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Shelton Mason County Journal
Shelton, Washington
June 14, 2007     Shelton Mason County Journal
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June 14, 2007
 
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What's Cookin'? Nancy fancies being grandma By REBECCA WELLS Retiring was such a great expe- rience for Nancy Plews, she's going to do it again some day. In May of 2005, spunky, laid-back Nancy de- cided to retire from Mason County. She first started working for the on-site sewage division of the Ma- son County Office of Environmen- tal Health in November of 1984. By the time she left, she was working as a support clerk in the permit assistance center, which meant she dealt with building and planning, as well as environmen- tal health. More than 100 people turned out for a blowout affair held in her honor at Lake Limer- ick. "The girls at the office, as well as some of the guys, they out-did themselves. They really did," she says. "It was a wonderful retire- ment party and it was just so very well attended and all the festivi- ties surrounding that month were just outstanding. It overwhelmed me and it actually humbled me to think that that many people thought well enough of me to come and celebrate my retirement with me." Little did she know at the time that she would be back in the of- rice again by the end of the year. She was still too young to collect government benefits as a senior citizen, so now she's back at it, but only on a part-time basis. She said this "suits me very well. I'm very happy with that, actually. Had I known that I would be so happy with part-time, I would have just asked for a transtr." These days she spends less time assisting clients at the front counter and more time behind the scenes as a file clerk, a posi- tion which really fits her. "They laugh at me. I really do like hav- ing things kind of neat and orga- nized and in order," she says. She started this line of work while working in Pierce County. Then she met her husband, Gary, who is originally from Mason County, having attended grade school in Union, ad well as the old Shelton Junior High and then Irene S. Reed,High School. She and Gary now have four children and nine grandchildren between the two of them. Most of their children and grandchildren live in Shelton, the exception be- ing one daughter, her husband and their two children. Having the young ones nearby thrills Nancy, who is very involved in her grand- children's lives. THE GRANDCHILDREN range in age from 21/2 to 17. "I get what I call my 'grandma fix' rou- tinely, frequently," she says. The youngest grandson, Kallen Plews, was born with a number of complications, including a hole in his heart, and this required that he spend the first nine months of his life at Mary Bridge Children's Hospital. His heart has now been fixed and the little toddler is pro- gressing to the point where he is beginning to talk. The child re- turns to the hospital on occasion for surgeries and doctor appoint- ments and nutritionists and ther- apists are still working with him, helping him eat through a feeding tube. "He's not out of the woods on that one yet. It seems like a long time to pray for that little guy," says Nancy. RETIRED AND back again, Nancy Plews is having fun wprking part time, while spending the rest of her energy on her family, church and community organizations. Friends and family all around Puget Sound have been praying for him ahmg this whole journey. "The community has come along with him on that journey and has just been extremely suiportive," she says. The boy's parents have handled the whole situation very well, Nancy says proudly. Nancy and Gary belong to the United Methodist Church of Shel- ton, where they serve as ushers. In her free time, Nancy enjoys sewing. She has sewn Halloween costumes for her grandchildren and makes shawls to match her granddaughter's evening gowns for dances and formal occasions. "I don't go cheap," she says. She and Gary enjoy boating and have been members of the Shelton Yacht Club for 20 years. Nancy also belongs to the Sher- wood Guild of the Mason General Hospital Foundation. She is par- ticularly involved with the group's annual March fund-raiser, Cook- ing with Xinh. Every January, she and Gary also enjoy taking a break away from this area and spending a few weeks visiting family in Florida. This winter, however, they didn't go to Florida. Instead, they post- poned their travels until April and took a major trip for five days to Arlington, Virginia, where her parents' ashes were committed to Arlington National Cemetery. The couple took five of their grand- children with them, plus a daugh- ter and son-in-law, making for a grand total of nine travelers from Shelton. Family from Florida and Illinois also made the trek to Ar- lington for the memorable event. "IWE HEARD from almost ev- ery grandchild that they were just blown away," Nancy says. She was very impressed by the interest they expressed in visiting the Smithsonian Institution, the Library of Congress and numer- ous historical monuments. They even had special arrangements through connections with an in- tern in Congressman Norm Dick's office, who took them on a tour of the Capitol building. In spite of the harsh, windy weather dur- ing the outdoor ceremonies, the grandchildren behaved very well during the funeral service for her parents, John and Irma Davis. Nancy's parents had served their country during World War II, he having retired as a lieu- tenant colonel in the U.S. Army and she as a lieutenant in the nursing corps. Her father's rank earned him the highest military honor for burial at Arlington and qualified his funeral for the "full works," complete with a carriage drawn by elegant horses carrying the couple's ashes together, a live band performance, an escort and a 21-gun salute. ON GARY'S SIDE of the fam- ily, cancer of one form or another has claimed the lives of his parents and his sistersJThat's one reason he and Nancy support the Shelton Relay For Life by attending the annual Friday night luminaria services and making monetary contributions to several teams, es- pecially Team Marlene, which is organized in memory of Marlene Peste Davison, who graduated from Irene S. Reed High School with Gary's class in the Fifties. Gary, who is retired from a job with the Washington State De- partment of Health, last year trav- eled twice to Mississippi as part of mission trips to offer aid to people affected in the wake of Hurricane z. 130 YEARS OF RAYONIER A Photograph Exhil00it June 22 through September 3, 2007 L.ou nty Historical Muscum 427 West ]ailroacl Avenue Shelton, Washington 360-426-1020 h|seum lh,urs 'lhes,lay- Friday 11 AM - 5 I'M Saturday 11 AM .,- 4 Phi [;ree admi,si,m; donati, ms accept,d Rayonier Page 16 - Shelton-Mason County Journal - Thursday, June 14, 2007 Katrina. Nancy stayed at home, supporting his endeavors by help- ing him prepare. "I guess you could say I'm just support staff- not only at work but at the house. I support my grandchildren. I support my hus- band around the house," she con- templates. He is a volunteer firefighter for Mason County Fire Protection Dis- trict 13, as well as serving as fire commissioner and volunteer for District 4. He spent several years as a wildland firefighter with the Washington State Department of Natural Resources. This kept him out of the house virtually all sum- mer long as he was constantly re- sponding to wildfires. "I kept the house going and things going here," Nancy says. "And that's all I ever really wanted to be. What did I want to be when I grew up? I just wanted to be the best wife and mother, you know? I didn't aspire for a career to break the glass ceiling. I didn't want to be president or manager of some major company. I just wanted to go and support them the best that I could. If it meant typing a letter, okay, typing a letter it was. If it meant fixing a meal, okay, that's what it was. If it meant staying up with a sick grandchild or child, okay, that'g what it was. And I have found fulfillment in that." Nancy's "wickedly..good" black- bottom cupcakes have become pretty well-known throughout family, church and fire depart- ment circles. "They know that they're spe- cial when they get their black bot- toms," Nancy says. She learned the recipe from her mother-in-law. Black Bottom Cupcakes Ingredients: 1 C. cream cheese 1 unbeaten egg 1/a tsp. salt 1 6-oz. pkg. chocolate chips 11/2 C. flour 1 C. sugar 1/4 C. cocoa 1/2 tsp. salt 1 tsp. soda 1 C. water l/a C. oil 1 Tbsp. vinegar 1 tsp. vanilla Preparation: Combine cream cheese, egg, sugar and salt. Beat well. Add chocolate chips. Sift flour, sugar, cocoa, salt and soda together in another bowl. Add water, oil, via" egar and vanilla. Put chocolate batter in mufftn tin. Add cream cheese mixture 0a top. Bake at 350 degrees Fahren" heit for 30 to 35 minutes. Makes 24 cupcakes. 2007 This camp is a complete dance education experience. It is a 2-1/2 hour session for children ages 3- I/2 to ! 2. Sessions are available for older students. The sessions include: • Creative DanCe • Beginning Ballet • Folk Dance • Dance History • Healthy Body Lessons • Nutritious Snacks  .' Art • Music 6/25 - 6129 9:30am- 12p ff 6125 .-'9 1-3:30pro Ages 5 to 6 For additional information, contact: Peters" Theatre of Dance (360) 426-1827 grande jete@qwest:net Think of Treasures as your 7-day.a-week • Buy • Donate * Volunteer Donation hours: Monday-Saturday 10-5 • Sunday 12 -/} TREASURES TnmFr STORES 305 & 317 W. Railroad Ave, Downtown Shelton Volunteers Needed & ADDr ! Mon.-Sat. 9:30anl-5:3Opm (Bookstore to 5pill) ] " " s... , I.,,,-sl.,., ,o,,k..,t,,,,, ,,p,. tt su.. onlyl I 427-3838 " 432-2641 7/.,,,. wz'fhout excep0000n that OCCU personnelare courteous, friendly, knowledgeable and very attentioe to 4 my fi,00c,'dn00,Js. " _ Here h's persOt00d' Shdton • l'hna • McCleary • 800.426-5657 vx:ourcu.com What's Cookin'? Nancy fancies being grandma By REBECCA WELLS Retiring was such a great expe- rience for Nancy Plews, she's going to do it again some day. In May of 2005, spunky, laid-back Nancy de- cided to retire from Mason County. She first started working for the on-site sewage division of the Ma- son County Office of Environmen- tal Health in November of 1984. By the time she left, she was working as a support clerk in the permit assistance center, which meant she dealt with building and planning, as well as environmen- tal health. More than 100 people turned out for a blowout affair held in her honor at Lake Limer- ick. "The girls at the office, as well as some of the guys, they out-did themselves. They really did," she says. "It was a wonderful retire- ment party and it was just so very well attended and all the festivi- ties surrounding that month were just outstanding. It overwhelmed me and it actually humbled me to think that that many people thought well enough of me to come and celebrate my retirement with me." Little did she know at the time that she would be back in the of- rice again by the end of the year. She was still too young to collect government benefits as a senior citizen, so now she's back at it, but only on a part-time basis. She said this "suits me very well. I'm very happy with that, actually. Had I known that I would be so happy with part-time, I would have just asked for a transtr." These days she spends less time assisting clients at the front counter and more time behind the scenes as a file clerk, a posi- tion which really fits her. "They laugh at me. I really do like hav- ing things kind of neat and orga- nized and in order," she says. She started this line of work while working in Pierce County. Then she met her husband, Gary, who is originally from Mason County, having attended grade school in Union, ad well as the old Shelton Junior High and then Irene S. Reed,High School. She and Gary now have four children and nine grandchildren between the two of them. Most of their children and grandchildren live in Shelton, the exception be- ing one daughter, her husband and their two children. Having the young ones nearby thrills Nancy, who is very involved in her grand- children's lives. THE GRANDCHILDREN range in age from 21/2 to 17. "I get what I call my 'grandma fix' rou- tinely, frequently," she says. The youngest grandson, Kallen Plews, was born with a number of complications, including a hole in his heart, and this required that he spend the first nine months of his life at Mary Bridge Children's Hospital. His heart has now been fixed and the little toddler is pro- gressing to the point where he is beginning to talk. The child re- turns to the hospital on occasion for surgeries and doctor appoint- ments and nutritionists and ther- apists are still working with him, helping him eat through a feeding tube. "He's not out of the woods on that one yet. It seems like a long time to pray for that little guy," says Nancy. RETIRED AND back again, Nancy Plews is having fun wprking part time, while spending the rest of her energy on her family, church and community organizations. Friends and family all around Puget Sound have been praying for him ahmg this whole journey. "The community has come along with him on that journey and has just been extremely suiportive," she says. The boy's parents have handled the whole situation very well, Nancy says proudly. Nancy and Gary belong to the United Methodist Church of Shel- ton, where they serve as ushers. In her free time, Nancy enjoys sewing. She has sewn Halloween costumes for her grandchildren and makes shawls to match her granddaughter's evening gowns for dances and formal occasions. "I don't go cheap," she says. She and Gary enjoy boating and have been members of the Shelton Yacht Club for 20 years. Nancy also belongs to the Sher- wood Guild of the Mason General Hospital Foundation. She is par- ticularly involved with the group's annual March fund-raiser, Cook- ing with Xinh. Every January, she and Gary also enjoy taking a break away from this area and spending a few weeks visiting family in Florida. This winter, however, they didn't go to Florida. Instead, they post- poned their travels until April and took a major trip for five days to Arlington, Virginia, where her parents' ashes were committed to Arlington National Cemetery. The couple took five of their grand- children with them, plus a daugh- ter and son-in-law, making for a grand total of nine travelers from Shelton. Family from Florida and Illinois also made the trek to Ar- lington for the memorable event. "IWE HEARD from almost ev- ery grandchild that they were just blown away," Nancy says. She was very impressed by the interest they expressed in visiting the Smithsonian Institution, the Library of Congress and numer- ous historical monuments. They even had special arrangements through connections with an in- tern in Congressman Norm Dick's office, who took them on a tour of the Capitol building. In spite of the harsh, windy weather dur- ing the outdoor ceremonies, the grandchildren behaved very well during the funeral service for her parents, John and Irma Davis. Nancy's parents had served their country during World War II, he having retired as a lieu- tenant colonel in the U.S. Army and she as a lieutenant in the nursing corps. Her father's rank earned him the highest military honor for burial at Arlington and qualified his funeral for the "full works," complete with a carriage drawn by elegant horses carrying the couple's ashes together, a live band performance, an escort and a 21-gun salute. ON GARY'S SIDE of the fam- ily, cancer of one form or another has claimed the lives of his parents and his sistersJThat's one reason he and Nancy support the Shelton Relay For Life by attending the annual Friday night luminaria services and making monetary contributions to several teams, es- pecially Team Marlene, which is organized in memory of Marlene Peste Davison, who graduated from Irene S. Reed High School with Gary's class in the Fifties. Gary, who is retired from a job with the Washington State De- partment of Health, last year trav- eled twice to Mississippi as part of mission trips to offer aid to people affected in the wake of Hurricane z. 130 YEARS OF RAYONIER A Photograph Exhil00it June 22 through September 3, 2007 L.ou nty Historical Muscum 427 West ]ailroacl Avenue Shelton, Washington 360-426-1020 h|seum lh,urs 'lhes,lay- Friday 11 AM - 5 I'M Saturday 11 AM .,- 4 Phi [;ree admi,si,m; donati, ms accept,d Rayonier Page 16 - Shelton-Mason County Journal - Thursday, June 14, 2007 Katrina. Nancy stayed at home, supporting his endeavors by help- ing him prepare. "I guess you could say I'm just support staff- not only at work but at the house. I support my grandchildren. I support my hus- band around the house," she con- templates. He is a volunteer firefighter for Mason County Fire Protection Dis- trict 13, as well as serving as fire commissioner and volunteer for District 4. He spent several years as a wildland firefighter with the Washington State Department of Natural Resources. This kept him out of the house virtually all sum- mer long as he was constantly re- sponding to wildfires. "I kept the house going and things going here," Nancy says. "And that's all I ever really wanted to be. What did I want to be when I grew up? I just wanted to be the best wife and mother, you know? I didn't aspire for a career to break the glass ceiling. I didn't want to be president or manager of some major company. I just wanted to go and support them the best that I could. If it meant typing a letter, okay, typing a letter it was. If it meant fixing a meal, okay, that's what it was. If it meant staying up with a sick grandchild or child, okay, that'g what it was. And I have found fulfillment in that." Nancy's "wickedly..good" black- bottom cupcakes have become pretty well-known throughout family, church and fire depart- ment circles. "They know that they're spe- cial when they get their black bot- toms," Nancy says. She learned the recipe from her mother-in-law. Black Bottom Cupcakes Ingredients: 1 C. cream cheese 1 unbeaten egg 1/a tsp. salt 1 6-oz. pkg. chocolate chips 11/2 C. flour 1 C. sugar 1/4 C. cocoa 1/2 tsp. salt 1 tsp. soda 1 C. water l/a C. oil 1 Tbsp. vinegar 1 tsp. vanilla Preparation: Combine cream cheese, egg, sugar and salt. Beat well. Add chocolate chips. Sift flour, sugar, cocoa, salt and soda together in another bowl. Add water, oil, via" egar and vanilla. Put chocolate batter in mufftn tin. Add cream cheese mixture 0a top. Bake at 350 degrees Fahren" heit for 30 to 35 minutes. Makes 24 cupcakes. 2007 This camp is a complete dance education experience. It is a 2-1/2 hour session for children ages 3- I/2 to ! 2. Sessions are available for older students. The sessions include: • Creative DanCe • Beginning Ballet • Folk Dance • Dance History • Healthy Body Lessons • Nutritious Snacks  .' Art • Music 6/25 - 6129 9:30am- 12p ff 6125 .-'9 1-3:30pro Ages 5 to 6 For additional information, contact: Peters" Theatre of Dance (360) 426-1827 grande jete@qwest:net Think of Treasures as your 7-day.a-week • Buy • Donate * Volunteer Donation hours: Monday-Saturday 10-5 • Sunday 12 -/} TREASURES TnmFr STORES 305 & 317 W. Railroad Ave, Downtown Shelton Volunteers Needed & ADDr ! Mon.-Sat. 9:30anl-5:3Opm (Bookstore to 5pill) ] " " s... , I.,,,-sl.,., ,o,,k..,t,,,,, ,,p,. tt su.. onlyl I 427-3838 " 432-2641 7/.,,,. wz'fhout excep0000n that OCCU personnelare courteous, friendly, knowledgeable and very attentioe to 4 my fi,00c,'dn00,Js. " _ Here h's persOt00d' Shdton • l'hna • McCleary • 800.426-5657 vx:ourcu.com