The Winfield Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors has appointed a nominating committee to fill four positions for three-year terms coming open in 2009. Serving on the committee are Patty Shupp, Linda Chirikos, John Czech, Matt Suddarth, Angel Oakley and Kathe Doremus. Chamber members will vote for the selected officers at a candidates night at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 18. New officers will be installed at the annual inaugural dinner in January.

What do you do when you are president of a club with a large membership and your guest speaker cancels at the last minute? This was the dilemma faced by Patti Ryan, president of the Winfield Area Gardeners, at the Oct. 7 meeting. Ryan met the challenge head on. It was a dark and rainy night, with all the members settled in, as she announced the planned guest speaker on ornamental grasses had canceled.

St. John’s parish will dish up its annual chili cook-off Saturday, Nov. 1, in Sebahar  Hall, after the 5 p.m. Mass. Anyone who has a great chili recipe is encouraged to participate.

In observance of Constitution Day, Sept. 17, Young at Hearts presented a Flag Day luncheon.

On Sept. 17, 1787, the Constitution was signed by the U.S. Constitutional Convention. Originally, the observance started out as Citizenship Day, under a bill signed by President Harry Truman.

Two new contests featured in the recent 40th anniversary Good Old Days — Shopping Cart Races and Armchair Quarterback Passing — attracted a number of contestants and likely will be added to future festival lineups.

This fall, the Winfield Public Library joins the Warrenville and West Chicago libraries to create a six-week “Reading Together 2008” celebration. The whole family is invited to participate in book discussions and special programs centered on Mexican-American culture.
 

The party’s over, but it was a sensational and fun 40th anniversary Good Old Days celebration from Sept. 4 to 7, probably because the monthly sessions devoted to careful planning were attended by a majority of the participants.

That Friday morning, the meaning of Good Old Days sounded loud and clear to Winfield Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Rich Bysina. He overheard children’s voices and looked out his office door to see a father walking with two children south on Beecher Street toward Winfield Elementary School. The little girl was actually jumping into the air and pointing south on Church Street to where the giant slide and Ferris wheel were located, obviously making some comment to her dad.

“And that’s what Good Old Days is all about,” Bysina said to himself.
 

Winfield Community United Methodist Church is in urgent need of Sunday school teachers and nursery care providers for one Sunday per month for the coming year.

Until Sunday, Oct. 5, church members will collect presents to fill shoe boxes for children who normally do not receive gifts. Suggested are small toys, toiletries, socks and other items that fit inside the box.
 

It’s party time. A few things need some fine tuning, but basically the schedule of events is well planned for the 40th annual Good Old Days festival Thursday through Sunday, Sept. 4 to 7, in downtown Winfield.

Sometimes it is difficult for Winfield residents to make it over to the Chamber of Commerce’s farmers market Wednesdays, or they simply run out of time.

A new service brings the market to the shoppers. The chamber will take fresh produce orders by e-mail for items from Illinois and Michigan farmers.

The Winfield Community United Methodist Church grounds have seen a lot of improvement thanks to church members who came out for a work day sponsored by the trustees. They were cutting, pruning, trimming and weeding. But it wasn’t all work. They took time out to enjoy donated ice cream and homemade cobbler, courtesy of Boy Scout Troop 35.
 

Since Gloria’s Gourmet Meats became a new vendor, the farmers market is truly a one-stop shopping area.

Winfield Area Gardeners members met for the first time at the gazebo at Creekside Park.

Mary Russell of Mary’s Contrary brought several unusual and underused perennial plants, which she passed around so members could touch the leaves and enjoy the fragrance.
 

St. John’s Knights of Columbus recently hosted its annual volunteer appreciation dinner following a 5 p.m. Saturday Mass. The luau-themed event drew more than 185 people.

A new vendor opened at the Farmer's Market on a rainy morning.

Ka Ching sells a blend of four flavor juices in a four-pack holder as part of the Winfield Chamber’s Farmer's Market open from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Wednesday in the Prairie Trail shopping mall at County Farm and Geneva roads.