Leonard at Large

Ya'll come, now

Folks bound for the McGennis Youth Center this Thursday, Friday, or Saturday evening will be in for great entertainment and fun. They will be attending the production at the McGennis Old Barn Theater.

The special theater will be presenting "The Beverly Hillbillies." Each performance is scheduled to start at 8 p.m. This the 21st year for a "under the stars" production. The admission is $3 for adults and $2 for students.

The director once again is Rhonda Headley. She is dedicated, always does a great job as director and makes it fun. There are several in the cast and they are enjoyable characters. It is said that the play may not be the same any night. The cast may not be professional, but I assure you they will make it fun and it will be worthwhile to attend. The Beverly Hillbillies were popular on TV and you know that with a group imitating the Beverly Hillbillies, this show is going to be interesting. The TV series provided many laughs for the viewers. This will also be true for the audience at this week's production.

Each evening during the intermission, there will be ice cream, cake, and drinks available to purchase. Many attending look forward to the intermission for the special refreshments.

Saturday night, preceding the performance, there will be a community smorgasboard. This is a special covered-dish dinner with those attending bringing food to share. This is always well attended and gives people an opportunity to visit and to meet others. It provides good fellowship and those attending come from a wide area.

One of the features that makes the production good is the atmosphere which is referred to as "under the stars." The scenery at the youth center is beautiful. There is always a breeze, so in the evening it should be cool.

The director, the cast, and others have put forth much effort to get ready for the performance. As anything of this type it takes much time on their part and several rehearsals. It is great that this is being held as it brings many people to the center and gives the center a greater useage.

It was only a week ago Sunday that the barbecue and the auction were held.

That and the play come relatively close to each other.

The barbecue and auction is a time to show off the center to the public.

For many that may be the only time they get to the center for the entire summer. The center really looked great for that special event. This summer, there has been a vast amount of grass and weed growth. It is difficult to keep up with the mowing.

In preparation for the Aug. 1 events, board members and friends of the center pitched in to do the mowing, weed trimming, and other things to spruce up the center. As I understand, among those working to get the center ready included Randy Bell, Greg Brocka, Dale Headley, Robert Wells, and the Westerhold family.

During the early days of the center, the barbecue was held as a fund raiser. All the preparations were done on the grounds, including the barbecuing. This required a great amount of work, including for some being there all night to barbecue the meat. The meat was often donated to the center.

Later the crafts and collectibles auction was added as a fund-raiser. The food is now catered and the barbecue is a break-even event. The food was good and it is also provides a time of good fellowship and entertainment.

Many of those attending the auction were generous on their donations to the auction and on their buying. Many of these people were having a great amount of fun during the event by running the bids up. It is reported that the center made $4,800 from the auction, an amount which is of great help in meeting the expenses for the center.

The center is there to serve the youth in the area. There are several people each year who uses the facilities at the center. Operating the center and making the facilities available requires a great amount of funding. The board holds fund-raisers, but is largely dependent on donations. Your donations to the center will be welcome and will benefit the center -- a good investment.

Swimming at the center is popular and has good participation. With school starting -- almost in the middle of the summer, swimming will be coming to an end next week. There remains a few days of swimming -- it's a good place to swim.

Certified lifeguards supervise the swimming.

Reservations for the shelter houses or other facilities may be made by contacting the center. For more information, call (417) 395-3216.

The production to be held this week, Aug. 12-14, is an event that will be great for people of all ages. Ya'll come now.