At Thanksgiving time, our thoughts always turn to all the things for which Whidbey Islanders have to be thankful. Here a just a few, many gleaned from this year’s pages of the Whidbey News-Times.

1. Island County broke the gender barrier by swearing in not one, but two, women county commissioners.

2. It was decided not to build a huge “McMansion” on Ebey’s Prairie.

3. Smiley lives! If you don’t remember, just google him.

4. Whidbey General’s volunteer clown “doctor,” Dr. StumbleMore, is still keeping patients smiling.

5. Despite massive budget cutting, we still seem to have plenty of government at all levels.

6. The feds sent $26.38 million our way, through Whidbey Island Bank, as part of its Capital Purchase Program.

7. Islanders joined the nation in celebrating the inauguration of America’s first African-American president.

8. The little ferry that could, the Steilacoom II, keeps carrying passengers and vehicles across Admiralty Inlet.

9. All our earthquakes were small in 2009.

10. Our last Christmas was a white one.

11. The Waste Management Call Center brought new jobs to Oak Harbor.

12. North Whidbey artists now have a co-op of their own, with the downtown Garry Oak Gallery.

13. Oak Harbor will finally have a first-rate venue with the new high school performing arts facilities opening next month.

14. The Whidbey Island Farm Tour and Art Tour continue to grow each year.

15. Ebey’s Reserve and Deception Pass State Park: Can anywhere else in the world beat such beauty?

16. Oak Harbor voters continued to support their schools.

17. The Whidbey Camano Land Trust, after 25 years, is going stronger than ever.

18. The Whidbey Island Theater for Youth opened, joining Whidbey Playhouse as outstanding places for young people to learn life skills.

19. Oak Harbor and Coupeville avoided significant teacher layoffs despite the tough economy.

20. Ala Spit was made a friendlier place for salmon.

21. There are still plenty of 4-H kids making invaluable contributions to the Island County Fair and helping keep agriculture alive.

22. When Oak Harbor’s Peanut Boy needed a service dog, the community stepped up.

23. The Whidbey Follies returned after having gone missing for 20 years.

24. Penn Cove mussels add flavor to island life.

25. The majestic Garry oak on Fidalgo Way escaped the developer’s pruning shears, at least for now.

26. The county commissioners shared some of the pain by cutting their own car allowances.

27. Whidbey Island Naval Air Station squadrons went to Iraq, Afghanistan and other dangerous spots around the world, and came home safely.

28. Rather than give up public beach access in Greenbank, the county went to court.

29. Renovations to the Admiralty Head Lighthouse, built in 1861, will keep it standing for years to come.

30. The Irish keep Oak Harbor lively, particularly in March.

31. The Navy presence kept the lid on unemployment’s growth in Island County.

32. Oak Harbor bought its own marathon.

33. Women’s History Month never goes unrecognized on Whidbey Island.

34. We’ll find out soon if tidal energy can produce clean, safe power off the shores of Whidbey Island.

35. Oak Harbor High School’s new Career and Technical Center will better prepare students for the world of work.

36. Pioneer Way water pipes don’t leak any more.

37. Try to tear down a historic home in Coupeville and you’ll have a fight on your hands.

38. Although we’re losing too many, Whidbey Island is still home to many heroes from World War II.

39. We can never condone such action, but you kind of have to smile to know that we have kids willing risk their lives to hang a marijuana banner from the Deception Pass Bridge.

40. Thanks to Oak Harbor’s heroic art teachers, student art decorates Pioneer Way businesses during Holland Happening.

41. Taxpayers willingly bailed out an island original called Island Transit.

42. Swine flu has hit us, but not very hard — so far.

43. Voters on Whidbey joined others and supported their Sno-Isle library system.

44. The Salish Sea’s orca whale population is increasing thanks to several recent births.

45. Habitat for Humanity keeps building homes on Whidbey Island.

46. The Roller Barn is still standing and in use by the Boys and Girls Club.

47. Deputy Dan Waggoner saved one person from jumping off Deception Pass Bridge.

48. People who worried 20 years ago that all of Whidbey Island would grow into another suburbia were wrong.

49. We’re lucky to still have one car dealer downtown in Oak Harbor Motors, a fixture for 30 years.

50. Farmers markets had a record-breaking year on Whidbey Island.

51. Whidbey Playhouse keeps cranking out amazingly entertaining and ambitious productions with local talent.

52. Coupeville’s Memorial Day Parade is one of our finest moments each year.

53. Oak Harbor got serious this year about creating more low-income housing.

54. When the tide is low, the dinner table is set.

55. The Kettles Trail and Oak Harbor Waterfront Trail both expanded this year.

56. Central Whidbey’s new Hearts & Hammers got off to a great start as volunteers fixed up 17 homes owned by needy people.

57. We now have a loud-voiced electronic AHAB to tell us when a tsunami is coming our way.

58. North Whidbey Relay for Life keeps supporting cancer survivors and raising many thousands of dollars for a cure.

59. We still have considerably more churches than taverns.

60. You have to like a city that uses art funds to paint huge water tanks with forest scenes.

61. We can tell what’s raised here with the new “Whidbey Island Grown” brand. Motto: “From our Land — From our Hands.”

62. Thanks to the Navy, public access to Crescent Harbor and Maylor’s Point has vastly improved.

63. There’s no better place than Oak Harbor on the 4th of July.

64. On Whidbey, you can see landscape artists out standing in our fields.

65. It was a pretty good year for crabbing on Whidbey Island.

66. It was one of the greatest years ever for humpies on Whidbey Island.

67. The welfare of our whales is closely monitored thanks to the Orca Network.

68. The Poseidon adventure is coming soon to Whidbey Island Naval Air Station.

69. We have people trained to rescue seal pups found on beaches, and others who pick up beach litter every weekend.

70. We had a Tea Party and all the folks were friendly.

71. There’s a new Crescent Harbor salt marsh for baby salmon, thanks to a Navy environmental project.

72. We have a local radio station that occasionally and inexplicably goes silent, just like in the old days.

73. For the first time in 65 years, a PBY Catalina landed in Crescent Harbor and taxied up the boat ramp of the old Seaplane Base.

74. The Grange is returning to North Whidbey.

75. A new ferry is under construction for the Keystone route.

76. The WASL test continues to show that, in general, Oak Harbor students are still above average …

Unfortunately, there is too little time and space to count all the reasons to be thankful because we can almost smell the turkey cooking down at the Oak Harbor Elks Lodge and over at the Coupeville Recreation Hall for tomorrow’s big community dinners. Make that 77 and 78, respectively, and happy Thanksgiving to all our readers.