Pastor Lester Harper is a member of the Board of Directors of the Reilly Springs Community Center where a community Easter Egg Hunt is planned on Saturday March 24 starting at 2pm. Children through age 10 are invited to hunt for eggs and take home nice prizes like bicycles, prize baskets, guitar lessons and more. The hunts will take place on the grounds of the one-time schoolhouse, the Reilly Springs Community Center building at 109 CR 1439. One hunt will be for small children up to age 5, plus another for the older set. The four boys and girls who gather the most eggs will be eligible to win bicycles. Inside the community center, the kitchen will offer hot dogs, cold drinks and other concessions.
Harper, who is pastor of the Reilly Springs Baptist Church, says that more people need to find out what a lovely and charming community Reilly Springs is. It’s a place of pride that past generations built and used. That pride is reflected in the graceful old tree-lined community center building as well as the large brick-fenced cemetery across the lane. The former Reilly Springs Methodist Church building is now privately owned; however the original sanctuary has been preserved for use by the community for funerals and memorial day services. And just across the way, the remodeled Reilly Springs Baptist Church is now experiencing a growth in families with children. Harper’s congregation numbers about 50 persons. Three services are held there weekly: on Sundays for 10am Sunday School and 11am worship services, and for the 6pm Sunday Night Bible Study. There is also a Wednesday evening service at 7pm. Frequently, Friday night studies are held in members’ homes which feature Harper’s guitar talents and singing of Christian music. All four buildings that make up the community are in sight of each other and in easy walking distance.
Besides the March 24 Easter Egg Hunts, other fundraisers are being planned to benefit the community center. The next one is a two-part fundraiser on Saturday April 21 with a hot dog sale at Atwoods during noon followed by a Fish Fry that evening during the Jack Phillips Western Swing Roundup at the Reilly Springs Jamboree. Also held in the community center since 1956, the Reilly Springs Jamboree is a country/gospel show staged on the third-Saturday night of each month. Future shows will be: Shanna Carter and Walk the Line on May 19, Scatterproof’s Hanah and Haillee on June 16, and Monty Tipps and Main Street on July 21. A special concert will be staged on Friday May 25 at 7pm, with the Blackwood Quartet:85th Anniversary Year Tour and special guests Josh Davis and Buddy and Ina Gore. For information on Jamboree shows, contact Enola Gay at 903-438-3568.
