One community supper ends — for now — but others continue to serve
The United Methodist Church of Geneva may not have invented the concept of a monthly community supper, but it seemed as if it was the first in the Tri-Cities area to offer such an event.
The church did that nine years ago and, as I mentioned last week, the parish members and volunteers have determined it was time to take a break.
Mostly, it seems, the church is seeking volunteers to come forward as the leaders of the community supper ministry, and there is some hope that will happen.
Still, a break in the action is totally understandable, as an effort such as this is difficult to sustain if the number of volunteers dwindle over time.
I'm not great at math, but let's say, on average, 400 people came each month for nine years. That's 43,200 meals served.
The United Methodist volunteers might say that estimate is quite low. It could be that as many as 500 people or more came on average, and maybe as many as 50 takeouts were served each time in addition to those dining in the church hall.
In any case, you get the idea. This was popular stuff.
But the idea that this sort of fellowship is needed for those who aren't getting home-cooked meals or are having a hard time making ends meet for their families remains quite strong in this area.
Whether the church's Third Tuesday Suppers are on a long or short hiatus, there are other local options. Here's a quick list.
Fox Valley Presbyterian Church in Geneva offers a community dinner from 5 to 7 p.m. the third Friday of the month; Bethany Lutheran Church in Batavia hosts its dinner from 5 to 7 p.m. on the last Friday of the month; while St. Charles Episcopal Church puts on its spaghetti dinners at 4:30 p.m. the last Sunday of the month.
Also, St. Mark's Lutheran Church in St. Charles hosts its community dinner from 5 to 7 p.m. the fourth Tuesday of the month; and St. Patrick Church in St. Charles has a supper for those in need through its Loaves and Fishes ministry from 5 to 7 p.m. the third Monday of each month at the downtown church.
The Elburn Lions Club also continues its community spaghetti dinner from 5 to 7 p.m. the fourth Tuesday of each month.
Drive-in nostalgia:
There was plenty of waxing nostalgic last week over the end of an era with the closing of West Chicago's Cascade Drive-In.
It is too bad that this piece of Americana will no longer be with us. But my days of frequenting a drive-in theater have been long gone.
Still, it leaves behind memories: The first movie I recall seeing at a drive-in theater was “Swiss Family Robinson.” That movie came out in 1960, so I was 7 years old.
The last movie I saw at a drive-in was when taking our young son to see “Dick Tracy” with Warren Beatty. That movie came out in 1990, making my drive-in timeline an even 30 years.
My most memorable night at a drive-in? That's an easy call. It was “Night of the Living Dead,” a spookier movie beyond belief that I saw with a couple friends not long after I got my driver's license.
Even though that cult classic came out in 1968, I don't think it turned up at the Skylark Drive-in on Ogden Avenue in the Naperville-Aurora area until a couple of years later.
It was the kind of movie that made the drive-in experiences something we won't forget.
Knowing their history:
Those who know local history are generally best suited to make note of others trying to keep that history alive.
So it is that the Garfield Farm Museum in Campton Hills annually honors different historic preservation efforts during an awards dinner. This year the museum delivers its honors at 8 p.m. Saturday, April 13, at the Dunham Woods Riding Club.
Author Adam Gibbons of Geneva is being honored for helping save the 1839 Hendrick Miller house in Geneva from demolition. He was instrumental in having the house moved to another lot on Geneva's east side for renovation.
The museum is also singing the praises of Gibbons' previous efforts in putting together a two-volume illustrated history of Campton Township, and writing a book on the history of Wasco.
Erica Ruggerio has earned an award for her work on a preservation project to move an 1852 schoolhouse onto open space at Gary Willows Farm in Campton Township.
The Fox Mill Masters Homeowners Association is also being cited for its work in restoring a 20th century dairy barn.
As part of the 200th birthday of the state of Illinois, former first lady Diana Rauner is being honored for her efforts to raise $15 million in private funding to restore the governor's mansion in Springfield.
No more taping:
The suction tube was held together by thick, black tape. I had applied it at least a dozen times. But this is what you do when your wife insists on using the same vacuum cleaner for more than 20 years.
My pleas of “just buy a new one” fell on deaf ears. Until, finally, she spotted one on sale at a department store. Apparently, it was an offer she couldn't refuse.
In the interest of getting an even better deal, I somehow got dragged into this fray.
The vacuum cleaner was on sale for about $90 off the regular price, plus my wife proudly proclaimed she had “bonus bucks” she had earned worth $30.
At the checkout counter, the clerk asked if we had a credit card for that store, and my wife said she did. Then he said if I applied for a new card, it would knock another $42 off the price on this special day.
I said no. I didn't really want another card in my money clip or in a drawer.
My wife frowned and said, “Are you sure?”
I was pretty sure, until glancing over to the checkout counter next to us. A woman who had apparently overheard the conversation was glaring at me, almost as if to say, “I'm going to watch this to see how dumb you are to pass up that deal.”
Feeling like I was on the set of “Deal or No Deal,” I buckled. Against my initial judgment, I gave in and applied for a card I may or may not use in the future.
That's generally not a good idea, but it was a small sacrifice really. Not only because it saved us another nice chunk of money, but I could finally quit fooling around with trying to tape a vacuum cleaner tube.
dheun@sbcglobal.net