BOAT BUILDERS and fishermen used to call Gig Harbor their home. And now, generations to come will have a chance to see how the Maritime City’s pioneers weaved their craft.

FOR 30 years, the Gig Harbor and Key Peninsula communities have come together on a Friday night to watch the annual Fish Bowl high school football game between the crosstown rival Gig Harbor Tides and Peninsula Seahawks. And while the pageantry of the competition is a big draw, it’s also a chance to support higher education through the Gig Harbor Fisherman’s Club and its scholarship foundation.

“Nobody pays much attention to the Pierce County Auditor until election time … ” So begins a recent “Scoop du Jour” column by Gateway Publisher George Le Masurier.

When I moved into the residence halls at Pacific Lutheran University at the beginning of September, I never could have predicted how those first few weeks would go. And in less than a month, things have changed in ways unimaginable.

The adage, “Every cloud has a silver lining,” could not be more true than here in Gig Harbor. The most punishing economic downturn in half a century has had far-reaching impacts, not only on the city’s budget and services but for nearly all of our citizens and businesses.

UP ’N ITEM — It had to be thieves. There was simply no other logical explanation, according to my wife, who, for the record, couldn’t possibly be wrong.

UNITED METHODIST Church of Gig Harbor has been working behind the scenes for weeks to pull together a first-time community event that we hope will become an annual gathering. The first Blessing Ceremony will be held from 1 to 4 p.m. at the church’s parking lot on Oct. 4 — rain or shine. It’s designed, competely on a volunteer basis, to allow you to meet, greet and thank those who arrive first at a scene of an accident or crime.

DON’T PACK up those shorts and sunglasses just yet. While fall officially arrived Tuesday afternoon, we’ll have at least one more weekend full of sun — and plenty of outdoor activities. Take our advice and enjoy one of these events before the temperatures fall and the rain returns to the Northwest.

Editor’s note: A few weeks ago, we asked you if your views on President Obama had changes after his first nine months in office. Here are a few of your responses:

In the past I’ve written two articles discussing the potential for the loss of vibrancy in our downtown and heralding the formation of a new organization, the Gig Harbor Historic Waterfront Association.

Being a member of Chapel Hill Presbyterian Church, I was one of the enthusiastic volunteers who took part in the “Go Sunday” that was featured a couple of weeks ago in the Gateway.

Lately, I have been reading various letters to the editor about issues swirling around one of my clients, Pierce County Fire District No. 16.

AT ANY conference of journalists, the conversation always gets around to the strangest stories ever written. And so it was last week when a colleague told me about interviewing a self-made man who had grown up during the Great Depression.

Peninsula Light Company, one of the smaller utilities in the state that will be affected by the clean energy state mandate once it begins in 2012, has been proactive in its approach for a solution. PenLight CEO Jafar Taghavi said it best last week when he referenced PenLight’s expiring contract with Bonneville Power Administration in 2011 and the possibility that predictable rates will be a thing of the past.

It's easy to distance ourselves from Tacoma and the rest of the Interstate 5 corridor because of our small-town atmosphere and fewer traffic impacts, but the stark reality in the case of Russell Investments is going to impact Gig Harbor, too.

Chairman Scull, Director Derr, esteemed members of the commission, ladies and gentlemen, fellow taxpayers: I’m here representing Preserve Our Parks. POP is a society of like-minded people with one purpose — the preservation of our incomparable state parks.

My latest addiction, Sudoku, began with innocent curiosity. Why was my husband spending so much time with that fat yellow book? I peeked inside. The thick paperback offered me some easy puzzles and set me on a path toward very hard ones — ones that can take me a couple of days to conquer.

Before President Obama gave a speech to our nation’s school children, a friend said, “Well, he’s so liberal, parents don’t know what he’ll say.”

SOME ELECTION ITEMS — Nobody pays much attention to the Pierce County Auditor until election time, and then only if there’s some type of controversy or mistake in tabulating the results. That said, could you even remember the name of the King County Auditor at the center of the media storm in the 2004 governor’s race? Not me.

We're still a month away from the opening of the Cheney Family branch of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Puget Sound, but the Gig Harbor facility already is paying huge dividends. Club officials have been working diligently to partner with established organizations, and it should pay off in at least two ways: A full house when the doors open next month, and better service for the community.

In a non-presidential election year, more voters tend to let their mailed ballots sit under piles of paperwork until it’s too late. It shouldn’t be the case, but return percentages under the circumstances often are terribly low.

Re: The recent notice about signs and placards on our county roadways.

The focus groups conducted by Peninsula School District Superintendent Terry Bouck revealed a strong consensus: everyone wants “higher student achievement,” so every student can reach their potential and enjoy success in their next grade, college, career, family and life.

An open letter to U.S. Sen. Patty Murray in reply to her recent e-mail campaign on health care:

As our children head back to the nation’s colleges and universities this fall, I think we can all look forward to our refrigerators staying more full and the gas in our tanks lasting longer.

Badges of forward-thinking conscientiousness are practically status symbols in the Pacific Northwest. Recycling bins line our streets. Hybrid vehicles dot our driveways and pepper our freeways to the sneezing point. Plastic grocery bags ignite political warfare, so we proudly sport our reusable totes at the store. We are surrounded by such natural beauty in our community that it’s easy to see what our children will lose, should we fail to help them thrive.