Category Archives: Newsletter

Happy February All,

Hope you are all doing okay with the cold and snow of late! I did see some hope. The day-lilies in front of our Community Center are beginning to break through the ground.

I’d like to introduce you to our 2025 slate of Executive Board Members:

President: Hoyt Zimmerman
Vice President: Carolyn Anderson
Treasurer: Pam Cray
Secretary: Linda Snyder
Member At Large: Kellsie Patten
Administrator: Clay Logan

We have been busy planning events for our center. There will be more about that as the time approaches. I would like you to mark your calendars for our Poor Man’s Dinner. That is scheduled for March 30th. I’ll have more to share about that in our next newsletter.

Our next Potluck is scheduled for Tuesday, February 18th at 6 pm, weather permitting. If it should have to be canceled, I will be sure to let you know on the Brasstown North Carolina Community Facebook site. Hopefully we will be able to get out and enjoy each other’s company. Please gather up your family and your favorite dish and join us at the Brasstown Community Center.

Our Brasstown Community Food Pantry is continuing to be well attended and Manna has been supplying us with large supplies of food and assorted dry good. We are so fortunate to have the support of Matt’s Ministry and the Clay County Food Pantry who are partnering with us! We certainly appreicate their generous support. I continue to be grateful beyond measure to our many volunteers. Some volunteers show up to every pantry ready to arrange food and greet our shoppers. If you are experiencing food insecurity, please plan to join us. This month our pantries are scheduled on Thursday, February 6th and February 20th.

A couple of months ago we had to change our hours of operation. Because the Manna warehouse was destroyed by Hurricane Helene, they were forced to find another warehouse. Unfortunately for us the warehouse is further from us. As a result the truck is getting to us later than it used to. For that reason we now open at 11:30 – 1:00.

I am excited to announce that we have a beautiful new playground set put together and ready to be enjoyed by our little ones. Stop by and see it on a nice day. It is behind our building. It was purchased and installed by grants from Walmart and Grannie’s Attic. We appreciate their generosity. We also appreciate the Executive Board Members who worked hard on this project.

We have also been able to acquire an updated sound system for our gymnasium. We are planning several other upgrades for our building. We will have to apply for grants from some generous organizations. I’ll share more about these projects as they become forthcoming.

While we all miss Charlie Allison, we have a new custodian at our center. George Ervey has joined us. As a result, the gymnasium will be open from 8am-12pm daily when it is not rented. Welcome George!!

Wishing you all a very Happy Valentine’s Day!

Your Brasstown Crier,
Linda Snyder Gibson

Thanksgiving Potluck
Here we are headed into our Holiday Season! This will be our last newsletter of the year. Of course we plan to have our Thanksgiving Community Dinner here on November 19th at Six PM. Once again our Center will be providing the turkey, stuffing, gravy, cranberry sauce, rolls and ham. Community Members are asked to bring the sides and desserts. This is usually our most attended event of the year. We hope to see everyone there. There will also be a brief annual business meeting.

Due to the all the personal commitments we have during this Holiday Season, we will have no Community Dinner in December. Enjoy your family and we will see you at our January 2025 Community Dinner on January 21, 2025 at Six PM.  Wishing each of you a most blessed Holiday Season and the happiest and healthiest of New Years!!

Food Pantries
We are pleased to inform you that we will once again be having a Food Pantry at our Community Center. Manna’s headquarter in Asheville was destroyed by Hurricane Helene. As a result of that our earlier Food Pantries of the month had to be canceled. Manna has a new facility and they are up and running. Our October pantry was held on Thursday, October 31st from 11Am-1PM. We had an abundance of food provided by Matt’s Ministry. We had 38 people attend and they selected food for 92 family members.

Our next Food Pantry hosted by Clay County Food Pantry is scheduled for Thursday November 14th from 11am-1pm. The second one of the month was on Thanksgiving Day. Matt’s Ministry, who will be hosting it, has been able to make arrangements that it be held one day earlier. It will be held on WEDNESDAY, November 27th from 11am-1pm,

In Memoriam
It is with a heavy heart that I share with you the passing of our custodian at the Brasstown Community Center. Charles “Charlie” Anthony Allison passed away on October 24th. As a result of his passing please note that the Community Center will remain closed. Due to issues we were experiencing at the center, it was only opened to the public from 8am-12 pm, when our Custodian was present. It will now remain closed until further notice. This in no way interferes with rentals. They will be conducted just as they had been in the past.

Hurricane Helene Victims
As we celebrate this season, please remember all the victims of Hurricane Helene. There are so many people in Western North Carolina who will be celebrating this Thanksgiving without their homes. I am grateful for all the people who have generously offered their assistance to these people who have lost so much. Please keep them in your prayers. Their lives have changed so drastically as a result of this storm.

May your holiday season be truly blessed!

Your Crier,
Linda Snyder

HAPPY FALL YA’LL!!

This is such a beautiful time here in the mountains and there is much happening about us. Hope you all get to enjoy the various festivities and events of this time of the year. The Fall Festival will be taking place on October 5th and 6th at the Folk School. The Pumpkin Chunkin sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce will be held the weekend of October 19th and 20th at 811 Settawig Road in Brasstown. Of course later in the month we will be having all those ghosts and ghouls visiting our homes!

Monthly Community Dinner

Our September Community Dinner was very well attended. We had over 60 folks joining us for dinner. The Folk School had a raffle to win two tickets for free admission to their Fall Festival, which were won by Alice Patterson. It was a most pleasant evening. My only complaint is that it seems to end too quickly.

This month our community dinner will be held on October 17th at 6:00 pm. Please pack up your family and your favorite dish or dessert and join us for a time of visiting and eating. Its always nice to see our friends and neighbors and enjoy the good food. Its at times like this that community means so very much to us!

Next month in lieu of our regular monthly community dinner, we will be having our Annual Thanksgiving Dinner,  November 19th, at 6:00 pm. The Community Center will supply the turkey, stuffing, gravy, ham and we are asking the community members to bring your favorite Thanksgiving sides or desserts. This event is usually well attended. Looking forward to this special dinner!!

In addition to all the food, we will also be holding our annual business meeting and will elect a slate of officers for the upcoming 2025 year. In addition we will select a winning ticket for this years beautiful quilt. (You do not have to be present to win). We hope to see you all there for a scrumptious dinner and pleasant evening visiting with your neighbors. As a group of people we have so very much to be thankful for!

Due to the vigor’s of the Holiday Season we will have no community dinner in December. Folks are usually very busy with their own Christmas Holiday!

Food Pantry

Our September Pantries were well attended. On September 5, 2024 we had our first monthly Pantry hosted by Matt’s Ministry. We had some 51 community members attend and they selected food for 120 family members. The following community members volunteered to assist in the pantry: Charlotte Majercik, Gary Majercik, Paulette Tonielli, Hoyt Zimmerman, Larry Shoeman, Maggie Butler, Bill Gibson, and Linda Snyder.

Our second one was held on September 19th and was hosted by the Clay County Food Pantry. This one was also very well attended. We had 48 people attend and they selected food for 104 family members. We had such a large and varied supply of food. Our new hours of operation worked out very well. Once again we had a great group of volunteers who made our pantry run like a well oiled machine. Thank you Barbara Harrington, Charlotte Majercik, Gary Majercik, Carolyn Anderson, Paulette Tonielli, Larry Shoeman, Mary Shelton, Sheila Crawford, Bill Gibson, Charlie Allison, Hoyt Zimmerman, and Linda Snyder.

Due to the recent hurricane, Manna’s warehouse in Asheville has been destroyed. Our Brasstown Food Pantries will be canceled until further notice.  In the meantime, those needing supplemental food are encouraged to go to the Clay County Food Pantry on Friday mornings or Matt’s Ministry on Saturday mornings.

Our Community has really been blessed beyond measure with Helena heading eastward. While we are well here, there are a number of sister communities which have been devastated. Please remember these people prayerfully and if you can help send needed items their way it would be most appreciated. Many churches and benevolent groups are collecting food in our area. If you aren’t aware of drop off locations, Little Brasstown Church is accepting donations to help these people in need.

Important Dates to Remember

Food Pantries: Information regarding these will be shared as received

October Community Dinner, October 15th 6:00 pm

Thanksgiving Community Dinner and Business Meeting, November 19th 6:00pm

Your Crier,
Linda Snyder

The nights are getting cooler with a hint of Fall in the air. Our children and grandchildren are headed back to school. Wishing everyone a most successful school year.

2024 Summer Concerts are over

We have recently concluded another year of our Summer Concert Series. It was a successful season which most community members who attended seemed to enjoy. On behalf of the Brasstown Community Center, I wish to thank all the individuals who volunteered to work in the kitchen preparing and selling food. We also appreciate those who volunteered to sell tickets to the concert and those who sold tickets for our quilt.

If you haven’t purchased your quilt tickets, they are available at Olive’s Porch in Murphy, The tickets cost $1.00 each or you can purchase 6 tickets for $5.00. It is a queen size quilt this year. The sale of these tickets is one of our primary sources of raising money to keep our center operational. The winner of this year’s quilt will be selected at our Annual Thanksgiving Dinner. You do not have to be present to win!

Pot Luck Dinner

Our August Pot Luck was well attended. We had over forty people in attendance. Food was tasty and delicious as always.

Our next pot luck is planned for September 17th at 6:00 pm (It is always held on the third Tuesday of the Month).  With school back in session and summer vacations over, we hope to see more community members attend our fall dinners. Pack up your family and your favorite side dish and join us for a delicious dinner together and a chance to visit with your neighbors!

Food Pantries

The food pantries continue to be well attended. Our August 8th Pantry hosted by Matt’s Ministry had 43 individuals attend. They selected food for 103 family members. The community showed up again to support this pantry. A special thanks to Bill Gibson, Charlotte Majercik, Gary Majercik, Hoyt Zimmerman, Carolyn Anderson, Sharon Hayden, Barbara Ciase, Robin Alessi, Maggie Butler, Larry Shoeman, Paulette Tonielli, and Joan Beccard who freely gave of their time to help this pantry run smoothly.

On August 22nd, the Clay County Food pantry hosted our second pantry of the month. Once again 42 individuals attended and selected food for 103 family members. The following individuals volunteered their time to help run the pantry: Charlotte Majercik, Gary Majercik, Carolyn Anderson, Barbara Harrington, Bill Gibson, Faith Snyder, Mike and Bonnie Franklin, Pat Raleigh, Barbara Ciase, and Susan Warner all participated.

Having so many kind volunteers really helps run the program smoothly and makes working the pantry a most enjoyable time for all. I so appreciate all the folks who help make this program the success it has become.

We will begin our second year of operating this program in September. I so appreciate Matt’s Ministry and the Clay County Food Pantry who have generously provided our community with Supplemental Food, I also sincerely appreciate all the community members who have volunteered and worked to make this program the success it has been.

Our September Pantries will be held from 11am-1pm on September 5th and September 19th. Please mark your calendars! Anyone experiencing food insecurity is encouraged to attend. We look forward to seeing you then. If you are aware of anyone who might benefit from this program, please let them know about our pantry and share the dates with them.

Enjoy the beauty of this area of the country as we move into the Fall of the Year!

Your Crier,
Linda Snyder

P.S. Should you know of anyone who might be interested in receiving a copy of our monthly newsletter, please have them send me their email address and I will gladly add them to our mailing.