STORYTIME TAPESTRY

The Newsletter devoted to spreading love and cultural awareness throughout the world

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Jan 14, 2006? 

Today??™s Announcements:

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? Happy Birthday Kathy Wolfe

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Now on to the good stuff..........

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Animal awareness series endorsed by Shiloh and Hank our mascots; all stories must receive their approval.

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? BOY SCOUT OF MY TIME (October 2005)

By: Georgewaters Ojeigbe ??“ Lagos, Nigeria

gojiegbe@jhplc.com

Edited By: Stephen Femi Olude

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Have you ever been a scout before 2x. If you have never been a scout before you will never, never be happy.?  This is one of the usual songs sung at scout meetings in my own days.

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Boy Scouts??™ meetings was an enjoyable thing to me that I always looked up to.?  I prefer this to the marshal act that my parents-in-quote dragged both my cousin Lanre and I into.

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Lanre attends the University Teaching Hospital??™s private school called the ???University Staff Primary School??? (University of Benin Teaching Hospital [UBTH]), a school meant for the hospital and the university??™s staff children.?  This is a place where you do not speak your local language or the broken English.?  You have to be smart and fluent in the Queen??™s English otherwise you are rated a low class being.?  Sometimes, outsiders have their children attend this school but on a more strict assessment before intake.

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I was not opportuned to attend the university??™s private school due to a reason best known to my parents-in-quote.?  Lanre was already in the school since our mother-in-quote works in the teaching hospital as a midwife nurse.

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The Boy Scout organization was owned by the school authority.?  One of the school??™s staff whose name was Kim headed it; the name I knew him as all through my stay in the organization.

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In this scout organization owned by the school, we were handled with great cares like an ???ajebutter??? (spoilt children, or rich man??™s children) since most of the scout members were top government officials, professors, doctors, lawyers and other top dignitaries??™ children; I call this Nigerian Factor, where there is discrimination between the rich and poor.? 

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I lacked the charisma because I was from a government school which somewhat belongs to the less privileged children.?  I always knew that there exists an amount differential in the group since everyone of them seem to know each others background, that is because they all attend the same staff school but for me, I seem to be off their track until later on.

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Well, the scout law, ???a scout is a friend to all??? partially solved my problem as Kim made the group to receive me with an open arm and I was able to thrive well due to my home background.? 

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This quote, ???a scout is a friend to every animal??? always amaze me.?  I once asked Uncle Kim if we have to habour a snake at any time.?  He said well, try as much as possible to avoid it.?  That we shall see at later on.

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I can still remember the numerous scout laws but I have forgotten the ranking of each.?  In addition, I can almost remember each member but I have forgotten their names except for about three of them.? 

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One was Jim.?  We call him JIM the ANIMUL.?  He was born in the United States of America and came with his family to live in Nigeria.?  He gained the name ???ANIMUL??? by the way he pronounces the word ???ANIMAL???.?  Uncle KIM, our scout leader tried as much as possible to make him pronounce it the usual way but to no avail.?  This was used as a channel by other members to sculled him.?  He was too slow and fragile.?  He had not much friends even though he attends the staff school with them.?  I had no problem with his style of speaking and doing things.?  We somehow became close friends since we seem to be the two different people in the group.

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Another was the white twins, Paul and Peter.?  Their mother was an English woman married to a Nigerian.?  This mother always has this funny expression on her face as if something would go wrong with her lovely twins.?  Paul and Peter tried as much as possible to be Africans.?  I cherish them for that. ? That reminds me of another white boy in the boy scout who love the African dishes.?  All through the camp he was always struggling for African dishes.

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The scout fun is never complete without achieving the burn fire at a camp.?  Yes, that is quite correct but it is a thing that was never achieved during my scouting days.?  I know why you will say!

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Everything that happened during my scouting days is a common occurrence on every scout training ground till today.?  Individual experience only makes the difference of being a scout.

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After about a year plus of being in the group, Uncle Kim announced the upcoming camp.?  He enlightened us on what to do, what to bring for the camp.?  He levied us; money set aside for the camp preparation.? 

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After the day??™s scout meeting, Lanre and I got home to inform our guardians (mummy and daddy in quote) about the proposed camping.?  They both welcomed the idea.?  Already a day has been set aside as public holiday by the government, meaning we had more days to spend on camp.? 

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Before we left for camp, we took along buckets, cutlasses, umbrellas, covering cloths and other items.?  Mummy drove both of us down to the school where a bus was already waiting to convey us to the campsite.

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The campground was off a major road in the outskirts of the city, not a forest but on a mere shrub.?  To us, the mere bush looked like being in Tarzan??™s jungle. ? ? 

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At resumption to camp, we had a parade and other activities followed immediately.?  One was the raising of the national and scout flags.?  Ropes on pegs were pined to the ground to keep our tents firmly.

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Lanre belonged to Elephant House and I in Eagle House; making it Elephant and Eagle Patrol. ? ? Because of his overweight, his friends usually mocked him, comparing him with an elephant.?  He never felt comfortable being in the Elephant Patrol and thought of conversion but was refused.?  He easily teamed up with his school friends in the tent.?  For me, it took a hell of a time to get someone to team with.?  After a while of search, I got someone to team with.?  My bed space was just at the entrance.?  I was too scared to be so close to the entrance.?  My fear was of reptiles getting into the tent from my end.?  I prayed that the burning fire in on campground should not go off.? 

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We took turn in keeping the fire burning until dawn.?  This was lead by each house patrol leader.

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The first night was peaceful except that I was awoke all through the night.?  Many fearful things kept going through my mind.?  I was kind of thinking of safety than of the purpose of the camping.

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We were usually fed each morning on yam and beans, afternoon was vegetable soup and cooked cassava flour known as eba and in evening was lighter food like bread and tea.?  The only time you see the white boys struggling for their meals was during lunch hours where the cassava flower cooked (eba) was being served.?  It was very interest to note.

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Each time it gets to meal hour the sound of a Volk Wagon Passat car would draw towards us.?  In that vehicle is a white concerned white mother of the twins, Paul and Peter.?  She always comes crying and having a food bag with her for her twins.?  She will cry and say

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???Oh Paul, Peter I am missing you.?  What have happened to you!?  Oh, you are looking pale.?  Your dad and I made this food for you, please eat it.?  I love you???.

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That always make lot of us giggle.?  It became part of our fun on the campground.

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She spent a couple of time with her twins before moving away slowly with her face always on her twins.?  We always say this white woman is such a funny woman.

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After a while, Uncle Kim had to stop her from bringing foods into the camp since the organizer is liable for whatever happens to any scout member.?  She still comes with the food with lots of begging to be done.?  Well, sometimes Uncle Kim accepts.?  The second night was going to be again peaceful but not.

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The second day two was complete with actualizing all our activities for that night.?  Everybody was in his tent preparing to go to sleep.?  The lights were on and fast burning out but there was always replacement.

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Deep into the night, someone screamed, ???Help! A snake! So gigantic! Snake! snake??¦! A??¦ python!???

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Instantly, I thought like the man in the book of JOB, ???What I greatly feared has come upon me???.?  I sprang up not knowing what to do.?  It was as if the snake was underneath my beddings.?  I started to skip.?  Running outside of the tent scared me because I assumed I might step on the snake.?  By this time, there was pandemonium everywhere.?  Colleagues were screaming, ???where is the machete, bring the stave, get me the stick???.? 

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I do not think that I had any knowledge of Uncle Kim??™s whereabouts because we where endlessly running in a circle.?  Somehow, the confusion was brought under control after Uncle Kim found out that it was not a snake but a black leather belt left hanging on the tent??™s pole.? 

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We all witnessed the belt hanging, although, it resembled a snake trying to leap from the top of the pole on some one lying down.?  For me, I never blamed the boy, he had said what I wanted to hear and that was the word ???SNAKE!????  I had goose pimples all over me.?  Every corner now looked like a hide out for a massive snake.

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Throughout that night, I was stricken with fear.?  Whether it was true or false about the snake I still remained frightened.

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I was glad as the night gave way to dawning, yet I remained scared to be near the bushes around.

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The night of day three was set aside for the camp burn fire.?  The truck filled with log of woods came and emptied them on the ground.?  We were shown the way to arrange the woods to make burning easier.?  All we did accordingly.

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On the third day, our usual activities were carried out for the day.?  Different songs were rendered, games were played and stories were told by different people.

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As it drew to evening, a terrible dark cloud filled the evening sky making it look like some black ink poured into a bottle filled with pure water; the dark cloud quickly saturated the white wooly sky into black coal.

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The evening was too quick to turn into the darkest night.?  In no time, the wind fell on us, knocking down almost all the tents.?  We put up a fierce fight against the wind.?  Tents were falling, boys were raising them up.?  Finally, the wind and storm prevailed over both boys and the tents.

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The whole campground was waterlogged.?  There was no room for us anymore.?  The fire woods for the burn fire were soaked to the core looking like Elijah??™s days, when he got the woods laid for sacrifice to God soaked with water before the prophets of BAL.?  The only difference was that despite the water in the woods, Elijah still commanded fire to consume the sacrifice set on the woods but for us, it was not possible.?  That night we had to find our way down to the university lecture rooms where we stayed for the rest of the night.?  We were too happy to be out of the cold dark rainy.?  In the lecture rooms, games, singing and stories continued until each of us fell asleep.

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The following morning, after the rain, we went back to campground to gather back our belongings.?  We found all of our belongings under the submerged tents.?  Few of us were able to get something reasonable out of that waterlogged filed.?  The fire woods were still piled up but never to be used again as it was already late.

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For Lanre and I, it was total lost of everything.?  Our umbrellas were gone, only the steels were left for us which Uncle Kim converted to a command and walking stick.?  The buckets were lost, so was a cutlass.?  Thinking of going home empty handed scared us greatly.?  Both of us trembled over home judgment!

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It took both Lanre and I the encouragement of other members before we could find partial peace in us.

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We both gathered our remaining and started home as someone hit by a truck but who refused to die!?  We were so dirty and miserable looking.?  I could not find one of my boots, making me walk home on bear foot.?  Our stave where gone, the penknives where lost forever, in fact, nothing seemed to be remaining for us except for the umbrella frames, a cutlass and just our lives.?  Well, our bags of cloths already dirty looking were hanging behind us.

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Parents came to pick up their children from the campground at the time specified to them.

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For Lanre and I, mummy or daddy did not promise to come for us so on our way home people were probably sighting two miserable looking boy scouts or refugees.

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Only Jehovah God knows what was in the mind of the people that were looking at us.

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THE END!

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? BIO-DATA

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I was born on 21^st April, 1970.?  I live in Lagos, Nigeria the most populous city in Africa. I sing in a Church music group where I fellowship.?  I love sports.?  I love admiring the heavens and other wonderful works borne from Jehovah??™s hands.?  I discovered the power of writing stories, encouraged by Carol.?  Thanks for her existence!?  I am pet lover minus snakes; I so much hate this creature called snake but others I prefer.?  I like to do lots of home works like creating my art works, gardening, making some home furniture, fitting electrical appliances etc.

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Today's Queue Stories
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? When All Else Fails ...

Joyce C. Lock

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If you're of another temperament type and you hear that God owns everything (and He actually wants to use it to meet your every need), you might readily receive it.?  But, if you're a pathological doer or have any legalism in your background, such preaching may only lead to further torment.

The implication is often that, 'if you just believe enough', God is obligated to come through; which is another form of works.

Faith, the size of a grain of mustard seed, is actually the greatest faith there is ... because it takes the least amount of effort on our part and the most effort on God's part; placing the greatest portion of our faith in none other than Him.?  As painful as it can be, to get to that place, sometimes, we do have to come to the end of our
path before we're willing to say, "God, if you don't save me, I'm doomed."

Now, see.?  That wasn't so hard.?  Was it??  It was the getting there and the humbling that hurt so much.

The more we come to recognize Satan's nagging for what it is, the quicker our response might be a bit more like ... "God loves us.?  He won't abandon us, now.?  So, back off, Satan!"

Turn on music that ministers to your soul, pick up The Book, listen to a good sermon, or enter your prayer closet.?  Just go to your place of light and illumination of God's presence, wherever that be, and tell Satan you're not listening to him anymore.?  And, it's always ok to ask God to help with our unbelief and even to give you something to hang on to; a promise, anything wherein you can 'know' the direction He's taking you.

Getting our needs met has nothing to do with one's ability of praying enough, believing enough, doing enough, selling enough, working enough, serving enough, saving enough, or much of anything else.

"God always answers in time.?  So, bug off, Satan.?  Get out of our face.?  It makes no difference if you make us fear or not.?  God is still God and it is impossible for Him to fail."

It isn't even about getting angry enough at Satan.?  It's realizing that you have a Heavenly Father that loves you beyond anything
Satan can threaten.?  To listen to Satan lying about God's love for you is only torment and it is not true.?  To agree with Satan is to call God a liar.

And, once we realize that, we might want to ask God's forgiveness and, thereafter, run to Him at onset; to ask God to remove all negativity, as we don't want to dishonor Him in even our thoughts.?  And, when such a request comes from the heart, God is honor bound and faithful to answer.

God is love.?  That is Who He is.?  He loved you while you were yet a sinner.?  He choose you before you even knew Him.?  He does not change.?  His love is still there, for your taking, and His love never fails.

Though, the best part of warfare is the V I C T O R Y !!!?  And when it comes, through your tears of joy, you might not only thank God for His unfailing love but also apologize for forgetting ... God's word is true, His love is real, and He always answers in time!

Consider the lilies how they grow: they toil not, they spin not;
and yet I say unto you, that Solomon in all his glory
was not arrayed like one of these.

Luke 12:27


?© 2005 by Joyce C. Lock

http://our.homewithgod.com/heavenlyinspirations/

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Poetry Section

~**~**~

? The Whistle Blew

Dianna Doles Petry

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I was playing when Mama grabbed my hand,

Pulling me abruptly from the ground,

The whistle at the local mine had? blown,

People were running up the hill from miles around.

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Men with carbide lights on their foreheads,

Were rushing back and forth yelling,

Women flocked around the big white board,

The numbered tags there would do the telling.

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"273!" My mama yelled at the board, "273!"

"273's not here," came the reply,

As Mama grabbed my hand again,

I saw the tears that had filled her eyes.

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She bowed her head just like the others,

Eyes shut tight and hands clasped in prayer,

"Dear God, please don't let this happen,

Let these men all come out of there."

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"I'll go to church and I'll do better,

I'll teach my children how to pray.

If you'll spare their lives you can have mine,

I'll do your bidding every hour of every day!"

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"They got 'em," someone yelled,

As silence fell over the anxious crowd,

Applause went? up as the first man came out,

Then I heard my mama scream out loud.

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My father was the third man out,

With a sad and tired look upon his face,

His friend, the man he worked beside of,

Was still trapped down there someplace.

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It was a slate fall and only one man had died,

But every life there had been touched that day,

We felt guilty that we had been blessed,

While? another family was torn apart that way.

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The miners went to work again the next day,

Spitting tobacco juice, lunch buckets in hand,

Riding buggies into black tunnels of death,

Heading towards the promised land.

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?©Dianna Doles Petry

01/04/2006

dianna59@charter.net

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http://diannapetry.tripod.com

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I am a coal miner's daughter, a coal miner's granddaughter and a product of the Applachian Mountains where mining touches every life in some way. The tragic explosion in WV this week brought back the memories of my childhood when we went to the mine anytime the whistle blew that signaled a slate fall or explosion in the mine. I wrote this for the thirteen miners in that explosion and in honor of my father and all of the other miners who kept mining alive.

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Writers Feedback

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Thank you Dear Cousin! I do enjoy your writings and it sounds like many others do too. I am so proud of your book being published. I need to find a Christian book publisher for my last little Christian Science Fiction. It is finally revised and ready to go out. I am praying about it.

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God bless you in this New Year. I love you and pray for you and yours, Lois

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Prayer Requests and Updates

? God is continuing His blessings to flow on Nikki's behalf........

My son went to see Nikki last evening and was with her for 4 hours in which she was totally alert and Nikki.?  The confusion is gone by the looks of it.?  Her count is up to 2.0 already.?  When she reaches 4.5 they are going to do another bone marrow test on her which will tell them if the leukemia has gone into remission.?  If it has, she will have a little rest to heal some before they hit her with more chemo.?  After the next session of chemo, they are hoping to have a match of bone marrow transplant.?  After the?  transplant takes place there will be one more session of chemo and then she will be finished.?  It's still a long road ahead of her, but she's moving steadily down that road.?  David did say that the pain is so bad for her though.?  According to the nurses, she has to start moving around now.?  They said she's in terrible pain, but she has to move for her body to heal.?  It's important to circulate her blood as well as she can.?  Just moving her into a chair puts her in tears, but she continues to say she'll make it.. sounds like The Little Engine That Could... Love to you always, Al

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The doctor's said a real milestone took place tonight.. Nikki was able to eat... not a lot, but she did eat, kept it down and felt good afterwards.?  Now, the food will help to push down infections still lingering in her colon and intestines.?  She is also drinking by mouth well and often.?  Though she was in a great deal of pain, her spirits were pretty up tonight.?  David said it was the best he's seen her since this whole nightmare began.?  She prayed today... and gave her life to God to lead her to whatever she should be doing in the rest of her life. She said to tell everyone .... every single soul that said a prayer for her thank you so much.?  She said if that many people believed in God, and turned her around from death to life, it's got to be the right way to live.? ?  She's so very grateful as is David to all of you... as is the whole family.?  God bless.. Al

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? SENIOR WRITERS

Chief Writer: Sharon Bryant

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? Agee, Vance;? Apted, Violet;? Baker, Kathy; Batt, Al;?  Berry, Nell; Blaine, Pamela

Boda, Ginger;? ? Buhagiar, Victor; Cassady, B.J.;?  Cavalera, Robyn; Crider, Mark;? 

Deming, Barb; Doherty, Maria; Gilbert, Robert Jr; Goodier, Steve; Halley, Ellie Braun;

Harris, Kathy Anne;? Hunt, Sharlette;? Hymes, Christina

Jacobson, Gary;? Kiser, Roger Dean; Kerens, Claudia; Kevin, Tim Jenkins, Pamela;

Liles, Norma; Lilly, Jodi Flesberg; Lock, Joyce; Mazzella, Joe;? Morris, Deepak;

Ojeigbe, Georgewaters;

?  Petry, Dianna Doles; Roberts, Susan;?  Shiveley, Debra; Shaw, Bob; Sims, Richard; Streidel, Saskia; Swarner, Ken; Vaknin, Sam; Verhoeff, Jan

Walker, Bill; Walker, Joe;? Warner, Gorden K; Walsh, Sue

Weymouth, Barbara; Whirity, Kathy;? White, Robert;

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STORYTIME TAPESTRY STAFF

Publisher: Carol Roach-founder

Moderator: Thelma Hartselle-co founder

Moderator: Clara Westerfer

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