Fall Festival and Hayride 2016

October 16, 2016 By Leave a Comment

Country Place is a very unique neighborhood for several reasons…estate-sized lots, four stocked lakes and very low dues among them. But another feature of our neighborhood are the Spring Picnic & Egg Hunt as well as the Fall Festival & Hayride. Both these events serve as a wonderful way to get to better know our neighbors, see how much the kids have grown, and have a fun and relaxing time. Lynette Fletcher was the Event Coordinator for this year’s event and she did a fine job of putting it all together. Tom Perry, who has been the Wagon Master since the first hayride, once again made it all run smoothly. Jonathan Campbell found the baled hay (not as easy as it once was) and buyers for it now that we have finished. Jerry Jones and Wayne Tiller, along with their helper, were the Grill Masters. The entire Fletcher family turned out to help move tables, Lucas and I worked with Jonathan and Ken Terrell to load the hay, and we’ll be back this afternoon to move the table back and be sure all the trash is out of the Burns’ yard. It really takes a lot of volunteer effort to put on something as wonderful as this Fall Festival turned out to be, and we want everyone who pitched in to know how much they are appreciated.

The snapshots I took throughout are available for free download at LarryLynch.com. Help yourself if you see anything you like.

Filed Under: Events, Our Walking Trails, Outdoors

Hayride Instructions 2016

October 10, 2016 By Leave a Comment
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Dear Neighbor,

Find attached instructions for the volunteers, both treaters and drivers, helping with the Country Place 2016 Hayride.
Page 1 is contact information for everyone.
Page 2 is for both treaters and trailer drivers.
Pages 3-4 are for trailer drivers.
A map of the route will be provided later.
If you have questions, please call or text me at 903-570-9747 or email at kperry1022@aol.com.

Hayride October 15, 2016

 

Part I.  Contact Information

Very, very Important.  Everyone needs to RSVP with Festival Master Lynette Fletcher.  This includes adults and children, both volunteers and attendees,  attending the hayride and/or festival.  Do now if you haven’t done so already.  We need accurate head counts.

Festival:                   Lynette Fletcher   lydia.lynette.fletcher@gmail.com  903-953-1213 cell

Hayride:                  Tom Perry   kperry1022@aol.com (Wagonmaster) 903-839-7233 hm, 903-570-9747 cell

Haymaster: Jonathan Campbell

Part II. Information for Treaters

  1. Plan treats for 80—100  kids.
  2. We will have 7 trailers.  The last trailer will let you know that they are the last one.  Remember that the trailers will spread out as they trek through the neighborhood.
  3. We will start at 2:00pm and be through about 3:30-4:00 pm.
  4. The hayride will start and finish at the Nance driveway near the festival location at the cul de sac at Big Timber and  Copper Oaks.
  5. On Saturday morning, a pumpkin sign with a number on it will be placed in front of your home.  This sign identifies your home as a trailer stop.  The driver of the last trailer will pick up these signs.

Tentative order of families at trailer stops:

  1. Duke – Oakmeadow Circle
  2. Lynch – Great Oak Circle
  3. Strickland(Gary) – JoBar Dr.
  4. McCullough/Terrell – JoBar Dr.
  5. Elikan – Copper Oaks
  6. Ray – Great Oak Circle
  7. Boudreaux – Great Oak Circle
  8. Douglass – Lakeshore Dr.
  9. Magee – Lakeshore Dr.
  10. Rayburn – Ridgetop Rd.
  11. Tosh – Big Timber Rd.
  12. Rice – Big Timber Rd.


Part III. Information for Drivers (Wagoneers):

 Wagoneers                        Wagons

  1. John Campbell Campbell
  2. Gary Fain Drott
  3. Travis Hunt Mohn
  4. Pat Pyle                                     Norvell
  5. Ken Terrell Duke
  6. Eric Peterson (Fisher)
  7. Gary Strickland (Hills)
  1. Tom Perry (stand by)

Safety/Road Guard

**NEED a volunteer.  To be located at Big Timber & Ridgetop intersection.

Instructions Before Hayride:

  1. Prior to Saturday, drivers must have a suitable vehicle capable of pulling their 16 foot flatbed trailer with side-rails. A two inch trailer ball is required for the hitches.  A safety chain is required for the trailer to connect to the vehicle.  If anyone has any question about this, let’s discuss now.  Don’t wait to ask on Saturday.

Instructions for Thursday and Saturday

     Thursday, October 13, 2016:

  1. Haymaster will deliver hay to Tom Perry’s home at 19272 Hidden Lake.

Saturday, October 15, 2016:

  1. Morning: Wagonmaster will put yard signs at homes of treaters.
  2. 1:00pm sharp: All drivers with their trailers meet at Tom Perry’s home.  Hay will be loaded on trailers and a safety meeting held (see next page).   Vehicles and trailers will then be taken to Greg Nance’s home and lined up.
  3. 2:00pm: Riders will begin loading up.  Trailers will leave at staggered intervals.  Trailers will stop at designated homes and should complete the trail by 4:00pm.
  4. The last trailer is to pick up the yard signs and return them to Tom Perry.
  5. Trailers will return to Greg Nance’s driveway on Big Timber to unload hay onto two trailers.
  6. Borrowed trailers are to be returned to Tom Perry’s home.

Safety Meeting Agenda:

  1. Maps will be given out and the trail route discussed.
  2. Each driver will appoint an adult on the trailer to be the Trailer Leader.
  3. The trailer leader will make sure all riders are secured on the trailer before it moves. Absolutely no hands or legs are to be hanging off the trailer.  The leader will tell the children when to exit the trailer and will tell the driver when to continue driving.
  4. The driver will do traffic control at each stop. Any oncoming vehicles are to be stopped or slowed and be allowed to proceed slowly only when the driver determines it is safe.
  5. The area of most concern on the route is Lakeshore Dr. going downhill from Ridgetop and uphill to Great Oak Circle.  The driver needs to advise riders of these steep slopes.
  6. Candy is not allowed to be thrown at anyone.
  7. This is a no brainer. No smoking, no alcohol, no profanity is allowed.  Kick any violators off the trailer or vehicle.
Filed Under: Our Walking Trails, Outdoors, Real Estate

Perfect Weather for the Spring Picnic

April 21, 2016 By Leave a Comment

After having to cancel our 2015 Fall Festival due to rain, it was a big relief to see the day dawn bright and clear for our egg hunt and spring picnic. Thanks to Sarah Devendorf for ramrodding a great day for children and parents alike.

Filed Under: Events, Our Walking Trails, Outdoors

Growing Up In Country Place

January 16, 2016 By Leave a Comment

2016-01-15_JackPanagl_004aRaising kids is never easy, and perhaps even more so in these complicated times, but it has big rewards. Our boys grew up here, and although there were bumps and crashes along the way, we are immensely proud of the young men they’ve become. Watching other youngsters grow up in the neighborhood is gratifying, too, and is motivation for working hard to preserve Country Place and its amenities.

I ran across this young fella yesterday while out fishing. He was sitting on the Lake #3 bridge looking out on the lake. I felt a certain sympatico with someone who appreciated the view enough to sit and admire it so I stopped and introduced myself to 14-year-old Jack Panagl, son of Bryan and Agatha. I found out he’s a neighbor on Oak Meadow Circle, that he’s lived here about a year and goes to Whitehouse Middle School (not Jesuit). He rides this big board down the hill on Lakeshore (but only about half of it…he’s not nuts). Jack’s not sure of what he wants to be when he grows up, and he doesn’t “dislike” fishing (damning with faint praise). I told him about my 10.5 pound bass, hoping to motivate him, but am not sure he shared my excitement.

He was generous enough to give me a couple of minutes to act as my model against one of my favorite backdrops. My best to Jack and his family.

Filed Under: Events, Scenics