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GEORGE — A George-and-Martha-Washington-themed cake, bluegrass band

and kids carnival helped draw more than 150 people to the George

President’s Day celebration.

The George Community Hall, Georgettes service club and George

parent volunteer committee hosted the celebration, a regular event

since the late 1950s.

“It’s just a nice day to get together with the neighbors and talk,”

says Debby Kooy, facility and events manager at the George

Community Hall. “The George VFW did a color guard presentation and

13-year-old Sydney Schaapman, from Quincy, sang the national

anthem.”

Live bluegrass music by Gear Jammers, raffle and silent auctions,

as well as a kids winter carnival were part of the celebration.

Cutting the massive cake created by the Georgettes was a major

event, as it required several hours to create the confection, which

used 18 cake mixes and 28 pounds of powdered sugar.

“I

was here for six hours decorating on Saturday,” said Jeannie Kiehn,

a Georgettes member and cake decorator.

“We’ve cakes with Mount Vernon. Last year we had George Washington

with his horse. One year we did a ‘from George Washington to George

Bush’ cake, the space shuttle and more than I can remember,” says

Georgettes member Marylou Krautscheid.

“It’s patriotic and it’s about a sense of community,” says Yvonne

Boon, who has helped with the event as a Georgette for the past

three years.

Kooy said that this year’s cake, which required six 16-inch pans to

create, was a little smaller than in years past.

For more information, visit www.georgecoffeehouse.com.