Cheer Club Season Winding Down

The Mining Journal’s Cheer Club has collected Christmas presents for the Salvation Army every holiday season since 1979.

Friday was the final official day of the donation campaign for this year, but toys are still coming into the newspaper’s offices in Marquette.

Those toys will definitely go to kids in need; it just may not be for a while.

Mining Journal publisher Jim Reevs says they’ll gladly accept any toys that come in right through Christmas Eve, and any that are left over from meeting kids’ lists this year will be stored and then used by the Salvation Army next year.

This has been a strong year for the Cheer Club, with gift and money donations well up from last year.

But on Friday, longtime Marquette resident and longtime Cheer Club supporter Clark Lambros passed away.

Reevs spoke with Lambros last week, when Lambros gave the club $2,000.

He says Lambros mentioned not having any presents for Christmas while growing up in Greece and also mentioned his desire for kids in Marquette to not have to experience that.

The paper and the Marquette Board of Light and Power have helped arrange bus tours of the winning homes from the BLP’s annual holiday light display contest.

The tours start tomorrow night and Wednesday night at 7 at the Marquette Commons.

Tickets are four for $10, and the proceeds benefit the Cheer Club and the Salvation Army.