By Sally Gracie
Next Halloween I will wear a costume and take my trick-or-treat candy to Burgar Street to hand it out there. While I had just four children knock on the door, residents on Burgar report 100 times that many.
Bryce Kimball has only been in the valley for a week and a half, but he’s already in the swing of the volunteer thing. On Monday morning (Nov. 3), for a couple of hours he joined a dozen volunteers moving cases of food from the basement of 128 N. Glover St. into the warehouse of The Cove II on Third Avenue (previously Bruce Bernard’s window business).
The Cove Food Bank’s door was wide open. Downstairs, Belva Hoffman and Rob Brooks sorted out closed cases of rice, beans and cranberry sauce. Shelves in the old basement were full to overflowing with canned goods and other supplies that will eventually go to the 75-80 families The Cove helps each week.
Up the steep stairs, carrying one or two cases at a time, the volunteers moved out the door to hand the food off to Pastor Don Ford, who stacked the cases into his truck. Once filled, his truck moved out for the short trip up the street, and another truck backed up to the door.
When The Cove’s Executive Director Glenn Schmekel announced “last truck,” Belva and Rob and the others became part of a heavy-lifting brigade, as they were joined by Bret Alumbaugh, Daniel Liu, and Kelly Alumbaugh to finish up the morning’s work.
No steep steps, no low-ceiling basement storage at The Cove II. At the loading dock, Carolyn Sullivan and Seth Carriere handed off cases from the back of a truck through the bay to Sue Gimmestad and Sue Gottula. The cases moved on Monday filled only a few of the tall metal shelves that a Winthrop Kiwanis work party had assembled in the bright warehouse space.
Red McComb’s legacy to The Cove made the purchase of the Third Avenue building possible. Carolyn Schmekel showed off Glenn’s nicely furnished private office; his “office” on Glover has been a table behind the serving counter. Hank Cramer is using a second office in his role as head of Long Term Recovery. The Cove II will headquarter The Cove’s Aid and Assistance program; The Cove on Glover Street will continue to be the place for Thursday lunch and food distribution.
More volunteer work parties will be needed. Despite the truckloads of food that were moved on Monday, the basement is still full to bursting.
Janet Corley will be reading select poems from her original books of poetry, Tidelines and Isis – A Call to the Goddess on Thursday (Nov. 6).
Janet is a resident of Jamie’s Place, where the reading will begin at 6:15 p.m. She and the other residents will be happy to have you there.
If you are interested in discovering the roots on your family tree, Pastor Don Ford invites you to come to the Methow Valley United Methodist Church on Saturday (Nov. 8) at 10 a.m. “We are who we are because of who we came from,” Pastor Don says. This first meeting will be to determine interest in forming a group to support each other’s genealogical quests. Whether you are just starting out, or have almost finished your own research, your attendance is welcomed.
