Founded in 1945, the Shepherdstown Men's Club is an organization of men and women dedicated to community service. Membership is open to all people eighteen years and older, who wish to contribute their time and energy to maintain and operate SMC-supported civic programs and facilities, as well as to enjoy the Club's dinner meetings and other social activities.
Notes from the President
Written by Mike Austin
Well, how do you like living in Fargo? At last everybody seems to be dug out, there are parking spaces in Shepherdstown, and those icy stalagtites no longer hang off the eves of the War Memorial Building. We are sorry that a number of public events and internal managment meetings had to be canceled but we thought it was prudent. Despite the frustration of being homebound and having to cancel or postpone many important events, a number of good things occured. One of the nicest was that many people demonstrated again that important aspect of the American Character -- being neighborly and lending a helping hand. Whether it was checking on shut-ins, helping to clear driveways, pulling people out of ditches, or asking if "you needed something at the store", it was refreshing. We heard impressive reports of the number of calls handled by our local emergency services center and once again our citizen soldiers came to the rescue -- on snow shoes no less.
And while we were distracted by the snow, it seems like a whole page fell off the calendar so now things promise to get busy around here. On Monday evening, February 22 we held our rescheduled joint historic lecture. Jim Taylor made his presentation on the Black History of Jefferson County which was well received. Sixty-five people braved a rainy evening to share in the social hour and lecture. The video presentation resulted in numerous questions and a lively discussion ensued. The March 8th historic lecture will be a presentation by Walter Washington and Betsy Wells on "The Washington Family in Jefferson County".
We will celebrate a different kind of heritage on March 17. Because we had to cancel the February Valentines dinner program, Bonnie and Nieltje have put the pork roasts back in the freezer and are digging out corned beef. The March 17 dinner program will observe St. Patrick's Day and of course, we will have corned beef and cabbage. Our intended speaker for Feb., Mike Athey, from the Shepherdstown Volunteer Fire Department, has graciously agreed to present his program.
Mary Stanley and her team are diligently filling in the details on plans for the Back Alley Tour and Bonnie is working on the Tea Party which will be conducted on May 22 and 23. The Friday Painters will provide an art exhibit on BATT weekend and the tour route will feature a demonstration apiary again this year in the Shepherdstown Urban Garden. We are also planning ahead for the annual Book Sale which will be conducted on October 23 and 24.
We are delighted to welcome Christ Stroech on the Board as our new Secretary replacing Ruth McQuade. John Amos has replaced Tom Trumble as our Vice President. John will also continue in the important role as our membership chairman. Cris Kinsella and myself are continuing in our respective roles as Treasurer and President. We still have important board vacancies for publicity and fund raising.
