We grew from 220 to 283
residents in the park this week. Welcome home Winter Ranch
residents!
Resurfacing the Entrance Road – The entrance road will be closed today to be resurfaced. You can use the Tower Gate Entrance or come through Trophy Gardens.
Shower before entering the pool – We know most of you are doing it but we need to have everyone do it!
Dethatching the Golf Course – Due to equipment failure we weren’t able to get the dethatching done earlier so be patient as we get the golf course in shape!
Coffee in Friendship Hall – The free coffee in Friendship Hall is expensive. Yesterday alone it cost $680. The boxes are $140 each. Over the season, we spend upwards of $4500. We know many have been donating to the cause. If everyone would it would sure help with the Activities Fund budget!!
Golfers, if you see some wooden discs on the course, don’t remove them. They are there to cover and protect the sprinkler heads. Leave them where they are. Last week we put out six new ones and only one remained the next day.
Bring a Friend Campaign is going on now. If you bring a friend that stays at Winter Ranch at least one month, you can earn $50. The rules are in your Winter Ranch Welcome Packet. This is for people that are brand new to Winter Ranch or who haven’t been here for at least three years.
Ron and Cheryl have returned and the Mail Room is now open for business from 10 AM until Noon, Monday through Saturday. If you have packages delivered, they will also be delivered to the Mail Room. Remember the mail is ready when the flag goes up.
Packs of Dogs – Many park models sustained damage due to wild dogs chasing rabbits over the summer. They tore up skirting, duct work and air conditioning. If you have any space that a rabbit might slip into, secure that area because the dogs will keep digging until they reach the rabbit and thus the damage occurs.
Activity Book – In your park Welcome Packet, you received a purple Activities Book. This has the schedule for dances and entertainment in it as well as lots of other information about the activities in the park. Please take a look at it.
If you are planning on doing any enhancements to your site including: cement work, installing rock, planting trees or bushes, you need to check with Larry first. Don't put yourself in the position where you need to remove what you just put in because you did not check!
Congratulations:
Happy Birthday to Russ Eberhardt who turned 93 this week!
Happy Birthdays to Marsha Bender, Ellen Hicks and Wendel Knight
Happy 55th Anniversary to Mary and Jim Hamilton
Congratulations to Ron Jensen who made a hole in one at the Winter Gardens course this past week.
General
News: Symphonic Band tickets are now on sale in the Business Office. The first symphony will be “From Sea to Shining Sea” on November 12th. Tickets are $5 each. Seats are available on the bus and you can purchase tickets and sign up for the bus in the Business Office. There were still six seats left on the bus as of this morning.
The Alamo City Prayer Breakfast will be held here at Winter Ranch on November 21st at 7 AM and Pastor Frisbee will be the speaker.
Picture Days at Winter Ranch will be November 19-22 – We have a new company, Lifetouch, doing our pictures and Directory this year. Shirley Snell will again be registering us for pictures in Friendship Hall after the morning meeting. Thank you, Shirley! You can have up to six people in a picture and pets. By having your picture taken you get a free Picture Directory and a $20 coupon toward any pictures you decide to order. You can order the pictures you want directly from Lifetouch over the internet and they will be mailed directly to you.
Event News:
Ladies Luncheon – November 12 at Red Lobster in McAllen. There is a signup sheet in Friendship Hall across from the Mail Room. There is limited parking so fill your cars!
Men’s Luncheon – The Video Group is sponsoring a Men’s Luncheon on December 3rd. They will be serving a pork roast dinner with scalloped potatoes, green beans, jello, a roll, dessert and a beverage. All for $6.00. They will be selling tickets in Friendship Hall after the Wednesday Morning meeting.
Blood Drive –We will have a blood drive on December 12th from 9 AM to 1:30. Our goal is 35 units of blood which takes 50 people to sign up. If we get more than 50, we'll extend the hours.
Thanksgiving Table Signup has begun. Signup on the board on the easel in Friendship Hall. For newcomers, the lead couple (No. 1 and 2) will get the group together to decide on table decorations and who is bringing what. Just pick a table and you’ll be filled in about everything closer to Thanksgiving.
New Year’s Dance - Tickets and reserved tables for the New Year’s Dance will start on November 12th.
Christmas Lighting Contest - Remember to plan on a Christmas Lighting Contest again this season. More info on it will come closer to the season.
Calendar Updates:
Golf Scramble has been cancelled for Monday because of the Veterans Day Celebration.
The following activities are starting up for the season.
Biking will start on the 16th
Billiards – has started. They are adding another game. Scotch Doubles for Men and Women will be held on the 1st and 3rd Monday of the month. Women get every other shot. Don Granger is the contact.
Bingo has started on Wednesdays and Saturdays.
Bowling has started on Fridays.
Sunday Church Services have started.
Crochet has begun.
Dairy Queen Bingo starts in December 9th at 6 PM. It is held at the DQ on Old 83 and Winter Ranchers play for DQ treats and meals.
Exercises start tomorrow. Normal walking in Friendship Hall – 1 mile on Thursday and Friday and 2 miles on Monday. (See info on exercises on the Exercise Page under Current Information on the tab on the right hand side of this blog).
Golf:
Ladies Golf
starts next week
Mixed Golf starts
Friday
Regular Golf
starts next week
Karaoke starts November 9th from 3 to 5:30 in Friendship Hall.Line Dancing Lessons have started after the Wednesday morning meeting. JoAnn Sullivan is our Line Dancing Instructor.
Potlucks are on Monday nights at 5:00 PM – bring a dish to serve eight people and your table service.
Quilting for the Needy starts November 7th.
Peter Piper Pizza Luncheons will start on November 6th and will be on the 1st and 3rd Wednesday of the month. There is a signup on the wall across from the Mail Room. Roland and Ruby Muench are the Coordinators.
Roundups will start on November 12th – these are social gatherings held either by the pool or in Friendship Hall. The first Roundup will be Karoake provided by Mike and Carol Earley. Walking Tacos and other refreshments will be available at the Chuck Wagon.
Shuffleboard has begun.
Sundae Sundays are on the 1st Sunday of the month at 5 PM in Friendship Hall. Bring your own bowl and spoon! It is $1 for a large scoop of ice cream and all the toppings. The other Sundays ice cream is served for 50 cents a dip. Bring your own bowl and spoon.
Water Exercises are from 9 to 10:45 every morning.
Water Volleyball on Tuesdays and Fridays from 1 to 3
Card and Board Games (To see times for the card games, go to the Current Info Section of the blog under Cards and Other Games. A full list of what is going to be available this season is listed with days and times.)
- 500 - Sign up Sheets in SE Corner of Friendship Hall
- Bingo
- Bridge – Sign up Sheets in SE Corner of Friendship Hall
- Bunko - Sign up Sheets in SE Corner of Friendship Hall
- Cribbage - Sign up Sheets in SE Corner of Friendship Hall
- Dirty Board - Sign up Sheets in SE Corner of Friendship Hall
- Dominos
- Euchre - Sign up Sheets in SE Corner of Friendship Hall
- Pegs & Jokers - Sign up Sheets in SE Corner of Friendship Hall
- Pinochle - Sign up Sheets in SE Corner of Friendship Hall
- Pitch - Sign up Sheets in SE Corner of Friendship Hall
- Poker
Our Bus Driver, Jack Hulsey, is back at the
Ranch!! Our first bus trip of the year
will be to Ol’D’s in Harlingen on Saturday, November 9th. The bus will leave at 5:30 PM. We eat at 6:30 PM and entertainmentstarts at 7:30 PM. Elvis will
be in the house! Sign up in the
Activities Office for the bus. If you
are going to drive over, let JD know so they have an idea of how many of us to
expect and can staff up accordingly. If
you ride the bus, it will leave at 9:30 PM for home (no sooner and no later)!
Gail Field is our Coordinator for Tours and Cruises.
She has posted a booklet on the Travel Board as well as a page of Go
with Jo Tours. Get in touch with Gail
for more information or to sign up for one of the trips. I don’t post phone numbers on the blog but
hers is on the Travel Board in Friendship Hall.
There are a lot of new cruises available out of
Galveston.
Gail has been asked about casino trips and there is
one on November 20th for $90 going to Eagle Pass. Give her a call if you are
interested.
Christmas Stockings Project – If you have any soaps and shampoos from hotels, you can donate those to this project until after the stockings are delivered. After that we can still use the shampoos and soaps. We donate them to the Ronald McDonald House. Barb DeGarmo is the Coordinator for the Christmas Stockings Project. The Christmas Stockings are given to the ARISE organization and sometimes these are the only gifts these children get at Christmas. Barb says she can use school supplies, small match box cars, small dolls, and Christmas Stockings from the Dollar Store. They also make some of the stockings. They would like to deliver 300 this year. Last year we donated 200 stockings but they ran short so we will be increasing our efforts this Christmas.
Decorating Committee - Nora Minor needs volunteers on the Decorating Committee. The Committee decorates Friendship Hall for all the holidays and special events. She is looking for both men and women to join her committee. You can contact her at Lot 567.
Exercise Classes - Pam Hoppe and Judy Teply are looking for a couple of people to act as their alternates to lead the Exercise Classes in the morning. Contact one of them if you are interested.
Bikers Escort Needed - Flo Reed is looking for some drivers to excort the bikers. Please contact Flo if you are interested. You will be reimbursed for mileage.
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Respectfully Submitted,
Mary Benfield
Blog
Administrator
