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Please email the Leprechaun Reporter with news .... vestalrj@yahoo.com |
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| DATES TO REMEMBER: | |||||||||||||
| 08-18-06 | MELROSE GOLF OPEN -- CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE | ||||||||||||
| HEADLINE NEWS: | |||||||||||||
| 09-19-06 | MELROSE ST. PATRICK'S CHURCH ANNUAL FALL HARVEST DINNER-AUCTION: is THIS SUNDAY-SEPTEMBER 24. Don't miss it~! | ||||||||||||
| 08-20-06 |
Third Annual Melrose Open --a HUGE
SUCCESS: 174 Golfers participated and hundreds of non-golfers joined
in on the fun. The Melrose Irish Green Hat Society Ladies came to greet
guests and help where needed. Folks attended the gala event from Iowa,
Illinois, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Wisconsin and South Dakota.
The weather forecast called for a stormy day, and storms abounded all around-including in Melrose. But the luck of the Irish prevailed and it was a perfect day for golf in Norwalk. The sun came out & shined on the green golf course & guests remarked how this scene reminded them of the rolling terrain of Ireland. Folks commented such a day just proves the saying 'if you're lucky enough to be Irish, you're lucky enough'--because Melrose was getting needed rain & the Melrose Open was getting a perfect day for golf in Norwalk. The winners of the coveted green blazers was determined by an exciting play off that ended in a tie and those two teams were inducted into the Melrose Open Green Blazer Winners Club. Team members are: team one-Brian Scieszinski, Jim Williams, Mark Illingsworth, Ken Kness and team two: Chuck Sinclair, Ron Sanford, Ken Dalton and Bob Meyer. A remarkable factor in this year's tourney was the 2004 winning team of Monty Evans, Bernard Beary, Scott Vestal and Brian Vestal tied the 2005 winning team of Pat Conway, Mike Campiano, Tom & Paul Ruprecht for the First Place Over-All Championship title. However, the green blazer winners cannot repeat receiving green blazers in back to back years and these teams therefore received a 2006 Co-Champion patch-bar for their green blazers. Other prizes awarded were: Best Lady's Team-Jen Coady, Melissa & Marty Ryan & Joni Murphy. Lady's Longest Putt-Christy Belzer. Lady's Longest Drive-Jill Curran Evans. Men's Longest Putt-Kirk Bond. Men's Longest Drive-Monty Evans. Closest to the Pin-Jerry Munn. The crowd with Melrose roots enjoyed an evening meal, awards ceremony, auction and plenty of Blarney. The Golf Committee and Melrose Betterment wishes to sincerely THANK each & everyone who supported, contributed to, and attended the Third Annual Melrose Open & made it a huge success. Profits will go toward Melrose projects and the financial report will be on the web site when it is complete. Plans are now underway for the Fourth Annual Melrose Golf Open Tournament which is held the last Friday of the Iowa State Fair. Hope to see you there! God Bless~! |
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| 08-17-06 | Melrose Golf Open--BULLETIN: The Shuttle bus for the Melrose Open will pick up folks at the Four Point Sheraton Motel and LEAVE for the Golf Course at 11 a.m SHARP tomorrow morning-8/18. The first return trip will probably be about 6 or 7 pm---other return trips to be announced tomorrow. Also, there just 'may' be some 'adventure' trips in store for tomorrow night--so check this out tomorrow evening. IRISH EYES ARE SMILING in anticipation for a GALA TIME TOMORROW--see you there~! God Bless~! | ||||||||||||
| 08-16-06 | Hear Yee~! Hear Yee~! Check out the Golf team tee times for the third annual MELROSE GOLF OPEN on this web site. Golfers-get those clubs polished and get set for a grand time. Non-golfers--get ready to party & come cheer (and jeer) the golfers on~! Be sure to help us THANK our SPONSORS. Remember-proceeds go toward worthy Melrose community projects-especially toward the Melrose Bank building----so our motto is--the MELROSE OPEN-- LET'S BANK ON IT~!!! SEE YOU THERE~! God Bless~! | ||||||||||||
| 08-01-06 | MELROSE GOLF OPEN--GOOD NEWS BULLETIN~! The committee is pleased to announce that all those teams -returning & new-who-prior to July 31-requested a PM tee time WILL get a PM tee time--as some returning teams requested AM times-etc. Also, there are still some remaining openings left for more morning teams~! The committee has expanded the roster so more teams can be included in this GALA EVENT~! Spread the word to folks you know who want to join us --and have them get their entry fees in with the names of team members. Please watch this web site-2006 Golf Open pages--for updates in the near future. Also, SPONSORS are still being recruited --with proceeds to go toward worthy Melrose community projects. Please check out our wonderful Sponsors on this web site-and support them for supporting Melrose. Four new AWESOME GREEN BLAZERS ARE NOW IN --AND AWAITING THE 2006 CHAMPIONS~! God Bless~! | ||||||||||||
| 07-27-06 |
About Town:
Melrose is Blessed with wonderful volunteers. We want to do an article
very soon about our Melrose 4-H Club and their leaders---what awesome
folks they are indeed~! They are very busy this week with finishing
up their County Fair activities--so we will let them rest up a bit--then
will feature them on the web site. A preview hint of one of their annual
projects is planting flowers, trees, and shrubs throughout Melrose Main
street each spring. Melrose residents and visitors constantly comment on
how beautiful the flowers and parks look. And we remind you to be
sure to take special notice of the beautiful mini park on the corner of
Shamrock & Erin---right on the corner of downtown mainstreet. This park
sponsored by Betterment was/is designed - created and tended to by Kellie
Curran Sinclair--and what an inviting place it is-all seasons. There is
color throughout the year-an enchanting stone path that leads to a rustic
bench beside a globe street light and more. This year Kellie notified
Betterment that we needed LOTS of mulch-probably several hundred bags. So
in typical Betterment fashion, we put a pleading SOS in the church
bulletin--begging for money donations to buy mulch---and in came the
donations. Betterment is framing a list of the names of these donors and
will hang this in the Shamrock Shoppe. Shortly after our SOS for 'mulch'
help- an anonymous donor called kellie to say a pick up load of mulch was
being donated. GENEROSITY PERSONIFIED. So the money donations were used to
buy flowers for the numerous flower pots & flower beds on Mainstreet. Each
year Betterment gratefully donates some money to our wonderful 4 H Club as
'seed' money to" plant mainstreet". Melrose invites you to 'stop and
smell the flowers', sit a restful spell in one of our green mini parks
under a shade tree planted by loving volunteers or in the gazebo or
shelter house built by volunteers or just relax on one of the numerous
picnic tables purchased from community fundraisers, check out the green
caboose brought to Melrose by volunteers (see story on web site) and kiss
the Blarney Stone and more~!!--Just soak up the joys of Melrose, Iowa's
Little Ireland. You will be glad you did. And if you are ever so
quiet--you just may see one of the many Leprechaun's that live in and
guard this grand Irish town. See you on Mainstreet?
God Bless~! |
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| 07-25-06 |
MELROSE OPEN GOLF TOURNAMENT FINANCIAL
REPORT 2005: The itemized
financial report for the Melrose Open in 2005 is published on this web
site. You will find the itemized report on the 2005 Golf Open front page.
To summarize--the Expenses were $11,356.69 and the total Income was
$14,725 which resulted in a profit of $3,369 for Melrose Community
Projects--plus a wonderful day of fun for the Irish celebrating Melrose.
And Irish eyes are smiling in anticipation of the THIRD ANNUAL MELROSE
OPEN Friday, August 18. Reminder to returning teams-- your entry fee
for this year MUST be received by July 31st to guarantee your afternoon
tee time. God Bless~!! |
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| 07-23-06 | Melrose Betterment Projects: Our number one project at this time is SAVING the MAINSTREET "FARMER'S BANK BUILDING" Proceeds from last year's Melrose Open Golf Tournament helped Betterment start this project. The building has been made secure by installing two new exterior doors and new back windows. Some repairs on the interior were initiated including completely re-wiring the building and the exterior trim was painted. Now our efforts are on raising needed dollars for a new roof. We will then proceed with painting the interior & completing a rustic finish inside. We may perhaps recruit a new business in the building or will expand the Shamrock Shoppe into this space. There is a hugh walk in safe in the building and it's been suggested the interior of the safe be painted gold & display a pot of gold & jewels on a pedestal inside the safe. Leprechauns would no doubt guard these treasures. But there remains MUCH to be done, and we're hoping the Melrose Golf Open continues to boost this worthy project. Perhaps YOU would like to help by making an 'investment' or 'deposit' in the Melrose Farmer's Bank renovation project? Donations are tax deductible. Our "Bank" pays cheerful dividends of 'joy' in knowing one has made a difference-and 'interest' will grow as folks see the improvements.. Checks can be made out to "Melrose Betterment". Betterment will be keeping a log of donors and plan to list, frame and post these in the Shamrock Shoppe or Farmer's Bank Building. Presently, the greatest 'friend' of the Bank is--the Melrose Golf Open. We send a hundred million THANK YOUs to the Golf Open Committee and the Sponsors of this gala event. May the Luck of the Irish be with you and yours and with our Mainstreet Farmer's Bank Building project.. . God Bless~! | ||||||||||||
| 07-22-06 | NEWS BULLETIN: Many of the Melrose Irish Green Hat Society ladies will be attending the Melrose Golf Open Friday, August 18 to help. One of the main missions of The Irish Green Hat Society is to support and "sing praises about Melrose and do a good deed or two along the way"---claiming 'good deeds often come in green'. A big benefit from all of this is having "FUN". So the Irish Green Hats will be there having fun and helping however the Golf Committee so directs them. The Green Hats are always willing to help raise some green for Melrose projects--as well as doing other good deeds along the way--individually & as a group. So tell everyone to Mark YOUR calendars & come Celebrate Melrose August 18 at the Melrose Golf Open. On this day we give a hearty welcome to the non-golfers & the non Irish-as long as they love Melrose, Iowa's Little Ireland. REMEMBER--IF YOU ARE LUCKY ENOUGH TO BE IRISH--YOU ARE LUCKY ENOUGH~! .God Bless~! | ||||||||||||
| 07-21-06 | About Town: Do you know that--bright & early every morning -Monday through Friday--the grand Melrose Community Hall is opened by volunteers & the coffee pot is made ready for area folks who like to start their day by gathering to visit a bit, spin a little Blarney, and perhaps walk, jog or exercise in the gym. Ties a great place -and great way to start the day. This gathering is known as the "Walkers & Talkers"---or---the "Melrose Coffee Club". Everyone is Welcome, and folks often bring in goodies to be shared as they enjoy the coffee & good conversation. Folks come in before & after Mass-and eventually most head on down to the Melrose Market to enjoy a delicious breakfast-another cup of coffee-and of course- more Blarney. Be sure to stop in and enjoy this benefit of small town Iowa whenever you have the time. And for a good measure of luck, stop and kiss Melrose's very own Blarney stone that sits in the green mini park beside the community hall. You would be AMAZED at the list of dignitaries that have kissed our Blarney stone~~!!! (but we appreciate our Irish kin a bit more than the dignitaries--yep, quite a bit more-but let's not tell em) Have a great day~! God Bless! | ||||||||||||
| 07-19-06 | Melrose Featured in new book on hometown signs: Authors of the book "Signs of Their Times" Sharon Lemke and Ann Loughlin, met in Melrose with Evelyn Tierney & Joan Brubaker to present them with a complimentary copy of their new book . The book features Melrose, Iowa's Little Ireland, as one that has interesting Welcome Signs and also devotes three pages in the book to give a short historical perspective of Melrose. The book explains the founding of Melrose by Irishman John Courier , talks about its 98% Irish population and other interesting facts. The forward of the book is written by Morgan Halgreen of Iowa Public Television fame and Chuck Offenburger (Iowa Boy) plugs the book on its back cover, along with William Shatner of Star Trek fame. Melrose's Welcome Sign is also one chosen to be included on the cover of the book. Only 22 communities in Iowa were featured--so Melrose, Iowa's Little Ireland , is mighty proud to be among this elite group. If you are interested in buying this book, we do have them for sale at the Shamrock Shoppe for $20 plus postage. A grand addition to any Irish library- indeed~!! God Bless~! | ||||||||||||
| 07-12-06 |
MELROSE OPEN--MOTEL
ACCOMMODATIONS:
Folks attending the Melrose Open who are planning to stay the night of the
18th--may make reservations at FOUR POINT SHERATON-1810 Army
Post Road-515-287-6464. Inform them you are with the
MELROSE OPEN GROUP--rooms will be $79 IF we get 30 rooms reserved BY
August 4th. (rate $119 AFTER Aug 4). If you have any questions or
problems making reservations--ask for "PEGGY"-as she is handling
our block of rooms. There will be Shuttle Bus service to & from this Motel
& Golf Course at certain times--to be announced later. Stay tuned. Please
GET YOUR ENTRY FEES IN--& MARK YOUR CALENDARS~!! God Bless~! |
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| 07-10-06 |
MELROSE GOLF OPEN
is fast approaching & folks need to get your entry fees (and Sponsorships)
in to Melrose Betterment. New teams are joining this Gala event this
year-and some are wanting afternoon tee times if available--SO RETURNING
teams MUST get your entry fees in by JULY 31st to guarantee your
afternoon tee time. (preferably by July 15) Please LIST THE
NAMES OF TEAM MEMBERS when you submit your entry fees --as we
would like to post the team members names in advance--as it's fun to see
who will be joining us in this Grand & Gala Melrose Open. Please review
the Golf Open information on our web site. All checks are to be made out
to "GOLF OPEN-MELROSE BETTERMENT"....proceeds go toward worthy Melrose
Community projects. Spread the word to all friends of Melrose..we hope to
see many GUESTS join in on the fun---as the Irish non golfers plan to spin
alot of BLARNEY too--and maybe cheer (or sneer) some of the good ole Irish
teams on the Golf course August 18~!! Tis a grand day for the Irish~!
God Bless~! |
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| 07-03-06 |
MELROSE NICKNAMES:
Folks were visiting about the Melrose Irish giving so many folks
nicknames...rather hilarious? We like the good ole IRISH names better~!
But how many of these Melrose nicknames do you recognize?? And if you have
others not listed here-let us know via email. Here goes: Apples, Axel
Grease, Brick, Bo, Bay Wolf, Bimbo, Big Joe, (Little Joe), Bones, Banjo,
Bus or Buster, Bunt, Bush, Babe, Barney, Burley, Bolger, Bud, Birdhouse, Chang,
Clipper, Colonel (Kernel), Cherry Nose, Cutie, Coyote, Donkey, Dinky,
Doodlebug, Elmer, Frog, Foxy, Gangster, Grasshopper, Googie, Gloomy,
Happy, Hook, Heavy, Hayseed, Higgins, Iron Jaws, Jaws, Jig, Juggy, Jock,
Lefty, Moose, Mustard, Moe, Minus, Moonie, Minnie, Mugsy, Ninnie, Nopper,
Nostick, Power House, Poozie, Pruney, Pickles, Paddie, Puffle, Peaches,
Pinky, Opie, Onion, Oscar, Ozzie, Queenie, Red, Squire, Starchy, Spook,
Scrap Iron, Sparkey, Slugger, Shotty, Speed, Squirrel, Snerd, Squeak,
Stuffy, Steer, Sun Perch, Shoin, Satch, Squire, Turtle, Twinkle, Tiny,
Wig, Wiram, Wheaties, Whitey, Yo, Yogie And that's the list for now---how
many do you recognize???
God Bless~! |
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| 07-02-06 |
Interesting post
script:- Father Lathrop informed us that he picked a BIG Irish Frog to
race--but he was then instructed by a little boy that the big frogs are
LAZY and he needed to pick a LITTLE frog to win--because the little frogs
are much faster. It's good to learn something new every day--and now the
secret is out~! How many of YOU adults knew this fact ?? Listen to the
little ones!!! God Bless~! |
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| 07-02-06 |
Celebrate Melrose was
a big success this year as usual...with a GRAND PARADE, games, auction,
fireworks, dance-and LOTS OF WONDERFUL BLARNEY SPINNED by all. As you
know, Melrose St Patrick's Parish held a farewell-appreciation dinner for
Father Scott Lemaster last Sunday to wish him Blessings on his new
assignment. Melrose is grateful to have had Father Scott with us these
past eight years. Now we WELCOME Father Lathrop. And we are very pleased
to announce Father Lathrop has joined right in the swing of things in
Melrose, Iowa's Little Ireland --as he bravely entered the IRISH GREEN
FROG RACES on Mainstreet today-and he & his mighty green frog came in
SECOND. Now we declare this a VERY GOOD RACE for a beginner, and here's
betting he may WIN next year if he faithfully practices & polishes his
skills in Frog racing. All the green frogs have been returned to the ponds
& will be cared for by the Leprechauns until we round them up again for
next year's celebration. Father Lathrop will make Melrose St. Patrick's
rectory his primary home and will have the Parishes of Melrose, Georgetown
& Lovilia. God Bless~! |
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| 06-30-06 |
NEWS BULLETIN: A HUGH
CROWD TURNED OUT FOR THE ANNUAL GREEN IRISH FROG CAPTURE (frogs will be
RELEASED after the contests tomorrow-and the Melrose Leprechauns will
continue to nurture, feed & train them for next year's event) A large
caravan of pick ups, vans & cars filled to capacity gathered & set off to
catch the big Irish frogs. The crew reports this year's crop of Irish
frogs is one of the best years yet. The Leprechauns have done an
outstanding job caring for the Irish frogs since our last year's
celebration. It is believed last year's champion frogs are entering the
contests again this year to defend their titles. Some of these frogs have
been in the Celebrate Melrose Frog contests for YEARS...so they have an
advantage of EXPERIENCE. SEE YOU ON MELROSE MAINSTREET TOMORROW.
God Bless~! |
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| 06-27-06 |
The Annual Melrose 4th
of July celebration kicks off Saturday July 1st. The parade starts at
1:00 followed by the auction @ 3 pm and a street dance that evening. Kids
events will take place all day, including the annual frog jumping contest
---------NEW THIS YEAR-Calf scramble for the kids and a pig scramble for
the adults~! God Bless~! |
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| 06-22-06 |
The annual Melrose Open Golf Tournament has been set for Friday August 18th at the CountrySide Golf Course in Norwalk Iowa. If you would like
to learn more about this visit the link on the main page to learn more. |
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