Groundhog Day Soup Supper

We are quickly approaching February 2, when we will celebrate Ground Hog Day with a Soup Supper at the St. Michael Catholic Church Basement. The meal will start at 5:30 p.m., and we promise that we will have enough food that if you work a little late, we will still have hot food for you

There are a few of us that spent last Sunday afternoon, January 21st, at the church kitchen and made noodles and dumplings for the CCA Soup Supper, and also the Church's upcoming Soup Supper on February 25th. However, we still need donations such as: crackers, cheese, sausage, deviled eggs, side dishes, etc, and most especially desserts. Also, if you have a few containers that we could use as "to-go" containers for left overs, we would be happy to take them off your hands.

If you are free to help us on Friday, please let us know. We need a few people through the day to help us cook, a few to help us setup, and a few to help us serve that evening.

We hope to see you there.

Recap from last month's short meeting held after our Pot Luck Supper (August 7th):

Need suggestions for October 14th, especially with Raffles and also the children's games and activities. Also need to know who would like to help work the children's games scheduled between 2-4:00 PM. We also neet help manning the raffle, motor blow, poker walk, washer board tournament. We also are offering booth rental N/C for other Non-Profits, Church, and Youth Groups, but we need to know what they would like to do A.S.A.P. (If you are affiliated with a group that you think would like to participate, please let both them and us know.)

Also, we are considering having a "Spring Consignment Sale" in early 2007.

The Collyer CDBG Grant has been put on hold for one year, but will still need help preparing for it, if you would like to help, please let us or one of the City Councilmen know.

And last issue discussed was the Convent, we will need to schedule one more work night to hang valances, clean out stacked lumber from the basement, and pour a new cement patio behind where we now have a dangerous hole. Stay tuned-

July 3rd Meeting Recap:

Our July 3rd meeting was well attended, we had limited the discussions to finalize plans for the July 8th Dance/Music Fest. The shade behind the Depot made the meeting a little more enjoyable.

The July 8th After Harvest Music Fest went off without a hitch. Started a little slow in the heat, but final numbers were respectful as the evening cooled. We had one of those superb summer nights that Western Kansas in known for. We thankfully had 75 dedicated volunteers that helped make it happen. The early music was enjoyed by all, and by the time the Blaine Younger Band was through performing, we had sold over 400 tickets

Monday morning started off with a surprise in the mail, the IRS has approved us as a 501(C) 3 Non-Profit Corporation, retroactive to May 2005. That means that all contributions were and are officially tax-deductible. This also give us more room and options for grant monies. Hallelujah !!

We have a CDBG Grant that we are working with the City of Collyer with, and we could use a little help reviewing the map we made last year for accuracy. Any one who would be willing to help with this project, please let Rosalie or me know. Thank you for all of your help and good wishes.

More info coming soon -

Donna M

More on our 2005 Fall Street Festival

Our Fall Street Festival was a huge success, and we'd like to say thank you to everyone who made it possible.

We also have a list of trophy winners as well as galleries of contestants vehicles.

Convent Nearing Completion

Convent still has a few odd jobs going, a special thank you to everyone who has been helping with the renovations. We are still meeting on Sunday afternoons, 1-5:00 PM, and Wednesday evenings, 5-9:00 PM.

Sod House Gets Tarp

Another milestone happening this week: Midwest Energy has agreed to help us tarp the Sod House. If you are free on Tuesday and would like to help, let me know at #769-5203. We also need stories about friends and families from this area, and especially about the Thiel Family, as well as other families that have lived in the Thiel Sod House. We are hoping to build an immigrant museum incorporating the Thiel Sod House, so compile those stories now, or get in touch with me, we'd also like to include anyone close enough to interview with our Humanity Grant Project that will be in progress soon. We still feel that rebuilding our history is the key to rebuild our future as a community, - that is, past, present, and future community.

Lenten Fish Fry

Back by popular demand: Our first Fish Fry will be on Friday, March 3, 2006, and we will have one every Friday night through the Lent Season ending with Good Friday, April 14. They all begin at 5:30 PM, and will feature delectable fish, fried potatoes, potato casserole, coleslaw, bread and desserts. (We will also have chicken for the not in love with fish people.) See you at the Historical Depot for a fun night of food, raffles, and door prizes. We are looking forward to seeing many of our friends and neighbors...

If you would like to contribute a door prize, dessert, or help serve, please call Rosalie at #785-769-5201.

March 1, Wednesday starting at 6:00 PM, we will be meeting at the Depot for cleaning and preparation.

Grant Status

We did receive funding from the Kansas Humanities Council for the first step to start our History Project. This grant is awarded to help us record the stories of the immigrants and the families that settled here in our community and surrounding area. We will find out by April if the NEH will fund step two, which will layout the ground work to bring out more of the local history, and prepare the Thiel Sod House as a museum to centralize it.

We are also still working on Historical Designation for the Zeman Dance Hall, and that will be the cornerstone for the downtown area project. As soon as we can put new roofs on the dance hall, and the mercantile, work will begin on those two buildings. (We're still short the $$'s.) We are expecting more help with funding as soon as the IRS awards our 501(c)3 status, and that will help us apply for help from other foundations and grants.

Ground Hog Soup Supper & Lenten Fish Fry

We reported good results on our "Ground Hog Soup Supper." We are now planning to start our "Lenten Fish Frys" at the Depot starting March 3rd. If you would like to help, bring a dessert or a raffle prize, please let us know. Otherwise, mark it on your calendars, as it will be a fun event again this year

The convent is nearing completion. We are planning a huge effort next week to finalize as much of the work as possible. Here are the dates if you'd like to join us:

The only other thing on the calendar for the near future are two > scheduled meetings:

January 23rd Planning Meeting Results

We went over our community direction from our humble start of Septeber 26th, 2004, and the goals we had hoped to bring about as a group, and discussed how we hope to get there. We also discussed meeting dates, and as there have been no objections, we will keep them on the first Monday of every month (a week later in the case of a Holiday). We also layed out our Major Events and Fundraisers for 2006.

2006 Meeting and Event Schedule:
DateTimeItem
February 4:5:30 p.m.Ground Hog Soup Supper at St. Michaels Church
February 6:7:00 p.m.Monthly Meeting at Depot (& selection of officers)
March 3:6:00 p.m.Fish Fry #1 at Depot
March 6:7:00 p.m.Monthly Meeting at Depot
March 10:6:00 p.m.Fish Fry #2 at Depot
March 17:6:00 p.m.Fish Fry #3 at Depot
March 24:6:00 p.m.Fish Fry #4 at Depot
March 31:6:00 p.m.Fish Fry #5 at Depot
April 3:7:00 p.m.Monthly Meeting at Depot
April 7:6:00 p.m.Fish Fry #6 at Depot
April 14:6:00 p.m.Fish Fry #7 at Depot (Final)
May 1:7:00 p.m.Monthly Meeting at Depot
June 5:7:00 p.m.Monthly Meeting at Depot
July 3:7:00 p.m.Monthly Meeting at Depot
July 15:5:00 p.m.2nd Annual After Harvest Music Fest (Food, Fun & Music)
August 7:7:00 p.m.Monthly Meeting at Depot
September 11:7:00 p.m.Monthly Meeting at Depot
October 2:7:00 p.m.Monthly Meeting at Depot
October 14: 2nd Annual Fall Street Festival (Crafts/Vendors & Quad-Rod-Custom Car & Tractor Show)
November 3: Pheasant Hunter's German Supper
November 6:7:00 p.m.Monthly Meeting at Depot
December 4:7:00 p.m.Monthly Meeting at Depot

We discussed some of the work that needed completed, if you are interested in one of these groups, or have an idea - let us know:

As always, suggestions are welcome. We are still determined to rebuild our history as individuals, a community, and our region, and turn that history into tourism and commerce. Collyer can be an asset to the County, the NW Kansas Region, the State of Kansas, and ourselves. Our first project is near completion, (watch for a date in the very near future). We are confident that it will be a success, as we line up the School House, The Depot, The Dance Hall, The Sod House, and the Old Merchantile.

Great Turnout at the Fall Street Festival

We had a great turnout at the October 8th, Fall Street Festival.

Pictures and more info will be coming soon. We had a really big turnout for the vendor fair and the car show.

Update on 501(c)3 Status

Notice:
We have received our letter from the IRS that they are reviewing our application for 501(c)3 status. They warned us that it could take up to 120 days from September 2, 2005 to receive the final word.

We ow a huge thank you to David Herl, from Adams Brown Beran & Ball Chartered CPA. His countless hours and dedication are appreciated by all of us

Typically, our ruling should be retroactive to the filing date, but we will keep everyone up to date as soon as we have the final word.

September 12th Meeting Recap

The heat is still making us keep the meetings as short and sweet as possible

We discussed the on-going work at our St. Michael Buildings. We have the floors completed, which means that we are ready for the plumber to come back. (That means we can now finish the bathroom.)

Work Dates:

I think there are a few of us who are planning on squeezing in free time to clean, paint, and repair woodwork at the convent. If you want to join us sometime when free, let Angie Z, Rosalie S, or Donna M know. We will make sure that there is a key if not a body already working

Leroy Pierce is hired to work on the Player Piano.

Rodney Branigan, an awesome guitarist and musician will be performing October 8th. (He can play two at once.)

Happenings this Week (August 14, 2005)

Just a reminder that Monday Evening we are planning on touring the Cottonwood Ranch at 7:00 p.m. The car pool will leave the Depot at 6:30 p.m. Don Rowlinson will personally give us a tour, and might have some ideas for us on how to turn the sod house into a museum worthy project.

Saturday night is the Barn Dance/Switchback Concert at the Fairgrounds in WaKeeney. Gates open at 5:00 p.m. for BBQ and Beer Garden, the dance starts at 8:00 p.m.

If you would like to volunteer:

It's a good chance work with other organizations who also want the best for our county and area, and to earn a little money for our organization as well. It promises to be a lot of fun.

Don't forget that Wednesday Evenings at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday Mornings at 6:30 a.m. are set aside for work on the St Michael Buildings. Food provided. Just a few hours at a time has been accomplishing a lot, going much faster than anticipated, and we are having a good time socializing while we work.

Questions,
call me -
Donna M.

Big success at the July 16th "Music Fest":

Hi Everyone,

Everything turned out really well for the "AFTER HARVEST MUSIC FEST," only problem we encountered was the extreme heat that was still sticking around at 5:00 p.m. when we opened.

The horse and wagon rides given by Chuck & Lori Mattke were popular, and all the music was wonderful. When the sun went down, we had one of the beautiful nights that Western Kansas summers are known for. Counting all the volunteers and musicians, we hosted approximately 500 people for the event.

A big thanks to everyone, we enjoyed sharing the evening with all, and it takes us another step forward on our rebuilding projects.

There are some pictures of the event.


Contact Us
Collyer Community Alliance Association
PO Box 1
Collyer, KS 67631


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