December 2005 Successful Project Merry Christmas Former Farm managers Ed Koch, Valerie McDaniel, Bryan Reaka and Collin Smith were among the volunteers for Project Merry Christmas which served 200 families in Vanceburg. Pictured here, Collin Smith, his sister Eileen and Joe Grosek.
November 2005 School groups meet in Vanceburg Twice each year groups from Bishop Watterson High School in Columbus, Ohio, and St. Catherine's High School in Racine, Wis., meet at the Farm. Connecting with students from another school is part of what makes trips special for these two groups. Here, Matthew O'Neil and Allison Scurria from Bishop Watterson pose with Wild Woman.
October 2005 New Farm manager arrives Laura Zant joined the Farm Manager crew in the late summer. A native of Kalamazoo, Mich., she recently graduated from the University of Dayton with a degree in psychology. Laura has served the people of Appalachia through volunteer stints with the Appalachian Service Project and many trips to Salyersville, Ky., with other students from the University of Dayton.
September 2005 Top-notch volunteers from Iowa The fall volunteer season started with volunteers from Dowling Catholic High School in West Des Moines, Iowa. At the end of the week Farm manager Jay Damron called the group "exceptionally insightful" and said, "They all seemed to really understand what the Farm is all about." Pictured here, Nikki Smith and Brian Edwards
July 2005 Women in Service to Appalachia Women in Service to Appalachia made their annual trip to the Glenmary Farm in late July. The group of more than 20 women came from 11 states and included women in their 20s as well as in their 60s. Here, Helene Blair works on a People's Self-Help Housing construction project. For a story about WSA and an earlier visit to the Farm
June-July 2005 Family Week Nancy Steffan, a member of St. Albert the Great Parish in Dayton, Ohio, and her four children, Janine (13), Nicole (12), Patrick (10) and Shawn (7) participated in Family Week at the Farm, June 26-July 1. The family said they enjoyed construction work and visiting the nursing home, as well as catching salamanders in the creek! Pictured here are Nicole, Nancy and Janine.
June 2005 Working toward a 'mission mentality' As a way to work together toward a "mission mentality," members of Blessed Sacrament parish (Midland, Mich.) and their parish's adopted Glenmary mission in Eupora, Miss., came together for a week of service at the Farm in June. Pictured here are Tiffany Chritz from Midland and Jovanni Hernandez from Eupora. For more about this week
June 2005 Kentuckian begins service at the Farm Jay Damron has arrived at the Farm to serve as the new Farm manager replacing Valerie McDaniel. Jay grew up in Pikeville, Ky., and graduated from Morehead State University. He says he feels honored to combine working in his home region with working at the Glenmary Farm. For more about Jay
May 2005 Ed Koch pays a visit When Gannon University students arrived in May, former Farm manager Ed Koch was with them. He is working in Erie, Penn., now, and he hooked up with some friends to make the trip to Vanceburg. Here he shares a reflection in the chapel with Megan Fisher.
April 2005 Special visitors, a special week A visit from Bambi, a neighbor's domesticated deer, helped make the week of April 17-23 special for students from Nouvel Central Catholic High School (Saginaw, Mich.). Another treat was sharing the week with a group from St. Albert the Great Parish (Kettering, Ohio), whose average age was 70. "They were a reminder that age doesn't have to matter in interactions," says manager Val McDaniel.
March-April 2005 Salesian 'sisters' meet at Farm Students from two high schools run by the Salesian Sisters (one in Haledon, N.J., and one in Marrero, La.got together for a week at the Farm as a way of getting to know each other in a common service experience.
March 2005 Spring break at the Farm One group at the Farm during the "madness" of March was Joe Grosek's alma mater, the College of St. Benedict/St. John's University. It was their first visit. Carrie Pohlmann (front row, left) and Steve Szczeck (back row, right) from St. Benedict/St. John's join students from other schools at a construction site. For a story about about 'Spring Madness at the Farm'
February 2005 Farm team adds third manager David Turner (right) joined Farm managers Mike Dorn (left) and Valerie McDaniel (center) in late January. In October 2004 David was a Farm volunteer with the group from Mount St. Mary's University, Emmitsburg, Md. He enjoyed the experience so much that he is dedicating a year to serving those in need in Lewis County.
January 2005 Flooding causes change of activity Flooding in Lewis County in January called for a change in the usual activities for volunteers from University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, Minn. Instead of working at Comprehend, the volunteers visited senior citizens at the Licking Valley Community Action Program. Here they sing a rousing chorus of "This Little Light of Mine."
For More Farm Happenings: 2004 For More Farm Happenings: 2002-03 For More Farm Happenings: 2000-01 To return to Farm home page.