The 10th annual Gleaner Gives campaign recently donated a total of $44,807.50 to 20 charitable groups in Lenawee County.

Adrian, Mich. — The Sam Beauford Woodworking Institute (SBWI) is expanding its presence in Lenawee County with the purchase of 30 acres from Gleaner Life Insurance Society (GLIS).

The future, and especially our fears about it, can be very scary. It is easy to be distracted from today by extreme versions of tomorrow. On the one hand we’re promised miracle cures and flying cars, while on the other we’re faced with worries about dystopian takeovers and cataclysmic weather. In a world filled with disappointments and death, why believe the future is even worth thinking about?

Witnesses to the Gleaner Society’s hard work and fraternity, a few old Gleaner arbor halls can still be found a century after their construction. In the days before cars, telephones, radio or movie houses, arbor halls were centers not only for members but often for an entire rural community. Dinners and dances took place, musicians and actors performed, birthdays were celebrated, groups met, and drill teams practiced.