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UPCOMING STATE EVENTS:May 1 - 3, 2020 Lynden Spring Meeting: "Up and Away"
June 4 - 7, 2020 Moses Lake Summer Rally: "Fun in the Desert"September 18 - 20, 2020 Cashmere Fall Meeting: "Apples and Cinnamon: Yum Yum"
Dick and I are finishing up our term as Director. I hope you have learned some new things, played some new games and showed your skill in the favorite games. I also hope you have made some new friends and just had a good time. Dick was responsible for the seminars at Moses Lake. Getting someone to commit and then actually show up is a lot to ask of people it seems. But there were many opportunities to learn from those that participated in the seminars.
I’ve seen many of you on stage in questionable situations, some of you trying desperately to learn how to line dance, me being one of those, and some of you with really good talents. We have laughed, and laughed some more, and the friends that we have made will be with us for a lifetime.
We have watched the National support for our rally in Moses Lake go down and down. But we still support each other and in the end that is the most important thing. Thank you to the chapters that helped with stage decorating, to our chapter, Good Guy Sams, for always being willing to serve the ice cream and berries at Lynden, to Whatcom Sams for feeding us in Lyn-den, to Three Rivers for feeding us for years at Moses Lake, to Single Sams for serving coffee and donuts, to Blue Mountain Sams for always having water for me, to River City Sams for apples in Cashmere, to Lloyd Hartley who picked up the donuts every single time at 6:30 in the morning. Of course, he had a motive – wanted first pick of the best, to Military Sams for the touching presentation of our flags at every event, to Erv for standing beside me on Sunday mornings, and thanks to those who deserve a prize for washing tables and chairs way too many times. So many of you have played such an important part in making each and every event a success.
We could not have done any of this without the State team beside us. They put up with my constant questions and my re-quests for information. They saw things that needed to be done and just did it. They were our own personal support team and we are forever grateful for each and every one of them. I do want to say my personal thanks to Ron Belden. He has been my sounding board, my proofreader, and always a positive comment for four years. I would not have survived my first year without Ron Belden and Ron Strickland.
And, saving the best for last is the constant support and help from Dick. He is always there to help, to run errands, to find someone, to ask if I had eaten & drank my water. He tries desperately to find things that I have misplaced. And that is a full-time job. He puts things in perspective when I’m at a loss to find entertainment or speakers or vendors. He does 99% of the cooking and 99% of the time bringing me wine. He makes a mean cheese and meat tray. What more could I want. I could not live this life without him.
Now we ask that you focus your support on Dave and Dee. It is a big job and they will need help just as we did, especially that first year.
Thank you all for your kindness. We are truly grateful.
Dick & Donna
Happy Wheels NOVEMBER 2019 VOLUME 35NUMBER 4
www.wastategoodsams.comFacebook: Washington State Good Sams Yahoo Groups: Washington State Good Sams
From the DIRECTORS...
HAPPY WHEELSNOVEMBER 2019
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STATE DIRECTORDonna (Richard) Amos2610 E Section St. #20Mount Vernon, WA 98274(425) 344-4916E-mail: [email protected]
TREASURERJody Mason12206 Banner RD SE Olalla, WA [email protected](360) 265-5778
SECRETARYRon Belden 336 Canyon St.Richland, WA 99352(509) 531-5437E-mail: [email protected]
WAGONMASTERRon (Doreen) Adams6350 Portal Way #65 Ferndale, WA 98003H: (360) 398-2995 / C: (360) 305-9035E-mail: [email protected]
REGISTRATION Jody Mason12206 Banner RD SE Olalla, WA [email protected](360) 265-5778
FISHER HOUSE(Through Military Sams):
Diana Supler-Varner1603 Brunswick St. SE Lacey, WA 98503-6954H: (360) 455-9294 / C: (360) 790-7366E-mail: [email protected]
WEBMASTERBill (Linda) Brown21903 114th St. E Bonney Lake, WA 98391(253) 862-7352E-mail: [email protected]
PHOTOGRAPHYJohn (Kathy) West11525 173rd Ave Ct E. Bonney Lake, WA 98391253-307-5867 E-mail: [email protected]
SOUND SYSTEM OPERATORJim (Darlene) Hyson2713 Converse Ave SEPort Orchard, WA 98366(360) 620-2781E-mail: [email protected]
LEGISLATIVESteve (Judy) Brooks2308 114th Drive NELake Stevens, WA 98258(425) 334-1191E-mail: [email protected]
NOVEMBER 2019
WASHINGTON STATE TEAMGOOD SAM STORE
Eileen (Jim) Ferguson306 Kray Ike Ct.Wenatchee, WA 98801H: (509) 888-2300 / C: (509) 885-3770E-mail: [email protected]
SUNSHINE Jean Little1406 29th Anacortes, WA 98221(360) 293-5297E-mail: [email protected]
DOGS FOR BETTER LIVESRoxie (Bob) Holley105 S. Belfair Kennewick, WA 99336H: (509) 734-2002 / C: (509) 430-9237E-mail: [email protected]
HAPPY WHEELS EDITORBarbara (Steve) Erickson14306 SE 49th St.Bellevue, WA 98006H: (425) 746-1094 / C: (206) 387-1694E-mail: [email protected]
RONALD McDONALD HOUSE Kathy West11525 173rd Ave Ct EBonney Lake, WA [email protected]
Assistant Directors
HAPPY WHEELS
S. CENTRAL WASHINGTONBob (Roxie ) Holley105 S. Belfair Kennewick, WA 99336H: (509) 734-2002 / C: (509) 430-9237E-mail: [email protected]
N. CENTRAL WASHINGTON Ken (Karen) BauerP.O. Box 184 Malaga, WA 98828-0184C: (509) 670-1229E-mail: [email protected]
ISLAND/WHATCOM / SKAGIT / SNOHOMISH / N. KING
Ron (Doreen) Adams 6350 Portal Way #65 Ferndale, WA 98248H: (360) 398-2995C: (360) 305-9035E-mail: [email protected]
GREATER SPOKANE AREABob Ladd 17709 E. Indiana Ave Greenacres, WA 99016(509) 954-4295E-mail: [email protected]
S. WESTERN WASHINGTON Bobbye (Gary) Simons1041E Timberlakes Dr. E. Shelton, WA 98584H: 360-426-4852C: [email protected]
PIERCE / THURSTON / S. KINGEd (Benay) Nelson13216 228th St. E. Graham, WA 98338H: (360) 893-5208C: (253) 380-6992E-mail: [email protected]
FAR EASTERN WASHINGTON and ADVERTISING
Ron (Joyce) Stricklin3040 Clemans Rd. Clarkston, WA 99403C: (509) 552-5231E-mail: [email protected] (6th char-acter is lowercase "L")
OLYMPIC / KITSAP PENINSULASOpen
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Kathy West (253) 564-1829 Email: [email protected]
Well, winter is here! Oh, no, it is just Mother Nature reminding us who is in control of the weather. Not us.
As we come to the end of another Good Sam camping year, it’s time to reflect on what has happened. Our state members have stepped up to the plate again to take care of our military and their families. The chapters have raised $8085.32 so that families can spend time with their loved ones and not worry how to pay for food, housing, and other needs while away from home. The Fisher Houses are like Ronald McDonald Houses, only for the Military patient’s family.
A whole lot of blankets and throws were also donated. The blankets bring comfort and warmth to the stressed-out family members or the patient. They are available to whoever needs them.
The families really appreciate your generosity and thoughtfulness in their time of need. You know how to step up to care for others. Thank you for your support of our Military Community!
Hope to see all of you at Lynden in May 2020.
Diana Supler-Varner Cell: (360) 790-7366 Email: [email protected]
Another camping season has come to an end. I hope everyone enjoyed their chapter camp outs as well as the State meeting and the two Rallys.
If you are heading South for the winter, I hope you would stop and take a tour of Dogs for Better Lives facility. That way, you could see what your wonderful donations have helped build.
I would like to thank the following chapters for their donations: Appleland Sams – Blue Mountain Sams – Lo-Ke-Co Sams – River City Sams – Three River Sams – and Whatcom Sams. I would like to thank all of you for your support for the last seven years. This is my last year and I’m turning the reins over to Marke Peterson of Skagit Sams.
Roxie Holley (509) 430-9237 Email: stichnb@aolcom
NOVEMBER 2019 HAPPY WHEELS
Ronald McDonald Houses of Washingtonwww.rmhcinlandnw.org www.rmhcseattle.org
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Washington State Good Sams Sunshine
SympathyJohn Banks, Sundowners Good SamLinnae McAnally, Golden Campers
Larry Philmon, Cariboo Trail Good Sams Dean Williams, Play It Again Sams
CHAPTERS: PLEASE CONTACT JEAN LITTLE, STATE SUNSHINE
TO REPORT MEMBER ILLNESS, SYMPATHY OR DEATH Email: [email protected].
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CASHMERE FOR THOSE WHO MISSED IT
The site, Donna and Dick and the stage
Activities and
Games
The meetings and raffle baskets
Entertainment
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Food for Thought
COFFEE POTSThe coffee pots that are used in Moses Lake and Lynden will be delivered to Moses Lake in 2020. A chapter in that part of the state needs to take charge of them and also make the coffee for those two events.
This note will give you and your chapter time to talk about it and decide how to make this happen. Ron Belden has done this for years and has improved the process with timers on the pots so you don’t need to get up before the chickens to make coffee. You can do it before the chickens even go to bed.
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CHAPTER SUBMISSIONS (See Page #16 for more information)THIS PORTION OF THE HAPPY WHEELS NEWSLETTER IS THE VOICE OF OUR LOCAL CHAPTERS.
WHETHER IT'S A FUNNY ANECDOTE OR SENTIMENTAL REMEMBRANCE, WE'D LIKE TO HEAR YOUR STORY. KEEP YOUR STORY BRIEF, - UP TO 300 WORDS. CHAPTER MATERIAL SUBMITTED FOR
PUBLICATION IS SUBJECT TO EDITING FOR TIMELINESS, SPACE, AND/OR CONTENT. IT IS NOT OUR INTENTION TO SIGNIFCANTLY CHANGE YOUR MATERIAL. MISTAKES ARE ACCIDENTAL AND FREE!
Cariboo Trail SamsSubmitted by Bob Chiles
Here we go again… the cycle of Rving is starting. Get them ready in the spring for travel and ready in the fall for stor-age.
In the interim, they provide camp out pleasures of getting away, visiting with friends, and visiting the many locations in this great country. What more could we ask.
Our camping outings this year brought us to Church Camp at Conconully, Blacks Beach Resort on Curlew Lake, Maple Grove RV in Everett, Riverbend RV between Twisp and Winthrop, Wenatchee County Park near Moni-tor and our season close-out in mid-October is at member Connie Palmer’s “Fantastic RV Barn” where we celebrate Halloween and, the season’s end.
I don’t know what more we could want at our RV outings. Great conversation is constant, food is plentiful, and deli-cious, scheduled activities are available for those who want to participate or we can just relax during the outings. Our campout business meetings, which are the night before we leave, are always in-teresting, and allow members to express their interests, and thoughts.
The upcoming winter/early fall months find us at our monthly gatherings with a super dinner prepared by the Masonic Lodge ladies with a club meeting after dinner.
So, another camp out season has been accomplished. Time to think about 2020 events which always take a fair amount of time in planning and orga-nizing.
We certainly don’t know what the win-ter and early fall will bring, but the Cariboo Trail Sams say, “Be safe, stay warm and take good care of yourselves.”
Deer Park White-Tail SamsSubmitted by Sharon Crump
Twelve rigs made it for great summer fun camping at Deer Lake Resort in August. Quiet walks, games, delicious food , and night time campfires. Sharping up our game skills for the Cashmere campout.
Nine rigs came to the great Cashmere campout. Apples galore, outing to the local aplet/cotlet factor, while some jaunted off to Leavenworth. Dining out at a great Mexican restaurant, and, of course, we couldn’t pass up the BBQ Pit. So many games, competition always inspires us to push just a little harder. Plenty of fun with old friends and new.
For the last campout of the summer, Chewelah Golf Course was the destination. Of course some of our members got in a game or two. Eleven rigs showed up. This is our Chapter’s 20th Anniversary. Don and Alene Whitney, and Wayne and Lori Crockett were honored as charter members. They were presented with personal-ized coffee mugs to commemorate this occasion.
I am grateful for their wonderful examples and dedication to our Chapter.
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Roamin WheelsSubmitted by Iva Metz
JULY – found us in Leavenworth RV Campground. It was a bit HOT for a couple of days, then it cooled down a little. We toured the fish hatchery, very interesting. Sev-eral of our members went up to Sky Hill to enjoy the play “Sound of Music”.
AUGUST – At our luncheon we collected $1,780 worth of blankets, money and supplies for the Ronald McDon-ald House. We also enjoyed a decorated cake to celebrate the Chapter’s 40th birthday. Our campout was at Ameri-can Sunset RV Park, near Westport. Good weather, good food and a nice tour of the Coast Guard Station & two active vessels. photo
SEPTEMBER – This outing was at Cedars RV Park in Ferndale. While there we visited Bellingham to see the amazing MegaZapper show at the Spark Museum. Two of our members were brave enough to enter the “Cage of Doom”. If you haven’t visited that place you can (if you are brave or fool hardy enough) stand inside a huge metal cage and have bolts of lightning pop all around you. We ventured back to the club house to watch a hi-larious movie “The Long, Long Trailer” featuring Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. We can all relate to that and re-member when we first started camping.
OCTOBER – We plan to end the camping season at Fi-dalgo Bay Resort near Anacortes. Janet has planned a High Tea event and asked everyone to wear a hat (funny or fancy). Sounds like fun.
We will see you down the road, and wish you all a happy, healthy 2020 camping season.
What-Com SamsSubmitted by Patricia Kazarow
In July, the What-Com’s Good Sam Club met at Howard Miller Steelhead Park in Rockport for our monthly gather-ing. We all used some of our free time to explore the area that surrounds this beautiful park, including the nearby North Cascades National Park Visitor Center and town of Newhalem.
August found us at Silver Lake Park, a Whatcom County Park located on scenic Mount Baker Highway. There, in ad-dition to playing beanbag baseball, we used our non-struc-tured time to just enjoy nature and fabulous weather.
In September, we camped at the Wenatchee River County Park. Many of us took time to walk along the river and de-light in the many animal sculptures that grace this lovely park. Activities here also included diligently practicing our beanbag baseball skills and participating in a 42-item scav-enger hunt that was lots of fun!
Then, we went to Cashmere for the Fall State Rally. Here our own Ann Archer presented a workshop on flower and fish making. Everyone had a great time! Many fish were “caught” all decked out in sequins and other colorful decorations. In case you missed it, Ann will be at the Lynden Rally as well as FunFest at Bonny Lake next May presenting craft work-shops.
Several members also took time to investigate the very mov-ing 9/11 Spirit of America Memorial… truly a must-see if you are in the area.
In October, we camped at the RV Park at Swinomish Ca-sino in Anacortes. In November, we gather for fantastic food at the Latitude 49 Clubhouse in Birch Bay for Thanksgiving dinner. Actually, amazing culinary feasts seem to be a feature of all of our gatherings!
We are so grateful for all of our fun times together! Our chapter continues to grow; we now number 24 rigs and 43 members. Happy Trails everyone! Iva helping to
celebrate Roamin' Wheels 40th birthday
Janet having a hair-raising experience!
Jack and Barbara in the Cage of Doom!
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Good Sam SneekersSubmitted by Kathy Laird
Three River SamsSubmitted by Delphine Palmer
Our Chapter enjoyed our trip to the Washington Coast so much last year that we visited again during Kite Fes-tival week. Kites ranged from tiny to enormous box kites that even Duane “The Rock” Johnson would have trou-ble controlling. Forget kites made of paper, wooden sticks and rag tails we remember. These were professionally built and flown by competitors from around the world.
We anticipated a clam bake again this year; however, a Red Tide prevented the bake. Not to worry, as always, we ate heartily. In fact, the highlight was being invited to Bev Scheel’s son’s beautiful property where we enjoyed a scrump-tious breakfast as we sat outdoors by a warm fire.
Alas, the only blemish on the trip once again involved Elaine Rose (remember her skunk incident in a previous re-port). On this trip, a member who shall not be named (Anita Wies) was driving while laughing so hard at a joke that she swerved and knocked the side mirror off Elaine’s coach. Repairs were quickly made, and the friendship is still intact!
Cashmere was enjoyable, but unusually wet this year. In fact, a huge puddle de-veloped between Bob Holley and Gary Hughs’ rigs. Always the optimists, Bob and Gary declared, “It was great we got to enjoy lake front property at the stan-dard rental rate!”
Finally, a heartfelt thanks to Bob Hol-ley for his excellent service as Assistant Director for S. Central, Washington. Kudos also go to Roxie Holley for her leadership and hard work for Dogs for Better Lives. Bob and Roxie decided to step down from their years of service and take a well-deserved rest. Bob and Roxie are a very supportive, delight-ful, fun couple who are the first to step up when help is needed, and we thank them for all they do for others.
We enjoyed our summer campouts with some nice weather and great RV parks. In July we ventured to a new park in Albany, Oregon, the Blue Ox. It was a nice campground with grass, a large recreation room, kitchen, and BBQ grills on the patio. The highlight of that campout was visiting and riding the carousel and museum in downtown Albany. The carousel is amazing with hand-carved, painted animals that can take a couple of years or more to create.
August meant McMinnville, OR campout at the Olde Stone Village. This RV park has been on our schedule for the past several years because it is such a beautiful park with lots of things to do and see in the area.
In September we went to a new park in Astoria, OR., the Lewis & Clark Golf & RV Park. The weather was warm, sunny and it only rained at night. The hosts prepared a craft project for everyone to make stuffed pumpkins that were very cute. Delicious food as always!
We have had some serious injuries and health concerns during this past quarter. Ed Barnes broke his elbow and it is inoperable so he will be wearing a special brace to immobilize his arm for about a year. He won’t be able to drive his rig to attend campouts for the next several months. Don Baker was just diagnosed with thyroid cancer and will have surgery to remove the tumor. Many of you know Don for his work on Fun Fests – entertaining with his sing-ing and guitar, helping with parking, raffles, and organizing the Thursday night dinner, and other activities.
On a happy note, we have another new couple who have joined our chapter – Richard (Dick) and Marilyn Thur.
Sounder SamsSubmitted by Gitta Brown
This year some members of our fun loving group experienced personal challenges. But everyone kept a posi-tive attitude, and things appear to be on the mend now.
June outing took us to Steven-son at the Columbia River. It was packed with activities, including Ziplines, Paddle Wheel dinner cruise, Aeroplane&Automobile museum (a real hit!), and Bonneville Dam. Came up for air in the evenings, relaxing with entertaining conversation and Card Bingo, where someone swore having to skip doing laundry because most of their quarters wound up in someone else’s pocket!
July Outing was planned for Long Beach Sandsations festivities, but can-celled due to lack of participation. August’s more relaxing campout was closer to home in Sequim. Some mem-bers stopped by for a day trip, joining the potluck dinner.
Everyone looked forward to Septem-ber’s trip to Leavenworth Autumn Fes-tival, sunny end of summer days and color foliage. But the weather Gods decided to let it rain the entire week-end, turning to snow on the Passes. Most of us arrived a day early to have at least 2 dry days and partake in anoth-er Zipline experience, then sit around a firepit for an evening of chitchat. But the Hayride+BBQ was cancelled, instead went to Cashmere’s 59er Din-er, killing two birds with one stone as it also serves icecream, without it no campout is complete!
Luckily the Campground allowed us-ing their clubhouse and converting the pingpong table to a dinner table for our traditional potluck, followed by anoth-er lively game of Card Bingo. By Satur-day most members left, not risking to get stuck in snow on the Passes. Some diehards remained, braving inclement weather and hitting the shops.
As always Sounder Sams meet once a month, plus keeping up the Ladies lun-cheon and men’s breakfast tradition.
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Desert Drifters SamsSubmitted by Renae Koop
Sandy SamsSubmitted by Phyllis Sievert
We had a great year of campouts, which will come to an end for 2019, culminat-ing with the Cashmere fall meeting... where the “Recycled McQuire Sisters” from Moses Lake (Mike, Lee & Phyl-lis) made a “guest ap-pearance” on Friday night.
Our “shake-down cruise” in April was at Sage Hills RV Resort, near War-den, WA. This has traditionally been the destination for our first outing of the year. Only about 20 miles south of Moses Lake, it provides a good opportunity to “warm-up” those rigs that have been sitting for the winter.
May saw us heading to the moun-tains, to Blu-Shastin RV Resort, on the Blewitt Pass highway. Our RV sites abutted the Peshastin Creek, which added a pleasant atmosphere to our camp. A few of us even tried panning for gold! (No luck...) We had a nice visit to Leavenworth, too.
In June, we had 5 rigs at the State Rally in Moses Lake. Always lots of fun...
Our July outing found us at the Win-chester RV Park in Republic. Beauti-ful country! A comparably small RV park, but very nicely maintained. Our president bought some huckleberries in Republic. She didn’t even have to go out in the woods to pick them!
August, we had 8 rigs, including 1 guest rig, at the Wine Country RV Park in Prosser. Our president, Lee Lihou, arranged to have her daughter give us a tour of her Alpaca farm. Very inter-esting & a well-conducted tour by her daughter, Jennifer. They had some 30 Alpacas, and lots of little babies. Fun to watch and also to have the mommies eat out of our hands. We also toured the Benton County Historical Museum, and the Princess Theatre.
October-March, we will have monthly dinner gatherings.
Valley Drifters Good SamsSubmitted by Mary Grinnell
Our July outing was held at Glen Ayr RV Park in Hoodsport with nine rigs attending. There was much merriment with a potluck, card games, and chat-ting at the gazebo and over campfires.
Eleven of our rigs joined the Cashmere State Outing, which was of course, great fun! Our group brought books and puzzles for charitable donation. After setup we journeyed for dinner to the Big Y Café, and polished the evening off with a few rounds of Card Bingo. Friday we attended the pancake breakfast, then some of our members worked off the pancakes with partici-pation in the “Fit” class. Overall, we enjoyed the many activities of the out-ing - 2 craft classes, a cribbage tour-nament wherein member Jim Ander-son took first place, bean bag baseball with 2 teams, listening to the many Good Sam talents, a pinochle tourna-ment, and shopping at the flea market sales at the rigs. Many of us visited the wonderful model train display at the fairgrounds. If you didn’t see it, put it on your must-do list for next year. We attended the evening music of Good Sammer Jammers and some of us rose to the beat to dance.
Between activities we found time to enjoy the company of our local group with two potluck dinners. Our new-comers were introduced to the excel-lent cooking of our members, including “Leftovers” the second day.
During the outing we cheered our President and First Lady, Dave and Dee Cluett, as they were “promoted” to State Director’s position. Good luck Dave and Dee.
The Valley Good Sam Drifters will celebrate our Veterans at the lun-cheon on November 5th at the Auburn Senior Center. We will also gather for a Christmas holiday luncheon in December. Our group always welcomes new members.
This has been a great camping season for Desert Drifters!
In July we traveled to Baker City, OR where we stayed at the A-Frame RV Park. While in Baker City we enjoyed the Miners Jubilee. There was so much to learn about mining! We even had an opportunity to tour a mining dredge nearby. As usual we experienced great company and great food. One of the couples in our group was recently married, so we celebrated the newly-weds with a flamingo themed party at dinner. Congratulations to Jim and Linda Crockett!
August’s trip was to Westport, WA. Only a few were able to attend, and those that did go on this trip reported that it was a fun time!
The final scheduled camping trip for this year was to Sun Lakes RV Park. It was a great trip! There were 10 rigs that went on this trip. The weather was perfect, chilly at night and warm enough for shorts during the day. It was considered “off-season” so the whole atmosphere of the park seemed a little quieter. But we still had lots to do right at the park! Golf, paddle boating and fishing are just a few. One of the high-lights of the area was Dry Falls and how it was formed. A definite “must see” if you have the opportunity.
Saturday night we had a delicious dinner of spaghetti and all the trimmings hosted by Rich and Kathy Emery, followed by our meeting and raffle. The raffle always brings fun and laughter, and the money always goes to our chosen charities.
This pretty much wraps up our camping trips for 2019. We will spend the next few months meeting in town making plans for our 2020 trips. I can’t wait to see where our journeys take us!
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Military SamsSubmitted by Diana Supler-Varner
Wow! Another camping season has passed, and winter weather is shak-ing its head at us to let us know it’s just around the corner.
The Military Sams of Washington com-pleted a successful year with lots of par-ticipation by many members. We pre-sented the flags at the 3 rallies, retired a record number of flags at Moses Lake and changed some of our officers. Some members took a break due to medical issues and are recovering. We raised money for Fisher House and shared a meal or two together. New members joined us while others departed.
Nancy Boehm prepared a wonderful basket for Cashmere with a Cherry Pie baked by Annie Edwards. The raffle basket donations are going to the Fisher House along with the collections from Sunday’s service contributed by Erv Schmidt. Thanks also goes out to the other members who created baskets and Sarah Reynolds for the pictures she painted to raise funds for the Fisher Houses at Joint Base Lewis McChord and Puget Sound VA Hospital in Seat-tle. Without your help, we would not be able to raise these donations.
The Military Sams are always looking for new members so, if you have ser-vices in any branch of the military in the United States or any allied country, contact us about membership. We meet 3 times a year at the state rallies, present the colors at the opening ceremonies, retire the flags and share friendships. Contact any current member who will get you in touch with appropriate per-son.
Stay warm, happy and healthy this fall and winter. See you next year for more fun and friendship,
Lilac City SamsSubmitted by Betty Higley
JULY: Country Lane Campground in Wilber, WA rained, but we had time for a nice campout. After our meeting President Kelly Rhoads, talked to Dov, a man from Israel, who was traveling across the US by motorcycle. Kelly invited him to join us for hors d’oeuvres. Wednesday noon we headed for tours and light show at Grand Coulee Dam followed by a potluck night of loaded baked potatoes, salads, desserts. Thursday some went to Dry Falls for a tour of the visitor’s center and great scenery on our travels. Then followed by a fantastic dinner at the Country Lane Café campgrounds.
AUGUST brought us to Thousand Trails Little Diamond Lake WA. A private campground secluded by pine trees and a gazebo where we gathered for our meet-ing, meals, and playing cards. Lots of visiting this weekend. For our dinner outing, we went to Priest River Golf & Country Club (The Ranch Club).
SEPTEMBER: Eagle’s Nest in Polson, MT. A beautiful RV site and nice weather. We walked our dogs, had our potluck and meeting in a covered gazebo and checked out thrift stores for that special find. Many of us spent hours going through Mira-cle of America Museum enjoying a trip around our American history and viewed every antique you could imagine. Some of us bought cheese from the Flathead Lake Cheese Co. You walk up to the order window to buy and taste their cheese that was created by hand in small batches from locally collected milk. Thursday we cruised on Flathead Lake which included a buffet dinner. We cruised by a home previously owned by Tom Selleck. Along our cruise we passed Wild Horse Island where Salish-Kootnai pastured horses and kept them from being stolen by other tribes. We finished our year with a chili feed in town, celebrating our 47th year as Lilac City Sams. Hope you all had as much fun RV’ing as we did. See you all next time.
12NOVEMBER 2019 HAPPY WHEELS
Good Guy SamsSubmitted by Barbara Smith
Play It Again SamsSubmitted by Pam Lyyski
We had a busy summer traveling to As-toria, Oregon in July to the Lewis and Clark RV Park. Astoria has so many stores and restaurants in the town to go to. The beautiful Columbia River with all the traffic of large ships bring-ing goods up the river, historical houses to tour and the Maritime Coast Guard Museum.
In August we traveled to Oliver, BC . There are many wineries to tour, nearby towns to visit. The weather was beau-tiful and we tasted and ate our way all around the area.
September found us at the State meet-ing in Cashmere. This area is always a friendly place. We picked peaches at a nearby farm as we have done before. The bakery in downtown Cashmere is a wonderful place to visit as their goods are truly “homemade” quality. There is always a day for “garage sale” from your coach with many things for sale around the grounds.
All in all we had a great traveling sea-son. It’s time to hunker down for the winter that’s coming and we will plan some outings during this time by car.
We lost another member this month, Dean Williams. He was with the chap-ter almost since it began. He was 92 and leaves his wife of 72 years. Dean will be sorely missed. That is two members we have lost in two months. It is tough be-ing a small chapter.
The August camp out was held at Rest A While, in Hoodsport. There were three rigs only but had a good time. The park was full of lots of people coming and going along the waterfront. It has been a good summer, weather wise, to be outdoors.
In September there was no camp out or meeting as too many were sick.
October found us on the waterfront in Tacoma at Harbor Lights. What a beau-tiful day. All local members, but one, were present. There were three guests also present. Charlie brought a friend, and Pam’s son and granddaughter were visiting. This meeting we discussed ev-eryone’s health issues and pray for ev-eryone’s good health. With the deaths recently, we appreciate the friendships even more.
We hope everyone had a Happy Hal-loween and Happy Thanksgiving to all.
We are always looking for new mem-bers. If you are wanting to get out with a friendly bunch of seniors, please give our president a call, Carol Thompson, (253) 564-0922. Drive safe and see you down the road.
Fort Vancouver SamsSubmitted by Gay Rochel
Another quarter has passed and our camping season is drawing to a close.
July found us at Elma RV Park, Elma, Washington. We were a little crowded in the kitchen/game room, but with the good weather we were able to take advantage of the nice deck area. Need-less to say, we had a good time and en-joyed the comradery of our group. We couldn’t have asked for more accom-modating and friendly park manage-ment and we highly recommend this park to other Chapters.
In August we returned to the Elks RV Park in Tillamook, Oregon. In order to use the Elks facility, the Chapter has to have a representative number of Elk members; we are fortunate to have six. This is a great park set on several acres of land five miles south of Tillamook. During our visit, the Elks Lodge had their annual picnic at the park, and we were invited to join in. We also enjoyed the Elk’s hospitality at their Lodge for a group dinner; once again we were warmly welcomed by the Lodge mem-bers. While we were there, some Chap-ter members enjoyed a train ride up the scenic Oregon Coast, others the Cheese Factory and the Air Museum. The weather was good as well.
September, for a second year, found us at Boardman, Oregon at the Boardman RV and Marine Park. This is a very well kept park located on the shores of the Columbia River. Our visit was a week before the famous Pendleton Roundup; with many roundup activities in Pend-leton, such as the parade that members attended. This year, because of the fore-sight of our Wagonmaster, we had river front sites. There is no clubhouse at the park other than a covered open area, so our potluck was held in the open at one of the campsites. The weather this year showed us two days that were hot, requiring the use of our rigs’ air condi-tioners and two days of cooler weather but very windy with a little rain thrown in. All in all, it was an enjoyable cam-pout.
Remember, every next level of your life will demand a different you.
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Spread the Word: 10 Reasons to Join a Good Sam Chapter
1. Group Campouts / Get Togethers2. Group Campout Benefits3. An Extended Family4. Chapter Activities (Indoor/Outdoor Games, Etc.)5. Strong State Organization Support6. Meet New Friends (Everyone you know you met for the first time)7. Helping Others8. A Good Reason to Use Your RV9. RV Help From Chapter "Experienced Campers"10. FUN!
NOVEMBER 2019 HAPPY WHEELS
Skagit SamsSubmitted by John West
Skagit Sams of Skagit County has been around for several years. We were at one time 25 rigs strong. Then a couple of years ago, we went to five active rigs due to members age, health issues and rig issues. We also had a few members pass away. Over the past two years we are up to eight rigs and always looking for new members to join our little band of RV’ers.
Our camping season usually starts in April and ends in September. We don’t have a wagon master like we used to when we were larger, so each rig picks a month to host and makes the camping arrangements. Due to date con-flicts our April campout was canceled. Our May campout was held in conjunction with the state Lynden rally. In June, we did a joint campout with the Sams of Puget Sound at Harstine Island and are planning on another joint campout in June 2020. July was at the property of one of our members on the Skagit River. August was held at Glacier Peak Re-sort, at the old Clark’s cabins in Marblemount. In September we finished our season at Whispering Pines in Cle Elum prior to the state rally in Cashmere. October thru March we have hosted dinners at various restaurants around the Mt. Vernon, Burlington, Sedro Woolley area.
We are a small but determined little chapter and are always looking for new members to join our ranks. We are not limited to just Skagit County, we have members from Whatcom County, Island County, and my wife and I live in Pierce County. I have been a member of Skagit Sams since 1996 and stayed with them when I moved to Pierce County.
We would love to have you contact us, come to a winter dinner meeting or a campout, check us out and possibly join our little band. My contact information email is [email protected] or Paula Keitges at [email protected].
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Please Support our advertisers!
15NOVEMBER 2019 HAPPY WHEELS
Driving the Happy Wheels News-bus!Barbara Erickson, Happy Wheels Editor
Thank you to everyone who submitted articles for this month's newsletter! I appreciate your promptness and enjoy reading about your chapters' adventures! There are great tips about a wide-variety of RV Parks to visit and enjoy locally and in nearby states.
Front Cover Logo: This quarter's issue focuses on the Skagit Sams logo. The seed for a local Good Sam Club was planted when several couples from this area attended the Good Sam Rally in Shelton in July of 1972. The state Director “Matt” Mathison was contacted and things began rolling.
Notices were sent out and an organizational meeting was held September 25, 1972. “Matt” arranged for us to attend a campout with the “Sloshin’ Sams” in Monroe. Five rigs attended; we had a great time!
Our name “The Skagit Sams” was selected at our January 1973 meeting. Our first campout was held in March of 1973 at Mathison’s in Lynden. That was the begin-ning of a fun year. “Matt” presented our club with its charter at this meeting.
Our club emblem, a totem with Good Sam’s head, was designed by Merlene Handel and sketched by Christine Handel.
PHOTOGRAPHS: You may have noticed more photographs accompanying the articles lately. I am including photgraphs as I have room. If I can fit the photo in your column, I will, remember we have a 300 word limit. If I have to increase the size of your column to fit photos in, see Blue Mountain Sams and Lilac City Sams, I will do so as space permits! or I will inevitably have to move the photo to another page.
STATE MEETINGS: Spread the word... State events are fun! Invite your members to attend!
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WA State Good Sams Happy Wheels14306 SE 49th StreetBellevue, WA 98006
The Washington State Good Sam Newsletter is the quarterly published voice for Washington State Good Sams Chapter
Members. At Large Members may subscribe to a nominal fee by contacting the Good Sam State Treasurer.
CHANGES OF ADDRESS MUST BE SUBMITTED TO THE STATE SECRETARY AT THE ADDRESS ON THE
STAFF PAGE (PAGE 2)
Submission deadlines are the 15th of January, April, July and October for publishing the first week of February,
May, August and November.
ADVERTISING FEESFees are for Copy Ready material, to be published four consec-utive times. Copy of Newsletter is included. For Sale and Want
Ads are not accepted. Make Checks payable to Washington State Good Sams and mailed along with copy to Editor. (Fees
are based on four issues, payable in advance.)1/2 Page (approx * 5" x 8") $150.001/4 Page (approx * 5" x 4") $100.001/8 Page (approx * 3.5" x 2") $50.00
Newsletter is 8.5"x 11" Ads will require lock-up/margins.
For more information, please contact: State Advertising Info - Ron Stricklin
3040 Clemans Rd / Clarkston, WA 99403Cell: (509) 552-5231
Email: [email protected]
