The Irish are coming!

St. Patrick’s Day is Friday, March 17, and a glorious day it will be, with shamrocks showing up in unexpected places and a small but proud parade winding through Old Town to the Blarney Stone at City Beach Park around 3 p.m. that afternoon.

According to HELEN CHATFIELD-WEEKS, the Irish Wildlife Society has lined up PATRICK MAGORRIAN and EVE DOYLE to be grand marshals during the 32nd annual St. Patrick’s Day festivities.

Magorrian hails from Ballykinlar, County Down, Ireland, and arrived in Oak Harbor in 1973 by way of Canada, San Francisco and Santa Monica, Calif. His two children, Sean and Erin, live here. His wife Joyce died in 1983.

He has put on a St. Patrick’s Day party at St. Augustine’s for several years. This year, the Shifty Sailors will sing at the dinner on March 18.

EVE DOYLE OLIVER has been a familiar face in Oak Harbor since 1969. She came to work as a nurse at the new NAS hospital, where she is a plank owner.

“I just kept moving west from Ohio ‘til I reached here, as far as I could go,” she said. Her children are KC Pohtilla of Oak Harbor, Michael Power of Salt Lake City and Lilie Herrick of Washington, D.C.

Eve has traveled to Ireland five times, especially to County Cork, where her family came from.

Project is on track …

The Whidbey Patrol Squadron Memorial project is looking good.

DON GROVE e-mailed me last week to see if I could get the word out. “Some people are wondering if the project is financially viable, if it’s still in the works and if so, when will it be completed.”

Well, it’s not home free yet, but the project is doing well financially and is definitely a “go.”

Those who want a brick engraved in time for the dedication ceremony need to have their order in by May 20. Brick order forms are all over town, or download one at www.patron2.com/files/wpsm.html. A tax-deductible donation of $200 and a brick order form are all that’s required for obtaining an engraved brick.

If you don’t have your brick order in by May 20, you may still order one, but it might not arrive before the September dedication.

The memorial will be in Veterans’ Park across from Skagit Valley College, near the entrance to the yacht club. Final dedication of this landmark is set for Sept. 14 at 10 a.m.

The public is invited to attend the dedication ceremony and pay tribute to our Whidbey Island heroes, past and present.

Fast-paced fun …

Ever played bunko? Why not give it a try and help raise money for breast cancer research at the same time.

The women of Delta Tau invite the public to an evening of fast-paced fun on April 13 at Whidbey Golf and Country Club. Doors open at 6:30 p.m.; play starts at 7 sharp. Cost is $20 per person, and includes appetizers; a no-host cash bar will be available and prizes will be awarded.

All proceeds will go to the American Cancer Society Relay for Life, in memory of their former sorority advisor THELMA LONG, who died recently. Call PATTI OLSON at 240-1083 for tickets.

Learn lapidary …

When I ran into ROBERT WEAN at the post office he gave me a hard time for covering news of Navy officers more than enlisted people. My brain cells searched for a clever comeback, but alas, he was already driving out of the parking lot. “What nerve,” I thought.

The next day, I decided to call him and ask what a U.S. Navy retired Hospital Corpsman 1st Class is doing these days. He filled me in.

“Retired Navy Chief Petty Officer DICK JAMES and I teach lapidary Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday from 9 to 11 a.m. at the Senior Center,” he said. “A $10 fee to cover liability insurance is all it costs.

“We also teach wire wrapping cabochons at 7 p.m. on Thursdays,” Wean continued. “You must be at the old brown building behind the center at 7 p.m. sharp, as we lock the door at 7:10. You pay only for the materials you use.”

Call the Senior Center at 679-6620 or visit them at 52 SE Jerome Street, next to the John Vanderzicht pool.

A personal invitation …

Pearl Harbor survivor GLENN LANE and his wife BEVERLY are in the state capital of Olympia today, special guests of Governor Christine Gregoire.

Their daughters JOANNE and PATRICIA are also going along. The group will be given a tour and have lunch with the governor.

As I took my dog, Lenny, for one of our walks the other day, I felt the warm breath of spring on my cheek. It made me want to skip all the way home. Spring arrives officially March 20. See you on March 15. Keep in touch and call me at 360-675-6611 or e-mail lifeonwhidbey@yahoo.com.