On Monday, I drove to the Union Bridge Community Center, hoping to stop in and get some news. Even on a weekday afternoon, it was hard to find a parking space -- the Lions Club Blood drive was going on and the place was busy.
Lions Club member Stanley Holcombe organized this blood drive. He also responded to calls of people who wanted to donate blood, but needed transportation to the site.
He picked up folks and brought them to the community center on Monday, and, with help from fellow club members, he also notified 120 previous blood donors in the Union Bridge, Linwood, Keymar and New Windsor areas to recruit them for the drive.
The hard work paid off. Eighty-seven of those contacted arrived to donate blood, and 83 pints of blood were given to the Red Cross Blood Bank. It was a tremendous effort by any standard. The next blood drive will be in July.
While I was talking with Mr. Holcombe, a retiree from the teaching staff at Francis Scott Key High School and a tireless volunteer, he wanted to plug some of the other worthy Lions club projects.
A major effort is the hospital and home care equipment bank the club operates for people in need of wheelchairs, crutches, and other health aids. People donate these to the club, and then the items can be lent out at no charge to anyone who needs them.
Currently, the Lions' members in Union Bridge, Harney, New Windsor, and Keymar are judging essays from Janet Heslin's advanced English students at Francis Scott Key High School. Winners, who will receive U.S. savings bonds, will be announced later this month.
The Union Bridge Lions Club meets the second Tuesday of each month at the Union Bridge Fire Hall at precisely 6:29 p.m. (so people will always remember the time). Information: 775-2270.
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Yes, young mothers, there are wonderful options for your preschool children -- warm, supportive, nurturing places for them to spend a morning or afternoon. One of these places is the nursery school at the Union Bridge Church of the Brethren. I visited teacher Martha Domer and her young charges one afternoon and wished I could turn back the clock and send my own children there.
The program is offered to 3- and 4-year-olds who come in the mornings or afternoons several times a week for basic preschool preparation -- learning to get along in groups, sharing, playing on the playground or in the warm, brightly lighted rooms, feeding the guinea pig and gold fish, and learning the fundamentals of colors, letters and numbers from warm, caring, creative and energetic teachers.
The church has donated space for the community school since 1980. Enrollment is continuous, as space allows -- the limit is 20 children in each class. Information: 775-7254.
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A coming event in Union Bridge is the Community Breakfast, scheduled for Feb. 19 at the Community Center on Ladiesburg Road.
"It's the best breakfast served," says chairwoman Elaine Holmes. "We cook eggs to order, make home fries from fresh potatoes that are sliced and fried, and bake the biscuits. And we serve it on real china -- no paper plates here."
People who work the breakfast start at 4 a.m. Profits from the breakfasts go toward decreasing the mortgage for the new town hall.
Breakfast is served from 7 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. Cost: adults, $4; children from 6 to 12, $2. Carryout is offered at $4.50. Information: 775-7017.