THE SAGE CONNECTION

Devising summer bonding time with my great-grands

Baking binge and exploring the local fire station 

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Most of my family hooked up their travel trailers and noodled off to Leavenworth for a few days last week. Those of us who remained at home, to work, and feed the remaining chickens and dogs, had to devise ways to entertain ourselves.

Every summer my grandson-in-law’s children come to spend a couple of months with us. They live with their mother in Montana, so summer visits are it and I am always surprised to see how they have grown and changed.

They are close in age and are rapidly approaching the preteen stage of life now. Both were part of the recent wedding, so that took up most of the first part of their visit. Now, it is coming to a close, and I realized I haven’t spent much one-on-one time with them, so this seemed like the perfect time to reconnect.

Quinton, who will soon be twelve and Dovey, almost eleven, have different interests, so coming up with something they might both enjoy was a bit of a challenge. Quinton enjoys anything electronic while Dovey prefers the great outdoors.

They do share a couple of common interests, however. Dovey loves to bake and Quinton loves to eat. Both love to earn money. So, my plan was two-fold. They could earn some cash by helping me clear up some odds and ends around the house I hadn’t got around to.

And then we would “binge bake” some goodies for our local firemen. Of course, this would require a visit to the fire station to deliver our baked goods. It would also give us the chance to meet some firemen, which I hoped the kids might enjoy.

So bright and early Tuesday morning we began. Two dozen blueberry muffins, A lemon pound cake and about a bazillion snickerdoodles went into the oven. Snickerdoodles are a family favorite so I didn’t dare give them all away if I wanted to go on living here.

Quinton explained he was not much of “cooker,” (his word) so he became the official step and fetch it person, while Dovey mixed her little heart out.  The dogs hovered underfoot, ever hopeful a dog cookie might magically appear. They were treated to scrambled eggs instead after the baking binge was over.

Exploring our local fire station 

When everything was completed and packed, Quinton loaded up the car and we took off to our local South Bay Fire Station 81 on Shincke Road in Olympia.

Upon our arrival, we were greeted by a surprised but happy volunteer at the front desk, Tyler Barthule. When I announced that my great-grandkids had brought some baked goods, he went in search of a fireman to receive them. But they had all been called out to service at that time.

Administrative Assistant Janet Notarianni giving a tour at South Bay Fire Station 81.
Administrative Assistant Janet Notarianni giving a tour at South Bay Fire Station 81.

The highlight of our visit came when we were invited on a guided tour of the station by administration assistant Janet Notarianni. She walked us through the portion of the station where the trucks were kept when not in use. Of particular interest to me was the water truck since we are on well water with no hydrants in our neck of the woods.

We saw the kitchen, bedrooms, and workout area. I didn’t realize the kids had no idea firemen lived at the station for twenty-four hours at a time, so they were surprised when they were invited to peek in the shower area.

 Since this is a one-story building, there was no fire pole to slide down, but we did see shoes that had been stepped out of to be replaced with boots before the firemen took off for their service run.

Quinton was especially pleased when he spotted a ping-pong table. Janet informed us the firemen enjoyed playing pickleball as well during their downtime. Both kids were fascinated by the map of the station’s service area and Janet explained how the stations supported each other

She also told us in the past, Station 81 had had as many as 70 volunteers, but currently were down to thirty. She encouraged Dovey to consider being a firefighter when she grew up, but she is currently set on becoming a veterinarian.

Last but not least, we were introduced to Assistant Chief Brandon LeMay on our way out.

For us it was a fun and educational day – and a memory to hold onto. To the firemen and volunteers of South Bay Station 81, it was a small but heartfelt ‘thank you’ for all you do to keep us safe.

Kathleen Anderson writes this column each week from her home in Olympia. Contact her at kathleen@theJOLTnews.com or post your comments.

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