My Patriot Heroes

Today is National Patriots Day and my mind is on the events of 9/11/2001. May we never forget those who have served and those who have paid the ultimate price, not only that day, but throughout our great American history. So many have sacrificed so much for the freedoms we now enjoy.

Right here in Orting, both our police and fire departments are led by veterans. Bill Drake had a full career in the military prior to becoming Chief of Police. Randy Shelton followed his father in military service prior to being Chief of Orting Valley Fire and Rescue. Then his son Chris followed his family example of military service, served in several combat deployments and became a Purple Heart recipient.

Randy and I had many moments of sharing each other's pride and concern while both our sons were deployed. His in Afghanistan, and mine, John Ellson, in Iraq. I was so touched when taking this photo a few years ago on the anniversary of 9/11 when the local firefighters took a knee to say a prayer and remember those valiant patriots who lost their lives on that fateful day.

My niece's husband Phil stepped up to the patriot plate and re-enlisted. He just completed a deployment in Iraq as a Blackhawk pilot and is safely home with his family in Germany awaiting the birth of their third child. It was a happy day for Amy and the children when daddy came home.

For the first time in our nation's history we have a total volunteer force of men and women serving our country. The draft was in effect when my husband Jim and his friend Jim Tuggle were called to serve in Vietnam. It was a time of great national conflict. When they came home from their combat time there were no hero's welcomes, parades or confetti. Instead they were met with insults, protests and jeers. I hope the Vietnam veterans know today that their service was appreciated and they too are patriot heroes.

My Uncle Jack Witthuhn and cousin Bill Kelly also served in Vietnam in the 60's. I remember the letters we exchanged and have great admiration for both of them. Bill was my inspiration to learn the guitar, gave me folk records and taught me my first chords. Uncle Jack's letters were filled with faith and an example of trusting God in the most difficult times.

I spent my entire growing up years on military bases with my family while my father Ssgt. Joe Witthuhn served a career in the Air Force. We lived on Guam in the 60's where he worked on the airplanes flying missions to Vietnam. My Uncle Harold Witthuhn served in Germany during WWII. On the bad side, he was shot in combat. On the good side, he lived through it and brought home a beautiful German bride, Edith who was also a patriot by secretly helping American soldiers to safety and supplying them with food.

My friends Wayne and Beth Harman of Orting both served in WWII, he in the Army Air Corp and her in the Army Nurses Corp. They married after the war and when they came home from their honeymoon a letter awaited them asking if they would go to Korea. They've raised a family and continue to be active in community service and the American Legion.

Mother to mother, my heart goes out to a business client, Mary Ann Ross of Yelm, whose son, Abe Twitchell, paid the ultimate price two years ago while serving in Iraq. We spoke on the phone today and she recalled getting a reassuring phone call from him on 9/11 telling her that planes had just flown into the Trade Towers and to turn on the TV. "I was just calling to let you know I'm alright, but you won't hear from me for awhile" he said.

Today, I salute and thank our patriots and their families. I pray for peace, comfort and courage for our nation and those serving. We will never forget the sacrifices of our great American patriots!

Blackberries & Salmon

It's that time of year again here in Orting when the blackberries are ripe for the picking and the Salmon are having a world class run in the Carbon River. Fishing season opened a week ago for the Salmon and I decided to take a walk down the Foothills Trail to see how things were going.

I tried to park in the new Fisherman's Parking Lot between the Public Safety building and the Skate Park, but found it full so located a spot on the street. (This is where I took the fantastic banner photo of the mountain with the flag in the foreground.)

There is a great historic mural painted on an old mill burning silo next to the parking lot that can be enjoyed by all compliments of the Orting Historical Society. If you decide to come for a visit, be sure and check it out on your way to the river.

From there you can walk over to the trail and head to the river. I would guess it's about a mile walk and on a clear day like we've been having, you have a great view of the mountain as you walk along Schoenbachler's corn field and pasture on the way to the river.

The blackberries are prolific along the trail and families were out filling their bowls, buckets and mouths. Lacie Filkins of Sumner was picking with her nieces Ellana and Ebony who bragged to me about how many they had picked, although their bowls showed little evidence, but their darling berry stained smiles were proof enough.

People were heading back to their cars, some with a salmon and some without, but all with the happy looks that come from spending a relaxing time at the river. I got a chuckle out of all the creative modes of transportation on the trail. The salmon are big and heavy to carry out and no motorized vehicles are allowed so people were utilizing all sorts of things to help out. Some were pulling red wagons loaded with ice chests and gear. A couple of grown men on skateboards with their fishing gear in hand were the best comic scene of all. Some were breezing along on kid's scooters, speeding along on skates, and many were on bikes pedaling with the salmon's mouths hooked conveniently over the handlebars. And of course there were lots of walkers and talkers, boasting about the ones that got away as they strolled along.

A few were happy to tell me all about their catches. Teenager Drew Casey of Buckley had his 12 pound king salmon on the handlebars of his bike. A trio of men from California and Nebraska, with a beautiful silver salmon, told me they come here every year to fish the salmon run.

A young man from Graham held up his big catch and bragged that it was 40 pounds to the cajoling and catcall corrections of bystander fisherman within hearing distance who made sure I knew this was an exaggeration and it was only 20 pounds. I laughed and dismissed the dispute by telling them that "I understand when fishermen lie about the weight of their catch. We women fib about our poundage all the time too."

I was tickled at the motley assortment of fishing gear people were using. Some had nice waders, poles and tackle packs, but many were carrying plastic grocery bags with simple rod setups that seemed too small to land these weighty fighting fish, but had managed to do so anyway.

The river was lined with at least 100 people fishing in my field of vision. It is a popular place near the mouth of Voights Creek where the spawning salmon are returning. A fish biologist doing a species count, told me this area is 'world class fishing' with great returns.

I am always amazed at what looks like a finely choreographed fisherman's dance. Everyone casts upstream, then lets their bait float down with the current, reels the line in and does it over again. Not only are they watching and feeling their own line for the nibble of the big one, but they are keeping an eye and ear out for their neighbors. When the tip of a line suddenly bows done to the water and the line starts whizzing out as the salmon makes an escape attempt the fishermen yell "fish on" and everyone else reels their lines in and watch with excitement as the fight to land the fish progresses.

Sometimes the salmon leaps from the water trying to release the hook from its body. The battle is lengthy, with the fish rushing upstream, then downstream, then as both the fish and the fisherman's arms tire from the battle, it finally nears shore either to be netted, break free, be landed or be released because it wasn't hooked in the mouth or it isn't a legal keeper. If it is a keeper, the neighbors all murmur admiring comments and cast their lines back in, with renewed hope that the next fish will be theirs.

As Richard Hausherr and his girlfriend Kimberly, of Burien, were heading out with a successful catch of two on the handlebars of his bike, he told me that he has returned to Orting for 10 years, every day of the salmon season to fish. "I love Orting and would move here in a heartbeat if it wouldn't make our work commute so long" he told me. He suggested some local improvements such as outhouses and more trash cans so that people had a place to dispose of their garbage. I mentioned to him that I had seen quite a few people hauling out large bags of garbage and he told me that many of them bring bags down and pick up debris, but that the island areas were getting pretty bad. I told him that city councilman Dick Ford coordinates a river cleanup day after the season and everyone meets at Big J's store parking lot in the morning and split up in teams to cover the most ground. He said he buys all his gear at Big J's, gave me his phone number, and asked to get a call so that he and friends could come to Orting and assist in the effort. "I appreciate all the local people do so that we can come have good fishing here. I want to help out" he said.

It was a great day meeting people on the trail and hearing their fish tales. Wish you were here with to join in the fun! Check out the side bar of what's happening in town and come for a visit soon.

Summer Fun

The Jones' weren't the only ones to enjoy three young birds this summer. We've had some fantastic times with our grandchildren Hannah, Grace and Wyatt. They explored the bird nest at the Point Defiance Zoo in Tacoma along with the other awesome animal and aquarium exhibits. It's so nice to have these great activities to visit with the kids nearby.

On another outing, the kids went with Grandpa Jim and mom Susie on a Commencement Bay sailboat outing for the afternoon. We acquired the trip at a benefit auction for Communities in Schools of Orting. It was generously donated by my friend from the Orting Chamber of Commerce, Marlene Bartram an Eqoquest International Consultant and her husband Perry Bartram a physicians assistant at McNeil Island, who own the boat.

Wyatt is still shouting 'ahoy there matey' and bragging about Captain Perry showing him how to sail the boat and how he is going sailing with him again sometime. We now hear frequently 'because Captain Perry said so' since the outing.

Then on July 4th, we drove down to Battleground for the Coplin Family Independence Day celebration. James got a chuckle watching his tomboy princess Hannah Banana on the play equipment and the creative trampoline bouncing by all the kids. We joined with family and friends for an evening barbeque followed by a night of neighborhood fireworks displays. The best way to watch the 'rockets red glare' is through the amazed eyes of children.

I remember the reason we celebrate and the sacrifices made by so many for the freedoms we now enjoy. Our patriots who are serving our country are in my thoughts and prayers, especially my son John and his family at Ft. Bragg and my niece's husband Phil and their family in Germany. May God bless and keep them.

Keeping Up With The Jones

My friends, Dale and Madeline Jones, had a front row seat at the comings and goings of life this summer. First they had a surprise birth of triplets at their place. Dale was making the rounds at their RV Storage and Trucking business here in town when he heard the cries of the new mother and went to investigate. There she was floundering around and wailing as if mortally wounded.

As he searched the gravel parking lot to see what was causing her injurious behavior, he found the source. A small hollowed out dent in the ground that held four large eggs recently laid by the mama killdeer. She was trying with all her power to detract attention from the nest by screeching her distinctive cry and acting like her wing was broken. Concerned for the egg's safety and wanting to improve on the woefully inadequate housing mom and dad killdeer had provided for their offspring, Dale plucked handfuls of grass and erected a circle of protection around the eggs.

Dale and Madeline began holding daily vigil and conducting visitor tours of the tiny drama unfolding behind their home, watching, waiting and counting the days in anticipation of the new arrival's hatching time. Amazingly, their dogs left the little bird family alone. Mama and daddy killdeer took turns sitting on the eggs, but in typical fashion of their breed, often left the nest unattended while they went about their daily business. The eggs blended in with the gravel camouflage around them and Dale worried that someone was going to drive over them so he set up bright orange safety cones with a warning sign, making an effective barricade to anyone who might accidentally run over the babies.

The solution worked well until tragedy hit when the wind came up and blew the cone sign over with a direct hit onto the nest. Dale was mortified when he went to check on the egg's progress and discovered the crash had disastrously broken one of the eggs. When Madeline gave me an update she was puzzled that by later in the day all evidence of the broken egg had disappeared. I recalled my parents telling me that chickens will often eat a broken egg so perhaps this was what killdeer do to remove smell and attraction from other predators in order to protect the remaining offspring.

Around six weeks later the newborns hatched. Dale and Madeline's hearts had really gone to the birds as they announced that Orting had a population increase of three and watched with grandparent's pride as the youngsters grew and gained independence. They worried when the clan disappeared for periods of time and excitedly heralded the news when the kids came back again for a visit.

In the middle of all the avian antics, Dale kept running their business and Madeline worked on her paintings until they learned their much loved son-in-law, David Schlumpf, was very ill. The family closed ranks, holding on, hoping, caring, spending time together and loving each other. Just as fast as the baby birds made their unexpected arrival, David's health rapidly deteriorated and he passed away by the end of August. In the midst of these unexpected turns in life, I watched and admire their great example of grace, faith, and strength. When I asked Madeline how they were doing she replied simply "I am so blessed".

It is a good reminder to me to marvel at life's little miracles and count the good things in life instead of dwelling on my problems. I am so thankful for wonderful friends, family, and a community that cares.