An end of the year, month-by-month chronicling of stand-out events of the past year is an age-old newspaper tradition, and as I have never attempted such a column, I thought this year I’d give it a go. In beginning this, don’t know what events or issues from my calendar notes I’ll choose to comment about; or what those comments may be.
JANUARY: On the 10th day of the new year, I got the news my upper teeth, especially one of the two front primary, were loosening at a rapid pace due to upper jaw bone deterioration. I knew that was coming for years but now knew it was imminent (spoiler alert for November: the tooth is gone). Jan. 25 was my seventh time as guide for Farm Day, this time at SVF; I hope to be involved again Jan. 23, 2025, here in KC. On the last day of January, we heard the State of the City given by city officials. Also, on the 25th, my grandson Weston Stewart Javis became a legal adult upon celebrating his 18th birthday in Edmond, Okla.
FEBRUARY: The scribblings found in the little squares allotted to each date are short, often just one definitive word, a time and place, so I see that on the evening of the 7th at city hall we learned about the roundabout scheduled for malfunction junction (Broadway Circle-Broadway-San Antonio Drive) and on the 28th at the fire house the river bottom fire plan was explained. On Saturday the 10thin the Expo Building at SVF, the city was introduced to Pickle Ball; we now have regulation courts at the new Mills Ranch community park. Monday evening of the 19th in the Long Branch Saloon, I was one of three judges for the annual Lion’s Club Student Speech contest.
MARCH: The best day for me in March was the evening of Monday the 4th; that is senior scholarship night and it is always great to be part of a group that is willing to put money towards a young person’s future. A sad note was that many of us lost a friend in Coach Jim Stireman, whose funeral services were held on Saturday the 9th. On the 13th, word came my friend Stephen passed away down in Mexico; we met in 1957. My daughter Jenny Suzanne Wilson celebrated her 46th birthday with hubby Jeff and all seven kids in her home in Edmond, Okla.
APRIL: It was ironic on Saturday, April 13, while with an organized history tour around the Loop, an enlarged photograph of my mother next to a Bitterwater Valley bus line of years past was part of the lecture. The irony was it would have been my mother’s 103rd birthday. My son, Steven Conrow Wilson (born on the 9th), hit the 44-year mark tending his 54 sled dogs at the Triple Creek Resort near Hamilton, Mont.
MAY: My calendar offers little for this month beyond the annual SVF the 16th through the 19th, and I see I circled the 7th and 9th because I had noticed the Lockwood pioneer Roth family held services for two members, one the sister of a Greenfield lady, just two days apart and that had to be tough. On May 18, grandkid number six, Leilani Wilma Haruko Jarvis, became a teenager.
JUNE: On the 1st, I flew to Oklahoma and drove to Florida, where seven of nine of my family were moving to, and returned by air on the 11th; the first time I had been together with all nine for three years and the last time we would all ever be together. On the 20th, as a member of the planning commission I toured a local cannabis business and witnessed a new life for an old plant. The last grandkid really ages me; Samuel Alan Jarvis turned 11 years old on the 10th of this month.
JULY: I took the announcer’s stand for the parade on the 4th, always a hectic but fun event to be a part of; the following events at San Lorenzo Park were well attended. I didn’t attend but noted that on the 28th at SVF in the Expo Building was a Comic Con from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m.; this was something new to town.
AUGUST: On the 3rd, I hit the 72-year mark, on National Night Out on the 6th I got a surprise visit from Weston, grandkid number six, and we spent four hours together before he headed back to Oklahoma. On the 22nd, up in Greenfield many gathered at Oak Park for a final goodbye to Ray and Diane.
SEPTEMBER: Grandkid number two, Emily Camille Dilleshaw, reached the 24-year mark on the 13th, and grandkid number four left her teen years behind as Rebecca Sami Kimiko Jarvis turned 20; memorable but not happy birthdays because on Sunday the 8th of May their brother Weston had died in a car accident; his funeral was Saturday the 14th.
OCTOBER: (I cannot locate pages for October and November, so I’ve gone elsewhere for events.) Grandkid number one, Steven Cameron Wilson, hit 27 years on the 3rd. Broadway filled with people on the 13th for the annual Ciclovia event.
NOVEMBER: On the evening of the 6th, we honored veterans in the high school auditorium with patriot music, flags and high-stepping dancers. On one memorable weekend, parents and supporters gathered for Clara’s Tea in the dance studio, but I cannot find the exact date.
DECEMBER: Caleb Zachary John Dilleshaw, grandkid number three, reached 22 years. Today is the 11th, the clock reads 3:33 a.m. and the parade you have already read about and you should already know the 65th Annual “Nutcracker Ballet” is a milestone event opening in two days. I hope the next week finds you full of the spirit of the season.
And, as for a personal month-by-recap, pretty sure this is the last time for this; too much “I” and not enough “we” in it.
Take care. Peace.
