Hello, and “Merry Christmas” from the Friends of the Old Millstadt Water Tower. We hope you were able to watch Millstadt’s inaugural lighted parade on December 2. Once again, the Friends were able to feature a replica of the Tin Man in a parade, this time adorned with Christmas lights. Many people cheered as the Tin Man came down the parade route. It is true that “little children smile at the sight of the Old Millstadt Water Tower”!!
We, the Friends, have had a very busy few months, as usual. October saw our second annual classic car show with 66 registrants this year. We are very grateful to everyone who came out to Millstadt in support of the Tower.
Did you get to watch the KTVI Fox 2/KPLR Channel 11 story on the Tower on November 9? If not, we have a link to the YouTube video on our website. Patrick Clark did a nice job of connecting the Millstadt Tin Man to the Wizard of Oz’ Tin Man.
December will bring us another “restaurant event”, this time with the local Papa Vitos being the sponsor on December 20. Papa Vitos will be donating 20% of their receipts from the entire day to the Old Millstadt Water Tower. Papa Vitos is located in the Millstadt Market Place shopping center, by Dollar General, on West Washington Avenue, also known as Route 158.
January 14 will be the second annual bowl-a-thon for the Tin Man at Bel-Air Bowl, 200 South Belt West, in Belleville. This was definitely one of the most fun events we have had for the Tower. For $20 per person, you bowl a 40-frame game Scotch Doubles style, with each frame being something different. Check out the flyer on our website for more info.
Get your thinking caps on for the third annual trivia night/silent auction on March 25 at the St. James Parish Center in Millstadt. We hope to have even more teams than last year, and even better auction items.
Attention all long distance runners – the first ever Millstadt Half-marathon/5K race will be held June 4. Register at www.finallapracing.com to sign up for the race.
Have you been clipping your IGA bar codes? as of the end of November, we have submitted 8,500 bar codes to IGA headquarters!! Let’s try to get to 10,000 by the end of the year. You can shop at any IGA, but please return them to Millstadt IGA, 625 E. Washington, Millstadt.
Looking for a Christmas gift for someone that says”Millstadt”? Stop by Millstadt Pharmacy and purchase an Old Millstadt Water tower hoodie sweatshirt for $32. Or, visit Millstadt IGA where the greeting cards, coasters and buttons are available. Both stores are located on Washington Avenue.
Doing any online shopping this Christmas Season? Start by going to www.smile.amazon.com, and choosing “Friends of the Old Millstadt Water Tower” as your charity to support. Amazon.Smile will donate .5% of your purchase to the Friends. Our quarterly donations from Amazon have steadily been rising!!
As we are nearing the end of the first year of our agreement with the Village of Millstadt, we are also nearing the 20% mark in funds for the project. Many thanks to everyone who has sent donations, attended a fund raiser or purchased some merchandise. Donations can be made online on our website (see Support Shop, make a Donation), or by sending a check payable to Friends of the Old Millstadt Water Tower to P. O. Box 335, Millstadt, IL 62260. No donation is too large or too small!! We need everyone’s help to get the Tin Man painted and preserved.
Betty Keller Timmer, President