The women of First St. John Lutheran
Church invite all women and girls to a
Ladies Night Out Sunday, June 8 at 5
p.m. to enjoy "Hawaiian Heaven, Island
Style." Entertainment will be by
"Eternity Focus."
Please R.S.V.P. to Jeanne Bogart
(476-2653), Dixie Rietzke (476-2401), or
Tiffany Rietzke (476-2220) by Saturday,
June 7. There will be a free-will
donation for the entertainment.
The Board will meet Wednesday, June 11
at noon. Pitch will be played Thursday,
June 12 at 7 p.m. The seven June
birthdays will be celebrated Thursday,
June `9. The Food Pantry will be open
Saturday, June 10 from 1 to 3 p.m.
Pinochle will be played Tuesday, June 24
at 7 p.m.
Guy Billings will be celebrating his
98th birthday Wednesday, June 4. He
enjoys serving the drinks and helping
with clean-up at the Senior Center. Our
thanks to Guy and a very Happy Birthday.
There are three couples celebrating
anniversaries this month. They are J.S.
and Betty Wagner (6/9), 63 years; Bob
and Donna Westbrook (6/13) and Bob and
Margaret Stockton (6/4).
Winners at pinochle on May 27 were Doris
Slavik and Lelia Grauerholz, high; Loren
Larrick and Armi McPherson, low. Twelve
were present.
Menus
Monday, June 9--Spanish rice
w/hamburger, cook's choice veg, mandarin
oranges, bread, pudding
Tuesday, June 10--Salisbury steak
w/gravy, au gratin potatoes, peas,
bread, pears
Wednesday, June 11--Salmon patties
w/sauce, broccoli salad, applesauce,
roll, cherry cobbler
Thursday, June 12--Liver & onions
w/gravy, parslied potatoes, green beans,
bread, ambrosia fruit salad
Friday, June 13--Chicken fajita pasta
salad, cantaloupe, tortilla chips,
brownie
The Bell Bunch will meet at Duffy's at
Smith Center Wednesday, June 11 at 11:29
a.m. for lunch. This is the usual
get-together, and it is hoped there will
be a good turn-out.
Seventy-five attend Bible School
A large crowd attended the Bible School
closing program Friday morning at St.
John Lutheran Church. The children
showed a tremendous amount of enthusiasm
in the songs that they sang. A complete
listing of teachers, helpers, and other
information will be available next week.
Part of the fun of the final day is the
children from the United Church and
First St. John Lutheran Church getting
to ride on the fire truck with the
sirens going to the program site. Pastor
Dave Hutson and Don Moffat were in
charge of the fire truck transportation.
A balloon launch closed out the
week-long sessions after the program.
Lisa Ratliff, Kensington, received a
Bachelor of Science in Nursing at
Washburn University, Topeka, on
Saturday, May 17. She graduated Magna
Cum Laude. She is the daughter of Lyle
and Vergie Ratliff of Kensington.
Melissa Luiso, Kensington, received a
Bachelor of Science in
Business/Accounting & Bachelor of
Science in Business/ Finance Accounting
at Kansas University, Lawrence. She is
the daugher of Nick and Margaret Luiso
of Kensington.
A son, Jesse Scott, was born to Scott
and Rebecca Dettmer of Kensington on May
23 at the Phllips County Hospital. Jesse
weighed 7 lbs. 12 oz. Grandparents are
Kenneth and Ruth Rahe of Belleville and
Gordon and Jean Dettmer of Agra.
Betty (Searight) Dettmer, 75, of Denver,
died Sunday, June 1, 2008. She grew up
in Kensington and graduated from
Kensington High School in 1950. She
leaves her husband, Waldean of the home;
two sons, Bob of Denver and Jim of
Missouri; a sister, Barbra and
husband Harry Rader of Kensington; and
several grandchildren. A private
memorial service is planned.
Marvell Yoxall, 77, of Phillipsburg died
Saturday, May 31, 2008, at her home. She
is the mother of Jeff Yoxall of
Kensington, Superintendent of Thunder
Ridge Schools. She is also survived by
her husband, Joe; a daughter, Cheryl
Biggs of Phillipsburg; another son,
Barry of Phillipsburg; two brothers, Don
Mason of Oklahoma City and Bob Mason of
Downs; a sister, Kay Mason of Stockton;
ten grandchildren; and three
great-grandchildren. Memorial services
were held at the Olliff-Boeve Memorial
Chapel in Phillipsburg.
Dorothy Palmer, 73, of Smith Center died
Thursday, May 29, 2008. She was a
homemaker. She was preceded in death by
her husband, Mark, who owned and
operated Mark's Market in Kensington
until his death.
Survivors include three daughters, Debra
(Tom) McDonald of Hays, Heide (Mark)
King of Smith Center and Tracy (Ron) St.
Clair of Harlan; two sons, Nick and wife
Anita of Kensington and Chris of
Wichita; a brother, Lyman of Berryton; a
sister, Bernita Bose of Garnett; 13
grandchildren; and eight
great-grandchildren.
The funeral was Monday at Simmons-Rentscler
Mortuary in Smith Center with burial in
Fairview Cemetery, Smith Center.
John Hilbrink, 47, of Ellsworth died
Saturday, May 24, 2008. The family lived
in Kensington where he attended
elementary and Jr. High schools. He
was a pen rider in a feedlot until his
health failed.
He leaves his mother Phyllis (Hilbrink)
Pierce of Ellsworth; daughters, Chelsae
Munk of Hays, Renee Porter of Castle
Rock, Colo., Brandilyn Hilbrink of
Elbert, Colo., and Johnni Hilbrink of
Plainville; sister, Carol Hilbrink of
Parsons; brothers, Doug Hilbrink of
Russell and Brad Hilbrink of Wichita;
two step-brothers; and five
grandchildren.
The funeral was Wednesday at Simmons-Rentschler
Mortuary, Smith Center with burial
following in Germantown Cemetery,
Kensington.
Apologies to Alice (Brunow) Rietzke of
Kensington, KHS Class of 1946, for
omitting her name from those attending
the Alumni banquet. Others might have
been missed, too.
Hilary Palmer spent last week in Wichita
as one of the 126 members of the Kansas
Lions Band. She plays the flute. Her
parents, Nick and Anita Palmer, and
family attended the concert Saturday in
Wichita and returned her home.
Trent Palmer arrived home Friday for the
funeral of his grandmother, Dorothy
Palmer, which was held Monday. He is in
the U.S. Navy stationed in Jacksonville,
Fla. Also at the Nick Palmer home were
Brian and Christina Palmer and two
daughters of Cimarron.
Eulonda Hagman hosted a coffee Thursday
morning at her home following the
graveside service of Linda (Dettmer)
Gauer. Present were Judy Gauer of
Lenexa, Naomi Leising of Hastings,
Barbara Reilley of Smith Center, Mildred
Dettmer, Alice Rietzke, Carolyn
Billings, Pastor Patsy Koeneke, Paul
Bienhoff, and the host.
Denis and Wilma Sweat have had a busy
spring. They were at the home of Sharon
and Glen Coats the third weekend in May
as their oldest daughter, Melissa,
graduated from eighth grade at Allen on
Monday night, May 19. She was the top
student in her graduating class.
On Sunday, May 25, they were at David
and Michelle Sweat's home to help their
son, Matthew, celebrate his first
birthday which was May 22. He had his
own tiny birthday cake and when he
finished eating (mostly playing with
it), he went right to the shower. Even
the high chair needed a little work!
Brenda and Joe Rongish and family came
from Kansas City for the celebration
along with his maternal grandparents and
other relatives and friends.
The first weekend in June, Denis and
Wilma drove to Colorado to visit Paul
and Apryl Sweat, and especially to see 6
month old Martin, who they hadn’t seen
since January. He has grown a lot and
is starting to get around by rolling
over.
Sonja Seemann of Wichita and Ziegfried
Seemann of Lakewood, Colo., were
houseguests of Maria Seemann, coming
especially for the Kensington Alumni
Banquet.
Vicki Rader of Denver spent a week with
her parents, Harry and Barbra Rader in
mid-May. She took her to the graduation
of their granddaughters, Andrea Rader,
from Wilson High School on May 10 and
Jennifer Rader from Ft. Hays State
University on May 17. Andrea and
Jennifer are the daughters of Mike and
Ellen Rader of Wilson.
Tyler, Emily, TyLynn, and Kensly Blank went
to Hastings, NE over Memorial weekend to
celebrate Tyler's mom's 60th birthday!
We met up with Tyler's sisters' family,
Tonya, Mike, Britney and Hunter Krueger,
and took Karen out for supper at the
Plainsmen in Juniata, NE. Tonya hosted
a small birthday party at her home in
Hastings, Neb., on Sunday, May 25th.
Several friends gathered at the home of Eulonda
Hagman Monday morning, May 26, for
coffee to visit and reminisce with
Lorraine (Carstens) Bridges of Houston,
Tex., and Lucene (Carstens) Harris
of Salina. The Carstens twins were back
for the Agra Alumni Reunion. Others
present were Lora Dettmer of Agra, Ann
Feguson, Janice Hoverson, Darlene Miller
and Alice Rietzke.
TyLynn Blank, daughter of Tyler and
Emily Blank, Maycee and Morgan
Westbrook, daughters of B. J. and
Melissa Westbrook, Kennedy Rietzke,
daughter of Ryan and Tiffany Rietzke,
and Lauryn Davis, daughter of Doug and
Sky Davis, participated in their Dance
Recital on Friday, May 23 in Holdrege,
Neb. They take lessons from the Dance
Shop in Franklin, Neb.
Summer time brings visitors and family
trips. Please report these to your
correspondent to help her keep the
column interesting.
The weather remains stormy. Tornado
warnings were given last Thursday
evening which sent locals near storm
shelters. Kensington city received about
an inch of rain with much larger amounts
and damaging hail storms in local areas.
Forecasts for the remainder of the week
sound like more rain and severe weather
threats. (Check with your family,
friends, and farm tenants about amounts
of rain or hail damage in their area as
amounts vary greatly.)
Saturday, May 24, was a busy day as the
children of Lucille Schoeni hosted a
birthday party for her 90th birthday.
About 70 persons signed her guest book.
The weeks begin with the beauty shop
being open on Monday and manicures
given. Bingo is always played on Tuesday
and Friday afternoons. First St. John
Lutheran had the Thursday morning Bible
study with visiting and coffee and
cookies following. The Resident Council
met on Thursday afternoon. One/one
sessions are held routinely. l
Topics recently discussed were National
Parks, facts about birds; funny
things what children say; how will you
know when you are old, and facts of
getting older. Putting puzzles together,
doing search-a-word puzzles, and
watching movies are other activities.
The Saturday evening Lawrence Welk
television program is the all-time
favorite.
Visitors recently signing the register
were Cheryl and Mark Gibbs and Emmalee
Herricks, Overland Park, Jasmine
Thompson of Hastings, Neb., Eldon and
Carol Thompson, Athelda Thompson and Bob
and Jan Zeigler of Superior, Neb., Arden
Schoeni and Ardys Adams of
Arlington, Texas and Karen Huiting with
Lucille Schoeni; Ken Kuhlmann of
Montana, Marlene Meyer of Texas, Garen
Kuhlmann and Vernon Kuhlmann with Doris
Kuhlmann; Maria Seemann with friends;
Marian and Jerald Larson of Iowa City,
Iowa, Gene and Janice Miller of Stockton
and Dawn, Taylor, and Gannon Veh with
Pearl Ratliff;
More visitors were Glenda Sturtevant of
Milford, Neb., with Clara Beckmann; Jack
and Shirley Smith and Leora Smith with
Lorraine Grauerholz and friends; Anna
Poore of Park View in Osborne and Roger
and Caroline Poore of Durango, Colo.,
and Mary Sweat with Elsie Jackovsky and
Martha Currey; Ada Gaines and JoAnn Rice
with Francis Gaines and Bill Rice; Lyle
Kuhlmann and Ruth Bienhoff with Dorine
Kuhlmann; Gilbert Kuhlmann wih Betty
Kuhlmann; JoAnn Brooks and Mike Wangerin
with Marie Wangerin; Lois Runion with
Georgia Endsley; Tracy Atchison with
Carson Atchison; Pat Bienhoff with
Douglas and Mae Donovan and Montra and
Mary Jones; Ora Elliott with Zelda
Elliott;
