Everett, Wash.
Published: Friday, August 1, 2008

Kristi's Notebook: Hey guys, 'heavy, rusty stuff' for sale

By Kristi O'Harran
Herald Columnist

 Here is a surplus sale aimed at a particular demographic -- guys. It's a sale from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at the Granite Falls Historical Museum at 109 E. Union St. in Granite Falls.

Board member Fred Cruger described some of the goods.

"I generally refer to it as 'heavy, rusty stuff,' generally found at swap meets, and often called 'guy stuff,' " Cruger said. "However, we do have a number of antique typewriters, antique change machines, and a variety of farm tools."

The group needs to clean out members' barns, shops and garages where museum goods are stored, he said.

Drop by if you need a fainting couch, old chain saws, an antique miner's sled, choker bells, butt rigging or crosscut saws.



Orca Network presents its annual Penn Cove Orca Capture Commemoration at 4:30 p.m. Aug. 8 at Captain Whidbey Inn, 2072 Captain Whidbey Inn Road, Coupeville, on Whidbey Island. It costs $20. For more information, call 360-678-3451.

A program is planned in memory of the 45 southern resident orcas captured in our state, the 13 orcas killed during the captures, and in honor of Lolita, the sole survivor of the roundup, who has been in captivity for 38 years.

Susan Berta and Howard Garrett report orca sightings daily, sometimes hourly, on an e-mail distribution list. But the two were absent for more than a week.

"We're back," they wrote Monday. "We took a trip to the mountains of Wyoming, and thought we would be able to send out a report or two from there, but it didn't work out."

They thanked everyone for their patience and sent fresh killer whale reports.

They left out recent moose sightings.



For those of you who enjoy backbreaking, dirty, hurt-your-knees volunteer work, here is another marvelous opportunity to serve our communities: Pull ivy from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Saturday at Kayak Point County Park, 15610 Marine Drive, Stanwood.

People for Puget Sound's Sound Stewards, Snohomish Marine Resources Committee volunteers and Washington State University Beach Watchers all pitch in. These groups have planned similar hilarious weed-tugging events around the county all summer.

Or, for another bend-and-grab opportunity, clean up litter.

Do folks turn out?

"They really do," said Chrys Bertolotto with WSU Beach Watchers and Shore Stewards. "The pile we had after the Picnic Point Expo was pretty impressive."

If you just want to get outdoors, visit the Kayak Point Beach Expo on Saturday. Check out a low tide and learn about water quality and habitat restoration.

If you lend a hand, you get snacks and gloves. To volunteer, call Jesse Hammer with the Stilly-Snohomish Fisheries Enhancement Task Force at 425-252-6686 or e-mail jesse@stillysnofish.org.



Fun Fact: State transportation crews are busy this week striping Highway 525 and Highway 20 on Whidbey Island.

If you're silly enough to cross over the fresh paint, even though there are "wet paint" signs posted, wash the paint off your rig as quickly as possible.

And you can't claim damages from wet paint because the signs provide a warning.

"Next to snow and ice removal, striping is our top safety priority," said Jerry Althauser, a state superintendent for traffic maintenance and operations. "Each gallon of paint contains thousands of tiny glass reflector beads to help increase visibility in dark, rainy conditions."



Columnist Kristi O'Harran: 425-339-3451, oharran@heraldnet.com.
© 2009The Daily Herald Co., Everett, WA