This Year’s Holiday Tree Lighting Will Be Bigger and Better

Posted on November 16, 2023November 16, 2023 by GriffinNeighbors

The Fourth Annual Holiday Tree Lighting will feature more lights and a bigger display. Santa and Mrs. Claus will make an appearance, and music will be provided by the Griffin School Band. Come for the cocoa and cookies and stay to join in on a growing holiday tradition with neighbors, friends, and family.

Saturday, December 2
Event starts at 4 PM and the tree lighting is at 5:30 PM
Companion Cove
6644 Sexton Dr NW

The Griffin National Junior Honor Society will be accepting donations of new or gently used stocking-sized puzzles, arts and crafts supplies and kits, small toys and stuffed animals, and hats, mittens and gloves, and socks.

We look forward to seeing you at this year’s holiday tree lighting!

Local author Steve Lundin to present from his book, “The Friendly People,” a history of the Steamboat Peninsula and Griffin area, on November 15th

Posted on September 6, 2023November 2, 2023 by GriffinNeighbors

Over the years, we’ve been lucky to be able to publish numerous articles written by Steve Lundin. Ten or more years ago, Lundin wrote the book Griffin Area Schools, a history of the many schools that existed on our peninsula. Lundin donated much of the proceeds for the sale of that book to the Griffin Neighborhood Association. After 44 years on the Peninsula, Lundin and his wife Linda Bondurant moved away from our neighborhood, but with his latest book, The Friendly People, we can see he has not actually left this part of the world. Not really. In The Friendly People, Lundin writes a history “of the Griffin/Steamboat area, from early native peoples to modern times.”

On Wednesday, November 15, Steve Lundin will present from his book. This event will be held at the Griffin Fire Department Headquarters beginning at 6 PM. Copies of his book will be available for purchase at that time.

The Sawamish/T’Peeksin lived on Totten Inlet. The Squi’Aitl lived on Eld Inlet, which Peter Puget called “the Friendly Inlet.” This region saw the Hudson’s Bay Company and Puget Sound Agricultural Company. The book describes the Lushootseed Peoples, their culture, and traditions. In the book, you will also read about John Slocum and the Indian Shaker Movement. Recently, the Squaxin Island Tribe has flourished with a cultural Renaissance and economic rejuvenation.

Author Steve Lundin

The Griffin/Steamboat community has grown from a rural area to a vibrant suburban community. Read about the Mud Bay Logging Company, country inns, a local moonshine still, Effie LeRoy’s infamous establishment, and local dance halls. Griffin School has grown into one of the premier schools in the county. Prosperity Grange remains an important institution.

William McLane, William Puffer, Benjamin Franklin Cross, Kettle Labatum, Mud Bay Louie Yowaluck, James Tobin, Konrad Schneider, and Swan Solbeck are just a few of the individuals who contributed to the history of this area and whose stories are recounted here.

Copies of this book can be purchased from Browsers Bookshop, Orca Books, and at the Panorama Gift Shop, for $20. Proceeds from the sale of this book will be given to the Olympia Tumwater Foundation.

Don’t Miss This Year’s Community Picnic, June 24th

Posted on June 20, 2023June 24, 2023 by GriffinNeighbors

This Saturday, June 24th, the Griffin Neighborhood Association invites you to join us and your neighbors at our annual Community Picnic. There will be food, music, entertainment for the whole family, raffle prizes, local vendors, and representatives from community groups, local businesses, and first responders.

Community Picnic
Saturday, June 24
12 noon to 4 PM
Prosperity Grange and Tin Cup Golf Driving Range

This year’s picnic will be at the Prosperity Grange and Tin Cup Golf Driving range, from 12 noon to 4 PM. Come and join us for lunch with burgers, hot dogs, and Kona Ice. Larry and Sandy Corbin, of the Lighthouse Alpaca Ranch, will bring some of their herd (did you know alpacas are a member of the camel family?). Magician John London will entertain and musical guests are The Possible Solutions and Cliff Rice.

Admission is free for current and new members of the Griffin Neighborhood Association, and their children. Non-members are $5 per adult/$10 per family. Admission includes picnic lunch.

We will be raffling off more than 30 different gift baskets! Raffle tickets are only $1 or six tickets for $5. A silent auction will feature beautiful hand-turned wooden bowls and a vase, a karaoke party hosted by Twilight Karaoke, and a puppy starter kit.

Stroll the grounds and visit with representatives of local businesses such as Our Community Credit Union, The Nerdy Nana, Lux n’ Lather Soap Company, Endorian Guitarworks, and lots more. Learn more about public safety from the Griffin Fire Department, Thurston County Sheriff’s Office, and Washington State Patrol.

Could you give us a hand at this year’s picnic? We could use help from 9 AM till the cleanup at the end – any amount of time you can offer is appreciated! Click here to send us an email with your contact information and someone will be back to you, very quickly. Thank you so much, to all who have already volunteered!

Many thanks to some special sponsors of this year’s event. Local residents Bill and Karen Hurley donated a banner to help promote our community picnic. The Steamboat Trading Post made a generous donation of hot dogs and all the fixings. Thank you, too, to Bay Shore Construction for underwriting the cost of the comfort and washing stations.

We hope to see you at this year’s community picnic!

Annual Meeting January 25 to Focus on “Steamboat Safety”

Posted on January 8, 2023January 21, 2023 by GriffinNeighbors

This year’s Annual Meeting of the Griffin Neighborhood Association will feature two keynote speakers. Newly-elected Thurston County Sheriff Derek Sanders and Griffin Fire Department Chief Corey Rux will speak on the topic of safety in our community.

The Annual Meeting is also when members of the Griffin Neighborhood Association nominate and vote on Board members. If you are not yet a member or if your membership has lapsed, you may join us online by clicking this link. You may also join at the meeting.

Doors open at 6 PM and light refreshments will be available.

Board elections are at 6:30 PM.

The presentation by Sheriff Sanders and Chief Rux begins at 7 PM.

Annual Meeting
January 25, 6 PM
Griffin Fire Department Headquarters
3707 Steamboat Loop NW, Olympia, WA 98502

Everyone is welcome!

We have vacant positions on our Board. If you or someone you know is interested in serving on the Board of the Griffin Neighborhood Association, this Board Member FAQ may answer some questions about what it means to serve on the Board. Any person owning property or residing within the Griffin area is eligible to become a member of the Griffin Neighborhood Association. During the Annual Meeting we will take nominations and elect members to our Board.

At the Annual Meeting, the GNA will be collecting the following items for the St. Christopher’s satellite food bank:
• Toilet paper, paper towels, tissues, napkins
• Laundry detergent
• Toothpaste, toothbrush, dental floss
• Soap, shampoo
• Diapers, baby wipes
• Feminine care products
• Deodorant, lip balm

Please consider a generous contribution to our local satellite of the Thurston County Food Bank.

Do you represent a non-profit organization operating in the Griffin area? If you would like to set up an informational table at our Annual Meeting, contact Becky Reavis at furacres@gmail.com.

For more information about the Griffin Fire Department, see their website at www.griffinfd.org

For more information about the Thurston County Sheriff’s Department, see their website at thurstoncountywa.gov/sheriff

The Home Share Program Seeks to Offer a Flexible and Affordable Housing Arrangement

Posted on November 8, 2022November 8, 2022 by GriffinNeighbors

The Home Share Program brings together those who have available housing with those seeking affordable housing in exchange for assistance with household chores, transportation, and increased quality of life. It’s a way for elderly residents to maintain some independence and remain in their homes. If you are an elderly resident who has an extra room or a guest house available, and you could benefit from someone to assist you in your home, the Home Share Program could match you with someone seeking an affordable living arrangement.

The Home Share Program is offered by Senior Services for South Sound. Both home providers – those who have a home – and home seekers are interviewed for compatibility of lifestyles. References and a thorough criminal background check is conducted. Program Managers will then match Home Providers with Home Seekers. Providers and Seekers who have been matched will spend time getting to know each other and confirm or deny their compatibility.

The Home Share Program web page has more information and downloadable applications. Contact Rebecca Hutchinson, Home Share Program Manager at (360) 586-6181 ext. 111 or Emme Williamson, Home Share Program Assistant at ext. 136. Their email address is homeshare@southsoundseniors.org. Also, click here to view a two-page flyer with more information.

The Home Share Program is funded by the City of Lacey, the City of Olympia, the City of Tumwater, and The Regional Housing Council.

Trunk or Treat is this Sunday, October 30 at Steamboat Square

Posted on October 24, 2022October 24, 2022 by GriffinNeighbors

This Sunday evening, much of Steamboat Square will be turned into a Trunk or Treat Village as local residents turn out to offer a family-friendly Halloween event. This Sunday is looking to be a bit wet but that won’t deter us! This will be a walk-through event for the kids. You can park behind the Square, by the Urraco Coffee Company, or across 33rd Ave NW in the Griffin School parking lot. Much of Steamboat Square will be blocked off from cars (the yellow lines on the map below indicate barricades).

More than 20 trunks are expected and there is a prize for the best display.

Candy donations can be dropped off at the Griffin Fire Department Headquarters through Friday morning. We are planning a fun time and hope you all will join us!

Trunk or Treat
Sunday, October 30, 4 PM to 7 PM
Steamboat Square, 6541 Sexton Dr. NW

Click the image to see a larger version.

Nominate Your Hometown Hero

Posted on October 22, 2022November 6, 2022 by GriffinNeighbors

We recognize the challenges that have been faced by all of us over the past few years. Part of the mission of the Griffin Neighborhood Association (GNA) is to help remind us that we are a community and what a wonderful place this is to live. During Covid we all did our best to help each other, recognizing the first responders, and all the others that were out on the front lines working.

We would like to keep that going and this year the GNA is starting a Hometown Hero program. In the month of November, while many of us are getting ready to give thanks, the GNA will be selecting the top nominees to appear at an award ceremony, held at the Prosperity Grange on November 12th to receive their awards and a token of our appreciation.

Through November 5th, 2022, Griffin Neighborhood Association will be accepting Hero nominations. To qualify, the person should be a resident of the area or work in the area, and have demonstrated the qualities below:

An inspiring example to others by helping make the Steamboat Area a better place to live through volunteerism, extra-curricular activities, special projects, giving back, etc.
Going above and beyond to aid a friend, family member, stranger, or community in a time of need.
Love of profession and desire, determination, and diligence to help outside of normal job responsibilities.

Nominate your Hometown Hero today by filling out the form below. Please let us know why this person should be a Hometown Hero and list the qualities that make this person stand out in our community.

Nominations for Hometown Heroes are now closed. Join us for our recognition event Saturday, November 12th, at Prosperity Grange, from 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM.

Thanks to All of You, Neighbors, for This Year’s Community Picnic

Posted on July 5, 2022October 21, 2022 by GriffinNeighbors

Thanks to the many volunteers, businesses, and local organizations that helped to make this year’s Community Picnic a success! Enjoy this photo essay of the afternoon and we hope you see you next year.

In addition to the supporters we named in our prior post, we want to especially thank these other businesses and individuals who also made donations that helped to make this year’s picnic possible:

B & K Emergency Services
Character’s Corner
Chelsea Farms
Christy Sterling
Companion Cove
Dianne Bradford, Scentsy
Jan Hopwood
Jonelle Adams

Laura Westrup
Michelle Odell
Miss Moffett’s Mystical Cupcakes
Steamboat Animal Hospital
Steamboat Island Chiropractic
Steamboat Coffee Shop
Tipsy Whale Mercantile
Walt Sanders

All Are Invited to this Year’s Community Picnic, June 25th

Posted on June 9, 2022June 13, 2022 by GriffinNeighbors

This year’s Griffin Community Picnic is Saturday, June 25th, 12 noon to 4 PM, at the Prosperity Grange and in front of the Steamboat Driving Range. There will be games and family-friendly activities, vendor and non-profit booths, live music, a raffle, food, a fire truck from the Griffin Fire Department, and more.

The year’s musical guest is The Possible Solutions. Local artists Cliff and Ellen Rice will also perform. There will be a balloon artist and a glitter tattooist, too.

Our grill masters will provide hamburgers and hotdogs. Our special guest will be Xinh Dwelley. We’ll have soft drinks and there will be cookies and lemonade from the Griffin PTO. Don’t miss the dessert table!

A large selection of raffle items donated by many of our local businesses. The highest value gift baskets, including those donated by B&K Emergency Services and Chelsea Farms, are part of a silent auction.

Nearly 20 local vendors and non-profit organizations will be on-hand.

Griffin/Steamboat Peninsula Community Picnic
Saturday, June 25
12 noon to 4 PM
Prosperity Grange and the Steamboat Driving Range

1 to 3 – Balloon artist and glitter tattooist
1 to 2:15 – The Possible Solutions
2:15 to 2:45 – Cliff and Ellen Rice perform
2:45 to 4 – The Possible Solutions
All day – Games and activities

Admission is $5 for adults. Children and members of the Griffin Neighborhood Association are free. You can join the GNA at the picnic or join online before the event.

Come and enjoy the day with neighbors and friends!

Thank you to our sponsors!

A special thanks, too, to Carolyn Jones, whose donation to fund the purchase of food for this event is greatly appreciated.

Farmer’s Market Returns to Companion Cove, June through September

Posted on June 4, 2022June 4, 2022 by GriffinNeighbors

We’re very excited to see Companion Cove will once again host a farmer’s market. The first market day is Saturday, June 11, 10 AM to 3 PM. The market will be open on the 2nd and 4th Saturday of each month through September and each day will feature new and changing vendors. Organizers hope to have live music, too. The Sweetlee’s Ice Cream truck will be there on July 9 and 23.

Farmer’s Market
Kickoff Saturday, June 11
10 AM to 3 PM
Market day is the 2nd and 4th Saturday, June through September
Companion Cove
6644 Sexton Dr NW, Olympia, WA 98502

Are you interested in selling at the farmer’s market? Contact Juliet Walker for details or sign up at Companion Cove.

A portion of vendor fees will go back to the community to benefit organizations such as 4-H groups in Thurston and Mason counties.