Just Among Friends
The Mechanical Engineering Department at Mississippi State University celebrated the 2023 winter graduates last week at the M.E. Senior Dinner.
It was a joyous event for these seniors who have completed all of their coursework for a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering! Among those honored was Phillips Hines of Philadelphia. His very proud parents are Scott and Wendy Phillips Hines. Congratulations!
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Congratulations to Leake Academy sophomore George Wilcox and freshman Tanner Walsworth for being selected to participate in the MAIS Futures Football Game. The game was played last Thursday, Nov. 30 at Madison Ridgeland Academy. Congratulations!
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It was a big day for Mary Presley Harrington recently. She graduated from Basic Military Training with the United States Air Force at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas.
Her family spent the week in San Antonio celebrating her accomplishment! On the actual graduation day on the Parade Ground, the family wore blue T-shirts with the words "Proud Air Force Grandma, Uncle, Sister, Aunt, Uncle, Father, and Mother" on the appropriate person. There was a lot of excitement from the group.
Mary Presley will be attending the Technical School at Keesler AF base in Biloxi. Family members attending were parents, Reed and Yancey Harrington and sister, Mollie of Brandon; Corby Mason Goforth and Ruby Ann from Denver, Colorado; Hays Harrington and wife, Melina, children, Nicole and Brannan of Idaho Falls, Idaho; and Judy Mason, from Philadelphia. There were only 6 guests allowed for each graduate, but the family enjoyed the entire week together! Congratulations!
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Chuck and Kim McClain recently visited their daughter, Chelsea McClain Senitko, and their grandchildren, Zora, Teo, and Adam, who recently moved to Slovakia. Although Kim and Chuck miss them very much, they know the family is safe and living a great adventure.
The family has experienced many changes in the past few months, new friends, new home, school, neighborhood, bikes, toys, food, language, and other things, but they are adjusting and happy. They are also learning to speak Slovak.
Some small things make a difference to the children. Adam wanted his grandparents to bring marshmallows, his favorite snack. He also wanted them to bring a grilled cheese sandwich which they don't have there. He explained how Kim could assemble it and when she got there, they could cook it!
They enjoyed touring the area and dining in various restaurants. A special one was the elegant UFO Restaurant in Bratislava overlooking the Danube River and the Bratislava Castle with a maze. What an amazing trip!
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Elections were held last week for Mr. and Miss Neshoba Central Middle School. Addy Walker Phillips was chosen as Miss NCMS and Cutler White is Mr. NCMS. Congratulations!
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Several of the local churches have participated in the Operation Christmas Child Ministry which fills Christmas shoe boxes with small gifts for children in other countries around the world. Members of the churches have met and packed the shoeboxes and sent them to a central location where they were then transported to shipping points. It involves a lot of volunteers and a lot of their time to prepare these boxes. For some children, a box will be the first present they have ever received.
A group of 17 people and the pastor from Spring Creek Baptist Church recently spent the day traveling to Georgia to work with OCC. Their trip began at 7 a.m. and lasted all day. Members were exhausted and ready for bed, but they ended the day with joyful hearts. They worked the evening shift at the Operation Christmas Child Processing Center in Kennesaw, Ga., and it was tiresome, but they were ready to go back and do it all again the next day! One member said they were “working for Jesus this weekend!”
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The 5th Wednesday Bridge and Luncheon Club met in the beautiful home of Sam and June Nowell. Hostesses for the event were Alice Rowe, Carol Oliphant, and June Nowell.
Guests were seated at tables decorated in retro Gail Pittman pottery and looked charming. Susan Webb catered a delicious lunch. After eating, everyone chose a tally and went to their designated tables for an afternoon of bridge. It was a fun event!
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Sharon Eldridge Holland is an avid gardener and has many beautiful flowerbeds and landscaping around her home. Last week she announced that she had completed all the coursework, passed all tests, and is now a Certified Master Gardener!
She has wanted to be a Master Gardener for 25 years and things in her life finally resolved so that she could devote the time and attention needed to accomplish her goal. She is very excited to see what her next step will be in this journey and has a list of possibilities for her next certification. Congratulations!
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The Friendly Fish class at Neshoba Central Elementary School had a very special reader on Friday before dismissing for the Thanksgiving break. A NCHS graduate, Joseph Clay, the son of Mrs. Brooke Clay who is an Instructional Assistant in the Friendly Fish Room, read aloud to the students. Spc. Clay is stationed at Fort Bragg, NC, and was home for the break. He wore his uniform for regular assignments and the children were excited to see a real military man wearing camo in real life!
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Thanksgiving was really a thanksgiving day for Romily and me because Candler and Bert came that afternoon from Dallas by way of Natchez to spend a couple of days with us. We had planned to go to Natchez and stay several days with Bert’s family, but Romily wasn’t up to the trip, so they came to us. Bert built our first fire on Thursday evening and we shopped on Friday with another cozy fire.
Sadly, Abbie, our grand dog, crossed the Rainbow Bridge in October after 14 years as a much-loved furry family member. We miss her. Coco looked for her so they could sniff around together. Time is so precious now and we take whatever we can get whenever we can. Looking forward to Christmas.