The Good Life

DOING THE VOLCANO TOUR Y EVENTS CALENDAR

WENATCHEE VALLEY’S

NUMBER ONE MAGAZINE

December 2018

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Rollie's cabin

What 3 old guys (and a kid for muscle) did when they were looking for something to do

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Contents

page 20

3 old guys, and a kid for muscle, build a cabin

Old Time

Radio Show Features

Local performers bring this irreverent romp through Dickens’ classic Christmas Carol to the stage in 1940s-style radio hour as it is broadcast live on KOHO 101.

7 write on

You say you would like to be a writer, but don’t know where or how to get started? We have some resources for you

Presented by

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 21

8 grand old car show in england

at 7:30 PM

Car racing and classic motor vehicles event done the English way

10 a yank drives in britain

Narrow lanes, fast drivers, confusing roundabouts — it’s good to have full insurance coverage

13 the amazing volcanoes of hawai’i A hot way to see the cool big island in the 50th state

16 stevens pass and the hitchhiker

Andy Dappen wasn’t really looking to pick up a snowy snowboarder along the road, but providing a ride brought new thrills

18 leavenworth reminds bavarian of home So it was just natural to move here

New for 2018:

20 ROLLIE’S CABIN

20

26 U.S. Code § 199A

%

Bored old guys whip out the tools and build a cabin in the woods Art sketches

Potential tax savings

n Painter Jane Walter Bousman, page 30 n Voice actor Mark Smeltzer, page 32 Columns & Departments

Will you maximize your deductions? Are you sure?

6 A bird in the lens: Winter welcome to the Dark-eyed Junco 24 Pet Tales: A walk in the park with Archie 25 Meet our native plants: A desert plant called Oceanspray 26 June Darling: Forgiveness is good for our bodies 28 The traveling doctor: The aging brain 30-35 Arts & Entertainment & a Dan McConnell cartoon 36 History: Melvina Brown’s sweet Christmas present December 2018 | The Good Life

It’s complex. Let us help.

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OPENING SHOT

®

Year 12, Number 12 December 2018 The Good Life is published by NCW Good Life, LLC, dba The Good Life PO Box 2142 Wenatchee, WA 98807 PHONE: (509) 888-6527 EMAIL: editor@ncwgoodlife.com

sales@ncwgoodlife.com ONLINE: www.ncwgoodlife.com FACEBOOK: https://www. facebook.com/NCWGoodLife Editor/Publisher, Mike Cassidy Contributors, Tim McCord, Molly Steere, Phil Rasmussen, Alan Moen, Andy Dappen, Shane Wilder, Barbara Washburn, Rollie Schmitten, Bruce McCammon, Jaana Hatton, Donna Cassidy, Jim Brown, June Darling, Dan McConnell, Susan Lagsdin and Rod Molzahn Advertising: Lianne Taylor Bookkeeping and circulation, Donna Cassidy Proofing, Dianne Cornell Ad design, Clint Hollingsworth Video editor, Aaron Cassidy 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 PO Box 2142 Wenatchee, WA 98807

Bighorn Sheep face off near Entiat

For circulation questions, email: donna@ncwgoodlife.com BUY A COPY of The Good Life at Safeway stores, Mike’s Meats at Pybus, Rhubarb Market, Martin’s Market Place (Cashmere) and Dan’s Food Market (Leavenworth) ADVERTISING: For information about advertising in The Good Life, contact Lianne Taylor at (509) 6696556 or lianne@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. Copyright 2018

by NCW Good Life, LLC.

By Tim McCord

S

ince I ride the Link bus system from Entiat to Wenatchee to work, I get to gaze out the window the whole way and usually spot a few herds of these

beautiful creatures every day.

The Bighorn Sheep can be seen between Spencer Canyon and Olds Station up on the hillside or even sometimes right on Hwy. 97A. I am a nature photographer so I try to get out every weekend to take photos of them while I can.

I was lucky to catch these two who had just finished a battle.

You can view more of my

Keep Moving

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On the cover

The three old guys who built the cabin in the woods are, from left, Dennis Clemmons, Rollie Schmitten and Jerry Duffy. See their story on page 20.

Physical Therapy for All Ages and Abilities

• Physical Therapy • Sports Biomechanics • Video Gait Analysis • Orthotics • Functional Testing • Pool Therapy • Massage Therapy • Work Related Injuries

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photos of the sheep and other nature shots on my Facebook page, Tim McCord Photography.

December 2018

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editor’s notes

MIKE CASSIDY

Work, and the Best Day of 2018 I

believe in work.

“This family works, work never hurt anyone,” my grandmother told the teenage me one afternoon as I set sprawled in a rocking chair in the kitchen on a lazy Sunday.

I tried to think of a quick, smart-alecky comeback, but I guess my mind wasn’t working at that moment. So, I unfolded my legs, pulled up my jeans and headed out the door to help my grandfather feed the cows.

Everything in my life I’ve gotten from work — except for the one time when I lucked into marrying just the right girl — and work has given me a lot of joy.

So, I was a little concerned when we decided to move The Good Life office into our home.

Without a workplace to go each weekday, would I still work, or would I revert to my lazy teenage self?

I’m happy to say after putting out four issues from our home office, working from home is productive — and sweet.

I’ve become the caricature of the home worker — I pop out of the shower in the morning, grab an old pair of jeans, pull on my Seahawks tee, and pad barefoot down the hallway, saying as I pass my wife, “I’m going to the office now.”

As I look back on the trepidation I had prior to this move, I scoff at my fears. I get as much done from a spare bedroom as I did from a rented office space.

I now realize the day we packed up our computers and drove them home was one of my best days in 2018.

Which is a nice lead in to saying: We want stories from readers about their best day in

2018… tell us when you embarked on a new personal adventure, or hit a high point, or scratched off an item on your bucket list.

But, be quick — send in your 500 or so word story and photos to editor@ncwgoodlife.com by Friday, Dec. 7.

We’ll publish some of these stories in the January issue, and one story will be picked to win a $100 gift certificate to one of our fine advertisers. Get writing!

Reader and educator Gene Sharratt sent along praise for the work June Darling did in a recent article.

“Thank you for your very thoughtful and well-written piece in the October issue,” wrote Gene.

“I so enjoyed it and believe so strongly in the power of positive thinking. How can you go wrong thinking about the ‘best outcomes’ to an event?

“Assuming the best is one of the attributes of the ‘best’ people. No pessimist put a man on the moon.

“Thank you, too, for your thoughts around surrounding yourself with positive and likemined people. Positive people charge your battery, negative people drain it.

“Developing learned optimism and hope is crucial to helping all students learn. We often call this ‘Optimism bias’ — a belief that the future will be better than the past and present.

“I used to share with my students, ‘If you liked today, you will love tomorrow.’”

Why be a pessimist? Enjoy The Good Life.

— Mike December 2018 | The Good Life

CHRISTMAS

DEC 7-8

CHRISTMAS

DEC 1

A HANDBELL CHRISTMAS Celebrate the holiday season with Leavenworth’s Marlin Handbell Ringers and friends

MAGICAL STRINGS CELTIC YULETIDE Celebrating 40 Years of Celtic music, song and dance

CHRISTMAS

DEC 22

OPERA

WICKLINE: A CANYON WREN CHRISTMAS

DEC 22

LA TRAVIATA

Verdi, broadcast live from the Metropolitan Opera in NYC

Local favorites present a bluegrass Christmas celebration

TICKETS & INFO: ICICLE.ORG

or

(509) 548-6347

In partnership with

HealthAllianceMedicare.com Health Alliance Northwest—five years and counting. We’re here to stay.

Call 1-877-561-1463 (TTY 711), daily from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. local time. Voicemail is used on holidays and weekends from April 1 to Sept. 30.

FREE Medicare Seminar Confluence Health - Conference Room 1000 N Miller St | Wenatchee Wednesday Dec 5 | 2 p.m.

Health Alliance Northwest is a Medicare Advantage Organization with a Medicare contract. Enrollment in Health Alliance Northwest depends on contract renewal. Other providers are available in our network. For accommodations of persons with special needs at meetings call 1-877-5611463 (TTY: 711). Health Alliance Northwest complies with applicable Federal civil rights laws and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability or sex. Spanish: ATENCIÓN: Si habla español, servicios de asistencia lingüística, de forma gratuita, están disponibles para usted. Llame 1-877-750-3350 (TTY: 711). Chinese:注 意：如果你講中文，語言協助服務，免費的，都可 以給你。呼叫 1-877-750-3350 (TTY: 711) med-aepsemad19WAC-0618_TGL (4.5 x 5.4) H3471_19_67002_M

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column a bird in the lens

Welcome the Dark-eyed Junco with seeds & water A

might be seen all year near the border of Canada and Washington.

There are a few varieties of Junco: Oregon, Slate-colored, Gray-headed, and Whitewinged.

In north central Washington it is fairly safe to assume that the Junco you see is the Oregon variety. Calling them Dark-eyed Juncos is a very safe bet. Just expect to see some variety in the darkness of their heads or side coloration.

They all have the distinctive white edged tail. You’ll see two bright white stripes on the tail as they fly away.

Dark-eyed Juncos tend to sit out in the open much more than the House Sparrows that are abundant in our area. That gives us a good chance to watch them through binoculars or a spotting scope. Their dark head and lighter body helps to quickly identify them.

If you’re lucky they will be mixed in with House Finch, White-crowned Sparrows and Golden-Crowned Sparrows.

Watch for that dark head and the white edges on the tail.

Be sure to watch for Juncos this winter. They’ll be gone from our area as summer approaches next year. Good luck.

By Bruce McCammon

s the leaves begin to fall and the mornings have that cool, crisp feel, the Juncos return.

They come into our area a bit at a time and soon it seems that they are everywhere.

Backyard feeders are popular with these sparrow-sized birds. Feeders take on more importance in the winter Bruce McCammon months due is retired, colorto the relative blind and enjoys scarcity of photographing the birds in north cennatural food. tral Washington.

An almost sure way to bring Juncos to your yard is to offer some fresh bird food and water. Maintaining feeders and water in the winter requires more attention but the reward of watching Juncos and other species come to feed or drink is a great way to spend a snowy day.

Dark-eyed Juncos tend to be winter birds in our area but

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WENATCHEE RACQUET & ATHLETIC CLUB 1913 Skyline Dr., Wenatchee (509) 662-3544 / WWW.WRAC.ORG

December 2018

Write on!

You say you want to write, and be published... here are some ideas of where to start

By Molly Steere

The Wenatchee Valley is a

hotbed of creativity and lair of literature.

I don’t know if I should credit the beautiful scenery, the interesting characters, or an extensive, collective history of creating, but this area is teeming with talent and inspiration.

From excellent publications and accomplished authors to writing workshops, indie bookstores, and open mic nights, you can find it all right (or should I say write?) here.

Where to start?

Write on the River is a thriving organization focused on fostering the writing arts in north central Washington and nurturing writers from inspiration to publication.

They organize events, workshops, and speakers year-round offering writers the opportunity to hone their craft and network with other writers and people in the industry.

For inspiration, pick up a local publication that features north

central Washington writers like The Good Life magazine, Foothills Magazine, Kid Connect and The Comet.

Who to read?

Poet and professor Derek Sheffield will engage your senses with his full-length book of poems, Through the Second Skin.

The acclaimed and accessible collection draws the reader in with a fierce attention to detail.

Derek also teaches poetry and ecological writing at Wenatchee Valley College and is the poetry editor of Terrain.org.

A fierce book advocate, Dan Gemeinhart has been encouraging kids to read for decades, first as a librarian (at our very own Mission View Elementary) and now as a highly acclaimed middle-grade author of four action-packed, emotionally hard-hitting books. His much anticipated fifth book, The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise, comes out in early January and promises to take you on an extraordinary, wrenching quest.

Kay Kenyon is a pillar in the writing community both locally

and nationally. She is the author of over a dozen science fiction and fantasy novels including her latest Dark Talents trilogy (At the Table of Wolves, Serpent in the Heather, and Nest of the Monarch) the third of which is coming out in 2019.

She is also offering a sevenweek novel writing course (starting mid-February, check writeontheriver.org for more info) intended for writers wishing to pursue a publishing career.

For more recommendations on what to read, check out the fabulous bookstores in the valley. They are huge supporters of our local authors and often host talks, signings, readings, and more. A few gems in the valley include Riverwalk Books (Chelan), A Book for All Seasons (Leavenworth), The Bookery (Ephrata), and Ye Olde Bookshoppe (Wenatchee).

How to get involved?

Grab your work in progress and join one of these writerfriendly events: n The Shrub-steppe Poetry Podium, the last Wednesday of the month at Radar Station n The Shrub-steppe Poetry Café, the third Thursday of each month (contact Susan Blair at sfblair61@gmail.com) n “Writers Meeting Writers,” the third Saturday of the month at the Wenatchee Library (www. writeontheriver.org) n Open mic/writing sessions at Ye Olde Bookshop on

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(Kay Kenyon) is also offering a seven-week novel writing course... intended for writers wishing to pursue a publishing career.

Wednesdays at 6:00 ( 509-8886306).

Even if you’re not ready to share your own work, it’s always fun to hear what other people are writing.

And if you’re not into the group scene, grab your computer or notebook and head to a local coffee shop, library, or favorite scenic spot and find your muse.

Do you have a story to tell?

If you have a story to tell and would like to see your name in print, The Good Life welcomes lively personal adventure pieces.

Not only will you get your writing out to a broad audience, but you get to work directly with an editor.

Share your passion, latest adventure, or what inspires you — your readers await!

Molly Steere began freelance writing when she moved to the valley 12 years ago. She’s found the local writing community to be welcoming and supportive and enjoys working with local editors, publications and organizations.

TOP LEFT: This set the mood…. just inside the arrival gate at Goodwood, a double decker bus complete with a guy hawking nylon stockings from the rear platform. TOP RIGHT: Red Lotus open-wheel racer. Old cars, serious racing. BOTTOM RIGHT: “Barn finds” are the holy grail for car collectors. Here was a barn complete with the “finds.” The three belles in polka dots are a singing trio who could do a great imitation of the Andrews Sisters.

An event this Anglophile and autophile simply has to attend

Retro auto racing party in England I

By Phil Rasmussen

t is probably fair to say that I am an Anglophile.

I’ve read British history for years, and my wife Lovelyn and I have watched Downton Abbey and every British murder mystery on PBS… thoroughly amazed that there could be at least one murder in every little village in England each week.

I am also an automotive enthusiast.

When I read an article about

an event called the Goodwood Revival several years ago, I was hooked. I have really never made a bucket list, but if I had, this would be on it.

The Goodwood Revival is about vintage cars and historic auto racing at a famous old racetrack, which also happened to serve as a World War II aerodrome. It is about eccentric British motorheads and a huge costume party all wrapped up into one. I simply HAD to go.

With enticements such as a proposed stop at Highclere

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(Downton Abbey), Doc Martin’s house in “Portwenn” (actually Port Isaac), and Hay-on-Wye, Wales, to visit a lovely woman we had met on a cruise two years ago, Lovelyn was all in.

Goodwood House is in the south of England just north of Portsmouth. We flew in to Heathrow and picked up our rental car.

As it turned out, the closest hotel reservation I could make months in advance of the event was in Southsea, a suburb of Portsmouth, and about a one-

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December 2018

hour drive from Goodwood House.

Goodwood House is one of the remaining grand estates of England. On its grounds are a golf course, the old auto racing track, a horse racing course, an exclusive inn and restaurants… all of which provide income that allows the estate to continue to exist under the oversight of its owner, the 11th Duke of Richmond.

Goodwood was an auto racing venue operated from 1932 to the mid-1960s, except for the war

A highlight of Goodwood: the Austin pedal car races. The cars were manufactured in the ’60s by a joint venture of British Motor Company and the British government to provide employment for out of work coal miners. The young boy who won, when asked about his secret, replied, “ I practiced going uphill.” It worked.

Phil Rasmussen is dressed in high style for a weekend at the races.

years when it served as a British Spitfire base.

The current Duke’s father — also an auto racing enthusiast — came up with the idea of an annual historic racing event at the estate, the Goodwood Revival. This year marked its 20th anniversary.

The event takes place over a three-day weekend each year.

What makes it special is that attendees are asked to come dressed in period clothing — the “period” being any time between 1932 and the mid-’60s, and almost everyone complies.

Mechanics’ coveralls, driving caps, tweed jackets and military uniforms are popular for men.

Women come in vintage dresses, hats and furs as well as a bit of 1960’s mod.

The over-riding atmosphere of the event is heavily biased toward the mid-1940s and the Battle of Britain, which is vigorously celebrated at this event, not only in costume and theme, but with early morning Spitfire formation flyovers as well as military aircraft and vehicle displays.

Two “officers’ debate over a beer whose contribution counted more during World Wor II.

Lovelyn and I dressed as a couple taking a “weekend at the races” approach to apparel.

Lovelyn was fortunate to be given some late 1940’s dresses and hats. As for myself, it was suspenders, vest, tweed sport jacket and English driving cap.

In addition to cars driven not only by amateurs, but a few professional Indy and Le Mans past winners as well, there are manufacturers’ displays, a Bonhams auction, shops selling automotive and aircraft restoration parts and artwork, a vintage paddock of former race cars, and

numerous grandstands from which to watch the race. There is even a hair salon ready to give women that special vintage look.

With the right ticket, attendees can walk into the pits, talk to the mechanics and drivers and check out the beautiful automotive hardware.

One of the crowd pleasers was a kids’ pedal car race. The pedal cars are antique Austin pedal toys that were manufactured in the ’50s as a joint venture of the British government and the Austin Motor Company to provide employment for out-of-

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work coal miners, and are now collectibles.

We attended on a general admission ticket on Friday to get a feel for the event and the grounds.

On Saturday, our base for the day was the Goodwood Officers’ Mess, a temporary dining hall that could have been a movie set for a WWII flick.

We were welcomed by a very proper British Army Major who pointed the way through the sand-bagged entryway lined with stacked ammo and “jerry”

}}} Continued on next page

Retro auto racing party }}} Continued from previous page fuel cans into the hall which was highly staged complete with pilots quarters and a radio room.

A “WAC” — or the British equivalent thereof — helped us find our table. Food was served buffet style, and we were never far from a source of British “bitter.”

Our tablemates were an English couple from the London area who arrived later than we did (it was an annual thing for them). Though we had limited time together, they were interesting and friendly to the point of inviting us to visit them at their home when we returned to London.

The racing at Goodwood is real, and the risk and expense of participating in the historic racing hobby blows my mind.

Jaguar E-Types, Ferraris, Maseratis, Allards, original Mini Coopers, Porsche 356s, Ford Cobras, and even three Corvettes from the ’50s and ’60s slugged it out in their respective classes.

There were a couple of crashes and a smoking engine or two, but no injuries while we were there… surprising given the lack of modern safety equipment in the cars.

I later learned from a British engineer we met at one of the Inns where we stayed there is a serious industry in Britain keeping the vintage Jags and Minis running. His company’s sole business was remanufacturing Mini Cooper transmissions.

As our Saturday there wore on, the crowds became huge to the point that moving around was difficult. By mid-afternoon we had reached “automotive overload” and set out to find our car in what seemed by that time to be a 100-acre hay field.

But what a pleasant feeling. It was a completely unique experience that we will never forget.

TOP LEFT: Fast speeds and narrow roads made driving in Britain nerve wracking. Behind the foliage on the left is a rock wall. TOP RIGHT: A single track road near the Welsh border. BOTTOM RIGHT: Approaching a village near Welch border.

Note houses are at edge of the road.

Driving in Britain: Yikes, give a Yank some room

By Phil Rasmussen

I

n September my wife Lovelyn and I took a do-it-ourselves road trip through England.

We have driven in Europe before, but as we planned the trip, the thought of driving on the “wrong” side of the road made us more than a little apprehensive.

With our 1,600-mile English adventure behind us, we now have a reasonably complete picture of British driving in

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practice. Becoming acclimated to driving on the left side of the road was important, but it was only one part of the experience.

I’m hopeful that our personal experiences and surprises may be useful for someone planning a driving trip of their own in the UK. In preparation for our trip, I ordered a copy of The Highway Code for the UK from Amazon.

This helpful booklet familiarizes the reader with road signs and general rules of the road that are

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December 2018

mostly similar to our own.

It didn’t cover everything.

There are features of the British road system that challenge our America driving paradigms. Descriptions of box intersections, bicycle reserves, and multi-lane traffic circles in The Highway Code are one thing; experiencing them for the first time as a driver is another.

Our trip did not get off to a smooth start. I had reserved a compact car with automatic transmission. I’ve learned that

I now have a great deal of respect for the Brits as drivers.

They are as a whole more highly skilled, more focused, more courteous and faster drivers than the average in the U.S. smaller cars are a benefit in Europe when dealing with narrow passages and parking, and I had decided that shifting manually with my left hand might be an unnecessary distraction.

Well, the compact wasn’t ready. No problem, there would be a free upgrade to a nice Mercedes C-class, somewhat larger than our planned ride. We loaded our stuff in the trunk.

Oops! The C-class navigation was haywire. No problem, there would be another free upgrade to a Mercedes E-class. Very nice car. Larger car.

An hour had now passed. We took it, in retrospect a mistake.

Reading The Highway Code did NOT prepare us for the narrowness of the roads, the tightness of the turns, and the obstacles we would encounter.

I now have a great deal of respect for the Brits as drivers. They are as a whole more highly skilled, more focused, more courteous and faster drivers than the average in the U.S. Given their streets and roads, they need to be focused in order to get anywhere in a reasonable period of time! We saw no one texting or talking on a phone during our entire three-week trip.

All of the English roads are narrower than their counterparts in the U.S. and the secondary or rural roads are especially narrow.

A typical lane width on state

TOP: Lovelyn visits Port Isaac (known in TV land as Portwenn where Doc Martin has his home and office.) The Doc was out. BOTTOM LEFT: First stop was Highclere (Downton Abbey), an hour from Heathrow. BOTTOM RIGHT: Vindolanda, a Roman garrison town near Hadrian’s Wall in the far north of England.

highways in the U.S. is 11-12 feet; lane width in the UK on similarly classified roads is nine feet. UK rural roads are not unlike the orchard roads in the Wenatchee area, except perhaps smoother, and may be lined with hedge rows, stone walls, or a stone wall behind the hedge leaves (my wife’s personal favorite.) The speed limit on these roads is a rather astonishing 60 mph unless otherwise December 2018 | The Good Life

marked, and most Brits seem to drive close to the limit where they can.

I have driven sports cars on tracks at very high speeds, but on our first day in England, I was not comfortable exceeding 50 mph or so on these roads. My mind told me that either the left side of the vehicle was about to be in the bushes or the mirrors on the right side were about to be taken off by the approachwww.ncwgoodlife.com

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ing car or (outburst from spouse here) semi-truck.

The lanes are that narrow.

We would occasionally have to pull to the side at a wide spot to allow the local traffic to move ahead. This was not just my reaction to the roads. We met Australian couples with the same complaint, and they drive on the left like the Brits.

Brits do not seem to slow for

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Wishing everyone a Very Merry Christmas & a Prosperous New Year!

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Road trip in Britain: Give me room! }}} Continued from previous page oncoming vehicles unless the road narrows below two lanes, which is a frequent situation.

You can tell when the road is narrowing because the centerline is simply eliminated as if to say, “you’re on your own.”

When meeting another vehicle in these spots, one vehicle will need to stop in whatever wide spot might be available to allow an oncoming vehicle to proceed.

In some cases one driver may need to reverse to find such a spot.

Flashed headlights from a stopped vehicle generally mean for you to proceed through the narrow area, in which case drivers thank and acknowledge the courtesy with waves.

We encountered a similar situation in villages where vehicles must be parked with their wheels on the sidewalk on one side, and the other wheels half into the traffic lane on the other.

In the evening, parked cars may occupy a whole block leaving just one path for traffic.

And then there are the traffic circles!

The UK has employed these for years to good effect. We encountered very few traffic lights outside of city centers during our trip.

Lesser circles work just like our local Wenatchee area circles.

But the similarities end there.

Primary highways, including “dual carriageways” (like our non-interstate divided four-lane highways) intersect with other

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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roads using traffic circles of up to three lanes.

As we approached a major interchange, there would usually be an electronic sign with the message, “QUEUES LIKELY AHEAD.” The two lanes of traffic would then be directed to three or more lanes… the left most for the first turnoff in the circle, middle lane for the second, and the right lane for the third.

In a few instances, we were one of three vehicles entering the circle at the same time in our respective lanes. Flow is very brisk, so timing is everything.

British drivers signal their intent upon entering the circle with a left turn signal for the first exit, and right turn signals for exits two and three. It looks strange to see cars moving clockwise to enter the circle with their right turn signals blinking, but the signals help to sort out who is planning to go where.

A certain popular TV travel host recommends — rather nonchalantly as I remember — that American drivers, ”just go around again if you miss the turn.” It’s much better not to miss it in the first place. If you do, on the multi-lane circles you will be in the outside lane when you shouldn’t be.

I admit to incompetence when it comes to navigating (even helped by GPS) the old walled cities of England. It was a painful ordeal to reach our hotel in York, and even more so in Oxford.

I chose hotels near those city centers for walking convenience, but we had to work for it! As for London, I wouldn’t even attempt driving there. There was an immediate sense of relief as I handed over the keys to our rental car at the Heathrow car return.

Some final advice from a Yankee amateur. Consider taking a day to rest after your flight before driving a car. We did so and were glad we did. Leaving Heathrow in a mental fog could be deadly.

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My rental had several yards worth of “hedgerow encounter” scrapes on the left side by the end of the first day. I’m glad it wasn’t my car.

Second, take a GPS with a large screen or include one with your rental vehicle unless you have a navigator who is expert in paper maps or smart phone navigation apps and is immune to motion sickness. (A very slick aspect of navigating in Britain is that you only have to enter the postal code of your destination in the GPS and you will eventually end up exactly at your goal.)

Rent the smallest car you are comfortable with. The difference in width for major brands between “compact” and “intermediate” is six to nine inches that makes a difference in driving and parking. An automatic transmission will make one less thing to think about.

And finally, buy the full coverage insurance. My rental had several yards worth of “hedgerow encounter” scrapes on the left side by the end of the first day. I’m glad it wasn’t my car.

I certainly don’t mean to discourage people with this account.

Advance preparation helped a lot. And while the initial uneasiness about driving in England didn’t entirely go away, what was left was converted to heightened alertness.

We drove from the extreme south of the country to the Scottish border and many points in between.

In the end, it would not have been possible to see the things we saw in that beautiful country without driving ourselves.

Adventures in lava land:

Exploring the amazing volcanoes of Hawai’i G

ABOVE: Houses still stand on an old lava flow on the Puna Coast.

By Alan Moen

rowing up here in the Pacific Northwest, I’m used to seeing volcanoes. In fact, I’ve climbed many of them — Mount Rainier, Mount Adams, Mount Baker, Glacier Peak, Mount Hood and Mount St. Helens, both before and after its 1980 eruption.

I’ve stared into the steaming, stinking crater of Mount Baker and looked down at the glowing lava dome of Mount St. Helens.

But I’ve never seen anything like the volcanoes on the Big Island of Hawai’i before traveling there this fall.

In late October, my wife Susan and I flew to Kona, the touristy town on Hawai’i’s west coast.

There, we were confronted immediately by miles of old lava flows surrounding the airport.

Black, contorted fields of rock, barren of almost all vegetation, stretched north and south as far as the eye could see, extending right down to the ocean beaches. When you’re on the Big Island, you’re not just in a place where there are volcanoes. In many respects, you’re standing

With the help of flashlights from a group of others gathered there, we followed the tube over 100 feet underground...

on one.

Driving north on Highway 19 through these old lava flows, we stopped at a rocky beach along the coast. There, just 80 feet December 2018 | The Good Life

from the ocean waves, we found the Queen’s Bath — a lava tube flooded with fresh water.

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there, we followed the tube over 100 feet underground, swimming right to the end with the low rocky ceiling above us.

Tubes like this once carried hot lava all the way to the sea, leaving open channels behind.

Back on the road, we reached a junction at the town of Hawi, and followed Highway 250 to the south, traveling up the spine of the Kohala Volcano, the oldest one on the island.

The narrow highway ascended to 3,564 feet through grassy rangeland, with sweeping views down to the ocean. Cattle were grazing on the broad back of this sleeping volcano as we

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Alan Moen balances on the true summit of Mauna Kea, the tallest mountain in the world — if the base hidden by the ocean is included.

Explorers exit The Queen’s Bath lava tube near Kona.

Hawai’i’s amazing volcanoes

Above the Visitor Center, the road is unpaved and very rough, with steep switchbacks and narrow sections for the next five miles. Beyond that, it’s paved all the way to the top.

Crowned by a dozen high-tech telescopes, the summit of Mauna Kea has the clearest air on earth for viewing the universe.

Its telescopes are linked electronically to other high-altitude telescopes all over the world.

The true summit of the mountain, however, is about 200 feet higher, a short but steep (and breathless) hike up a lava rock slope. From there we gazed upon miles of the volcano’s naked flanks, and looked across the valley to the massive bulk of its sister peak Mauna Loa, just 124 feet lower in elevation.

We descended and drove across to the Mauna Loa access road — a twisting, roller coaster, one-lane pathway through acres

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began the descent to the city of Waimea.

From there, we began the journey down to Hilo, Hawai’i’s biggest city, watching the landscape become more verdant as we entered the “wet side” of the island, with many places receiving more than 100 inches of rain a year. Here the terrain became even more dramatic, with dozens of rivers, waterfalls and cliffs plunging to the sea.

The Waipi’o Valley, with green walls as much as 3,000 feet high, lay below us, accessible only by a one-lane road with a 25 percent grade and 4WD vehicles (we heeded the posted warnings and didn’t risk it.)

I’ve never climbed Mount Everest, but I climbed the tallest mountain in the world instead

in Hawai’i.

Measured from the ocean floor, 17,000 feet below, Mauna Kea rises an additional 13,803 feet, making it actually 30,803 feet tall, compared to Everest’s 29,002 feet.

Fortunately, however, there are no glaciers on Mauna Kea, and like Pike’s Peak in Colorado, you can drive almost to the top.

And what a road it is, unsuitable for the average passenger car, especially above the Visitor Center, which stands at an elevation of 9,200 feet, 3,000 feet above the cross-island Saddle Road.

Signs there warn the upper road is suitable for 4WD vehicles only, although our rented Jeep SUV with front-wheel drive and high ground clearance did just fine in lower gears.

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of rippling lava fields to end at an observatory at 11,000 feet. On the way we stopped to check out more lava tubes.

From Hilo, Highway 11, the major road south, climbs gradually to 4,000 feet in just 30 miles and enters Volcanoes National Park.

Here is the famous Kilauea Volcano, which has been erupting constantly since 1983, and the source of the recent eruption that began this May. The park’s excellent Visitor Center is located close to the rim of the two-mile wide Kilauea Caldera, a truly awesome sight.

We saw no lava, but many vents were issuing steam from the crater and also around the rim.

Most roads and trails in the park remain closed after the latest eruption, but places like the Sulfur Banks are still accessible by foot. A boardwalk leads through an area steaming with

A string of telescopes view the universe from Mauna Kea, which has the clearest air on earth.

Southwest of Kilauea, the volcano made headline news on May 3 this year, when a new eruption caused spectacular lava flows to emerge, destroying homes and roads... hydrogen sulfide gas, exposing rock colored with sulfur (yellow), gypsum (white) and hermalite (red.)

As in Yellowstone, stepping off the path in this active thermal area is dangerous. There’s a warning sign at a hole just a few feet off the boardwalk where a young boy who strayed from

it sank into live steam in 2010.

He was rescued and survived, but received severe burns on his legs.

Driving down the 19-mile Chain of Craters Road in the park, we saw many more examples of Kilauea’s power — numerous craters in the earth, some 400 feet deep and half a mile across. The road eventually ended at the rugged seacoast, where lava once poured into the ocean.

Southwest of Kilauea, the volcano made headline news on May 3 this year, when a new eruption caused spectacular lava flows to emerge, destroying homes and roads all the way to the Puna Coast.

Lava fountains up to 300 feet high were seen, and on May 4, a 6.9 magnitude earthquake hit Puna.

About 2,000 people were evacuated as 24 fissures of moving lava wiped out some 700 homes at or near Leilani Estates.

On May 17, ironically one day before the anniversary of the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens, a new eruption from the summit crater sent an ash cloud 30,000 feet high. The lava flows reached the ocean on June 4, filling in Kapolio Bay and creating 875 acres of new land. By August, the flows had almost completely ended.

Back at the top of the mountain, the summit crater of Kilauea sank 1,500 feet, and the famous lava lake once there is now gone. The caldera itself expanded by more than one square December 2018 | The Good Life

mile. The park was closed for over four months, not opening again until Sept. 22.

Roads into the area were still closed when we visited, but the effects of previous lava flows were everywhere.

Steam vents were still active in one place along Highway 137 on both sides of the road. At its end, houses lay scattered across the barren rocks of the 1990 flow like debris left from a monster tsunami. That fiery event destroyed the towns of Kalapana

and Kaimu.

We left the island convinced that Madame Pele hasn’t had her last word yet. The goddess of fire, “the woman who devours the earth,” is still working her chaos, destruction, and creation of a new Hawai’i.

She is both feared and revered

by Hawaiians today — and no wonder.

Alan Moen is a freelance writer and co-owner of Snowgrass Winery in the earthquake-prone (but not eruptionprone) Entiat Valley.

WENATCHEE VALLEY 93.9 FM LAKE CHELAN VALLEY 95.3 FM PATEROS BREWSTER 101.3 FM OKANOGAN VALLEY 101.9 FM www.ncwgoodlife.com

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METHOW VALLEY 106.3 FM

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

STEVENS PASS & THE HITCHHIKER

Photos by Shane Wilder

Seeing an old mountain through fresh, even cocky, eyes and young legs

“G

By Andy Dappen

oing to the Pass?”

Snow sticks to the hitchhiker’s pile hat as he sticks his dripping beard through the car window.

I want to tell him I didn’t pull over to pick him up; I pulled over to drain my bladder. But I’ve been where he’s at. “Yeah, throw the skis in the back,” I tell him. “I’ll be right back.”

Soon he’s asking me if I ski the pass much. I watch the water dripping off his soiled coat soak onto the clean upholstery of my car.

“Often enough to be a little bored with it,” I tell him brusquely.

He gives me an odd look. “Ever skied Highland Bowl?”

“Never heard of it,” I confess.

“How about the chutes off Tye Ridge.”

“Nope.”

“You must have skied the glades down into Schim’s Meadow.”

“Actually… no.”

“Geez! What have you skied then?”

Not much, I deduce by the time we reach Stevens Pass. Apparently, there is much to learn about a hill I’ve skied fairly often over the years, and because I’ve granted the favor of a ride, I am positioned to ask a favor. “How about an insider’s tour of the hill?” I say. “Payment for the ride.”

The brown eyes brood as he weighs the onus of his obligation. “Can you ski?” he asks.

“I don’t know,” I tell him, “You decide.”

Twenty minutes later we reach the top of the Seventh Heaven chairlift. This is the source of many of Stevens’ steeper lines.

“How about a warm-up run?”

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Soon we’re cutting turns through forgiving powder and the hitchhiker is flying off boulders with the boarders. I keep my feet anchored to the snow but am keeping up, feeling like one of the boys.

I suggest meekly. Friendliness exudes from my guide’s eyes like spit from a camel’s mouth.

Three local boarders who exit the lift behind us start chatting with the hitchhiker and they all agree Tunnel Creek is the run of the hour. It’s a Stevens Pass classic, the boarders tell me, dropping a 1,000-vertical feet below the base of the ski area before

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December 2018

intersecting the highway.

I’m interested but campaign for a delayed departure — I’d like to remember how to ski first.

“Gotta go now,” the boarders insist. “Snow at the bottom will suck in an hour.”

“Right,” says the hitchhiker and starts up the boot track leading to the apex of Cowboy Ridge. Soon we’re cutting turns through forgiving powder and the hitchhiker is flying off boulders with the boarders. I keep my feet anchored to the snow but am keeping up, feeling like one of the boys.

As we drop, stumps, rocks, saplings, and knee-deep cement all conspire to test skiing ability.

The hitchhiker wiggles effortless turns through the mine field while I ricochet like a pinball between alternate hazards. Eventually, I’m sideslipping more than skiing. The boarders are long gone, but to his credit, the hitchhiker stands by his dog.

In the bed of a friend’s pickup as we shuttle back to the ski area, the hitchhiker asks, “Warmed up yet?”

I’m stewing in sweat. “Yeah.”

“Then let’s hit Highland Bowl before it catches much sun.”

We ride up Big Chief Mountain and hike east along a spur.

My companion points out several lines as we walk. “Skied those trees before?” he asks.

“I have,” I tell him proudly.

“Yeah, everyone skis them. If you don’t get ’em first thing after a dump, they’re trashed.”

A 10-minute walk delivers us to a ridge feeding both northand south-facing bowls. The hitchhiker teeters at the top trying to decide which side to ski.

The Wenatchee Bowl to the north offers better snow, but my guide seems to be pondering my inadequacies. He makes his decision and jumps onto the large south-facing slopes of the Highland Bowl and cuts effortless GS turns. I follow and, without the distractions of rocks, stumps, and saplings, trace an exemplary sine wave through the white paste.

Below the bowl we enter old-growth forests and slalom around fat hemlock poles coated with green lichen. Airborne powder crystals from my guide’s contrail sting my face. Carving turns on a double fall line, we angle our way back to the lift.

I suggest we replay that scene but the hitchhiker has other ideas. From the top of the Tye Mill Chair, we traverse out Tye Ridge where a few minute’s hike has us looking down a shaded chute loaded with thigh-deep fluff.

We hop in for what prove to be the best turns of the morning.

Steep, deep and, when I bail to avoid planting my face on a tree trunk, cold. I want to return for a rematch — to ski it cleanly — but the master assassin is onto new kills I never knew existed.

At one vantage point he finally stops to identify three lines off the South Divide with crude names. “Those names aren’t

We hop in for what prove to be the best turns of the morning. Steep, deep and, when I bail to avoid planting my face on a tree trunk, cold. I want to return for a rematch — to ski it cleanly — but the master assassin is onto new kills I never knew existed.

PC anymore so now they have prissy names like ‘Rock Chute’,” he says, nearly vomiting on his words. “If it’s equality the ladies want, let them name a few of the neighboring chutes.”

“Like that one right there, could be named after you,” he says pointing to a short but sinister thread of snow cradled between rock walls. “They could call it Little Willie.”

The Big Kahuna figures we’ll hit “Rock Chute” later as a nightcap.

“So how about a cruising run down the backside,” I suggest, yearning a few mindless turns where I am not on the edge of destruction. “Then you can show me the glades into Schim’s Meadows.”

The hitchhiker agrees but can’t stick to the game plan.

Partway down the planned run, the powder pulls his skis offpiste like a magnet.

“Come over here,” he commands, breaking snow across a flat meadow.

The meadow looks large, and the promise of good skiing beyond seems small.

“Is it worth it?” I rebel.

December 2018 | The Good Life

“Had the best single run of the season down the creek bed beyond these flats.”

I follow, not knowing what “best” means to a maniac.

The skiing is indeed superb — for a while.

Moderate angle woods, hummocks, snowed-over logs, powder… ideal terrain and conditions for a hack.

Suddenly, we pour over a roll and are funneled into a narrow creek bed. The snow on the north bank of the creek course is powdery; a body length away on the south bank it is sun crusted.

I hit the sun crust and explode. I’ve just stopped tumbling when the hitchhiker blasts by, covering me with the frozen dust levitating in his wake. He alternates between turns of powder and crust with all the concentration of a grandmother knitting by the television.

A few falls later I catch up to the model of patience. We ski down and are three minutes late in catching the last ride up the Southern Cross lift. We’ll have to scrap skiing the glades — the look I receive could melt www.ncwgoodlife.com

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this anchor into molten. We are forced to ride the Jupiter Chair and from its top climb to reach the entrance to Rock Chute.

I’m apprehensive — the line is narrow and steep; accelerating down this cyclotron on my back isn’t my idea of a good end to a great but challenging day.

“I’m going around,” I tell my companion. “If you need a ride, meet me at the bottom.”

“Pick me up if you see me out on the road,” he says before flying over a small jump capping the entrance to the chute. The boy paid a high price for his ride this morning; apparently he wants no more debts with me.

By the time I descend easier slopes and point the car homeward, the hitchhiker has vanished. But his mark hasn’t.

I give the mountain a long look as I drive slowly past. I’m reminded of those pictorial illusions where the white space creates one image, the black space a different one. For the first time, I’m seeing beyond the white of the cut runs to the black of the trees.

And for the first time in years, I can’t wait to ski Stevens again.

A Bavarian comes home A few hours in Leavenworth reminded her of where she grew up and would lead to a new bright future

B

By Barbara Washburn

eing a Bavarian native from Germany, I had never heard about the Bavarian town of Leavenworth, until I had a long layover while part of an airline crew.

A crewmember suggested all of us cram into a rental car and go spend a few hours in a small Bavarian-like town nestled in the Cascade Mountains.

She was sure this would bring back memories for me. Well, it did; memories of a past that would lead into a new bright future.

The car trip came during a winter day and the town of Leavenworth was all brightened up for the holidays. It was filled with tourists from all over the world.

I enjoyed my evening in the small village, which indeed resembled some mountain towns back home. I remember feeling the fresh mountain air on my skin and the sense of Christmas, reminding me of growing up in the hills leading up to the gigantic mountain ranges of Bavaria and Austria.

Back then, in 1994, I was not familiar with the history of Leavenworth but I felt almost privileged being a native of the European regions; marveling about how someone in the Pacific Northwest must have been left with an impression of my home and decided to give birth by replicating it and turning it into a thriving, yet cozy mountain village.

Two years later I was married to my husband Kim, a former Missouri farmer’s son, who was raised by some of his ancestors being German and Swiss. We were living on the west side of Washington then. I took him on a road trip to Leavenworth and

Kim and Barbara Washburn: “Bavaria West” became their driving inspiration and a motto of life for them.

found that he enjoyed it even more than I had.

The years went by and the small town kept calling us back. Even while being based in Chicago for seven years, we caught ourselves talking to friends about the amazing small mountain village. We were also surprised how many people of the Midwest had heard of it, or even visited it.

Our family is a household of the two mixed cultures; the American-Bavarian way, of life as we joked about it.

My Facebook had always described me as a “True Bavmerican.”

Another part of our household culture is that every year during the Christmas holiday seasons, we dug out our Old World fam-

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And for my husband and I, there was still this captivation with Leavenworth. It sounded so good to get away from the never-ending west side traffic, grey skies and heavy rains. ily caramel recipe and made hundreds of caramel candies to hand out as gifts to friends and neighbors.

They became an annual demand; folks suggested we should

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December 2018

get licensed and sell them.

(Who knew that one day we would be selling them in stores in and around Leavenworth?)

More years passed, our daughter graduated from high school, and made plans to attend Washington State University in Pullman. And for my husband and I, there was still this captivation with Leavenworth. It sounded so good to get away from the never-ending west side traffic, grey skies and heavy rains.

Over the years we had met many business owners and made great acquaintances in Leavenworth. This was very easy to do.

Everyone has always been so welcoming, accommodating and pleasurable.

I wondered if it was all the sunshine that put people in such

And here we are!

Bavaria West went from a little slogan to become our reality. good disposition.

On one occasion, while visiting my relatives in the German Alps, we called a new friend here. He asked us how the weather was in Bavaria, and then said, “The sun is shining here in Bavaria West…”

Little did he know at that time, the catchphrase “Bavaria West” would become our driving inspiration, and later our business name of our vacation rental, and now our official caramels, and a motto of life for us.

We had stayed at Leavenworth bed and breakfasts, cabins and vacation rentals and learned about the ins and outs of the business.

One of the local vendors commented to me that it would be

Caramels made from an Old World recipe: “Delicious and fattening.”

a fun anecdote to be a business owner in Leavenworth who is actually from Bavaria. His statement added more fuel to our fire, for the idea of a new launch and revamping of our life, looking ahead to retirement years.

My husband and I had both owned small businesses before we met. We knew that if

we would want to start such an adventure in Leavenworth during our retirement years, it would have to stay just that, small. Preferably something he and I could manage and most certainly a business in our own home, to be able to oversee the operation and particulars.

We began to look for proper-

ties and homes on the market with the idea of renting out a studio apartment to vacationers, people like we had been all those years.

In October 2016, on our daughter’s 18th birthday and her high school senior year, we made an offer on a home in Leavenworth with a breath taking view.

And here we are! Bavaria West went from a little slogan to become our reality.

Now, in our second season of selling our Bavaria West Caramels in various stores around Leavenworth, we truly feel like we are a big part of this community.

We are sharing this centuries old recipe, which is very therapeutic for us to make; bringing back blissful hours of family memories. We are also making many happy new memories for people who have come to stay with us.

I guess, in a way, I moved back home.

What Was Your Best Day in 2018?

Tell us a story about your best day in the past year.

Did you climb a mountain, check off an item on your bucket list, cross an ocean, hold a new life in your hand, discover a new talent, set out on a new path, get a surprising check in the mail, make a difference in someone’s life, begin a new chapter in your life...

Write us an email -- 200 to 500 words or so -- telling us of your best day in 2018. Send along some digital photos, too.

We’ll choose one of the writers for a $100 gift certificate to any one of The Good Life’s advertisers from 2018.

But be quick... the deadline is Friday, Dec. 7.

Get writing, the prize could go to you... if you’re swift!

Send photos and stories to: editor@ncwgoodlife.com

December 2018 | The Good Life

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Some 170 Lodge Pole pines went into the cabin.

ROLLIE’S CABIN What 3 old guys (and a kid for muscle) did when they were looking for something to do

By Rollie Schmitten photos by donna cassidy

Two old guys (ages 72 and

82) were discussing retirement and what to do with their spare time.

Ski season had passed. They didn’t golf, fishing was closed, and both were worn out reading. So what can we do?

One (72) said, “I have always wanted to build a log cabin.”

The second (82) said, “Count LEFT: Rollie rests after cutting the logs on his land for the cabin.

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The work is about done on Rollie’s cabin — designed to have the flavor of the National Park lodges of the Depression era.

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December 2018

The cabinets were made from a white pine log found floating in Lake Wenatchee, and then milled, planed and stained. Troy Bassett of Precision Waterjet designed the unusual island top, which is black pearl leather granite with a live edge.

Natural burled limbs and poles are used widely in the cabin.

me in.”

The first old guy was me, Rollie Schmitten. The second was my longtime friend, Jerry Duffy.

2015: Step one was to select a building site, and we chose a bluff overlooking Nason Creek along Highway 2. Next was to attend the Onalaska Log Home Construction School. We then selected 170 Lodge Pole pine trees from land that we owned, fell them and cut them into 33 December 2018 | The Good Life

foot lengths, which allowed for a 30-foot by 30-foot structure.

The design, with the aid of my architect daughter, was to fashion it after the Old Faithful Lodge in the Yellowstone National Park and the Glacier National Park Lodge. Both were built by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) during the 1930’s Depression with lots of ornate burled logs with Indian and fish and wildlife art. www.ncwgoodlife.com

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But there was one thing missing — someone who actually knew how to build structures.

After an exhausting search, we talked to one guy (age 70), who was a recently retired contractor with 42 years experience. He is Dennis Clemmons and he liked the challenge and agreed to join in the project. Now there were three with 224 accumulative years of life.

2016-17: Over the next two years, the logs were peeled and racked to dry for a year. The foundation, well and septic system were installed. The logs for this two-story cabin, (who said about building anything small?), were put up using antique wooden barn pulleys in tandem.

Over 2,000 16-inch log screws

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Rollie incorporates masks he has collected over his years of working with Indian tribes on fishing issues into the decor of the cabin.

were used to fasten the logs. By the end of 2017, we had floors, walls, windows and a roof.

In 2016 however, it quickly became evident that something

was missing that the three didn’t have: MUSCLE. So my nephew, Nick Tarver, age 22, attending WSU’s Architectural school and a weight

lifter, was added.

Now there were three and the kid.

Nick quickly became our chief “chinker,” installing over 3,000

running feet of chinking in the inside and outside walls plus doing all the tile and hardwood flooring.

2018: As we moved towards

I’m so grateful for my friends and clients. May you all have a happy, healthy and memorable holiday season.

Windermere Real Estate/NCW

Cell: 509-679-4625

“DON’T MAKE A MOVE WITHOUT ME!”

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Pam@Windermere.com www.WenatcheeValleyProperty.com

| The Good Life

For tickets visit wenatcheevalleymuseum.org or call (509) 888-6240

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December 2018

Nick Tarver applied 3,000 running feet of chink between the logs.

than a lot of new talents that we will likely never use again, is to NEVER ASK ANOTHER OLD GUY WHAT TO DO WITH YOUR SPARE TIME! Project heroes: Onalaska Log Cabin School, Dickinson Construction, Plain Hardware, One Way Electric, Precision Water Jet, Permachink Log Cabin Supplies, Leavenworth Plumbing and The Fireplace Guys.

Rollie Schmitten is a forth generation upper Valley resident who after his family sold their lumber mill, resumed work in the fish and wildlife arena. He served as the Washington State Director of Fisheries, and later as the Federal Director of Marine Fisheries. He worked for two presidents and five Secretaries of Commerce traveling to 64 countries on fisheries and whaling issues. He and his wife Barbara live at Lake Wenatchee.

Come see our custom work Rollie and his front door, with its “speakeasy” peep hole: Some of the joy of building the cabin was finding fun and challenging projects, such as the rounded door.

completion, we could see the light at the end of the tunnel and it wasn’t another delivery truck.

The custom cabinets, made from a white pine log found floating in Lake Wenatchee and milled, planed, and stained with white vinegar and tea bags were installed.

The internal doors came from a recycled telephone pole. The fire hearth came from flat rust colored stone from Sears Creek up the White River drainage.

The interior burled logs came from an old Entiat Ridge forest fire.

The Nordic style wood-burning stove was encased in twoand-one-half inch soap stone to retain its heat.

The Speak-easy front door was custom made from alder. The

granite counter tops are called “black stain leather” and have a live — that is, unsmoothed — edge.

Oh, I conveniently forgot to mention that we are 3.2 miles off the grid and require a generator for power which will later be supplemented with a solar system.

Our (the 3 Old Guys) wives, who served as our sounding board and quality control team, couldn’t decide if this was a good thing to keep us busy or if we are just a bunch of old fools.

We prudently did not call for a vote.

Fall 2018: Virtually, our project is completed. We are ready to enjoy our beautiful log home.

Even with builder bias, it is spectacular.

What have we learned, other December 2018 | The Good Life

• Countertops • Fireplaces • Shower Walls • Outdoor Kitchens Crafting your next stone project with robotic precision

Phone: (509) 888-7954

207 S. Columbia St, 98801-3028 | Wenatchee, WA

PrecisionWaterJetInc.com • Email: info@precisionwaterjetinc.com www.ncwgoodlife.com

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PET tales

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

S

anta photos with your pet will be offered Saturday, Dec. 1, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Firehouse Pets and Grooming at 17 S. Wenatchee Ave. The cost is $10 a donation to Wenatchee Valley FIDO. FIDO supports public off-leash areas in the Greater Wenatchee Valley for humans and canines to have fun.

Tim and Tiffany Van Rheenen of Wenatchee were walking their

two-year-old Red Bone Coon Hound Archie on a brisk forenoon at the Wenatchee dog park.

“We started bringing him here when he was six months old,” said Tiffany about the Hale Park off-leash area. “He would have so much energy he needed a place to run it off.”

While waiting for the very active Archie to run past for a photo, Tiffany added the pup is not yet baying like a coon dog. “Right now it’s a little high pitched. Maybe if he could find his voice it would be the lower coon dog bay.”

Archie is a rescue dog from Okandogs in Cashmere.

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column meet our native plants

Oceanspray: Iron tough plant at home in the desert

By Jaana Hatton

Somebody truly had a lively

imagination when they named this shrub Oceanspray (Holodiscus discolor).

It is a plant that thrives here in the high desert, preferably in gravely soil. It belongs to the rose family.

Holodiscus means the whole disc (of the hypanthium) and discolor refers to the two different shades of the tops and bottoms of the leaves: tops are Jaana Hatton is a green, botfreelance writer toms pale. and a Wenatchee Oceanspray area resident since 2013. She grew up mostly grows free as a bird in to a height of the woodlands 3 to 10 feet, of Finland and depending continues to be on its habitat. enchanted by all things living and They have wild. a lifespan of about 30 years.

It can often be found on disturbed locations, such as logged or burned areas.

It can also adorn a garden

with its gently sloping branches adorned with the fluffy white blooms in June and July. It branches out into several stems that are covered in brownish, peeling bark.

Oceanspray does well in arid conditions, so by all means, use if for water-wise landscaping.

Another name for Oceanspray

is Ironwood. Quite a change in its character! Supporting the white, gracious clusters are sturdy brown stems, resilient to fire and cutting.

Native tribes used the hard stems for tools or even nails.

The wood becomes even more durable when heated over fire.

It was often used as tongs as it

won’t easily burn.

Oceanspray is not highly palatable. It does offer nesting and hiding places for birds, tiny mammals and even tree frogs. It is also a useful plant to restore disturbed land areas.

As always: when in nature, be a protector, not a collector, please.

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column moving up to the good life

june darling

Forgiveness: Good for our soul & our body Life is an adventure in forgiveness.

— American author, Norman Cousins

M

y father died in 2006.

A few days after his service my mother and I were going through sympathy cards she had received.

“Here’s one from someone I don’t know,” I mentioned to my mom.

There was silence for a moment and then Mom quietly said, “That’s the hot dog lady.”

I couldn’t believe it. “The hot dog lady?!” I practically screamed.

Mom nodded. Then the story tumbled out.

Mom had invited “the hot dog lady” to come visit Dad a few

We pretty much hated her because many years ago my father had found her quite attractive and neglected his wedding vows in the process. days before he had died.

Mom and I both called this woman “the hot dog lady” as a way of trying to diminish her.

We pretty much hated her because many years ago my father had found her quite attractive and neglected his wedding vows in the process.

It was incredible to me that

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my mom would have reached out to the hot dog lady and invited her into our house to visit with my dad at the end of his days. I was completely stunned.

It was mostly, according to her, about forgiveness.

At its most basic level, forgiveness is when you’ve given up your understandable, normal desire for revenge. It’s natural for us to want to hurt somebody back if they’ve hurt us. According to researchers, this instinctive urge for revenge bubbles up for both men and women, people of all ethnicities, and all religions — despite the universal religious call for forgiveness.

Why would we even want to try to curb our vindictive urge?

The general idea of formal retribution probably originated with

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December 2018

the Code of Hammurabi, which was aimed at creating more well-being, law, and justice in ancient Mesopotamia close to 4,000 years ago.

What’s so bad about people knowing that if you harm them, they’ll harm you back? Seems fair.

Why do we even talk about forgiveness?

As it turns out, forgiveness, according to researchers is also natural. Just as we have an urge to get even, we also have an urge to forgive.

Sure, it’s easier to forgive if someone says that they are sorry and shows remorse. It’s easier if we have had a long history of connection and are entwined in

mutual goals. It’s easier if the offender had no intention to hurt.

It’s also easier if we are older. It’s easier if we do not re-play the injury over and over and if we tend toward being an emotionally stable person.

Forgiveness is easier for you personally, if you agree with these statements: n When someone hurts my feelings, I manage to get over it fairly quickly. n Seeking revenge doesn’t help people solve their problems. n I am not the type of person to harm someone simply because he or she harmed me.

It’s also easier if we consider when we forgive, we are not denying or minimizing our pain.

We are not saying it’s okay or excusing what the offender did.

We may decide to end the relationship, but we give up the urge to harm or wish harm upon the person who has hurt us.

Forgiveness is, according to some practitioners like the physicians at the Mayo clinic, also good for our health — for our immune system and cardiovascular system because vindictiveness keeps our fight or flight response activated.

Make a commitment to not pass along the pain you have endured; offer the world goodwill instead.

Religious folks say we feel lighter, more at ease, when we give up the burden of hate.

And then there are people who believe that in a world where an eye-for-an-eye is the moral code, we end up with a bunch of blind people, that is to say, many hurt people and an ever-escalating society of violence.

There are caveats to forgiveness though, particularly for people who are in abusive relationships. Researchers say that spouses who are quick to forgive, are abused more often.

Clearly, we need to stay away from people who keep harming us.

But let’s say you have decided on your own, like my mom, that you are ready to forgive. You can’t always snap your fingers and make it instantly happen.

Here are six ideas from forgive-

ness expert Dr. Robert Enright that may help. n Acknowledge your emotions — hurt, angry, ashamed, embarrassed. n Explain to yourself why you have made the decision to forgive (your reasons can be as practical as wanting to be free of anger so you can better focus at work). n Consider the vulnerabilities and limitations of the person who harmed you. n Reflect on how good it feels to let go of hate. n Find meaning in the suffering you experienced and overcame. n Make a commitment to not pass along the pain you have endured; offer the world goodwill instead.

When I asked my mother what she was thinking that would cause her to invite the hot dog lady over, she simply shrugged and said, “It was time.”

I looked again at the card the hot dog lady had sent. It was a touching card, clearly aimed at trying to alleviate my mother’s suffering.

Ten years later we talked about this incident within the overall narrative of my parents’

strong marriage. Mom gave me permission to share the story if I thought it would be useful. “Be sure,” she added, “to say that I wasn’t perfect either.”

Remembering that most of us, like Mom (and Dad), are not perfect is what helps me most when I want to forgive … both myself and others.

This December, if it’s time, how might you practice forgiveness and move up to The Good Life?

June Darling, Ph.D. can be contacted at drjunedarling1@gmail.com; website: www.summitgroupresources. com. Her bio and many of her books can be found at amazon.com/author/ junedarling.

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column THE TRAVELing DOCTOR

jim brown, m.d.

Our aging brains: How to keep them fresh I

suspect most humans don’t spend much time thinking about their aging brains unless they feel somewhat forgetful at times.

Speaking from my perspective as an aging senior, I am curious as to what is going on inside my protective skull.

Invariably as we age we frequently become aware of brain issues in our friends and family members.

I find myself marveling at what some call “super seniors” who seem to maintain their mental faculties well into their 90s. One such local senior was my friend Stearns Eason who recently died two days short of his 104th birthday.

I wrote about him in The Good life a few years ago. He wrote his own fascinating biography at age 99. Randy Cooper, who I featured in the same article, is now 95 still playing good golf twice a week and is

Sign up for classes that are available to seniors. Reading a good book is a lot healthier than sitting in front of the TV set which can waste your brain cells and their connections. mentally very sharp.

I don’t think these “super” seniors are just “lucky” or have inherited exceptional genes. Yet they seem to be doing something that we need to know about.

In an interesting study known as the “Nun study,” Dr. David Snowdon, a professor of neurology, enlisted the help of 678 Catholic nuns in 1986 who gave him all their health records as

well as agreeing to donate their brains after death. This study is still going on as they haven’t all died.

In general these nuns had very similar life styles, ate the same food, and had roughly the same amount of sleep for decades.

None smoked or drank heavily and each had a fairly routine yet meaningful life.

Interestingly, at autopsy several nuns had signs of Alzheimer’s even though they had shown no symptoms of that disease, and all were considered mentally sharp into old age.

It was noted that since their 20s these nuns were all intellectually stimulated through reading, writing, exercising (primarily walking), and avoided head trauma.

A majority had increased levels of folate or folic acid, which is a B vitamin concentrated in green vegetables like broccoli and spinach. Folate is important in producing strands of DNA

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that help protect our brains.

Age is a risk factor in many neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer’s disease, cerebral vascular disease, Parkinson’s disease and Lou Gehrig’s disease (ALS).

However aging itself does not bring on dementia, according to cellular neurobiologist John Morrison, who specializes in aging.

There are areas in our brains that determine how a scene or experience might stay with you.

The hippocampus is the area in our brain that encodes what we experience into our memory.

This function does decline with age, making retaining memories more difficult. This is why we seniors might forget where we parked our car or where we put our iPhone.

So what if anything can we do about these changes as we age?

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Studies have shown that people between 50 and 90 who are more physically fit showed less decline in brain function over time.

Stress seems to destroy the fibers that allow our neurons to communicate with each other, adversely affecting our hippocampus and prefrontal cortex.

If you think your memory is declining, try to reduce the stressors in you life if possible.

If you find the daily barrage of negative news stressful and depressing, turn off your television set. I know of people who have three televisions on in their homes all day long. Personally I can’t think of anything more depressing.

If your favorite team is doing poorly, it might be less stressful to quit watching them play and go for a walk in nature instead.

Studies have shown people between 50 and 90 who are more physically fit showed less decline in brain function over time. The increased blood flow to the brain with exercise may help keep your neuron connections stronger.

I sound like a broken record on this subject, but we need to walk at least 30 minutes or more daily at least five days a week.

Brisk walking is preferable if physically possible. Brisk walking is considered to be 100 steps per minute.

Other helpful activities are making new friends since social interactions boost brain function.

Frequent intellectual stimulation can help improve cognitive function. Continue to do what you do best. Musicians and Got a good story to tell? email: editor@ncwgoodlife.com

professors seem to keep their skills intact over time even if they forget where they put their glasses.

Sign up for classes that are available to seniors. Reading a good book is a lot healthier than sitting in front of the TV set, which can waste your brain cells and their connections.

One other cause of concern is alcohol that clearly affects the brain including vision, slurred speech, slow reaction times and impaired memory.

Women are more vulnerable to alcohol effect than males.

People who have been drinking large amounts of alcohol for longer periods of time can develop persistent changes in their brains. Studies using CAT scans have shown that male and female alcoholics had significantly greater brain shrinkage than in normal control subjects.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommend that women who drink alcohol should only drink

one alcohol drink a day and men two drinks per day.

A recently published study however tells a different story.

Some 340,000 persons were involved in this study which concluded that even drinking “lightly” within federal guidelines, four or more days a week may raise the risk of early death by 20 percent versus drinkers who imbibed alcohol three days or less per week.

I am surprised at the large variation in the amount of alcohol in what is considered to be in a ”standard” drink.

A 12-ounce beer contains 5 percent alcohol, nine ounces of malt liquor has seven percent, hard apple cider contains between five to 12 percent alcohol, five ounces of wine has 12 percent, a 1.5 ounce of a distilled drink (whisky, rum, tequila, vodka) contains 40 percent alcohol. A 2.5-ounce cordial, aperitif or liquor contains 24 percent alcohol, a jigger of brandy or cognac has 40 percent.

This is something to think about for those who are daily drinkers of alcoholic beverages.

Just remember not all alcoholic drinks are equal and therefore drinking one a day for females or two drinks for males is referring to the lower alcohol content drinks.

One final note, if a loved one seems to be having bothersome memory problems, don’t just assume it is dementia. It might be related to dehydration as many elderly do not drink enough water, and coffee doesn’t count.

Other possible causes might be depression, thyroid problems, urinary infections, over-thecounter medications including antihistamines, and poor nutrition.

Have your loved one examined by a physician or, if possible, a psychologist as well.

Jim Brown, M.D., is a retired gastroenterologist 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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We are Grateful each day for the opportunity to improve the health and quality of life of our friends and neighbors. It’s the daily encounters with members of our community that mean the most.

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Red Flower: Beauty with Thorns.

When this artist packs up and leaves town, it’s a good thing J

By Susan Lagsdin

ane Walter Bousman — spurred by a pivotal transition a decade ago — has created a symmetrical two-part life for herself that’s personally and artistically satisfying, with just enough of a wide-open future to keep it interesting.

One of Jane Walter Bousman’s works is this blue abstract titled Aquifer.

Folks from New York to Minneapolis to Seattle know how this first part is done: Wenatchee friends, she maintains southearly in November, Jane UPS’d big boxes of west-style holiday traditions with fellow belongings, locked up the East Wenatchee snowbirds. house (’70s luxe and filled with art), packed Jane has followed essentially the same a carry-on, put her cat in a pet carrier, and pattern for eight years, traveling solo. She flew down to sunny Phoenix. declared that the real home of her heart is Once there, she settled into her house in here in north central Washington, but she Surprise, Arizona for a six-month sojourn of relishes her half-year away. painting.

She said, “What’s appealing about being in She’ll revel in art exhibits, classes and a big, active retirement community is that at confabs at the active adult community of our age, everyone around you is finally good Sun City Grand, all in the varied terrain and at something. It makes for great conversaconsistent warmth of the Sonoran Desert. tions, art and music, lots of support and Chrisman Barn of Marion County, IA. There, still in long distance contact with plenty to do.” Jane stocks a fully-equipped

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“I could feel myself blooming, I actually started calling myself an artist.”

Jane Walter Bousman: At home in two happy places.

studio in Arizona, where she paints desert flora and landscapes and is a member of the SCG Gallery.

Her artworks, carefully bubble-wrapped and boxed, travel back and forth; some come back home to Wenatchee’s Two Rivers Gallery, where she was last June’s featured artist. She appreciates both of those cooperative galleries, which, Jane said, “provide opportunities to learn, gain confidence, and show my work.”

This six-month/six-month life wasn’t always the plan.

Jane explained, “My husband and I bought the Arizona place as an investment 14 years ago, thinking we’d rent it out until we could move down there.”

With a heart-wrenching divorce, the “we, us, our” changed to “I, me, my” after 42 years of marriage. That was the same pivotal year that Jane retired from her long and satisfying career in education, including 22 years as a teacher and then as an administrator with Head Start.

In that emotional time, Jane found some blessings. She said, “I finally moved my art supplies from the kitchen table to what had been my husband’s office.

And on that first trip to Arizona

by myself in the winter of 2010, I realized one morning, while I was out on my patio sipping coffee, listening to the birds, that it was warm and sunny — and I was happy.”

Her art life flourished. “I could feel myself blooming,” Jane said.

“I actually started calling myself an artist.”

Time, space and intention seemed to finally unlock her desire to paint. She had initially studied art at the University of Northern Iowa, and in Wenatchee, where she’d moved for her husband’s work, she substituted in art classes, joined an art cooperative and took classes from local legend William Reese. But as a graduate student, a teacher, a wife, a homemaker and a mother to son Brian, Jane found she only had time to dabble in the art that she’d once thought was a calling.

Applying paint to canvas is just one outlet for artistic selfexpression, however. Jane maintains that in those earlier years she was never not creative. She said, “I believe there’s creativity in planning curriculum, in raising a child, in the garden and the home…”

Van Gogh and stained glass inspired her current bold, deDecember 2018 | The Good Life

lineated style, and she said her art is “less about subject matter than color and shape.”

On her easel you’ll find warmtoned acrylics — often depicting flowers and plants, that faithfully regard classic concepts of line, texture, movement, balance and focus.

Jane will also switch and mix media and tweak them to serve her purpose. Graphite and ink are perfect for the shadowing in figure drawings, many of which are displayed in her home, and her sketches illustrate her friend Jane Nagler’s Strawberry Mountain novels. Photography, once simply a tool, has become another art form for her, and she competently captures and edits scenes on her iPhone 8.

“Creative experiences can be tiny and incidental. Waiting for food in a restaurant, removing the wrapper from the straw, tearing it into little pieces and arranging them on the table.

Yes! I do that… and I’ll take a picture of it.” She said, “Whether it’s the artist or the viewer… all art is an extension of a very personal interaction with the world.”

Jane has reached a sweet spot in her life, and she knows it.

“As you get older, you create a new outline and start to use yourself in different ways. I always knew what I didn’t want,” she said, “and I recognized nurturing experiences… today I am least hampered by the former and most influenced by the latter. I like this place.”

And whether that place, geographically speaking, is the surrounding hills of her Washington home or the sere desert scape of her Arizona home, she’s going to paint it as beautifully as she can. www.ncwgoodlife.com

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fun stuff what to do around here for the next month NCW BLUES JAM, every second and fourth Monday. 7 – 10 p.m. Riverside Pub. Homegrown Country Jam, every first and third Monday night, 7 to 10 p.m. Riverside Pub. Upper Valley Running Club, every Tuesday, 4:30 – 6 p.m.

Check-in at the gravel lot across from O’Grady’s Pantry. Maps will be available for a marked 3-mile trail route, partly along Icicle Creek. Run or walk, by yourself, with a friend or with your family. Participate 10 or more times and earn an Upper Valley Running Club tech tee. Info: sleepinglady.com.

Wenatchee Paddle Club, every Tuesday, 9 a.m. open paddle, Tuesdays and Thursdays, 5:30 a.m. masters crew rowing, Wednesdays, 6 p.m. novice kayak paddle group, Saturdays, 7 a.m. masters crew rowing. Info: wenatcheepaddle.org.

1 million cups, every first Wednesday of the month. 7:45 a.m. sharp.

Entrepreneurs discover solutions and thrive when they collaborate over a million cups of coffee. Come join this supportive, dynamic community and hear from two businesses that are between 1 – 5 years old. Discover how we can help move them forward in a positive environment, fueled by caffeine.

Coffee provided by Mela Coffee Roasting. Wenatchee Valley Chamber office, 137 N. Wenatchee Ave. Shrub-steppe poetry podium, every last Wednesday, 4 – 5 p.m.

A free, poetry-only public reading. Read your own poems or the work of a favorite poet. The Radar Station, 115 S. Wenatchee Ave. Info: sfblair61@gmail.com.

Weekly Club Runs, every Thursday check in between 4:30 and 6:30 p.m. at Pybus Public Market south entrance. Either a 5k or 10k walk or run on the Apple Capital Recreation Loop Trail. Complete 10 weekly runs and receive a free shirt. Cost: free (other than a smile).

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The Art Life

WHAT TO DO

}}} Continued from previous page Writing for Clarity, every Thursday, 1 – 2:30 p.m. Bring a notebook and pen. Meet at Pybus Public Market in front of the community kitchen. Cost: free. Info: 393-6779 or 884-6955.

2 Left Feet, every Thursday, 7 – 9 p.m. 2 Left Feet is a loose organization of local dance enthusiasts who would like to see more dancing in the Wenatchee Valley. Beginner lesson at the top of the hour followed by carefree social dancing. No partner necessary to join in the fun.

Dance style will be 1940s swing with a bit of salsa, blues, waltz or tango thrown in. Pybus Public Market. Cost: free. Info: pybuspublicmarket.org.

Game Night, every 4th Friday.

Board games, card games or any games you bring. Open to families and all ages. Hosted by Pacific Crest Church. Pybus Public Market.

Cost: free. Info: pybuspublicmarket. org.

Wenatchee Farmers Market, every Saturday through December, 8 a.m. – 1 p.m. Pybus Public Market.

Jam at the Crow, 7 – 10 p.m.

Every first Sunday. The Club Crow in Cashmere, 108 1/2 Cottage Ave. Cost: free.

Christmas Art Gallery by Dean Rainey, all of December, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Paintings, wooden sculptures and bronzes. 9 S Wenatchee Ave. Master Gardener Foundation Christmas sale, 11/30, 11 a.m.

– 6 p.m. and 12/2, 11 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Amaryllis bulbs, holiday themed dish towels, garden books, unique tools for the gardener, gloves, soaps, metal garden art, dress up butterfly wings for children, little chef hats, rolling pins, t-shirts, kitchen utensils, knives, toffee popcorn stocking stuffers and more.

Pybus Public Market.

Lake Wenatchee Fire and Rescue Auxiliary Pancake Breakfast and craft bazaar, 12/1, 8 – 11:30 a.m. Yummy pancake breakfast, raffle items and drawings. Lake Wenatchee Recreation Club, 14400 Chiwawa Loop Rd. Info: plainhardware.com.

Christmas Crafts, 12/1, 7, 8, 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. Great Christmas items. Leavenworth Senior Center.

Info: 548-6666.

CHRISTMAS TREE LIGHTING THURSDAY, DECEMBER 6TH, 6PM EAST WENATCHEE CITY HALL

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Christmas Lighting Craft fair, bake sale and luncheon, 12/1, 7, 8, 15, 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. Includes homemade meal with dessert and beverage with hot drinks served all day long. Community United Methodist Church. Info: 548-5619.

Christmas Bazaar, 12/1, 2, 7, 8, 9, 14, 15, 16, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. A large variety of hand-crafted items by local vendors including soaps, knitted items, jewelry, baked goods and more. Chumstick Grange Hall, 621 Front St. Leavenworth. Info: leavenworth.org.

Christmas Family Fun Day, 12/1, 10 a.m. Refreshments, Christmas music, and write letters to Santa.

Crafts include making beaded snowflakes, popcorn-cranberry garlands, refrigerator magnets, decorating salt dough holiday shapes and pinecone ornaments.

Wenatchee Valley Museum and Cultural Center. Cost: $10. Info: wvmcc.org.

Santa photos with your pet, 12/1, 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. Firehouse Pets and Grooming. Cost: $10 donation.

Fundraiser for Wenatchee Valley Fido.

Holiday Brunch, 12/1, 10:30 a.m.

– 1 p.m. Wenatchee Valley Humane Society event. Brunch by Chef’s Edge Catering, a no host Bloody Mary and mimosa bar and wreath raffle plus a small take and make craft project. Pybus Public Market.

Cost: $35. Info: wenatcheehumane. org/brunch18.

Christmas in Cashmere, 12/1, noon – 3 p.m. Complimentary warm beverage, holiday treats, goodie bags, kids craft station, festive music from local students and entertainment with fire pit. Free photos with Santa at the fire hall. Free library story reading downtown on stage. Downtown Cashmere. Cost: free.

Santa, 12/2, 1 – 3 p.m. Santa arrives at Pybus Public Market in a red helicopter. Photo with kids to follow.

Pybus Market. Cost: free.

Christmas Lighting, 12/1, 2, 7, 8, 9, 14, 15, 16. Live music, carolers, roasted chestnuts, sledding, free cookies and lights on around 4:30 p.m. Downtown Leavenworth. Info: Leavenworth.org/events/christmaslighting-festival.

Festival Trees live auction and gala, 12/1, 6 – 9 p.m. Appetizers, holiday sweets, champagne, local wines and beer. Live

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December 2018

Mark Smeltzer if getting attention is the way to make money in show business, this actor feels he’s a natural

T

By Susan Lagsdin

he venue was peaceful, with upholstered chairs in the sunny view window of a hillside home in Broadview, where 27-yearold voice artist and actor Mark Smeltzer is living, for a short time, with his parents.

However, spending an hour with Mark is a little unsettling — not disturbing, just unsettling in the physical sense. He’s so full of physical movement, emotional range and hop-skip-jump subject matter that keeping up with him actually expends energy.

And Mark likes it that way.

He’s hoping that vibrant, positive life force will propel his performance career onward and upward when he makes a big move to Los Angeles he’s planned for Dec. 28. Following this period of respite in his hometown, he’ll travel to the heart of America’s entertainment industry.

He says he loves performing and was always seeking attention, the spotlight, an audience.

Small acting roles in Fiddler on the Roof and The King and I at Wenatchee High School whetted his love of acting, and his strong, adaptable voice led the way to a variety of vocal work.

Mark’s career has not taken a straight path, though, with dropping out of both high school and college, day job switches, big heartbreak, a Hawaiian hiatus, significant disappointment, a few great mentors,

// SKETCHES OF LOCAL ARTISTS loss of confidence, regaining of same, and a spate of very cool one-off jobs doing exactly what he loves to do.

Of that mix of good and bad, he said “I love challenges — they help me get better faster.”

He says he’s been helped immeasurably by his parents Dave and Ruth, who, he’s happy to explain, adopted him from a Methow Valley couple in utero 27 years ago (“The Smeltzers literally saved my life,” he insisted), and they continue to be supportive.

But he feels that reaching his goal of an acting career was hampered by societal expectations. Following a traditional track that didn’t fit him, he said, “set me back almost nine years!”

That mis-focus was compounded by attention deficit disorder; probably inherited, diagnosed early. Mark explained that after spending his youth and teen years battling his ADD, he has recently learned to use it positively.

Lifestyle changes eased his way, and with wise eating and drinking, he says, “Now I’m not as moody, not as many ups and downs; I’m not depressed anymore. I have energy, I have more concentration. Now I realize I can focus on things I want to do and I’m good at that will benefit me and my career.”

This career involves talent most of us can see, like the lead role of Seymour Krelborn in Music Theater of Wenatchee’s recent Little Shop of Horrors.

(He auditioned for that play at the last moment, assuming if anything he’d get the voice of the plant. He obviously doesn’t have “a face made for radio,” as the joke goes.)

You can also hear him — a dozen of his nonfiction audio book recordings are available on Amazon or YouTube. And maybe you can only imagine his video game character voices recorded for Big Fish Games in Seattle.

Of that mix of good and bad, he said “I love challenges — they help me get better faster.”

Mark Smeltzer, working out of his temporary basement studio, can create a world of sound even as he prepares to move himself and his voiceover business to L.A.

He’s also done voice work for Dwayne Johnson’s (“The Rock”) production company, Seven Bucks, and has a small role in the 2017 film Psycho’s Path.

Known professionally as SmeltzerSounds Voiceovers, the combo of Mark’s voice and his recording expertise works anywhere: audio books, commercials, promotions, voiceovers in film, announcements, on-line instruction, cartoons and a range of other vocal ventures, but he’s set some personal boundaries.

“I won’t record for alcohol, soda, fast food or animal product companies… humans aren’t December 2018 | The Good Life

meant to consume certain products.”

Considering American commerce, that’s a tough position.

He wryly acknowledges that in this coming year, “I need to monetize my stances efficiently.”

Mark’s major stock in trade is his vocal talent, which he describes simply as “versatility and range.” For this interview, he flourished a few snatches of dialogue and song from Little Shop, and an impressive on-demand improv (play the part of someone slow thinking and unsure…)

The other necessary ingredient in the business is his integrated sound system. All of www.ncwgoodlife.com

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it — Mac 2010 computer, AKG p420 microphone, “pop” filter, Scarlett2i4 audio interface — fits into one side of a not-walk-in bedroom closet, and it enables him to work from home on a program named Garage Band, connecting digitally to the world.

Mark would like to expand his voiceover work into full-bore acting and even producing.

His mind always churning with opinionated commentary and following the “question everything” rule, he also looks forward to writing content for plays, podcasts, comedy and monologues. Making people feel — especially making them laugh, brings him great joy.

“I’m a really outspoken dude,” he said. “But in this business getting attention is the way people make money.”

He admires George Carlin, Jim Carrey, Robin Williams and Richard Pryor and says he learned from them to be fearless about social constraints and fitting in. “The only way to succeed in life is to get uncomfortable — and success in performance means making other people uncomfortable too.”

So, here’s to discomfort, to unsettling experiences and new barriers to break. With revived stores of energy and optimism, sound-making savvy, solid connections and a mix of marketable talents, Mark is heading off to fulfill his L.A. dream.

Mark’s website is www.smeltzersounds.com, and you can follow him on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Linkedin and IMDb.

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WHAT TO DO

}}} Continued from page 32 music. Bid on decorated trees and wreaths. Funds benefit Thrive Chelan Valley. Lake Chelan Chamber of Commerce. Cost: $40. Info: lakechelan.com.

WHS CHORAL Department presents: How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying, 12/1, 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Wenatchee High School.

Cost: $18. Info: numericapac.org.

Stage Kids WA presents Beauty and the Beast Jr, 12/1, 6:30 p.m. 12/1, 1:30 p.m., 12/2, 4 p.m. Live performance. Numerica Performing Arts Center. Cost: $13-$22. Info: numericapac.org.

Marlin Handbell Ringers, 12/1, 7:30 p.m. Festive concert featuring 12 ringers and 108 handbells, singers Maren Cagle and David Harvill and more. Snowy Owl Theater.

Cost: $15 advance or $17 at the door. Info: marlinhandbells.com.

Marlin Handbell Ringers, 12/3, 7:30 p.m. Icicle Village Resort. Cost: $12. Info: marlinhandbells.com.

Night at the museum, 12/4, 5 – 7 p.m. Enjoy the colorful and fascinating nutcrackers in the museum.

Take holiday photos with the giant Mouse King or Karl, the museum mascot. Refreshments and a nutcracker hunt. Leavenworth Nutcracker Museum. Cost: free. Info: nutcrackermuseum.com.

Celebrate Recovery, 12/4, 11, 18, 25, 6 – 9 p.m. Christ centered, 12step recovery program for anyone struggling with hurt, pain or addiction of any kind. Plain Community Church. Cost: free. Info: plaincommunitychurch.org.

Pybus University, 12/4, 7 p.m. The Healer Within: nurturing lifelong vitality with John Neff. Learn how to use Qigong and Tai Chi practices to energize, strengthen and revitalize yourself. Pybus Public Market. Cost: free. Info: pybuspublicmarket.org.

Bronn Journey Harp Concert, 12/4, 5, 6, 7:30 p.m. Community United Methodist Church, 418 Evans St., Leavenworth. Cost: $17.

Info: leavenworth.org.

Wenatchee Big Band, 12/5, 7 – 8:30 p.m. Playing some of the big-band standards plus Christmas music live on the concourse. Pybus Public Market. Cost: free. Info: pybuspublicmarket.org.

Christmas Tree Lighting, 12/6, 6 p.m. Live reindeer, tree lighting, Christmas carols, cookies and cocoa, s’mores, arrival of Santa

on a fire truck. Bring your camera for free pictures with Santa. East Wenatchee City Hall. Cost: free.

Info: east-wenatchee.com.

Holiday Art Show, 12/7, 4 – 8 p.m. Light refreshments. Gibbs Graphics, 11801 Hwy 2, Leavenworth. Info: gibbs-graphics.com.

Taste and Tour, 12/7, 14, 21, 28, 5 – 6 p.m. See how cider is made.

Current flavors are cider with lemon and ginger pear. Chelan Craft Cidery, 806 Manson Hwy. Cost: free.

PBJ&M, 12/7, 6 – 8 p.m. Live music on the rail car. Pybus Public Market.

Cost: free. Info: pybuspublicmarket. org.

Village Voices “Christmas in the Mountains” Concert, 12/7, 7:30 – 9:30 p.m. Leavenworth Church of the Nazarene. Cost: $20.

Info: leavenowrthvillagevoices.org.

Santa in downtown, 12/8, 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. Photos with Santa, pizza and crafts. Wenatchee Convention Center. Cost: free. Info: wendowntown.org.

Free photos with Santa, 12/8, 1 – 3 p.m. Bring your camera or phone to snap as many photos as you like. Santa will have a treat for each person who visits him. Pybus Public Market. Cost: free. Info: pybuspublicmarket.org.

Marlin Handbell Ringers, 12/8, 3 p.m. George Coffee House. Cost: $3. Info: marlinhandbells.com.

The Nutcracker, 12/7, 8, 7 p.m., 12/9, 2 p.m. The Wenatchee Valley Symphony Orchestra and Fabulous Feet Academy perform live. Numerica Performing Arts Center. Cost: $18-$30. Info: numericapac.org.

First Friday Events Include: *Two Rivers Art Gallery, 12/7, 5 – 8 p.m. Seeing and feeling: twenty years of brushwork. Featuring Brad Brisbine, Wenatchee outdoorsman, oil painter and architect. Wines by Horan Estates Winery. Music by harpist Suzanne Grassell. Complimentary refreshments. 102 N Columbia, Wenatchee. Cost: free.

Info: 2riversgallery.com. *Tumbleweed Bead Co., 12/7, 5-7 p.m. Refreshments served. 105 Palouse St. Cost: free. Info: tumbleweedbeadco.com. *Wenatchee Valley Museum and Cultural Center, 12/7, 5. – 8 p.m. The Beauty of Bronze exhibit. Light refreshments. Info: Wenatchee.org.

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*Lemolo Café and Deli, 12/7, 11 a.m. – 6 p.m. 114 N Wenatchee Ave.

guitar. Nosh provided. Cost: free. 17 N. Wenatchee Ave. Cost: free.

*Mission Street Commons, 12/7, 5 – 8 p.m. 218 S Mission St.

Magical Strings Celtic Yuletide, 12/7, 8, 7:30. Three generations of the Boulding family, set the stage ablaze with the Tara Academy Irish Dancers, lively fiddling of award-winning Canadian artist Jocelyn Pettit, soulful songs with Dublin guitarist Colm MacCarthaigh, powerful vocals and singalong led by son-in-law Prescott Breeden, and dynamic percussionist Matt Jerrell. Snowy Owl Theater.

Cost: $30 advance or $32 at the door. Info: icicle.org.

*Robert Graves Gallery, 12/7, 5 – 8 p.m. Sexton Hall at Wenatchee Valley College, Ninth St entrance. *MAC Gallery, 12/7, 5 – 7 p.m.

Wenatchee Valley College Music and Art Center, 1300 Fifth St. *Ye Olde Bookshoppe, 12/7, 5 – 8 p.m. 11 Palouse St. *Wenatchee Valley Chamber of Commerce, 12/7, 5 – 8 p.m. 137 N Wenatchee Ave. *Radar Station, 12/7, 4 – 9 p.m.

115 S Wenatchee Ave. *Pans Grotto, 12/7, 4 – 9 p.m.

Theme for the month is “A Wizardly Christmas.” Have you ever wondered what a witchy Christmas would look like? From chocolate frogs to mythical creatures come check out our artists interpretation of the holiday. 3 N Wenatchee Ave. Ste 2.. *Class with a Glass, 12/7, 5 – 8 p.m. 10 S Columbia St. *Mela, 12/7, 5 – 8 p.m. An exhibition of ceramics, collage, textiles, contact botanical printing and eco-dyeing by karen dawn dean.

William Luckensmeyer will perform original compositions on acoustical

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December 2018

Cascade Elementary Holiday Bazaar, 12/8, 9 a.m. Many vendors and crafters. 2330 N Baker Ave. Info: cascadecubspto@gmail. com.

Holiday craft fair, 12/8, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Grace Lutheran Church’s Youth Team is holding a fundraiser at Grace Lutheran Church. Vendors include Stampin Up, Color Street Nails, Usborne books, Paparazzi, Mary Kay and others. Baked goods and homemade crafts are also available.

Proceeds help fund 2019 Youth Summer of Service work in the Wenatchee valley. 1408 Washington St, Wenatchee.

Coyote’s corner art class, 12/8, 11 a.m. – noon. William Wegman, an American artist best

>>

WHAT TO DO

known for creating a series of compositions involving primarily his own Weimaraner dogs in various costumes and poses. Create Weimaraner art inspired by William Wegman. Children (4 to 11).

Wenatchee Valley Museum and Cultural Center. Cost: free. Info: wvmcc.org.

Wenatchee Riverfront Railway, 12/8, noon – 4 p.m. Ride the mini train. Christmas run. 155 N Worthen St, Riverfront Park. Cost: $2.

Santa’s Brunch, 12/9, 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. Get into the Holiday spirit by decorating cookies, sipping on hot cocoa and visiting with Santa.

Mimosa bar for adults and decorate your pancakes at the hotcake bar.

Tsillan Cellars. Info: tsillancellars. com.

Village Voices “Christmas in the Mountains” concert, 12/9, 1 – 3 p.m. Leavenworth Church of the Nazarene. Cost: $20. Info: leavenworthvillagevoices.org.

Free photos with Santa, 12/9, 1 – 3 p.m. Bring your camera or phone to snap as many photos as you like. Santa will have a treat for each person who visits him. Plus build a gingerbread house. Pybus Public Market. Cost: free. Info: pybuspublicmarket.org.

The Human Element, 12/9, 1 – 3 p.m. A film by photographer James Balog, tells an urgent story while giving inspiration for a more balanced relationship between humanity and nature. 350Wenatchee, 504 S Chelan. Light snacks provided. Cost: free. Info: 350wenatchee. org.

Marlin Handbell Ringers, 12/11, 6 p.m. Live performance. Refreshments. Eastmont Baptist Church.

Cost: free. Info: marlinhandbells. com.

Albert Rookard, 12/14, 6 – 8 p.m.

Live music on the rail car. Pybus Public Market. Cost: free. Info: pybuspublicmarket.org.

Christmas around the world, 12/14, 7:30 – 9 p.m. Holiday music from around the world performed

by Columbia Chorale. The Columbia Vocal Ensemble will also perform.

Numerica Performing Arts Center.

Info: numericapac.org.

Winter Life Snowshoe Tours, 12/15, and every Saturday through 1/27/19, 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. Guided snowshoe tours at the Leavenworth Fish Hatchery. Snowshoes provided. Cost: free. Info: 548-7641.

A Lavender Culinary Christmas, 12/15, noon to 4 p.m. The Lavender Ranch at Crescent Bar is hosting a number of food businesses that use it’s lavender in their products. Items range from lavender lemon sorbet, lavender havarti cheese and white chocolate lavender scones plus many more.

117 Freese Rd., Quincy. Free.

Holiday teas at the wells house, 12/15, 16, 12:30 – 3 p.m.

The house will be decorated in festive vintage early 1900s style for the season. Don your hats and gloves for an afternoon tea. The Wells House. Info: wvmcc.org.

Free photos with Santa, 12/15 and 12/16, 1 – 3 p.m. Bring your camera or phone to snap as many photos as you like. Santa will have a treat for each person who visits him. Pybus Public Market. Cost: free. Info: pybuspublicmarket.org.

Holiday Movie on the big screen: It’s a wonderful life, 12/16, 6:30 p.m. Numerica Performing Arts Center. Cost: $3. Info: numericapac.org.

Holiday movie on the big screen: The Muppet Christmas Carol, 12/17, 1:30 and 6:30 p.m. Numerica Performing Arts Center. Cost: $3. Info: numericapac. org.

Holiday movie on the big screen: Gremlins, 12/18, 6:30 p.m. Numerica Performing Arts Center. Cost: $3. Info: numericapac. org.

Music and Storytelling, 12/19, 3 – 5 p.m. Join flute musician Gary Stroutsos for an afternoon of Native American music and storytelling. Leavenworth Public Library.

Cost: free.

Winter Life Snowshoe Tours, 12/21, and every Friday through 1/27/19, 1 p.m. Guided snowshoe tours at the Leavenworth Fish Hatchery. Snowshoes provided.

Cost: free. Info: 548-7641.

Free photos with Santa, 12/21 and 12/22 1 – 3 p.m. Bring your camera or phone to snap as many photos as you like. Santa will have a treat for each person who visits him. Pybus Public Market. Cost: free. Info: pybuspublicmarket.org.

Lance Tigner, 12/21, 6 – 8 p.m. Live music on the rail car. Pybus Public Market. Cost: free. Info: pybuspublicmarket.org.

Mrs. Bob Cratchit’s Wild Christmas Binge, 12/21, 7:30 p.m. Old time radio show. From the December 2018 | The Good Life

Little angels make an appearance at the birth of Jesus story.

Living Nativity tells Christmas story Since its inception in 2002,

Saddlerock Evangelical Presbyterian Church has invited the community to an outdoor presentation of the Christmas story.

The brainchild of Karen Hamilton and Pastor Emeritus Paul Pankey, the Living Nativity features goats, sheep, a herding dog and a pony.

A narrator reads from the Bible the story of Jesus’ birth accompanied by the singing of traditional carols as actors dramatize the events.

Director Susan Heminger said entire families participate, filling roles from baby Jesus to young shepherds and angels, to wise and graying magi.

Not everything goes off without a hitch. The most spontaneous moments occur when an animal goes offlive sponsor spots, to the use of period microphones, to the sounds effects crew right there with the actors – the result is a nostalgic evening of entertainment from yesteryear. Numerica Performing Arts Center. Cost: $15 - $21. Info: numericapac.org.

The Met: Live in HD: La Traviata, 12/22, 9:55 a.m. Snowy Owl Theater. Cost: $22 advance or $24 at the door. Info: icicle.org.

Living Nativity, 12/22, 23, 24, 7 – 8:30 p.m. Outdoor living nativity reenactment, narrated and with live animals. Leavenworth Church of the Nazarene. Cost: free.

Wickline: A Canyon Wren Christmas, 12/22, 7:30 p.m. Local favorites present a bluegrass Christmas celebration. Canyon Wren Recital Hall, Leavenworth.

Cost: $18 advance or $20 at the door. Info: icicle.org.

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script dragging a child behind, like the year Poncho the donkey made a dash for the parking lot. Sometimes baby “Jesus” spends the duration crying and the audience sympathizes with Mary who is trying to calm him.

Susan added what sets this play apart is the simplicity. The church choir sings from the side of the bleachers a series of carols. With snow on the ground, fire pits burning from behind the crowd and the lights of the Columbia valley sparkling as stars in the distance, candles are lit and Silent Night is sung: “All is calm, all is bright.”

Showings are 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. on Dec. 23 and 5 p.m. on Dec. 24 at 1400 S Miller St, Wenatchee. There is no cost.

Christmas Eve candlelight service, 12/24, 5 – 6 p.m. and 9 – 10 p.m. Special evening of music, Christmas carols and the reading of the Christmas story. Leavenworth Church of The Nazarene.

Christmas eve candlelight service, 12/24, 6 p.m. Plain Community Church.

Winter Life Snowshoe Tours, 12/28, 12/29, and every Friday through 1/27/19, 1 p.m. Guided snowshoe tours at the Leavenworth Fish Hatchery. Snowshoes provided. Cost: free. Info: 548-7641.

New Year’s eve celebration, 12/31, 7 – midnight. Live music from 7 – 9 and 10 – midnight. Apple drop at 9 p.m. sharp. (midnight east coast time) and again at midnight.

Pybus Public Market. Cost: free.

Info: pybuspublicmarket.org.

>>

column those were the days

rod molzahn

Melvina Brown’s sweet Christmas present The Deak and Lucy Brown

family celebrated Christmas of 1907 at uncle George (Deak’s younger brother) and aunt Margarethe’s home in Monitor.

Melvina Brown, named for her paternal grandmother, was the Brown’s sixth child and was 12 years old in 1907. Her Christmas present that year from her papa and mama was a small, six-inch by four-inch hard cover autograph book with 40 pages.

Over the next seven years pages were filled with a short note, poem, favorite quotes or aphorisms from Melvina’s family, friends and teachers.

Family entries from Christmas day fill the first pages.

1907 Monitor, Wash.

Dec. 25, 1907 Dear daughter Melvina, When this you see just think of me and the Xmas tree at your Uncle George and Your Aunt Margarethe’s and as the happy years pass I wish you a 100 more. Happy Xmas.

Your Papa, R.A. Brown George Brown had married Margarethe Lutzhoft on June 6, 1906. He was 43 and she was 27. That year George bought the Monitor store, a residence and several acres of land. Their first child, Carl, was a newborn at Christmas time, 1907.

Monitor, Wash.

Dec. 25, 1907 Dear sister Melvina, Remember me early, remember me late, Remember me ever as sister Abbie.

Melvina Brown collected sayings and well-wishes in her autograph book.

When you find a friend good and true, Never give an old for new.

Abbie Brown Your sister Abbie’s line about “A friend good and true…” was a time honored Brown family quote.

Dec. 25, 1907 (The following were written on one page by the youngest siblings.)

Dear sister Melvina, As ever your brother.

Robert Newton Brown age 6 I love you sister.

Effie Brown age 4

1908 When school began in January of 1908 Melvina took her new book along. Many pages are filled with notes, sentiments and advice from friends and teachers.

make other hearts glad if you wear a pleasant smile.

Your teacher, Anna Perry Monitor, Wash.

Jan. 9, 1908 Dear Melvina, Attempt the end and never stand in doubt, Nothing’s so hard but search will find it out Your teacher, Jessie Kinney Monitor, Wash Jan. 9, 1908 Dear Melvina, A jolly fellow is hard to find But when you find one jolly and fine, Hang to his coat tail day and night.

Your schoolmate, Lucretia Weythman Lucretia was the daughter of James Weythman who came to the valley with Deak and Lucy in 1895.

Monitor, Wash.

Jan.9, 1908 Dear Melvina, Even a little child may have a pleasant voice that has a gentle tone. You can

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December 2018

Monitor, Wash.

Jan. 9, 1908 Dear Melvina, For Get Me Not Happy may you live, Happy may you die.

Sitting on the woodpile Eating punkin pie.

From your schoolmate, Pal Chamberlain Monitor, Wash.

Jan. 9, 1908 Sister Melvina, For Get Me Not Love many.

Trust few.

And always paddle your own canoe.

Your sister, Lutie May Monitor, Wash.

Jan. 10,1908 Dear Melvina, Leaves may wither, flowers may die.

Friends may forget you but never will I. Your loving Aunty, Margarethe Brown Monitor, Wash.

April 18, 1908 Dear Melvina, True friends are like diamonds, precious and rare, False ones are like autumn leaves, found everywhere.

Your friend, Mrs. C. Fisher

Monitor, Wash.

Sept 16, 1908 Dear Melvina, If wisdom’s ways you’d wisely seek, Five things observe with care.

Of whom you speak, to whom you speak And how and when and where.

Your teacher, Lina Roys

1909 More friends, teachers, a cousin and two rhymed couplets about marriage for 14-year-old Melvina.

Monitor, Wash.

Jan. 10, 1909 Dear Melvina, The men who try to do something and fail, Are much better than those who try to do nothing and succeed.

Your Loving friend and schoolmate, For Get Me Not Mildred Beagle Monitor, Wash.

Dear Melvina, When you grow old and ugly as young folks sometimes do, Remember that you have a Friend that’s old and ugly too.

Your Friend, Minnie Dawson Monitor, Washington Oct. 21, 1909 Dear Melvina, Just as the pansy petals fold closely about their hearts of gold, So in these pages may there be enfolded golden thoughts for thee.

Sincerely, Your teacher, Lulu Livingston

Monitor, Wash.

Oct 22, 1909 Dear Melvina, When you get married and your kids are cross, Pick up the broom and say I am the boss.

Yours truly, For Get Me Not Belle Handlin Monitor, Wn. Oct. 29,1909 Dear cousin Melvina, When you get married across the lake, Send me some of your wedding cake.

From your cousin, Zelpha Smith

1910 The sentiment, “For-Get-MeNot” is a constant thread winding through many of the pages, sometimes as part of the message and often as small additions to the page corners.

Monitor, Wash.

Feb. 21, 1910 For Get Me Not Dear Friend, Tis sweet to be remembered, Tis sad to be forgot, But let me gently whisper O, dear friend, for-getme-not.

Your loving friend and schoolmate, Angie Brunton (Always remember Sunday Feb. 20, 1910)

1911 More For-get-me-Nots on page corners and a wonderful bit of wisdom.

Monitor, Wash.

April 18, 1911 Dear Melvina, Man is unjust, but God is just And finally justice triumphs.

December 2018 | The Good Life

Your friend, For Get Me Not Frances McCorkle Monitor, Wash.

April 18, 1911 Dear Melvina, The sober second thought is always essential and seldom wrong.

Your friend, For Get Me Not Fern Taylor

1913 1913 filled the remaining blank pages with more thoughts from family, friends and teachers.

Reardan, Wash.

Jan.5, 1913 Dear Melvina, For Get Me Not There is a place for my name in your album.

There is a place for my name in your heart.

There is a place for us both in heaven, Where good people never depart.

Your friend, Clara Lutzhoft (Remember one Sunday in July, 1912.)

Clara was a cousin of 18 year old Melvina living in Reardan, Washington. George Brown owned the Reardan Hotel for three years. Margarethe was working at the hotel when she and George met.

Monitor, Wash.

March 25, 1913 Dear sister Melvina, A very little ink and a one sent stamp and a pretty little postcard too Can convey a deal of love and of sweet remembrance When it’s sent from me to you.

Your brother, Ora Brown

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Monitor, Wash.

March 25, 1913 Dear Melvina, May your joys be as deep as the ocean and your sorrows as light as its foam.

Your teacher, Jennie Sandgren Monitor, Wn. Nov. 3, 1913 I take my pen in hand.

I grasp my paper tight.

But to save my soul, I can’t think of a thing to write.

Yours till “Niagara Falls,” Lovina Cook Monitor, Wash.

Nov. 10, 1913 Dear Melvina, Remember me early.

Remember me late.

Remember the boy You kissed at the gate.

Your Friend, Helen Miller By the end of 1913 every page in Melvina’s book was filled.

She added some small comments to the book over the following years including the names of the husbands many of her childhood friends went on to marry.

Her wonderful Christmas present has lived on for 111 years to become our present in 2018.

May our gifts last as long and bring as much enjoyment.

Happy Holidays to all our Good Life readers!

Historian, actor and teacher Rod Molzahn can be reached at shake. speak@nwi.net. 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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December 2018

We are going mobile by casting off from a physical office, but we will be easily in touch by computer and phone. Our contact information remains the same.

ADVERTISING: For info, contact Lianne Taylor at (509) 669-6556 or lianne@ncwgoodlife.com STORIES: We welcome articles about people from Chelan and Douglas counties. Email Mike Cassidy at editor@ncwgoodlife.com SUBSCRIPTIONS AND RENEWALS: Send to The Good Life, P.O. Box 2142, Wenatchee, WA 98807; online at www.ncwgoodlife.com or email at donna@ncwgoodlife.com EXTRA COPIES OF THE CURRENT ISSUE: Safeway stores, Walgreens, Mike’s Meats at Pybus, Rhubarb Market, Martin’s Market Place (Cashmere) and Dan’s Food Market (Leavenworth) BACK ISSUES: www.ncwgoodlife.com or email donna@ncwgoodlife.com MAILING ADDRESS: P.O. Box 2142, Wenatchee, WA 98807 PHONE NUMBER: (509) 888-6527

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See you next year

BRIAN REGAN January 10, 2019 7:30 PM

PJ MASKS

February 14, 2019 6:00 PM

THE ILLUSIONISTS April 4, 2019 7:00 PM The The Sage Sage Hills Hills Trail Trail is closed closed to protect habitat for wintering mule deer and other for other wildlife wildlife December through March each year.

It will December through reopen for humans on April reopen April 1, 1, 2018.

2019.

WEIRD AL YANKOVIC August 13, 2019 7:30 PM

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