Fairport Lodge 355 members [seated, left to right] TONY and DORA PERME, EDITH HERVATIN, WILMA KOVALY, HERMAN KAPEL, [middle row] FRANK SAJN, LOU REHO, NORENE POPELY, CHARLES KAPEL, IRENE KOVACH, LEE JACKOPIN, [back row] MATT ZALAR, JOE REHO, MARY ANN JACKOPIN, RUDY SCHUMER, JOHN KOVALY and JACK KOVACH gathered at the Fairport Slovenian Club for a member appreciation afternoon in October.

FAIRPORT HARBOR, Ohio — Oct. 11 was Fairport Lodge 355 Appreciation Day at the Fairport Slovenian Club. It was an open house event arranged from noon until 4 p.m. The objective of this event was to thank members for belonging to Lodge 355, the Brothers and Sisters who volunteered at the spring cleanup party at the Fairport Slovenian Club in May and the Lodge 355 picnic at the SNPJ Farm in August, those who attended Slovenian Heritage Day at the Captains baseball game in July, those who attended Lodge meetings in 2009, those who serve faithfully as Lodge officers, and those who help the Society in any way. We did so with a fraternal gathering during a Sunday football afternoon. Lodge 355 appreciates all the help offered by its members for the betterment of Fairport SNPJ Lodge 355 and SNPJ. Hvala lepa.

A half-sheet cake was decorated with “Appreciation 355 Members” and lots of balloons. The Slovenian picnic luncheon included klobase, hot dogs, baked beans, macaroni salad, pickles, potato chips and a variety of beverages.

There was a lot of talking and camaraderie. We met Tony and Dora Perme, who were from the former Conneaut Lodge 237 which merged with Lodge 355. The Permes saw their old friends, Tony and Carol Satej. Some watched the Cleveland Browns and Buffalo Bills football game. The Browns kicked a field goal in the second quarter to take a lead of 3 to 0, but most guests kept talking. We decided to take a group picture before our short meeting. After that, some people left for other activities. Buffalo kicked a field goal in the third quarter to tie the game.

It was good to see Stan and Poppy Modic, the only members who remembered to bring canned food for the Club’s Thanksgiving food basket. The football game got interesting as we began to think it would go into overtime. The suspense kept building as the fourth quarter went on. The Browns kicked a short field goal with only 23 seconds left in the fourth quarter, finally ending a 10-game losing streak. It was a true game of “foot ball.” Monday’s headline read “Ugly, but it’s a win.”

In contrast to the game, it was a wonderful afternoon of appreciating Lodge 355 members. Our Monday headline would have been “Appreciation Day a success for Fairport Lodge 355.” It was a chance to get together with members we haven’t seen for a while to talk and fraternize. Fairport Lodge 355 appreciates the Brothers and Sisters who participated in our many fraternal activities this year.

Lodge 355 encourages all members to take that first step and become involved in a future Lodge event, like our annual meeting and Christmas party scheduled Dec. 6. Na svidenje!