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Page 20 O THE BEACON December 2017 ur Communities MANCHESTER By Leona Houchens Community Correspondent [email protected] The leader Carolyn Leming leads the polka: AURORA By Fred Schmits Community Correspondent [email protected] HI NEIGHBORS!! Friends and neighbors at the “gossip filtration sta- tion” have discussed many times the good things Aurora residents have done. This very topic was certainly discussed in length when Bob Linkmeyer mentioned the “KITCHEN BAND!” Bob was a musician of some importance in the day and played with many others such as John Leming. John’s wife, Carolyn Leming, directs this band. In 2016 a successor to a previous “Kitchen Band” was formed with the mission to bring joy to others through music. Original members of the band were Janet Baer, Gwen Miller, Polly Raker, Jean Miller, and Alice Schul- er. Other members are Betty Ashcraft, Carolyn Brown, Sharon Bovard, Channie Smith, Hazel Huffner, Mary Lou Sloan, Nesa Lambert, Mary Dunn, and of course, Carolyn Lemming. They are neighbors from Aurora, Lawrenceburg, and Rising Sun. Their ages (not men- tioned to embarrass anyone) range from 67 to 91!! Since very few of the members had musical instruments, they use “kitchen instruments.” Thus the name KITCHEN BAND. The sounds are unique but The “Chicken Dance” is a crowd favorite especially when Jane Baer puts on her “chicken headdress.” still musical as the ladies play them to familiar melodies. Items such as a washboard strummed with thimbles, bean-filled plastic jars shaken for percussion, pan lids struck for cymbals, spoons, an accor- dion, and a keyboard are used to provide music. The director is making a bass instrument using a tub, broomstick and fishing wire! The Kitchen Band plays at nursing homes around the area, churches, alumni dinners, historical society meetings, and more. Carolyn stated, “They can do twenty- five songs. Polka songs are favorites, and audiences go wild over ROCKY TOP.” The band has a unique way of being introduced when they play. A puppet named “GRANDMA” introduces them. One day recently after the members ate an evening meal they departed in their autos. One member called out in the parking lot, “Did we get Grandma?” Someone answered, “She’s probably in the trunk,” and drove away. The friends at the restaurant mentioned at the next visit that the band members were going to have to be care- ful how they talked about “Grandma!” Well, that’s it except that anyone interested in joining is welcome. Just contact one of the members. This column comes to you from Spartanburg, South Carolina as I travel back from a reunion weekend with some dear childhood friends of forty-five plus years. It was a thirty-hour chatting marathon as we caught up on the last five years o