Patsy Hanson stopped by my office the other day and I thought it would be a good time to ask her what her favorite memories of Woodland were and this is what she told me. She loved the Labor Day Celebrations. She said her father Ernest “Ernie” White used to work very hard on those as most of the work was done by the local labor unions from “The Company.” She stated as a kid she would go with her friends and try to find the biggest and best rides to get on. She said that her family didn’t have much money but her mother would try to make sure she had $2.00 and she would spread that as thin as she could. She told me that as she got older she would take her three children and have them all dressed up to participate in the activities. She said her son Joey was named “Little Sir” at one of the celebrations. Patsy told me that the school has meant the world to her. She has worked there since 1974. She told me that she has been playing the piano for the graduation march for 25 or 30 years. She told me that she had been very sick a year or so ago and her goal was to get well enough to play the piano at the graduation again. I remember watching her play that day. She said she was born in Woodland but when her father tried to enlist in the service during WWII he was not able to because of health issues. Ernie moved his family to Portland when she was 3 to build PT Boats for the Navy. She said she still remembered the blackout shades that had to be pulled over the windows of their home when the air raid sirens went off. When the war ended they all moved back to Woodland. She remembered the joint class reunions she helped set up. She told me the first one they had was in 1990. She said it was so big they had to move it to the armory in Calais. 610 people came for that reunion. Patsy is another treasure we have in town and thank you for sharing her trip down memory lane with me.
Posted on: Sat, 02 Aug 2014 20:43:14 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015