Don't Forget -- Winton Old Timers Sept 29

The above picture was taken last year at the Winton Old Timers luncheon by Norm Giesbrecht. He will be at the Old Timers again this year to take pictures for us. We're very happy that he is willing to do this every year.
You can see the Winton Old Timers pictures from prior years here.
We had our last committee meeting on Tuesday and decided to sell the last of the souvenir mugs for $3.00 each or two for $5.00. Less than half the original price. There's a picture of the Winton Depot on the mugs.
Other information about the Winton Old Timers is the same as the September 8 post. Try to attend and visit with friends you haven't seen in a while.
1,600 photos from the Winton Cemetery District can be seen at flickr. Click on sets to search for a last name.

New Bible Study series starting

(CORRECTION: We didn't get started last week, so this Thursday Sept. 24 is our first lesson in this book.)
A week from today, September 19th, the Thursday morning Bible Study group will began a new study with Adam Hamilton's book, "Why?" "Making Sense of God's Will." We have the video to go with it. Other topics will be, "Why Do the Innocent Suffer?" "Why Do My Prayers Go Unanswered?" "Why Can't I See God's Will for My Life?" and others.
Adam Hamilton has written many books, two of them are in the Atwater Branch Library.
"Why" and about 10 other Adam Hamilton's books were donated to the library 18 months ago, but have not been processed yet. Request it from the Atwater Branch Library if you want to borrow it and maybe the Merced library will get it processed and on the shelf.
Adam Hamilton is the senior pastor of The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kansas, one of the fastest growing, most highly visible churches in the country. The Church Report named Hamilton's congregation the most influential mainline church in America, and he preached at the National Prayer Service as part of the presidential inauguration festivities in 2013. Hamilton is the best-selling and award-winning author of The Journey, The Way, 24 Hours that Changed the World, Enough, When Christians Get it Wrong, and Seeing Gray in a World of Black and White, all published by Abingdon Press. His books are available online at Amazon and Cokesbury and bookstores everywhere.

Bible Study starts at 9:00 a.m. in the Fireside Room in the Atwater United Methodist Church, corner of Linden and Bellevue. Call the church office between 9-12 M-F 358-6172 to see if the books are still available there. ($8.00) You are welcome to attend Bible Study here even if you are not attending the Methodist Church. We are a small friendly group. We would be happy to expand.

Winton Old Timers -- September 29

The Winton Old Timers Reunion is right around the corner. The committee will have one last meeting to finalize the many details.
It's always the last Sunday in September. Please put this on your calendar and try to attend. No reservations are taken, pay for your meal ticket at the door.
I know of one cousin who will be there from Canada and who knows who else will show up? We never know who will surprise us with their presence.
Most of the people come early; arriving at 10:00 a.m. to have more time to visit with friends and relatives they haven't seen in a long time. Others come after church services. Coffee and snacks will be available before lunch is served at 1:00 p.m.
Pictures of the Old Timers from prior years will be shown on the overhead screen. My cousin Norm will be there again to take pictures of this year's attendees.
Members from the Winton Historical Society will be at a table to take your dues for the October 1, 2013 thru Sept 30, 2014 time period. Dues are $10.00 per year which includes 6 newsletters mailed out every other month. It includes historical facts; stories from people who live in Winton or used to live here. The stories are from the past years of the Winton you used to know.
Back issues of the past year Winton Hometown News will be available for $1.00 each. Older copies will be free. Not all are still available, but for $5.00 you can have all 44 issues of the newsletter on CD in the PDF format. This is very handy because you can do a name or word search with the free Adobe Acrobat Reader which can be downloaded from the Internet if you don't already have it.
Do you need a copy of the Winton Centennial Recipe Book? Available for $15.00. Souvenior mugs with a picture of the Winton Depot are now only $4.00 each.
Rosalie and I decided to sell the rest of the "Memories of Winton 1911-1950" history books for $25.00 each. Original price was $35.00, so here's your chance to buy extra books as gifts for children, grandchildren or friends. Christmas will be here in a few short months.

Winton Cemetery at Find A Grave

There are quite a few memorials set up at Find A Grave created by different contributors. At first I thought that Find A Grave was too cumbersome and hard to find the names you're looking for. I finally learned my way around the website a little better. When looking for a particular cemetery in Merced County, here is the link to use:

Or if looking for someone buried at the Winton Cemetery I like this link. I just type in the surname and see what all comes up.

Sometimes the memorials are connected to other family members whether buried in the same cemetery or not. On my mother's side the links go from Winton to Kansas and on my dad's from Winton to Willows, CA. It's interesting to see what is out there.

If you want to create a memorial or let a contributor know of a mistake or additional information, you must first sign up with Find A Grave. If wanting to create a memorial, you must check to be sure there is not already one there for that person. They don't like duplicates and they don't want memorials set up for people who are still alive. I've seen that just so they could connect them to the in-law family.

After you are signed up and have a contributor name and number, if you see a memorial for your direct line, i.e. parents, grandparents, great-grandparents or siblings, you can request a transfer to you from the one who is managing it. Assuming you are closer related to that person than the "manager" is.
They must transfer within 30 days if you are closer related than they are.
I put up a memorial for my husband 5 years ago and then did nothing else until just recently. I have been taking pictures of the tombstones at the Winton Cemetery and posted them to flickr under the name of Winton Historical Society. If you see a relative's tombstone picture there, you are welcome to use it. If you plan to use several at Find A Grave, please ask permission first. But if you are just using them for your own personal use, then you're welcome to use them.

Also, if I have created a memorial for a relative of yours and you want me to transfer it to you, don't hesitate to ask. You can leave a message at Find A Grave or here if you are just giving information and don't want to sign up.

Atwater Group at 42nd Street Play

On Sunday August 11, a group of us carpooled to Modesto to see the play, "42nd Street" at the Modesto Performing Arts building.
We had a special interest in this play because Theresa Berry who is our song leader in church had a prominate role in the play. She has an excellent Alto voice, so I thought she would be mostly singing. But no, she had a big acting part to play. Theresa was very good. We all enjoyed it immensely. We left right after church, stopped for lunch and got to Modesto in plenty time for the 2:00 p.m. show. Carole D and I had front row seats, right behind the orchastra pit. We didn't think it was too close at all. We loved it.
I heard that Theresa is going to be in a play in Merced soon, so I think a group from the Atwater Methodist Church will again carpool to see her perform.
Thanks to Junko for the picture. From the left, front row:
Erna, Carole, Lorraine, Dolly and Theresa. Second row: Pastor Gregory, Perry, Junko, Connie, Caryl and Juanita. Way in the back facing us is Bill.
It was great fun!!
Coming up in Modesto is "Babes In Toyland" beginning on November 30, two performances on Saturday and one matinee on Sunday December first. Good show for the upcoming holidays.