By Bob Spiwak
Today (Nov. 3) we had a fantastic sunrise, giving probably false hope that the rain forecast would prove wrong. But the clouds are coming in for another spate of wet stuff. We have been busy raking wherever the snowblower will eventually traverse, clearing off rocks, pieces of split and sawed firewood and unburied dog bones, hoping to eliminate something unbreakable that will get caught in the blower and break a shear-pin. For those unfamiliar with this pin, it is a bolt-like safety device to prevent the blower from jamming and wrecking something within. It’s no fun trying to replace these things, especially when the snow is a couple of inches or more deep.
Before the snow does arrive, remember the Mazama fall potluck. It is on Saturday (Nov. 8) at 5:30 p.m. in the community club. It will include, besides food, the annual meeting for members. There are four prospective board members to be approved by the club. There will also be an update on the building, parking lot and other property and probably news of the planned move of the telephone building on the corner. Also on the agenda is a discussion of Red McComb’s bequest to the organization and how to best use it. A committee has been in place for several months to discuss ideas.
On Tuesday (Nov. 11) at 11 a.m., the annual Veterans Day flag raising and brief ceremony will be held at the Mazama Store. A brand-new banner will go up, a big one. This is somewhat repetitious of last week’s information, but a final reminder as the ceremony occurs before next week’s paper goes to print. Everyone is invited, in particular veterans. If you are one from any war or none, please come. You can be in full uniform, partial, or regular clothes. Frank Malley will hopefully be there to augment the ceremony with notes from his golden trombone.
It’s only been three days since we set the clocks back an hour and re-entered standard time. Daylight saving time was instituted during World War II, and for some reason has remained. I believe the idea was to prolong daylight as defined by a clock to enable more war-oriented production on farms and in factories. Some states, like Arizona, do not observe it. Others define its use by county, if memory serves — South Dakota is one of these, which I remember from a trip across the country. There are others, and if it is of importance to you, Google is a better resource than am I.
The Harts Pass report at 6,500 feet elevation notes 7 inches of snow. We use this as a benchmark for things like incoming storms for hikers, hunters and travelers over Washington Pass, which is only 1,000 feet lower.
