Grandma Weekend an 18-year tradition for this Lind trio

The comforting smell of food in the kitchen, the delicate splash of wine in a glass and the ongoing tradition of friendship being celebrated are all too familiar to these three ladies. Gayle (Kincaid) Williams, Wesley Ann (Fode) Schulhauser and Terri Kaye (Maier) Ste. Marie have created an annual “Grandma Weekend” and for the past 18 years they have gathered to talk about life and enjoy each other’s company.

“Grandma Weekend,” deservingly called that because between the three ladies they have eight children and 15 grandchildren, has been a celebration of life throughout their years since high school in Lind. They have even had “Grand-kid Weekend” a couple of years back when Williams still lived at her house just outside of Lind. Williams’ house was the hot spot for all the social gatherings and the weekend was filled with lots of swimming, bowling and ATV riding in the Sand Hills.

Their friendship started when they were in elementary school together in Lind. They have been stuck together like glue ever since. Now that Williams, now living in Benton City, Schulhauser now in Pullman and Ste. Marie now residing in Mason Lake, are so spread out that they vowed to make it a yearly tradition to make special time for each other. Other than the grand-kid weekend, it’s always been the three of them. They have taken turns traveling to one another’s house as they move farther apart and they have also taken some amazing vacations together.

Schulhauser was in the graduating class of 1961 and Williams and Ste. Marie followed in 1962. They recently shared some fond memories of going to school in Lind, the sock hops and Jukebox dances they had as well as rooting on the local team at ballgames. All three ladies were four-year members of the Pep Club at Lind so they definitely loved and supported sports. The three also have great memories of going to the movies. Since the Fode family owned the local theatre at the time, they always went. And they jokingly recalled that the back row of seats were removed from the theatre so the usher could pace back and forth to patrol the teenagers that were there just to make out.

All three of the grandmas were honored in high school by being selected for the Homecoming royalty court, Ste. Marie was princess in 1960 and Schulhauser was Queen in 1961 while Williams was princess. Ste. Marie was also crowned Lind Rodeo Queen in 1960 while Schulhauser was princess. Ste. Marie was also proud to share that her granddaughter, Brittney Ste. Marie, was recently crowned as Ritzville’s Homecoming Queen and coincidentally enough Brittney was crowned 25 years after her mom, Lori (Ferderer) Ste. Marie, was Homecoming Queen in Lind.

Terri and Williams said that the class of 1962 was an average size class with 25 students and they were all really close friends. Terri even recalled that at their graduation ceremony the whole class was rather emotional, the boys and the girls, because of how close they all were. It’s no wonder why these three wonderful ladies have remained friends over the years.

Grandma weekend began 18 years ago when Schulhauser was anticipating the arrival of her first grandson, Ryan. She had just got home from a week’s stay with her daughter, the baby was overdue, and she had to get back to work. She was so overwhelmed with anxiety waiting that Williams and Ste. Marie made the journey to help their friend in her time of need. That’s how they always did things too, if one of the three was under stress or in any kind of frantic situation, at least one if not both of the other two felt the energy and called on their friends. So it was this night, as they were waiting for baby Ryan to arrive, that they sat around the kitchen table talking and reminiscing about the past and they vowed to continue to get together at least once a year from then on.

Through the years they have traveled to places like Whistler, Canada. Schulhauser had a friend who was a travel agent and held a timeshare there so they all got to go enjoy it together. It was the year that Whistler was preparing for the Olympics and they got to tour the area, go on their first chair lift ride, which they said was terrifying yet beautiful because they could see fields of tulips next to fields of snow full of snowboarders and skiers. Williams stayed on the ground for that ride, she said, “There way no way on earth those girls were going to get me on that one,” because she readily admits that she has a strong fear of heights and she wasn’t about to get in the chair lift.

They spent 10 days in Tucson, Ariz., and described it as their favorite trip over the years. Terri has sisters who live there and convinced the grandmas to come down and see the sights. The grandmas have also been to Greenbluff, just north of Spokane. Terri laughed and said that they have “tiptoed through the tulips” at the Mt. Vernon Tulip festival and they have taken a limo-guided wine tour from Prosser through the Tri-Cities. Just last year they went to Northern Quest Casino and played their favorite game, the slots, and like every time they get together and gamble, Williams and Terri go home empty handed and Schulhauser goes home with winnings in her pocket.

The grandmas said that this year’s gathering almost didn’t happen because Williams’ husband, Bob, has been dealing with some major health issues and she has been sticking close to home to take care of him. But with the encouragement of Schulhauser and Terri, they finally decided to “meet in the middle” so they could still make their gathering happen.

Williams arrived with the newest set of matching t-shirts that this crafty “Martha Stewart – type” does every year and they met in Ritzville, at the home of Terri’s son, worked on their scrapbooks, and did what they do best, drink, eat, laugh and share their year’s worth of stories.

They are all hoping the next “Grandma Weekend” will find them on a cruise ship, with their feet up in a chaise lounger, sipping cocktails and enjoying good times in the sunshine.