Every year I always forget about this week before Thanksgiving …it is the week that I get to do …two …two …two newspapers in one week! So it is Friday as I am writing this and next week’s paper will print later today, so that next week some people will get to enjoy some time off, I hope.

So the information presented on the front page may be old news by the time this newspaper gets to readers, but the photos are worthy of a look. For up-to-the-minute information, wsdot.com is the best resource.

I would like to thank Mary and D’Ann, the Peninsula Daily News delivery persons, for also bringing out the Forks Forum edition for Nov. 18, I was not sure when or if it would get here. And my thoughts are with the Post Office workers who received three days’ worth of mail along with the Forks Forum to get delivered.

In between getting two newspapers ready …On Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, and Thursday much time was spent updating social media on road closures, road openings, and the like.

I was also in contact with West End residents who just wanted to get home again. Ken and Judy Schindler had gone to Poulsbo for the day on Monday and ended up sleeping in the Walmart parking lot that night. They monitored the WSDOT updates and the Elwha Bridge status through the day on Tuesday and purchased more pillows and blankets for Tuesday night’s slumber at the Walmart parking lot in Aberdeen, as they decided the southern route looked more promising.

On Wednesday morning they headed for home and used the White Rock/Anderson Ridge logging road to bypass the slide at MP 185. They were home by about noon and I bet their cats were glad!

Huan Luong asked if I might remind people that this is not our first time and won’t probably be our last time to be cut off from the world. He asked if I might have any photos of when it snowed many feet the winter of 1996-1997 and the Lake was impassable for quite some time. He suggested that people might consider being a bit more prepared. These few days have been a good reminder for that!

I am sharing a photo here that the late Brett Partridge shared with me taken once the road around the Lake got opened again. He stopped for this photo. The other photo, from a bit later, Birdie James shared with me … it shows equipment trying to deal with the snow that was around for a long time.

Outfitters was working extra hard on Thursday trying to get shelves restocked as they had received several truckloads of groceries.

Be prepared and Happy Thanksgiving!

Christi Baron,

Editor