On May 1, Marg Huber, who turned 80 years old on April 29, was surprised with a birthday cake and homemade cards at Forest Grove Elementary School.
She also received a lovely flower arrangement, which was perched lovingly on the school piano. Folks dropped in to wish her well and family members, who came from as far away as Saskatchewan, were there for her special day.
Anyone who knows Marg is well aware of her love for music and the fact she can play a piano or an organ by ear or read sheet music.
She is self taught and has played since she was a small girl and now plays at seniors homes, the Farmers’ Market and a lot of other community gatherings. She can also be found playing with her “old-time band” where she gets together her pals and they jam together.
Marg is a woman of many talents. Over the years she’s worked as a waitress, in public health and was in the banking business, but her true passion is taking care of her family.
She has two children, five grandchildren and four great grandchildren. Her children’s friends were also important and she has also had five foster children.
You would think all this would fill her days, but she also loves to bake and keeps a greenhouse.
Grove cleanup
As part of the Earth Week celebrations, a group of eight Forest Grove residents took on the project of picking up roadside garbage from the three-way stop in Forest Grove to the transfer station on April 24.
On this beautiful spring day, two hours were spent collecting 14 bags of garbage. Richard Bergen says they might have a cleanup day in the fall.
Marianne Van Osch, who started up the litter cleanup years before Earth Day was created jokingly says, “We were a bit ahead of the times.”
The clean up has been observed for more than 10 years.
Summer camp
Lake of the Trees Bible Camp (LOTT) directors Jody and Tom McIntosh are preparing for the arrival of the youth who plan to attend the camp this season.
The goal is to treat everyone to a fabulous summer experience, even those who work hard to make that happen. Jody and Tom are always looking for volunteers who fit the bill and expect more than 100 volunteers to work at the camp.
Registration for this non-profit, non-denominational camp can be done online at www.lakeofthetrees.com.
A community Open House will be held June 22 and there will be a free barbecue from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Plan to take this in and wander around the site.
Practice makes perfect
On the evening of May 7, there was a buzz of activity behind the Forest Grove Fire Hall.
A motor-vehicle incident was simulated and Forest Grove first responders were given the opportunity to practise their skills on the donated car with three victims in the scenario. Fire chief Bob Felker, with 28 years of experience, was overseeing the event and is the last of the original members of the Forest Grove Volunteer Fire Department.
Deputy fire chiefs Ron Lister and Robin Clarke were also on hand to guide the volunteers. The first responders’ crew has more than 40 members, 20 of whom attended this practice.
They had to find a way to remove two victims from the car and look for a third victim who was thrown from the wreck. Emergency vehicles were on hand and a compressed air foam truck was available to practice spraying the area down.