While Sunday dawned cloudy and cool and clouds persisted till late afternoon, the pesky Nebraska wind had finally subsided and we plugged away with preparations for a Fall Fun Day for our church family.

We had often hosted fall bonfires and the accompanying hot dog roast and S’more’s activity at the farm, but it had been several years since we had done so, obviously interrupted by COVID-19.

As the elders discussed activities, they could do with the church family outside of the church the light bulb went on and Hubby offered the farm for a Fall Fun Day. With that, another elder offered his wagon for a hayrack ride and since we still had small square straw bales in the shop to make it authentic the planning was on.

Games and food had to be part of the scheme, so we selected some oldies and some new goodies to have people try. We don’t own a cornhole game, but the church had one, and three others offered to bring theirs.

Our son-in-law has a Cadillac version of the ladder ball game complete with a wooden ladder frame and golf balls on strings to toss. It came home with us on the last trip to Lincoln.

We own a combination croquet and bocce ball set and a set of horseshoes that were drug out for the occasion.

A grant from a church fraternal organization allowed us to purchase signage and all the food and paper products we would need. We selected the traditional hot dog, chip, drink, and S’more menu and invited those attending to bring a salad or cookies and bars for dessert.

As the forecast called for cool weather, we urged people to bring their lawn chairs and blankets, or lap throws to keep warm both sitting around the bonfire or while on the hayrack ride.

We started about 4:30 p.m. and soon all the cornhole games were busy as was the ladder game and a few novices tried their hand at croquet. We also had a donut eating contest – with donuts tied on strings hanging from the clothesline. That proved to be a crowd-pleaser and we repeated it as more visitors arrived.

We had set up to bob for apples using some antique washtubs we had, but it was just a bit chilly to get splashed with water, so we shook the tubs and challenged some of the youngsters to grab the bobbing apples with one hand instead.

The sun finally appeared just as the first hayrack ride was announced. The hayrack made three trips throughout the evening on a route down to the neighbors to the south – who are also church members – and back to the farm. Our dog Reba even made the trip once but decided halfway through that she wanted to jump out and run back. So, three of us took turns holding her collar so she wouldn’t get out and then get lost in the dark.

For a few of the youngsters cooking hot dogs over an open fire was a new adventure and Reba was able to enjoy a treat as they were lost to the ground between the fire and the table in the garage where the buns and other food were set up. One hot dog even became an Old Testament burnt offering.

One of our church host families is hosting a cultural exchange student through Nov. 10 and she enjoyed the American treat of S’mores three times over. We also had a Lincoln native who is serving as a missionary in the Czech Republic attend and photos will be shared so she can share the story of American hot dog roasts at her church there.

So many blessings on Sunday’s crisp, cool evening as we were able to enjoy fun and fellowship and trade stories and devotion around the bonfire.