Dec. 9, 2019
ROBERTS GATHERING – The Roberts’ family Christmas was held Saturday, Dec. 7, at the community room of Hamlin Bell apartments in Perry. Thirty-three of the family attended from as far away as Graettinger, Bettendorf, Winterset, as well as from Boone, Churdan, Jefferson and Rippey.
The event began with a buffet meal of meatballs, sausage rolls, deviled eggs, Reuben dip, pickle and chicken wraps, and assorted chips, cookies, candy and finally with bowls of chili. There was something for everyone’s taste buds.
After the meal, Grandpa Phil, complete with Santa hat and white beard, handed out gifts to all the great- grandchildren (ages infant to 9 years old). As each child came forward to receive their book, parents were busy taking pictures of the little one’s reaction to a real live Santa!
Next came the boxes for the 13 grandchildren. Each box was numbered, not named, so each had to remember their sequence of birth in the family before they could retrieve their gift. The boxes each contained several mementoes from Grandma Toni’s special collection of elephant statues, portrait pins, banks, books, Christmas decorations and jewelry. It was a great way for the couple to downsize and see their grandchildren enjoy their mementoes in real time.
While the youngest members were busy playing with their gifts, the grandchildren lined up for the MAIN EVENT, the white elephant drawing! The males lined up first, each answering a question correctly before getting a chance to draw from Santa’s sack. Then the females took their turn to answer correctly in order to draw a gift from Mrs. Santa’s sack. An incorrect answer sent the contestant to the rear of the line before trying again and of course, lost their chance of drawing a better gift. Questions included the subjects of math, science, presidents, state history and athletic figures. The one question no one answered correctly was, “What is the boiling point of water?”
The third group of contestants, ages 10-16, had questions on books and authors (YA), geography, and family names. Jenna Morton won the prize for listing all 50 states in alphabetical order! WOW!
Everyone had a good time and even learned something, including grandma and grandpa! The rest of the evening was spent eating (seconds at the buffet) and taking family pictures with Grandma Toni and Grandpa Phil in the middle.
As in the past, gathering with family at Christmas makes “It’s a Wonderful Life” every day of the year!
Janice Johnston will feature her piano and violin students at their winter recital on Sunday, December 15, at 3 p.m. Everyone is invited to come listen to these young people. There will be a light lunch served afterwards.
Rippey Ladies Aid met at the church on Dec. 5. After a brief meeting, Marilyn Heater presented the lesson. The members enjoyed a cookie exchange at the conclusion of the lesson. The next meeting will be Jan. 2.
RIPPEY LIBRARY
by Phyllis Bardole
Janice Harbaugh donated some books on local history to the Rippey library. She will be making postcards for the Rippey 150th celebration and possibly republish the Rippey history book. Her company is RaspberryRidgePublishing@gmail.com
Robert Huber sent me a book that is a story about Pat Daugherty. He was a teacher/coach at Rippey from 1959-1961. Robert’s letter was wonderful and it also talked about his coach in high school, Mel Murken. Mel is back living in Rippey now. If you remember Coach Daugherty, come in and check out this book.
Jean Borgeson brought in an article from the Des Moines Tribune dated Jun 13, 1961, about Pat Daugherty, titled, “Her Daddy Lives on Baseball Field.” It features a picture of his wife JoAnn and daughter Mary Beth greeting Pat as he arrives home, and also a picture of Pat and players on five baseball squads he managed in 1961. They were the Demons, the senior town team, and teams in PeeWee, Little League, Babe Ruth League and high school baseball.
We are going to have our Christmas party on Wednesday, Dec. 18, from 2 to 3 pm. We’ll make some Christmas crafts and make a “trail mix” to take home. Hope to see you then. Parents are invited to come also.
Our trustee board meeting will be earlier than usual because of Christmas. We will have it Monday, Dec. 16, at 5:30 pm.
Maralynn Rinker has the tree up and lit at the library. She also has decorations inside, too. We appreciate her helping keep the library up to date with holidays.
