August 30, 2012 Shelton Mason County Journal | ![]() |
©
Shelton Mason County Journal. All rights reserved. Upgrade to access Premium Tools
PAGE 4 (4 of 20 available) PREVIOUS NEXT Jumbo Image Save To Scrapbook Set Notifiers PDF JPG
August 30, 2012 |
|
Website © 2025. All content copyrighted. Copyright Information Terms Of Use | Privacy Policy | Request Content Removal | About / FAQ | Get Acrobat Reader ![]() |
JOURNALEDITORIAL
K©MENCOMMENT
legend
will be missed
The TV screen went black last month.
J.P. Patches left us, and an era of North-
west television went with him.
If you ever watched J.P. Patches on KIRO-
TV -- and millions of us did--you were
forever one of Patches Pals. Yes, his was a
children's program aimed at keeping the little
ones occupied in the mornings and afternoons.
The idea was to free Mommy (and Daddy, too)
from child rearing chores just long enough to
get house work done.
But it wasn't long before a lot of those
Mommies and Daddies were right there with
the children watching J.P. And that was be-
cause a lot of the humor that
emanated from Patches' TV
D home at The City Dump had
a certain adult appeal.
No, J.P. didn't deal in
anything scandalously sug-
gestive. Heaven forbid! But
what he did with wonderful
effect was make light of a
current situation that both
By JOHN entertained the youngsters
KOMEN and brought knowing grins
to their parents. His guests
might include a local celeb-
rity or politician, and the sly fun he had with
"umans are creatures
of habit. We shop the
.same grocery stores,
fish at the same location and
even take the same route to
work each day.
Maybe it's time that we
take a step out of our comfort
zone, like a number of Mason
County residents did earlier
this summer.
During a Shelton Presby-
terian Church mission to San
Jose. Costa Rica. three adults
and eight teens spent about
two weeks building a home
for a couple whose 7-month-
LETTERSTOTHEEDITOR
USPS 492-800
An open
letter to
them kept the boys and girls entertained and Simpson
the adults chuckling.
J.P. Patches I aka Chris Wedes. was the last Editor, the Journal
of the hugely talented crop of children's TV This is an open letter to
program hosts that adorned local TV channels the Reed Family, owners of
for years. Those shows are all gone now. We Simpson Investment and
remember them only by an occasional rare Green Diamond Resource
documentary of those bygone years, a docu- companies.
mentary that likely would be seen only on the Your company, Green
local PBS station. Those kind of documenta- Diamond. wants to sell fbr
rms don't lend themselves to today's program- development purposes 250
mmg of constant commercial interruptions, acres of timberland at Lake
But if you remember J.P. Patches on chan- Nahwatzel. We could discuss
nel 7, then you likely remember Brakeman how that's been conducted.
Bill on channel 11. A pleasant chap in overalls but that's not the point of
and railroad cap, presiding over a wonderful this letter
model railroad. His delighted studio guests The Reed thinily's timber-
were little gn'ade-schoolers, enthralled with related companies have been
Brakeman Bill and his sarcastically irritating good for the community and
pal Crazy Donkey, a sock puppet played by your fhmily. You are blessed
the talented but unseen Warren Reed. ( Reed With wealth beyond tmagina-
was seen later in the broadcast day as the late tmn ibl mo~,t of us. You have
movie-show host, usually dressed in outra- shared that wealth in many
geous costumes.) ways. We are grateful for
And if you'~'e a Patches Pal, you probably that.
also remember Stan Boreson of King's Club- Change is upon Mason
house with his sad-eyed floppy-eared basset County and the Reed family's
hound No Me Shun: SheriffTex. a singing forestlands. The area has
swinging cowboy whose unpredictable ways been discovered as a wonder-
kept his program directors at their "bleeping" ful place to live. work and
switches; and Captain Puget, Channel 4's recreate. Green Diamond's
comfortable pipe-smoking mariner aboard his timberlands hold opportuni-
studio-moored ketch, ties to capitalize on Mason
Then, if you go back far enough, the rich- County's development po-
ness of children's programming will be re- tential and no one can blame
called with Ruth Prins on KING-TV, first in you for so doing.
1950 as the Story Lady, then in 1953 as Wun- Along with the opportuni-
da Wunda. If you were there, the memories ty for financial benefit, how-
come back and you can almost hear her sing: ever, comes a responsibility
'~Wunda Wunda is my name; to identify unique lands.
Boys and girls, £m glad you came. Some of your timberlands
We'll have fun as I explain have special values related
How we play our Wunda games", to water quality and wildlife
Corny, perhaps, But Wunda Wunda -- habitat. Lake Nahwatzel is
Ruth Prins -- was wonderfully talented and one of those properties.
tastefully costumed when she hosted her Its waters are clean and
program, live sometimes with unforeseen the undeveloped shoreline
consequences. There was the time when a full- is a treasure of increasingly
grown lioness was her "pet" on the program, rare lowland lake habitat. [ts
and the supposedly "tame" guest clamped proximity to vast forestlands
her jaws down hard on Wunda Wunda's right and adjacent wetland habi-
arm. Ruth Prins kept on as if it were part of tats make it an exceptional
the show, and eventually the lion let go. part of your ownership.
There are others who made their appear- Those qualities are at risk by
ances as children's show hosts. Briefly, there those who want to develop
was Dinwoodie Fuhrmeister his real name those lands.
-- who portrayed story-telling "Dandy Din" on We citizens of the lake find
Tacoma's KTNT-TV. He was soon pre-empted ourselves engaged in a war
by Bugs Bunny cartoons, we neither want nor can at-
Outlasting them all was J.P. Patches. Ju- ford. We do it because we be-
lius Pierpont Patches was his full name. He lieve Lake Nahwatzel's north
and his very funny sidekicks -- his girlfriend and northeastern shores are
Gertrude, Ketchikan the Animal Man and worth fighting for. Do we
Boris S. Wart -- held our TV attention ~ child have a personal interest? Ab-
and adultl from 1958 to 1981. After that, he solutely. We wouldn't oppose
enthralled thousands more in his personal ap- a deeply funded corporation
pearances, if we didn't have deep, gut
It was hard to believe J.P. Patches was 84 level feelings.
years old when it was announced that Chris Beyond the attorneys, le-
Wedes early on a Sunday morning in July had gal maneuvers, hearings, et
passed away. al, is a deeper issue: What
kind of legacy do you. the
• John Komen, who lives on Mason Lake, Reed family, want to leave?'
was for 40 years a reporter and editor, TV an- Do you want your legacy to
chorman, national TV network correspondent, be one of mining every last
producer, columnist, editorial writer and com- dollar out of your timber-
mentator. His column, Komen Comment, ap- lands?
pears each week in the Shelton-Mason County Or do you want to leave
Journal. a legacy that recogmzes a
small portion of your timber-
lands deserve to be protected
If Shelton-Mason County llJ, in perpetuity?
~, I~: i~, ~IV£~L~ ~ ~|i NO one especially those of
: ~ : ~ i ~ ~ us at Lake Nahwatzel, want
---
she/ton-Mason County Journal is a member of
Washington Newspaper Publishers' Association
POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Shelton-Mason SUBSCRIPTION RATES:
County Journal, RO. Box 430, Shelton, WA 98584. $37 per year for Mason County addresses,
Published weekly by Shelton-Mason County Journal, Inc. $51 per year in state of Washington but outside
at 227 West Cota Street, Shelton, Washington Mason County, $61 per year out of state.
Mailing address: RO. Box 430, Shelton, WA 98584
Telephone (360) 426-4412 • www'rnas°nc°unty'c°m Owned and published by
Periodicals postage paid at Shelton, Washington Shelton-Mason County Journal, Inc
old baby suffers from a heart
condition.
They volunteered. They
painted. They played music
for physically challenged chil-
dren.
It's the first time members
of the church sent a mission
team out of the country.
"I don't think most Ameri-
cans really understand how
hard things are in most other
countries ... We have it really
good," said 18-year-old Den-
ver Garcia. who was among
the group.
He's right -- we're too
stuck in routine to think
about how good we have it.
No matter your religious
beliefs, you can always give
back.
Sure, the economy has
rattled everything we do. It's
shaped who we are and af-
fects just about every aspect
of our lives. Sometimes we
have a hard time knowing
if we will be able to pay the
rent.
But eveh among these un-
knowns, we're glad to know
that many Mason County res-
idents are still looking to help
others. They're not too caught
up in their own problems to
recognize the dire obstacles
facing the unfortunate.
So if you have the means
to do so, take a step out of
your comfort zone. Volunte~v
at an assisted living facility.
Help walk dogs at the animal
shelter. Or maybe just check
in on an elderly neighbor on
occasion and see if he or she
needs help.
/
You never know -- maybe
you will be the one in need
someday. You'd want the
same for yourself.
the Reed family's companies
to be harmed. Your success
is our success both from eco-
nomic and environmental
standpoints.
You have a chance, as you
plan for the future, to create
a legacy for which the true
value fully will become ap-
parent many years from now.
That legacy could stand tall
beside your legacy as a first-
rate forestland manager. Or
not ...
Malcom Dick Jr.
Lake Nahwatzel
Thanks to
WSU
Extension,
4-H
Editor, the Journal
I would like to take this
opportunity to thank the lo-
cal WSU Extension Office,
4-H Council and everyone
involved in Mason County's
4-H camp at Panhandle
Lake.
This camp has been our
9-year-old grandson's first
time attending a camp,
which this 4-H camp has
been a tremendous experi-
ence for him. It is amazing to
see all of the planning, hard
work, volunteer hours, dona-
tions and sweat (since camp
week was a scorcherJ come
together for everyone's camp
experience.
For anyone not familiar
with the camp, you can go
online to view stunning pho-
tos of Panhandle Lake. and
who wouldn't want to just
spend a week there? Not only
have you provided an excep-
tionally great week for our
grandson and other campers,
but you have contributed a
lifetime of experience and
valuable life skills that these
young people will use and
treasure forever.
Sonya Asche
Shelton
Vote for job
Editor, the Journal
Today you hear many poli-
ticians talk about creating
jobs and getting the economy
going. Very few of them have
any training or actual experi-
ence doing so. They have no
track record of facilitating
economic growth.
We are fortunate to have a
congressional candidate who
actually creates jobs for a liv-
ing every day. That person is
Derek Kilmer. He has a real
track record of success both
as a professional economic
development specialist and
as a state senator.
Derek has been helping
small businesses for many
years. He began his profes-
sional career as a manage-
ment consultant at McKinsey
& Company. For the past
decade he has been the vice
president of Economic De-
velopment Board of Tacoma-
Pierce County, a non-profit
that helps attract and keep
good local jobs. Derek has
worked with hundreds of lo-
cal businesses to make them
more successful so that they
can employ more workers with
better wages and benefits.
As a state senator, Derek
has been successful in expand-
ing our economy and helping
small businesses. For those
efforts Derek has been recog-
nized by the Washington Eco-
nomic Development Assocm-
tion as "LEADER of the Year"
on three occasmns. Derek
was instrumental in facilitat-
ing the construction of a new
regional hospital that created
450 jobs and saved lives. This
year, he facilitated the pas-
sage of a bipartisan jobs bill
that will create 20,000 jobs
across Washington.
In this time of economic
hardship, we need to hire a
congressman who can get
people back to work. Derek
Kilmer has the best resume:
a real track record creating
jobs. That's why I will be
voting for Derek Kilmer in
November.
John Bolender
Shelton
A tune to
sing
Editor, the Journal
Song lyrics revisted and
recently updated with a new
verse, for your review:
Title (of your choice)
Gonna dig me a hole, dig
way down deep
"Til I reach that gray gold
of Johns Prairie
Then I'll fill that deep hole
with Adage ash "til full
Oh, the Adage ash hole is
the one for me.
Gonna pack up our home,
soon time to leave
If we see the building of
this facility
We'll leave and we'll
mourn for the loss of ou r dear
home
But, when Adage comes to
town it's time to be free.
As things turned out Ad-
age left town
But, it's still not time to let
our guard down
Lets vote out the ones
who'd muck up the air and
ground
New county commissioners
must be .found.
Karen Skinner
Shelton
Play by the
rules
Editor, the Journal
The most anticipated time
of year for me will come soon.
I am a bow hunter and I spent
lots of time scouting the elk
herds. Last year the second
day of bow season, Green
Diamond closed its lands t?
entry. I still have last year's
article. Randall Greggs stated,
"We cannot emphasize enough
the importanc~ of protecting
our timberlands from fire."
That is certainly understand-
able. however, I checked the
gate areas on the camp two
side, those gates off Highland
Drive and the Dayton Peak
area. In every case there was
evidence of quads entering
in and exiting. At the end Of
Mary M. Knight Road there
was traffic around the gate.
Many of these entrances could
be blocked to quad entrance
they were not. I am 68 years
old and willing to walk in to
hunt. I know that I cannotl run
fast enough to spark a fireland
I don't believe that my bow
can create the energy to spark
afire. My pOint is. if Green
Diamond will not allow me to
enter lands by foot to hunt,
at least do something about
the illegal entry of those that
never play by the rules
A1 Walp
Shelton
Primary issue
Editor, the Journal
Voting in the primary elec-
tion was disappointing. The
turnout was initially esti-
mated to be about 31 percent.
I wonder if other potential vot-
ers had some difficulty finding
out much about the candidate,
as did I.
No voter pamphlet, which
was a great source of informa-
tion in the past. I followed your
advice and went to the com-
puter and went to vote411.org
but found most candidates had
not sent in information.
Then I wondered if low
turnout might have been the
result of no voter pamphlet
and no online information;
seems to make sense to me.
But we know that an informed
electorate makes better deci-
sions. Maybe the Shelton-Ma-
son County Journal needs ~o
step in for fi4.ture elections ~nd
provide detailed submissioias
from the candidates.
Letters to the Editor the:
previous few weeks were fine,
but come on. Letters of sup-
port from your brother-in-law
or next door neighbor are npt
a substitute for the good old
fashioned voter pamphlet and
not everyone has a computer.
/
William Zeigler
Shelton
See Letters on page A-5
Karl Sleight, publisher
Newsroom:
Adam Rudnick, editor
Natalie Johnson. reporter
Gordon Weeks, reporter
Emily Hanson, sports reporter
Advertising: Composing room:
Dave Pierik, Sr. Acct. Executive William Adams, graphics
Sharee Miller, ad representative
Maggie Burdick, ad representative Pressroom:
KelliAlexander, ad representative Kelly Riordan, production manager
Travis Miller, press operator
Front office: Mary Northover, press assistant
Donna Kinnaird, bookkeeper
Margot Brand, circulation
Cricket Carter, mailroom
supervisor
Page A-4 - Shelton-Mason County Journal - Thursday, Aug. 30, 2012