The Slice Is This The Capital Of Letters?

We don’t note every letter to the editor from Syracuse or Tucson appearing in national publications.

So maybe we’re mistaken.

But for years it has struck us that letters written by Spokane residents seem to show up in magazines in numbers far out of proportion to the size of this city’s population.

A note about an old friend: “In early March 1946, my fiance and I planted a very small Chinese elm tree on our future home site,” wrote Coulee City’s Flora Weimerskirch. “It was broken by a cow later that summer, but it now measures 115 inches around the trunk.”

She watered it with a bucket.

“It has supported tree houses for four sons and now two grandsons here on our family farm, besides providing homes for thousands of birds and cool shade for picnics and barbeques. Almost 52 years!”

Road warriors: Ann and Ira Farnsworth visited 29 states in 62 days this summer.

Lavell and Ann Hall saw parts of 23 states. Mimi Cooper’s family and Joe Harless’ family each hit 15 states.

Sheila Jacobson’s family saw parts of 14 states.

Nobody ever said Mariners fans had to be good spellers: Substitute teacher Norma Egger was used to kids asking if she is related to the Egger Meats family. (She is.) But she wasn’t really ready for it when a little boy, excitedly bouncing in his seat and holding his hand up, said, “Mrs. Egger, Mrs. Egger, are you related to Egger Martinez?”

Honesty incident: Loretta Evans walked away from her billfold at Riverfront Park. But the person who found it dropped it in a mail box. And the Post Office made sure she got it back. Not a penny was missing.

He ordered it “to go”: “Our cat, Riley, enjoys catching and eating insects,” wrote Kellogg’s Janet Lake. “He returned from a neighborhood jaunt recently carrying a folded-over plastic sack in his mouth. He held his head high so the sack wouldn’t drag on the ground. Thinking this was not safe for him to be playing with, I took it and discovered that there was a large, squirming grasshopper inside.

“Riley had brought home a sack lunch.”

Warm-up questions: Ever heard someone described as “reeking of macaroni and cheese”? Does that “Now Serving Soup” sign at a skywalk restaurant say something about excitement in Spokane? What tends to be the most memorable smell at Pig Out in the Park?

Today’s Slice question: What’s your best bra-shopping story?

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color photo

MEMO: The Slice appears Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Write The Slice at P.O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210; call (509) 459-5470; fax (509) 459-5098. Does an allowance teach a kid anything?