April 2014 by The Good Life

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Contents

page 10

fishing is about more than catching

Features

fantasy camp

Suiting up to play with the pros at a real baseball park

12 live, teach, travel

Wandering couple return home after eight years and 43 countries

16 into the grand canyon

Why spend the money on a mule trip down into the Grand Canyon when you could walk?

18 par for the blah months

These good friends gather twice weekly for a golf outing â&#x20AC;&#x201D; virtually traveling the world without leaving Wenatchee

20 volunteer swim coach

The decision to sleep through basketball tryouts certainly had lifelong ramifications for Trent Grigsby

22 out of a jam

When work was the pits, she headed to the kitchen

26 high country living

Living way, way up with a view of the twinkling Valley

ART SKETCHES

n Violinist Gretchen Woods, page 34 n Play directors Tiffany Mausser and her dad, John, page 39 Columns & Departments 14 Pet Tales: Happy dogs 24 Bonnie Orr: Cooking with fresh apples 30 June Darling: A better way to fight fear 32 The traveling doctor: Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s new on genetic testing 34-39 Arts & Entertainment & a Dan McConnell cartoon 37 The night sky: Moon involved in 2 eclipses 40 History: Confluence has long been a gathering spot 42 Alex Saliby: On the road for wine April 2014 | The Good Life

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OPENING SHOT

Year 8, Number 4 April 2014 The Good Life is published by NCW Good Life, LLC, dba The Good Life 10 First Street, Suite 108 Wenatchee, WA 98801 PHONE: (509) 888-6527 EMAIL: editor@ncwgoodlife.com sales@ncwgoodlife.com ONLINE: www.ncwgoodlife.com FACEBOOK: facebook.com/pages/ The-Good-Life Editor/Publisher, Mike Cassidy Contributors, Marc Dilley, Mark Taylor, Lance Stegemann, S. Henry Hettick, Lief Carlsen, Jamie Howell, Travis Knoop, Donna Cassidy, Bonnie Orr, Alex Saliby, Jim Brown, June Darling, Dan McConnell, Susan Lagsdin, Peter Lind and Rod Molzahn Advertising manager, Terry Smith Advertising sales, Lianne Taylor and Donna Cassidy Bookkeeping and circulation, Donna Cassidy Proofing, Dianne Cornell Ad design, Rick Conant TO SUBSCRIBE: For $25, ($30 out of state address) you can have 12 issues of The Good Life mailed to you or a friend. Send payment to: The Good Life 10 First Street, Suite 108 Wenatchee, WA 98801 Phone 888-6527 Online: www.ncwgoodlife.com To subscribe/renew by email, send credit card info to: donna@ncwgoodlife.com BUY A COPY of The Good Life at Hastings, Caffé Mela, Walgreens (Wenatchee and East Wenatchee), Mike’s Meats at Pybus, Martin’s Market Place (Cashmere) and A Book for All Seasons (Leavenworth) ADVERTISING: For information about advertising in The Good Life, contact advertising at (509) 8886527, or sales@ncwgoodlife.com WRITE FOR THE GOOD LIFE: We welcome articles about people from Chelan and Douglas counties. Send your idea to Mike Cassidy at editor@ncwgoodlife.com

The Good Life® is a registered trademark of NCW Good Life, LLC.

Camas lilies in the morning By Marc Dilley

am a photographer for one reason: to record the beauty of nature and interpret my feelings about it. This is what I attempt to achieve in my images: not merely to depict but to illuminate. As a hiker, backpacker and climber for nearly 40 years, my experiences in the natural world have been my primary artistic influence. If I could not travel in wilderness, I would not photograph; if I could not photograph, I would still travel in wilderness. This image in particular was shot in the Camas Meadows Natural Area Preserve above the Blewett Pass Highway mid-June of 2011. In an on year, which this was (the Camas Lilies have on years and off years just like Balsamroot), the 1,300-acre meadow can

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be streaked solid lavender for a few days in mid-June. Although Camas are the main attraction, other wildflowers precede and succeed that are fascinating in their own right. Camas Meadows is home to many plant species found nowhere else in the world, including the Wenatchee Mountains checker-mallow and the Wenatchee larkspur, both listed as endangered. To get this shot, I arrived in the meadow well before dawn, when I still needed a head lamp to see. I used this time to set up my tripod (the general area I had arranged during an earlier visit). As the sun began to rise I made exposures. Here was the tricky part: due to the very high luminosity range (the brightness range from the darkest shadows to the brightest sunny areas) and depth of field range (the distance from the camera sensor to all parts of the image that must be in crisp focus: the horizon to the close-up lilies), I was obliged

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Camas Meadows is home to many plant species found nowhere else in the world... to make many exposures that would be blended in Photoshop later. Using these blending tools I was able to digitally paint in just the best parts of these five final shots, resulting in a final image that more closely approximates what the eye saw. To see more of Marc’s images of the natural world, visit marcdilley.com/ GalleryVerdantWorld.htm.

On the cover

Looking good in his Seattle Mariners uniform, Mark Taylor squats into the catcher position at winter baseball fantasy camp.

editor’s notes

MIKE CASSIDY

Free to fly, just my dreams and me Baseball… what’s the point?

You start at home and if you’re lucky enough to traverse the bases, you end back at home. I’m 12, standing on the pitcher’s mound on the worst ball field in our little league. The dads have tried to do their best, but these dads were small town working guys — never much of ball players themselves. They dragged the compacted hard clay that is our infield with a farmer’s harrow — once before the season begins — and told us the same words their coaches used on them … those worn-out phrases didn’t win championships then, and they won’t win a game today. My coach has told me I have a natural curve, but he has never told me how to get it over the plate for a strike. Maybe he means I have a natural tendency to bend the ball away from the strike zone. Mostly he smokes endless cigarettes and shakes his head every time he sees me walk another batter. So now I’m on the mound. I look at the dirty ball in my beatup mitt. I look up, there’s a batter from a far better team than we are. He’s grinning at me. I’m so tired of being the worst team in our league... the team at the beginning of the season all of the other coaches mentally write a “W” when they see the matchup. I start my windup … a windup that sprang from my dreams, certainly not a windup that coaches taught… I feel the seams of the baseball in my hand, my right arm comes around over my head and I sense my left foot slipping into the huge hole in front of the pitcher’s rubber.

(Years later I watch the Mariners play on a near perfect field, every grass blade at attention, not a single mole hole in the outfield, no deep ruts to snag a thrower’s foot on the pitcher’s mound.) My arm whips over my head, the ball is freed to fly, let gravity and the laws of inertia apply, I’ve done my best. In the fantasy universe that exists between my sticky-out ears — a magical place I have plenty of time to explore before my ball reaches the plate — the huge crowd erupts as my perfect, unhittable pitch zips across the plate. Reality is not so kind. Which is why to this day I believe baseball is more fun for me when I play it as a fantasy rather than actually play on the field. But when you can combine fantasy baseball with real baseball on a perfect field, as Mark Taylor does this month in his story, then all of the bases are covered. See his fun story on page 7. Belated photo credit: We failed to mention last month that the dynamic photos of the log home owned by Lisa and Tom Kriskovic were taken by local photographer Travis Knoop. Travis’ art returns this month with photos of Tom and Susan Cooper’s home high above Wenatchee. He has also been featured a few times as our monthly opening shot. More of his art can be seen at TravisKnoopPhotography.com. Be a dreamer and a doer. Run the bases with The Good Life. — Mike April 2014 | The Good Life

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fun stuff a full LISTING of what to do begins ON PAGE 35

It’s spring, when ALL fun breaks loose

There’s gold in the coming

events here in the Wenatchee Valley in April — plus laughs, boisterous street entertainment, festival food and knights, fire breathers and damsels. Here are a few highlights from this month’s calendar of events — all in the name of fun.

To learn more about the serenity of gold panning, visit the Gold, Treasure and More Show April 12-13. For the energetic spectacle of the Apple Blossom Youth Parade, be on the streets on April 26.

Leavenworth Film Festival — Showcasing the best recent

independent short films with a focus on outdoor recreation. This year’s festival includes the top films in each category. Leavenworth Festhalle. Info: wevarts. org. 5:30 – 8:30 p.m., Saturday and Sunday, April 5 - 6.

Gold, treasure and more show — This year’s show is

bigger than ever with 56 vendors. See the latest in prospecting and rock hound supplies, dredge equipment, metal detectors, gold and silver jewelry, ceramics, gems and minerals, collectable coins, motor sports equipment and learn how to pan for gold. Chelan County

Fairgrounds in Cashmere. Cost: $5; children 12 and under free. Info: 860-1145. 9 a.m. – 5 p.m, Saturday and Sunday, April 12-13. Apple Blossom Festival Starts — Carnival, shows, golf

tournament, food fare, entertainment daily at Memorial Park during lunch and dinner and all day on weekends, youth parade, youth day, art 4 kids, arts and crafts fair, memorabilia of past Apple Blossom Festival Royalty

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at Wenatchee Valley Museum and Cultural Center, and the grand parade. Events start noon Thursday, April 24. Apple Blossom Youth Parade

— Starts at Triangle Park goes down Orondo Avenue, turns north on Mission Street. Info: appleblossom.org. 11 a.m. Saturday, April 26. Washington Comedy Festival — The Festival showcases

stand-up, improv and a comedy competition throughout the day on the PAC main-stage as well as music, beer, games and more in the PAC courtyard. Free

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access to the semi-finals of the stand-up comedy competition featuring pro-am comics from California, Washington, Oregon, Vancouver and more. Cost for evening events: $25. Info: pacwen.org. 6:30 – 8:30 p.m, Saturday, April 26. Wenatchee Renaissance Faire — Knights, jousting, pi-

rates, fairies, gypsies, peasants, Shakespeare, belly dancing, fire breathers, story tellers, blacksmiths, music, rapier, swords, archery, castles, games, crafts, shields and more. Wenatchee Valley College. Info: wenrenfaire.com. 10 a.m., Saturday and Sunday, April 26-27.

Fantasy camp

With real bats, real balls, real ex-ballplayers and real aches and pains By Mark Taylor

f you ever wanted to be treated like a major league baseball player, come to camp — fantasy camp — where age and skill don’t matter. I went to baseball camp this year, and came home with my own personalized baseball card and aching muscles to prove it. I have been a big baseball fan all my life. Since 2000 I have had several opportunities to put on a uniform and play with others like me on big league fields. Our ages range from 30 to 90, male or female it doesn’t matter, we are people who love the game and wish to be treated like big leaguers. Dave Henderson Baseball Adventures runs a fantasy baseball camp for the Seattle Mariners and the Oakland A’s. This year we were at the Papago sports complex, spring training home for the Oakland A’s in Phoenix, AZ. Coaches included ex-Mariner Brian Holman, Gary Wheellock, Keith Comstock and Norm

}}} Continued on next page

Looking a little like the grizzled ex-Mariner pitcher — and now a fantasy camp coach — Norm Charlton, Mark Taylor takes a sign from the catcher before throwing his next pitch. AT RIGHT: Mark’s baseball cards from past camps.

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Fantasy camp }}} Continued from previous page Charlton. A’s coaches were Dave Henderson, Gil Heredia, Greg Caderet and Shooty Babitt. Over the years at camp, I have had the privilege of meeting other Mariners including Edgar Martinez, Jay Buhner, Mike Moore, Darnell Coles, Rich Amaral, John Marzno, announcers Rick Rizz and Dave Niehaus as well as current ball players at the training facility getting ready for the season. The first day when arriving at Papago Sports Complex I greet familiar faces, people who I have been to camp with in the past and haven’t seen in several years. Each ballplayer gets his or her authentic uniform to wear the entire week. This uniform is also each camper’s to keep. Uniforms are put on and everybody heads out to stretch with the A’s trainers, then Mariners and A’s campers go their separate ways to play ball amongst themselves. Coaches sit in the bleachers and scout. Their job is to select the best team possible with the talent that is in front of them. There are enough players for four teams of 12 or 13 players — two Mariners and two A’s teams. Everybody gets to play and bat. While the coaches (ex-Mariner and A’s ball players) still have their competitive edge and don’t want to lose to each other either, they can tell from the first pitch that they should have stayed home. The brochure for Henderson Baseball says, “Talent not required.” It shows. I haven’t played hardball for four years but am in fairly good shape and most of it comes back quickly. Besides, its 75 degrees and sunny and I’m playing ball. It could be worse. That evening team selections are announced. The Mariners coaches are the first to announce who they selected. They also inform us

Mark high-fives a teammate who has just made a good, one-bounce throw to first: size and skill doesn’t matter at fantasy camp.

that the players’ names are in alphabetical order. This they announce after the fact. Taylor was the last name mentioned — talk about grade school recess kickball flashbacks. The next morning we are up to breakfast and on our way to Papago by 7 to find freshly laundered uniforms in our lockers. As we are getting dressed there is a lot of trash talking by the coaching staff, putting more pressure on us than is really needed since this is the first time we have all played together as a team. The morning starts with Kangaroo court. If you managed to say or do something that you shouldn’t have, now will be the time for punishment. Everyone on our team is fined $5 for impersonating a major league baseball team. Luckily for me I fly under the radar the rest of the week. There are those individuals who just can’t seem to help themselves

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and are called on the carpet on a regular basis. All fines are given to a charity chosen by the staff. Fines are optional — it’s just a great way to begin the day. Our first get-together as a team is for a little practice and to get an idea of the position we want to play. I chose to catch since I brought my catcher’s gear with me. Even if I don’t play well this week at least I’ll look good. I managed to catch, field and throw everything that came my way during practice so I feel I am off to a good start. Now batting practice starts. I did play softball over this past summer… doesn’t help. Hardball has a smaller ball. Different approach angle. Coming a little faster. Things to take into consideration when you step into the batter’s box. By my third trip and maybe my 30th swing I am able to get the ball out to the infield. Boy what a feeling watching the

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shaggers in the outfield standing around in groups chatting, knowing that while you are at bat their job is a simple one. Lunch is served at Papago so we take a break and prepare for the real games to begin. In the first game I play at shortstop for the first four innings and get a couple of balls hit to me. To my surprise I don’t have any difficulty with them and move on to catch for the next three innings. I have a torn meniscus in my left knee and wear a brace for it. My right knee works fine as long as I don’t have to squat. Not sure catching is a wise decision. I may have slowed the game down just a bit. I did manage quite well (for now). We start the eighth inning and our pitcher is having trouble getting the ball over the plate, says the sun is in his eyes. Coach hands me the ball and asks me to finish the inning. Did I mention I hadn’t played ball in four years? I start my motion for my first practice pitch and I am greeted by this big yellow ball in the sky. Luckily the backstop protected what few spectators were there. When the sunspots finally clear, I am surprised at how well I can get the ball over the plate. This is also a surprise to our center fielder as well since now he has to find the balls that are hit his direction while looking into the beautiful Arizona sun. My earned run average by the end of the week will be rather high. I feel pretty good when the game is finally over. I do notice a little tightness in my right forearm though. I can’t imagine what could have caused this. I didn’t think throwing 60 pitches in one inning was too much. I could be wrong. The Oakland A’s training staff is also at Papago and are quite knowledgeable about what causes certain pains and aches — after a 15 minute icing I am ready to go.

I hit the ball to left center and it rolls to the fence, which means I have warning track power (hey, it’s called fantasy camp for a reason). By the end of the week the three trainers on staff will have earned their money. I use them only this one time. I know where they keep the pharmaceuticals and I am able to help myself. Others seem to spend a lot of time on benches with parts of their bodies wrapped in ice. I notice they all seem to be enjoying adult beverages, must help with the healing process. In the evenings most of the campers gather to watch that day’s play on video. There are two photographers as well as two video personal, so all of our stellar plays are forever memorialized for future humiliation. We gather with our beverages and enjoy what is sure to be ESPN-quality play. I think what we are watching would be better viewed on America’s Funniest Home Videos. After the videos, the coaches gather for a round table discussion. They talk about their playing days, answer questions and give us a general feel of what it was like being a major league ball player. Norm does a great impression of Lou Piniella, which had all of us in stitches until about 3:30 a.m. Not good since we have the first game of a double header in a few hours. In the morning, Norm manages to bring several campers up on charges in Kangaroo court for leaving him alone by the fire pit in the courtyard. His complaint is if you want to be ball players you need to act like ball players. Apparently 3:30 is early for Norm. I think he had to pay for his own beverages, which is why he was so upset nobody stayed. After a couple days of doubleheaders, I am feeling pretty

good. At least until the next morning. We are playing one of the A’s teams for top spot in the championship game. We are down by a couple of runs but playing well. I hit the ball to left center and it rolls to the fence, which means I have warning track power (hey, it’s called fantasy camp for a reason). I round first and feel a pull in my right hamstring and Mark swings... and hits. am then able to turn a ers so he still has a good arm. I triple into a double. Now I am babying my hammy manage to foul off the first two fastballs and missed a curve when my next at-bat I hit a ball that ended up at my feet single up the middle (making (I’m thinking I should have let me five for five) and feel a groin pull. This is something that I de- that one go). Still, I can say that I went up against major league cide to treat myself, I don’t care pitching. how skilled the trainers are. We have our closing banquet We lose by two runs. I manage dinner and enjoy a great meal to limp through the afternoon and share the week’s fun. The game catching five innings becoaches get up and introduce fore I finally stopped playing. The final day rolls around and their teams and try to find we play in the morning for brag- something positive to say about ging rights — playing to see who each of us including my 27.50 ERA. Most in camp history, I doesn’t end up in last place. think. I was asked to pitch one more Awards are given out such as time. I think the other team Cy Young, Silver Slugger, Home got tired of running around the Run Hitting Champ (this was a bases, which is the only reason we got out of that inning. Coach separate contest), MVP and the Burt Boquet inspirational award. Brian wasn’t very pleased and Bert was a lifetime baseball assured me that I wouldn’t be fan. He and his wife lived in pitching any more today, or at Lincoln, NE, and would spend next year’s camp. their vacations traveling across For the afternoon session we the country watching baseball get to play against the coaches. This is their time to shine. They games. There were only three stadiums they did not get to see. get to show us how the game I met Bert in 2000 at my first should really be played. camp. He wore his age on his My at-bat was against Keith jersey, at that time it was 84. Comstock. Keith is still in baseEach year he played his jersey ball, working with young pitchApril 2014 | The Good Life

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number increased by one. I was lucky enough to play with Bert up until 2006 after which he was physically unable to travel. Bert passed away in 2012 and is a figure in my life that I will never forget. I have lots of memories of my week at the Papago Sports Complex, some I hope to hold on to, some not so much. I’ll get a video of the week’s activities as well as my own trading cards to go with the collection I already have from past camps. I also have photos taken of my days in uniform on a computer memory stick. Something to look back on. Now that I have healed I can get back into tennis again. It has been a month since I last held a racket in my hands. Let’s hope no one videos that train wreck. Mark has played baseball since before being old enough to play Little League right up through high school and then took a 20-plus year break before resuming again at the age of 40. Along with baseball, Mark also enjoys playing tennis and is the owner of Copiers Plus In Wenatchee.

Why we fish Dawn on quiet lake, Thermos in hand, line lazily trailing our raft — then fish on! story and photos By Lance Stegemann

t was still dark as Barb and I found our way to the water’s edge. We had been carrying our small inflatable raft along with two old fly rods and a duffle bag of assorted gear for about a quarter mile down a barricaded gravel road. Our excitement was barely contained as we prepared to launch our craft into the flat calm water of Lake Lenice nestled on the north side of the Saddle Mountain range near the small town of Mattawa in Grant County. Fishing, for me, is just one of those hobbies I find hard to resist. As snowflakes fall outside my kitchen window, I’m already thinking about what this year’s prospects are beginning to look like. Even though there are many productive lakes and streams close to where I call home, Lake Lenice has a special allure during the early months of spring. Lake Lenice is a “trophy” management lake where only selective gear is allowed. That being said, there are some considerably large trout that populate its waters depending on the time of year and weather conditions. A lot of what I enjoy about fishing starts even before I leave the house. I have piles of dusty

Barb Stegemann holds her Alpine Lake cut-bow trout, caught on a cool, rainy morning.

A large rainbow trout looks for a meal in shallow water.

books and magazines on the pursuit of fish and what it takes to catch them. I peruse the Internet for tips, tricks and weekly fishing reports. I even took an extended learning class at Wenatchee Valley College on fly fishing in order to learn more about entomology and insects that fish crave at certain times of the year. I managed to teach myself how to tie a few fly patterns from YouTube videos so I could have the preferred bug of choice when certain hatches take place. Fishing is like anything else these days; you can spend as much or as little money as you’re willing to part with depending on what your goals happen to be. There’s always an unending supply of gadgets that may or may not improve your success. If you’ve ever been into a

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sporting goods store and looked at all the gear available, it can sometimes be a little overwhelming, but I’ve always tried to whittle things down to the bare necessities. Now, I wouldn’t suggest going out to buy the cheapest gear you can possibly find, but with a little resourcefulness, you can sometimes find a pretty good deal on just about anything you might need. Garage sales, sportsman’s shows, the want ads and the Internet are all good places to start looking. I’m not going to get into the breakdown of what all’s out there, but as you learn more about the sport, some of the gear and gadgets can have as much appeal as the act of fishing itself; at least for those who are into that kind of thing. As we shoved off into the

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glassy water of Lake Lenice, some dark clouds hung overhead and threatened to unleash a little precipitation before the day’s end. Although the fishing looked promising, the cold made for some numb fingers and toes as I rowed our raft toward a straw colored clump of cattails. Redwing and Yellow headed blackbirds hid among the reeds and sounded off with raspy conviction as we slowly drifted past. Barb opened a thermos of hot coffee while her fluorescent line trailed out behind us. Heat from the hot liquid kept our hands warm as well as our insides while steam rose in vanishing plumes of curling grey mist. It was barely dawn as we sat in silence, patiently waiting for the slightest sign that might indicate a fish had fallen prey to our trickery. We shifted uncomfortably back and forth, shaking limbs independently, trying to stay warm and discourage the tingling sensation felt up and down our legs from lack of blood flow and sitting on a cold seat for too long. Suddenly there was a static pulse on Barb’s line and she quickly jerked her pole upward to set the hook. The little five weight rod bent down in an

With a quick flick of its tail it ... vanished like a ghostly submarine. instant as the fish pulled with steady resistance. “Do you think I’m hung up or do I have a fish?” Barb asked excitedly. “No, I’m pretty sure you’ve got a fish,” I said. Her rod tip kept bouncing up and down as I secured our raft solidly against the bank. Barb slowly began to retrieve line and suddenly the fish came back to life. Neither of us had any doubt now what was on the other end of the line and the fish began to take small runs toward deeper water. “Fish on” I shouted as Barb quickly stripped line from the reel with loose coils falling at her feet. As the fish slowly gave way to Barb’s unyielding grip, we got our first glimpse of its spotted sides. “A Tiger Trout” I pronounced. They have the leopard like pattern of a brook trout but the coloration of a brown. It was a pretty decent fish and it glided lightly over the water as Barb hauled in more line. I dipped the long-handled net below the surface of the water as Barb swung the fish closer toward our raft. In a quick instant, I scooped up the flailing fish for a closer inspection. Its belly was thick with fat and it looked at me with wild glowing eyes as I untangled the leader coiled around its mudspeckled body. Barb snapped a few quick photos of the fish as it momentarily held still. We both observed its unique patterns and silvery underbelly before returning it back into the water. I once again immersed the net with the fish thrashing about in short defiant bursts. I wetted my hand one more time as I gently eased it back into the water. With a quick flick of its tail it

darted swiftly downward and vanished like a ghostly submarine, back into the murky abyss from which it had come. The rain was now falling heavily and the smooth surface of the lake became dimpled by thousands of tiny pock marks. I pulled the hood of my raincoat up over my head as water beaded up around me. Barb took a final cast and I began to row. With every stroke of the oars, I thought to myself that this was the real reason I like to fish. There’s always the never-ending anticipation that this cast could be the one. We didn’t catch any more fish that morning, but that didn’t really matter, without a doubt, we’d already found what it was that we had come looking for.

KEYNOTE SPEAKER: JESS WALTER is author of eight books, has been a finalist for the National Book Award and Pen/ USA Literary prize, and he won the Edgar Allan Poe Award for his latest novel. His novel, Beautiful Ruins, is this year’s NCW Regional Read. This keynote address is sponsored by Starr Ranch Growers.

Lance Stegemann and his wife Barbara live in East Wenatchee. Lance has been fishing for most of his life, but enjoys trying new methods as he evolves in the sport. His wife Barbara has been fishing for a few years now and not only enjoys fishing but the beautiful places where fish reside.

Our Services:* An affiliation between Central Washington Hospital and Wenatchee Valley Medical Center that includes two hospitals, multi-specialty care in over 30 service lines and primary care in ten communities across North Central Washington. With over 225 physicians and 100 advanced practice clinicians, we serve an area of approximately 12,000 square miles, and cover nearly every corner of this region through specialty outreach.

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*This list is not exclusive, for a complete list of our services please visit our website confluencehealth.org.

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Live, teach, travel Eight, Five and 43: A Wandering Couple Returns By S. Henry Hettick

ight years, five continents and 43 countries ago, Nancy and I set out from our home in Cashmere for teaching jobs in China. Little did we know what an adventure lay before us. Documentaries, travelogues and Lonely Planet’s guides are full of important travelers’ tips and content, but it is the context and the people that make these sojourns so rich. Life lessons lurk around each corner and there is an inverse relationship between the speed at which you travel and how well you learn them. Those eight years included three in Hangzhou (a small Chinese village of seven million) not too far from Shanghai with numerous sojourns all over this incredibly diverse country as well as trekking in most of the countries of Southeast Asia and glorious Nepal. Then off to Venezuela — 45 countries represented at our international school in Caracas, but just outside the gates lingered the chaos that now is finally in the news — a stunning country with mountains, beaches, jungles and valleys to match any in the world; Peru, Curacao, and Ecuador were our getaways. Next came Tangier, Morocco, the exotic northwest corner of Africa where we traveled with friends and took many escapes to nearby European destinations

($43 roundtrip to Paris!). The beautiful island of Jeju was next, a stunning volcanic island called the “Hawaii of Korea.” Asia remains our favorite place to live outside the US, despite the large, but surmountable, language challenges. Finally, a short stint in the Dominican Republic completed our live-teach-travel journeys. My last project there was a Christmas production of Annie with 260 kids. And each summer, we have returned to the Wenatchee Valley to take care of business and check on our house in Cashmere, but mostly to see friends and smell the mountains we left eight years ago. And each summer we’ve been reminded that we left this place not looking for something better or out of dissatisfaction, but because, like many of the people we’ve met, there was a wanderlust in us that needed fulfillment. And now, it is time for these wanderers to return. Not because we are done adventuring, but because there is still so much adventure to be had right here — in the flowers of arrow leaf balsam root, in the eateries and gatherings that make this place special, in the far corners and niches of the unsurpassed north Cascades, and in our new jobs which we’ll begin with wonderful delight. For those who counsel, “You can never go back,” I would

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TOP: Henry stops on the Tiger Leaping Gorge trail above the headwaters of the Yangtze River in China. BOTTOM: Paddling a kayak in beautiful Dominican waters.

counter that a large piece of us never left. We always knew this was home, though we carved out many other versions of “home” in the five countries/continents

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| April 2014

where we taught. We left with open minds and had them opened all the more. Among the lessons learned and the beliefs formulated while

land with smiles as broad and true as any you’ll find on affluent folk who seem to have it all. Poverty, I think, is a state of mind and in this country where having what you want is so important, having little carries a stigma, a scar on ones’ self-worth. The working poor of the world still carry pride in their clear eyes and joy in their families. We were mountain biking in Yunnan province in southern China and met other Americans on bicycles in the middle of hundreds of acres of rice paddies. A Naxi woman in her 80s approached us with a huge container of fertilizer slurry strapped to her back and head. I estimated that the smelly mixture and the container weighed 80 to 100 pounds. When she had passed, one of the Americans we encountered said she felt so terrible for this old woman who deserved to be enjoying her old age in the bosom of her family and free of such terrible, hard work. But I had seen something else. I saw a broadly smiling, wise soul who was incredibly strong for her age and who still had a viable, important place in her society, someone who knew who she was and was still contributTOP: Nancy scales limestone in southern China. ing as long as BOTTOM: Henry paints a set for Midsummer Night’s Dream on the school walls in Tangier she could. She Morocco. seemed far hapoverseas, a few stand out. pier to me than many of the places to be poor than the U.S. One has to do with the naolder members of our society I’ve met subsistence farmers ture of poverty. who are seldom visited by behind primitive plows pulled If I were going to be poor, family in their safe nursing by water buffalo on slivers of }}} Continued on next page I would choose many other terraced centuries–old farmApril 2014 | The Good Life

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Henry is about to devour shrimp in Malaysian Borneo.

tasty...

Images, smells, sounds, and textures still permeate our long and short term memories: n Piping hot lamb and prune tagine waiting on the other side of a four-inch thick sapphire-blue wood door down a dark alley in the medina that is Fez, Morocco; n Yak cheese pizza bubbling in an ancient oven and the “namastes” of joyful children at a hikers’ guest house in the Annapurna Range of Nepal with hot springs nearby on the cusp where tropical forest meets snow-capped vertical limits; n Oysters on the half shell seasoned with lemon and Adriatic salt air, sun bouncing off marble streets and orange tiled roofs in Dubrovnik, Croatia where street musicians play timeless classical melodies; n Coca leaf tea and roasted goat are sustenance for trekking the starry heights of the Sacred Valley outside Cusco and on the way to Machu Picchu in richly color-laden Peru; n Wonderful evenings of empanadas, salsa, and rum in Venezuela and the Dominican Republic; n Standing next to broken, bluehued cirque glaciers at 17,000 feet, near the summit of Jade Dragon Snow Mountain in southern China near Tiger Leaping Gorge where one can find hikers respite at Halfway, a Naxi guest house perched on granite with the headwaters of the Yangtze roiling 4,000 feet below and Jade Dragon 7,000 feet above and a room and a bed is $6/night and a wonderful dinner is half that; and so on and so on. — by S. Henry Hettick

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teach }}} Continued from previous page home environs. None of this is America bashing, not at all. But the rampant spread of consumerism around the globe is spawning a kind of consumer envy that may breed discontent in lands where family and shelter and sustenance were enough to foster joy. Another pervasive theme for me is that education is what you make of it. During our time abroad we always taught at international schools where English was the language of instruction (students were expected to be quite proficient) in an American-style education. Usually nearby were indigenous schools of the host country. Each system has its strengths and weaknesses, but I can tell you that an American education with the possibility of acceptance at American universities is unparalleled in its appeal and caché. Asian schools tend toward rote memorization of facts and high stakes testing. European systems allow students to choose trade school over high school. The American system is marveled at for its flexibility, allowing students to change their mind or try again if they fail and for its Socratic approach requiring students to think and opine. What is clear to me, regardless of the system, is that attitude is the success factor. Koreans regard education as critically important and a coveted privilege. Currently, they excel in American schools. I have seen this around the world. Throughout our travels, it has rung true that scenic beauty and cultural differences are what make trekking interesting and our common desires and needs

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fter eight years overseas teaching to and learning from children and adults, I am ready for my newest adventure and challenge as I begin my job as Artistic Director of Theater Programs at Icicle Creek Center for the Arts. I’ll be overseeing a season of plays for adult audiences, a concurrent season for young audiences, ICTF (the new play festival already of considerable national recognition, now in its seventh year), and a myriad of theater education opportunities: acting and musical theater camps for young artists and adults, theater tech and design workshops, drama teacher workshops, and master classes with working professionals. And this year, our first full one with the benefit of Snowy Owl Theater, where our first live stage play will be May 8-15 — the Pulitzer prize winning Rabbit Hole. If there’s a theme to our programs while I’m at ICCA, it will be to take participants and audiences somewhere they’ve never been before and to grow the art while stretching the imagination. Icicle Creek is also dedicated to being a resource for the greater Wenatchee Valley community. We want to bring the community on our campus for wonderful performances, but also to celebrate the amazing people who live here and projects we support. We’ll host events like High and Hallowed for the Leavenworth Ski Hill Memorial project, the Mariachi/Naturalization Festival, and an exciting production of Midsummer Night’s Dream in September that will ask locals to come on board and be a part of a large-cast community version of this classic. — by S. Henry Hettick

are what make traveling joyful. I marvel at the ancient tradition of terraced rice paddies and I feel joy when the farmer working it with his water buffalo and I can share laughter over a silly photo op despite no common language. As a teacher of both Science and Theater, I have come to realize the importance of the Arts to this experiment we call “humanity.” It’s what makes us unique and now I know that the discipline, expressiveness and creativity of rigorous arts courses are as critical to students as math and literature. If we’re looking for 21st Century skills to make our students competitive, they are probably creative, collaborative problem solving as well as communication and creative expression more than they are quadratic formulas or grammar at this

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| April 2014

point in history. Long after machines have surpassed our ability to compute or even think, what will be hardest to pass on to them is the ability to create. Lessons aside, Nancy and I return with lust for the smell of Ponderosa pine, backyard barbecues with terribly missed friends, the absolute luxury of choices at grocery or hardware emporiums, and English as the new background music of our daily lives — what treats indeed! S. Henry Hettick is a professional actor and director, full-time outdoor addict, the former Artistic Director of Leavenworth Summer Theater and Science Specialist at the North Central ESD. He and Nancy Roberts both taught in the Cashmere school district before leaving for China and eight years of teaching at international schools on five continents. Their China story was featured in the January 2010 issue of The Good Life.

PET tales

Tells us a story about your pet. Submit pet & owner pictures to: editor@ncwgoodlife.com

Sadie is the perfect dog. She seldom barks and is great around

children and adults as well. She is definitely a terrific family dog. While I tend to my blog, she sleeps quietly at my feet, with an ever vigilant ear out, keeping a watchful eye on all of my actions. Sadie, at two, is very obedient. I am able to take her outside, without her leash, and she follows me like a loyal child, never leaving the property. It gets even better with Sadie. She is very funny and often does the unexpected. She loves to ride in the car with me, resting comfortably in the back seat. While I stop the car to run errands, she keeps a watchful eye awaiting my return. As soon as I pop the button to open the driver’s side door I am able to see that mighty tail literally swing into action. Such behavior only serves to reinforce my notion that she is well adjusted and happy. Sadie fits all of my requirements for a dog. She is loving, medium sized, has a great temperament and is very obedient. Was I fortunate or what? — Chuck Slowe

April 2014 | The Good Life

Isn’t it funny how your best

friend doesn’t speak the same language as you, yet understands you completely? Badger has been with me through thick and thin — whether it’s lounging on the couch, dealing with the daily stress that life dishes out, even jumping on every piece of furniture when I come home to show how excited he is. Badger is often at my side… even at work. Badger can be found every morning at his very own offthe-leash dog park, aptly named Badger Park, located across from the Town Toyota Center at Walla

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Walla Point Park, where I operate our food bus, Rå. — Kandis Nestor

Into the Canyon Rent a mule when we each have two good feet? Phaw!

By Lief Carlsen

t was actually my brother Lars’s idea to do the Grand Canyon. We both planned to be wintering in Arizona so when he called me up one afternoon in December and suggested I join him for a round-trip mule ride into the canyon sometime in February, I told him I’d think about it and call him back. Frankly, I wasn’t too keen on the idea. Not that I have anything against mules — I’ve never known one — but more because I’m too much of a cheapskate to pay for a ride and the lodging that was part of the package

deal. I did like the idea of descending into the depths of the canyon and leisurely enjoying the scenery from various elevations. I’d been to both the South Rim and the North Rim many years ago but had never gone farther than a short distance down the trails to the bottom. I called Lars back and suggested we do the poor man’s version of a mule ride — walk. He said that turned out to be our only option after all because he had gone online and learned that the mules have a 200-lb limit for riders, including clothes. Lars was pretty certain that he couldn’t meet that limit even if they allowed him to ride naked.

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(Lars isn’t fat; he’s just tall.) By this time, Mary, my wife and co-adventurer, had thrown her hat into the ring. We all promised each other to immediately start a rigorous training program so as not to find ourselves cramped up at the canyon’s bottom and strapped to a mule for the ride out. Because the Grand Canyon is a very popular tourist destination, a permit is required for overnight camping within the canyon so I volunteered to send in the necessary paperwork for that. We agreed on Feb. 19 as the chosen day. Well, December became January became February and the training schedule had somehow

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| April 2014

Mary Carlsen walks the less-steep Bright Angel Trail on her way out of the Grand Canyon.

not been quite as rigorous as we had promised. One week prior to D-Day (Descent Day) Lars and his wife were in Green Valley, Arizona while Mary and I were RV-ing near Yuma. While conversing over the telephone with Lars about the hike, I sensed in his voice a diminution of his earlier enthusiasm. Mary, too, in those final days had a change of attitude. She pointed out that the Grand Canyon is not all that close to Yuma and that the fuel necessary to drive there would cost a pretty

Lief pauses with the Colorado River in the background and only half a mile to the bottom. He and Mary had already descended over 3,000 feet.

penny. I reminded her that we weren’t talking about any old walk in the park — this was the GRAND CANYON! On Feb.16, Lars called to say he had a nasty cold and wasn’t going to be up to the hike (he really did sound bad over the phone.) Arriving at the South Rim late in the afternoon, we pitched our tent in the Mather Campground. The South Rim’s elevation is 7,000 feet so even though it’s in Arizona, it gets cold at night. We were mighty glad we had thick down bags because the ground froze solid under us. In the morning we caught the early shuttle to the South Kaibab trailhead (a name that gave Mary some trouble — she called it the “Shish Kabob Trail.”) February is a great month to visit the Grand Canyon. I’ve been there in summer and the trails are as crowded as the sidewalks of Times Square. We practically had the trail to ourselves. We lucked out on the weather

too. It was sunny and in the 60s once the morning chill had lifted. The South Kaibab Trail is wide and well-maintained but rather steep. Over seven miles it drops more than 4,000 feet. The views are what you would expect — spectacular. By the final mile or two we were acutely aware that our descent-braking muscles had not been properly conditioned. We passed one hiking couple that were barely inching along. Once past the stragglers, Mary and I gave each other knowing looks that said “mule customers?” Two pedestrian suspension bridges span the Colorado River and a short walk brought us to the Bright Angel Campground, which sets pleasantly among cottonwood trees on the bank of a clear stream. It is considerably warmer in the canyon than at the rim — mid 70s. A front was moving in, however, and occasional strong gusts of wind capsized several April 2014 | The Good Life

We texted Lars: “The deed is done. We are the champions!” which may have sounded like gloating but it was nothing more than sheer exhilaration. of our fellow campers’ tents. We had no trouble sleeping despite the wind although Mary noticed her leg muscles refused to obey certain commands. We said a jaunty goodbye to the swirling Colorado River in the morning and headed up the 10-mile-long but less steep Bright Angel Trail. Mary was pleased to find that climbing used different leg muscles than those that had rebelled in the night so we were able to keep up a good pace. www.ncwgoodlife.com

All-in-all, the Bright Angel was the more appealing of the two trails. It follows a small creek for several miles, has more vegetation, and presents some stunning views of the vertical canyon walls — and, of course, there is the gentler grade. By noon we were back to our waiting truck. We texted Lars: “The deed is done. We are the champions!” which may have sounded like gloating but it was nothing more than sheer exhilaration. We were tired and sweaty despite the cool air when we finished but once the heat of exertion left us a chill quickly set in. The hike had been great but I gotta say, the feeling of that sunwarmed seat against my back on the long ride home was pretty nice too. Lief and Mary Carlsen are retirees who live in Chelan when not exploring the rest of the world. You can follow their exploits at Lief’s blog: chelantraveler.wordpress.com.

Par for the winter friends find a virtually perfect golf course open in the off season ... even mulligans are acceptable Photos and story by Jamie Howell

Outside the sky is cold, threatening.

Snow blankets the hillsides. Four men march down the walkway undeterred, faces sunny, golf bags slung over shoulders. “The weather’s right in here. The birds are chirping,” points out Paul Seale, 75, limbering up with a few practice swings. The four men step into a perpetual, windless morning, complete with digital birdsongs piped in over a speaker system. This is their regular tee time, the weather be damned. Every Tuesday and Thursday, all winter long, Paul and fellow retirees, Jim Whittle, Mike Hoffner and Jack Powers happily report to a green cave about the size of a garden shed in the back of Golfer’s Edge in downtown Wenatchee. “They’re going over the pond today,” says Golfer’s Edge owner and golf pro Ed Paine from behind the front counter. He recently downloaded a new course into his HighDefinition Golf Simulator – actually an old one. A few taps from Jim at the touch screen controller and up pops the Old Course at Saint Andrews on the projection screen covering the far wall. “When you see this on TV, that’s exactly what you see. And we get to play it!” says Paul, staring at the view from the first tee box. To play the famed Scottish course in real life, first you have to win a tee time in a public lottery and then fork over 160 British Pounds apiece — and that’s after the cost of getting to Scotland. It’s a lot more affordable at Ed’s place — $28 an hour split across as many players as you like.

Above: Jack Powers aims a virtual approach shot at the green on Saint Andrews Old Course. Left: Inclement weather can’t dissuade this foursome from hitting the virtual golf course twice a week. From left, Jim Whittle, Jack Powers, Mike Hoffner and Paul Seale.

The digital depiction is remarkably accurate. There’s the clubhouse in the distance. Jack points at a treacherous pot bunker looming in the fairway ahead. “Look how deep that thing is.” He sounds a little worried. | The Good Life

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There are 22 digital courses to choose from, modeled directly from elite links like Pinehurst or Pebble Beach. You can play The Blue Monster in Doral the same weekend the pros are playing it on TV. The simulator is a $50,000 contraption equipped with hidden cameras that track

| April 2014

Of course, a simulator can’t reproduce everything. The rough isn’t rough, there’s no sand in the sand traps and putting is an exercise in imagination every nuance of a golf swing. Players tee up on an Astro Turf mat and whack the ball directly into the screen. Where the ball stops a red tracer appears, arcing down the fairway — if you’re good enough to put it there. If not, there’s a Mulligan button (a spot on the monitor that seems to show a little more wear than the rest of the touch screen). Paul, an Oregon State University football hall-of-famer with an athletic swing, likes the shot

data. After every stroke he can pull up a graphic that shows him not just how far the ball went, but whether he hit a draw or a fade, his club speed, the point and angle of impact, the efficiency of his swing. He knocks one 232 yards off the first tee into the middle of the fairway. They all agree that would have been more like 265 outside, unanimous in their belief that the digital game gets everything but their true distance right. Of course, a simulator can’t reproduce everything. The rough isn’t rough, there’s no sand in the sand traps and putting is an exercise in imagination. But there’s nothing virtual about the fun they’re having. Jack pumps a fist after landing one on the green in regulation. Mike gets tagged “Mulligan Mike” when he sprays one right. The whoopwhoops ring out whenever a drive goes straight and long. “That was a beaut!” and “Nicely done, old man!”

April 2014 | The Good Life

Quickly the room fades away and what you have are not four retirees playing video games but four friends finding immense enjoyment in their time together. Certainly, they’re tuning up their games for the arrival of spring but, says Jim, “It’s really about the friendship. This is a social gathering.” Because there is no walking between shots, they’ll have the Old Course at Saint Andrews wrapped up in about half the time it would take in real life. Then they’ll pack up their clubs and head over to McGlinn’s for their usual post-round lunch, their morning well-spent, their next tee time on the books.

Jamie Howell is a writer, filmmaker and musician. For more information or to contact him, visit www.howellatthemoon.com. Know of a special experience we should check out? Eating, drinking or playing, we want to know. Send us an e-mail at editor@ncwgoodlife.com

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Volunteers

Interest in swimming began with a dis-interest in getting up early By Donna Cassidy

“I

was asked to help out with the swim team probably because of my insanely loud voice,” said Trent Grigsby, now a volunteer assistant coach for the Velocity swim team. “Or then again maybe our head coaches just saw the amount of genuine excitement I had for watching the kids swim. I prefer to be involved more in improving the kids’ strokes than just watching.” Trent first became interested in swimming while in school in Gresham, OR. “My goal in middle school was to (one day) play for the high school basketball team. My freshman year I was informed that basketball tryouts were at 5 a.m. I am not a morning person. So basketball was pretty much out. “So instead I decided to go out for water polo. They had a nice tryout time after school. I pretty much fell in love with this sport.” Trent played water polo — which is pretty much like soccer but in a pool — all four years in

high school. Yet, there was a hitch. “I was made aware of the requirements for two-a-day practices for water polo. All my friends playing basketball did not have that requirement.” Trent joined the high school swim team in order to improve his water polo skills. He swam for three years in high school and three years at the University of Puget Sound. “That one choice to sleep in through basketball tryouts had some pretty dire consequences,” said Trent. Trent’s sons, ages 9 and 6, started on the Velocity swim team three years ago. After their first year Trent was asked to help assist. Velocity is a local swim team with around 100 swimmers from the Valley, ranging in age from 3 plus, and are divided into four training groups. They practice in various community pools and hold competitions throughout the year. Trent said he coaches because he truly enjoys being a part of the kids’ improvement. “I fill in when needed but you will usu-

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Volunteer swim coach Trent Grigsby: “I prefer to be involved more in improving the kids’ strokes than just watching.” Photo by Donna Cassidy

ally find me working with the younger kids.” He offered another reason he keeps coaching: “We have had a couple of occasions when basically everyone at a meet was cheering on a struggling swimmer. Make no mistake the kids that go to these meets are competitive. I thought it was so cool that they were still willing to cheer a kid from an opposing team,” said Trent. A swim-a-thon is held ev-

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| April 2014

ery year where the kids collect pledges as a fundraiser. Last year the kids were told if they reached a certain goal the coaches would swim in a relay against each other. “On the day of the relay we reached out to some of the other swim teams at our meet and asked if any of the coaches wished to participate. To our surprise many of them thought it was a great idea and decided to create their own teams. “I believe in the end there were at least six teams with two teams from Velocity. “Before the race we got a chance to warm up in the pool with all of the kids for about 15 minutes. I was amazed as to how excited the kids were just at being able to be in the water with their coaches,” said Trent. “Our women’s team won the race.” Trent works in the information technology department at Confluence Health.

swimming for preschoolers to serious competitors Velocity Swimming has been a

part of the Wenatchee Valley for almost 40 years. Velocity Swimming originated in 1976 as a summer-only program called the Eastmont Swim Team. When the pool was covered in the late ’70s, the Eastmont Swim Team became a year-round USA program called the Barracudas. Coaches Jack and Jeanne Davisson led the ’Cudas to multiple championships through the ’80s, ’90s and into the 21st century. In 2005 the Davissons handed the reins to new coach Bob Hill. In the fall of 2010, the Barracudas merged with swim team parents and coaches from the WRAC to become the present Velocity Swimming. In 2011 John Pringle, former head coach of Snohomish High School and Bridgewater State University in Maine, took the helm. He has raised the competitive level of the team and helped to place it on a solid financial footing. Velocity Swimming, with about 100 members, meets against other clubs about once a month throughout the school year and has two or three meets per month during the summer. Velocity swimmers range in age from 4 to 19 years of age and compete at basic levels to Junior National level competition. Velocity operates three to four local swim meets that rank in the top of hotel revenue generating events for the Wenatchee community, according to the Wenatchee Valley Sports Council. The Apple Capital in early June attracts nearly 1,000 swimmers, the Starlight in July attracts about 600 swimmers, and the Christmas Open attracts around 250 swimmers. This year the team will also host the Inland Empire Long Course Championships and could see another 350 athletes for this meet featuring the best teams in Eastern

Washington, the Idaho panhandle and northeastern Oregon. A new program — Velocity Splash — is offering Swim America swim lessons to all children ages 4 and up at the Holiday Inn Express Hotel on 1921 N. Wenatchee Ave. Swim America is a learn-to-swim program developed by coaches from the USA Olympic Swimming team. New Velocity assistant coach Max Cristofori is certified by the American Swimming Coaches Association and brings a decade of swim lessons experience to Velocity Splash. “Our program is designed to teach children to swim in a warm pool, with small class sizes, so that they quickly learn how to become water safe,” said Max. “We instruct students how to swim using the most effective methods known. Our class size will never exceed four students to one teacher.” The Velocity swimmers are also kicking off their 2014 Swim-aThon fundraiser on April 13 with a planning and strategy meeting at Eastmont Junior High at 7 p.m. A Swim-a-Thon consists of the swimmers swimming 200 lengths of the pool (about 2.83 miles) in two hours or less. The actual event will be June 14, giving swimmers plenty of time to collect pledges. Money raised from this event will help keep the pool space for these athletes as well as provide them with new tools to train with. For more information on Velocity, contact Coach John Pringle at 8848917. Velocity Swimming accepts new swimmer registrations all year long at www.velocity-swimming.com.

Know of someone stepping off the beaten path in the search for fun and excitement? E-mail us at editor@ncwgoodlife.com April 2014 | The Good Life

At Highgate, we encourage a variety of social activities as part of our holistic approach to both Assisted Living and Memory Care. Come see for yourself the many ways our residents are supported in staying actively engaged in life. email: wenatchee@highgateseniorliving.com phone: 509-665-6695 web: HighgateSeniorLiving.com

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OUT of a JAM To preserve her sanity, kelly rolen dropped out of the corporate world and into her kitchen by Jamie Howell

ive sinks. That was unexpected. When Kelly Rolen, 46, of Wenatchee was working in the corporate world she only needed one. But the corporate world was making her life a misery — so four more sinks seemed a small price to pay for happiness. Kelly is creating that happiness, one batch at a time, in the small commercial kitchen she and husband Roger have built in the third bay of their three-car garage. It’s the new headquarters and production center for Kelly’s Kitsch’n — the source of what Kelly terms “small batch artisan preserves” with names like Banana Vanilla Rum Butter, 5*Stars Cowboy Candy, Funky Chunky Cherry Jam, Red Onion Marmalade and, of course, her signature, a spicy sweetness called Kitsch’n Pepper Jelly. “I make all the jams your grandmother didn’t make,” Kelly quipped. The daughter of an orchardist and small business owner from Chelan, Kelly grew up around hard work. She spent her younger years working at Campbell’s Resort and later branched out into jobs in fundraising, event organizing and marketing. Then she landed the corporate gig she thought she’d always wanted, flying to and fro, eager to climb the ladder to the big

Kelly Rolen and a few of her small batch artisan preserves: “I make all the jams your grandmother didn’t make.”

time. It didn’t take her long to discover how mightily hard it would be to reach a higher rung from a fetal position on the floor. “I would come home and curl up in a ball,” she recalled. Unforgiving sales quotas and relentless mandatory call-backs that, to her, felt inhumane drove her quickly into depression. Absent was the pride of ownership her parents had always enjoyed, not to mention the civic involvement and the relationships with other business owners that had

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been such an important part of Kelly’s earlier work. Her mom noticed there was a problem and, as moms sometimes will, pointed it out in no uncertain terms. “She told me, ‘You’re kind of turning into an angry old woman,’” Kelly recalled. And that was it. Kelly turned in her notice and quit, trading a trajectory of money and misery for another of sweetness and spice. That the answer to her newly jobless predicament lay in jellies

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| April 2014

and jams was not immediately apparent. She knew that she was the kind who would rather read a cookbook than a novel. She knew that friends and family had been shopping in her pantry for years. She knew that she had to do something. Somewhere in that headspace that opens up only when the world is free of distraction, dots began to connect. And by the time news broke about a new market about to open in downtown Wenatchee, her idea was fully formed. “The stars aligned with Pybus Market,” Kelly said. Suddenly, she could see herself in a thriving local venue, she could identify her target market, she could see the concrete steps she’d need to take to be ready. Of course, the minute one decides to sell food to the public, it’s no longer just making jam. Kelly put herself through an online course through UC Berkeley and began gathering in all the permits, certifications and licenses necessary to satisfy the regulators. She ran her costs through pricing calculators, shipped samples off to WSU’s Food Sciences labs for pH equilibrium tests and sterilizing values. Mom, again as moms sometimes will, pitched in with a little early inheritance to help with startup costs on the philosophy that she’d prefer to be around to see what her daughter

did with it rather than wonder about it in the afterlife. The money helped pay for jars and labels, raw ingredients, logo and website design and, of course, the five sinks that Kelly would need to do it all by the book. The official grand opening of Kelly’s Kitsch’n was opening day at Pybus Public Market. She stacked her wares neatly beneath a pop-up canopy, a newly-minted member of the Wenatchee Valley Farmer’s Market, and began a new career. Just over a year into Kelly’s Kitsch’n, Kelly has learned a

great deal. She has learned that setup and tear-down at farmers markets is real work — jellies and jams, it turns out, are heavy. She has learned that the weather is just as happy to roast as it is to rain on those who choose the out-of-doors as their storefront. She has also learned that it’s possible to sell a $1,000 worth of jam in four hours. And she has learned the value of keeping her aspirations in check. Kelly’s goal is not to grow her company into the next Sara Lee Corporation and see her products on end-caps at Costco.

In fact, after researching the returns she could reasonably expect on the wholesale mass market for artisan products like her own, Kelly quickly concluded, “I was insulted.” Instead, her goals are things that never show up on a corporate ledger — to be self-sustaining, to be proud of her products, to be available to her family, to be happy. Kelly plans to branch out slowly — experimenting with rubs and dry mixes, maybe some baked goods. Eventually she might take her marketing efforts

Spring Artisan Fair Pybus Public Market is hosting the 1st Spring Artisan Fair taking place the first weekend of the Washington State Apple Blossom Festival. The fair will feature over 40 local and regional vendors including crafts, holiday gifts, décor, jewelry, art and more and will be free for the public to attend. Saturday, April 26 – 10 to 5 Sunday, April 27 – 10 to 4

April 2014 | The Good Life

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online. For the moment, she seems supremely satisfied producing at a pace of eight to 10 jars at a time. “Now I’m happy, I’m relaxed, I’m happy ... I’m happy,” said Kelly. And the way she says it, you get the feeling that as she stirs up her next batch of Wenatchee Gold’n Granny Pie Filling, she’s saying it all day long. You can find out where Kelly’s Kitsch’n will be next online at www. kellyskitschn.com. Jamie Howell is a writer, filmmaker and musician.

column GARDEN OF DELIGHTS bonnie orr

Fresh apples add a delicious taste W

e can celebrate this springtime of Apple Blossom — with its celebration that includes cheerful musical events and parades — by using fresh apples in delicious meals. An easy spring lunch includes grated apples mixed into yogurt and horseradish, topped with salmon, served on an English muffin. Even though many of us have canned applesauce from last fall or packages of frozen apple slices begging to be made into a pie, fresh apples are available year-round. I prefer cooking with tangy apples rather than sweet apples such as Delicious, Fuji or Gala. These apples are fine for eating out of hand but neither their texture nor their taste stands up to incorporation in various dishes. My traditional choice has been Granny Smith, but Sweet Tango and, particularly, Pink Lady are now my favorite cooking apples. Recipes call for fresh apples sliced or diced — sometimes peeled sometimes not. The peeling adds color, but sometimes it cooks up tough and stringy. I love the combination of sliced apples layered with pork chops, sauerkraut, onions and

Grated apple is the foundation for a delicious sauce made with yogurt, sour cream, lemon zest and horseradish. Salmon sprinkled on this sauce creates a yummy sandwich for home or picnics.

lunches was Apple Snow. It was made with two grated apples, one-half cup powdered sugar and two beaten egg whites. In the 21st Century, I would make this dish only if the eggs came from chickens that were personal acquaintances!

Salmon with Grated Apple and Horseradish sour cream. On cool evenings, this baked dish is warm, satisfying and fragrant. Have you ever used grated apples? It doesn’t take a lot more time to grate an apple than slice it. The resulting texture is toothy. In addition, the skins are broken up enough that they add color

but not the stringiness. You can grate the apples without even having to core them — just rub down until you reach close to the core section. It is easiest to hold the entire apple when using the grater. My father grew up in Spokane 100 years ago, and he told me that one of his favorite Saturday

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20 minutes to assemble, serves 6 1 pound salmon 1 large grated sweet/tart apple 1/3 cup sour cream 1/3 cup plain Greek yogurt 1 tablespoon lemon zest

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These open-faced sandwiches are perfect for your first picnic of the year. The salmon needs to be cooked ahead of time and cooled.

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1 tablespoon horseradish Salt White pepper 3 tablespoons chopped parsley 3 tablespoons chopped green onions 6 split English muffins or rolls Steam the salmon. Cool it; remove skin and break into small pieces with a fork. Store in refrigerator until ready to use. Grate the apple with the peel. In a bowl, mix the apple, sour cream, yogurt, lemon zest, horseradish and salt and pepper. Toast the muffins or rolls. Put the apple mixture, chopped greens and salmon in separate bowls and the bread on a plate. People can assemble their own sandwiches by spreading the apple mix on the bread then sprinkling on the salmon, parsley and green onions.

Easy Apple Dessert 20 minutes preparation, serves 6 3 large apples grated 1 cup hazelnuts chopped finely

1 cup orange flavored yogurt 1/4 cup white sugar A dash of salt Grate the apples — mix green and red apples. In a large bowl mix the apples, hazelnuts, sugar and yogurt. That’s it! If you want to live large, use whipped cream instead of the yogurt and add orange zest and one orange peeled, sectioned and cut into small pieces. This is an elegant finish to a meal.

Grated apples can be added to pancake batter for a breakfast treat. These pancakes have lots of satisfying flavor and texture. Serve with butter and hot apple sauce.

Silver Dollar Apple-Grain Hotcakes Serves 4 (30 cakes) 20 minutes preparation 20 minutes cooking

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1 apple grated 2 eggs slightly beaten 1 and 1/2 cups buttermilk 2 tablespoons oil 1/2 teaspoon vanilla 3/4 cup white flour 2/3 cup rolled oats 1/3 cup wheat germ 1/2 cup chopped walnuts – or other nut 2 teaspoons baking powder 3/4 teaspoon salt 2 tablespoons sugar Mix the apple, eggs, buttermilk and oil. Mix the flour, oats, whole wheat and nuts. Add these two mixes together for the batter. Let sit for 10 minutes. Mix the sugar, baking powder and salt. Then add to the batter. Cook on a slightly oiled griddle. Make them silver dollar-sized.

Don’t forget that apple grated as a garnish on carrot or tomato soup has fewer calories and fat than cheese or that dollop of sour cream. Yes, it is an apple a day at any meal!

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The prow-style two-story home faces southeast, with plenty of space for outdoor relaxing on lawns, decks, patios and balconies.

high country living Solitude among the pine forest way, way up stemilt creek road By Susan Lagsdin Photos by Travis Knoop

espite the sunny, fairweather photos you see on these pages, in early March it was a snowy, blowy, magically lovely slog up, up and farther up to John and Susan Cooper’s house high on Stemilt Creek Road. One last stretch of steep driveway, a piece of cake for any

good winter driver, lead up to the big (3,600 square foot) aerie that gave the couple five years of luxurious wilderness solitude. Built in 2008 by EDY Construction, their big mountain retreat — meticulously planned and replanned to be just what they always wanted — has all the creature comforts of an urban house plus some luxe extras that would make even being snowbound an intriguing

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option. But comfort and visual pleasure weren’t their very first priorities. Because the acreage is deep in timber and Wenatchee-dry in the summer months, the owners wisely created a major buffer zone of green grass, fenced from deer and forming a fire-resistant perimeter. The building materials are wildfire-resistant cement fiber

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Here’s the heart of the house, with a cozy circle of soft seating around the fireplace, and Susan Cooper’s “gotta have it” chandelier over the table.

Susan and John Cooper, and their dogs, Labs Herschel and Max: Plenty of room to roam.

“I remember when we were first watching the twinkle of city lights way below, and a huge yellow moon came up over the mountains. Unforgettable!”

The Coopers knew to capture the view, and planned their outdoor kitchen and dining area (and the lap pool) accordingly, also gaining shade on hot summer evenings. April 2014 | The Good Life

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siding (wood grained and colored) and metal roofing. Decking is synthetic, and patio pavers edge much of the back of the house. Isolation with a tie to town is the combination that drew them to the land, and Susan said of their first walk on the building site, “It was definitely ‘a little piece of heaven.’” They built deliberately to catch views from every window, but had an early surprise. “I remember when we were first watching the twinkle of city lights way below,” said Susan, “and a huge yellow moon came up over the mountains. Unfor-

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Wood trim and wood-look flooring pair to warm up the master bedroom. Insulated shades throughout are energy-smart and unobtrusive.

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gettable!” The optimal building site abutted a small hillock, and late in construction John and builder Ed Gardner suddenly decided to trade a deep deck for a narrow causeway from house to hilltop, where a resting spot gives an even better view, over the top of the house, of the Columbia River valley. Add pavers and chairs, a little meadow of hardy lavender, a hammock under the trees, and the Coopers were on top of the

world. The whole Stemilt Hill area is a mix of regional icons, with world-famous orchards, hilly drives leading to private homes, and sports-intensive public land for hikers, bikers, fishermen and snowmobilers. The long graveled and graded road up to the Cooper’s driveway is worth going the distance, Susan and John agree, for the amount of privacy for humans and protection for wildlife it affords. They’ve occasionally experienced sightings of elk, deer,

bear or cougar on the sloping 29 acres. With all that tranquil beauty and the open views, a tent would probably suffice for the hardy summer camper. But John and Susan were in this for the long haul and made the choice to create the perfect year-round home for themselves, for guests and for visiting

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family. They brought a pretty extensive wish list to local architect Paul Coppack, who drew a design that Susan said is “flawless — there’s nothing I would change.” Two special dream house dreams came true: she was ready for a perfect kitchen, and John was going for a second floor gallery/getaway space. The kitchen with its top-end commercial grade appliances, including dishwashing drawers, is fronted by a long counter and stools and opens to the rest of the downstairs social space. Its dimensions were even customtailored to Susan’s own shorter stride and reach. Off to the side, a door leads to a well-equipped, cabinet-lined butler’s pantry that merges into a mudroom/utility room. And the second-story sky bridge — a major focal point of the home’s circular center — Know of someone stepping off the beaten path in the search for fun and excitement? E-mail us at editor@ncwgoodlife.com

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To pump up the volume on the view, a 30-foot catwalk leads from the second story sitting room to a perfect star-gazing or river-watching perch.

Hard-working appliances and enough storage space for weeks of self-selected isolation — that’s just what the Coopers wanted in their kitchen.

connects a guest bed and bath with a tiny sitting room that faces east and is warmed by a decorative gas stove high in the wall. “It started as our sitting room, but I do my quilting up there,” said Susan. “It’s a perfect place to be when the snow is falling outside…” Other seasonal delights that added value and pleasure to the home — beyond the woodswalking right out the front door — were a hot tub on the view deck and a lap pool on the side lawn. The Coopers made other good design and material choices collaboratively with the builder’s team. Low maintenance synthetic floor planking means Labrador Retrievers Max and Herschel can run and play inside. Durable earth tone tile work fills the three-and-a-half bathrooms, and dark golden door and win-

A small private space with its own fireplace, the loft sitting room is tucked high above the main living area and is open to invention.

dow trim and ceilings throughout are vertical grain fir. The builder and owners agree that the 18-month construction process was smooth and positive. At first still in their Sammamish house, the Coopers moved in to their new home a few months early, with workmen still around them and belongings crammed into side rooms. There was only one point of frustration, Susan recalled, eventually resolved by clever April 2014 | The Good Life

engineering. She had purchased (too soon, perhaps) a massive chandelier for the dining area, and the electrician was unable to hang it from the apex of the cathedral ceiling. Well… Susan does admit the ceiling was high there to accommodate her tall antique armoire on one wall, which had earlier increased the vertical dimension. But all was resolved, and the candle-filled light fixture now hangs securely. www.ncwgoodlife.com

“There is so much we love about the Wenatchee house — it turned out just like we wanted, and we’ve shared wonderful times there with friends,” said Susan. The Coopers spent five good years in the house, entertaining, relaxing and enjoying it as they’d planned to, but now are moving on. Amenities of urban life (Seattle style) and the pull of young grandchildren meant a recent move back to the west side. There, the couple hopes to transform an older home into a close approximation of what was to be their last best house, with favorite design choices like the kitchen amenities, the wide open floor plan downstairs, the cozy fireplace setting. But the remoteness and the view? Three hundred lavender plants in bloom? Hard to replicate, great to remember. Travis Knoop is a former Realtor turned real estate photographer based out of Wenatchee. For more details or examples of his work, visit www.TravisKnoopPhotography.com.

column moving up to the good life

june darling

A creative, nurturing response to fear People are pretty predictable

when it comes to terror. We have a short behavioral repertoire that seems to be instinctive. Our survival mechanism is often called “fight or flight.” Sometimes “freeze” is added. A local, well-known farmer, may have found a more productive way to respond. Sept. 11, 2001, was a terrifying day for most Americans. One of those Americans was Cashmere orchardist, Randy Smith. Randy is on a national agricultural committee which was meeting four blocks from the White House when the twin towers were hit. No one seemed to know what was happening. Washington, D.C. absolutely emptied according to Randy. He wanted nothing more than to come home, but flights were cancelled, no rental cars were available. Life was suddenly very precarious and precious. As Randy recounts the events following one of the most traumatic moments of his life — and probably our collective lives — tears well up. He can barely speak of how profoundly meaningful it felt to sing Amazing Grace when he finally was able to get back home among

Randy Smith and his orchard buddy, Goldy: Figuring out how to break out of the grip of fear and be creative.

church friends and family. He knows the event fundamentally changed him. Randy started thinking about what he could do to help — what he could do to make a better world. He had no real idea, but he was ready to do something. Then, about a year later, an opportunity dropped into his lap. He was asked to host a delega-

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tion from the Central “Stans” (including Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan) through a contact he made when he was on the Ag Forestry Leadership Foundation. He put together a tour of north central Washington with no vision of where it would ultimately go, but hoping for some real connection with the people of “the Stans.”

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Fast forward 12 years later. Randy has brought in countless colleagues, Rotarians and acquaintances with certain types of expertise who have collaborated with him and sometimes travelled with him. His primary focus has been Kyrgyzstan. He has evolved an idea for connection around a “farmer-tofarmer” theme. This has allowed him to continue to deal with changing governments and high ranking officials. Governors and diplomats from foreign provinces have sat beside Randy and his friends at his dining room table creatively imagining and planning how they might work together. Randy has become an expert on the “Stans” region — learning about people’s values, hopes and problems. Over these years he’s cultivated, planted and nurtured a crop of friendship and goodwill through reading, listening, studying and through the experiences of bringing people here and going there. Successful farmers, like Randy, know how to observe, be consistent, diligent and patient. A good harvest takes a lot of time and attention. One of Randy’s major desires is to help the ordinary people begin their own Rotary clubs. Smith is a long-time Rotarian and found that the people he hosted were fascinated by the idea of business people getting together. He feels that Rotary clubs would allow the people stability and mutual purpose despite ethnic and religious differences and common governmental collapses. Let’s pause the story here. It is worth our while to consider

... try a different, more creative behavior, that could possibly make the planet a more habitable place. how very unusual this story is in terms of human action potential. Somehow Randy was able to free himself from that old stimulus-response instinctive behavior to terror. He chose none of

those survival behaviors of fight, flight, or freeze. Instead he tried something unfamiliar to most of us when threatened. Smith farmed. He cultivated. It was strange, confusing, challenging, enlightening and profoundly meaningful for him. It is fitting that a farmer figured out that we could be different, that we do not need to be slaves to our cave world programming. We can shake ourselves loose and be creative. This April is a fine time to begin learning more about farming. Look around. Maybe you can

see a metaphorical messy, wild thicket that worries you. Instead of denying it, being paralyzed by it, or instead of attacking it, try a different, more creative behavior, that could possibly make the planet a more habitable place. Experiment with some listening, observing, learning, tending, befriending, cultivating and nurturing. Be patient. You may even want to listen to the old autobiographical hymn, Amazing Grace, written by John Newton after his ship was badly battered by a storm. You may find that you, too, are capable of behaving differently

to terror, fear, anxiety, or worry. Maybe you also will find that you are able to respond with a fourth “f ” action — not to fight, not to flee, not freeze, but to farm. How might we all move up to The Good Life by learning that we are not bound by our instinctive behaviors to fear? June Darling, Ph.D. can be contacted at drjunedarling1@gmail. com; website: www.summitgroupresources.com. Her books, including 7 Giant Steps To The Good Life, can be bought or read for free at Amazon. com.

Join us for Easter Brunch… The Kingfisher Restaurant & Wine Bar offers gourmet meals crafted with superb local ingredients, amid a truly inspiring setting. To enjoy the freshest cuisine in Chelan County, reserve your table for our Easter Brunch at SleepingLady.com or call 509.548.6344.

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column THE TRAVELing DOCTOR

jim brown, m.d.

Genetic testing: Where are we now?

There have been many

fascinating discoveries resulting from the Human Genome Project. The prospect of genetic testing for diseases, potential diseases or potential birth defects has resulted in much controversy, both ethical and moral. This is a rapidly expanding field, and like many advances, the discoveries often precede these implications. A physician friend of mine told me about the company 23andMe, which did genetic testing for ancestral and then health related information. The name 23andMe refers 23 pairs of chromosomes in which human DNA is organized. In November 2013, the FDA stopped 23andMe from offering genetic health related data that was intended for the prediction or treatment of certain diseases. The company is still collecting that data but not releasing it to the participants. They do follow-up detailed surveys of all their participants and are collecting information that, combined with the genetic data, might lead to potential medical break through in the long run. For the general public they currently offer ancestral information only.

Lynn and I had decided to do the 23andMe saliva test before the FDA decision and before I had researched the subject of direct to consumer (DTC) genetic marketing. A Johns Hopkins’ study about why people seek personal genetic testing found it was done mostly out of curiosity. Such was the case with me. I was interested in my ancestry because on my Michigan-born father’s side legend had it that I had a great grandmother who was from the Potawatomi Native American tribe. I thought that was pretty cool and hoped it was true but wanted some proof. I had always tanned well without burning, and I speculated that my “Native American” genes might account for that. But was it true? I knew I was one-half Norwegian and that Lynn was one-half Swedish, but we were curious about our ancestry going back hundreds of generations. Recently, I read that a white supremacist did this test only to find out that genetically he was actually about 15 percent African American. Rather than letting this information influence his views, he denied the results as being inaccurate. It comes as no surprise that direct to customer genetic test-

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...genetic testing has become a growing billiondollar market. There are now over 17,000 laboratory tests for roughly 2,300 conditions. ing, (DTC), which is marketed and sold to consumers through the Internet without involving health care professionals, has become big business. In fact, genetic testing has become a growing billiondollar market. There are now over 17,000 laboratory tests for roughly 2,300 conditions. Two to three new genomic tests are added to that market every week. I believe an individual looking for ancestral information has every right to order the tests. This can be important for adopted children whose birth information is often sealed and made unavailable to them. It also has implications for their children who also want to know what their ancestry was prior to their parent’s adoption. As for medically related ge-

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netic testing, my personal bias is that it should be done when medically indicated in cooperation with the patient’s personal physician or a genetic clinic — not through DTC. The interpretation of this data, like that of any medical test, is best made by a medical professional. Often routine laboratory tests may be reported as slightly abnormal because they fall beyond the bell shaped curve yet have no clinical significance. However, when given these results, patients often worry unnecessarily about variations that hold little clinical significance. If these tests show the presences of specific genes like the BRCA1 and BRCA2, which are responsible for some hereditary breast and ovarian cancers, they can lead to important medical decisions. The public was made more aware of these two genes after Angelina Jolie’s recent decision to have bilateral mastectomy surgery done due to her having been tested positive for these genes. Her mother had died at age 56 after fighting breast cancer for a decade. Angelina’s results reportedly showed that she had

A moral concern for many is that this ... might lead to an increase of abortions... an 87 percent risk of developing breast cancer and a 50 percent risk for ovarian cancer. Not surprisingly, her decision has increased the public’s awareness of genetically related diseases like these cancers, and the demand for genetic testing for breast cancer has soared since her surgery. Nevertheless, I have concerns when these tests are marketed in large part directly to consumers. What if a person were told their genetic testing showed they had a high likelihood of developing diabetes? Would that information necessarily change their lifestyle, weight or eating habits? The reason I am dubious is that our country has a 35 percent obesity rate. It is public knowledge that obese people have a significantly increased risk of developing diabetes type 2, heart disease, high blood pressure, cancer, stroke and early death. Despite that knowledge, our nation’s obesity rate has not significantly changed in the last decade except for early childhood obesity, which seems to be decreasing recently, possibly through Michelle Obama’s efforts. Why would a genetic test do what public awareness or the mirror or one’s belt has failed to do? A recent Yale University study agrees. They reported that the impact on lifestyle improvements due to DTC genetic testing was limited, resulting in no significant positive or negative changes. So why do them? These tests are expensive, running from $100 to $1,000 or more depending on the test ordered.

Genetic testing in the right setting for inheritable disease can be extremely important. For example, if an infant or child had a distinct set of symptoms consistent with a known inherited disease, this testing could be helpful in any decisions regarding the risks of further pregnancies. However, pediatric organizations strongly discourage the use of DTC and home-kit genetic testing of children because of the lack of oversight and interpretation of the genetic information. I heartily agree. The American College of Obstetrics has suggested that all women of reproductive age be screened for the cystic fibrosis gene. If both parents carried a gene for a significant disease in a newborn, they would have a one in four chance of having an affected child. It was suggested that this might become the standard of care for women contemplating pregnancy. I think that in specific instances where there is a family history of certain inheritable conditions, testing could prove valuable because it could give the option of using a non-carrier’s donated egg or sperm or offer the option of adoption. A recent article suggests that genetic testing might replace amniocentesis, which currently requires needles taking amniotic fluid from the mom to test for genetic abnormalities. Amniocentesis currently is done in about 5 percent of pregnancies. It is predicted that noninvasive genetic tests eventually will be done on 100 percent of pregnant women in as early as 7 to 9 weeks of pregnancy. A major moral concern for many is that this information might lead to an increase of abortions if a condition is discovered about the fetus that the parents are not willing to accept. So what did my 23andMe testing tell me? Sadly, from my paternal side April 2014 | The Good Life

there was no evidence of any Native Americans genes. Both my wife and I have 99.6 percent genetically Northern European backgrounds, which included 2.7 percent Neanderthal — the average for those of European descent. I was most surprised that according to my test I am only 9.7 percent genetically Scandinavian despite having maternal grandparents from Harstad, Norway. I have visited my grandparents’ home of Harstad, Norway and found in the Trondenes Church cemetery my relative’s tombstones dating back to 1610. The more I thought and studied this I started to understand. Scientists have firmly established Africa as the birthplace of humankind and modern humans around 7,000,000 years ago. About 60,000 years ago these humans started migrating into what is now Europe and the Near East. Over time through human migrations, war and slavery, our genes have undergone dramatic mixing. Even though my maternal grandmother and grandfather were “100 percent Norwegian,” they like the rest of us, were genetic mixtures of the entire human race. None of us is a pure anything. One wonders why some may still cling to racial bias when we are all so closely related. Essentially everyone we meet is our brother, sister, cousin, aunt or uncle. The field of genetic testing is very complex. The potential benefits to our understanding, knowledge and to societal health are enormous. Like many scientific discoveries and advances, there is the potential for good as well as for abuse. Like it or not it is here to stay and our knowledge will continue to grow as a result. Jim Brown, M.D., is a retired gas-

troenterologist who has practiced for 38 years in the Wenatchee area. He is a former CEO of the Wenatchee Valley Medical Center.

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An (Interrupted) Love Affair With the Fiddle “O

h, no — I couldn’t choose,” said violinist Gretchen Woods, when queried about her favorite composer. “It would be like asking which child you love best!” And then, by golly, she did. It was Brahms (though quickly she demurred — Bartok and Bach of course have their special charms…) Why Brahms? “The contrasts. He’s the absolutely perfect balance of Romantic passion and Classical restraint, and I love the way he uses silence as a structural element.” Her statement is perhaps too short for musicologists but just the right summation for the listener unschooled in sounds symphonic. The prodigy turned performer is also a teacher. Gretchen, 53, is also the principal second violinist with the Wenatchee Valley Symphony Orchestra. Encouraged from early childhood by her music-loving family (“We sang grace at dinner, madrigals for fun.”), she performed her first Mozart requiem at age 11, and played violin for the symphony at age 13. After years away, in and out of the concert spotlight in orchestras across the country, learning and relearning, she re-

Gretchen Woods: “The most painful part of starting up again.. was that I could remember what it felt like to be excellent.”

turned with her young daughter in 2006 to Wenatchee where her musical roots, and her family’s roots, run deep. In those intervening years, Gretchen enjoyed the highs and suffered the lows of an intensive musical career, including a painful transformation that she said “forced me to reforge my identity from ground zero.” The problem started small. After graduating from the Eastman School of Music, Gretchen migrated to southeast Michigan where she picked up a math degree, played under contract with the Toledo Symphony and studied with a violin mentor. She was on a fast track to success, practicing violin six to

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eight hours a day. Her forearm hurt. A little. Not enough to stop. But at one concert rehearsal in 1990 she realized she could not bear to raise her right arm and had to drop her hand to her lap. (She demonstrated with a surprisingly subtle turn of the wrist both the right way and the life-changing wrong way to hold a violin bow.) The diagnosis was swift and sure: multiple repetitive stress injuries. Damage to flexors and nerves. So Gretchen packed up her violin, totally ignoring it and her burgeoning professional

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Gretchen gradually gained back her physical strength as well as her enjoyment of the instrument — but in small increments of 5, then 10, then 15 minutes of practice... concert career. She forsook the fiddle for two and a half years. That’s a big chunk of time in the professional music industry, where you are only as good as your last performance, and where you play depends on who you know. But Gretchen learned from that time of upheaval, depression and re-adjustment that, “my fundamental mistake was defining myself by what I do, not who I really am. My injury meant the end of the life I would have had, the person I would have been. And it was very freeing.” Through therapy at a performing arts rehab clinic and a great deal of patience, over almost eight years Gretchen gradually gained back her physical strength as well as her enjoyment of the instrument — but in small increments of 5, then 10, then 15 minutes of practice over months. “The most painful part of

starting up again, besides the pain, was that I could remember what it felt like to be excellent,” she said. Back in the Northwest, she eventually felt able to join community orchestras in the Tri-Cities and then on Vashon Island. Two big lessons from therapy helped: 1) instrumentalists need to warm up, stretch and cool down just like athletes 2) a goal is to refine movements to use the least amount of effort possible. She’s understandably a devotee now of smart muscle use. Gretchen had learned to heal and not re-injure herself, and she’d simultaneously parlayed the math degree into a second career as an actuary (“Very satisfying for the mind, not so much for the soul,” she admitted), but was attracted back to Wenatchee with the promise of work at the family’s newspaper. Now, Gretchen delves into her day job, raises her daughter, practices wisely, plays well with the Wenatchee Symphony, teaches three violin students and feels free to talk about her difficult years. She said, “You know, sometimes an experience clearly demarcates one part of your life from the rest. “There’s ‘before,’ and there’s ‘after.’ I call it The Dreaded Learning Experience, but I don’t think I’d trade it given the chance — it was a tremendous opportunity to grow in new directions.” — by Susan Lagsdin

April 2014 | The Good Life

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Pybus Public Market, every Thursday night is locals night, 5 – 8 p.m. Live music, cooking demonstrations and local vendors. Cashmere Art and Activity Center, needle art every second Tuesday, 1 p.m. Pinochle every fourth Tuesday, 1 p.m. Hat Group every Thursday, 1:30 – 3 p.m., knitters, crocheters and loom artists welcome. Info: 782-2415. NCW Blues Jam, every second and fourth Monday, 7:30 – 11 p.m. Clearwater Steakhouse, East Wenatchee. Info: facebook.com/NCWBluesJam. Improv/Acting Workshop, 7 p.m. Every Tuesday night with theater games for novice and experienced players. Fun, casual and free. Riverside Playhouse. Cost: free. Info: mtow.org. NCW Kid Connect Family Expo, 3/29, 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. Physics on wheels, science rocks featuring Seattle’s Pacific Science Center. Photo booth, face painting, games, music, activities, inflatables. An event connecting families with family businesses. Wenatchee Sportsplex. Cost: $3 adults, $2 kids 3-17, under 3 free. Info: ncwkidconnect.com. Confluence Jazz Trio, 4/1, 15, 29, 7 p.m. Tracy Warner, clarinet and saxophone; Mike Choman, guitar, and Roger Vandivort, bass — are all long standing participants in the Wenatchee jazz scene, performing at Tastebuds. Info: wevarts.org. Book reading and book signing, 4/1, 7 p.m. Jane Kirkpatrick will be on hand with her new book Sincerely Yours: A Novella Collection. Leavenworth Library. Cost: free. Info: abookforallseasons.com.

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Slam Poetry Night, 4/1, 8, 15, 22, 29, 7 – 8:30 p.m. Free to listen and perform. Brought to you by “We Merry Little Band of Poets.” Clearwater Steakhouse and Saloon. Info: wevarts.org. Library discussion, 4/2, 10 a.m. at the Waterville Library. Beautiful Ruins, by Jess Walter, is the focus of this spring’s North Central Washington Regional Read. Discussions will also be held on 4/15, 1 p.m. at Peshastin Library. On 5/6, 6 p.m. at Chelan Library. On 5/8, 4 p.m. East Wenatchee Library and on 5/22, 4 p.m. at Leavenworth Library. Walter is the Write On The River conference keynote speaker Friday May 16. Cost: free. Wine Tasting night with The Jennan Oaks Band, 4/2, 5 – 7 p.m. The Jennan Oaks Band is a group of close friends that live in the Chelan area. Featuring the voices are Kayla Good and Johnny Sizemore, Alex Krupla on bass, Jay Kittelson on drums. This energetic band hope you want to dance and sing along. Tastebuds. Info: wevarts.org. Confluence Jazz Trio, 4/3, 10, 17, 24, 5/1, 6 – 8 p.m. Live performance at Chateau Faire Le Pont. Info: wevarts.org. Italian Saxophone Quartet, 4/3, 7:30 – 8:30 p.m. Wenatchee High School. Info: wevarts.org. Wenatchee First Fridays ArtsWalk, 4/4, 5 - 8 p.m. Check out Wenatchee’s arts scene. Venues and exhibits change monthly. Self-guided. WVC Campus and Historic District. Cost: art-walk free, after-events may have admission fees. Monthly info: wenatcheefirstfridaysartswalk.tumblr.com. Two Rivers Art Gallery, 4/4, 5 – 8 p.m. Presenting the paintings of

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WHAT TO DO

We want to know of fun and interesting local events. Send info to: donna@ncwgoodlife.com

}}} Continued from previous page the Wenatchee Watercolor Society. Live music by harpist Suzanne Grassell. Introducing wines by Jones of Washington. 102 N Columbia, Wenatchee. Cost: free. Info: 2riversgallery.com. Tumbleweed Bead Co., 4/4, 5-8 p.m. Juliana Marquis will feature her new jewelry. Refreshments served. 105 Palouse St. Cost: free. Info: tumbleweedbeadco.com. Small Artworks Gallery, 4/4, 5 p.m. 13 local artists works will be on display at the Wenatchee Valley Museum and Cultural Center. Info: wvmcc.org. Charlie Solbrig solo guitar, 4/4, 5, 11, 12, 6 – 9 p.m. Live performance at Chateau Faire Le Pont. Info: wevarts.org. PRESENTATION AND READING, 4/4, 7 p.m. Linda Strever will be on hand with her new book Against My Dreams. Leavenworth Library. And 4/5, 1 p.m. at A Book For All Seasons. Cost: free. Info: abookforallseasons.com. La boheme, 4/5, 9:55 a.m. and 7 pm. Encore. Chronicling Bohemian life in the Latin Quarter in 1830s Paris, La Boheme is perhaps the world’s most beloved opera. Snowy Owl Theater. Info: icicle.org.

Book signing, 4/5, 1-3 p.m. Robbie Scott will be on hand with his new book, Two Friends, Too Old, about when an old friendship collides with old age. Hastings. Free. Breath of Aire, 4/5, 6 p.m. This Pacific Northwest choir specializes in inspirational music that will encourage and uplift its audiences. Free concert, with donations accepted. Calvary Crossroads, 1301 Maple St., Wenatchee. Info: 8882767. Leavenworth Film Festival, 4/5, 6, 5:30 – 8:30 p.m. Showcasing the best recent independent short films with a focus on outdoor recreation. This year’s festival includes the top films in each category and an awards ceremony. There will be local art displayed in the entry way as well as beer and wine. Also included are a red carpet, free limousine rides, paparazzi and a half time show you won’t want to miss. Leavenworth Festhalle. Info: wevarts.org. Tastes and Turns, A dinner Show, 4/5, 7 p.m. This exclusive dinner show will feature an assortment of talented dancers from ballet and lyrical to Irish Step, Latin and hip hop. As you dine right on the PAC stage, you’ll have closer than front row seats with each dinner course highlighting a different style of dance. Performing Arts Center. Cost: $150. Info: pacwen. org. Presentation, 4/7, 7 p.m. Nancy

Coming attractions

Alzheimer’s Café, 4/8, 2:30 p.m. – 4 p.m. Mountain Meadows Senior Living Campus hosts a cafe the second Tuesday of every month. This is a casual setting for folks with Alzheimer’s, dementia, their loved ones and caregivers. Desserts and beverages will be served free of charge. Entertainment and activities for those wishing to participate. Join us to meet new friends and share experiences. Located at 320 Park Avenue, Leavenworth. Info: 548-4076. GlenN Miller Orchestra, 4/8, 7:30 p.m. Performing Arts Center. Info: pacwen.org. Wenatchee Naturalist, 4/9 – 6/11. 10-week course with Susan Ballinger as lead instructor. Explore local plants, animals and landscapes. Do fieldwork and learn from expert scientists. Wenatchee Valley College. Cost: $350, 10 percent discount for 60 and over. Register: wvc.edu/directory/departments/conted/. Pacific Lutheran University Choir of the West, 4/9, 7:30 -9:30 p.m. Live performance. Snowy Owl Theater. Info: icicle.org. War Horse, 4/10, 7 – 9 p.m. The National Theatre’s original stage production of War Horse, broadcast live from London’s West End. Snowy Owl Theater. Info: icicle.org. Presentation, 4/11, 7 p.m. Alan Bauer will be on hand with his new book Day Hiking Central Cascades, Best Desert Hikes: Washington. Wenatchee River Institute, 347 Division St. Leavenworth. Cost: $10. Book signing 4/12, 1 p.m. at A Book For All Seasons. Cost: free. Info: abookforallseasons.com.

Concert

Book Signing

Pearl will be on hand with her new book, Book Lust. Wenatchee Library. Cost: free. Info: abookforallseasons.com.

Spring Social, 4/11, 7 – 9 p.m. Join Chelan Douglas Land Trust for a fun, free evening with desserts, savories, coffee and conversation. Cashmere Riverside Center. Info: cdlandtrust.org.

To advertise your event, contact Sales at sales@ncwgoodlife.com

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Gold, treasure and more show, 4/12 - 13, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. This year’s show is bigger than ever with 56 vendors. See the latest in prospecting and rock hound supplies, dredge equipment, metal detectors, gold and silver jewelry, ceramics, gems and minerals, collectable coins, motor sports equipment and more. Learn how to pan for gold and see a real dredge in operation. Door and raffle priz-

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| April 2014

es. Food will be available. Chelan County Fairgrounds in Cashmere. Cost: $5; children 12 and under free. Info: 860-1145. Arbor Day Tree distribution, 4/12. The plants to be distributed for a small donation are: Red Alder, Red Stem Ceanothus, Red Flowering Currant, Grand Fir, Western Larch and Bitter Cherry. Plants are available from 10 a.m.- 2 p.m. at the Entiat City Hall, Leavenworth Fish Hatchery, Martin’s Market Place in Cashmere, The Orondo Market. In Wenatchee the distribution will be at Pybus Market from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. CASA Rock n’ Rowl for Kids Bowl-A-Thon, 4/12, 2 p.m. Fundraising event, bowlers of all ages form a team of 5. Bowlers who raise at least $50 will receive a free t-shirt. Awesome prizes, door prizes, too. Bowl and shoe rental free. Eastmont Lanes. Total Experience Gospel Choir, 4/12, 7 p.m. Hailed as one of the Pacific Northwest’s finest soulful ensembles. Snowy Owl Theater. Info: icicle.org. Book Signing, 4/12, 1 p.m. Local author Brenda Burgett will be on hand with her new book Dragons, Butterflies and Buddha. Hastings. Cost: free. Wenatchee Valley Symphony Orchestra, 4/12, 7 p.m. Pre-concert lectures will take place an hour before the performance. Music director and conductor Nikolas Caoile will lead the discussions about the concert program, guest artists and the orchestra. Performing Arts Center. Info: pacwen.org. Spring Tea, 4/13, 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Celebrate Apple Blossom season by honoring its past and highlighting its future. Program includes honoring an individual important to Apple Blossom; highlighting moments in Apple Blossom history with photos and narration; and presenting the 2014 Royalty. A style show of the Junior and Senior Royalty will cap off the event. Wenatchee Valley Museum and Cultural Center. Cost: $20. Info: wvmcc.org. Business and professional Women’s lunch, 4/16, noon – 1 p.m. Free lunch with Wenatchee Valley Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Shiloh Shauer. Community Foundation, 9 S. Wenatchee Ave. Info: 387-2198. United Way Celebration, 4/17. Help United Way of Chelan and Douglas Counties celebrate 75

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years of providing resources and services to organizations and people throughout NCW. Speakers, award winners and steak and prawn dinner. Wenatchee Convention Center. 5:30 p.m. social hour, 6:15 p.m. dinner and program. Info: alan@uwcdc.org. Cost: $40. Girls Night Out, 4/17, 7:15 p.m. – 9 p.m. Reception, raffle and auction. Purchase your swag bag for $20 includes fun items from participating businesses, complimentary beverage ticket and raffle ticket. Pickup bags at Caffé Mela. Reception at Inna’s Cuisine. Info: wendowntown. org. Empty Bowls Fundraiser, 4/18, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. Choice of two homemade bottomless bowls of soup, bread and a never ending cup of coffee, tea or lemonade. Receive a hand painted bowl painted by YWCA homeless shelter persons. AZ’s Café. Cost: $15 donation to benefit YWCA homeless shelter. Info: ywcawen.com. Gloria Trevi, 4/18, 7 p.m. Live performance. Town Toyota Center. Info: towntoyotacenter.com. Presentation, 4/18, 7 p.m. Jordan Hanssen will be on hand with his new book Rowing Into the Son: Four Young Men Crossing the North Atlantic. Wenatchee River Institute, 347 Division St. Leavenworth. Cost: $10. Wenatchee Marathon, 4/19, 6:30 a.m. 8 a.m. half marathon, 8:15 a.m. marathon and 10k. Start at Wenatchee Performing Arts Center. Info: teddriven.com/ wenatchee-marathon. MS Walk, 4/19, 1 p.m. Walla Walla Park Shelter 1. Info: walkms. org/2014walk or call 1-800-3444867, press 2. Book Buzz, 4/19, 1 p.m. Authors Claire Gebben, The Last of the Blacksmiths, Jordan Hanssen, Rowing Into the Son and Margot Page, Paradise Imperfect will be at A Book for All Seasons for book signing. Cost: free. Info: abookforallseasons.com. Icicle Creek Chamber Players Concert, 4/19, 7:30 – 9:30 p.m. Canyon Wren Recital Hall, Leavenworth. Info: icicle.org. Compassionate Friends, 4/21,

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column the night sky this month

Peter Lind

2 eclipses involving the moon Observers all over North

America won’t want to miss the total eclipse of the moon in April, occurring the night of April 14/15 for observers from western North America to eastern Australia. The moon first dips into earth’s shadow at 10:58 p.m., with totality starting at 12:07 a.m. and lasting a little over an hour. Two weeks after the moon crosses earth’s shadow, our planet enters the moon’s shadow. An annular solar eclipse on April 29 will leave a ring of sunlight visible around our satellite, but you have to be in Antarctica to witness the peak. A bright moon blocks most of this year’s Lyrid meteor shower, which peaks April 22. Our satellite rises around 2 a.m. local time so the best show should come in the hours before then. The Lyrid shower emanates from the constellation Lyra. Also during April, Mars reaches opposition and shines brighter than any time in the past eight years. Mars rises in the east in the constellation Virgo the Maiden. The Red Planet reaches opposition on April 8, when it rises near sunset and appears highest in the south around 1 a.m. in Wenatchee. It then shines at just a little brighter than the sky’s brightest star, Sirius. When a planet is in opposition and you draw a line from the sun to that planet, it would line up through the earth. In other words the planet is in the exact opposite direction of the sun from our sight. Opposition occurs with every planet once a year that orbits outside the earth’s orbit. This is an important time for astronoApril 2014 | The Good Life

mers as the planet is closest to the earth at opposition and usually means the planet is in good view. With a small telescope you can see the north polar cap. This bright white region appears prominent because the planet’s north pole currently tilts about 23 degrees in our direction, and the cap’s carbon-dioxide ice cap reflects most of the sunlight that hits it. It is now early summer in Mars’ northern hemisphere. Mars has most of the attention this month, but another incredible planet is out and waiting to be viewed. Saturn brightens significantly during April, which puts it about 10 times brighter than any of the background stars in the constellation Libra the Balance, where it now resides. The planet rises around 10:30 p.m. local time in early April and two hours earlier (during twilight) by the end of the month. Saturn reaches opposition in May, with even better views of its rings. Venus rises in the east. The brilliant planet pokes above the horizon about two hours before the sun in early April. You won’t have any trouble distinguishing Venus, at magnitude –4.3 in mid-April; it is the brightest object in the night sky. On April 12, you can use the brightest planet as a guide to the dimmest. That morning, Venus passes just .7 degrees, about the width of your little finger at arm’s length, north of Neptune. Although the two appear along the same line of sight, Neptune lies 37 times farther from Earth and glows very dim. You will need a good pair of binoculars to see the light blue color of the planet.

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Myth of the heavenly twins — If you go outside in the dark nights of mid-winter until mid-spring and look up at the stars high in the sky you will see the familiar constellation Orion the Hunter. Just a little higher in the sky and to the east you will notice two bright stars close together. These are the two main stars that form Gemini, the twins; they are called Castor and Pollux. Gemini is statistically lucky, with one really spectacular star cluster (M35) and a very nice nebula (The Eskimo). Half a dozen fainter star clusters, all of the “open” type, are scattered throughout Gemini, there are many bright stars that make up Gemini, and even a few other nebula scattered about. Some constellations have no deep sky objects to see, so it is cool to see so many in one constellation. Castor and Pollux were the sons of the god Zeus and their mortal mother Leda. The offspring were a mix of the base and divine, with Castor being the mortal brother and Pollux immortal. Castor and Pollux were joyfully united in spirit yet sorrowfully divided by circumstance. When Castor was slain in battle, Pollux was inconsolable in grief, begging Zeus to relieve him of the bonds of immortality. Pollux chose death so that he could join his brother Castor in the great beyond. To this day, Pollux and Castor stand reunited in the heavens. Peter Lind is a local amateur astronomer. He can be reached at ppjl@ juno.com.

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We want to know of fun and interesting local events. Send info to: donna@ncwgoodlife.com

}}} Continued from previous page 7 - 8:30 p.m. This is a grief support group to assist families toward positive resolution of grief following the death of a child of any age, and to provide information to help others be supportive. Grace Lutheran Church, 1408 Washington St. Info: Carol 665-9987. Pybus University, 4/22, 7p.m. North Central Washington Dahlia Society members will instruct in preparation and planting of dahlia tubers. No charge and a free tuber to every participant. Info: ncwdahlias.org. Environmental Film Series, 4/22, 7 – 9 p.m. Teachings of the Tree People is a tribute to the life and work of Skokomish elder Gerald Bruce Miller, a nationally prominent cultural leader and teacher who brought his talents home to lead a cultural renaissance in the Pacific Northwest. Wenatchee Valley Museum and Cultural Center. Cost: $5 donation suggested. Apple Blossom Festival Starts, 4/24, noon. Carnival, shows, golf tournament, food fare, entertainment daily at Memorial Park during lunch and dinner and all day on weekends, youth parade, youth day, art 4 kids, arts and crafts fair, memorabilia of past Apple Blossom Festival Royalty at Wenatchee Valley Museum and Cultural Center, and the grand parade. Presentation, 4/25, 7 p.m. Brad Halm will be on hand with his new book Food Grown Right. Wenatchee River Institute. Cost: $10. And 4/26, 1 p.m. at A Book for All Seasons. Cost: free. Info: abookforallseasons. com. Children of Eden, 4/24, 25, 26, 5/1, 2, 3, 4, 8, 9, 10, 7:30 p.m. Matinee 5/4, 10, 11, 2 p.m. This heart warming musical is a retelling of the Bible from creation through the end of the great flood. Riverside Playhouse. Info: mtow.org. Ivan Doig at Icicle Creek, 4/25, 7:30 – 9:30 p.m. Ivan Doig is an American novelist and the author of Sweet Thunder. Snowy Owl Theater. Info: icicle.org. Give My Regards to Broadway, 4/25, 7:30 – 9:30 p.m. The Columbia Chorale will perform. Wenatchee High School. Cost: $15, students $8. Info: pacwen.org.

DAHLIA TUBER SALES, 4/26, 5/10, 5/17, 8 a.m.-1 p.m. Pybus Market is the site for North Central Washington Dahlia Society’s Tuber Sales. Talk to the local experts about your planting issues and select from hundreds of varieties of dahlias to brighten your garden. Tuber prices run from $1-$5 and may be bought in any quantity. Info: ncwdahlias. org Master Gardener Plant Sale, 4/26, 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. The sale will feature salsa ingredients: 25 types of tomatoes and 18 types of peppers, onions and herbs as well as hundreds of perennial flowers. Wenatchee Valley Senior Activity Center at 1312 Maple St. Wenatchee Renaissance Faire, 4/26-27, 10 a.m. Knights, jousting, pirates, fairies, gypsies, peasants, Shakespeare, belly dancing, fire breathers, story tellers, blacksmiths, music, rapier, swords, archery, castles, games, crafts, shields and more. Watch or be a participant. Wenatchee Valley College. Info: wenrenfaire.com. Apple Blossom Youth Parade, 4/26, 11 a.m. Starts at Triangle Park goes down Orondo Ave. turns north on Mission St. Info: appleblossom. org. Ride the Miniature Train, 4/265/3, 1 p.m. – 6 p.m. Wenatchee Riverfront Park. Cost: $3 adults, $2 children. Sam Hill Wildflower Walk, 4/26, 1 p.m. Join Ann Schaechtel and her husband Don for a wildflower walk on Sam Hill property located just outside of Leavenworth on the slopes above Icicle Creek. Sign up: Kelsay 667-9708. Info: cdlandtrust.org. Book signing, 4/26, 1 p.m. Brad Halm will be on hand with his new book Food Grown Right. A Book For All Seasons. Cosi fan tutte (The Met: Live in HD), 4/26, 9:30 a.m. The wry tale of two young men who place a bet on fidelity, putting the women they love to the test through deception and seduction. Snowy Owl Theater. Info: icicle.org. Wenatchee Valley Super Oval, 4/26, 6 p.m. Opening night includes 125 lap tri-tracker super late models, pro 4 trucks, thunder cars and super tuners. Wenatchee Valley Super Oval, East Wenatchee. Cost: $20 adults, $8 kids. Info: wvso.com. Washington Comedy Festival, 4/26, 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. The Festival

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showcases stand-up, improv, and a comedy competition throughout the day on the PAC main-stage as well as music, beer, games and more in the PAC courtyard on the first Saturday of the Apple Blossom Festival. The public will have free access to the music and beer garden all day as well as the semifinals of the stand-up comedy competition featuring pro-am comics from California, Washington, Oregon, Vancouver and more being held earlier in the day. Tickets will grant you reserved-seating access to the nighttime events on the Tom K. Michael main-stage featuring extended sets from the top three finalists of the competition, an improvisational performance by Seattle’s Unexpected Productions, and the late night main event with Seattle comic, Derek Sheen and national headliner, Rory Scovel based out of L.A. Performing Arts Center. Cost: $25. Info: pacwen.org. Earth Day Community Fair, 4/27, noon – 4 p.m. Live music, prepared food, Farmers Market, Health Fair, variety of booths, displays, hands-on activities. Lions Club Park, Leavenworth. Info: 548-6881. Motorcycle extravaganza, 4/27, 1 – 3 p.m. Shine up your hog or stop by and see old, new, tricked out or just plain motorcycles. River West Retirement Community, 900 N Western. Cost: free and no preregistration fees. Info: Jeril Hansen 662-2797.

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| April 2014

Pie Eating Contest, 4/27, 3:30 p.m. Win up to $100. Memorial Park. Info: appleblossom.org. Presentation, 4/30, 7 p.m. Marissa Meyer will be on hand with her new book Scarlet, the second thrilling installment of Lunar Chronicles. Wenatchee Library. Cost: free. Info: abookforallseasons.com. Apple blossom Golf Tournament, 5/1, 9:30 a.m. Awards, raffles and more. Highlander Golf Course. Cost: $120. Info: appleblossom.org. Wenatchee AppleSox Competition, 5/1, 8 p.m. Pitch hit and run competition for 7 to 14 year olds. Paul Thomas Sr. Field at Wenatchee Valley College. Info: applesox.com. Classy Chassis Parade, 5/2, 6:30 p.m. Starts at Eastmont Community Park goes down Grant Road turns right on Valley Mall Parkway ends at 9th Street. Free to watch, $25 for participants, $75 for commercial. Info: appleblossom.org. Bull riding Blowout, 5/2, 3, 6 p.m. Over 365 professional bull riders will be vying to become the champion of the weekend and win cash prizes and the buckle. Town Toyota Center. Cost: $25 reserved, $20 general, $30 at the door. Info: appleblossom.org. Tour D’ Bloom, 5/3, 8 a.m. – 10 p.m. 5/4, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. Bike race. Info: usacycling.org.

The Art Life

// SKETCHES OF LOCAL ARTISTS

“One of us can be working with a small scene in the foyer while the other is blocking a crowd scene on stage.”

Directors find plays are more fun with 2 Riverside Theater in

Wenatchee is rocking and rumbling this month, rehearsing Music Theater of Wenatchee’s Apple Blossom production Children of Eden. Not to give away the plot, but since the major scenes are the Creation, the Fall of Man, (expect a huge snake!) and The Flood, there’s understandably some serious set work and acting going on. Center stage, a small wooden table is placed at the front row of audience seats. It’s the helm, the motherboard, where the director watches, takes notes, reassembles actors and refines the blocking. And in the center of that table rests a big white plastic three-ring binder filled with a fist-high stack of script pages and notes. Director Tiffany Mausser laughed. “Oh, my dad’s got a notebook just like this one!” It’s true. He’s just about as detail-oriented as she is, though she calls herself “the picky one.” Director John Mausser agrees with his daughter that in the course of collaborating on a show they don’t argue, they share the load and they are in constant communication. Whatever the magic formula is, they’ve proven that actors and audiences alike benefit from their unique artistic arrangement of co-directing. “It’s great to have two directors,” John said, “One of us can be working with a small scene in the foyer while the other is blocking a crowd scene on stage.”

Tiffany Mausser and her dad, John: “Two minds and bodies working with a large cast are better than one.”

“Or,” added Tiffany, “I can choreograph while he’s doing scene work.” Or, any way you look at it (even if you hear it in stereo) two minds and bodies working with a large cast are better than one. Teamwork saves time. You’ve probably seen Tiffany and John on stage — acting, singing and dancing in Leavenworth Music Theater, Mission Creek Theater and Riverside Theater productions (he recently in Footloose and Harvey, she recently in God of Carnage and Happy Days). They were on stage together in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, and though they have directed solo, they have recently co-directed Man of La Mancha, Singing in the Rain and The Sound of Music. Coincidentally, they have co-acted in seven plays, and this musical is also their seventh co-directing gig. The dynamic duo started early. When Tiffany was still in high school in 2001, John, a math teacher who’d done some acting, took over directing drama at Cascade High School (where he staged Children of Eden and 15 other plays) and eventually asked his daughter to April 2014 | The Good Life

co-direct two plays with him. Tiffany received a theater degree from the University of Washington, and returned to the valley to hone her craft, directing on her own Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Annie Get Your Gun and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. They may do double duty, twice the work of one director, but they are both highly appreciative of the time and talents of the people who gravitate to community theater. (Even Jan Mausser, the collaborative wife/ mother of the collaborative father/daughter, often designs and sews costumes.) On this show, from producer Melissa Carlson to costumers, publicists and lighting techs to the vocal and orchestra directors, everyone on stage and backstage is in high gear for the April 24 opening. “The sets are amazing,” Tiffany gestured toward a huge ark-looking structure upstage and head-high gray Styrofoam rocks. “It’s a real Garden of Eden — there are so many flowers!!” Directors face stressful moments in every production. John cites casting as difficult because www.ncwgoodlife.com

of the choices that need to be made (or not made); Tiffany admits there’s often a week when she doubts if the pieces will all come together. But, she said, “It’s so much FUN — the camaraderie and joy that everyone on a show enjoys when they get together!” Community theater is volunteer work, and rehearsals for musicals like this are 12 weeks long, four nights a week plus the run of the show, so dedicated long-term theater folk — and there are dozens — whether on stage or backstage, tend to be fanatical about planning their days. Tiffany lives in Wenatchee and is glad that she only works part time at Valley Tractor, while John’s recently retired from teaching and jokes that he works part time driving to the theater from his home in Plain. On the Riverside Theater set, where they obviously love to be, as they described the rehearsal process it was easy to tell how the Maussers meld their talents. “And we don’t rant and throw fits like some directors,” Tiffany said. “I think we’re very respectful of the actors.” John agrees. He adds that he’s proud that Tiffany’s taken her skill to a high level. “Sometimes around theater circles I’m known as ‘Tiffany’s dad’ and that just fine.” — by Susan Lagsdin For information about Music Theatre of Wenatchee and Children of Eden, visit mtow.org, pacwen.org or on Facebook at www.facebook/musictheatrewenatchee.

column those were the days

rod molzahn

Confluence has long been a popular spot The traditional council

grounds immediately southwest of the Wenatchee/Columbia confluence was, for Native American people, a gathering place and village site for generations. The Wenatchis kept a winter village there and the Kawachins had a village across the Columbia. The Kawachins had one or two other village locations down that side of the river too, including their main village at Rock Island. The confluence was part of, yet set aside from, the sagebrush, bunch grass and boulder studded Wenatchee flat that wraps around its south and west sides. It’s bounded on the north by the Wenatchee River and on

The first meeting between white men and the P’squose people took place at the confluence in August of 1811... the east by the Columbia. The first meeting between white men and the P’squose people took place at the confluence in August of 1811 when Alexander Ross, David Stuart and a party of fur traders from Astoria pulled their canoes ashore and were welcomed by a chief called Sopa and his people.

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Gifts were exchanged, Indian horses traded for cloth and gartering and the traders were entertained by the shooting and riding skills of the men hunting deer on the meadow. In June of 1841 Navy Lieutenant Robert Johnson described it as “a beautiful patch of meadowland of about 100 acres in extent.” Forty years later Army Lieutenant Wood wrote that it was “some mile or so broad” with a horse-racing track that “was a straight stretch of about a mile along the half grass-grown plain.” Geologically the area is a delta built up with the silt and riverbed gravel washed down the Wenatchee. When Lieutenant Johnson visited the meadow was home to deer, geese and ducks, coyotes, marmots, grouse, curlew and a good supply of rattlesnakes. Wild rye grass grew along with yellow arrowhead balsam and current bushes. The Wenatchis were using raised beds to cultivate potatoes in the meadow. The famed Kawachin chief, Moses, might have been born there about 1829. He claimed the “Wenatchee Country” as his birthplace, though other evidence points towards Moses Coulee as the spot. Clearly Moses considered the confluence an important place. He included it as reservation land in both the proposals (1877 and 1878) he made to the government. He was turned down and eventually he and his people ended up on the Colville Reservation. When Captain George B. McClellan marched his troops up the Columbia in September of 1858 he and his soldiers camped

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| April 2014

for several days at the confluence while McClellan met with chiefs from the Wenatchi, Yakima and Kawachin tribes. His men panned for gold along the banks of both rivers while George Gibbs, a civilian along as interpreter and scientist, wrote glowing descriptions of the geology as well as the flora and fauna of the area. Starting about 1860 cattle drives up the Cariboo Trail passed through the confluence where the grassy meadow was a welcome sight to hungry beef. About 1868 John McBride squatted on land at the south end of the meadow and put up buildings and fences. He saw potential in the valley and convinced Jack Ingram to move his trading post-in-a-tent from Rock Island to the McBride Ranch. That made the confluence the site of Wenatchee’s first business. The store operated at that location for 20 years, mostly under the management of Sam Miller, until it closed in 1888. It was the town’s first post office and the center of commerce — the gathering place for the nascent Wenatchee’s first settlers. In 1877, during the Nez Perce war, the confluence became the center of a great gathering of tribes from across North Central Washington. Kawachins, Wenatchis, Chelans, Entiats, Okanogans and San Poils filled nearly 700 lodges stretching for miles along both sides of the Columbia. Jack Splawn estimated the number of warriors at over 4,000. Splawn, along with Ed Phelps, another cattleman, met with Moses and other chiefs at the Miller/Freer Trading Post. Moses

... wrote colorful accounts of the Indian camp with its “irregular streets of dusky tepees, the lounging men, the playing children and the working women!” assured the men that he had gathered the people together, not to make war, but to keep a close eye on his warriors so they wouldn’t make guerilla raids on settlers, miners and cattlemen in the area. Two years later, May of 1879, Moses called for another council of his people at the confluence on his return from Washington D.C. where he had successfully negotiated for a reservation. Again, several thousand Indians gathered along with Army troops under the command of one-armed General O.O. Howard. The general’s closest aide was Lieutenant Charles Erskine Scott Wood who wrote colorful accounts of the Indian camp with its “irregular streets of dusky tepees, the lounging men, the playing children and the working women!” The council lasted several days with speeches from General Howard, Moses and other lesser chiefs. The high point of the council was a pounding horse race down the mile-long course lined with shouting men, women and children. Two nearly naked Indian boys clung to their horses, one a white, the other a gray, straining neck and neck the length of the course until the white pulled ahead by half a length at the finish. The winner’s owner claimed the prize; all the goods

and horses that had been bet on the race — enough to make him a wealthy man. In August of 1890 Chief Moses called, what was, the last Grand Medicine Council held at the confluence. Five hundred Native Americans attended, well down from the thousands in 1879. General Howard did not attend though chiefs from most of the North Central Washington tribes were there along with some Nez Perce, Spokanes and British Columbia people. The tone of the council was not festive and celebratory. The chiefs had come with questions

and complaints about government broken promises. Moses’ 1879 reservation had been taken back and the Wenatchi’s fishery reservation at the forks of the Icicle and Wenatchee rivers had not materialized. Instead, they had all been ordered to the Yakima and Colville Reservations. Other chiefs spoke against fraud, theft and abusive treatment by white settlers driving them from their land and interference by Catholic priests. Letters were written to General Howard and to Washington City. They were ignored.

The grand confluence and its meadow were soon claimed and settled with fenced pastures and new orchards. In time those, too, disappeared and now the traditional council grounds on both sides of the confluence have become, again, a place of gathering, sport and temporary villages. Historian, actor and teacher Rod Molzahn can be reached at shake.speak@frontier.com. His third history CD, Legends & Legacies Vol. III - Stories of Wenatchee and North Central Washington, is now available at the Wenatchee Valley Museum and Cultural Center and at other locations throughout the area.

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column ALEX ON WINE

ALEX SALIBY

Traveling to wine events in warm spots Snows came; I left!

Granted, it was a hectic day of departure with warning notices being aired repeatedly about the conditions on the passes. The morning of our departure we were warned of difficulties on Blewett. Snoqualmie pass was closed to traffic in both directions. Stevens remained open and afforded us the opportunity to escape. We are not snow-birds in that traditional sense of being folks with stable second residences in some sunny climate. We’re more the gypsy kind of roaming wanderers, but with a kind of single-minded purpose. We travel to wine events. Why not? We’re wine lovers.

We are first and foremost fans of the wines of Ridge Vineyards. In the mid ’60’s we picnicked in the vineyards on Monte Bello Road, the home of the Jimsomare vineyard’s Zinfandel grapes. Monte Bello Road is also the home of the former B.C.R.Z winery, which became Ridge, creators of the Ridge Monte Bello Bordeaux-style blended wine. Barrel tasting of the “first blend” is always in early March, when Paul Draper, CEO and head winemaker, invites customers to come taste individually all the components that may end up in the bottle. We begin by tasting the Cab Franc, the Merlot, the Petit Verdot and the Cab Sauv indi-

vidually, and then we taste the blended wine the winemakers think at this time will end up in the bottle two years from now. Then comes the great treat at the event: after the official program, we’re all encouraged to return to the barrels to build our own preferred blend — a splash of Cab Franc, two splashes of the Merlot, a half-splash of the Petit Verdot and then three or four splashes of the Cab Sauv — and voilà, a Bordeaux blend that you yourself have created. This is my idea of how a winery should put on a barrel tasting. We do other wine tasting during our travels. Three years ago, during the planning for our return to Monte Bello, we learned of an

event to be held earlier in Alameda, CA at the Rock Wall Wine Company’s facility. The event was then called P.S. I Love You (P.S. for Petite Sirah, the grape with the official name of Durif, so named after the French viticulturalist who first cloned the grape). Two years ago, organizer Jo Diaz changed the name of the event to Dark and Delicious because of the wine’s deep color and rich flavors. That name pleased winemakers and continues to be the title of the event. We attended again, had fun and loved the wines. Our only disappointment with the event was that none of the great Petite Sirah wines made in Washington were present. Some of Washington wineries that make excellent Petite Sirah wines are Daven Lore, Dusted Valley, Milbrandt, Massett, Portteus and Thurston Wolfe. Both Jones of Washington and Martin-Scott wineries have made a Petite Sirah in the past. Jones, I know, is sold out. If you’re lucky, you might still find a bottle or two at Martin-Scott. So, while I enjoy our local wines and wineries and think Washington produces wonderful wines, I do like to venture outside our area to explore other areas and their wines. Terroir does matter, and the same varieties we produce here can vary in flavor and texture from those produced in other places. Alex Saliby is a wine lover who spends far too much time reading about the grapes, the process of making wine and the wines themselves. He can be contacted at alex39@msn. com.

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