More than 100 grandparents turned out last Thursday for the annual Bring Your Grandparents to Lunch Day at Southside School.

“I think this is a great opportunity to connect grandparents with their grandkids’ school,” said Southside Principal Tim Garchow. “It instills a sense of importance in our students.”

The Southside Gym was packed as hungry grandparents and their grandchildren sat down for a lunch consisting of turkey, mashed potatoes, rolls and more. The grandparent turnout was significant because there are slightly more than 200 students in the school a few miles southeast of Shelton.

“It makes me feel proud to be part of this school. This is a great community, a great group of people,” Garchow said, gazing around at the packed gym.

Carl Adolphsen and Sally Cox traveled from Lewis County to attend the luncheon and share a meal with their grandson, Kyle Cox, 12, a fifth-grader. When asked what was the best thing about being a grandparent, Sally spoke right up. “Spoil him and send him home,” she said, with a smile. “Helping him learn. Watching him grow. Watching his achievements,” she added quickly.

“With our kids, we were working, surviving, disciplining. It’s hard to have that same kind of relationship,” she said of being a parent. Kyle said he likes going down to visit and go bicycle riding with his grandmother. They see each other every couple of months.

There were no hot lunches at her school when she was a grade-school student at Jackson Prairie south of Chehalis. “Mothers got together and made big pots of soup occasionally,” she remembered. She is Kyle’s father’s mother, while Adolphsen is his mother’s father.

Former Mason County Sheriff Fred Pharris sat with two of his grandchildren, Chris and Allie Christensen. He agreed with Sally Cox about being a grandparent. “You can spoil ‘em and send ‘em home – that’s the best part,” Pharris said. “They like to watch videos and kids’ programs. If I have something to do, they’ll help me out. This summer we went to Disneyland.”

“Youth is wasted on the young,” he said, chuckling. “They’re special and we love ‘em. They all get good grades.”

“I know your grandchildren enjoy having you here,” Garchow told the crowd.

Sharon Buechel sat between her grandson, Mason, 6, and granddaughter Sarah, 5. She said she enjoys everything about being a grandparent. “They’re a lot of fun,” she said. All told, she has eight grandchildren. She said she does a good job of keeping track of all of their birthdays and Mason agreed.

“It’s a lot easier now,” Buechel said, adding that she learned so much raising her own kids. “There’s some wonderful kids out here; it’s a good school,” she said of Southside.

“We go to different sports functions. We love sports,” she said. The youngsters play baseball, football, soccer and practice karate. She also likes to just watch TV with her grandkids.

Toward the end of the luncheon, Buechel peeled a banana for Sarah, then kissed her grandchildren goodbye.

“It’s a powerful turnout,” Garchow remarked. For a while, some of the grandparents lingered. Then it was time to leave. The luncheon was over, but everybody seemed to have a great time.

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