Hello, again, everyone!
This has certainly been a busy summer!
We had a very nice gathering on June 15 to present Sister Peggy Mecham-Carlotti with her 50-year certificate and a pin that is special to her – her mother/Sister Flora’s 50-year pin! Worthy Matron Joni and Worthy Patron Lee started things off, and then Sister Karen Parlato read a special poem Sister Peggy had found before she presented Sister Peggy the pin and certificate. A lunch and fellowship followed. Thank you to all who came to help celebrate this special day. As Sister Peggy says, “Friends are the flowers in the garden of life!”
Sister Joni and Brother Lee were in process of putting together prizes for the Humboldt County Library’s Summer Reading Program to present to the Library, along with a monetary donation toward more books and supplies for the Library. They did have a date to go shopping for prizes; however, that got derailed when Brother Lee ended up in the hospital with a nasty infection. And then went back into the hospital later, and is still there as of the writing of this article (July 21). He is in the ICU. Lee’s advice is never to do your gardening without your gloves. This whole mess started with a spider bite while he was gardening bare-handed.
Our Friendship Night was on July 3 with a theme of “Hats Off to American Heroes!” Thank you to everyone who came and made it such a special night. Thank you to Sisters Alice and Peggy for the refreshments before the meeting – they were delicious! For those who did not make it to the meeting due to back issues, ill, health, etc., we missed you and hope you are feeling better by now!
July 14, 2024, was the District-wide fundraiser Afternoon Tea to benefit Paws for Purple Hearts at the Humboldt Masonic Lodge in Eureka. Sister Terri Ewing, Past Grand Matron, was our special guest and speaker. There was also a silent auction, and Sister Christie Smith made adorable purple paws available for a donation of $10+. The afternoon went very well, and we raised over $1,300 plus we received a generous donation of an additional $1,000! Thank you to all who attended and all who helped! Also thank you to the Job’s Daughters for assisting, keeping hot water on the tables, etc.
It was sad and unfortunate that Brother Lee could not attend the tea as he had gone into the hospital for the second time the Thursday before. Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers, and perhaps send him a card letting him know you are thinking about him. This hospital stay has not been fun for all the usual reasons, but in Lee’s case, he is a “social animal” cut off from so many of his friends.
Coming up on the calendar:
The plan for our August meeting is a potluck at 6:30 p.m. Sister Liz will provide hot dogs and buns, and the rest of us should bring condiments and side dishes to complement the hot dogs. After supper will be an ante room meeting and a board game night. Please bring simple easy-to-learn board games so we can all have a lovely time together! While the August evening is mostly about the fun, we do still need a quorum to be able to conduct business, so it is important for all members who can to be at that meeting!
Please keep in mind we will have a school supplies drive at our September meeting. Please collect school supplies to bring in September. Everything collected will be donated to one of the local schools. Thank you!
Our October meeting will have the theme of a Teddy Bear Picnic. Please bring your favorite stuffed animal(s) – they do not have to be bears – to share at our Teddy Bear Picnic! Picnic before the meeting at 7:00; meeting starts at 7:30. This meeting is also elections, so if you aspire to any of the elected offices, be sure your written and endorsed aspiration is on the dais prior to the start of the meeting. Thank you.
As you probably know, we are trying to update our list of addresses and emails for all of our Camellia Star members. If you have not (or know of a member who has not) recently received a letter in the mail from Sister Joni or have not received an email from her in the past six months, please let her know so she can update the list. You can contact Sister Joni at joni@reninet.com, (707) 499-9478, or P.O. Box 370, Eureka, CA 95502, to update her with current contact information.
Thank you to all of our members and friends just for being you. We look forward to seeing you all soon!
Warm summer wishes to one and all –
Joni Hewston, Worthy Matron
PHOTOS:
1-Karen Parlato making the presentation of 50-Year Pin and Certificate to Sister Peggy Mecham-Carlotti
2-Peggy Mecham-Carlotti listening to Sister Karen making the presentation of her 50-Year Certificate
3-More than 250 years of membership in District 1 represented on June 15, 2024
4-Terri Ewing, PGM, speaking at the Afternoon Tea benefiting Paws for Purple Hearts on July 14
5-Some of those in attendance at the Afternoon Tea
6-Some of the delicious food donated by the members of our District for the Afternoon Tea
