Santa to visit Hungry Horse

GLADYS SHAY / For the Hungry Horse News

Santa Claus will be at Hungry Horse Saturday, Dec. 12. His visit begins at 1 p.m. in front of the Dam Town Tavern.

Obviously it is an annual event, but probably one of the most successful in the Canyon area.

Gifts from Santa include stuffed toys donated by the Klothes Kloset in Columbia Falls. These are from their Christmas Store.

Shop with a Cop is another Christmas success story. Funds this year include $50, also donated from Christmas Store income.

The list does not stop there. Gifts from the Christmas Store are also donated for Montana Veterans Home members.

There is more. Proceeds from the Christmas Store at the Klothes Kloset grossed $1,500. Board members for Church Women United will decide recipients of that amount next month. This follows tradition of donating all Christmas Store income to organizations. It is a one-day sale.

Kris Skyberg, manager, reported another $992 was tallied from regular purchases that day. All shoppers, volunteers, and those who donate items are thanked for their participation in so many ways.

Many of us consider it somewhat of a status symbol to wear and boast about our $1 garments purchased at the K.K. Boutique. This name was given by the late Grace Elliott, an active volunteer at the Klothes Kloset. Sometimes it is clothing donated by one of our friends.

Past several weeks have been interesting for me as I survived without my computer. Life without my iMac could be compared to losing my right arm. My seven-year-old iMac was causing many problems. This included a terse message that some languages could not be understood. Translated it meant texts would not print on e-mails received.

Columns for two weeks had been written in advance. These were e-mailed to Gail while I still had old iMac. Thanks to her, Gigi columns were e-mailed to the Hungry Horse News office for appropriate deadlines.

I want to give personal thanks to those commending me for my Letter to the Editor regarding opposition to parole for J. R. Fletcher, Roy Cooper's killer.

First telephone call was the day after my letter was in the Nov. 19 Daily Inter Lake. This gave other parole protesters 11 days to respond to the Board of Parole and Pardons in Deer Lodge before their Dec. 1 session.

Thanks, also, to Chris Peterson of the Hungry Horse News for his coverage of the cold-blooded murder occurring 30 years ago. Many of us recall the situation, but his story brought it all to the forefront.

Gladys Shay is a longtime resident of Columbia Falls and Hungry Horse News columnist.