CHURCHILL NEWS
by Linda Gerow

Happy New Year!!! I know it's a little early but it won't be long until we will be celebrating 2007. May it bring happiness, prosperity and peace to you and yours. A few facts about new year...

The first time the new year was celebrated on January 1st was in Rome in 153 B.C. (In fact, the month of January did not even exist until around 700 B.C., when the second king of Rome, Numa Pontilius, added the months of January and February.) The new year was moved from March to January because that was the beginning of the civil year, the month that the two newly elected Roman consuls—the highest officials in the Roman republic—began their oneyear tenure. But this new year date was not always strictly and widely observed, and the new year was still sometimes celebrated on March 1.

The most commonly sung song for Englishspeakers on New Year's eve, "Auld Lang Syne" is an old Scottish song that was first published by the poet Robert Burns in the 1796 edition of the book,Scots Musical Museum. Burns transcribed it (and made some refinements to the lyrics) after he heard it sung by an old man from the Ayrshire area of Scotland, Burns's homeland. But it was bandleader Guy Lombardo who made the song famous as he rang in the new year. When he and his brothers formed the famous dance band, Guy Lombardo and His Royal Canadians, the song became one of their standards. Lombardo played the song at midnight at a New Year's eve party at the Roosevelt Hotel in New York City in 1929, and a tradition was born.

Library News: Churchill Branch - 2282 4th Line, Churchill, Ontario

Registration Information: Children MUST be the appropriate age by the first day of a new session in order to enroll in that session. Registration for our next programme begins Tuesday, January 16. Beginning in our January 2007 session, proof of child's age will be required in order to register for ALL storytime and special programs.

Family Storytime: Stories, activities and crafts for children of all ages accompanied by their parents or caregivers. Churchill: Thursdays , 2:00- 2:45

Board Games Club: Join us and play a variety of games. Make some new friends! Ages: 5 & up Preregistration required. FREE Thursdays: 4:30-5:00 p.m.

The Frosty Challenge: Snowman Building Contest! Teams of 2-5 people will have 1 hour to build a snowman. Photos of the snowmen will be posted in the library for the public to vote on! Sign up begins December 12. Weather dependent. Cost: FREE : C h u r c h i l l B r a n c h : Thursday, January 4, 2p.m.

MOVIE MADNESS! All tickets are $2, Refreshments are $1.

Open Season (PG) Boog, a domesticated 900 lb. Grizzly bear finds himself stranded in the woods 3 days before Open Season. Forced to rely on Elliot, a fasttalking mule deer, the two form an unlikely friendship and must quickly rally other forest animals if they are to form a rag-tag army against the hunters.* Churchill: Wednesday, January 3 1:30p.m. *Movies are available at all branches of the Innisfil Public Library over the holidays. Check at your local branches.

Youth Groups: The St. P.J.'s (Parish of Churchill and Cookstown) will be meeting at St. Peter's Anglican Church every

Thursday from 6:30-8:30 p.m. Call Pam at 705-735- 3484 for all information.

The Senior High School Youth Group meets at St. John's Anglican Church in Cookstown every other Sunday at 12:30 p.m. This is ages of 13-18 years. Call Pam at the number above for information.

Euchre: Come to St. Peter's Anglican Church for euchre each Wednesday afternoon at 1 p.m. Call Reg at 705-456-6801 for info.

Legion News: Telephone: 431-9231 or 456-2531 Darts take place each Monday evening at 7 p.m. A team is being put together to compete in the Legion Zone E2 tournament to be held in January. Euchre is every Thursday at 1 p.m.

Smile: The somewhat old and crusty vicar was taking a well-earned retirement from his rather old and crusty parish. As is usual in these cases, an interim priest was sent to cover the transition period. This particular man was young and active, and had the strange notion that church should also be active and exciting. As a consequence he was more than a little

disappointed with the dull and tradition-bound church. He decided to do something about it. For his first Sunday, he didn't wear the traditional robes and vestments, but lead the service wearing a nice 2- piece suit. The congregation was horrified! He changed the order of the service. The congregation was horrified! Then came the children's lesson. For this he came out of the pulpit, and sat on the communion table. The congregation was mortified! He sat there swinging his legs against the table as the children gathered around him. The congregation were totally beside themselves! He asked the children, "What's small, brown, furry and eats nuts?" There was total silence. He asked again, "What's small, brown, furry and eats nuts?" Total silence. Eventually, one timid youngster put up his hand and said, "Please, Sir, I know the answer is Jesus, but it sure sounds like a squirrel to me."

If you have any news/items for this column, please contact me at lagerow@rogers.com or call 705-436-9769.