Pat Anderson’s career has taken a number of twists and turns. One road, however, kept leading him home.

As a young lawyer, Anderson lucked out and got a job advising the government of his home city. He’s been doing that job for more than 30 years, and his legal mind has become one of the longest serving institutional memories of the city.

“An attorney always represents a client,” said Anderson. “I advise the mayor and council when asked for advice. But when they’ve made a decision, it’s my responsibility to use all lawful means to implement their decision. That’s what I’ve tried to do, throughout my career.”

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Paper hats, some with Native American feathers, others with Pilgrim brims and bonnets, topped the boys and girls. Flame colored crepe paper combined with hula hoops to form pretend ‘bonfires.’ But the enormous spread of food was real enough.

Kindergartners at North Bend Elementary celebrated their annual Thanksgiving Feast on Thursday, Nov. 21, in the school gym.

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The three men from the Snoqualmie Indian Tribe didn’t speak much Spanish. The two visitors from Peru spoke hardly any English. But carvers know carvers, and the common, unspoken language of craft was enough to bring everyone together. This fall, the newest bonds to link Snoqualmie with its sister community in South America started to gel in a carving exchange between the visiting Peruvian artists and the craftsmen at the Tribe’s Snoqualmie carving barn.

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“Action,” says the director, Mount Si High School senior Joey Dunning. “Go.” A Santa-hatted Ally Schwabe strides onto the set, carrying a canned-food box. “What’s this?” says fellow student Jesse Guyer, already there and waiting, a ‘Grinch’ sign on her neck.
“This,” says Schwabe, “is the Foodball.”
“The what-a-what-y?” improvises Guyer.
“It’s a food drive we do annually to raise money for local food banks,” Schwabe explains to the camera.

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Toes tapped Sunday, Nov. 24, as Harley Brumbaugh kept the music coming. About 80 people came to “I Hear America Singing in 1940,” the musical program at the Snoqualmie Valley Historical Society’s annual meeting, Sunday, Nov. 24, at Boxley’s place.

Past President Gardiner Vinnedge convened the meeting with a vote on the officers and board, conducted by ‘ayes’ from the crowd.

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Eight-year-old Ava Gardiner spots the Giving Tree at the same time as her mother, Elizabeth. Ava’s attention goes to a tag for a one-year-old girl. Instantly, she grasps the purpose, and is excited to buy clothes for the tot. As Ava and her friend, Lillie, look at the tags for toddlers, tweens and teens, Elizabeth makes sure they understand the lesson here: that not every child in the Valley gets enough presents for Christmas. This Christmas tree, installed today at the Snoqualmie Y, seemingly early for the holidays, helps people share to ensure every child’s holiday is full of smiles.

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Harley Brumbaugh was six years old in 1940—still years from embarking on a musical career that led him from the U.S. Army to teach at high schools and colleges in the Northwest, to lead his own band, and finally back home.
Yet he has love for the tunes of his early boyhood. “These are the songs that have lasted,” he said.

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It wasn’t until late in his long life that Alvin Macko told his family what he went through in World War II.

Alvin, who attended past Veteran’s Day assemblies at Snoqualmie Elementary School, where his grandchildren attend classes, didn’t make it to this year’s assembly. He passed away in 2011.

Yet this year, his daughter, Krista Holmberg of Snoqualmie, and widow, Betty Macko of Sammamish, came to honor the veterans in his stead.

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