Stuff the Boot on GivingTuesday

East Fork Professional Firefighters, Local 3726 are collecting funds in a “Stuff the Boot” campaign on GivingTuesday.

Firefighters will be posted 2-5 p.m. Nov. 28 on the corners of Gilman Avenue and Highway 395. Union President Kevin May said East Fork firefighters head out for GivingTuesday every year and they are grateful for the community’s enthusiastic response to their “Stuff the Boot” events.

All funds collected during “Stuff the Boot” on GivingTuesday stay local and will be presented to Carson Valley Community Food Closet Director Sarah Sanchez during the Dec. 8 “Share Your Christmas” drive-by food drive at the Carson Valley Inn.

GivingTuesday is “a movement that unleashes the power of radical generosity around the world…Whether it’s making someone smile, helping a neighbor out, or showing up for an issue or people we care about, we each have something to contribute” (givingtuesday.org). The GivingTuesday global movement aims to encourage generosity daily throughout the year and holds an annual celebration the Tuesday after Thanksgiving. For ideas and suggestions on other ways to get involved, visit givingtuesday.org/united-states/.

Sertoma seeks yarn donations

Carson Valley Sertoma Coat Drive Chair Eileen Behr reports that barrel tenders have been busy bringing lots of donations from the Carson Valley and Carson City to the organization’s sorting shed. In addition to the generous community response, Sertoma has received grants and donations from businesses and organizations including Carson Valley Health, Lamar Advertising, and Walmart Super Centers in Gardnerville and Carson City.

Behr shared that knitting groups in the Carson Valley and Carson City “have been working away on hats for the coat drive…(and) have produced more than 250 so far!” To help supply the knitting groups, Behr has been gathering stashes of yarn from Sertoma members and others.

Anyone interested in contributing to this effort is invited to place yarn (new or from a supply no longer needed) into the blue Coat Drive donation barrels, and it will be distributed among the different knitting groups.

Monetary donations to the coat drive are also welcomed and are used to purchase most-needed items. Mail checks to Carson Valley Sertoma, P.O. Box 1546, Minden, NV 89423.

The Carson Valley Sertoma Coat Drive runs through January 31. For more information and a complete listing of barrel locations, visit carsonvalleysertoma.org.

A holiday poem

I have many fond childhood memories of road trips taken to visit my grandparents during the holidays. Squished together in the back seat of our station wagon, my sisters and I would pass the eight-hour drive to their house by playing the “license plate alphabet game,” arguing over who was taking up the most space on the bench seat, and singing along to my mom’s favorite tunes by John Denver and The Carpenters.

Mom also taught us a verse, “Over the river and through the woods,” which we always sang to mark the end of our journey as we crossed the bridge that led to my grandparents’ home. I still hum the tune sometimes and while I only ever recall singing that one verse, I’ve since learned that the words are part of a longer poem titled, “Thanksgiving Day” penned by Lydia Maria Child (Feb. 11, 1802 - Oct. 20, 1880).

Child was a writer “best known for her books on domestic life and racial equality and her work as an abolitionist” (poets.org). Please enjoy reading the entirety of her Thanksgiving poem, which is in the public domain:

Thanksgiving Day

Over the river, and through the wood,

To grandfather’s house we go;

The horse knows the way

To carry the sleigh

Through the white and drifted snow.

Over the river, and through the wood

Oh, how the wind does blow!

It stings the toes

And bites the nose

As over the ground we go.

Over the river, and through the wood,

To have a first-rate play.

Hear the bells ring

“Ting-a-ling-ding”,

Hurrah for Thanksgiving Day!

Over the river, and through the wood

Trot fast, my dapple-gray!

Spring over the ground,

Like a hunting-hound!

 For this is Thanksgiving Day.

Over the river, and through the wood,

 And straight through the barn-yard gate.

We seem to go

Extremely slow,—

It is so hard to wait!

Over the river and through the wood—

Now grandmother’s cap I spy!

Hurrah for the fun!

 Is the pudding done?

Hurrah for the pumpkin-pie!

Amy Roby can be reached at ranchosroundup@hotmail.com.