EL PASO — With El Paso Days coming up, 2025 Honorary Citizen Janet Howe reflected on a lifetime of great memories from her time in the area.

Howe comes from the Daniels family, which has been in the El Paso community for around 100 years.

She started going to El Paso to visit her grandfather Irv James Daniels and grandmother Della when she was 10 years old. They rented a place on Rush River. Her grandfather was an avid fly fisherman. Irv had four children, two girls and two boys. While Howe is an only child, her aunt and uncles had 12, eight and six children.

“That’s how the Daniels family grew,” Howe said. “They were all cousins, and we would frequently be together down in El Paso. But that was only for picnics because the house was very small, one room.”

The cabin they rented was just across from Fisherman’s Rest at the time, near where the dance hall used to be.

Being named honorary citizen means a lot to Howe because El Paso itself means a lot to her.

“A, I’m probably one of the oldest people in the valley, and B, I’ve probably been in the valley just as long as anybody else,” Howe, 88, said. “I have just come to love the people that live here. It’s a fabulous, fabulous community.”

One of the biggest pieces to the honor for Howe was the family’s legacy being cemented in El Paso’s history.

Howe’s cousin Virginia wrote a poem for a book the Pierce County Herald put out. She said it really described the great emotions that people feel at El Paso Days. Her granddaughter, Carissa, was once junior royalty at El Paso Days.

Howe and her son Doug said they are always in awe of the thousands of people who flood the valley for El Paso Days each year. Howe has built many relationships in El Paso that will last forever in her heart.

Her father, Clint, was a minister who held services out of his house, often baptizing people in the river.

“You go down there, and you truly lose yourself in time,” Doug Howe said. “You go down there and it’s relaxing, super relaxing. No hustle and bustle. It’s nature at its best.”

Doug’s favorite El Paso Days memory was driving Janet and a friend in rocking chairs in the back of a truck through the parade. The truck had a sign that read “Two old bags for sale.”

“They didn’t know that,” Doug said. “That’s the fun about El Paso Days. You can do anything with good humor.”

Doug and Janet both agreed that what makes El Paso perfect is the wonderful neighbors.

“It’s the camaraderie of the neighbors. They all stick together,” Howe said.

Sometimes in El Paso it just feels like you’ve known someone all your life, even if you just met them that day.