By Annabeth Miller,
ShowMe Times Editor
It’s a playtime fixture. It’s been in toyboxes and in playroom and elementary classrooms for …. Well, as long as some of us of a certain age can remember. And Sept. 18 is it’s “day”.
Play-Doh. It’s made of simple stuff - flour, water, salt, boric acide and silicone oil. But, oh the fun that kids (and adults) can have with this simple stuff.
Sunday is National Play-Doh Day, and the good folks at Montgomery Bank in Dexter still have a touch of child’s fun in their heart!
On Friday, in preparation for National Play-Doh Day, the staff at Montgomery Bank visited the kindergarten children at Southwest Elementary in Dexter, and gave each child their own can of Play-Doh.
“We all remember the fun of playing with Play-Doh, and wanted the children in kindergarten to enjoy their very own can of Play-Doh to celebrate this fun day,” said Dana Adams, of the local bank.
This popular product has been entertaining and delighting children of all ages since Rainbow Crafts began selling it back in 1956. Legend has it a teacher asked her brother-in-law, Joseph McVicker, to come up with a safe and simple modeling clay for her students in 1955. And the rest, as they say, is history.
While the original Play-Doh was available originally only in one color, red, yellow and blue were added in 1957. In 1960, mini-cans were added to the line. And if you think Play-Doh is a passing fad, think again. Over 950 million pounds of the reusable modeling compounds have been sold.
No matter what color - or if you are one of those that mixes your Play-Doh colors - it's still fun to see what you can create with a can a Play-Doh. And thanks to Montgomery Bank, another generation of youngsters will know that joy!
PHOTO ABOVE: Kindergarten student Landon Jarrell receives a bag with a can of Play-Doh so he can celebrate National Play-Doh Day. Presenting the playtime treat is Lindsay Emillo of Montgomery Bank in Dexter.
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Owen Flowers spoke this week to the organization that sponsored his participation at Missouri Boys State, the Dexter Kiwanis Club. Flowers was one of four Dexter young men who participated in Missouri Boys State in 2011, along with Dylan Heflin, Tyler Miller, and Zane Olson.
Flowers was elected health inspector of Alcorn City, one of the communities young men are divided into for the Boys State experience. Flowers was then elected as the presiding commissioner of Benton County.
“I represented 120 men at the county level,” Flowers said. “We literally created a state from the ground up.”
He is the son of Kim and Tim Flowers of Dexter and is a senior at DHS.
Boys State gave the young Dexter man not only leadership experiences, but a chance to explore career options. Flowers told the Kiwanians he had the opportunity to attend one of the five Boys State schools of law enforcement.
“It was because of this experience that I developed a stronger interest in criminology. I learned a lot about the benefits and the difficulties of the demanding but rewarding profession,” he said. Flowers said he plans to pursue a degree in criminology in college.
Flowers said that polling of Boys State members in 2011 showed that nearly half the young men said they favored continuation of the death penalty, 44 percent voted for the removal of the military presence in Iraq, 64 percent felt the drinking age in Missouri should remain at age 21, and 81 percent of the Boys State participants felt education should be the top focus for Missouri state government.
“The most influential impact I gained in my week at Boys State were my friendships,” Flowers said. He forged strong friendships with several other young men during the week.
“These individuals have shaped my life; they are friends I will have for a lifetime,” he said. “These connections will be remembered for a lifetime. I am very fortunate to have had this opportunity.”
The community is invited to pause with members of the Dexter First United Methodist on Saturday in an ecumenical service of remembrance for 9-11.
The service will be held at 3 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 10 at the “gathering spot” – the grassy property across from Rainey-Mathis Funeral Home on Stoddard Street in Downtown Dexter. The open-air service is open to all.
“We invite our friends and neighbors to join us Saturday as we pause and remember that tragic day 10 years ago,” said Loretta Reid, of the local United Methodist Church. “Many of us remember our community coming together in grief and fear and shock 10 years ago in a community time of worship. This service will provide us the opportunity to remember the events of that day, and the sorrow and grief that swept across our nation.”
The service, she said, offers a chance to “observe this anniversary in a way that offers hope and to remember that God brings light into all darkness.”
Readers for the service will include Carol Beam, Bill Pippins, Jr., Delores Bailiff; scripture will be given by Dr. Larry Colvin of the First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), and the opening and prayer offered by Michael Woods, pastor of the First United Methodist Church.
Music will be offered by the First United Methodist Chancel Choir under the direction of MaryRuth Boone and a special musical tribute offered by Scott Nelson.
The service on Saturday is the culmination of a busy day for United Methodists in Dexter. The local congregation will be participating in SERVE2011, a statewide project amount United Methodist churches.
As a part of SERVE 2011, the church is sponsoring an American Red Cross Blood Drive from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m. at Wesley Hall on the First UMC campus on North Walnut Street in Dexter.
Serve 2011 is a collaborative experience among the congregations of the Missouri Conference of the United Methodist Church. Each congregation in Missouri is challenged to serve their community outside the walls of their church the weekend of Sept. 10-11 and beyond. Through Serve 2011, Missouri United Methodists will declare that “the church has left the building” by reaching out to their communities.
In case of bad weather on Saturday afternoon, the 9-11 Service of Remembrance will be moved to the United Methodist Church on South Walnut Street.
Photo Above: Lorette Reid (left) and MaryRuth Boone discuss the plans for the community 9011 Service of Remembrance schedule for Saturday, Sept. 10. (SMT Photo)
