ELSMORE Elsmore Ruritan Club will have an Independence Day celebration on Saturday, July 7 in downtown Elsmore. Concessions, including homemade ice cream, hot dogs, chips, cookies and drinks, will be served beginning at 7:30 p.m. at the community building. Uncle Johns Backyard Entertainment will provide music for attendees throughout the evening. A fireworks display, donated by Aiello Fireworks and the Elsmore club, will be set off at dusk by the Aiellos. Goodie bags of kid-friendly fireworks will be provided for children attending. People are asked to bring lawn chairs or blankets to sit on.
Every year the Ruritan club helps Marmaton Valley High School organizations and awards more than $1,000 in college scholarships. Treat bags are given to students riding the bus from Elsmore to Moran at Halloween and Christmastime and treat bags and community calendars are given to senior citizens at Christmas. The club supports the Allen County Fair, holds a dog/cat vaccination clinic every spring, helps maintain the city playground, community building and community garden, and distributes food monthly in conjunction with Feed America and Humboldt Ministerial Alliance.
The national Ruritan organization, based in Virginia, celebrated 90 years of service in May. There are 1,200 clubs with 30,000 members in the United States. Els-more is one of 12 clubs in the Middle America District in Kansas. A special project this year of all Ruritan clubs is helping children in need. The Elsmore club is collecting new and gently used youth coats, jackets and shoes. A box will be at the community building for those wishing to contribute.
