Today was a sad day in Snohomish. One of the most respected coaches in the history of our community passed away last week. No, one of the most respected citizens ever in the history of our town passed away last week.
Keith Gilbertson certainly was a legendary coach at Snohomish High School and his athletes will attest to that, but there was so much about Coach Gilbertson that touched lives away from athletic fields.
I have known Keith Gilbertson about 45 years. He was never my English teacher, he was only my coach for a short time but he was a friend for a lifetime. I saw him last at the memorial for my wife’s uncle Lawrence “Maggie” Bryant who died last fall at the age of 99. Coach Gilbertson came to see some of the older residents at Sunrise, the health care facility every week just to visit. I used to say that he was dropping by to see the old folks, but the truth was that several of them weren’t all that much older than he was. They were just friends.
That was what Coach Gilbertson was to most of the folks who knew him. His relationships with his friends may have had their roots in sports, but they friends forever.
I can’t say how many times he met people in my restaurant to catch up on old times or to talk about problems. Coach was there for his friends.
The outpouring of love for Coach Gilbertson was felt today at his memorial. Keith Gilbertson didn’t pass without notice.
Coach Gilbertson built character in generations of Snohomish athletes and that character will be his legacy more than any record for years or wins or championships. Coach Gilbertson was well known as a coach, but he is loved as a friend and mentor to thousands of us.
God Bless you Coach Gilbertson!
No Loss for Words 
Happy Birthday President Reagan!
by Steve DanaI just wanted to offer a few words about President Ronald Reagan. Today is his 100th birthday. I can’t remember a time when his name was not a part of the public conversation. As a young child in the fifties he was the face of Twenty Mule Team Borax. Westerns were the rage in those days and Reagan fit the image perfectly.
I came of age during the Viet Nam War years. My brother joined the Army to serve his country knowing full well that he would be in the middle of the fight. Woodstock, The Rolling Stones and getting stoned were prominent memories for many of my generation.
Ronald Reagan had gone from being the head of the Screen Actor’s Guild to the Governor of California. His political philosophy was evolving during those very tumultuous years.
I grew up in a politically conservative family. Not an over the top conservatism, but a steady pro-business conservatism. My dad believed in personal responsibility. He raised his kids to believe that society didn’t owe us anything; to the contrary, he believed in the Jaycee Creed,
He instilled in me the belief that each of us owed something back to our community.
My first presidential election was Richard Nixon in 1968. I voted for Republicans in every presidential election since.
I think most of us could tell after only a short time that electing Jimmy Carter president was a bad thing for our country. The crumbling of our relationship with Iran summed up his term in office.
The question about who would run against him wasn’t clear to me so much then because I was a newly-wed and starting a new business in the late Seventies, I had other things on my mind.
I wasn’t thinking about who would be running on the Republican side, only that whoever it was would be better than Carter.
For me, the decade of the eighties was a time of clarifying my own personal beliefs and having President Reagan leading our country made believing in principles all the more important.
The historical importance of the events of the decade was incredible; Iran Hostages, Challenger disaster, Fall of the Iron Curtain. Then add an assassination attempt to the mix, President Reagan helped the country deal them all.
Since Ronald Reagan left office, he has been held as the standard by which my generation compares and contrasts presidents. Five and a half presidential terms have passed since he left office and we still yearn for a leader of his stature.
I don’t see any candidates on the horizon that have the potential to lead our country like Ronald Reagan. Our challenge is to instill in our young people the principles and faith in God we attribute to Ronald Reagan and hope that in years to come they step up and serve their country like he did.
In the mean time, we have to make sure we don’t screw it up so bad that there won’t be a country to serve.
I am proud to say that I am a Republican who was inspired to serve by the example set by Ronald Reagan. I continue to serve even today.
Happy Birthday, President Reagan!
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