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The all new Shafer Days was last weekend. If you attended, you could definitely sense the changes. Shafer Days has always been a good time, but this year was packed with many more events for the public to attend. Other than the rain on Friday night, the weather cooperated. I spent a couple of hours in Shafer on Saturday and it seemed to me like people were really having a good time. Thanks to the good people of Shafer for putting in the extra hours to make this year's Shafer Days one of the very best.

There are a couple of opportunities this week for some really great food and good times to be had. This Friday, the Chisago Lakes Wildcat boys basketball team will host its annual spaghetti dinner. You can eat all the spaghetti, salad, bread and brownies you like as the boys teams cook and serve you. The dinner starts at the high school at 4:30 p.m. and runs up until just before the start of the football game. They have had a great turnout in the past, and this year should also be well attended.

Your second chance at a great meal for a good cause is the Chisago Lakes Lions pancake and french toast breakfast. Speaking as someone who over the years has eaten hundreds of Lions pancakes, this is a great meal. The breakfast will be held Sunday morning beginning at 8 a.m. and runs until 1 p.m. Not only will you get pancakes and french toast, you will be offered sausage, eggs, coffee, milk and juice. The cost is $7 for adults and $3.50 for children.

Please remember the Kids Outerwear Fair that is currently taking place at Trinity Lutheran Church in Lindstrom. They are accepting good condition coats, hats, mittens, scarves, snow pants and blankets. The donations are being accepted October 1-15. This is a wonderful cause and I would like to thank the good folks for taking this task on. Most parents if they are like us, have a coat or two that their youngster has outgrown. What better way to clear your clutter. If you have any questions, you can call Chris at 257-5681 or Bonnie at 257-6822.

I had circled last weekend on my calendar for months. It was the date for my 20 year class reunion. Circled out of fear, anxiety, excitement and any other feelings you can imagine. I have never attended any of our reunions in the past and I had no idea what to expect. On top of that, for the past month the only conversations I can recall dealt with nothing more than reunion apparel. If you know me, you know how much I like to shop (which is a close second to talking about clothing).

The reunion was held at Forest Hills in Forest Lake. We probably had around a hundred or so attendees, so about 50 classmates, which is pretty good I think.

I was certain there was going to be someone there who was going to throw me under the bus for something stupid I did (God knows there is a list a mile long.) back in high school. There was no mudslinging as far as I could tell, just a lot of old classmates having a really good time. I really can't believe it has been 20 years already. Looking at classmates' faces, it seems like it was yesterday.

The Gridiron Club wanted me to let you know that they are again having a Wildcat football tailgating party tomorrow. Just like last week, they will be serving hot dogs and brats along with refreshments from 5 to 6:45 p.m. There will be cheerleaders on hand getting the crowd ready for the game. Last week around 150 people attended and they would like that number to increase this week. Come on out, have some food and watch the Wildcats stick it to St. Francis.

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