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Journal
Falling
in love
L [!: TT[i: S
with
letters
By NATALIE JOHNSON
In our fast paced world of smart phones, email
and text messaging, love letters have more or
less become a thing of the past.
Kristina McMorris spent a lot of time think-
ing about this while writing her soon to be re-
leased book "Letters from Home."
Inspired by the true story of her grandpar-
ents' long distance courtship through letters
during World War II, McMorris began working
on this book five years ago. '
"It all started with a family Christmas gift,"
she said "I had compiled the recipes that she (my
grandmother) collected ... and created over de-
cades."
While interviewing her grandmother - Jean
McPherren, a longtime Hoodspert resident - for
the cookbook, McMorris discovered theexistence
"She started talking about the courtship be-
tween her and my grandfather, who she was
very close to, she said. "They only met twice
throughout the whole war."
McMorris said she couldn't stop thinking
about the 60 year old letter~ between McPher-
ren and the 19 year old soldier sweetheart who
became her husband of 50 years.
"I thought that would make such a great mov-
ie," she said. "Those letters are what everybody
thinks they are - they're mushy and syrupy.
You don't get that anymore with emails and text
messages."
In her head, McMorris started developing the
plot and characters including a WWII soldier
opening up his letters from home and imagining
the girl who sent them. But unlike her grand-
of her grandparents' WWII love letters that un- mother's stories, this one had a twist.
til then, no one else in the family had seen. See Letters on page B-5
Courtesy photos
Shucking forthe She ood Guild
Sherwood Guild
prepares for annual
"Cooking with Xinh"
charity
By NATALIE JOHNSON
Every year as spring approach-
es, Janet Hilderman's phone starts
ringing off the hook, as oyster lov-
ers throughout the county rush to
buy their tickets for the Sherwood
Guild's annual "Cooking with Xinh"
fundraiser. -
"The same people come every
year - I sell the tickets and they
call me," Hilderman said.
The fundraiser takes place on
March 20 and 21 at 6 p.m. each
night. It includes a cooking demon-
stration and free recipes from Xinh
Dwelley, of Xinh's Clam and Oyster
House, plus two drinks, an oyster
bar and a seafood buffet.
"She (Dwelley) hasn't come up
with the menu yet, but it doesn't
matter, it will be fabulous," Hilder-
man said. "Everything she does is
amazing and she's a real charac-
ter."
Hilderman said that every year,
Sherwood Guild members see many
of the same faces at the fundraiser,
partly because of the food and the
fun atmosphere, and partly because
of Dwelley.
"Xinh, who is the funniest human
on the planet, does a demonstration
of two of the recipes that she's cook-
ing, and each guest gets those reci-
pes to take home," she said. "Not
that you could ever make them to
taste like she does anyway."
The Sherwood Guild is a volun-
teer organization made up of 24
women, Hilderman said. All pro-
ceeds, minus the cost of food, from
"Cooking with Xinh" go to Mason
General Hospital.
Hilderman said that the fund-
raiser has a welcoming small town
atmosphere, and often, people leave
having made new friends.
"(~nh) gives a really informative
little talk about oysters and then
people ask questions and they ban-
ter back and forth and it's funny,"
she said. "The people there start
out in this classroom formation
and they're sitting with people they
Journal photo by Natalie Johnson
Janet Hilderman volunteers with the Sherwood Guild at the
"Cooking with Xinh" event.
don't know ... it just generates an
energy so people are talking table to
table in there and it's like a party."
Hilderman said that the guild
usually raises over $5,000 for the
hospital at this fundraiser. The
Sherwood guild .only does two fund-
raisers a year, she said, the "Cook-
ing with Xinh" night and the gala at
Fantasy Forest.
Hilderman said that she joined
the Sherwood Guild after she re-
tired, and was looking for some-
thing to do.
"I retired in 2003 ... I was born
here ... I retired in October and
then November was Fantasy For-
est," she said. "I went to the open
house to look at the Christmas
trees."
Hilderman ran into an old friend
there who suggested that she join
the Sherwood Guild.
"I thought what the heck, you
know?" she said.
Hilderman's husband Bruce said
that she had the right personality
to break into any club in no time.
"Janet walks into a room and ev-
eryone is her friend immediately,"
he said. "When it comes to joining
clubs and things it's very, very easy
for her ... She's one of those won-
de~$ul people."
Hilderman said that she enjoys
volunteering in her community,
and it's the least she can do for her
hometown of Shelton.
"I think everybody should do
some kind of community service,
that's paying your dues for living in
a place that's wonderful," she said.
The "Cooking with Xinh" event
takes place on Sunday, March 20,
at 6 p.m. or Monday, March 21 at
6 p.m. at Xinh's Clam and Oyster
House in Shelton.
Only 80 seats are available each
night, and reservations go fast.
Tickets are $50 each and reserva-
tions are required.
For reservations, call 360-427-
4522, or 360-420-3623.
See Cookin' on page B-5
Island mojo makes
for a successful party
" A big crowd showed up
last Saturday ~,ight to cel-
ebrate with Rod and Jenny.
I wasn't able to attend, but I
got a report from Richard
Peet.
Richard, by the way,
needs a big island thank you
the next time you see him. It
was Richard's mojo that got
the whole event going. And
as I talked with Richard his
first words were to
thank all those who
helped with the set
up and the all ira-
portant clean up.
There were some
85 people there and
after a champaign
toast, Rod and Jen-
ny opened a couple
of presents. They
were presented
with a beautiful 14
inch crystal bowl
send two wonderful Harstine
Island sweat shirts. The pot-
luck meal was extravagant
as usual with a sizzling tur-
key added and a huge cake
donated by the Ponchets.
A number of islanders
gave tribute to Rod and
Jenny and their years serv-
ing the community. The
Backwoods Boys were also
on hand to sing a few songs
and throw out a few jokes.
A great time was had by all
and in Richard Peets words,
it wasa superior event.
A new Inquiring Minds
series begins on Sunday,
Jan. 30, at 2 p.m. at the
Harstine Island Community
Hall. Those of you who have
attended previous Inquiring
Minds presentations know
how professional the speak-
ers are and how pleasant it
is to spend a few hours on a
cold, gray Sunday afternoon
enjoying an interesting live
presentation.
This year's series fo-
cuses on unique people and
places in Washington State.
The first speaker is Harriet
Baskas, an award-winning
author and radio producer.
Her subje~ct will be 'TChat
is That - Unusual and Off-
beat People, Places, Things
and Events in Washington
State."
Did you ever know
that downtown Winlock fea-
tures a statue of the world's
largest egg? If you knew, did
you wonder why? Harriet's
presentation will delight you
with insights into offbeat
MIKE
CALLAGHAN
objects, events and
stories and their re-
lationship to local
communities. Ad-
mission is free and
all are welcome,
so come and and
bring your friends.
I bet you received
your voters bal-
lot in the mail this
week. For the sake
of our kids I hope
you take time and
vote- so ybdr homework as-
signment this week is to just
mark the ballot and put it in
the mail -easy.
Remember that on Satur-
day, March 19 the Pioneer
Kiwanis will be putting on
their annual Crab and Clam
Dinner. It is a wonderful
event and the food is mouth
watering.
Don't forget those May
concerts that are being
planned by our wonderful
Harstine Island Choir.
WSU Extension will
be presenting a free sep-
tic maintenance workshop
in partnership with Ma-
son County Public Health
on Thursday, Feb. 3 at the
North Mason Library locat-
ed at 23081 NE Route 3 in
Belfair. Every person who
attends will receive a cou-
pon, discounting their next
septic system pumping or
operation and maintenance
service. In addition, Mason
County Public Health Staff
will present on a variety of
projects underway to im-
prove water quality in Hood
Canal.
See Harstine on page B-5
Thursday, Jan. 27, 2011 - Shelton-Mason County Journal - Page B-1