WHEREAS, We are here today to honor the life and life works of a true humanitarian; and
     WHEREAS, Margaret Leona Haller was born May 27, 1917, in Cowlitz County 14 miles east of Woodland, Washington in an old homestead which is now 160 feet under the waters of Lake Merwin; and
     WHEREAS, Margaret attended Marble Creek Grade School which is also now under the waters of Lake Merwin. The Marble Creek Grade School enrollment dropped below the state minimum to just three students, and Margaret had to be sent to another school closer to Woodland; and
     WHEREAS, Margaret was only a sixth grade student when she joined with seven seventh grade students at Clover Valley; and
     WHEREAS, During the Great Depression, Margaret was too young to get a job so she attended Woodland High School for five years and took every subject available. She was called the "baby of the class" and graduated at the age of 16 as one of the top five students in a class of 45; and
     WHEREAS, After high school Margaret worked at a bulb farm from 1934 through 1935 and worked in the strawberry fields and doing housework; and
     WHEREAS, Margaret Haller married Walter Colf in January 1941 and together they operated the Etna Store for eight years, and she helped run the family farm with 22 acres of strawberries and cows; and
     WHEREAS, Margaret helped her husband when he started logging and operated a saw mill, and she even worked in the woods as a whistle-punk who sent the signals from the woods to the operator of the steam donkey which pulled the logs out of the woods and loaded them onto trucks; and
     WHEREAS, Margaret lost her husband to a logging accident in 1962 leaving her a widow with three daughters and two sons; and
     WHEREAS, Margaret was an officer and member of the Green Mountain School Booster Club, and PTA President at La Center for two years, where she chaired many PTA committees. She was very active in the community, organizing drives for the Red Cross, cancer, muscular dystrophy, March of Dimes, and causes for children with disabilities. She also worked on election boards and voter registration drives for several years; and
     WHEREAS, Margaret served as secretary-treasurer of the Hayes/Etna Telephone Company for eight years from 1943 through 1951. She is a precinct committee officer, and belongs to both local and national Republican women's groups. She also served as the Clark County Commissioner for the Hayes-Garder Cemetery District No. 5 for 45 years; and
     WHEREAS, Margaret Colf married Edwin Hepola in October 1963, but was widowed again in 1977, when Edwin died from a heart attack; and
     WHEREAS, Margaret has contributed monetarily and through her leadership to funding and completing many heritage projects in both Cowlitz and Clark counties; and
     WHEREAS, From the age of 83 to the age of 91 Margaret Colf Hepola battled with a Federal agency to protect her family's farmland - and won; and
     WHEREAS, Margaret Colf Hepola is 93 years old, yet remains active in a multitude of service activities and groups continuously and concurrently and has been honored by state and local officials and groups including those in Cowlitz and Clark counties; and
     WHEREAS, Margaret Colf Hepola's life philosophy is that "You only take out of this world, when you leave it, what you have given away and the kindness you have shown to others. The most important thing you can give others is your time and concern for their welfare."
     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, That the state of Washington and the House of Representatives honor and celebrate the life and service of Margaret Colf Hepola for her years of perseverance and community activism; and
     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That a copy of this resolution be immediately transmitted to Margaret Colf Hepola.