This is my favorite season. I love the crisp, red and yellow leaves and the cool, fruity air. Fall brings back many memories of the first day of school, first my own, then my children’s, grandchildren’s and great-grandchildren’s. For the first day, shoes had to be new or nicely polished and you wore your best new back-to-school outfit. Girls had their hair curled or neatly braided and the boys got a hair cut. Sometimes it was a great rush, because the family was just coming back home after a Labor Day camping trip. I remember Dean Ellis’ grandmother, Harriet Lovejoy, telling about going to school in the Dakotas in the 1890’s. She said that her mother was determined that they were going to keep up their standards, even in the rugged, dusty, prairie country. She starched and ironed their dresses and petticoats every day, even though they rode many miles on horseback to the little country school.

For the teachers and school workers, this is a time to get the classrooms and lesson plans ready. Kindergarten and elementary school teachers and their aides spend weeks finding just the right pictures, books and charts.

Bonnie Jean Course began her first day of school this year as a 6^th Grade teacher. I have a feeling that a lot of 6^th grade boys are going to have a crush on her.

SCHOOL WORKERS:

Bianca Krall is in charge of the discipline problems at her school.

Valerie Waldean works as a Teacher’s Aide in Kindergarten. She loves all the little children and enjoys watching their progress as they get used to being in school for the first time.

VALERIE WALDEAN & TINA AYERS

COLLEGE BOUND:

Tina Ayers has gone back to college at Olympic Community College in Bremerton.

Jennifer (Ayers) Jernberg has re-upped in the Air Force for 6 more years. During this time she will get her medical degree with the eventual goal of being a small town doctor. (She is a nurse.)

Ryan Hanks, who is in his Senior Year, will be taking 3 advanced classes at the University of Washington.

Marketta Schreck will graduate from High School this winter. She is attending classes at D.I.

Jacob Perry begins in a pre-school program this year called "Joy School". Vickie and two friends take turns teaching the children from materials printed by Home Base. Home Base is a Home School Association type business. They sell other courses of study, this is just one of them that teaches children joy. Vickie will have the children during the months of October, January and April. It will give Jacob some new friends to play with.

Elizabeth Ayers (daughter of Jason and Nikki) begins pre-school this year also.

Jason Ayers, Jr. begins school this year. He is 5 years old and will be in kindergarten. Mom, Nikki is still attending school to become an LPN.

Judy, Shelly and Keegan went to Jeff MayBee and Debra Lyn Branagan’s wedding at Lighthouse Point in Santa Cruz, California. (She sent us Xerox copies of the wedding pictures, but we are holding out for John or Kathy to send us the originals via e-mail., then I’ll do write-ups with pictures for the May Star.)

Judy says Mini (her motor home) is being outfitted with a new clutch, a new manifold and new gaskets for the oil pan. Judy’s job is very physical. Her last customer of the day was purchasing 72 sq. ft. of tile…that translates into 6 50 lb. boxes. She says maybe all the physical activity will get her body in shape again.

Markay has a new and interesting job. She works for a the Billings Gazette in the classified realty ad department.  This will be a great way for her to scope out the best buys for a house for their family. Their business, Rattlesnake Valley Press has gained a lot of new clients. They are the #1 website for artists in Montana. One of their clients, a kinetic sculptor, has his art in the White House. Other clients are the DeWeese family of artists, a condo company and a woman in Nebraska with a book exchange program and other ideas.

Lynn and Bill Hamblin have 2 big new contracts; one with Alaska State Ferry or a half million dollars and another with Utah State Ferry company. (We were trying to figure out why there would be a ferry company in Utah?) For the Alaska job, they will stay in Bellingham and they will stay in Page, Arizona for the Utah State Ferry job.

Randy and friends hiked through the Dosewallips area of Olympic State Park.

Anita, Forrest and girls spent Labor Day at one of their time share condos, this time in Eastern Washington (?) Lynn and Bill also have a new addition, Haley, who causes them to lose sleep because they have to get up in the middle of the night with her. No, not another child….this is a very cute little pup.

Valerie has spent weeks helping her teacher get ready for the first day of school. Not only were there the ordinary things to do, the construction on the school was not finished yet! Wires were still hanging loose, some walls were not finished and it was still in a very unfinished state two days before school started. They really worried a lot, especially when the principal(?) told them that the opening of school would NOT be delayed. Miracle of miracles, it was done enough on the first day, which put everyone in a great mood.

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