In the July 24 issue, the Leader’s Question of the Week was: “Do you support the move of Rhody Fest to the county fairgrounds?”

First of all, I’ve been around so long I can recall when we had a traditional “Rhododendron Festival” and for that matter, also had rhododendrons blooming along the highway toward the entrance to town.

We actually had a designated “Rhododendron Drive” that continued out through the cut-off and into Chimacum. When I was a child, families used to drive out and admire the endless profusion of our state flower during blooming season. It was truly beautiful.

I ran in a little kids’ foot race at what’s now Memorial Field during the first Rhododendron Festival back in 1936. Those memories are dimming a bit, but they remain with me.

I imagine it was Leader one-column headline writers who contributed to the butchering of the word “rhododendron.” I can’t recall exactly when that first started, although I was in harness at the paper through 1988. However, I do have a vague recollection of about when that particular bit of cuteness was injected into the language. I played no role in it.

And, of course, there has been the penchant of an ever-more-impatient society to eliminate words of multiple syllables as much as possible, especially since the advent of the cellphone. But why did a fine old word such as “festival” have to be tossed onto the trash heap in favor of “fest?” Is it really all that much of an over-demanding inconvenience to write four more letters or pronounce two more syllables?

In any case, I guess if the site can accommodate county fair-goers it could accommodate “Rhody Carn” patrons. The temporary traffic glut out San Juan shouldn’t be any worse for one than the other.

Tom Camfield
Port Townsend