Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Church group mails care packages to Iraq

Those in Iraq are not forgotten in Gurdon; at least not the members of National Guard Major Robert McGill's 39th Support Battalion.

The First United Methodist Church has been sending items to all 600 men and women in that Battalion since July and some before. McGill, son of Bob and Francis McGill, is the Gurdon connection.

On Tuesday, the November allotment was mailed. Pastor Rusty Jones said it was either eight or nine packages, ranging from 15-60 pounds. The postage to Iraq alone is between $200-$300, according to Cindy Loe, postal worker.

Jones said people out in the community have helped, as well as members of Beech Street Baptist and the First Baptist Church. He said other churches and employees at City Hall have also contributed.

Peggy Hargrave and Dodie Blanton are the chairpersons for missions at the Methodist Church. They said efforts to help the Battalion were gearing up as early as May.

Blanton said, "We have been doing all we can to send hard-to-get items. One month we sent socks. Then we sent telephone cards. Another was pens and stationary. We've sent Crystal Lite, toothbrushes, toothpaste and snacks twice already.

"This time we sent hot chocolate, microwave popcorn and peppermint."

The missionary chairpersons say they will continue to send supplies to the group on an indefinite basis. The battalion is stationed at Camp Cook in Iraq.

Hargrave said, "We have received about a half of a dozen letters of appreciation, plus emails. Robert McGill, actually from Okolona, keeps in touch. He does our distribution for us."

Blanton said the 60 minute ATM cards they sent could only call the United States around 6-8 minutes "so our soldiers just used them for something really special, like telling their family they were on the way home."

Hargrave said she and Blanton got the ideas for their items to send off of C-SPAN, as there was a broadcast about how soldiers were having a hard time getting some basic things.