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Tara Ryan is the coordinator for Vacation Bible School at Cheney Community Church. The theme this year is "Christmas in July." It's not what you think. You won't need to run to the store. VBS begins at 9 a.m. and ends at noon each day from July 7-11. Children from age 3 to those who have finished fourth grade are welcome. "Listening to God's Voice" is one of the stories the children will enjoy. Another speaks of Samaritan's Purse. This is a project begun and guided by Franklin...
Here is Johnny Palmer, a boy who likes to set a goal and reach it. He knows the satisfaction of working hard for something worth having. At 9 years old, Johnny Palmer, son of John and Natascha Palmer, has earned the accolades of three baseball coaches who said, "He's an awesome third baseman." Johnny remembers when he first started to play baseball. He said, "I was 5 years old. I was really nervous. The coaches told me to slam the ball out there. The bat was heavy to hold,...
When Alvina and John Ditton first came to Cheney, he found the job he liked best working for the Cheney School District. Alvina's work came looking for her. Their home was near the college campus. Several students had small children. Alvina, who loved children, often heard a young parent say, "Could you take care of my baby while I'm in class?" Alvina's care of children had some surprises waiting. One little boy cried a great deal. Alvina discovered there were bite marks the...
Chet’s Flowers and Gifts, the store that’s fun to browse in and enjoy, is 60 years old. For all of us who have known it as simply Chet’s Flowers, Peter Smith told me the original owners were Chet and Bea Johnson. Chet and Bea grew much of their own produce, both flowers and vegetables. The current owner, Joy Dahl, has owned Chet’s Flowers for six years. She’s been in the floral industry for 36 years. Dahl said, “My sister had a flower shop in Montana. My mother used to work in some flower shops. I freelanced designs in...
Bruce Holloway has been for Spokane County District 3 Fire Chief for 22 years. He did not dream of being a fireman as a small boy. He wanted to be a farmer. As he grew up he worked on other people's ranches and then on his own. Holloway said, "I loved it. It gave me a good background." In a little town in California, Holloway joined a fire department to help the community. He said, "About a year later the fire chief got in trouble and I was appointed fire chief. I was still farming. I had my own farm, raising beef cattle. I g...
Guess what's happening at Tyler on June 7? They are having a flea market. I haven't seen anyone selling fleas. In fact I've never seen any fleas at all. Maybe they're saving them for a different occasion? You'd be surprised at the interesting things they do have for sale. If you hurry you can join lots of people who are selling items big and small and be part of the competition. Or you can discover something you've always wanted or that will be a perfect gift for a friend....
How did we get this way? We’ve spent many hours of our lives telling other people what to do. And now, sitting before this instrument, this monster that has no pity, we are frustrated and lost. It is called a computer. “A programmable electronic device designed for performing prescribed operations on data at high speed,” says the description. You can call it that if you like. However, I have called it many other things and had to reach for a glass of water to cool my tongue. Some of us have completed a college educa...
Mike Hennings has quite a reputation as a hard working person, even from his school days. “I grew up in Tyler and on Lance Hill Road,” he said. He lived on a cattle ranch and was a member of 4H and FFA. The family had another ranch in the Sprague area and with the help of a hired hand, Mike took care of that ranch while he went to high school in Sprague. What Mike Hennings really liked was working with cars. In 1985, he began two years of college at Universal Technical Institute in Phoenix, Ariz. He then had a job at Ful...
Many years ago, when buffalo roamed the western United States, Native Americans made excellent use of this amazing animal. There were no government officials to patrol the land. If a buffalo, a bear or a wolf became a menace, the natives took care of the problem immediately. Over the years our culture has changed drastically and many times we, neighbors, friends and strangers have found each other defending opposite positions. Some, speaking seriously, say the wolf is beautiful, loving and peaceful. Those of us who have known...
When my 17-year-old granddaughter, Kindsay Dow, studied genealogy, she showed me what she had discovered about our ancestry, and I became interested. I discovered all authorities did not always agree on specifics. What you are reading shall be called a story, until found otherwise. William and Sarah Boorman lived on a farm in Biddendend, Kent, England around 1700. William could fix a broken wheel, shoe a neighbor’s horse, fix a leaky roof, among many other things. One thing he could not do was keep his secrets to himself. H...
Have you ever paused in your busy life to think about the person who happened to sit beside you during a meeting? Or how about the one who gave you a smile in the crowded elevator? I met an interesting young lady in church and by the time we said goodbye, I had information for my next "Cabbages and Kings" column, and a new friend. Amy Rademacher, who lives in, Federal Way, is attending college at Moody Bible Institute in Spokane. Her goal is to become an overseas missionary....
"Flossie Dickey is 107 years old," somebody told me. About the same time someone else was singing "Happy Birthday" as Flossie attained the age of 108. If you want to catch up with Flossie you'd better hurry. Flossie's father owned 20 acres on the far side of Priest River. That was Flossie's home until she was 7 years old. The family, including a younger brother and sister, then moved to Spokane. Flossie took her report card along to show it to the teacher in Spokane. It was co...
I've heard of high school sweethearts but this one tops them all. Enoch and Donna Lybbert met in Moses Lake High School. Donna took one glance at Enoch and knew he was the man for her. However, there was a problem, she lost interest in school. "I played hooky," she said "I was only interested in getting married." Enoch said, "I had to write her a note. I signed her report cards." They married in 1955 and have been together for 58 years. They have five children, four girls and...
We continue the story of the Sanders Branch School, nicknamed Brush College. The remarkable Mrs. Smouse, who began teaching there in 1913, made a tremendous impression on the students. With a lively imagination she often turned a hard or boring lesson into a game. "Her classroom," Helen Boots said, "was often a babysitting area when some of the farm families needed to be gone. They would stop at the school and drop the pre-schoolers off. Mrs. Smouse would take this as an...
Judi Steele is one of those rare people who have real compassion for others and gives it generously. Judi, at the age of five came west with her parents and her brother, from Nebraska to Montana. Her mother was a teacher, her father a farmer. "I grew up on a farm," Judi said. When she was 23 Judi briefly attended Kinman University in Spokane. Although she is adept in many other endeavors, in 1967 Judi found her real niche in caring for Alzheimer's patients and those who just...
It’s been years since I’ve stopped to visit “Cat Tales” on Highway 2. Every time I drive by I say to myself, “Stop one of these days and see the animals.” And every time I whiz on by. We Americans seem to be forever in a rush to somewhere just beyond wherever we are. I am thankful for the people who own Cat Tales and take care of these animals. Some would say, “The poor things, being shut up in a cage all their lives.” That statement is the very reason you should visit them. Most are there because somebody wants to give them...
This is a story about Richard Thomas Hubbard and his family. " Born in 1907, my dad lived to be a few days short of 101," son Ric Hubbard said. This brilliant man had an eighth grade education, spoke some French and German and was fluent in Spanish. He was a master brick mason and retired from masonry work in 1964 to start the Hubbard Jointers Company. He laid his last brick in 1986 when he helped Ric lay a fireplace hearth in a house Ric was building at the time. Dick's...
I’ve been looking through an old book. The book isn’t old but most of the words in it are. It’s titled “Everyday Life In The 1800s.” There must be some things my ancestors said in there somewhere. Not going back too far I remember one of my grandmothers would say, “Pershaw!” Or “Mercy me” I think the first one meant “I don’t believe you” and the second one meant “Mercy me, get that dog out of here!” My other grandmother often said “I’m gonna lie down for twenty winks.” That meant she intended to have a short nap. The...
Vernon and Laura Billiau lived at Cheney years ago for a short time. Laura's brother, Michael Dooley had a home here and they came to visit him. Yes, a Dooley is a real Irishman. I imagine Laura was surrounded with them as she grew up. Vernon shares his French background with his ability to build, to repair, to create. Over the years the Billiau's have moved around a lot. Vernon said, "We have rabbits in our boots.'' They say Michigan is their original home. Laura claims Iron...
Once I sat in a group of people who were just talking, each saying whatever they wanted to. A woman spoke. It was her turn. What she said almost knocked me out of my chair. She said, "George Washington was a drunkard." This was before the times we are now acquainted with when someone runs for office the "hate dogs" start to attack him. George Washington was my hero. I wasn't about to let someone besmirch his reputation. "How could you possibly know he was a drunkard?" I...
My sister and I grew up on my grandfather's farm. He had horses. My mother would not let us ride them as she was afraid of horses. We had real winters then, not the lightly sprinkled snow that will have to do for this Christmas. Grandpa would hitch his horses to a big sleigh and off we'd go down the country road. A memory like that never goes away. I have another memory, a story told by my great aunt. She and the man she would marry took advantage of the "one horse open sleigh...
In the early 1970s Ed and Marylu Wade attended a small church in Portland, Ore. and met Bob Griffin, a Jaars pilot. Bob told them he grew up in the Palouse area on a wheat farm. He got his pilot license as a teenager and started flying for Jaars. Griffin told them Jaars was founded in Peru in 1948 by William Cameron Townsend. At first Jaars offered only jungle aviation and radio service, its name derived from the first letters in “jungle aviation and radio service.” The organization now brings many ways of communication and...
Once upon a time there was a husband who said to his wife, "I want to buy you a hot tub." His wife said, "I want a cruise." It was their 25th wedding anniversary. Ruth Van Kuren packed her suitcase. Lawson Van Kuren packed his suitcase. They enjoyed the cruise and began to plan for another. Ruth Van Kuren said, "We went every other year. We started going on 61 day cruises." Their plans and dreams began to grow. They studied Singapore, Malaysia, Cape Town, and Casablanca in...
OK, so Thanksgiving is over. Or is it? The American Indian Relief Council, which is an organization I know nothing about, sent me a nice article entitled “The tradition of the wishbone.” It relates to the Pilgrims and the Indians who helped them to live through those hard times when they could have all died from starvation and illness. The story begins with the Pilgrims giving thanks to God and to the American Indians. When the Pilgrims settled on Plymouth Rock they found the place full of wild turkeys. I’m just repea...
How does a person decide a life’s career? Andrew Martinssen said, “I always wanted to do something, not just have a job.” His father, who is a pastor in Los Angeles, Calif., gave him a few words to think about it. “When you have to do it you’ll learn to like it.” Martinssen had it in mind to become a professional pianist. Then in an accident he broke his left elbow. Professional pianist? Maybe not. Another accident robbed him of some front teeth that sent him to a dentist. Martinssen said, “I like the work he did. But, I thou...
