In September, we were busy preparing for our first bingo night in May. The school was in full swing, the weather was more tolerable, and we were planning menus for fall and winter while attending meetings to prepare for the 2024 Christmas stroll.
Bingo night was fantastic despite all the other activities going on in town. We had a lively crowd and multiple bingo winners. Carol called the numbers, Rosella helped sell bingo cards, and Robin managed the food orders. We had local attendees as well as a few from Fort Benton; it’s always a pleasure to have people from other towns join us for the fun.
We’ve updated our menus to accommodate the chilly weather ahead. The new menus include soups, stews, enchiladas, hot roast beef sandwiches, pork chops smothered in mushroom gravy, homemade dinner rolls, breads, tortillas, and desserts.
We’ve also made some changes to our offerings. Caramel rolls won’t be made on Tuesdays anymore as sales have declined. However, we are offering a dozen or more caramel rolls if you pre-order at least one week in advance. The cost is $36.00 per dozen. Dinner rolls are also available with a pre-order notice of one week, and the cost is $7.00 per dozen. Whether you’re looking to satisfy your sweet tooth or don’t feel like making dinner rolls, we have you covered.
As we are in the midst of October, we are getting ready for the trick-or-treaters at the senior center. We are currently thinking up a fun treat for the schoolchildren as they trick-or-treat through town. We are also preparing for October 25th Bingo night, which is only a few days before Halloween, so if you feel the urge, put on that costume, and let’s make it a party.
Great things that have happened in October so far are Triangle Communications celebrated senior citizens on the 9th by buying them lunch here at the center and presenting us with a very unexpected donation of $1000.00. What a blessing this is for the center.
As we continue to plan for the Christmas stroll, we face a dilemma. We are looking for a middle-aged or older community member who may be willing to help us out. Our dilemma is about Santa – he has so many outings to attend that he has asked us if we could help him out this year by having somebody step in for him and fulfill his duties at the French toast breakfast. Starting November 5th Personalized Santa letters will be available. If you would like a personalized letter, please send your letters to Santa. The Big Sandy post office will once again have a mailbox for your letters to be put in so they can be delivered to Santa. For your return letter, please include a self-addressed envelope along with $3.00 per letter and anything you may want Santa to remind the children of. Last year, Santa reminded one child about potty training.
We are also working on getting a generator this year. A generator will be handy for days when we lose power. We will be able to prepare meals for the community. Those who need power for oxygen or other medical devices can come in and stay powered up, or if you need a place to go and stay warm. We hope through the following events, we can accomplish this: breakfast with Santa, raffles at Christmas stroll, candy and goody sales, and our Christmas stroll bingo and donations from the community.
