Rotary and United Church Sponsor Dinner for Ukrainian Relief, March 19
The Ludlow Rotary Club and the United Church of Ludlow are combining efforts to raise money for humanitarian relief of the besieged people of the Ukraine on Saturday, March 19 at the United Church, located at the corner of Elm and Pleasant Streets.
According to Linda Thomson, they plan to serve a lasagna dinner. The cost will be $15 per person – or whatever generous donation the diner wishes to make. "This is sort of an 'Eat So Others Can Eat' affair to help the struggling people in the Ukraine", noted Thomson.
Illustrating how much the Ukrainian situation has mobilized the area community, the following groups have volunteered to help with the dinner:
· Black River Produce will be donating all the vegetables for the salad. · Vermont Family Farms - Springfield Donating beef for lasagna · Okemo Valley Women's Club for dessert, brownies · Reading Greenhouse - Flowers · Kids from Cavendish will be preparing Sun Flower seed packets that they will be having for sale at the dinner · The Culinary Arts Department of the River Valley Technical Center in Springfield is going to bake bread · Members of the Ludlow Rotary, United Church, and Okemo Valley Women's Club will help prepare, serve, and clean-up after the dinner.
The lasagna will come in several sorts of variety to satisfy the palates of everyone. This will include meat-filled, vegetarian, and gluten free lasagna dishes. Complementing the main course will be salads, breads, and desserts. Take-out meals may be picked up at the church between 5 and 5:30pm while in-church dining will be available from 5:30 to 7.
Pre-orders for take-out meals can be made by call 802-228-6275 or emailing Thomson131VT@gmail.com.
General donations are also appreciated. They may be made at the Ludlow Rotary Club's website, https://portal.clubrunner.ca/2939, or mailed to Ludlow Rotary, PO Box 216, Ludlow, VT 05149. Such donations are tax-deductible.
Thomson added that "We genuinely hope we can support the desperate needs of the folks in the Ukraine who are hungry and suffering the personal and family deprivations resulting from this terrible invasion. So let's 'Eat So Others Can Eat'!"
People holding their children struggle to get on a train to Lviv at the station in Kyiv, Ukraine. The Ludlow Rotary Club and United Church of Ludlow are holding a fund-raising dinner March 19 to help these people deal with the unprovoked invasion of their country.
"A Big Hand for the Little Lady" FOLA's Next Feature, March 19
FOLA will offer a most unusual Western, "A Big Hand for the Little Lady", in the Heald Auditorium at Ludlow Town Hall on Saturday, March 19 at 7 PM.
The film concentrates on the five richest men in the territory as they gather in Laredo for their annual high-stakes poker game. The high rollers let nothing get in the way of their yearly showdown. When undertaker Tropp (Charles Bickford) calls for them in his horse-drawn hearse, cattleman Henry Drummond (Jason Robards) forces a postponement of his daughter's wedding, while lawyer Otto Habershaw (Kevin McCarthy) abandons his closing arguments in a trial, with his client's life hanging in the balance. They are joined by Wilcox (Robert Middleton) and Buford (John Qualen) in the back room of Sam's saloon, while the curious gather outside for occasional reports.
Settler Meredith (Henry Fonda), his wife Mary (Joanne Woodward), and their young son Jackie (Gerald Michenaud) are passing through, on their way to purchase a farm near San Antonio, when a wheel on their wagon breaks. They wait at Sam's while the local blacksmith repairs it. Meredith, a recovering gambler, learns of the big poker game and begins to feel the excitement once again. The newcomer buys into the game, eventually staking all of the family savings, meant to pay for a home.
The game builds to a climactic hand; the gamblers raise and reraise until more than $20,000 are in the pot. Meredith, out of cash, is unable to call the latest raise. Under the strain, he collapses. The town physician, Joseph "Doc" Scully (Burgess Meredith), is called to care for the stricken man. Barely conscious, Meredith signals for his wife to play out the hand.
Taking his seat, Mary asks, "How do you play this game?" At this, the other players object loudly, but eventually give in.
What follows is one of the most fascinating and most appealing Westerns ever made – with an ending that allows the memorable cast to display talent and interaction rarely seen in movies.
The New York Times' Robert Alden enjoyed the film, praising the "seasoned set of actors" in the cast: "They are a skillful bunch, and it is a pleasure seeing real film professionals having at each other. A foxier bunch of artful poker rascals would be hard to find" crediting Meredith with "perhaps the most memorable performance of the lot." Alden adds "the mixing of comedy and tragedy is sometimes uncomfortable for an audience" seeing it for the first time. However, the "delightful surprise ending makes the feast worthwhile. "
The film is open to everyone and is free; donations are appreciated. Water is provided thanks to the folks at the United Church of Ludlow. For information, 802-228-7239 and https://fola.us.
Pictured above is Joanne Woodward as she faces the big-time poker players in "A Big Hand for the Little Lady", the next movie to be screened by FOLA in the Ludlow Auditorium on Saturday, March 19.
Windsor County Sheriff Candidate Speaks to Ludlow Rotary
Ryan Palmer, Candidate for Sheriff of Windsor County, was the featured speaker at the recent weekly luncheon meeting of the Ludlow Rotary Club (LRC).
In discussing his career, Palmer stated that he knew he wanted to be in law enforcement since he was 5 years old. He actually started working in this field when he was 19.
In describing the duties of the sheriff in Vermont, he said the principal functions were to process and serve legal papers, transport prisoners, assist mental health patients, and provide law enforcement services to area towns lacking a police force. He also contracts with transportation and construction vendors.
He was quite definitive in is attitude towards towns using his services to produce revenue, insisting that "in 2022, policing for profit is wrong".
Ryan outlined the basic funding for the position of sheriff indicating that the sheriff received a base salary of $90,000 from the state, 5% of all ticketing went to the sheriff while 87% went to the town that contracted with his office.
He also expressed his personal feeling that his primary objective was "to keep people out of the system" and deal with young people towards this end.
The LRC normally meets every Tuesday for lunch and welcomes visits by anyone interested in learning more about Rotary to these meetings.
