Annette Klamm of Hillsboro, operator of Plunder Me Beautiful, discusses her products with Shawna Vogt (left) and Shana Stepanek (right). Klamm said she has been developing the business, which specializes in customized Jewelry, for three years now. Photo by Don Ratzlaff / Free Press.

Dorothy Thouvenell works on the project with students Levi Rodgers and Harper Chrisjohn Third-graders from Hillsboro Elementary School capped a week-long unit on ?Kindness,? led by teachers Debbie Dick and Lenna Knoll, by making Christmas Lauren Enns assists Cassidy Bernhardt and Davion Williams wreaths from paper plates and red and green construction paper with residents of Parkside Homes Thursday afternoon […]

Christmastime is here, but I am feeling like Charlie Brown as he and Linus are about to join the rest of the gang to skate on the ice in, ?A Charlie Brown Christ?mas.? It doesn?t feel like Christmastime. Why? One word: Politics. Maybe two words: Politics and religion. Correction: Make that politics, religion, belief and practice. Two months have passed […]

Christmas service at Alexanderwohl The community is invited to attend a Christmas Day service starting at 10 a.m. at Alexanderwohl Mennonite Church in Goessel. An organ prelude begins at 9:45 a.m. by Jason Peters, organist. Pastor Linda Ewert will give the meditation and interim pastor Peter Emery will sing, ?O Holy Night? in German. Everyone is welcome. The church is […]

The theme for this year?s Christmas Home Tour in Marion is ?A Country Christmas,? from 1-5 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 6, and featuring four unique homes, said Janet Marler, director of the Marion Library. Each year, she said, the library sponsors the event as a fundraising activity with proceeds going toward various projects. The four homeowners include Ken and Malinda Stuchlik […]

I trudge into my room after a long day of learning and working. After throwing my bag down on my bed, I immediately grab the TV remote and flick on the Hallmark Channel. This has become a routine that I perform almost subconsciously some days. Watching Hallmark Channel movies has become a new form of entertainment for my roommate and […]

?Night In the Barn? again portrays the reason for the season<p><p>Members of the Tabor Mennonite Youth Fellowship put on the annual ?Night in the Barn? event Saturday and Sunday evening at the farm of Maynard Knepp and Carol Duerksen between Goessel and Hillsboro. Prior to the arrival of their first guests, the actors for the living nativity posed for a […]

Family tradition brings joy to children, especially at Christmas For more than 20 years, the Penner family in Hillsboro has brought joy to area children by offering horse and carriage rides during the Christmas season. Gary and Terri Penner said they can?t remember how the tradition of carriage rides started, but Gary?s father, Lynn, had Percherons in the early 1980s. […]

HILLSBORO SENIOR CENTER We hope everyone has a happy New Year, and will take time to come and join us for a meal soon. Hat Day is Friday, Jan. 2, and any hat will work. Scott Schultz with SS Concrete Solutions will talk about his business Jan. 6. Volunteers are still needed so please let us know if you can […]

? Christmas has a way of enabling us to rise above our normal selves. Love it or dread it, we all need Christmas. For many, the season is an opportunity to be renewed by the spiritual significance of its origin and be humbled by the depth of God?s love and sacrifice for fallen humanity. For those who reject that notion, […]