Category Archives: Standalone Photo

Two Story Outhouse Festival In Gays 2023

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Two Story Outhouse Festival In Gays
The Two Story Outhouse Festival was held in Gays on Saturday, August 12. A pageant was added to this year’s event which had three participants that received crowns and sashes. The opening ceremony included the cutting of the TP by a couple that have been residents of Gays for many years. This year’s Kidz Korner included inflatables, pony rides, games and face painting. Food and craft vendors lined the road offering a variety of foods and craft vendors offered items for sale such as t-shirts, tumblers, wreaths, jewelry and other items. Live entertainment that day was provided by the band Katzmandu and The Kate Brothers. This year’s festival was in memory of Tammy Howard. This year Brayden Armstrong, 12, also published a single page newspaper called the Poop Scoop specifically for the Two Story Outhouse Festival. He wrote the newspaper to give visitors to the festival updates and information about the event.

Summer Reading Carnival

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photo by Crystal Reed
Summer Reading Carnival
Marrowbone Public Library held a summer reading carnival for children who had read 30 books during the library’s summer reading program on Saturday, July 8.

The Buzz About Honeybees

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photo by Crystal Reed
The Buzz About Honeybees
Marrowbone Public Library Co-Director Lisa Spracklen presented “The Buzz About Honey Bees” on Thursday, June 29 as part of the library’s summer reading program. Attendees learned about the equipment and tools used by bee keepers and other facts about bee keeping.

Knee High by the Fourth of July

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Photo by R.R. Best
Knee High by the Fourth of July
Courtyard Estates residents Harry Woolen, June Miller, Nadene Cochran, Bev Devore and Keith Richardson show that the corn has gotten more than knee high by the 4th of July.

Heartland Mini Hoofs Visit Senior Center

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photo by Crystal Reed
Heartland Mini Hoofs Visit Senior Center
The Heartland Mini Hoofs visited the Mid-Illinois Senior Services and Community Center on Thursday, June 15. Heartland Mini Hoofs, a non for profit organization, has a mini equine visitation therapy program. They operate solely on donations. Pictured are Reva Martin and Carolyn Doss spending time with Oliver during the organization’s visit.

State Rep Brad Halbrook Holds Town Hall

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Photo by Crystal Reed
State Rep Brad Halbrook Holds Town Hall
State Rep Brad Halbrook held a town hall discussion to update local residents on the important issues debated and passed in Springfield during the spring session. The town hall was the first of several that he will be holding this month. During the discussion he noted that the budget passed by Governor J.B. Pritzker recently is one of the largest budgets in history at $50.6 billion and will include borrowing over $700 million. Other talking points included the sunset of tax holidays, equal pay act and ethics reform.

American Legion Poppy Sales

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Photo by Crystal Reed
American Legion Poppy Sales
Members of the American Legion and the Legion Auxiliary had poppy sales on Friday, May 16 at various locations in Sullivan. Pictured above is Lennon Robinson (left) accepting a poppy from Mary Sims (right).

MCHGS Grand Opening

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Photo by Crystal Reed
MCHGS Grand Opening
The Moultrie County Historical and Genealogical Society held a grand opening at their museum on Thursday, May 4. The exhibit is called "The Auschwitz Experience In The Art Of Prisoners." The society partnered with the Champaign-Urbana Jewish Federation to bring the special exhibit to Moultrie County. The exhibition features artwork by 12 survivors who documented their experiences in the Auschwitz Concentration Camp. The 24 panel exhibit consists of 60 pieces that depict the experiences the survivors had during the Holocaust. The exhibit has never before been exhibited outside of Europe and is on loan from the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum, Oswecim, Poland. Pictured (from left to right): Rebecca Lawson, Natalee Hunter, Museum Director Pam Wood and Holocaust Education Center of the Champaign-Urbana Jewish Federation Co-Director Robert Lehmann. During the grand opening, student Natalee Hunter shared her two film projects, each of which documented Holocaust survivors and their stories. Lehmann spoke about the Auschwitz Concentration Camp showing historical and more recent photos of the structures inside the camp.