Published: October 29, 2007 09:56 am      

Masons’ shopping day was a huge success for area kids

This year’s shopping day was a huge success. Sixty area needy children now have some new school clothing.

At 7 a.m. Oct. 13 three school buses pulled up in front of the Clinton Farm and Fleet store. As the children exited the buses, 60 anxious shoppers waited for their child’s name to be called. After the shoppers and children were paired up, the fun began!

Each child’s parent or guardian provided a prioritized list of what clothing was needed and the appropriate sizes.

The Farm and Fleet store was abuzz with excitement as 120 people scurried around searching for just the right piece of clothing. The children were able to get all the priority items on their lists plus many other clothing items.

One thing that should be noted is that the children pick out the clothing, the shoppers help with sizes and color coordination. By 9 a.m. everyone had worked up an appetite. The children and their bags full of clothing reboarded the buses and their shopping advisers drove to the Clinton Masonic Center where together they enjoyed a hot breakfast prepared by Mason lodges from Camanche, Lyons, Western Star and Emulation.

As the children prepared to leave each was handed a bag of candy from the employees of Farm and Fleet. All the children were bused back to their schools where they met their parents or guardians.

Thank you to the public for supporting our fund raising breakfast in July and to those who donated money to our project. A big thank you to the Clinton and Camanche school districts that provided school buses and bus drivers and to the grade school guidance counselors who chose the children. Thanks to Lance Wiersema, store manager, and all the terrific employees at Blain’s Farm and Fleet. They deserve praise for opening their store at 7 a.m. and making our shopping experience so enjoyable! The 60 individuals who got up early to shop with the children deserve kudos.

We had people help at the cash registers making tags and bagging the clothes. It was a team effort and with the public’s help we will do it again next year.



Mike Graf,

Gateway Masonic Association 2007 President, Clinton