Shields family travels

Lamont

Kathy Shields along with her daughter and son, Billie Jo Davison and Ed Shields, flew to Orlando, Fla., Nov. 6 where they met up with Kathy’s sister Elaine Nave and family David and Lisa Nave and Ann and Mark Sondergard. The group drove to Marritt Island where they rented a house with five bedrooms, a pool and boat dock and could watch porpoises and manatee.

Kathy and Elaine lived two years during WWII at Banana River Naval Air Base where their father was stationed. They lived in base housing with the ocean and beach at their back door. They took a school bus across Marritt Island to school in Cocoa.

This trip was planned for Kathy and Elaine to go back again and to share the experience with their families. They toured the Kennedy Space Center, arranged a tour of Cape Canaveral and Patrick Air Force Base. They spent one day at Disney World and several afternoons and evenings walking the same beach and surf they played in during their years at the base.

Naval Air Station Banana River was commissioned Oct. 1, 1940, as a sub-base of NAS Jacksonville. In 1941 the Navy began anti-submarine patrols along the Florida Coast. The base closed in Sept. 1947. In 1948 the facility was transferred to the U.S. Air Force and in Aug. 1950 was renamed Patrick Air Force Base and became part of NASA and the Kennedy Space Center.

Betty Stone and family along with the Ed Bageant family and Jo Schirr were Thanksgiving dinner guests at the home of Jennifer and Mike Larson.

Pete Peterson’s daughter and husband, Julie and Mark Imsland of Seattle, arrived Thursday to spend the holiday weekend with Pete while his wife Pat is in Colorado visiting her family and sisters.

Bill and Stella Melville hosted Thanksgiving dinner for their family. Guests included Bill and Millie Kay Baldwin and Dean and Mindy Melville. On Friday Mindy’s son and wife, Devon and Hallie DeLapp of Seattle, arrived and Dean and Mindy hosted another family dinner at their home.

Jackie Brown served Thanksgiving dinner at her Spokane home. Family members there were Charlie, Adele, Rowdy and Beau Brown, Della, Mark, Jerod and Amanda Harwood and John Brown of Seattle.

Nita and Matt Polda drove to Mount Vernon to spend Thanksgiving with David and Sarah Polda.

Joe and Patty Davis and family prepared Thanksgiving dinner for Patty’s parents, Don and Sherrill Nelson and her brother and family Keith and Staci Nelson and girls.

A potluck will be at the Lamont Community Center Dec. 4, 1 p.m. All are urged to attend.

Art Swannack attended the Washington Farm Bureau convention Nov. 14-17 in Yakima. As the new Whitman County Farm Bureau President, he was invited to attend the president’s reception Monday night where outgoing State President Steve Appel and special guest National Farm Bureau President Bob Stallman visited with the county presidents and state board members.

Tuesday morning started with the opening ceremonies and the first business session followed by a break and educational seminars in the afternoon covering topics such as the upcoming special session of the legislature, health care reform and how it will affect your current health insurance and ideas on how to build the county farm bureau.

After the Wednesday business session, Art and John Stuhlmiller-Washington Farm Bureau’s director of government relations- did a presentation on Washington State’s draft wolf plan, which the Fish and Wildlife Commissioners are scheduled to decide upon this week. Art returned home after the state officer elections Thursday morning.