The Order Of The Friendly Sons Of The Shillelagh

With a major snowfall predicted for the weekend it has  been decided to postpone Pub Nite until Friday, February 26.

Didn't think it was possible to go any greener... think again. Cutting back on our printing and mailing needs was just the first step. Now we've focused on our electrical consumption. Each night on leaving the club the last person exiting the facility must turn off lights, tvs and video games etc. More often than not this fails to be fully completed. With switches,outlets and remotes in various locations in the building,something is always left on. This means we are consuming electricity we do not need but will nonetheless see reflected in our electricity bill and bank account. It's a constant and pointless drain on the electric grid and our bank account.

Now we've found a way to reduce this needless waste with the installation of the GreenSwitch. This is a device that ties a designated set of appliances and outlets to a single switch, the GreenSwitch. So all we have to do is hit one switch to shut off all of these devices on exiting the building... of course, you do have to hit the switch.

So if you're the last man out.... HIT THE SWITCH... or Larry McGrath and Walter Farrell will find you... and I bet we could sell tickets to see what happens next.

For More informaton on the GreenSwitch at the club see a letter from Rob McKiernan

Congrats to Chad Hobbs and his lovely wife Jackie who gave birth to a baby boy yesterday. 

Roy Hobbs (attach lightning bolt if you like)
8 lbs. 6 ounces and 20.5 inches long

All are doing well.

Jets are in the playoffs so we've moved Saturday Night Live to the 23rd. This weekend is Jets Weekend. So put on your Jets gear and come on down... Chargers fans are welcome... grief councellors will be on hand all weekend. Yes, we are that warm and fuzzy at the FSOS. Nahhhh, we don't care about your pain.

GO JETS

Childrens Christmas Party organized by Barney Shannon
Photo sent in by Tom Esser.

Congrats to all our members celebrating anniversaries... somebody deserves a beer.

20 Years with the FSOS

James Lundy

15 Years with the FSOS

Michael O'Brien

10 Years with the FSOS

John Casey
Christopher Donnelly
Frederick Fenning
Richard Gahan
John McKenna
Neal McNamara
Elwood Steele

5 Years with the FSOS

Robert Carroll
Bill Kuebler
Chris Nugent

Don't forget to keep checking on the Diary. If it's happening in the club... it's in the Diary. If you have announcements, messages, photos you want to share just send them to Editor@FSOSDiary.Com. We can make this site not just a calendar for upcoming events but truely a Diary for all that has gone on in the past.

So here's to 2010, may it live up to all of your hopes and expectations. A year from now may you look back and say, "Wow, now that was a year, a very good year."

For as controversial as this years Christmas party was it turned out to be one of the best ever. It was certainly the biggest ever. The hall was decorated from floor to ceiling with much thanks to Miriam Sheridan and Barney Shannon with help from Laurie Miller. Zoe Sheridan and Karli Miller daughters of John and Wayne respectively are the ladies responsible for the souvenir Christmas tree decorations. Special thanks to Sue Hansult for the chocolates given to all the ladies.

Top Hat Catering took the challenge of catering for 175 people and ran with it. Setting up appetizer stations around the club as well as circulating continously during the course of the event. For  the first two hours of the party it was non-stop grazing. You had to be pretty dedicated to the cause to avoid the calories. The plan this year to accommodate our biggest group yet involved setting up appetizer tables in the main hall and the catering tent extending from the lounge to the deck beyond. So rather than keeping the party confined to the bar area and then moving it to the main hall we were encouraged to make full use of the entire club... and we did.

Of course the Christmas party is as much about fashion as it is about food.  And if the fashion Gods  were watching they must been mesmerized by the assortment of designs and colors. They were red, green, multicolored and of course the little black number (always a popular choice at these events). Then there were the over the top, battery operated designs with lights and even music... Yep it seems that at Christmas time the fashion focus shifts for just a moment from women's dresses to men's ties. I sported a Charlie Brown Christmas tie myself, which was second only to Bill Nolan in his tartan dress pants. That said, the ladies didn't look to bad either. From Charlie Brown to Kenny Brown and Walter Farrell... here come the men in red. Check out  the photos of two of Santa's favorite helpers.

Music in both rooms... I'd be remiss in not mentioning that Primative  Soul were spectacular. They filled the dance floor. Their choice of music meant that even folks with no business on a dance floor just couldn't resist. It was hard to watch at times but they all had fun. So much fun in fact that when the end of the night arrived the crowd pleaded for and was granted  one more hour. We just didn't want the night to end.

As you browse the photos keep an eye out for our ever so friendly photo imposer. It was a busy night for him but he would not be deterred. Christmas is after all his busy season. We have over 100 photos captured this evening by John DeMaio, Wayne Miller and Dave Cummins. Photo album 1, Photo album 2.

In 1897 an 8 year old girl wrote a letter to the New York Sun. The letter and it's response would become a part of history, at least American Christmas history...  click the link and read on Yes Virginia, There is a Santa Clause.

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night...

And his name Tom Dunn, Gunny to most of us. Not to be put off by his recent medical woes, Gunny with aided by a  stubborn streak a mile wide as well as family, friends and fellow Marines, led his Toys for Tots campaign once again at the Friendly Sons. Toys for Tots has for most of us become as much a part of the season as Bing Crosby, Charlie Brown and Black Friday. If a persons only view of the world was the five o'clock news they might be excused for becoming a little cynical. At times it can seem like the world is just one bad story soon to be followed up by another. But occasionlly, just occasionally a little light gets through.

If I ask myself, "Are we the only organization out there that cares?" I get an immediate and emphatic, "No!" There are organizations all over this nation doing the exact same thing. All working to help their neighbours. Why do we do it? We want to and because people like Tom step forward giving us the opportunity to be better than we could ever hope to be. Its a wonderful thing to be a part of something that's bigger than you. Whether it's the organizing, advertising, cooking, cleaning, bartending, donating., collecting, boxing... you put it all together and it's quite a feat.

When the final numbers come in you'll see that thousands of dollars were raised by the FSOS and folks were happy to contribute. But it's not about the money. It never is. It's about being part of a community. It's about ordinary people coming together to make a difference in someones life. It's about the look on  a child's face on Christmas morning when they open a gift.

Because... there really is a Santa Claus... and you can't put a price on that... can you.

Merry Christmas Gunny.

More Photos By John DeMaio and Dave Cummins