Come and Dine - Spaghetti Supper December 9

 We're going to have a free-will offering spaghetti supper Thursday evening, December 9, 2010. It will be held at the Russell Community Center from 5:30-7:30 PM. The menu is spaghetti, relish plates (on the tables), garlic bread, ice tea, coffee, and desserts. Don't cook for yourselves that night-let us do it for you!

 Well, the spaghetti dinner was a big hit.  People came and went all evening.  Some stayed longer than others because they were enjoying visiting with their neighbors.  The food was delicious and I saw lots of people going back for seconds.  Good job, RIHS volunteers!!  This is a great way to raise money to help pay off the mortgage on the new addition.

Russell Seniors Holiday Dinner

The Russell Community Club outdid themselves for another year here in Russell.  A wonderful Holiday meal was once again served to about 60 seniors of this community.

It was a very chilly evening, but nothing like last year.  There was no snow and ice on the ground this year.  We were all thankful for that.  As we entered the Community Center, the warmth from inside was very welcome.  

We gathered around beautifully decorated tables decorated for the Christmas Season.  Friends began seeing friends and enjoyed visiting and getting into the Holiday spirit.  The hum in the room began to get louder as more and more people arrived for this once a year gathering, which has been going on for many, many years.  Some of these friends have not seen each other since last year's dinner.  Once you have attended one of these dinners, you make sure never to miss another one.  

The food was absolutely delicious and there was plenty to go around and even enough for those who wanted seconds.  The cooks have to be complimented on their wonderful cooking.  Juicy turkey, green beans, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, very unique dressing, a delicious gravy, rolls and a strawberry gelatin salad.  For dessert they served us a huge piece of pumpkin pie.  There went the diets.

Tony Irving sang some very original Christmas songs and asked all of us to join in.  At times, while singing, the voices were louder as we remembered the words.  The Night Before Christmas words were very different, but very true.  In the song, he even had a visit from Santa as he was sliding down off his roof while putting up the Christmas lights.

After the singing was over a very special visit from Santa Claus was enjoyed by all.  Santa stopped to visit with each and everyone of us and gave us our Christmas gift.  This part of the evening was really lots of fun as Santa joked and kidded with us as he/she traveled through the room.

Many thanks to our wonderful Russell Community Club who make Russell such a great place to live.

Russell History Book

    A Russell History Book is in the making.  Volunteers have been working very hard to put this book into publication.

    Requests have been made to you for memories and stories about family, businesses, school memories in and surrounding Russell, including all of Washington Township.  Many pages have been put together already and the book is gradually beginning to come together.   These requests have appeared in newspapers, in the Copy Plus flyer and anywhere else we have been able to think of.  We are hoping this Blog will help reach out to residents that have left the Russell area.  If you have any other ideas where we can reach out to, please let us know.

    Our goal is to have the book ready by Christmas.  A few questions need to be answered by you, the ones who will read and cherish these memories.

1.    Would you like it to be a comb-bound book (which we can do right here in our building)?  This would be the least expensive way to go.

2.    Would you be willing to pay $25 more for a hard-bound book that we can do locally?

3.    A professionally printed book that would come with a pre-publication price that would be paid up front, is another suggestion.  Does this sound like what you would want?  With this kind of publication, the price would be higher if the book is purchased after publication.  A publisher has not been contacted yet, so a price is unknown, but it will be much higher than the other two suggestions.

    The submissions need not be confined to Russell - remember the working title includes "Our Neighbors."  That includes Washington Township and the country schools that ended up in the Russell School District. 

      How many pages should there be in the book?  Well, in order to let everyone that is interested be able to submit there story, we would appreciate it if you could limit it to one and a half pages, single-spaced typing.  We realize some stories can not be told in one and a half pages, so don't worry if yours runs a little longer.  An entire family history, of many pages, would not be feasible.  Summarize the all-the-way-back stuff or split it into separate stories about different ancestors.  Pictures with your stories are welcome.  It will make the book more personal for you and for the others who will be reading it.  3 pictures would be a suggested amount.  The story we're doing about the Russell School already has more than 3 in it and we can't insist you limit the number if we are not doing the same. 

      You can send your articles by regular mail or by e-mail.  Whichever is easiest for  you.  Our e-mail address is  (rihs106@yahoo.com).  The post office address is  P O Box 414  Russell, IA  50238.  E-mail helps prevent errors because the material is transferred to the book page with fewer errors.

      Deadline?  It appears the word is just starting to get around and we want to give it plenty of time.  The original deadline of November 1, 2010 has passed, but you can contact us through the addresses listed at the bottom of this page to see if a late entry would be accepted.

      Let us know what questions or concerns you have.  Please!

Update on Craft Show

Because we are still working on finishing the interior of the new wing, the craft show has been moved to the Community Center. The hours are still 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM.

Just Notes

Progress is being made on the new wing. Heaters are in, dry wall is going up, insulation will soon be in. There is light at the end of the tunnel!!

Membership letters will be coming out this month--probably around the end of the month. Your dues make it possible for us to keep the building open, keep the library and museum current, and allow us to serve you. In case we don't say it often enough: YOU ALL ARE THE GREATEST ! ! !

We received our renewal notice from our web-host and have cancelled their service as of December 4, 2010. Go Daddy has been a good host and we have no complaints about the service they have provided. We just made the decision that using a blog would save us money we need elsewhere.

Our first-ever craft show will be held on Saturday, November 13 from 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM. at the museum. We actually still have space at this point for additional crafters or vendors. If you are interested in selling your crafts, Tupperware, Avon, Watkins, Mia Bella, etc., call Mary at 641-535-4253 or 641-203-4079 to reserve your space. A 12x12' space is being rented for $20 ($25 if you want electricity). We have scrapbookers, jewelry, crafts, art by Meg Prange, chocolates, and cookies, cookies, and more cookies available. Hope to see you here.