Another summer has flown by, but I am wondering ó what summer? There werenít many hot days this year, and my tomatoes arenít ripe yet ó Iím worried they wonít make it. Well, maybe we will have a mild winter, too. This month, we are introducing a new column: Itís called Trail Mix. Colorado Springs resident T. Duren Jones, an avid and experienced hiker and outdoorsmen, will be featuring some of the beautiful hiking trails throughout Colorado, along with his adventures in the great outdoors. T (Tim) is a former periodicals director, who has worked in marketing, advertising and publishing for more than 25 years. He is currently doing freelance work and has written a book, ìTales from the Trails.î Check out his website for more information at http://talesfromthetrails.net. School has started, and there seems to be a lot going on in D 49, from a new logo to national recognition. Lindsey Harrison brings us some interesting articles on the school district. Check out Kathy Hareís rave book review on ìColorado Noir,î written by another Colorado Springs resident/writer. Sept. 7 is National Grandparents Day.President Jimmy Carter signed into law National Grandparents Day in 1978. A presidential proclamation on Sept. 6, 1979, made it official, designating the first Sunday following Labor Day as Grandparents Day. In keeping with the theme, I have to thank my grandparents for some wonderful memories. My sister, Annette, and I grew up in eastern Nebraska, and both grandparents lived in western Nebraska, so every summer we would visit them for a week or more. We felt so grown up being away from home on our own. Grandma Gin is a great cook, and she taught us how to make pies, homemade noodles and cinnamon rolls. She also played the organ, and we would gather around her and sing. Grandma Ruth always sewed something special for us like a jacket, a dress, a blouse ó whatever we requested ó to take home for the new school year. Grandpa Delbert made homemade ice cream, and we would help him crank the handle on the ice cream maker. That was the best ice cream. We went horseback riding and caught lots of lightening bugs. Our grandparents made sure we had priceless memories from our summer visits.Someday, I am hoping for my own grandchildren. I am not sure about teaching them the homemade noodle thing ó but I want to create as many good memories for them as my grandparents did for me. To all the grandparents out there: Happy Grandparents Day!See you in October!ó MichelleCorrections:Last month, the NFH printed the names of teachers up for the Falcon School District 49 Teacher of the Year award. We had included Melinda Ellenberger (from Woodmen Hills Elementary School), but we didnít get her first name right. Her name is Melissa Ellenberger. On the front page of the August NFH, we forgot to include the first name of one of the Cub Scouts in the picture. We referred to him as McIntyre. Weíre sorry Master James McIntyre.Grandparent Trivia:The average age of a grandparent todayis 48, and more than half are baby boomers.Pennsylvanian Samuel S. Mast holds therecord for having the most living descendants.When he died at age 96 in 1992, he had 11children, 97 grandchildren, 634 great-grand-children and 82 great-great grandchildren.Abraham Lincoln had a grandfathernamed Abraham Lincoln, who was also shotand killed. American Indians killed himwhile he was tending his fields in Kentucky.About 7 percent ó or about five mil-lion ó of kids in the U.S. are being raised bytheir grandparents.Grandparents often do a great job. Thefollowing notable Americans were raised bytheir grandmother or grandparents: MayaAngelou, Carol Burnett, Bill Clinton, OprahWinfrey, Barack Obama, Eric Clapton, JackNicholson, Bobby Darin and Willie Nelson.Of these celebrities, three grew up thinkingtheir grandmother was their birth mother:Nicholson, Clapton and Darin.Did you know? Male bees can only begrandfathers and grandsons. They canít besons or fathers.http://grandparents.com
