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By Jana Mathia
Gazette Reporter 

In memory of Mom: Colfax tavern-owner to shave her head for St. Baldrick's fundraising

 

April 12, 2018

Liz Mann

Liz Mann, co-owner with husband Dale of the Palouse Hyde Out tavern in Colfax, will have her head shaved to help raise money for the upcoming St. Baldrick’s fundraiser. St. Baldrick’s Foundation is dedicated to fighting childhood cancers. The photo Liz is holding is of her mother during cancer treatment making potato salad, the same recipe offered at the Hyde Out.

Liz Mann still remembers the day they shaved her mom’s hair. Her mother, Aloma, had been diagnosed with throat cancer and had gone through her first round of “extreme” chemotherapy. That first round put her in a coma from which they were not sure if she would wake up. After she did, Aloma came to a point she wanted to shave her head because she could not stand another day of brushing her hair and seeing so much fall out.

“We learned how precious life was,” Mann said. Three months after the diagnosis and despite two rounds of chemo, Aloma succumbed to the cancer.

That was 10 years ago and now, to honor her mother, Mann is raising money for the St. Baldrick’s Foundation, set to have her own hair shaved off April 19. St. Baldrick’s raises funds to support childhood cancer research.

“My mom’s life was all about children,” said Mann, who owns and operates the Palouse Hyde Out tavern in Colfax.

Aloma had nine children of her own. Two died in infancy and she raised the other seven as a single mother when the oldest was about 14. She also taught Head Start in Lewiston for many years, baby-sat on the side and was the neighborhood block mom.

“She was like this child magnet.”

“She was always involved in the charity work in the Lewiston community and her church,” Mann added.

Despite all her commitments, Aloma always made time for her own children.

“I do not have any idea how,” Mann admitted.

Mann’s goal is to raise $1,500 for the Colfax school St. Baldrick’s event by the end of the month. This is the fifth year the school has hosted St. Baldrick’s. This year’s overall goal is $15,000. Mann has a bucket on the counter at the Hyde Out, like many other area businesses, and people can also donate on-line.

“Every dollar counts,” she said. She does not worry about who people donate to, she just wants to see the cause supported.

To do it, she is willing to have all her hair taken off in solidarity with children fighting cancer. She said this is something her mom would have done and not even blinked about it.

“It’s hair, it will grow back,” she said.

In the first four years at Colfax, the event has raised more than $42,000. Last year, 56 people had their heads shaved. According to Heidi Lowe, event coordinator at the Colfax high school, people can still sign up to participate this year or donate online. If someone would like to have their head shaved in support of the cause, the request is they raise at least $50 at which point they will receive a free t-shirt. Donations can keep coming in at least two weeks after the event.

This year’s event is April 19, 1:45 to 3:15 at the high school gym. Another team raising money is the four-man Team Admin from the high school including Supt. Jerry Pugh, who will shave his head if the team raises $4,000. Steptoe school has a team signed up and at the Colfax High School there are class competitions between the grades to see who can raise the most.

This year Konnor Stirling, a Colfax student who died in 2016 from leukemia, and Aticus G., a young Pullman child currently fighting a brain tumor at a hospital in Seattle, are being honored at the Colfax event.

Author Bio

Jana Mathia, Reporter

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Jana Mathia is a reporter at the Whitman County Gazette.

 

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