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Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Derby Party History

Once upon a time a family in Maryland enjoyed hosting Preakness parties. (The Preakness is the 2nd race in the triple crown, held in Baltimore, MD) The eldest daughter grew up and moved away and enjoyed hosting parties too.  When she moved to a far away land she found a roommate who was far away from her home town of Louisville, KY where the Kentucky Derby is held.

The two women decided it would be fun to host a Run for the Races (name for the KY Derby) and had a grand time doing so and had much success with this party.  There are related stories that include a finance, fresh whipped cream but that is for another day....

When the eldest daughter moved to Michigan she started small and hosted a few friends for appetizers to watch the race in her apartment. The next year she was living with a roommate that owned a horse and liked the idea of a Derby party and once again a good time was held on the 1st Saturday in May.  A few years later the hostess moved to Kentucky and she decided this would be the year she would attend the actual Derby!

A wonderful time was had- dressing up, drinking real juleps from the commerative glass, experiencing  The Churchill Downs, and even winning the wager based on the name- Silver Charm!  However it was cool, wet and horses were hard to see let alone an actual race.  General Admission tickets only get you so far....The young woman decided she liked her party better and would go to Keenland in Oct and April for the live racing experience!!  Because she wanted to keep the party tradition going the daughter hosted a triple crown party since Silver Charm was a contender!  This happened to be the weekend after a very special date to the Memorial Golf Tournament with a classmate from Denison.

The Triple Crown party was a great success and much fun to plan and execute.  Flags from all 3 states that hold a triple crown race were aquired and used for decoration.  And as usual guests (including family!) were introduced and connections were made.  It was a special 2nd date for the the two Denisonians and the party was the launch of special relationship.

The next year the young (still in her 20s) woman went to Columbus to visit her boyfriend.  She made apppetizers and mint juleps for her boyfriend, his roommate and friends while they watched the race and it was declared a party.  By the next year the couple was married and hosted the first Leithauser Kentucky DErby party complete with late night bocci and a pizza run!  The party evolved as children were added with pack n plays.  And then the couple moved to Granville and the party took on a different feel with pony rides, play yards, live music and a tent on Newark-Granville Road.

The party continued to grown and the host couple enjoyed the opporuntity to entertain their friends and their families-watching connections happen across relationships.  The party inspire house projects and spring-summer preration.  A fun twist was added when children were delivered to grandparents so parents could prepare.  One year three children were taken to Maryland and the car returned with two Yuengling kegs instead.  The children did return to attend the party with their grandparents!!

The past parties have been successful thanks to the support of family and friends lending their time and talent in a vareity of ways. The attendance is always appreciated and is the heart of the party's purpose. Surprise visitors, wedding party members with their own julep cups and family make for extra special attendees!

In 2011 the not so young woman, although not middle aged, woman took a trip to a far away land- China.  The trip was swaped for the big party.  Although note mint juleps were enjoyed with a handful of friends (the evening included a trip to the emergency room).  This year the party returns. No pony or carriage rides are planned, but we do look forward to live music, festive beverages and the opportunity to catch up with good friends- please join us on the first Saturday in May to add to a happy life  on Newark-Granville Road.

Derby Party 2012


Top Ten Reasons Derby Party is back for 2012…


10. What else would we do on the first Saturday in May?

9. We love to watch the kids pick-up games and activities in the yard.

8. This year’s Yuengling is from OHIO and we need to celebrate this- thank you Matesich’s!

7.  We appreciate-Common Thread and The Last Resort (friends who offer to provide live music ROCK - really). Making plans for bluegrass this year from Denison students!

6. We’re hoping to entice our niece and goddaughter Louisa from Maryland and get her to bring her parents and grandparents!

5. My father was able to produce his Wager Poster before retiring and turning 70!

4. Once invited, always invited so people may arrive with empty julep cups.

3. We’ll get the window boxes and yard in shape faster!

2.  A good friend will soon be launching his brewery in GRANVILLE- you want to meet him!

1. We enjoy taking time to connect with friends and family in a laid back festive way!                 We hope you can join us:

When:    Saturday, May 5, 2012  4 pm start, race is 6ish….we go until sunset…..

Where: 1142 Newark-Granville Road, park where able and walk…

What else:  bring friends, family, a dish to share if able- dessert/appetizer and your hat! More info on party on Susan’s Blog:
http://www.lifeonnewark-granvilleroad.blogspot.com/

Hosts: Joe, Susan, Clare, Peter and Sally  (and possibly soon to be named puppy)

RSVP to Susan at 587 0435 ssleithauser@roadrunner.com


Friday, April 6, 2012

What I learned on Spring Break

l love to travel. I love to find an adventure. I love history, science, art, good food and family- and I got to do all of this on Spring Break this year.  I came home and find myself not able to stop talking about our wonderful vacation. Therefore the best way for me to get it out of my system so I can move onto my life on Newark-Granville road is to blog...so here goes!


We went to Charleston, SC to stay/camp/sleep on the USS Yorktown- a retired Aircraft Carrier.  This has always interested me- I'm kind of a Navy Brat- born in Norfolk, VA- my Dad got out when I was born. Good friends did it two years ago and and the praises so that cemented our decision to join in with our boy scout Super Pack 3 effort to attend.

The Ship- USS Yorktown website1. Staying on board the USS Yorktown was amazing.  I HIGHLY recommend this! It isn't for everyone but if you are OK with rustic accommodations it is cool.  They separate boys and girls and the women get the officer quarters which means we have room to roll over and our in smaller rooms- we shared with two other moms.  I'm so pleased with the Boy Scouts who welcome moms and sisters along so often!! Peter and Joe were in a big group-sleeping situation.  What was amazing is we were able to really soak it all in. Peter really was taken by the Kamikazes.  The USS Yorktown was very active in WWII so much of our learning was about that war (thank you veterans) and also naval engineering including aviation.  he wouldn't of gotten the message about the Kamikazes had it not been for the immersion, the repeat references- video, tour, actual plane, movies.  I won't go into too much more detail. Know that if you are in Charleston you should take the time to go aboard but if you have a youth group that is going for an overnight- make your plans!  Who knows maybe you'll see something in the future about me coordinating it for a group....


2. Charleston is beautiful, historic, filled with rich stories and so much to see, explore and enjoy. The Hunley sub story is wonderful. I thank my co-workers for introducing me to the lesson and engaging the kids with it (you can do this too- summer opportunities at The Works!!)Hunley Web Site- Friends of the Hunley  If you are in the area visit this site!  And then just soak in Charleston's southern charm and food and architecture!
3. We also were able to get our spring break baseball in- thank you Citadel for playing South Carolina in town! We are grateful for friends who let us explore Kiawah- kids couldn't stay out of the cold water....my ocean babies make me smile! WE stopped at Davidson on our way down for breakfast and to explore another liberal arts college- one of the best breakfasts ever....We also had a taste of Mayberry in Mt. Airy, NC- thanks to a text from my brother who was also traveling while we were!4. We enjoyed our timing- home late on Wed which allowed us some happy family time and catch up here. Kids and I went to COSI on Saturday and had a grand time. The new WATER exhibit is really wonderful- I learned some really fun things so Columbus friends take it in!! The exhibit on RACE is interesting and I learned some things about my kids in that one.... parenting isn't easy!Thanks for reading, contact me directly for more info I can share about our great spring break!! I hope you had a wonderful time out/escape/break from it all too!!  Of course the final lesson was simply a great reminder- life on Newark-Granville road is pretty darn good, we're blessed to call it home.