Winter begins officially on Sunday, Dec. 21, although I think it has already arrived for most of us. Coldspring Chamber of Commerce had a pleasant day for their very successful Christmas event. We enjoyed eating lunch at the Masonic Lodge fundraiser just across from the Courthouse. The Masons give scholarships and donate to worthy causes with their events.
Different musical entertainment was enjoyed by all and the vendors were incredibly diverse and had eye catching booths. Autumn, the Chamber Office Executive drove a golf cart around to offer a lift to anyone in need of help, which I was glad to accept after all the walking around.
•Friends of Shepherd Library presented a check to Coldspring Library last week for the Dolly Parton Imagination Library. The program gives children aged from 0-5 years old a free book every month. However, libraries have to pay for the packing and postage etc. Treasurer Rick McIntyre, accompanied by some of the Friends presented a check for $1,500 to the Board, funds which came from the Trivia Night fundraiser held in Shepherd recently. Our county has more than 200 children registered as of this month.
•The SJC Senior Center will celebrate with a Christmas Lunch on Friday. You must reserve your place beforehand, already more than half of the places are booked. The meal will be sponsored by Lamb Propane. The Red Hat Ladies dressed up for Christmas last week and made the room light up.
•Women's League had a very interesting lunch last week. The meal was delicious, as always, catered by Mary Gray. Our speaker is an apiarist — a beekeeper — although she said she was a hobbyist beekeeper, having only 50 hives or less. Susan Caldwell was a wonderful speaker. She talked about the importance of bees, funny stories about keeping them and how they live together in the hive. She finished with a quiz which was played on a screen with players using their phones to answer. It was a lot of fun.
•Shepherd Chamber of Commerce invited State Rep. Janis Holt to visit Shepherd. She came last week on Tuesday afternoon. We met at the Family Restaurant on South Byrd Avenue and sat around tables to talk and ask questions. Food was a buffet meal prepared by the restaurant and Janis, who asked that we call her by her name, said she will be happy to come again to Shepherd to meet and talk.
On Saturday, the SJC Voices, the registered name for the Community Choir, will present a concert at Coldspring Community Shelter. This is a free event open to all. There will be refreshments and a night of music and enjoyment. Starting at 4:30 p.m., Gregg Cones will sing to get the Christmas mood going and then the main event will begin. This is a large and special production you will not want to miss.
Shelly Thompson, and all the board members, have worked very hard to organize the group which, it is hoped, will go on to create more musical productions for us.
Contact the Shepherd Chamber of Commerce at (210) 995-7420 or the Coldspring Chamber at (936) 653-2184.
Yvonne Cones is president of the Shepherd Chamber of Commerce and a member of the Coldspring Chamber of Commerce.
