Penngrove Station By Lyndi Brown - December 2018
“The average person can volunteer and change someone’s life. The life you end up changing is also yours. Ordinary people can make an extraordinary contribution.”
Earth McClelland, Penngrove
Hospice Volunteer of the Year 2018
Penngrove’s own Eartha McClelland was named Volunteer of the Year by Memorial Hospice for her work with Hospice of Petaluma. She has filled many roles with hospice since she began in 1997, doing everything from direct care to grief support. Eartha wants “to be of use to someone, to lighten the load of daily tasks for a family who could use a hand.” She recalled a time while her patient was napping, she thoroughly cleaned and polished the stove and fridge. It was a simple task but an impossible one for her client. The look of joy on her patient’s face was priceless.
Currently, Eartha leads a Holiday Grief Group at the Memorial Hospice office every Wednesday through December, from 6:00 to 7:00 pm. It is open to any community member to come in and touch base.
Eartha grew up in New York (never in the suburbs) and moved to Penngrove from San Francisco in 1987. She was amazed to experience a small town where neighbors still lived in the home they’d grown up in, after their parents had passed. Many had gone to high school together. “I went to the post office for stamps and was amazed when the postmaster said ‘your husband already bought stamps today’”.
Eartha also serves on the Board of Court Appointed Special Advocates in Sonoma County (CASA). “There are 65 kids waiting for volunteer advocates,” said Eartha. “We are ordinary people, appointed by the court to interface between the child and his/her parents, foster family, doctors, and caring professionals. It’s like being the hub of a wheel.” CASA volunteers humanize the juvenile court process. They get a full picture of the circumstance, and advise the judge. If you are curious, contact the CASA office before the end of the year at 565-6375 or go to sonomacasa.org.
The Nutcracker – December 7 & 8
Is there a Sugarplum Fairy in your heart this season? Get tickets to see The Nutcracker, presented by Contessi Ballet and Napa Valley Ballet at Spreckles Performing Arts Center on Friday, Dec. 7 at 7:00 pm and Saturday, December 8 at 2:00 pm. For tickets phone 588-3400 or search Brown Paper tickets for event 3742915. For more information and group discounts, call (707) 338-1013. The Contessi Ballet resides at Penngrove Station, as the non-profit North Bay Performing Arts Association. We congratulate Contessi on its 40th anniversary! The Association teaches ballet, pointe, Pas de Deux, core conditioning, tap and Jazz for all ages.
Holiday Parade of Lights – December 16
Bundle up, and come down to Main Street for the third annual Penngrove Holiday Parade of Lights on Sunday, December 16 from 6:00 PM to 7:00 PM. Penngrove Social Firemen offer the spectacle of glammed up tractor trailers, farm vehicles, and decorated farm tractors covered in lights. It’s not all farm equipment! Last year, North Bay Performing Arts Center’s Contessi Ballet dancers waved from their Cinderella Carriage float.
Local merchants will serve soup, pizza, hot cider street food to keep you warm. The parade stages in the Penngrove Park, 11800 Main St., and rolls up Main Street toward Adobe Rd. Watch out for the train. There is no entry fee for participants, who must register, and gather an hour early at the park. To join the parade, go to JavAmore Café or contact Kim for your entry form at 794-1516 or email mrsjjava@hotmail.com.
