John Ward West 95 Years Young!

Pop was the center of attention for his birthday week and loved every minute. We started celebrating on June 9 and didn’t stop until June 16! Crystal bought the grass umbrella and ’someone’ had the brilliant idea of attaching it to the back of Pop’s electric scooter. Not only did it provide shade for him, but it identified him easily in the crowd and looked very festive.

We had 33 people stay the weekend in 8 motorhomes, 3 tents, 5 boats and 1 airplane and another 88 arriving just for the big day. 121 people took part in the festivities, including a fishing derby arranged by cousin Keith, a hula hoop contest, badminton and water gun shooting, along with enough food to feed a small army.

Wednesday afternoon my sister-in-law Ann and I painted signs our friend Emily drew for us. There were 6 large sheets of plasticized foam which welcomed the Griffith family and friends to our 2008 Luau/Birthday party.

The setup was started on Thursday after we gathered all the picnic tables from the campsites. Pop ran the John Deere lawn mower, pulling the trailer and Mike & Gus loaded the tables. Many people hosed, scrubbed and moved tables into place. Thursday evening most of us went to the Backeddy Pub for dinner and a few drinks. Friday evening we enjoyed a potluck dinner outside at Pop’s.

Saturday started out with a pancake breakfast by Lee-Ann and Jonathon, then fish chowder by Kent, for lunch. People arrived all day long and Mike, Dorhn and Alan barbecued hot dogs and hamburgers around 5 pm. Many people made potato salad, appetizers and desserts and Graeme boiled corn on the cob as well. I don’t think anyone went home hungry!

It was difficult for me to find jobs for everyone who offered to help, but I delegated as best I could and I must say many people didn’t need direction at all but pitched in to make the whole day a huge success. One really nice touch I found out about the next day was Tracy and Rhonda went around to each table and sliced the pineapple which had been part of the decor before dinner.

Lee-Ann made a lovely birthday cake for Grandpa - white cake with white frosting and strawberries - his favourite! Sean and Crystal made a huge sash of scratch tickets for Grandpa to wear around his neck. He will be scratching for weeks!

I’ll let the pictures tell the story of family and friends joining together to celebrate 95 years! You may see more photos and a write up at cousin Judy’s blog.

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