The Imnaha River Inn had some interesting company this week. It was a checkpoint for a seven-day motorcycle endurance race put on by the Wetcoast Irregulars, a non-profit group that puts on motorcycle events usually to benefit a good cause. This one, which is called the 02 Rendezvous Rally, started in Puerto Penasco, Mexico, and will end up in Glennallen, Alaska, with various stops along the way, one of them being the Imnaha River Inn. Dale Wilson of Tri-Cities was the advance man to check things out.

Unfortunately for Dale, someone backed into his bike while he was having lunch. It did a lot of cosmetic damage but it still ran. Dale says the rally is like a big treasure hunt and participants get bonus points for visiting certain places and answering questions about them. One of the questions was to fill in the blanks regarding a sign on the Imnaha Store door, which says, “Unsupervised children will be sold as slaves”. Good luck to all of you in finishing the trip.

Our roses are blooming and there’s snow in them thar hills. The weather is certainly strange this year. Where is the “greenhouse effect” that we keep hearing about. We could use a little hot, sweaty weather. Lyman Goucher says we have him to thank for the rain. He cut his hay and it always rains when he cuts the hay!

ANNOUNCEMENTS: We will have an entry in the Chief Joseph Days Parade involving all canyon residents that would like to participate. If you would like to join us, please call Bonnie Marks ,577-3105; Barb Warnock, 577-3146; or me, 577-3190 or email at sweetpea@eoni.com. We will help you get costumes organized.

Don’t forget the All-School reunion at the Imnaha School this Saturday starting at 10 a.m. and a potluck at noon.

Come join the Imnaha Rodeo Club for their Playday on Sunday, the 16th, starting with a Poker Ride at 2 p.m. and the riding events at 4 p.m.

TO AND FRO: Bill and Carla Powell from Washougal are here for a visit with Weldon and Barb Witherrite, and they are impressed with the scenery and the fishing. Their daughter, Liette, is married to Witherrite’s grandson, Troy Witherrite. Hal and Zelda Crane’s daughter, Lori Crane of Everett, Washington and granddaughter, Becca Crane from Mt. Vernon, Wash., are here for a few days.

Pat Maher of Tri-Cities dropped in for a visit with his friend, Eva Roost, from Switzerland. Jeanne Yerkes is spending a couple of weeks in Reno while her daughter is recovering from surgery. Roland is home with the garden and his mechanical garden toys.

LOCAL GOSSIP: An Imnaha citizen of some standing (he holds the important position of Street-Cleaner and the more dubious distinction of being Mayor) has been seen to be suffering from a male affliction called “Old Man’s Derriere Crevasse Syndrome”, also known as “Below the Waist Cleavage” according to Jess Barton. As the local investigative reporter, I felt duty bound to sneak up behind him with a camera and preserve the evidence. A donation jar has been set up at the Imnaha Store to buy him some suspenders and put the rest of us onlookers out of our misery.

THIS AND THAT (and peanut butter mayo sandwiches): I walked this green earth for 60 years and had never heard of peanut butter and Miracle Whip (or Mayo) sandwiches until Anna Horn divulged this secret recipe. Dear readers, I was amazed at the number of responses I had on the subject and I find there is a whole sub-culture of peanut butter and Mayo sandwich eaters out there.

Marie Flanagan of Enterprise says her husband ate these sandwiches as a child and continues the disgusting habit to this day. (She also thanks the Imnaha Community for the generous gift they received after their house fire last December.)

Geri Bennett Mousseau who lives with her sister, Darlene in Show Low, Ariz., was raised here at Imnaha and lived with her grandparents, Arda and Eunice Bennett. She says peanut butter and Miracle Whip ain’t all that bad but she prefers sweet onions and dill pickle sandwiches.

Sean O’Halloran, who has bought property at Imnaha River Woods, says PB and Mayo sandwiches were a staple at their house, but they also liked PB and Fritos, and PB and bananas. He said when times were tight, they had brown sugar sandwiches, which I used to eat and had forgotten about, and his son eats red bell pepper sandwiches.

Mamie Laughlin McCrae of Wallowa writes that she grew up on the Divide in the 30’s and 40’s and didn’t have refrigeration. Peanut butter and homemade mayonnaise was a staple that would keep. She also likes PB and sweet pickle sandwiches or PB and Sandwich Spread.

Bonnie Mark’s brother, Ray Justice of St. Helens likes PB, pickles and Mayo and Bonnie says when she visited her relatives back east, they ate Mayo and fried banana sandwiches. Grant Warnock’s sister, Vera Talbott vouches for PB, Mayo and banana sandwiches, and Tom Farrar of Joseph, who grew up in upstate New York, says he was raised on PB and Mayo, and his sister liked PB, bacon, and sliced onion on rye bread. He also ate cold, sliced potato sandwiches with Mayo.

My cousin, June Tice of Olympia, writes that her late husband had a PB and Sandwich Spread sandwich every day in his lunch. Sandwich Spread was put out by Best Foods and was actually mayonnaise and chopped pickles. Her present husband, Bus Tice eats dill pickles and PB sandwiches.

Linda Burrell of Elgin (and sometimes of Imnaha) writes that she couldn’t believe anyone else but her family ate these sandwiches! They had them in their school lunches every day. Now she doesn’t even like peanut butter and won’t have Miracle Whip in the house! And Linda mentioned something that I haven’t had for years. When we were sick, we always had to have milk toast. Do you all remember milk toast? Toasted homemade bread with hot milk, butter, salt and pepper. It made you get well a whole lot faster. At least you pretended to be well so you could eat some decent food!

There’s two more things mentioned that I thought took the cake (or sandwich as the case may be). Shirley Haines of Joseph was astounded to read about her favorite sandwich, which she considers a health food, and she says her mom made nasturtium leaves and Mayo sandwiches (this was during the depression) and they were quite tasty!

And Ethel Tanzey says they used to dip squash blossoms in pancake batter and fry them and top with peanut butter!

And that’s the news from Imnaha Canyon where a peanut butter and Mayo sandwich is being eaten by someone, somewhere at this very moment!