A quick garden report

The rhodies are waking up and their blooms are starting to explode everywhere.

Also lilacs in deep purples and violets are beginning to open, though not yet in my yard. I guess it depends on how much sun they get, or perhaps different varieties have differing blooming schedules. This spring I’ve also noticed stunning azaleas in reds and blues. And the greens! This is the season of the “38 shades of green,” as my long-time neighbor Sojourner Smith used to say.

How lucky are we to live in such a lusciously variegated place. Add the ocean, and the bay and the river to our recent sunny days and, OMG, what simple blessings we have!

 

You can’t make this stuff up

Maybe I have just one little annoyance with a couple of our citizens, like the letter writer of  two weeks ago who stated unequivocally, and with no irony, that George Soros paid demonstrators who came out on April 5th to protest the man-handling of our government agencies. I laughed out loud. Yep, this writer thinks Soros scanned the entire American empire in order to discover the exact hub of the growing revolution of nastiness in order to make the strategically perfect location choice for the best use of his anti-Trump budget.

Then — Lo and Behold! — Soros evidently discovered that the hotbed of infamy and the flaming rebellion was centered in the southwest corner of Washington state, in the dizzyingly powerful megalopolis of Long Beach; where he subsequently sent checks to all citizens willing to make signs and spend their own time on a beautiful Saturday to complain about DOGE and its unelected misguided cost-cutters! If you believe this I’ve got a bridge from the Peninsula to Ocean Shores to sell you.

(By the way: it is now obvious that DOGE will likely cost us citizens more over the next couple years than the miniscule amount of their cost cutting — it’s only 8% of the total Musk originally boasted about. This year their firing, rehiring and mistakes, etc., will cost us $135 billion alone; and the long-term effects are probably inestimable. This does not include the cost to us of the 220, and counting, legal suits now in our court system against Musk/Trump policies.)

 

Long Beach Grange #667

Meanwhile back at the ranch: years ago Ray Milner brought our local Grange #667 — at 5715 Sandridge — back from the brink of oblivion; and now a new team of locals have picked up the baton. (Long Beach Grange website, calendar of activities and misc. is here: www.longbeachgrange.com.) President Sheryl Reynolds; vice presidents Barbara Pederson and Bonnie Blakely; and sergeant at arms Blaine Gunkel are officers guiding this renewed effort. Auxiliary member Bernie Ganes, a member of the Matlock Grange #357, has also stepped in to advise the team and has been very active in our grange.

They started by taking on a long list of deferred maintenance items, including replacing the roof, the front door, painting the walls of the entry hall, updating the bathrooms and electrical work, and repairing the HVAC system.

A couple weeks ago I stopped by to get a tour and a closer look at their work. They showed me around, reminding me of the amazing potential of this under-utilized facility. The first floor has 3,000 square feet of usable space, including a commercial kitchen, rentable for a wide range of events like cooking, product production, or teaching activities. There’s a large open space with wooden floor and a classic raised stage with behind-the-scenes entry areas. This is almost identical to the design of my old elementary school cafeteria and stage combo. It’s perfect for dances, plays, dinner theatre, poetry readings, and live performances of any kind.

During my visit, six kids were up on stage goofing around and making faces as I took their photos. They were participating in a free (or donation only) drama class that meets a couple times a week directed by Anika Kay and assistant Ashley Wright. The kids seemed to be having a blast. It took me back to my elementary school days in Yakima because we had a “creative dramatics” group that met after school on our stage. My second grade teacher, Miss Irene McPherson, would read us a fairytale and we’d volunteer to play the various parts, totally impromptu. (As you might imagine, the results were hysterical.)

The basement of the grange, with another 2,280 square feet of carpeted space, could be used for whatever our community might come up with: there’s a second commercial kitchen that, again, could be rented for parties, dinners, canning gatherings, workshops, or youth programming. The grange team was setting up tables for some gathering coming up and talked to me about the “Blast of Jazz” event about to take place on May 17. (More on this in a moment.) There are 60 parking spaces encircling the building.

 

How could the grange serve us better?

This energetic group of officers has been brainstorming ways to make the grange more responsive to the needs of our community, first by simply reminding us that it exists. They are ready to listen to any and all ideas about how the space could be used. Arts and craft shows? Flea market days with indoor space, especially during the winter or rainy days? Quilting gatherings? Book club meetings? Gardening classes?

Washington state granges have a long history. (Here’s a website that includes links for all the local granges in the state: wa-grange.com/GrangeWebsites.aspx.) They were established in 1889 in Washington Territory and their purpose is to improve the quality of life of Washington residents “through the spirit of community service and legislative action.”

Granges are non-profit and non-partisan gathering places. The state site lists several legislative accomplishments, including  allowing for public utility districts (1929); supporting the Family Farm Water Act (1977); and replacing the blanket primary with a “top two” system (2004). Individual grange members, though their local grange, can propose resolutions for consideration of a specific issue with proposed solutions. (There’s a resolution form on the main state site.) The grange system seemed to fall out of regular use decades ago, but it has been brought back to active status in many counties (a map here: wa-grange.com/LocalGrange.aspx).

 

Get involved

To keep our Grange lively and to begin to increase a working budget, the “Blast of Jazz” fund-raiser dinner and live music will take place, as mentioned, on May 17. The Ilwaco High School Jazz Band will perform (and share proceeds); there will be a silent auction; and a dinner of garlic chicken alfredo, salad, rolls, green beans, and cake for dessert. Doors open at 4:30 p.m. and for $20 it sounds like a community event not to be missed. Tickets are available at various locations around town or call the grange for more information: 360-642-4953.

Come get a meal, hear some great music from Rachel Lake and her talented students, talk to your neighbors, and find out more about how to support our local grange. You might even be inspired to be part of the team reconceiving how to make this long-standing and historical resource magic again.