Let Us Know What Your Church Or Community Group Has Planned For The Christmas Season
December 8, 2009
If your church, school or community group has a Christmas activity planned, NorthEscambia.com would like to help you spread the word on our events page.To list your event on NorthEscambia.com, click here for our contact form.
Announcements are free of charge for church, school or non-profit organizations.
Northview Names Senior Hall Of Fame Members
December 7, 2009
Five Northview High School seniors have been named to the school’s hall of fame.
Named to the Northview High School Senior Hall of Fame from the class of 2010 were: Jessica Bloodsworth, Micah Byars, Kaitlyn Caraway, Clint Davis and Dakota Stuckey.
Seniors who show excellence in academics and are leaders in the school and their communities are chosen for the Senior Hall of Fame by the Northview faculty and staff. They are chosen because they embody the true spirit and character of a Northview Chief.
Pictured: New members of the Northview Senior Hall of Fame (top L-R) Jessica Bloodsworth, Micah Byars, Kaitlyn Caraway, (below, L-R) Clint Davis and Dakota Stuckey. Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Thousands Attend Atmore Christmas Parade (With Photo Gallery)
December 6, 2009
Thousands attended the annual Atmore Twilight Christmas Parade Saturday evening, including a jolly old elf.
Bands from Northview High, Escambia County High, J.U. Blacksher High, Flomaton High and Ernest Ward Middle schools took part in the parade, as did hundreds of other participants. With the parade theme “A Broadway Christmas”, most centered around a Broadway play or musical. The Greater Escambia Council of the Arts served as grand marshals for the parade.
Pictured above: The Northview High School cheerleaders perform in downtown Atmore during the town’s annual Christmas Parade Saturday night. Pictured inset: The Doug Snider Roofing float depicts Snoopy and the Red Baron. Pictured below: The Greater Escambia Council of the Arts float. GECA served as the parade’s grand marshal. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Molino Celebrates With Annual Christmas Parade (With Photo Gallery)
December 6, 2009
Hundreds of people attended the annual Molino Christmas Parade Saturday afternoon. The parade featured a variety of floats and other entries, including “Elvis”. All proceeds from the parade will benefit needy children in the Molino community.
For a complete NorthEscambia.com photo gallery from the Molino Christmas Parade, click here.
Pictured above and below: Scenes from Saturday afternoon’s Molino Christmas Parade. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Tis The Season: Flomaton Holds Christmas Parade (With Photo Gallery)
December 6, 2009
Hundreds of people braved a cold wind Saturday morning for the annual Flomaton Christmas Parade.
The Flomaton High School band, several floats, multiple twirl groups, local fire departments and more took part in the parade with ended with a special guest direct from the North Pole — Santa Claus.
For a complete NorthEscambia.com photo gallery from the Flomaton Christmas Parade, click here.
Pictured top: The Flomaton Christmas Parade featured several floats and lots of candy. Pictured inset: Santa Claus made a special appearance in the Flomaton parade Saturday morning. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Poarch Creek Christmas Parade Winners Named
December 5, 2009
Float winners have been named from Friday night’s Poarch Creek Indian Christmas Parade. First place went to the Creek Indian Enterprise Development Authority (CIEDA) for “Snoopy ” (above). Second place was awarded to the Housing Authority for their float “Beauty and the Beast” (below). Third place was awarded to the Public Works/Utilities Authority for “Peter Pan” (below middle) and the Poarch Creek Fire Department received honorable mention for their float “Lil’ Abner” (below bottom). Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Photos: Byrneville Elementary Holds Annual Christmas Carnival
December 5, 2009
Byrneville Elementary School held its Christmas Carnival Friday night at the school.
The annual event, sponsored by the school’s P.T.O., featured a special guest from the North Pole. Santa Claus was on hand for photos and Christmas wish lists.
The carnival also included a host of games, including a ring toss, cake walk, football toss and more. The evening’s festivities ended with a gift basket auction, with proceeds going to the P.T.O.
For a NorthEscambia.com photo gallery from the Byrneville Elementary Christmas Carnival, click here.
Pictured above: Hailey Smith (left), 4, presented her written Christmas wish list to Santa Claus Friday night at Byrneville Elementary School. Her sister, Ciara Smith, 7, looks on as Santa reads the list. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
A Christmas Wish: A Cure For Olivia
December 4, 2009
The Bush family’s Christmas wish is simple — a cure for Olivia.
Olivia Bush’s story started July 22, 2003, almost four months before there should have been a first chapter in her life. Born at just 22 weeks, she weighed only one pound six ounces. She stayed in the NICU three and half months, defying doctors and coming home two weeks before her due date. Olivia is the second youngest baby to ever survive at Sacred Heart Hospital.
The current-day chapter Olivia’s story is perhaps best told by her mother, Amber Bush:
“Olivia is now 6 years old. She is blind and can only see light with her left eye. She has a shunt to drain fluid off of her brain, and has frequent seizures.
“Our little miracle girl started first grade this year and loves to go to school. She is spoiled rotten by everyone she meets and has her daddy wrapped around her little finger. She loves to rock and spin and everything needs to be fast. Roller coasters, throw up rides, and bumps are her friends. Olivia doesn’t meet a stranger. She has the greatest smile and laugh and always brightens our day. She is such an inspiration to everyone she meets, and she has come such a long way. Her favorite song is the BIBLE and she tells everyone to sing it to her.
“After enduring the NICU, she came home on oxygen and a heart monitor, and doctor after doctor. Then started the therapy. She is still in physical, occupational, speech, vision, and mobility therapy.”
Now, Olivia is heading to Miami Children’s Hospital. She will she the same doctor that cured the seizures of her cousin, Northview High student Nathan Therrell. NorthEscambia.com introduced our readers to Nate in November of 2008 when he was on the sidelines as Northview’s waterboy. After undergoing surgery at Miami Children’s Hospital, Nathan played in Northview’s Garnet and Gold Game in May of 2009, void of seizures. (Read about Nathan here.)
Olivia will be in Miami Children’s Hospital December 14-16 for a battery of tests that her parents hope will end with a successful treatment plan. It’s their Christmas wish.
“Pray for guidance in this matter and that the seizures will subside,” mom Amber said. “Please pray for Olivia. She has come such a long way, and we are so thankful. God has truly blessed us with a living angel and we are very grateful.”
A successful benefit car wash for Olivia Bush was held in Century on Saturday, December 5.
Pictured top: Tad, Olivia, Simon and Amber Bush. Pictured top inset: Olivia was just one pound six ounces when she was born at 22 weeks. Pictured bottom inset: Olivia Bush at six-years old. Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Century Teen Attends Global Youth Forum
December 4, 2009
A Century teen recently attended the Global Youth Forum in Washington, D.C.
Charles Houston, a resident of Century and a student at West Florida High School, attended People to People International’s eighth annual Global Youth Forum. Houston was one of more than 200 students ages 13-18 who took part in the forum, which was devoted to the theme “Global Sustainability: It’s All Connected”.
GYF delegates are committed to PTPI’s mission of promoting international understanding and friendship among the world’s people, and arrived prepared to learn how they can work together with peers from around the world to create a better, brighter and greener future. During the course of five days, delegates worked through a curriculum that broadened their understanding of sustainability, learning how our choices as consumers have a global impact.
A variety of speakers joined the delegates to share their expertise. Andrew Revkin, an environmental journalist for The New York Times, discussed what he has learned from his years traveling the globe to research how the way we live affects our climate. Simran Sethi, named “one of the top ten eco-heroes of the planet” by the UK’s Independent, asked the students to think about ways in which they can reduce.
Dr. Mathis Wackernagel, executive director of the Global Footprint Network, stressed the need to remember that there is only one planet earth. He explained the depletion of natural resources and went on to introduce the “Ecological Footprint”, a balance sheet that compares how much nature we have to how much nature we use. Each speaker reminded the students that no matter their career paths, they can contribute to a sustainable future.
“The guest speakers were amazing, each of them presented different ways we are affecting the globe and how we can work together effectively make sure the Earth will be sustainable for generations to come.” Houston said.
Additional conference activities included a presentation by the Anacostia Watershed Society, a nonprofit dedicated to restoring the Anacostia River, a scavenger hunt through the National Mall and several Smithsonian museums, lunch with “George Washington” at the Hard Rock Café and a trip to the recently opened Newseum.
Seven students contributed additional worldviews to the forum during the International Student Panel session. Panel members hailed from Peru, Macedonia, Jordan, Israel, Bulgaria, Colombia and South Africa. They spoke about their lives and the culture and customs of their countries before participating in a question and answer session with GYF delegates.
“GYF was an amazing experience that I am never going to forget, I never thought that I would have a roommate from Bulgaria or even enjoy breakfast with Mary Jean Eisenhower. The lessons that I learned from GYF are lessons I will keep for a lifetime. I am hoping that I will be able to raise enough money to go to Peru this summer with PTPI to attend what was known as the Global Humanitarian Youth Forum, now called Experience: PERU! In July.”
If you are interested in helping Charles Houston of Century attend the forum in Peru this summer, email us here at news@northescambia.com and we will put you in touch with him.
Pictured top: Charles Houston of Century (third from left) with Mary Jean Eisenhower (second from left), President & CEO of People to People International and granddaughter of PTPI founder and former U.S. President, Dwight D. Eisenhower. Submitted photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
1959-2009: Molino Homemakers Celebrate 50 Years
December 3, 2009
In December of 1959, June Cleaver was the perfect homemaker on the Leave It to Beaver television series. In Molino, a group of homemakers began to gather in December 1959 to learn more about becoming better homemakers. And the group they formed, the Molino Homemakers Club, is still going strong.
On Wednesday, members of the Molino Homemakers Club gathered to celebrate the club’s 50th anniversary.
“They saw a need for an organization to teach them, make them better homemakers and let them meet their neighbors,” current Molino Homemakers President Nancy Holland (pictured left) said. She was a young wife and mother of a newborn and an 18-month old when she joined the group in the early 1970’s. She and her husband had just moved to Molino, and she was looking to meet other women in the community and learn more about being a good homemaker.
There have been a lot of lessons learned and a lot of friends made during club meetings that focus on everything from canning, to cooking, to sewing to anything Martha Stewart. Often, generations of homemakers from a family have been members of the group.
Today, club members range in age from their 40’s to their 80’s. Young wives and young homemakers are conspicuously absent from the group. Holland admits that the June Cleaver traditional homemaker is a dying breed in today’s world.
“So many of the young women work now,” she said. “And those that aren’t working are busy with small kids and so much else. Maybe if we taught more microwave cooking…”
Wednesday’s 50th anniversary meeting started as all other meetings — not with the tap of a gavel, but with the tap of a large spoon.
After quick business meeting — including a reminder that dues of just $5 per year were to be paid in January – it was time for show and tell.
One member displayed a newly finished quilt for the other ladies. We won’t share her name because the quilt will be a Christmas gift, and we don’t want to spoil the surprise.
“I spent about seven hours working on that edge,” she said, admitting that she did stop a few times to see a couple of “important” things on television as she worked on the quilt.
Another member displayed a large cross stitch design that she had just finished. She explained that her design included cross, stem and back stitches. It’s a sewing art form that is becoming rarer today.
“You can’t hardly find the patterns any more in the stores,” she said. “They just quit carrying them.”
Following the show and tell session, the women of the Molino Homemakers Club held a cookie exchange. It’s simple concept — bake a few dozen cookies to share and go home with samples of each cookie baked by other members.
Sharing is, and always has been, part of the group, Holland said. “Club members are always here for each other.”
The Molino Homemakers Club started with a meeting in the home of Lillie Miller in December 1959, a meeting organized by Ethel Atkinson from the Escambia County Extension Service. Charter members included: Elsie Enfinger, Sara Gibbs Rikard, Margaret Helms, Mary Louise Lackey, Lillie Miller Stock, Olene Robinson, Rathma Saunders and Anne Vidak.
Sara Gibbs was elected president and meetings took place monthly in a member’s home. Miller and Vidak were hostesses of the first meeting. with Atkinson presenting a program each month. Just as today, lunch was prepared by the members and served after each meeting. The first December 1959 meal included potato salad, Waverly wafers, homemade pickles, wedding cookies and tea.
Each quarter, the club president and a delegate would attend a County Extension Council workshop and then return to the club to share the information. Countless projects and countless lessons were held over the five decades of the club. Club members would enter the results of their new found skills in the county fair — items like handmade quilts, crocheting, knitting, crafts and canning. Many ribbons and a little prize money would always return to the club from the fair.
Today, the 30 or so members of the Molino Homemakers Club has outgrown those home meetings, holding each monthly meeting on the first Wednesday of the month at 10 a.m. at the Molino First Assembly Church. Two charter members, Sara Gibbs Rikard and Mary Louise Lackey, still attend club meetings.
“Though faces have changed, the Homemakers continue to enjoy the friendship, devotions, programs and always a good lunch following the meeting,” said club member Terri Brown. “Our purpose is to be an instrument to others for the art involved in learning crafts, homemaking skills, areas of concern within our community, the state and the world. We continue to share our talents and wisdom to the next generation of homemakers.”
Pictured top: Members of the Molino Homemakers Club: (top, L-R) Olene Carraway, Jana Peaden, Frances Cheney, Elizabeth Barlow, Barbara Jones, Carol Carter, Dot Halstead, (second row) Millie Brantley, Annie Smith, Mary Beauchamp, Shirley Clayton, Kelly Connell, Tara Turnipseed, Barbara Hendrix, Becky Dorch, (third row) Terri Brown, Mary Jernigan, Ann Philen, Melba Lamb, Ruth Miller, Carolyn Peterson, Penni Summers, (sitting) Mary Louise Lackey, Lucile Whitegon, Linda Cmehil, Elsie Perry and Nancy Holland. Pictured top inset: Club President Nancy Holland. Pictured middle inset: Olene Carraway picks the perfect cookies during the club’s cookie exchange. Pictured bottom inset: Cupcake pin cushions that were given to each member. Pictured below: Wednesday’s 50th anniversary meeting of the Molino Homemaker’s Club. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
