Every year we leaf through the pages of the Whidbey News-Times seeking things for which to be thankful. There is never any shortage of items and our Thanksgiving list is limited only by the space available. After reading these, think of some of your own.

1. Every holiday, the Oak Harbor Lions Club lines the streets with hundreds of beautiful American flags.

2. The ferry system kept enough boats at Keystone that we never had to walk across the water.

3.Our U.S. Navy SAR helicopter crew is always ready to rescue civilians, including 59 in last year’s flooding.

4. After some delay, the Salvation Army returned to Oak Harbor to ring its Christmas bells.

5. Coach Dave Ward left Oak Harbor with a winning football tradition before he stepped down.

6. Bud Walgreen didn’t retire until everyone in town had a good set of Les Schwab tires.

7. The Captain Whidbey Inn on Penn Cove has been providing comfort and entertainment for 100 years.

8. Whidbey Island Naval Air Station didn’t lose any sailors in the War on Terror in 2008, after having lost 6 in 2007.

9. The “Top 2” primary did away with the widely-despised “party declaration” primary.

10. Optimistic and creative people keep opening new businesses on Whidbey Island.

11. Voters approved a bigger, better Coupeville Library.

12. A lot of good citizens in Island County decided to run for office, giving voters some real choices in the 2008 election.

13. In tough economic times, Whidbey Island Naval Air Station is more important than ever.

14. The “Free Lolita” movement is gaining strength in Florida and some day the killer whale may be returned to her native waters around Puget Sound.

15. Teachers got a good and well-deserved pay increase this year.

16. Whidbey Island’s major roads are still roundabout-free.

17. The death business is good, as Oak Harbor got its second funeral home.

18. Despite two levy failures, our North Whidbey volunteer firefighters still enthusiastically respond when called upon.

19. Downtown Oak Harbor got a new water line with minimal business disruption.

20. We always have enough local heroes to honor at the Red Cross Real Heroes’ Breakfast.

21. Community volunteers galore make possible Holland Happening, Mussel Festival, Water Festival, Loganberry Festival, Arts and Crafts Festival, 4th of July Parade and fireworks, and a myriad of other fun activities for families.

22. Whidbey Island remains a paradise for bicyclists, hikers and other visitors.

23. Thanks to coach Pam Headridge, Oak Harbor has one of the best cheerleading programs in the state.

24. Oak Harbor’s Waterfront Trail finally found a way past the waterfront condominiums.

25. More small farmers are sprouting up on Whidbey Island.

26. Whidbey Island Scenic Highway signs will soon be erected, but we will still be able to see some scenery under, over, and on either side of them.

27. Rep. Rick Larsen is getting better every year at bringing home the pork.

28. The Whidbey Island Marathon continues to grow in popularity.

29. Island County Habitat for Humanity provides nice homes for the needy.

30. America’s Third Party started right here in Oak Harbor.

31. Oak Harbor planted its first art at Fort Nugent Park, a sculpture named “Release,” thanks to its 1 percent for arts program.

32. Coupeville’s Memorial Day Parade is one of the best in the state year after year.

33. The advent of the EA-18G and Poseidon guarantee a bright future for Whidbey Island Naval Air Station.

34. You can still dig your own dinner at low tide.

35. Whidbey Island’s Relay for Life volunteers work all year long to help cancer survivors.

36. Our good weather is the best and our bad weather is far from the worst.

37. Our new police chief, Rick Wallace, is a hometown boy.

38. We can now hop a train to Seattle in Mukilteo.

39. Whidbey Island has hundreds of fine artists.

40. Our dark night skies make the stars shine brightly.

41. They keep talking about a bigger bridge, but nobody ever does anything about it.

42. There are so many eagles on Whidbey Island there may not be room for any more.

43. Coupeville’s blockhouses have been repaired and are ready for another 100 years.

44. We’ll soon have a foot ferry to Camano Island.

45. Whidbey Island Race Week always provides spectacular scenes on the water.

46. There’s nothing like a cold swim in Puget Sound.

47. The number of environmental watchdogs seems to be growing.

48. Island Transit still gives out free bus rides.

49. When our elected office holders lose, they leave peacefully.

50. We have a lot of locally ground coffee on Whidbey Island.

51. Tests show our kids are almost all above average.

52. Park Director Craig Carlson comes up with some amazingly creative swimming pool events.

53. P.E. students in Oak Harbor are learning more lifetime activities.

54. For years, HOPE has given challenged kids hope on horseback.

55. Drivers still have to watch out for deer, rabbits, cows, turkeys and horses in the roadway.

56. Thanks to Beach Watchers, anglers now have a safe place to dispose of their monofilament line.

57. More people go to church on Sunday than to the bars on Saturday night.

58. The Blue-Fox Drive-In continues to make memories.

59. The museum has a nice collection of Woolly Mammoth bones.

60. You can have Wall Street, we’ll take Pioneer Way and Front Street.

61. Greenbank’s Tony Frantz has pulled tons and tons of toxic creosote logs from Whidbey beaches.

62. Whidbey Island has five great public libraries.

63. We still have plenty of World War II veterans to honor and teach the young.

64. We live in and around a national treasure called Ebey’s National Historical Reserve.

65. Our proofreader, Nellie Williams, is 100 years old, but she doesn’t prufread everything.

66. We can scare huge corporations like PSE by threatening to nationalize them, which results in better service.

67. The Greenbank Farm is the gem in the center of our island.

68. Our farmers markets are selling more each year.

69. Island County has one of the lowest crime rates in the country.

70. WAIF volunteers take good care of our unwanted cats and dogs.

71. Nichols Brothers Boat Builders in Freeland was sold, assuring its long-term future.

72. Citizens still keep Oak Harbor’s Dutch and Irish heritage alive.

73. Oak Harbor Library’s “Whidbey Reads” has taken over the entire island.

74. Oak Harbor’s decline in student enrollment came to a halt.

75. Hundreds of volunteers make Thanksgiving and Christmas happier for everyone on Whidbey Island.