By STEPHANIE BEACH
In early February, Sandi Pyle and her family traveled to Traverse City to greet Jacqueline, a new exchange student from Austria who was going to live with them until June.
To add to the adventure and let the children have some fun, the family went tubing and boarding at Mt. Holiday. While there, they received a call that Jacqui was in Washington, D.C., because of the weather and would not be arriving as planned.
"Her new 'little sister' Abigail, 7 years old, collapsed on the floor when she heard her new friend was not coming that night, and we could not get her crying under control," Sandi wrote.
To cheer everyone up, their next stop was Don's Drive-In for shakes, burgers and fries. Abigail continued to be inconsolable, and everyone kept trying to calm her down so the young family seated at the next table could enjoy their meal.
"Since there were nine of us, we ran up a hefty bill of $72," Sandi wrote. "You can imagine our surprise when after (the young family) left, the manager came over and said our bill was taken care of. We were so surprised (and thrilled) that someone would do that for us that we still talk about it every day. We plan to 'pay it forward' and we want to thank our 'angels' for giving us a lift during a difficult time."
Sandi added that Jacqui arrived the next day and has been a great addition to their family.
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Traverse City Area Public Schools' Elementary Science Department would like to thank the Baa Baa Zuzu Company for donating bags of wool material to be used in their elementary science kits.
Baa Baa Zuzu was created in 1993 when co-owner Kevin Burns shrank his wife's favorite wool sweaters. Sue Burns creatively reworked the sweaters into funky garments for her two daughters and the word spread quickly. Now, Baa Baa Zuzu's recycled garments and accessories have been named one of Michigan's "Fifty New Businesses to Watch."
Kindergarten students used the "Observations with Senses" science kit along with the wool material donated by Baa Baa Zuzu to complete textured cards for the sense of touch. The second-grade "Weather and Sun Warms the Earth" kit incorporated the donated wool material with other materials children wear to test how long it takes water to saturate each material.
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The Father Fred Foundation extends a special tip o' the hat to the Ancient Order of Hibernians for sponsoring last weekend's Lucky Leprechaun Ball.
Special thanks to Doug Stanton, Charles Murphy, Ron Jolly and Rick Coates, Song of the Lakes, The Wild Sullys, auctioneers Mark and Greg Bancroft from Wayne Bancroft Auction Service, Dennis Taylor for the Irish trivia contest, event coordinator Mike Sullivan, Kilkenny's Irish Pub for hosting this year's event, and, of course, all who attended.
Stephanie Beach can be reached at sbeach@record-eagle.com.
