Monday, Feb.24, was very cold, barely made it to 17-degrees. It was very warm in my house. It was my Zoey day. She is in the midst of cutting teeth and chewing on everything, especially toys. She loves to eat. She pulls herself up and grabs everything with those little hands, especially glasses.

Brandon picked me up in a warm car and I had dinner at Jenn Smith’s house. My daughter, Marcia, was also there as Kyra had been babysitting Iain for Jenn.

On Tuesday, Feb. 25, I went to Radio Shack to get parts to repair my telephone. Last Thursday I was talking on the phone and Samson came through the back door and Reba didn’t know who it was. I use phones with long cords and Reba ran through and took my phone line with her. As she approached Samson at the back door, the phone line got wrapped around her body. She ripped the phone right out of the base. It was hanging by wires but Samson finally got Reba untangled.

Wednesday, Feb. 26, was still very cold. It was a laundry day and I wrote out birthday cards, a new baby card to great niece Jocelyn Pleines in Maryland and a get well card to my nephew Mike Richardson in Starkville.

I went with my grandson Brandon Clark, on his dinner visit with his children, Samson and Nichole. It seemed very short. We ate at the Red Apple Buffet in Cobleskill.

Thursday, Feb. 27, was a very important day. It’s Brandon’s birthday. I wrote out some bills. Then, when Brandon got out of work, we went to Cobleskill to celebrate his birthday with his children, Nichole and Samson.

We enjoyed Pizza at Little Italy.

Friday, Feb. 28, was Jared Martin’s birthday. I did my grocery shopping and spent the evening visiting with Brandon and Jenn.

Saturday, March 1, was another birthday, my granddaughter, Kassi Neal. 

There was a family reunion of sorts at Home Depot. Kassi, Jared, Danielle, Zoey, Matt Babcock, Brandon and Jenn all arrived there at the same time shopping for material for their houses.

Sunday, March 2, I went to church and then Brandon and Jenn stopped in. I visited Danielle, Zoey, Matt and my nephew, Chris Richardson, who was visiting them.

I made beef stroganoff for dinner. My mother always made this dish when she had leftover beef. The first time I ordered it at a garden club dinner I was surprised because mom never had a name for it. My mother was a fabulous cook and always put on a delicious dinner including dessert. She left me beautiful memories.

A great loss

The community mourns the loss of Patrick Stempel Sr. He was known as Goozer and didn’t seem to expect any rewards but he contributed hours to the community.

He worked for the town all his life making our driving comfortable and he was a firefighter until it was to hard for him to get around.

He raised five children who have remained loyal to our community. 

Our sympathy goes out to Patricia, Patrick Jr., Michael, Diane, and George, and all the grandchildren. Rest in peace, Pat, you will be remembered.

Lenten worship

The second worship and fellowship for Lent is Wednesday evening and will be held on March 12, at the Berne Reformed Church. The topic will be trust and the preacher will be Pastor Jay Francis. All are welcome.

Fire auxiliary

The East Berne Fire Company Auxiliary held their election meeting on Saturday, March 1. The hard winter and snow conditions had caused low attendance and then a tie vote at meetings.

The auxiliary has grown in membership by leaps and bounds. We are thankful for the volunteers interested in serving on such a needed commitment. 

It the late fall, we were honored to have Katie Peck and Jane Powelcyk join the auxiliary. At the beginning of the new year we were elated to have Jen Chase, Sarah Densmore, Adrian Pierce, Danielle Shepard and Kelley Kallner join the auxiliary.

The newly elected officers for 2014: president, Becky Gross; vice president, Heather Murray; secretary, Tina Meehan; treasurer, Carol Guilz; color bearer, Peppie Harnett; trustees, Becky Gross, Tammy Houck and Joanne Wright; sunshine, Joanne Wright; by-laws committee, Tammy Houck, Heather Murray, and Danielle Shepard; and I’m both the historian and chaplain.