By Joyce Porter and Patsy Roberts
Well, I guess Patsy and I are officially senior citizens. During the Senior Citizens Day last week, we received a community service award. I had no idea this was happening and was very humbled. Patsy didn’t attend because she was busy working on the cemetery in preparation for Memorial Day. I was truly embarrassed and tearful while listening to the kind words from colleagues. Thank you to the Senior Citizen Council for the beautiful award. They hosted a great event which was highlighted by a rock and roll band. Lots of people enjoyed the music and actually danced to 50’s music.
Memorial Day is in just a few days. Members of our Homecoming Festival will be at the cemetery accepting donations for repairs and restoration of stones in the old part of the cemetery. Since we began this repair approximately eight years ago, approximately 600 stones have been repaired or renovated. We also purchase two memorial stones every year honoring those veterans or individuals who are in unmarked graves.
Congratulations to all the NAHS graduates, including our WHS scholarship winners. My great nephew was one of the graduating seniors. They had a very nice program under the direction of Mr. Karl Boerger.
We continue planning meetings for the 2026 Winchester Homecoming Festival. We are celebrating America’s 250th anniversary and will have commemorative t-shirts. More information to follow. Our next meeting is scheduled for May 21 at 6:30 p.m. in the Village Hall. We have been planning this year’s events. We invite anyone to volunteer. The memorial flags are out, thanks to Zayne and Patsy, and look really nice.
W3CU food and clothing pantry hours are 4:30 – 6:30 p.m. on the third Thursday each month. The next date is Thursday, May 2t. If you are unable to come on Thursday to our Compassion Closet, please call the church at (937) 695-0025 to schedule an appointment. Clothing donations can be brought in on Tuesday mornings, 9 – 11 a.m. Stop by around 3:30 p.m. on Thursday if you can assist in serving. Please check our Compassion Closet Facebook page for updates. We are in need of large men’s jeans. Thank you to those who have been making donations.
The next Winchester Village Council meeting is on Tuesday, June 9. The meetings are open to the public, and everyone is invited to attend. If you have an agenda item, call Ashley in the Town Hall (937-695-0880) before 3 p.m. the Friday before the meeting.
Winchester’s Past (Patsy Roberts): Yamamoto was a Japanese circus performer with the Barnum & Bailey Circus. During the off season they lived on a farm in Emerald. Their grandson, Paul Foster, in 1925, married Miss Josie Edenfield. The popular young couple of the Winchester neighborhood, motored over to West Union Tuesday morning, secured license and were married at the M. E. Parsonage by Rev. L.A. Griffith. The young couple were accompanied to West Union by the bride’s parents, Mr. and Mrs. Walter Edenfield, and the groom’s grandmother, Mrs. E. Yamamoto. The groom is a son of Mrs. John M. Belle, of Gary, Ind. The newlyweds will make their home on the Yamamoto farm at Emerald.
If you have news or events you would like to have included in the paper, please let me know.
Information is due by Sunday evening and can be sent by calling (937) 205-2309 (leave a message) or by email at [email protected].
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