Activities for the week include Ruby’s Music Festival Friday May 26th from 4:00 p.m. – 11:00 p.m., Stroud Alumni Golf Tournament beginning at 8:00 a.m., Alumni Open House 10:00 a.m. – noon, Chris Argrow Memorial Basketball at Memorial Gym 10:00 a.m., Alumni parade 3:00 p.m., Masonic Lodge/Food Pantry Hot Dog fundraiser 11:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m at Main Street Pavilion, Guns vs. Hoses Softball Tournament 5:00 p.m. at softball complex, Alumni banquet 6:00 p.m., Alumni dance 9:00 p.m. – midnight - all on Saturday, May 27th and Memorial Day service Monday May 29thn at 10:00 a.m. at Stroud Cemetery.
This Thursday, May 25th at 10:00 a.m. we will be putting flags on all veterans’ graves at the Stroud Cemetery. We have close to 800 graves that need a flag. Please come join us and help us honor our deceased veterans.
Town Talk is selling bricks in the Veteran’s Memorial on Main Street for $65. The memorial was constructed over 20 years ago and bricks were sold at that time. There are still blank bricks available for those who did not purchase one the first time around. All profits will be used for community improvement projects. You may have up to three lines engraved on a single brick. When we sell 20 bricks we can start the engraving process and we have currently sold 12 bricks. Place your order today by calling Aleta Smalley 918-851-6377 or me at 918-5279833.
Congratulations to Dr. Conrad Markert on winning the American Legion knife raffle. Dr. Markert is one of our local veterans and is gifting the knife to his grandson, Conrad, who recently graduated from Ranger School. The Ranger School is a 62-day United States Army small unit tactics and leadership course that develops functional skills directly related to units whose mission is to engage the enemy in close combat and direct fire battles. Ranger training was established in September 1950 at Fort Benning, Georgia. I know Dr. Markert is proud of his grandson.
Gideon’s baseball team had the weekend off, so he played a tournament with the Owasso Flamingos in Jenks this weekend. The team is made up of kids from different Oklahoma towns. Stroud’s own Cal Shields is a player on this team as well as a couple of kids from Cushing. As I was watching a ballgame, I saw a woman that looked very familiar to me. I told my mom, “That looks just like Mary Gail Ethridge Cain.” The more I thought about it I knew I was right. I spoke to her and of course it was Mary Gail. She was there with her husband Bill and other family members to watch her grandson Lawson Elliot play baseball with the Flamingos, too. Lawson attends school in Cushing and Mary Gail’s daughter Courtney Elliot is a Physician’s Assistant in Cushing. Mary Gail is a 1973 graduate of Stroud High School and is coming to Stroud to celebrate her 50-year reunion this weekend. She is the daughter of the late Keith and Louise Ethridge. It was fun running into her and reminiscing.
Town Talk Team Trivia will take place this month on Wednesday May 31st at the American Legion building. Come join the fun. The starting time will be 6:30 p.m. Please make note of the time change. Bruce Miller, one of our most faithful trivia players, has horses that think they need to eat too, so we are going to move the time up 30 minutes to give Bruce time to make sure they have dinner. We want his mind to be free of worry before the competition begins. The cost for trivia night is $20 which includes dinner and trivia. See you on the 31st!
Town Talk was planning on having Will Rogers come to town on June 3rd, but we have had to reschedule that event for the fall. I will keep you posted on the date and time as it gets closer.
New veterans’ banners are still going up on Main Street. It’s never too late to purchase one to honor a friend or loved one who is a veteran or active service member. Remember, they do not have to be a current resident or Stroud graduate to have their banner on our Walk of Honor. Give me a call if you would like to purchase one. The cost for one side of the banner is $125.
It’s going to be a busy weekend in Stroud. It’s always a great weekend visiting with old friends who come to town for alumni festivities as well as to remember loved ones interred at the Stroud Cemetery. Be sure to drive your guests around town to see all the improvements and enhancements that have been made to our community. Take them to shop at our local businesses and dine at our local restaurants.
Remember we are always Stroud Proud.
Thank you for choosing to shop and dine local………………..first!