By the time this article gets to press it will be less than a month until Christmas. Advertisers will be reminding us how many shopping days are left and soon the Christmas parties and suppers will fill the calendar. What a delightful thought.
Better yet, we are less than a month from the shortest day of the year and then, believe it or not, we are headed to spring.
Have you noticed Carol Rohl coming to town a little later and going home a little earlier? Actually she likes travelling in the light, she says. The truth of the matter is Canada Post has seen fit to reduce the hours of operation at this post office by 10 hours per week. The new hours are 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. and 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. on Fridays. The cut-off for mail going out of Rabbit Lake is now 1:30 p.m. We are not happy about a loss of hours but realize we still have daily service.
Get well wishes go out to Marvin Price who is recovering from a broken leg. I can just hear him asking Santa for a pair of new armpits once he is up on those crutches!
The Rabbit Lake Senior Sunrise Circle had its monthly potluck supper with a large turnout to enjoy the great meal Nov. 20.
Carol Ferguson had mentioned earlier in the month the community should do something in regard to the Philippines situation and, with that, she did. After the supper Carol hosted a bit of a variety night and a collection of money. Various people - Marijane Martens, Daniel Martens, Dave Plummer, Marlene and Cornie Martens, Don and Naomi Unger, Patrick Laughlin, Alan Laughlin, Norma Sherman and Melitta Hildebrand - played instruments, sang, did readings and gave talks.
The collection totaled $445. This money will be matched by CIDA dollar for dollar. Further donations can be made but Dec. 8 is the last day for CIDA matching. Way to go, Carol!
Just a couple of nights later, Nov. 22, the Hoffnungsfelder Mennonite Ladies Aid put on their annual mission auction at the Rabbit Lake church. Although the group of buyers was not large, Al Martens and Doug Haryung were able to extract a fair bit of money from the audience's wallets. As usual both Doug and Al were hilarious and everyone found their humour infectious.
When the bidding was done and the tally complete, the eight ladies of the ladies' aid had raised $2,016.50. This money is mission money. Some is used for international, some for national and some for local projects. Melita Hildebrand was the convener. Lunch followed with, I might add, some very good cookies.
The Rabbit Lake Senior Sunrise Circle hosted a turkey shoot from 2 to 5 p.m. at the Rabbit Lake Community Hall, Nov. 23. The afternoon provided some interesting quirks and, thanks to the technical expertise of Doug Lamb, things went well.
The marksmen of the day were Cody Miller scoring 27 out of 30, Patrick Laughlin scoring 25 out of 30 and Jolene Lamb scoring 27 out of 30. Additional winners of turkeys were Melitta Hildebrand, Rose Gill Lodge, Brenda Aumack, Kathy Aumack, Stan Thul, Doreen Lamb, Colson Brown, Doug Lamb, Laureen Becotte, Clifford Smith, Ken Rodgers, Keifer Kitching, Arnie Loehndorf, Annette Letkeman, Angel Haryung, Tanis Franson and Peggy Giroux.
Thanks to Carol Ferguson and Shelly Laughlin for handling the registrations and the money and to Clifford Smith and Patrick Laughlin for loan of equipment.
This was not supposed to be a fund raiser, simply an activity in the village and so on that account it was successful. Thanks to Isabelle McLennan, Jeanette Krelow and Ruth Hrynewich for having coffee and muffins available and to all who dropped in and socialized.
Volunteers have been busy getting ice in the Rabbit Lake Rec Centre. President Curtis McNabb says we should be skating by the first week in December. Getting ice in is no small task but, thanks to Curtis McNabb, Randy McMurtry , Brandon Moore and Jaden McDonald, it will be ready for another season.
There will be a chili and mashed potato supper at the Rabbit Lake Seniors' Centre, Dec. 16. This is the kickoff of the Christmas season. The judges will reveal the winners of the community lighting contest, the chimes in the museum church will be inaugurated and the street light decorations will be up. Come for supper and vote on the people's choice lighting category. Watch the signs at the post office and the store to see which houses are registered in the contest. Supper is $5 and it is meant to be a fun evening.
Here I am writing this article early in the day Sunday because, like most of you, I will be too busy with the Grey Cup this evening to write. More to the point I will be too excited with the Grey Cup finding a home in Saskatchewan to be able to settle in to the task. The Rabbit Lake Hotel was hosting a Grey Cup party and a chili supper at halftime.
PS We did it! The Grey Cup party at the hotel was a great time with lots of cheering and yes, even in Rabbit Lake, we were able to create a whole sea of green!
