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2014 Retrospective Around-Town

townhall 120Lansing is a busy community, and we can't begin to cover everything that happens here.  So it is inevitable that many things will be left out of this review.  Consider this a 'taste' of activities that took place here last year.  More of a smorgasbord, with manny offerings and events.

Lansing is nothing if not a generous community.  And the community likes to celebrate itself and the various people and causes it loves.  After a half dozen years of hosting the Lansing Harbor Festival the Lansing Community Council changes its focus last summer with Celebrate Lansing.  And of course it sponsored the Independence Day fireworks at Myers Park as well.



Not to be outdone, the Lansing Rod & Gun Club hosted its first annual Sportsman Show.  Despite so-so weather the turnout was great, and the activities and booths were varied.





For 24 years local Vietnam Veterans of America's chapters have hosted an enormous bonfire at Myers Point to symbolically guide all those missing in action and lost on the battlefield back home.  You don't have to be from a military family to be deeply moved by this annual ceremony.  No matter how many times you attend, the Watchfire never fails to remind all of us how much our men and women in the military sacrifice to keep us all safe.





To drive that point home, our interview with Lansing Marine Robert Boda was a real eye-opener.  He was part of the Fifth Marine Regiment, First Marine Division, Second Battalion, Fox Company on the front lines in the thick of the Battle of Okinawa, the last major battle before the bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.  Soft spoken, with an enthusiastically positive attitude, Boda told us about his experience on the front lines in one of the most vicious battles in history.  The interview was inspiring, as Boda quietly radiated his love for his family and his country.


The Lansing Lion's Club is well known for its pancake breakfasts and its fabulous 4th of July Chicken barbecue that fills Myers Park every year.  Aside from the sorts of charitable activities you might expect, the Lions have donated numerous structures to the community, including several of the pavilions at Myers Park, including the bandstand, and the lansing Community Center.

One of the most active groups in town is the North Lansing Auxiliary, whose members work tirelessly all year 'round to raise money for scholarships and charitable purposes.  Based in the North Lansing Fire Station, the group is known for its pancake breakfasts and the annual Election Day Dinner and Supper, but its activities are not limited to these things.

The brewery at the Rogue's Harbor Inn had an eventful year in 2014.  In May the brewery opened a beer tasting room, which is open weekends inside the brewery, which stands in the small building next door to the inn.  In December the brewery changed its name from Rogues' Harbor Brewing Co. to Stouthearted Brewing. The change was prompted by a trademark infringement suit that was brought against the small Lansing brewery by the Oregon Brewing Co, AKA Rogue Ales in Washington state.  Inn owner Eileen Stout says she would likely have won the lawsuit, but it would have been too costly to fight. The new name incorporates Stout's name with triple meaning -- think of it as Stout's stout for the stouthearted.



Pete LarsonOne of the more pleasurable interviews this year was with local farmer Pete Larson, who swapped his life as a high powered architect for a small, sustainable family farm.  His familiy is the seventh generation to work the farm his grandfather worked when Larson was a child.




Of course the schools were as busy as always this year.  It would be impossible to list all the activities on the Lansing campus, but here are a few of the highlights from each of the three schools.  We include the elementary school halloween parade each year because it is so darned cute.  Who can resist?
The Girl's Juvenile Correctional Facility closed down this year, and plenty of potential buyers are interested.  Local not-for-profits, a school, a church, and the Town itself showed interest in taking over the facility, which includes several buildings including a gymnasium with a pool, an outdoor greek theater, nd beautiful landscape with ponds, streams, and grassy hills.  Few locals realize that the main building there was originally owned by the Jehovah's Witnesses, who had a school there.  across the street from the facility, Kingdom Farm is also for sale.  The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society is reportedly asking $3 million dollars for the 500 acre farm.

If you live in Lansing you probably don't need outside inspiration to be generous.  But if you do, there is nothing more exciting than watching kids give of their time and talents and money to help their neighbors in need.  Last month they were at it again, helping to sort a mountain of food, much of it donated by Lansing kids, for the Lansing Food Pantry.  

And speaking of the Food Pantry, it moved to its new home at The RINK/The FIELD in October.  The Community Recreation Center, Incorporated, which owns and manages the facility, donated the space, which provides a new, convenient location with plenty of parking and plenty of much needed room.
 


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