William Penn Life, 2016 (51. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
2016-01-01 / 1. szám
Branch News entertained by a fire and ice show presented by Mad Science. Christmas carols were sung, and Santa Claus arrived. Santa spoke with each child and provided each with a gift. Refreshments were served, and the afternoon was enjoyed by all. Thanks to the WPA Board of Directors and the Home Office for their assistance in making the party a success. We are grateful for their continued support. We wish a very happy and healthy new year to all! Branch 89 Homestead, PA by Lisa S. Toth-Maskarinec Branch 89 hopes everyone is staying warm and indoors this winter. We also hope everyone had a truly wonderful Christmas and a very Happy New Year. Let's do our best to make this year our best. I know our branch promises to do just that. Our Christmas party was another huge success. We had close to 110 people in attendance, the majority of which were children. How nice it was to see so many young ones truly enjoying themselves. I was very proud to see how well behaved the children were and how into the bowling they really were. Even the toddlers were having a blast bowling with the help of bumpers on the lanes and special bowling ball aids. And yes, even the parents and grandparents came and bowled with their children and grandchildren. No one was left out. Our hearts were truly touched by the many expressions of thanks we received. One of the children, Jaiden Jones, told us: "thank you for making this one of the best days of my life." To borrow one of the late Elmer Toth's expressions: it doesn't get better than this. The highlight of our party, of course, was the arrival of our Dearly Beloved Santa Claus. All bowling stopped when he entered the building. Two little children took Santa's hands and led him to his seat. How's that for respect and courtesy? Just look at the pictures found on pages 14 and 15 of this issue. You can tell by the smiles on the children's faces not only how much of a hit the party was but also how much the children loved visiting with Santa. Our branch thanks WPA for its support and for the many donations for the benefit of our Christmas party. Christmas is truly a time for kids of all ages. Immediately after the party, we had our branch meeting and election of officers. The newly-elected officers of Branch 89 are: John S. Toth Jr., president; Mark S. Maskarinec, vice president; Ruth D. Toth, secretarytreasurer; and Lisa S. Toth-Maskarinec and Justin T. Toth, auditors. Good luck to all our elected officials throughout the organization. We also are pleased to report that we distributed five Holiday Baskets to individuals who are less fortunate than others. What a great feeling it is to help brighten the holidays for others who may not have as much as we do. We already received a thank you card from one member acknowledging their gift with heartfelt appreciation. This is a great program. We thank WPA for establishing this program. Belated birthday greetings to Branch 89 members Irene Janesko, who turned 92 on Dec. 6, and to Michele Wittpenn, who celebrate her birthday on Dec. 8. Happy January birthday to Justin Toth on Jan. 3. We are hoping to begin our monthly dinners soon. Some of the venues we are looking at are the Dorothy 6 Restaurant on Eighth Avenue in Homestead, Buffalo Wild Wings in Pleasant Hills, Dave and Buster's on the Waterfront and Mitchell's Fish Market. Dates and times to follow. Why not join us and patronize a local business. We thank Bill Lorenc of Branch 27 Toledo, Ohio, for collecting the Kellogg's codes for our branch. Bill, we hope you enjoy your Pirates cap and package we finally sent you. This is another example of members of various WPA branches working together for a common cause. We are still collecting Kellogg's Family Reward's Points. The codes are found inside boxes of Kellogg's, Keebler, Sunshine and Morningstar Farms products. Just cut out the code, mail it to us and we'll do the rest. Special thanks to Branch Members Vera Recktosh and Michelle and Deborah Zamberry for their donations this month. Also, special thanks to Branch 89 member Janice Trout for her recent donation of two bags of Coke product bottle caps. When we have our golf outing later this year, we will definitely make sure you receive recognition for your efforts. Please keep those codes coming in. Anyone with any codes can email them to Mark at maskarinacl836@comcast. net or send them to 1836 Timothy Drive, West Mifflin, PA 15122. On a more somber note, we regret to report the sudden and unexpected death of longtime Branch-------mb 89 member Bert Mertz (pictured left). Bert passed away in his sleep on Oct. 15, 2015. Bert was a quiet person but was a staunch member of Branch 89. His presence was noticed at our annual Christmas parties. Bert would have two or three bowling lanes reserved just for his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren and brought another group of family members who would watch and take pictures. He was missed at our party this year, but we were happy to see his wife Barb continue the tradition of attending the Christmas party and beaming with pride as their family members took turns bowling and talking with Santa Claus. While Bert may no longer be with us, his presence was definitely felt at this party. We at Branch 089 would like to extend our deepest sympathies to Barb, his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. He may be gone but he will never, ever be forgotten. For any of your life insurance needs, please continue to call Ruth Toth at 412-872-5022. Branch 89 would like to thank WPA and its officers for their continued support for our branch activities. Please keep those branch outing suggestions coming in. We're interested in hearing from you. Stay warm. It won't be too long before the bowling and golf outings will be upon us. I, for one, can't wait. 20 0 January 2016 0 William Penn Life
