Deadline for the January/February Newsletter is Friday December 20th
From the Mayor
By: Gary Griffith 740.768.2632
Happy Fall everyone! With fall here means the leaves have turned, displaying their beautiful colors. One of the many reasons the Bergholz area is so beautiful at this time of year!
With the first of December coming up the village will have the final step of the long journey to secure the funding for the first street paving project with CBDG funds. Once the final step is secured, the Village can temporarily fix the road for the winter months! Nothing was allowed to be done as per orders from the people administering the grant, so observers, if summoned, could see the roads deteriorating condition. We were warned that if we did anything that this could jeopardize us getting the grant money. Then when the 2025 construction season starts, the bid will be awarded to the successful bidder. Thank You to everyone for your patience in this long-drawn-out process.
The Village has been working with Quicksell and Associates of New Philadelphia, Ohio to obtain State funds for the paving of 3rd Street and all the connectors to 2nd street. This will be for 2025 if we can secure the amount of money requested.
Thank You to Chad Hazelip for doing what you do to keep the grass and weeds cut around the Village, plus keeping any unwanted trash picked up and disposed of.
As always if you have fall cleanup leaves, flowers, etc. please place the bagged items out by the street and they will be picked up the first part of each week. If it’s missed, please get ahold of myself or call the Village Office at 740-768-2200 and let us know. Thank you to everyone for doing your part to keep our Village cleaned up and looking respectful for everyone.
With Thanksgiving being November 28th, this means that the Village light up night will be the following Sunday December 1st, 2024 at 7:00pm at the Village parking lot at 2nd and Jefferson Streets.
From all the Village Officials I want to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving, Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year! May everyone enjoy the holiday season with your family and friends!
As always, I want to Thank all residents, both past and present, for doing what you do to make the Berg the envy of the Valley!
Gary Griffith
Mayor
Library of Steubenville and Jefferson County
By: Jennifer Cesta
740.282.9782
BOOKMOBILE SCHEDULE
Thursdays
November 21st
December 12th
Grammy’s Diner Amsterdam: 10am-11am
Bergholz Fire Hall: 11am-12:00pm
Red Dog Road Home Delivery: 12:15pm
Contact the Library to learn about our Book Club dates and current titles
Bergholz Community Foundation
By: Nikki Klein
Meghan Crow has decided to retire from her position as a trustee for the foundation. She has been a faithful and dedicated trustee for 6 years. Meghan was the Vice President for 1 year and chaired the scholarship committee for 4 years. The foundation has been blessed to have her as a trustee over these last 6 years. We are thankful for all her hard work and her time that she has dedicated to the foundation. Meghan, we will all miss you!
Reminders: Mallory sees patients on Mondays in Bergholz. Call 740-768-1001 on Mondays to make appointments. If it’s any other day of the week, please call the Canton office at 330-956-5236.
UPDATE: Insight Clinical Counseling is in the Bergholz office on Fridays, and every other Saturday. Call 330-397-6007 to schedule an appointment.
WEBA Food Pantry
By: Ann Wiley 740.543.3972
At the monthly board meeting held on Tuesday, October 8, 2024, it was brought to the attention of the board that clients are coming to the pantry at 4am to wait for the doors to open at 10am. People are parking erratically behind the pantry making it almost impossible for the volunteers to get food and meat downstairs for dispensing.
Why are you coming at 4am to sit in your car, wasting gasoline to stay warm, drinking coffee, then needing a restroom? There is NO PUBLIC restroom at the pantry. It was reported that some people are using the cover of a tree. HOW GROSS CAN YOU BE???
Stay at home and come at a decent hour. You will get no more food by arriving at 4am than you will at 10am. You will get no less food if you arrive at 11am or noon.
The doors of the pantry will open at 10 am for distribution of food. The elderly and those with a disability (canes, walkers) will come through the line first. Diabetes does not constitute jumping ahead of the line. Ingrown toenail does not constitute jumping ahead of the line.
Don’t forget your ID card when you come for food. NO CARD. NO FOOD.
Reminder: be sure and check your pass out schedule for November and December dates. The dates will change by one week because of the respective holidays. (Thanksgiving and Christmas
East Springfield Community Recreation & Service Center
By: Sue Call 740.543.3700
Our Community Center small building is now a polling place for the Jefferson County Board of Elections. On Election Day, Tuesday, November 5th, coffee, juice, and donuts will be available in the large building…free or by donation.
We will host an Indoor Yard Sale November 7th, 8th, & 9th. 9:00 am to ???. The Kitchen will be open with pulled pork sandwiches, soups, cabbage rolls, drinks.
Thank you to everyone who supported our monthly dinners. We will take a break until Spring of 2025.
Everyone, young and old had a great time at the Halloween Party. We will share more details in the next newsletter.
Check social media or flyers posted in the community for details of all Center activities. The Center is available to rent. Please contact me for prices and availability.
East Springfield Christ UMC
By: Nicki Tennant 740.543.3002
We started November with All Saint’s Sunday to remember people of our church and community who have passed. It was a special time in our worship service.
The Wednesday 6:30pm Bible Study group is finalizing the study of The Hidden Power of Prayer and Fasting by Mahesh Chavda. Although we are constantly called to pray and fast throughout the Bible, we have discovered that most Christians have stopped the fasting part. This study is teaching us and reminding us why we fast, and the power that can be released by a praying and fasting church. We will start an advent study when we complete our current study. Anyone in the community who wants to join us is welcome.
The Adult Sunday School Class is finishing the fall quarter with stories from the books of Daniel and Jonah with a focus on being faithful servants of God. Our winter quarter will include lessons of healing and restoration in Christ.
Christ UMC will host a community Thanksgiving Service on Sunday, November 24th at 6:30pm and Christmas Eve Service Tuesday, December 24th at 6:30 pm. Please join us for both of these services.
In December we will assemble and deliver cookie trays to the more than twenty businesses in the East Springfield Community. On Saturday, December 14th we will once again participate in the Wreaths Across America program.
We are collecting items for our Mitten Tree. Mittens, gloves, scarves, hats, and socks will be donated to the Urban Mission, John Gregg
Elementary, and the Friendship Room in Downtown Steubenville. We continue to collect non-food items for WEBA. We donated $450.00 to the Urban Mission for their Annual Fall Coat Distribution.
Please stop at our Little Free Library and borrow a book or two. It is located along the sidewalk in front of the church.
We want to wish each and every one of you a Happy Thanksgiving, Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year. If you are looking for a home church, or just want to stop in for a visit, Sunday School is at 9:45am and Morning Worship at 11:00. Please come and join us. You will be welcomed!
The voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the LORD; Make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Isaiah 40:3 New King James Version
Faith Community Church
By: Chad Thompson 740.768.2835 / 740.512.3238
Hello to all of our Bergholz family and community. Can you believe this year is already on its way to the finish line? This year has gone by so quickly, but it has also been filled with blessings here at Bergholz Faith Community Church. Not only did 2024 bring us new families and friends to love and serve, but it also brought some new ministries; Among those is our monthly children’s ministry “Jesus and Me”. This takes place the first Wednesday of each month at 5pm. We also have our Fearless Faith Tween group (Wed. 5-6:30) and Blaze Youth (6:30-8:00). Also, if you or a family member could benefit from it, there is AA at 6:30 on Thursdays.
We just finished our first Gospel Fest which was a huge success! Several area worship teams came and joined us for a fun and exciting evening of ecumenical worship. We are so thankful for their willingness to work as a United family as well as all of you who came out and showed support. It was SUCH a blessed and fun night for all, that we
HAVE to and look forward to doing it again in the future! We are preparing for our 7th annual Holy-ween and Trunk or Treat which takes place Oct 26 at 1:30-3:30. Beginning in November we will be collecting hats, gloves, and socks for people in need. After that we will be preparing to give thanks to our Great God and celebrating the birth of our Wonderful Savior! We hope you will join us to worship Christ, fellowship, and make new & wonderful memories that come with the Christmas season together.
Please be sure to continue to check the Facebook page for the upcoming Christmas ministry opportunities as well as fun fellowship events for everyone. It is also the place to get all up-to-date information for our latest studies. I hope and pray that you have a wonderful and blessed Thanksgiving and a beautiful Christmas full of love, joy, peace and Jesus Christ! Please remember no matter how you spend these holidays, KNOW that you are loved, welcomed, and prayed for by us at Bergholz Faith Community Church.
As we spend time with our families, please remember the chance to join the Faith Community Family is always there for you anytime. While filling our bellies with our favorite foods, wrapping and unwrapping presents,
let us not forget that EVERY Good and Perfect gift we give and receive, comes from our Heavenly Father. Let’s work together to leave 2024 with joy in our heart as 2025 brings us yet another new beginning. A chance to be the person God wants us to be and the opportunity to be His hands and feet in this world that truly needs to see God working. That is my prayer for all of us; that we take the gift of serving God and use that gift to help and serve His people that He loves so much.
For any upcoming events/info Please check us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/fellowshipwithfaith
See you Sunday @ 10:45am
Please know that we are praying for you and if you need us or have any questions call anytime 740-768-2835
Happy Thanksgiving & Merry Christmas!
Something to Think About
By: Dave Miller
As I write my column for this issue of the Bergholz Foundation Newsletter, the anticipation of Christmas “is in the air” even though it is still two months to December 25th. I wouldn’t be surprised to find children are making “want” lists. Though they don’t have Sears catalogs to look at as ours did, I note that there are ads on Facebook for Christmas cookies, and menus for Christmas dinner are being planned. As a preacher, I’m planning my preaching schedule for the Advent and Christmas Season. One of the joys to me is the music of the Season.
I love the old Christmas carols that we sing only at this time of the year. They are so beautiful and inspiring that sometime I believe we ought to sing them at other times in Church. Perhaps the most familiar of the carols is “Silent Night, Holy Night.” It was written in 1816 by a young priest named Joseph Mohr. Interestingly, it is noted that the first time it was sung, it was sung accompanied by Franz Gruber on a guitar because the organ in the church was broken.
There is a legend that on Christmas Eve 1914 in the time of World War I, the armies halted war and each nation sang the carol in their native language. Some say the truce lasted until the evening of Christmas Day. Space permits me to include only the first verse. “Silent night, holy night, All is calm, all is bright, Round yon Virgin, Mother and Child, Holy Infant so tender and mild, Sleep in heavenly peace, Sleep in heavenly peace.”
Another carol that I love is “O Little Town of Bethlehem.” It was written in 1868 by Phillip Brooks, a clergyman in Boston, MA. He was a graduate of Harvard University at age 20, and would spend some years as a minister on the Harvard Campus. The carol is based on an Old Testament prophecy in the book of Micah where in Chapter 5 verse 2 he says that there will eventually be a Special Birth in the Village of Bethlehem. Bethlehem means “House of Bread.” We read in the Gospel of John that Jesus called Himself “the Bread of Life.” It was the birthplace of the Shepherd King David. Verse two reads,
“For Christ is born of Mary, and gathered all above. While mortals sleep the angels keep their watch of wondering love., Morning stars together, proclaim the holy birth and praises sing to God the king, and peace to men on earth.”
Bergholz Fellowship /Chestnut Ridge Churches
By: Pastor Lee Iden
330.894.2389/330.614.4395
In the Lord’s Word, in the book of Joshua, chapter 1, verses 6 through 8, God told the Israelites, to “Be strong and courageous for you will distribute the land that I swore to their fathers to give them as an inheritance. 7, Above all, be strong and very courageous to observe carefully the whole instructions My servant Moses commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right or to the left so that you will have success wherever you go. 8, This book of instructions must not depart from your mouth, you are to meditate on it day and night so that you may carefully observe everything written in it for then you will prosper and succeed in whatever you do.” May God bless the reading and the hearing of His Holy Word! AMEN!
We as the people of the 21st century have neglected this. We do NOT meditate on His Word day and night! We do NOT observe carefully the Words that God gave His servant Moses! We DO turn to both the right and the left to get AWAY from His Word! And I believe that this is ONE reason why we as a nation are in trouble. We have strayed too far from what our founding fathers wanted for us! In 1984, I believe, Ronald Reagan spoke these words, “If we ever forget that we are one nation under God, then we will be a nation gone under.” If we are not there yet, then we are running pell-mell towards that day!
The good news is that all is not lost…yet. God is still in control and He has promised to never leave us nor forsake us! And that includes US! Even the U.S. of A.! But we MUST repent and seek His face! When we do that, He will hear from heaven, forgive our sins and heal our land! But we MUST do this quickly! The time for procrastination is OVER! The end of days may be here sooner rather than later. I’m not predicting any time frame for no man knoweth the day or the hour, but I also think that most people think the time MAY be near!
I’ll get out of the pulpit now and tell you that we at Chestnut Ridge Church, (CRC) had a pretty successful yard sale/ bake sale / time of social gathering at the Bergholz Fellowship church, (BFC)! We raised some needed funds for CRC, had a GREAT time of fellowship and even enjoyed the day! Thanks to all who came by to find that much sought after bargain that you just COULDN’T live without! We appreciate your participation and your donations!
Also, at CRC on September 29th, for our Homecoming celebration, Mark Allen Chapman came and gifted us with his BEAUTIFUL gospel music! We had a GREAT day and if you missed it, I’m truly sorry, it was a perfect day! Good music, good food, good fellowship!
If you don’t have a home church, we meet at 11:00 every Sunday, even months at Bergholz Fellowship and odd months at Chestnut Ridge Church. COME join our family!
Shalom
Pastor Lee
The Oxen
By Thomas Hardy
Christmas Eve, and twelve of the clock.
“Now they are all on their knees,”
An elder said as we sat in a flock
By the embers in hearthside ease.
We pictured the meek mild creatures where
They dwelt in their strawy pen,
Nor did it occur to one of us there
To doubt they were kneeling then.
So fair a fancy few would weave
In these years! Yet, I feel,
If someone said on Christmas Eve,
“Come; see the oxen kneel,
“In the lonely barton by yonder coomb
Our childhood used to know,”
I should go with him in the gloom,
Hoping it might be so.
Mooretown Monument
By: Virginia Boyd Glenn
740.768.2365
We finally got a website up and running for the Mooretown Civil War Monument and the Yellow Creek area. Visit yellowcreekmonument.com. Our web manager, James Rearsdon Sr., at Better Member Services, did a really good job on the site. He even had his son, James Jr. who is a photographer, bring a drone and take pictures up and down Yellow Creek. I can tell you that it was a very interesting and fun afternoon.
We have had a lot of comments about how good the monument looks, especially about the front yard and new wood fence. We are glad we decided to fill in the yard and to use wood instead of vinyl fence. The wood just fits the whole scene.
I have been invited to be a guest author for the Jefferson County Genealogical Society on November 9th at the John M. Abdalla Municipal Building. From 10am until 2 in the afternoon in Stratton, Ohio. There will be 17 authors from around the area who have reprinted or are publishing nonfiction books. I will be promoting the Mooretown Civil War Monument along with our reprint of Doc Schilling’s Yellow Creek books, Tales and Stories of Yellow Creek.
Also, the book I am working on now and hope to have published by late winter, Follow the Yellow CRICK Road. I am still taking family histories for this book so there is still time to let me know if you want your family stories in the book. We also will talk about our reprint of the Morgan’s Raid book on the 9th, The Last Night and The Last Day, and another book we want to reprint, I Walked the Footsteps of MY Fathers. This book was written by Helen York Rose who claims First Families of Ohio Status as well as having Indian heritage from Wyandotte and Lennepe bloodlines from here in Ohio. This book, published in 1989, is about the two Castleman Sisters who were kidnapped near Toronto, Ohio and brought up through the Yellow Creek to Sandusky.
I became interested in the Castleman story when we read Doc Schilling’s books to our kids when they were young. When the girls were rescued several years later, they both married and settled here on Yellow Creek. The oldest sister, Mary and her husband, ran the Oxbow Tavern on what is now the Swartz property in Knox Township. The younger sister, Margaret and her husband ran the United States Inn and Tavern located at Brimstone Hollow, here in Ross Twp. There is more about the Castleman girls in chapter nine coming in the new book. There will also be soup and sandwiches at the author “meet and greet”, available by the Stratton Fire Dept. as a fundraiser. If you haven’t seen the monument, come and see it. Join us in November when we promote our love for Yellow Creek and its history. Come and have lunch and meet these authors, who will be signing their books on November 9th.
November Holidays
1 – All Saints Day
3 – Daylight Saving Time Ends
5 – Election Day
11- Veteran’s Day
24 – Christ the King Sunday
28 – Thanksgiving Day
December Holidays
1 – Bergholz Light Up Night
1 – Advent Begins
7 – Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day
14 – Wreaths Across America
21 – First Day of Winter
24 – Christmas Eve
25 – Christmas
25 – Hanukkah Begins
31 – New Year’s Eve
Thanksgiving Feasting
By Joanna Fuchs
When the Halloween pumpkins are gone,
And the leaves have all fallen to ground,
When the air has turned windy and cold,
Then Thanksgiving will soon be around.
Thoughts of loved ones all feasting together,
Pleasant pictures from past times appear
To dwell in each heart and each mind–
Then Thanksgiving is finally here!
The kitchen has scrumptious aromas,
The dining room looks oh, so fine,
Decorations with pilgrims and turkeys,
And now we are ready to dine!
First the napkins are placed on our laps;
Now the prayer for the meal to be blessed,
Then we stuff the good food in our tummies,
And we hope for it all to digest!
