Nappanee Advance-News, Volume 135, Number 35, Nappanee, Elkhart County, 1 September 2016 — Page 4

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Advance News • Thursday, September 1, 2016

The kid who thinks he owns the place Thirty-seven years ago when I was a young pastor serving a congregation of folks mostly older than me, I made it dear that I'm in favor of kids attending church. When I was

a kid I wasn't put in some nursery during worship. I sat in the pews and tried to look interested like everyone else. I figure if we put up with the

kids eventually they'd put up with us. With a few very noticeable and loud exceptions, I'm mostly right. One of those loud exceptions was my son Frandsco who was bom three months early. Frandsco was a pound and thirteen ounces, nearly died several times, survived six full blood exchanges, and once he was good and survived he moved with us to the first congregation I served! The day I was ordained the pastor in charge was preaching. And preaching. And preaching. My wife Jennie and I sat in front, so my sister-in-law held Frandsco in her arms. She thought kids had to keep quiet in church, so she fed Frandsco four times as mucn milk as normal. His eyes got big and his stomach got big, and then he let loose this huge belch that registered on the Richter Scale. The church shook a little but the walls still stand. Like I said, I've always felt noise by kids in church is just fine. Thirty-seven years later I'm serving a congregation of folks mostly younger than me. I still think children ought to be part of worship. And mostly they tolerate us grownups and we love having them. Every now and then I have second thoughts. Right now I"m thinking of my grandson Jack, two and a half years old. He lives near Munrie, but when he's in town with his parents he comes to worship. Now he doesn't behave terribly, but I've noticed something about his actions at church. Basically Jack thinks he owns the place. It probably has something to do with the fad that three out of his four grandparents are ordained ministers. The result is that Jack is not in the least impressed by ministers, churches, or the glares of choir diredors. He's grown up thinking church is a place where he's welcome, like every child should. So anyway, we had him five days straight a few weeks back. It was about a week and a half before the musical I'd co-written involving around 40 people was going to be presented in our church, so we were rehearsing every night. As the diredor I was the only one who didn't have lines or singing so I got the job of looking after him. And chasing him. Jack flirted with all the little girls in the musical, made eyes at all the women in their Amish costumes, made friends with everyone, and ran just out of my reach until the moment he collapsed asleep on one of the pews. I'm so glad he thinks church is home. Since he wasn't struck by lightning, I've got this feeling someone upstairs agrees with me. Still, I didn't mind at all that by the time Jack went back to his folks my back was killing me from carrying him around. Who knew fun felt so good? Frank Ramirez is the Senior Pastor of the Union Center Church of the Brethren.

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County Road Seven I By Frank Ramirez

H

Community

New season of life cause for reflection on changes

August was always a magical time during my youth. The summer—which had begun in June after the last day of dasses—was coming to an end with the start of a new school year just weeks away. On the homefront, the last of the garden vegetables were coming in season and more canning was near at hand. And it was time to begin plan-

ning which chores I could do before school, and which had to wait until after I returned home. Each year I looked forward to the first day of school with great antidpation as soon as the Elkhart County Fair ended, and counted down the days until I could meet my new teacher and again be in dass. All the newness brought changes, and August came to represent change in my young mind. There was the exdtement of changing wardrobes as we went shopping for new school clothes... Establishing a new daily routine to still accommodate getting chores done but no longer having all day to do them as I would be in school... And change of classroom and teachers always brought a happy transition into a new grade.. .which, of course, included curriculum changes made as new things were added in each year. Though the calendar wouldn't register as fall for another month, each August marked fall to me because those few weeks flew by ever so quickly. We started school the third week of August. No sooner had we gotten to know our new teacher and discover who was in our same dass that year, and we found ourselves enjoying a three day weekend called Labor Day. Then we settled into our fall schedule as the seasons began to transition. Perhaps those early experiences, and all the exdtement they brought, are why I still love August —and why it still registers in my mind as the beginning of fall. It still represents change. And it still brings exdtement. I still reformat my scheduling to take in new things—covering activities in the schools for the Advance News, joining fall women's Bible studies, finishing up the canning, and so on. This year I find myself not only transitioning from summer into fall, but also into a new season of life. Looking back I can see that young student taking on the changes each new school year brought, and I see the foundation that was laid for my post high school years as summer then began over Memorial Day when we could break the boat out and begin our summer days on the lake and did not end until Labor Day when we were sadly doser to storing away the boat as waters grew colder. August of my 25th year was the most challenging "time of change" I had ever experienced. I was in my fourth month of a high-risk pregnancy, ordered to bed rest and praying each new day for the tiny lives inside of me to continue to grow and develop—and for my body to remain strong enough to carry the pregnancy through to completion. There was no

Food preservation safety

This week am writing my weekly column on food preservation safety because you need to understand the sdence behind canning vegetables, fruits, pickled products, jams jellies, fruit spreads, fruit and vegetable sauces, and meat products. I have had several phone calls and emails with out-of-date food processing techniques and times, and using unsafe recipes that have been obtained on the internet from very unreliable sources. Please know that when you are using out-of-date food processing techniques or times, and recipes that have not been researched, you are putting everyone who consumes these products at risk for a food borne illness and that could be deadly. When we are cooking on the stove, in the oven, or microwave, I am all for being creative and making recipes healthier or just experimenting. You cook the food and it is tasty, and sometimes not; the family eats it or they don't, but these forms of cooking don't put people's health at risk. You do put their health at risk when you experiment with food preservation techniques - especially canning. I cannot stress enough just don't do it. Please, please, please, when spending your time and money on food preservation be sure to only use up-to-date recipes, recommendations and processing times. When you are using the internet for a source of food preservation information there are several reliable sources that I

Around, from front

welcomed free of charge. Rentown is located 3 miles east of Bremen, with proceeds benefitting the local school. FOOD VENDORS COMING TO WAKARUSA WAKARUSA Beginning in September, there will one food truck visiting downtown Wakarusa every Saturday through October. There are two open spaces remaining, but once tnose are booked, the schedule will be updated. Here are the vendors scheduled for sales: Sept. 3 - Ron's River Dogs; Sept.lo - Open; Sept. 17 - Ron's River Dogs; Sept. 24 - Bulldog Bar BQ; Oct. 1 - Ron's River Dogs; Oct. 8 - Open; Oct. 15 - Ron's River Dogs; Oct. 22 - Bulldog Bar BQ; Oct. 29 - Chatter Box. TRUCK, TRACTOR PULL TO USHER IN FESTIVAL NAPPANEE - The 2016 Nappanee Apple Festival kicks off with a prelude event that is taking place on Saturday, September 10. The annual Tractor & Truck Pull gets underway at the Callander Sports Complex, located on Oakland Avenue (CR 7). Gates will open at noon, with the pull beginning at 2 p.m. Admission is $5, with children 12 and under admitted free. No outside food or beverages will be allowed on the premises, but concessions will be made available. For a complete schedule of events for the Nappanee Apple Festival, which runs from Thursday, Sept. 15 to Sunday, Sept. 18, visit www.nappaneeapplefestival.org. SIGN-UP UNDERWAY FOR WATER AEROBICS WA-NEE Classes specializing in water aerobics are

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Merrie’s Musings By Merrie Chapman Staff Writer

H Food and By Mary Ann Lienhart Cross

recommended; they all have the United States Department of Agriculture food preservation research as the base of their information. The National Center for Home Food Preservation can be found at http://nchfp.uga.edu/index. html; The Jarden Home Brands Ball / Kehr website address is https:/ /www. freshpreserving.com/; and Purdue University 'Let's Preserve' publications can be obtained at https://mdc.itap. purdue.edu/. Most county Purdue Extension offices will supply you with free copies of publications if you visit the office. At your Elkhart County office, we have printed copies available and we can leave packets of publications for you after hours in our foyer that is open 24/7 for your connivance. If you only need a few publications we can mail them, but when your request is for several we ask that you pick them up to make the best use of tax dollars. Here are a few easy to answer questions that you might find helpful: Question: Is it safe to can vegetables and fruits without salt? Answer: Yes, salt is used for flavor only and is not necessary to prevent spoilage. One exception: don't ever alter or change the amount of salt

ment and feeling of change. This time because I had made it through the entire first trimester without miscarrying. It was the first time in eight years I had made it that far. The excitement of being in my second trimester brought hope that we were finally going to be parents and then came all the thoughts that accompanied the coming changes with that! To this day, I would nave to say that year still holds the record for the most exciting August of change in my lifetime. But tagging closely behind it are the first year our boys went to preschool—the year they made the leap to the elementary—the year I watched them rise an hour earlier to board the bus because they had advanced to junior high school—again when they started high school —and the first August I no longer got to see them leave for their first day of school. Every August of my lifetime has brought transition and change. But every year involving my children during their growing up years brought the most excitement —and tears! I bravely dropped them off at that preschool with encouragement and smiles, and then cried all the way home. That same scenario repeated itself as the boys started classes at each new educational facility but it never took away from the excitement of watching them grow. It's been three years since I watched the boys leave for the first day of school their senior year. August 2016 has brought a new feeling of change—a change of season in my life. As I've watched students return to classes, I have heard parents grumbling about the changes in teaching using Common Core Curriculum. I've heard debates on sexual orientation concerning bathrooms. There have also been articles to read on athletic accomplishments. And this week we received word that North Wood Middle School has been selected a 2016-2017 Microsoft Recognized School for their valiant efforts to integrate technology into everyday learning. Hearing of all the changes good and bad—makes me pause to evaluate how different things are from when I was the one returning to classes. It seems natural to reflect on all the years of changes, and actually leaves me feeling settled with contentment at each change brought my way. The realization that I've entered a new season of life has not hindered the magic of August. I am still excited to see what's coming, and still willing to transition into whatever changes are on the horizon. My hope is that the same is true for all of you reading this today. May we all celebrate the changes life brings our way. -Blessings-

in pickling reapes as the salt "works towards another purpose other than just flavoring. Question: Is it safe to can fruits with sugar? Answer: Yes, but I would not recommend it. Sugar is added to improve the flavor, retain the texture and shape, and help stabilize color. The sugar is not a preservative but it makes a huge difference in the quality of the product. A light sugar syrup is 1 cup sugar to 4 cups of water. Sugar syrup is made by mixing water or juice extracted from some of the fruit. The mixture is heated to dissolve the sugar and is kept hot until ready to use. You can also use unsweetened apple juice, pineapple juice or white grape juice as good packing liquids for many fruits. These can be bought frozen as a concentrate and used as is or diluted with water. Juice can also be extracted from some of the fruit that is being canned or from fresh apples, pineapples or white grapes. To extract, thoroughly crush the ripe, clean fruit. Heat the juice to simmering over low heat, strain through cotton or linen dish towel or cheese cloth. The easy way is to buy the frozen concentrate. Here is to eating all the great summer and fall produce now and preserving it properly for the future. Mary Ann Lienhart Cross is an Extension Educator - Health & Human Sciences with Purdue Extension-Elkhart County

scheduled to take place this fall at the North Wood High School Pool. The courses run on Mondays and Wednesdays from 7:30-8:30 p.m., with the first round of sessions set for Sept. 19 through Oct. 24. Another class takes place from Nov. 7 until Dec. 14. Cost is S3O per class, with 12 sessions in all and a minimum of 12 students. Payment is required prior to the start of classes, and that can be given to the Wa-Nee Administration Office or to either of the libraries in Nappanee and Wakarusa. Wear a swimsuit and bring a towel. For more details, call 574-773-3131. COPIES, BINDING AVAILABLE AT WPL WAKARUSA The Wakarusa Public Library offers many different services to the community. One of those services includes spiral binding. Papers or books can be spiral bound for a fee: plastic rings with a cover ($0.65) or plastic rings only ($0.20). Copies are also available at the library, either color or black and white. Black and white copies are 10 to 20 cents a page, while color copies are 30 cents to $1 a page. Copy sizes range from 8.5x11 to 11x17. Transparency copies are also available for 35 cents a sheet. COPPES COMMONS FARMERS' MARKET NAPPANEE There are only a few weekend remaining to visit the Farmer's Market of Coppes Commons in Nappanee. Hours are 8-12 every Saturday morning, so stop by and visit the final offerings in summer produce, florals, and other items. Call 574-773-0002 or check out the Facebook page for updates and information. / ■

canning that year, no school preparations, and I had not been allowed in the lake waters all summer so I really didn't notice summer's start or end outside of watching the bright sunshine through the window. It was for good reason, and I had no problem getting through that way. There was still that growing exrite-