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Extension Homemakers celebrate their week

Huntington County Extension Homemakers Rita McCabe (left) and Valerie Birkhold set up a downtown window display showcasing the organization in observance of Extension Homemakers Week, which is being observed this week.
Huntington County Extension Homemakers Rita McCabe (left) and Valerie Birkhold set up a downtown window display showcasing the organization in observance of Extension Homemakers Week, which is being observed this week. Photo by Cindy Klepper.

Extension Homemakers Week is being celebrated Oct. 15-19, and members of local Extension Homemakers clubs have decorated a downtown business window to highlight some of their activities.

Committee members Rita McCabe and Valerie Birkhold organized the items in the window of the former Rodger's and Vivian's Tax Service in downtown Huntington.

Four members of the Huntington County Extension Homemakers clubs visited Head Start on Oct. 11 to read to preschoolers, one of four visits the Homemakers will make to the preschoolers this year. In preparation for the visit, club members made 72 book bags to give to the children. The preschoolers get to keep the book that was read and are encouraged to use the book bag to take the book home so it can be read again.

The Paper Artisans Extension Homemakers Club will sponsor its annual "crop" event Oct. 20 at Hier's Park. Scrapbookers are invited to attend the day-long event to work on their scrapbooks More information is available from the Extension office.

The county organization will sponsor its annual holiday cookie and candy sale on Dec. 7 at the Huntington County Courthouse Annex, 354 N. Jefferson St., Huntington. Cookies will be sold individually and by the dozen, and candy will sell by the pound. All the cookies and candies are made by Extension Homemakers in Huntington County.

The Extension Homemakers are involved in the annual 4-H Fair through sponsorship of Ladies Day at the Fair, which features four educational programs and door prizes. The Touch of Class club sponsors a cookie baking contest at the fair, and the county organization sponsors the open class exhibits for adults.
Educational programs for members are presented throughout the year.

In addition to sewing book bags for the head Start reading program, members also made pillows for teens and saved pop can tabs for Riley Hospital. The organization has made turbans, pillows and lap blankets for cancer patients at Parkview Huntington Hospital. The Piece Makers Quilt Club makes quilts and donates them to various county organizations, including the pediatrics department at Parkview Huntington Hospital.

Several members of Huntington County clubs attend the Home and Family conference at Purdue University each June. Local members also attend the Northeast Indiana Homemakers Camp at Camp Shiloh in August. This year, the camp project was making chemo caps and turbans for the chemo labs at Parkview Huntington Hospital and Lutheran Hospital.

The county group sponsors a trip each year. This year, the group traveled to southwest Ohio to visit the KitchenAid Experience Retail Center, Garst Museum, Bear's Mil, LaComedia Dinner Theater and Jungle Jim's International Market. They also had lunch aboard BB Riverboat's Belle of Cincinnati.

The Huntington County Extension Homemakers are members of Associated Country Women of the World. That organization has a goal of raising the standard of living of Rural women and families through education, training and community development programs.

The county group is also involved with the National Volunteer Outreach Network, which promotes friendship and understanding between member organizations for better communication in the United States and the world.

For more information about the Huntington County Extension Homemakers, call the Huntington County Extension office at 358-4826.