It’s a good time of year to reminisce. Most of us have a favorite story about New Year’s Eve and several readers shared their memories.
At my house, wild parties of yore gave way to pre-midnight snores. Stevi Boskovich-Weir of Seattle, who used to live on Camano Island, said when she was a kid, her family would host small parties for family friends.
“My parents and their friends would race up and down our stairs (indoors from upstairs to downstairs) and time each other,” Boskovich-Weir said. “Then the kids would race and try to beat the best time.”
After the races, they would sled down the stairs in sleeping bags. It usually ended with folks laughing hysterically.
Back on Dec. 31, 1974, Teresa Courtney of Snohomish went sailing on Lake Washington with a girlfriend on her family’s large boat.
“It was beautiful,” Courtney said. “I don’t remember if the sky was clear, but it wasn’t raining and we were having a wonderful time.”
Near Laurelhurst, there was a sudden explosion and the lights on the shore, including Children’s Hospital and Medical Center, went out.
It was a spectacular scene from the water, but scary.
“It wasn’t until we all got home that we found out the Laurelhurst substation had been blown up or something by a radical group called the ‘George Jackson Brigade.’ I often think of that when I hear someone trying to say that terrorism is a new thing or only a Muslim thing. It’s been around for a long, long time.”
A sleepover house party is often the safest bet for New Year’s Eve. A.J. and Heidi Kell of Everett open their home each year to their friends.
But they have to abide by the theme.
“We welcomed in 2005 with a ‘pajama’ party for friends and family,” Heidi Kell said. “Last year, we had a ‘wig out’ party.”
Everyone wore a silly wig all night long.
“This year, it’s an ‘ugly sweater’ party,” Kell said. “The pictures just keep on getting better, year after year.”
Sometimes the simplest pleasures are the very best. Brandi Montgomery of Everett remembers 12 years ago, holding her 3-month-old daughter, watching fireworks on television.
“I was amazed at her wide-eyed astonishment at the festive display,” Montgomery said. “I’m sure all she saw were quick bursts of vivid color, but to me it was amazing.”
She wished her daughter a happy and healthy first full year of her life in 1995. Brittany Montgomery is now 12 years old.
Children at the Dulcie Sahlberg home in Mill Creek got ready early in the day.
“Each picked out his favorite pan and ‘banger,’ (wooden spoon, etc.) and laid them out,” Sahlberg said. “They got the whistles, blowers and hats in preparation for the biggie countdown from New York City.”
As the beautiful ball dropped, and the crowd sang, she looked at her beautiful children who were fast asleep, Sahlberg said.
“I would wake them in the morning for the big parade from Pasadena and they wondered what happened? A good breakfast followed and lots of New Year promises were made. As the children grew, we found a sitter and celebrated in a different way, but those memories are special.”
An adult party was just the ticket for Ann Hall of Everett. Her most memorable New Year’s Eve was when four couples decided, about 20 years ago, to party at the Westin Hotel in Seattle, and spend the night.
“We all dressed up (though the men moaned) and I even carried a favorite antique beaded purse complete with antique compact and comb,” Hall said. “We danced and toasted in the New Year and generally had a great time.”
When the party was over, they scrambled for the elevator and were all packed in with other merrymakers.
“Two floors before ours, the elevator stopped, a young man grabbed my purse and I chased after him while my stunned husband and friends wondered why I got off the elevator before our floor,” Hall said. “They did not see the purse heist.”
She caught up with the crook, gave him the “shame on you look” and in her best “mother” lecturing voice told him he needed to give back the purse.”
The thief complied. Hall said her late husband, Keith, was not surprised, but their friends couldn’t believe how quick reacting, tough and determined she could be.
Not all New Year’s Eves are happy. Loretta Storm of Sultan said on Millennium Eve, her husband, Ray, and she spent the evening like a whisper, with their long beloved but ailing cat, Smudge, who suffered a stroke two years earlier.
“The vet told us then that even under the best of care, Smudge would only live an estimated 18 months, but at most, two years,” Storm said. “We had lavished Smudge with attention and care, bringing him back to almost full function and joy of life.”
Knowing they would soon lose him, they arranged a sectional sofa into a big, cushy, playpen, turned out the lights, lit a romantic fire, and put on their favorite Loreena McKinnitt music, all cuddled together.
“We toasted champagne to the millennium and gave thanks for our many blessings, but especially for our little Smudgie who had given us so much love. We spent the night comforted by his purring, rather than fireworks, unaware that he would die six days later on the two-year anniversary of his stroke.”
Others remembered that famous turn of the century, when all things dire were predicted.
“The only wild thing we ever did was fill our bathtub full of water on Dec 31, 1999, just in case,” said Kim Guymon of Everett. “We might not have had electricity the next day, but we were going to have water.”
Actually, Guymon said, she is a Mormon.
“We tend to lay low, drink Martenelli’s sparkling cider and go to bed early.”
That sounds like a great plan.
Columnist Kristi O’Harran: 425-339-3451 or oharran@heraldnet.com.
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