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| First Presby Yakima |
The weather is beautiful - sunny and clear fall day, warm during the day but with a bite at night. The tamarack trees are beginning to turn yellow and we find the sumac turning red once we get up into the valley.
We arrive in Yakima a little past 6:30 ready for dinner! The plan was to go to Olive Garden, just 8 blocks away. We find it really crowded on this Friday night! So we walk a block away and have a very good meal at the Subway! Not real busy, so we sit and visit for over an hour after we finished eating. I think the ONE worker wanted to clean up and be ready to leave!
Rick and I are in Rm 114 on one side of the lobby and the others in 125 at the far end. At least closer than originally scheduled. Liz made both reservations together - you'd think they would have put us a little closer! All in all, not our most positive experience at the Cedar Suites this time. We had key problems and then this morning Rick and I found our fire alarm beeping beginning at 5 am! Ouch! Rick finally pulled it off the ceiling (it was electronically wired) and handed it to the desk lady!
Saturday Dave and Rick stayed at the motel in the morning, while Liz, Mom, and I went "memory driving"! Our first stop was the First Presby Church of Yakima - 1400 members in a HUGE old style brick building. The morning was the bi annual clothing swap, so the parking lot was bursting and the gym on the ground floor was a beehive of people and piles of clothing being tossed around. We did manage to wander a few hallways to look around and found a hall with former pastor pictures, so were able to see Grandpa's picture. He served Yakima from 1943 to 1950. It was while he was there they began vacationing at Lake Chelan and hence purchased the cabin up at Stehekin. (Mom, Liz, and Dave took the Lady of the Lake up to Stehekin and visited for the day last week!)
Right across from the church is the Yakima Regional Hospital where Bob Mac and I were born! And then on a bit of a goose chase to try and locate Grandma and Grandpa's house on Chestnut Street. Mom didn't have an address, just a memory of which corner it was on and a little bit on the style of the house. We eventually spotted one we think might have been it, but made that decision after we had passed it by, so I didn't get a picture!
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| Parker Heights manse |
From Yakima we drove down the valley toward Wapato and to the area around the Parker Heights Church. Dad served this church as a summer intern in 1943 while he was in seminary, and then became the called pastor in late 1949, serving until we moved to Sacramento in 1955. Liz, of course, had many more memories of living in the manse and playing in the orchards. She attended the first grade at the elementary school across the street from the church (it is now a government migrant labor education center). The Parker Heights pastor was getting married later Saturday afternoon, so we won't have a chance to meet him on Sunday - he'll be on his honeymoon! But we drove up and down some of the lanes, spotting houses Mom remembered and the grocery store where Mac started a fire in the car!
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| Heading out of Olive Garden |
Back up to the hotel where we find Rick grading writing papers and Dave getting hungry! We waited a little and then tried again for the Olive Garden at lunch time! It is still busy, but not as long a wait! We enjoyed a nice meal and perhaps talked just a little too long, because eventually Dave missed out on his train museum in Toppenish because we arrived after 4 pm!! Oops!
We headed back down the old highway 97 toward Wapato, stopped at a fruit stand where Rick and I picked up 20 lbs of golden delicious apples for drying - just in case I never get any from the Shaws. We also stopped at Campbell Farm where Rick and I have worked on two mission trips. No wonder Dave didn't get to Toppenish on time! We wandered around the little town some, Rick and I checking to see if the Folklore Soda Factory was still open. It is, but only Monday through Friday. :(
We drive back up the Valley Road, past the church again, to Yakima and a little "nap time"! Rick watches football and I get some of the doodles drawn. Grandma is itching for ice cream, so around 7 we head over to Dairy Queen! That makes her happy! Back to the hotel and Mom, Liz, and I go into the lobby for a table and four rounds of Spite and Malice! I got spanked!
Sunday morning dawns early for Rick and I due to the alarm! He went back to sleep eventually, but I got up and dressed to attend church at First Pres Yakima with Mom and Liz. They have an 8am contemporary service. We were a little late because we ran into a lady and her daughter in the coffee room who had driven up from Texas to attend the PH pastor's wedding!
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| Mom, Liz, and I in front of Dad's picture at PHPC |
The senior pastor at FPY is quite young to serve this big a church! Awesome guitar music, three screens, etc! But the sanctuary is almost a Gothic huge vault feel with the big rose window at the front. Brick and wood interior. Modern touches on an ancient base. The choir loft had 60 seats!
Check out of the hotel and then both cars enroute to Parker Heights. We will leave from there after the service and part ways at Toppenish! Mom runs into some people who remember the family and can update her on names and people! A most gracious welcome to all of us. Funny to find a picture of the whole family (well, Liz and Marg) in front of the manse up by the picture of Dad!
We head for home around 12:15! Smooth drive! Home at 4.
One other note - it is such a small world! Not only did we run into some people attending the wedding at the hotel, but Mom visited on the Lady of the Lake last week with Julie and Jerry Rodgers, parents of Luke's roommate Chris his senior year at Linfield! They had a great chat! Mom can find people to talk with EVERYWHERE!
View all pictures from weekend.
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