By Chris Faulkner
There’s always plenty of drama in the world, so a few years ago, Denise Rice of Mediapolis got together a group of women forming the No Drama Gals before the COVID 19 pandemic.
“Some of us would quilt, some crocheted and knitted,” Rice said. “Some played cards.”
The reason for the name: “We just lay down the drama for the day,” Rice said. “Nobody’s allowed to be negative. Give it four hours. Please give it to yourself to be at rest for four hours.
“Most of the gals back then had kids at home.” So, she said, it was a four-hour getaway from their husbands and children.
They meet the third Saturday of every month from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Steamboat Community Center, and there are about 25 women currently in the group.
They had been meeting in the city hall in Mediapolis but moved to their new location this past fall.
Rice said director Alice Pieper has been a good supporter of the No Drama Gals.
“We read in the paper they were going to lose the Center,” Rice said, so each month, the women each put $2 into a donation box.
Rice is a former Girl Scout leader, so she is the person in charge, but she is not the president. There are no officers, bylaws, or dues.
“It’s so comfortable,” Rice said, as it’s not like a formal meeting.
They bring food each month because “Nobody hardly does potlucks anymore,” Rice said.
“Everybody has their favorite dishes. Some of the ladies live alone, and it’s their only chance to be with other people.”
Rice said the women are from Mediapolis, Burlington, Winfield, and Morning Sun, and one woman comes from two hours away.
“When we started out, everybody was about the same age,” she said.
“Now we have a few ladies in their 80s that come. Some are in their 20s.”
Rice watches the younger women get involved in one activity, and then, “I’ll look over, and all the older women are playing dominoes.”
Sometimes, they have a program, such as making cinnamon rolls or a talk from a dietary allergies expert.
“All the food is geared to healthy foods,” Rice said.
Sometimes there’s a theme; December was Pajama Day.
The ladies wore pajamas, breakfast was served, and they sewed pajamas for foster children as part of Rice’s “Project Linus.”
Although it’s not formally a service club, they do reach out to those in need.
“This year, we have made Project Linus blankets, birthday boxes for City Hope, cancer capes for Iowa City,” Rice said. “We made walker pockets for two different nursing homes.”