Gray skies and cold temperature didn’t dampen the enthusiasm of the children who turned out on Saturday to participate in the annual Easter Egg Hunt hosted by our Valley Home 4-H members. MaryBeth Carpenter did a wonderful job of chairing this fun event. MaryBeth handed out beautiful chocolate bunnies to the winners and also gave out delightful gift packs to those who won for having found the most eggs. MaryBeth had everyone count their eggs at the close of the hunt, and it was discovered that the average basket held approximately 35 to 40 eggs. Valley Home is proud of MaryBeth and her helpers for all their work! Brian Brodoski and Allison Reberg really made the day super special with their hard work on the project. They colored and delivered all the beautiful eggs for the Easter Egg Hunt. Patti Reberg was seen seated on the sidelines, her wonderful smile and great enthusiasm cheering all the hunters on in their excited search for the eggs. Special thanks go out to this dedicated 4-H family!

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Diane Hougland sends us the winning results of the March 27th 4-H Presentation Day results. Samuel Fletcher received a Gold Award for his demonstration and the same for Jennifer Schaefle for her illustrated talk. Bailey Bertao, Justin Doyle and Christine Lamb all received Gold Awards for their prepared speech and Jessica Hatfield received a Gold award for her interpretive reading. Our Valley Home team brought home a Gold Award for “Share the Fun.” In addition to the Gold Award, the team will have the opportunity to participate in Regional Presentation Day on Saturday, April 17th in Merced. Congratulations to all, Valley Home is proud of you!

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Our 4-H members have also been busy preparing their Rodeo Booth Set up at the Oakdale Rodeo grounds for the Rodeo this coming weekend.

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Taylor Denman will celebrate his 15th birthday on Saturday, April 10th. Happy Birthday from all his Valley Home friends!

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Lots of excitement as the date of St. John’s/St. Luke’s Silent Movie Fun Fundraiser nears. The date of the show is set for Saturday, April 24th, with the film starting at 3 p.m. The movie will star the master of deadpan comedy, Buster Keaton. The movie, made in 1925, is entitled “Seven Chances.” The plot centers on the star of the movie, who discovers that he will become an heir to a fortune if he marries by his 27th birthday, which happens to be that day. Needless to say, the chase to find a bride, any bride, is on! He has no prospects and time is running out—what to do, what to do? Desperate, our hero tries again and again to find a bride with no luck. That is until the ladies find out about the fortune that awaits them as his bride and then, as you can imagine, pandemonium occurs! Will Buster find a bride in time or lose the fortune?

Come join the fun! Dave Moreno will once again be providing the music for the film on the Church pipe organ and Matias Bombal will also be returning as the Master of Ceremonies. There is no charge for the movie however a free will offering will be appreciated. Funds raised will help the church to replace tables and chairs in the downstairs dining hall. The movie will be followed by refreshments of homemade pie and ice cream. The pie is offered at $2.50 a slice with a scoop of ice cream added. Enjoy an afternoon of film fun, delicious dessert and an opportunity to visit with your Valley Home friends and neighbors!

Marg Jackson is editor of The Oakdale Leader, The Escalon Times and assistant editor of The Riverbank News. She may be reached at mjackson@oakdaleleader.com or by calling 847-3021.