Friday, December 11, 2020 | Seaside Signal | SeasideSignal.com • A5
Volunteers make world of difference at holiday time
SKYBOX
SKYLER
ARCHIBALD
Perhaps no quote better embodies
the spirit of Thanksgiving in 2020
than this one from Ernest Heming-
way: “Now is no time to think of
what you do not have. Think of what
you can do and with what.”
One of the harshest realities
beset by the pandemic is our inabil-
ity to fi nd ways to serve, give back
and deepen relationships within our
community. The challenge of gather-
ing, working together and even stay-
ing positive has been insurmount-
able at times.
Such has been the case with many
of my favorite activities and events
and some of the work of the Sunset
Empire Park and Recreation District.
As we were planning for our annual
Community Thanksgiving Meal, we
made the decision to shift the meal to
a “to-go” service this year.
Typically, we have 150-200 din-
ers in the Bob Chisholm Commu-
nity Center and a host of volunteers
to serve them. It’s a wonderful expe-
rience and a highlight of this time of
year for all that participate. We also
get the opportunity to serve and give
to those that often need it the most:
the elderly, the lonely, the forgotten
and overlooked in our society.
While an in-person meal expe-
rience would have been preferred,
it wasn’t possible this year and we
adapted on the fl y. Volunteers were
activated, pumpkin pie and rolls
were accumulated and the plan for
delivery of the meal was organized.
As can be expected, there were a
number of complications that arose
in the days and hours preceding the
meal. No event seems to ever go per-
fectly and this was no exception.
Due to factors outside of our con-
trol, we cooked the turkey, mashed
potatoes and stuffi ng for the meal
this year, the fi rst time that’s ever
happened.
I felt lucky to spend the evening
before Thanksgiving preparing 100
pounds of mashed potatoes with an
especially dedicated community
volunteer.
On the day of, we worked through
all the potential challenges including
cooking enough box stuffi ng for the
diners and fi guring out how to serve
hot gravy in a to-go container, while
keeping it separate from the pump-
kin pie. That was a challenge I hadn’t
anticipated.
Luckily we had many hands con-
tributing, all wearing masks and
doing our best to socially distance.
This year we had volunteer represen-
tatives from Miss Clatsop County,
the Seaside Chamber of Commerce
and Ambassadors, Sunset Empire
Park and Recreation District and a
horde of eager students from Seaside
High School, through the Key Club
and the Associated Student Body
programs. What a treat it was to have
that chance to interact through ser-
vice with some of the best people in
our community!
We served a bit more than 100
meals to those that drove or walked
to the community center but there
was plenty of food remaining. Then
something remarkable happened.
An informal meeting was held about
how to get more food out, particu-
larly to those that need it and action
was taken.
We had a group of volunteers
load their trunk with meals and take
Photos by SEPRD
ABOVE: Shelly Owen, Caitlin Hillman and Melissa Ousley provided dinners for families on Thanksgiving. BELOW:
Alan Evans and Skyler Archibald don their turkey headgear.
them out with hopes of delivering to
some of the people who are home-
less in our community. They were
successful. Other volunteers drove
around and encouraged folks to
come to the Center for a delicious
meal. And everyone was awed when
Seaside police offi cers and folks
from the Seaside Fire Department
came by, loading up with dozens of
meals each with hopes of delivering
them out safely to our community.
While the event was untraditional
in its delivery and certainly not with-
out some memorable challenges, it
was such an amazing way to spend
my Thanksgiving and gave me pause
at how much I have to be grateful for.
Bill of Rights remains vital document today
GUEST COLUMN
KEN PAULSON
press. Together they pro-
tect our free expression
and safeguard the entire
Bill of Rights.
The preamble to the
Constitution set forth the
goal of “a more perfect
union.” The phrase was
both aspirational and wise.
There was no way a fledg-
ling country could get
everything right, let alone
draw up a blueprint that
would guarantee the lib-
erty of every American.
And of course, the Con-
stitution didn’t. Slavery
was left intact and women
were left without a voice
or vote. As lofty as Amer-
ica’s ideals were, there
were still inequities and
injustices to address.
It would take centuries
of free speech and press
to illuminate and address
the needs of this imperfect
union. Although critics of
the contemporary press —
which includes newspa-
pers, radio stations, televi-
sion stations, websites and
every other form of infor-
mational media — like
to use phrases like “fake
news, “ the truth is that
the newspapers of 1791
were far more biased than
their modern descendants.
They were largely politi-
cal organs full of outrage,
exaggeration and lies. Yet
it was in that very envi-
ronment that the American
people demanded a free
press be a part of the Bill
of Rights. They saw it as a
check on a new and pow-
erful central government
and a protection against
abuse of the Constitution
and yes, the new Bill of
Rights. Journalists who do
their jobs well today are
fulfilling the mission set
forth for them in 1791.
The most impressive
thing about the Bill of
Rights is that a document
written 229 years ago
remains so vital, vibrant
and essential.
The aggressive jour-
nalists empowered by the
First Amendment have
gone on to monitor and
irritate every president
from John Adams to Don-
ald Trump. The assem-
bled citizens who spoke
out against slavery and
demanded universal suf-
frage have contemporary
counterparts demanding
racial justice today. Those
10 amendments have
served us well.
Of course, when it
comes to patriotic holi-
days, none rival Indepen-
dence Day. But that hol-
iday recalls a nation just
starting out, committing in
general terms to a nation
founded on liberty.
On Dec. 15, 1791, the
first generation of Amer-
icans fulfilled that prom-
ise. We could love our
country, but also voice our
concerns about its actions
and priorities. That hon-
est exchange of ideas
— fueled by freedom of
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Tarred and
feathered
Thank you Randy Frank
and Tita Montero for your
informative guest column
articles.
As taxpayers, we have
felt this pulling the wool
over our eyes all along just
disgraceful.
The abuse of power for
this town is not only unac-
ceptable but downright rob-
bery of our dollars and
vote — an insult to our
intelligence
Very serious business
playing with our senior
fi xed income. How dare you
Sunset Empire Park and
Recreation District.
Carol Pankin-Hanisch
Seaside
Transparency
Purchase of the Broadway
Middle School: why purchase
the school when it has been
deemed unsafe and there is
a new school out of the tsu-
nami zone? We all know that
people are struggling to make
ends meet and have little or
no discretionary income.
We know there would be
a tax increase for Seaside tax-
payers regardless of what
Dave Ulbricht stated.
If you are concerned read
all the information collected
on the Facebook page named
Transparency for SEPRD
Taxpayers. Also, please sign
the petition by searching for
Transparency for SEPRD
Taxpayers at change.org.
Anne Thomson
Seaside
press, speech and assem-
bly — can make for disso-
nance and division in our
politics. But it also makes
for the strongest and most
enduring nation on the
face of the earth.
Ken Paulson is the
director of the Free
Speech Center at Middle
Tennessee State Univer-
sity. Learn more about the
First Amendment at free-
speech.center.
DINING
on the
NORTH COAST
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E
RIL Y’
S
Dec. 15 marks a hidden
holiday, as uncelebrated as
it is unappreciated. It was
229 years ago today that
the United States ratified
the Bill of Rights, ensur-
ing unprecedented free-
dom for the people of an
emerging nation.
Bill of Rights Day has
actually been a national
holiday since Nov. 28,
1941 when President
Franklin Delano Roosevelt
designated Dec. 15 “Bill
of Rights Day.” Roosevelt
had big plans, envision-
ing flag-flying and cere-
monies nationwide. Roos-
evelt observed that Adolph
Hitler feared “our freedom
of speech, press and reli-
gion.” Unfortunately, the
attack on Pearl Harbor on
Dec. 7 erased all the ambi-
tious plans to mark the
date. There’s no time to
celebrate freedom when
you’re fighting to preserve
it.
That was almost 80
years ago, and America
continues to take the Bill
of Rights for granted. At
just 500 words, it packs
more than 20 rights into
10 amendments to the U.S.
Constitution. Moreover, a
promise of a Bill of Rights
was the key to getting the
Constitution ratified in the
first place.
Given that there won’t
be cake or gifts or greeting
cards, the best way to cel-
ebrate Bill of Rights Day
is simply to reflect on its
importance. And depend-
ing upon your personal
priorities, some liber-
ties may loom larger than
others.
The National Rifle
Association touts the Sec-
ond Amendment as Amer-
ica’s “first freedom.”
That’s either bad math or
poetic license, but you get
the point. If our govern-
ment took those freedoms
away, you might have to
wrest those back with “the
right to bear arms.”
Americans with a deep
and abiding faith are grate-
ful for the freedom to wor-
ship and be free of gov-
ernment interference with
their faith.
Those who treasure
personal privacy and the
sanctity of their homes
would be thankful for the
Fourth Amendment pro-
tection against unreason-
able searches and seizures.
Those who have been
accused of a crime would
welcome the fair trial
guarantees contained in
the Sixth Amendment.
All of these liberties
are critical to the kind of
nation we are, founded on
freedom and fairness.
I am particularly grate-
ful, though, for the one-
two punch of freedom of
speech and freedom of the
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Seaside author debuts ‘Call of the Columbia’
Seaside Signal
North Coast author
Brian Ratty will release
his new book “Call of
the Columbia: River of
Redemption” to the gen-
eral public at the Seaside
Artisan Market on Satur-
day, Dec. 12, and Sunday
Dec. 20, from 10 a.m. to
4 p.m. each day.
“Call of the Colum-
bia” is the story of three
unlikely souls that set
sail for their fortunes on
the shores of the Colum-
bia River in 1869. With
the era of the cowboy
reaching its zenith and
the age of industrializa-
tion marching on, Amer-
ica found its way into
her turbulent Gilded Age.
This was a time of lost
prospects and renewal for
hopes of a brighter future.
The
Artisan
Mar-
ket and book signing are
open to the general pub-
lic, with coronavirus
restrictions.
Call Sarah Silver
503.325.3211
ext 1222
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