Sandy Lively! Dec. 31–Pamela Runge, Amber Hancock, Judy Miller! Jan. 1–Harry Rowe, Barb Pritchett,
Destenie Sullivan, Zachary Dudley! Jan. 2–Rosie Craig, Josh Woelk! Jan. 3–Sharon Walker, Shawn Choate, Ollie Batson, Bob Farris, Mike Tripp! Jan. 4–Bruce Bennett, Madison Cavins, Josh Sullivan! Jan. 5–Beverly Rockwell, Morgan Bishop! May you all have many more!
Congratulations to Don and Vonda Carlton on their December 28 wedding anniversary!
Oh no! I forgot a granddaughter-in-law’s birthday on Dec. 22 and a grandson-in-law’s birthday on Dec 26. In an e-mail I was forgiven when I told them both that a check was in the mail. We have nine birthdays in our family in December!
To re-purpose your live Christmas tree, donate it to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Rend Lake Project, for fish habitat. The trees can be delivered to the Goofy Golf parking lot at Ray Fosse Park in Marion or at the Pyramid Park northern-most picnic shelter, also in Marion, through Jan. 10. In March, the trees will be bundled and weighted, to be dropped in Rend Lake. Volunteers are needed for this conservation project by calling 618-724-2493.
A new sub-station will be built in Marion in January by Ameren Illinois, that will enhance enegy service reliability in this area and is expected to be completed by June.
Sorry to say there was no Christmas news from our readers! Should you want to share any good local news, call 618-422-2086; email [email protected]; or mail to 907 C Independence Avenue, Marion, IL. 62959.
Enjoy the remainder of the week and the beginning of the New Year of 2025!