Good LIfe April 2012 - Chelan / Douglas County, Washington

HOW SAFE IS MEXICO? Y EVENTS CALENDAR

April 2012

Open for fun and adventure

working in a

FANTASY world Making a real life out of dreams

WENATCHEE VALLEY’S

NUMBER ONE MAGAZINE

Price: $3

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Contents

page 7

To Nicaragua with a purpose

Features

8 the day elsie said ‘no’

Wenatchee chambermaid took her case to the U.S. Supreme Court — and won 75 years ago this spring

10 VERN, are you GOING TO PLAY THIS YEAR? Saying “Softball saved my life,” Vern Neel has no plans to give the sport up now

12 A PHOTOGRAPHER IN THAILAND

Wenatchee’s Jim Doll visits the Kingdom of Thailand and returns with royal beauties of pictures

15 3 WEEKS ON A SAILBOAT

If the parents of a friend said “Come sail with us,” what would be your response?

18 fantasy artist

From her “world headquarters” in a tiny second floor hallway, Aimee Stewart sends her visions out to the world

22 HOME IS WHERE THE WINERY IS

Couple used straw bale construction techniques to create a Malaga winery and home that blends in naturally to the surrounding basalt cliffs Columns & Departments 26 Bonnie Orr: Chips of kale you can make 27 Alex Saliby: New winery is up to par 28 The traveling doctor: How safe is Mexico?

30 June Darling: Be like Ben 31-35 Events, The Art Life & a Dan McConnell cartoon 36 History: Riverboats had hard, short lives 38 Fun Stuff: 5 activities to check out

Flower power Sign up to support SNAP — Chelan PUD’s solar and wind energy program — and receive a solar-powered dancing flower for your desktop or windowsill.

Drop by any PUD office to sign up and collect your fun flower.

Offer available while supplies last.

Details on our website: chelanpud.org.

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editor’s notes

MIKE CASSIDY

Giving ourselves peace to think Sometimes, our brains be-

tray us.

An example: on a nice early evening when the days are growing longer, you say to your mate: “Hey, let’s have a glass a wine before we start dinner.”

And then later you say, “Let’s open another bottle.” The latter is not always a good idea.

Humans have a difficult time accepting that less can be better.

A lazy float trip down a gentle river is not improved by class 5 rapids, yet we seemingly can’t help but say, “Make it rougher, make it tougher, give me some thrills!”

Sometimes, to borrow a line from playwright Tennessee Williams, our brains are like a cat on a hot tin roof, unable to peacefully settle down.

Yet as philosophers have said down through the ages, it’s during quiet that we have a chance to discover who we really are and what we should be doing with our allotted time here.

Tina Duffey writes this month on the three weeks spent sailing along the coast of Panama.

On a boat, you learn to go with the rhythms of the wind and currents. And, writes Tina, “What I learned was to be patient through life, to let go of the heavy grasp I want to have over everything and enjoy the journey as all the twists and turns of life straighten into the path I’m supposed to be on.”

See her story on page 15.

Aimee Stewart of Cashmere took a little time to find her path, but now she is doing very well, thank you.

The former art student was working in various non-art jobs

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when she decided to return to her love.

She said, “Other than basic high school art classes, I have never been formally trained. I started teaching myself digital art around the year 2000 to go hand in hand with my photography, and by 2005 I started to take it seriously.

“For the past five years, I have been a licensed and published digital artist and painter. My work has been featured in dozens of international magazines, some of which have been sold in Costco, Barnes & Noble, Borders, Hastings and more.”

Aimee’s art leans heavily towards the fantasy.

In a departure from our usual cover photos, we have Aimee’s self-portrait on the cover this month. When we saw the artwork, we said: “Wouldn’t it be fun to put this out front?”

And so we did.

See Aimee’s story and more of her creations on page 18.

A BOOK PLUG: Occasional columnist and former Wenatchee teacher Jim Brigleb has written a book — Did I Forget My Pants Again? — a compilation of 22 humor articles he has penned, many of which were published in The Good Life.

The book is available as a Kindle download from Amazon, or a hard copy through Createspace (www.createspace. com/3809847).

He’s a funny guy. Check it out.

Adapt to the twists and turns of the your journey. Enjoy The Good Life — Mike

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OPENING SHOT ®

You’re a long way from home, frank Wenatchee area

photographer Matt Radford, who had a striking photo of a wood duck in the December issue of The Good Life, returns this month with a “fishout-of-water” duck photo.

Here’s Matt’s story: This year, and for several previous years, Wenatchee has had a very special visitor. His name is Frank. And, he’s a bird.

Frank is a rare, male, Eurasian Wigeon. Wigeons are part of the waterfowl family (the ducks).

What makes Frank so special?

Well, he is visiting from another part of the world — a very distant part.

Eurasian Wigeon typically breed in northern Europe and Asia. It is the Old World counterpart of the much more common American Wigeon.

Eurasian Wigeons, like Frank, typically migrate to southern Asia and Africa. Why Frank migrated here, we simply don’t know.

He would be a more likely visitor in Great Britain or Ireland. Or even rarely, in the United States, but on

Year 6, Number 3 April 2012 The Good Life is published by NCW Good Life, LLC, dba The Good Life 10 First Street, Suite 108 Wenatchee, WA 98801 PHONE: (509) 888-6527 EMAIL: editor@ncwgoodlife.com

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the mid-Atlantic and Pacific coasts.

So why Wenatchee? Who knows.

I first spotted Frank in 2008 at Walla Walla Point Park. Since then, each winter, he spends several months at the park, eating grass and resting in the slow water just east of the volleyball courts (near the island). Where Frank spends his summers is also a mystery.

Local birders and nature enthusiasts are very fond of him.

He’s become quite popular in bird watching circles.

Frank has become quite tame, and will venture within a few feet of the patient observer to eat bread and crackers. Frank, it

seems, is living the good life.

For more photos by Matt, owner of Mad Rooster Photography and Marketing, check out his Facebook site: http://www. facebook.com/madroosterphotography.

On the cover

Cashmere artist Aimee Stewart sent us this month’s unusual, fanciful cover. She said in an accompanying note: “Here is the self portrait cover art I just finished. I tried to incorporate apple blossoms in it to tie in with the arrival of our wonderful month of April!”

Editor/Publisher, Mike Cassidy Contributors, Matt Radford, Dave De Jong, L. Darlene Spargo, Jim Doll, Tina Duffey, Bonnie Orr, Alex Saliby, Jim Brown, June Darling, Dan McConnell, Susan Lagsdin and Rod Molzahn Advertising sales, John Hunter, Lianne Taylor and Donna Cassidy Bookkeeping and circulation, Donna Cassidy Proofing, Leslie Vradenburg Ad design, Rick Conant TO SUBSCRIBE: For $25, ($30 out of state address) you can have 12 issues of The Good Life mailed to you or a friend. Send payment to: The Good Life 10 First Street, Suite 108 Wenatchee, WA 98801 Phone 888-6527 Online: www.ncwgoodlife.com To subscribe/renew by email, send credit card info to: donna@ncwgoodlife.com BUY A COPY of The Good Life at Hastings, Caffé Mela (Wenatchee and East Wenatchee), Walgreens (Wenatchee and East Wenatchee), the Wenatchee Food Pavilion, Mike’s Meats, Martin’s Market Place (Cashmere) and A Book for All Seasons (Leavenworth) ADVERTISING: For information about advertising in The Good Life, contact advertising at (509) 8886527, or sales@ncwgoodlife.com WRITE FOR THE GOOD LIFE: We welcome articles about people from Chelan and Douglas counties.

Send your idea to Mike Cassidy at editor@ncwgoodlife.com

The Good Life® is a registered trademark of NCW Good Life, LLC. Copyright 2012

by NCW Good Life, LLC.

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Bill Jacobs and local coordinator Lester Molina visit the home of the family in line to have a house built.

Building ‘Tilly Houses’ in Nicaragua

Larry Castillo, left, and Marv Dunbar install metal siding.

By Dave De Jong

house for Nohemi Gomez and her teenage son Roni. with a purpose — several purposes, actuFor all his life, Roni had lived in a cramped ally. But for Earl Tilly and his son-in-law Bill 12-foot-by-12-foot space, its walls of scrap Jacobs the primary mission was to finish lumber, the gaps covered by pieces of black building a house for a local family. plastic and bits of sheet metal. When the Barbara and Earl, together with their three seasonal rains came in June and built in children and spouses, had taken this on as intensity for the next four months or so, the their family Christmas project — the gift of water dripped from the many holes in the a house to a family they had never met. sheet metal roof and turned the dirt floor Local workers — led by our trusted coorinto mud. dinator on the ground Lester Molina — had Earl coined a new expression for these the house well along when we arrived late crude houses: “chicken shacks.” They were, this past January, with the roof in place in fact, scarcely fit for chickens, yet people above a concrete floor. were forced by extreme poverty into living in Now the house was ready for the final them for their entire lives. treatment — the installation of the steel wall As a member of the Families United Assopanels. That was our job. ciation, Nohemi Gomez had been selected by With the exception of Bill, who lives in her committee to receive a new house to be Boise with his wife Kristen and two daughbuilt with funds from the Friends of Families ters, our six-member team came out of the United, the Wenatchee-based charity that Wenatchee Valley. We were all old friends, Earl and Barbara were founding members of. trained by Habitat for Humanity projects, The Friends had been assisting the 21 famiall members of Grace Lutheran Church, all lies in the Association since July of 2007. familiar with the Nicaragua scene.

We had our cordless impact drivers, our I had participated in a number of these circular saw, our grinder. We’d carried down missions — as had my longtime friend Wolf bags of red-headed sheet metal screws in our Mueller. The other members, Marv and Jane luggage.

Dunbar, were making their third trip in as Our task was to attach red steel panels to many years. the steel ribs that had been welded into the The thing we needed to get done this last vertical steel beams of the roof support sysweek of January was the final work on the tem. With the help of two local men we had

Our team had flown down to Nicaragua

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On the first day on the job, the new home was enclosed with metal siding. There was a steady flow of traffic going by with neighbors carrying goods they had purchased in town.

wrapped the entire house in steel by the end of the first day.

The next day we turned our attention to the interior. The first task was to divide the 620 square feet of space in half with a plywood partition. Another family — headed by a woman whose husband had abandoned his family — was to occupy the back half of the house.

Wolf and I worked on the windows, while Bill and Earl built a washhouse against the back wall of the house where the families

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Building ‘Tilly Houses’ in Nicaragua

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guest column // L Darlene Spargo

Wenatchee’s quiet warrior — Elsie Parrish

}}} Continued from previous page could wash themselves and their clothes. Marv created two tables for the new propane stoves — a house warming gift from the Friends.

Meanwhile Jane painted the windows a bright white, making a contrast with the bright red of the wall panels. In our eyes, the house became a thing of beauty.

That feeling was intensified two days later when we moved the two families into their new home. Loading their earthly belongings into a flat-bed truck was the work of just a few moments. They owned almost nothing: a double bed, a few cheap plastic chairs, a bag of clothes, a small TV and a table to put it on.

The two women gratefully received the keys — their first home with lockable doors and security bars on the windows.

The joy was palpable. We took final photos of the “Tilly House” and its people.

But before we left for home we made arrangements for the next house project: Sylvia and Marvin Blandon and their two girls have lived in a “chicken shack” for many years.

On the first of April, Bart Tilly and his wife Coreen and their three boys will arrive in Esteli to participate in the final installation of the walls. Another “Tilly House” built by generous Friends for a family they have yet to meet.

More information about the Friends of Families United is available by calling 663-4590 or online at: www.friends-familiesunited.org.

Dave De Jong was an English teacher at Wenatchee High School for many years.

M

ost of us have a breaking point.

Elsie Parrish’s occurred on May 12, 1935 when she was fired by the Cascadian Hotel in Wenatchee.

A mother of six and grandmother at 36, Elsie knew how to work hard. When she began working as a chambermaid in 1933, her starting salary was 22.5 cents an hour with a light lunch provided. Her monthly schedules ranged from 68 hours to 202.5 hours. (How do you pay 1/4 of a Chambermaid Elsie Parrish on the job at an Omak cent?) hotel on March 29, 1937, the day her lawsuit Eventually, she gave against Wenatchee’s Cascadian Hotel was upheld up the “free” lunch in the U.S. Supreme Court. Photo from Wenatchee so that she earned 25 Valley Museum & Cultural Center #87-169-1 cents an hour. When the Cascadian ofnot be “bell hops”; when board fered her a final check of $17, is furnished 95 cents per day Elsie declined the check, statmay be deducted and for a room ing that they really owed her an furnished $2 per week may be additional $216.19, the difference deducted, that 20 cents be debetween what they had paid her ducted for breakfast, 30 cents for and the Washington State mini- lunch and 45 cents for dinner. mum wage for chambermaids The case brought out some of set at $14.50 a week.

Wenatchee’s big guns.

Among provisions of the law: Charles B. Conner volunteered no female over 18 can work more than six days in one week; no female over 18 can work more than five hours without a halfhour rest; if there is a special uniform, it must be provided by the employer; if meals are provided, the eating time may be deducted but a sanitary and heated room must be provided; there must be a separate toilet for women; women may not be employed as elevator operators after 12 midnight; women may

West Coast Hotels’ counsel contended that the minimum wage law was in itself illegal, unconstitutional and probably immoral.

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Talk on Elsie: A minimum pay Joan of Arc The Wenatchee Valley Museum will celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Elsie Parrish/ Supreme Court case decision with a speaker at the museum.

Dr. Helen Knowles, visiting assistant professor of politics at Whitman College, where she teaches courses on American constitutional law, legal history, and civil liberties will talk on: “Elsie Parrish Goes to Court: How a Wenatchee Chambermaid Became the Minimum Pay Law Joan of Arc” on Tuesday, April 3, 7 p.m. Wenatchee Valley Museum and Cultural Center. Cost: by donation. Info: wvmcc.org. to take Elsie’s case pro bono.

West Coast Hotels, owners of the Cascadian Hotel, hired Fred Crollard, Sr. and Alexander O’Connor. They were confident they would win because the U.S. Supreme Court was ruled by the Justice Sutherland-led “Four Horsemen.”

Indeed, the Supreme Court ruled in 1936 in a case brought by a Brooklyn laundry that the New York minimum wage law was unconstitutional. The female laundry workers directly affected by the law’s defeat immediately saw their wages cut from $14.50 a week to $6 a week.

Scores of women were reduced to sleeping in the subways because they could no longer afford lodgings. The hotel industry bankrolled the New York challenge to the law. Most observers considered Elsie’s chances as nil.

Wm. O. “Billy” Parr, a well-respected Wenatchee judge, ruled for West Coast Hotels in Chelan County Superior Court, basing his decision on the New York precedent.

“I had to do it,” she said quietly, with a ring in her voice. “What they did wasn’t right.”

Undeterred, Conner and Elsie appealed to the Washington State Supreme Court. Sam Driver, Wenatchee prosecuting attorney, joined W. A. Toner, assistant attorney general, to argue the case on Elsie’s behalf before the State Supreme Court.

The decision was in Elsie’s favor and West Coast Hotels appealed to the U. S. Supreme Court.

West Coast Hotels had a great deal of money riding on the case, as did all companies who employed women.

A number of states had laws written and ready to go if Elsie won her case.

West Coast Hotels’ counsel contended that the minimum wage law was in itself illegal, unconstitutional and probably immoral.

Toner, arguing for Elsie, claimed laws governing employment were a matter of state’s rights.

Justice Roberts switched his vote and Elsie won on a 5 to 4 decision. The conservative court was broken and FDR’s New Deal moved forward.

The decision held that people had to live, had to have the necessities of life, and the public didn’t have to subsidize employers who exploited their employees.

Three weeks later, the Court upheld the Social Security Act. The Fair Labor Standards Act

of 1938, instituting a national minimum wage law for men and women, was written by Frances Perkins, the first woman secretary of labor, who only agreed to take the job if President Roosevelt would make minimum wage a priority.

Elsie received her $216.19 plus interest and the Court ordered West Coast Hotels to pay C. B. Conner a “reasonable” attorney’s fee of $50.

Elsie gave a few interviews and saw her photo and story appear in the April 12, 1937 issue of Life Magazine. She then slipped back into the quiet, hardworking life she had known before, satisfied that she had received what was “right” and that she had helped other working women at the same time.

In an interview circa 1972, Elsie told Hearst reporter Adela Rogers St. Johns, “I was surprised when nobody paid much attention at the time, and none of the women running around yelling about Lib and such

have paid any since. And so I’m surprised now to have you pay attention.

“I had to do it,” she said quietly, with a ring in her voice.

“What they did wasn’t right.”

Ironically, the feminist movement in 1937 didn’t like the ruling. They felt the law as written made women inferior by declaring them in need of protection and forbidding them from taking certain jobs.

Elsie Parrish put Wenatchee, Washington on the national

Know of someone stepping off the beaten path in the search for fun and excitement? E-mail us at editor@ncwgoodlife.com April 2012 | The Good Life

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map in 1937, and now, 75 years later, Americans take for granted the “safety nets” provided by the United States without knowing her name.

That would probably be fine with Elsie; she never wanted to be famous, just fairly compensated.

L. Darlene Spargo is the author of three books on local history with a woman’s perspective, believing that the lives of “ordinary” women, such as Elsie Parrish, are filled with drama, courage and perseverance.

Play ball?

You bet, for as long as possible for Vern Neel — a man who says ‘softball saved my life’

Last season, Vern Neel hit no

home runs.

Oh, he hit the outfield fence a couple of times but for the first time in his softball life he did not hit any home runs.

Then in late June, playing in the Golden Sun Tournament in Wenatchee, Vern was running out the third triple he had hit for the day when he felt a dull pain in his chest as he reached third base.

The following Monday, he went to see his doctor.

“Softball saved my life, it really did,” says Vern now. The chest pain sent Vern in for a series of medical tests that led to a six-way heart bypass a month later.

Lying in a hospital bed, waiting for his moment under the knife, a buddy Vern played softball with and who had the same operation in April came to visit.

“He was about finished with his therapy and he looked great… he gave me confidence I would be OK.” Vern started playing baseball as a kid in the 1940s, and at the age of 13 became a coach when the former Wenatchee Chief ’s player and local baseball organizer Al Libke called Vern and asked him to take over a little league team that was orphaned when no one wanted to coach them.

Vern continued his coaching mostly at junior high level in boys and girls basketball and ju-

Vern Neel is back on the diamond, doing what he loves to do, playing ball and coaching. In the background, Wenatchee fast-pitch softball pitcher Miranda Dyal — who Vern coached as a middle school player — warms up.

nior high school volleyball — he still gets out there on the court and puts together some good teams. He coached fast pitch at both the junior and senior high levels as well as assisting at Wenatchee Valley College one year.

Recently, on a cool Tuesday afternoon, Vern was at Walla Walla Point Park watching the Wenatchee girls fastball team warm up. “I’ve coached about half of the kids on the team,” he said, “and half a dozen girls have come over to give me hugs. They must have liked their old coach.”

During the summer months Vern plays softball.

He played fast pitch when that was popular in the area during the ’70s and worked hard with Ron Brixey to revive adult fast pitch by managing the Rich Rice Memorial Tournament that featured 12 teams and met for seven years during the 2000s.

Vern just likes getting out on the field.

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Ready to play? Put me in, coach Wenatchee Senior Softball was formed in 1987 to offer a venue for the adult men and women of North Central Washington to play in either competitive or recreational slo-pitch softball.

Men 50 years old and women 35 are eligible to play. A special division for men between the ages of 40-50 is also being formed.

Participation in the Wenatchee Senior Softball league offers fun, exercise and fellowship.

When the weather cooperates, a bunch of guys go down to Walla Walla Point Park on Tuesday and Thursday mornings to shag balls, take batting practice and play occasional pick-up games and then go have a cup of coffee

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The cost is $25 for the year. In the majority of cases, bats and uniforms are provided by sponsors. Players need to provide their own glove and cleated shoes (if they wish).

The season runs May through mid-July. League games are played mid-week between 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. Many teams participate in tournaments at locations all around the Northwest, giving players an opportunity for week-end getaways.

For further information, visit www.wengas.com.

and tell lies. “We play like when we were kids, really,” said Vern.

“My doctor, Ron Bowsman, who is retired now, told me to play softball as long as I could, that it was healthy for me. In fact, he started to come to Walla

“We play like when we were kids...”

Walla to shag balls with us.”

Vern loves to swing the bat and play catch. “I’ve loved playing baseball since I was nine or 10,” said Vern, now 71. “As a kid, I would throw any kind of a ball — a rubber ball, a tennis ball — against the house and pick up the grounders. Sometimes, I would throw the ball over the roof and then run around the other side and catch it as it came bouncing off.”

After the operation last year, Vern changed his diet and now exercises regularly with his wife Linda. He is confident that he will play this summer as he always has.

He coached middle school basketball this winter but opted out of volleyball because his strength was not as it should be. His cholesterol, weight and blood pressure are good so he knocks on wood that he will be back on the fields.

“I love to swing a bat,” he said, adding, “I have nothing against golf, but — and I can’t remember the former big leaguer who first said it — when I hit a ball, I like somebody else chase it.”

Along with the physical joy of playing, senior softball is a social thing, said Vern. “It’s fun to be with a bunch of other guys, and then some other team picks me up I’m with another group of guys.”

Vern is getting ready for spring and summer ball by playing catch with anybody who’ll go through the back-and-forth ritual.

If no one is around, Vern might sneak off to Cascade Elementary School; the wall there is a great place to throw a ball — and the wall on the south side always throws back the perfect grounders.

— Dan English contributed to this story April 2012 | The Good Life

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A photographer goes to

THAILAND

By Jim Doll

W

hile on a trip to Thailand this winter I visited one of Thailand’s national parks, Khao Sok National Park.

This is truly an unusual and beautiful place with its mountains and a 165-square-kilometer man-made reservoir creating this lake, Cheow Lan Lake.

Located about 100 miles north of Thailand’s popular tourist island of Phuket, this lake was created for electricity in 1980. When it was flooded, the top of the limestone mountains were left, which created these wonderful islands.

This spectacular place is so impressive that the king of Thailand has a villa here.

In Thailand the elephant is the national symbol. While returning from Cheow Lan Lake, I came across an elephant being transported in a truck… too funny.

As a professional photographer I knew that this place was the reason I went to Thailand. What a great adventure it was.

These photos were taken on a boat trip on Cheow Lan Lake. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did taking them.

Jim Doll on Cheow Lan Lake.

Jim Doll was born and raised in the Wenatchee area and is presently the owner of The Dollhouse of Photography on South Mission Street.

His curiosity and love of life takes him many places on this planet, where he documents his experiences with his camera.

More photos, page 14 12

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PUPPET SLAM Saturday, April 14, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.

Watch a Puppet Show Make a Puppet Be In a Puppet Show See Giant Puppets!

127 S. Mission | 888-6240 | www.wvmcc.org

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A photographer goes to

THAILAND

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3 weeks on a

sailboat

By Tina Duffey

O

ne chilly day last spring, while sitting at the outdoor patio of my favorite restaurant, my best friend’s dad turned to me with his glowing tan unusual for this time of year and said, “So Tina, when are you joining us on the boat?”

My best friend Emily’s parents, Dale and Kim Oldis, had been sailing their 40foot catamaran, SV Companion, around the Caribbean the past 10 months, hence the bronzed skin in April.

They started their journey in Belize and were slowly making their way to the Pacific Northwest with a final destination of their backyard dock in La Conner.

TOP: Looking out of Tina Duffey’s porthole at the Panama Canal. ABOVE: Dolphins swimming with the bow were always a welcome surprise. LEFT: The Companion.

“Well”, I said, knowing I wanted to jump on the offer they kept dangling in front of me, “I think I will have next

April 2012 | The Good Life

winter off. How’s January for three or four weeks sound?”

I work at the Chelan-Douglas Land Trust as the Stewardship and Trail Assistant. The nature of my job revolves around land

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and recreation management and the winter is a slow time for those activities. Although I was contracted to work part time for the winter, I thought there was

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3 weeks on a

sailboat

}}} Continued from previous page a good chance of getting some time completely off.

“Perfect,” Kim says, “Consider yourself on the calendar!”

The next eight months whirled by and on Jan. 2, I found myself stepping off the plane in Panama City, overwhelmed by a wave of warm, humid air. Oh boy! My traveling outfit of jeans, tennis shoes and a sweatshirt was too much, but this warm weather was a nice change from the clouds and cold back home.

My plan was to meet up with Dale and Kim as their boat passed through the Panama Canal, spending three weeks with them sailing north, and then taking two weeks to travel shore-side in Costa Rica.

We spent the first couple of days provisioning and cleaning Companion and finally set sail.

One might imagine the boat crashing through waves and keeling over so far that the harness you are wearing is the only thing keeping you and the boat together.

In actuality though, cruising in a catamaran along this Pacific Coast is a fairly slow process.

The most dependable excitement was when you pulled the anchor and raised the main sail in the morning and then in the evening when you dropped the main sail and found a secure spot to anchor.

All other excitement was extremely unpredictable — a fish on the line, shallows that weren’t on the charts, and logs that appear out of nowhere that challenged your boat handling skills — and often this type of excitement was spaced days apart.

When the winds weren’t favorable or so weak we couldn’t sail, the engines got fired up, which seemed to be more often than

A little walk off the boat on a typical Costa Rica beach.

not. Most the time, we were moving less then 6 knots. A knot is a nautical unit of measurement and is equivalent to 1.15 miles per hour. In other words, we were moving pretty slowly.

Under these traveling conditions, Kim, Dale and I settled into a slow rhythm, where typically the biggest decision was what to make for dinner or whether or not to take a swim before cocktail hour.

My days on the boat, especially the first 10 where we were sailing up the lonesome, seemingly deserted coast of Panama, were filled with reading, writing and simply staring out at the ocean contemplating life back home and the direction I wanted my life to take.

One day, Kim woke up with the idea that we should bake bread for dinner and invite Ben and Nannie over. Ben and Nannie sailed alongside us from Panama to Golfito, Costa Rica in their own 47-foot catamaran, Duel Dragon.

Having worked at a bakery in the past, I jumped on the opportunity to get my hands in some dough. I can say this was my first time kneading in a swimsuit.

The five small baguettes turned out wonderfully and the process of turning flour, yeast

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and water to edible morsels reminded me how much I love baking.

This trip seemed to be full of remembering the things I loved doing — baking, knitting, reading. I even learned to embroider and was inducted into the Companion Embroidery Guild, a collection of all the visiting sailors before me on the boat who also enjoyed the craft.

Somehow back at home, in the chaos of work, volunteering, friends, family, exercising and playing in the outdoors, I had forgotten to take time to do the slower things in life that always brought me joy.

Chalk that up as lesson number one. Slow down at home and use the time I have, once in a while, to pursue the simpler, quieter things I love.

Lesson number two came quietly and was a culmination

Slow down at home and use the time I have, once in a while, to pursue the simpler, quieter things I love.

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of many events and happenings of the trip, but is illustrated best by an occurrence while sitting at the back of the boat chatting with Dale and Kim. We tended to sit in the shade as the direct sun wreaked havoc on the skin and the back of the boat seemed to provide the most protection. We were just lounging around, cruising to our next destination and I was in the middle of retelling some story that I’m sure was fascinating, when I happened to glance at the water beside the boat.

Just as I peeked over, I saw what had to have been a sevenfoot long whale shark cruise down the hull, all but three feet from me.

“A shark!” tumbled out of my mouth, breaking into the middle of the sentence I was just saying.

But by the time Dale and Kim looked where I was pointing, the monster had disappeared back into the depths. “It was a shark.

I swear,” I said.

Rolling his eyes, the captain for fun reported my sighting over the radio to the Duel Dragon. Nobody really seemed to fully believe me, but allowed me to assert what I saw was true.

The thing I learned is that doors, opportunities and surprises — just like my shark — tend to be lurking just out of eyesight.

The slower rhythm of the sailing life with space and time to just be, taught me to stay in the present moment not longing for things in the future or living with a mind always stuck in the past.

I couldn’t predict the times when a shark would come by, a sea turtle would pop up, or a manta ray would jump out of the water flapping its fins like it wanted to fly.

I couldn’t predict the times when a shark would come by, a sea turtle would pop up, or a manta ray would jump out of the water flapping its fins like it wanted to fly.

I could be peacefully staring at the open waters and all of a sudden one, two — no wait six or is it eight — dolphin fins would pop out of the water and head in our direction.

Running to the bow of the boat, I would watch the dolphins as they glided through the water, rolling, swirling, jumping sometimes for only a few moments, sometimes for a half an hour.

Back home, I’m a planner and an organizer and I tend to worry about the details of life. If I’m honest, I should say I overly stress about where I am going, who I will meet, what I will gain from a situation, what I should be doing.

On the boat however, these worries disappeared. I was on a boat, the boat wasn’t going any faster, and there wasn’t connection to the Internet, my phone, or gasp! Facebook.

I could relax into an easy pace, listen to my intuition for what I wanted to do, and without worrying about what was coming next, enjoy each surprise and opportunity as it came.

You can’t predict dolphins and sharks, but you can enjoy them when they come and learn from them as they go. What I learned is to be patient through life, to let go of the heavy grasp I want to have over everything and enjoy the journey as all the twists and turns of life straighten into the path I’m supposed to be on.

Before sunrise on my last

Cooking in her swimsuit: Tina has baguettes ready to go in the oven.

morning on the boat, a combination of fluttering, cheeping and rustling drew me into the place halfway between sleeping and waking. “What in the world is going on up there?” I asked myself as the noise continued to grow.

Now awake, I knelt on my bed and peered out the top hatch.

Through the small square, all I could see were tiny birds lining the railings.

I quietly made my way to the deck to discover that over 200 Purple Martins decided to have their morning get together on the bow of our boat, centering right above my hatch. They were perched on every available spot, sometimes flitting around to see if another location suited them better.

The spectacle remained until Dale and Kim got up to begin preparing the boat for the day’s sail.

“Wow!” Kim exclaimed.

“What a send off for you!”

These little birds got me out of bed early my last morning to soak in the last few hours of sailing and were a beautiful reminder that you never know what surprises a day will hold, even a sad day where I was leaving my friends and ending my career as a sailor.

April 2012 | The Good Life

Sooner than I would have liked, I was standing in my swimsuit with my backpack wrapped up in a garbage bag, ready to go to shore. You can never quite tell what the surf will be like for a beach landing

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and I certainly didn’t want to get everything I owned in this country soaking wet.

After hugs, the captain and I got in the dinghy and began motoring to the beach. The surf turned out smaller than expected and I gracefully exited the dinghy with a dry suit and luggage.

My three weeks of sailing were over. It was back to the land of shoes and Internet access, but the new feeling I had found in living in the present without lugging around unnecessary stress had followed me off the boat.

I still had two weeks in Costa Rica to meet up with friends and work on my tan. The journey was only half over, but the lessons I had learned, although needing practice and determination, I knew would last much longer.

I couldn’t help but wonder what the equivalent to a shark sighting could possibly be back home in Wenatchee.

The Art Life

// SKETCHES OF LOCAL ARTISTS

Living a fantasy From a tiny upstairs hallway office, she feeds her visions to the world

By Susan Lagsdin

“S

core one for the daydreamers!” said digital photo artist Aimee Stewart with her signature grin-and-laugh combo.

She’d just recapped her Cashmere upbringing — one with art support for a creative girl, but not one filled with dazzling options for art careers.

In high school, Aimee was the go-to girl for poster designs, received praised for her writing and excelled at piano. But her subsequent day jobs in the Wenatchee area were the antithesis of artful, and she said, “I felt the need to tap back into my creativity.”

In her case, a camera and computer technology enabled her to not run away from home to seek her fortune.

Her fortune, it seems, came

as fantasy: Fantasy fiction and sci-fi, the fairy world and mythical creatures, soft focus damsels and ornately backlit woods.

Using photography skills learned earlier, Aimee soon discovered new programs that meant she could mess around with images on the computer.

Big time. Cyberspace was the new frontier; digital apps and programs became an after-hours obsession. “My husband would buy me ‘how to’ books for Photoshop, and I’d just stack them on my desk. I love finding my own way.”

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ABOVE Songbird by Aimee Stewart AT LEFT Living in her childhood home above an orchard in Cashmere “feeds my creative fire,” said Aimee Stewart.

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“It still gives me a thrill, to go into Wal-Mart or Fred Meyer and see my artwork on the cover of the box!”

Aimee found her way. With her turn from a 9-to-5 job to home-based art came a savvy investigation of the marketplace.

The computer that honed her technique broadened her reach, introducing her to a labyrinth of photographers, designers, brokers and publishers.

After securing a good agent, her first professional commission was for puzzles (those confounding card table jigsaws).

“It still gives me a thrill,” she admitted, “to go into Wal-Mart or Fred Meyer and see my artwork on the cover of the box!”

Now she writes tutorials and feature articles for digital art magazines, produces a line of greeting cards, designs cover art, calendars and websites.

She’s so busy that jobs are piled up in the queue; there’s little time for individual commissions — a seldom-heard lament from artists.

Describing the process of digital photo-manipulation to the nontech world is daunting, but Aimee gave it a try: “Think of all these images like paper dolls, or other flat paper cutouts.

I just lay them on top of one other… dozens or even hundreds of bits and pieces, seamlessly, to form an entirely new scene.

Then I ‘paint’ over them with my art pad, adding nuances and details.”

With the flick of a finger she can make squirrels dance en pointe, grow wildflowers atop an old stone bridge, mass dark clouds in front of silver linings.

Most finished art pieces are saturated with color, intricately detailed, a distinctive painterly look blended with a touch of

The teamaker’s daughter by Aimee Stewart

Gypsy firefly by Aimee Stewart

the surreal, the impossible, the totally romantic.

Living again in her childhood farm home in the Cashmere hills at age 40, Aimee believes of the area, “Its beauty seems to directly influence the quality of my artwork… it constantly feeds my creative fire.”

Even working out of a slantceilinged upstairs hallway the size of a closet, “The International Headquarters of Aimee Stewart,” she quipped, with a computer and digital tablet she said that are ancient in terms of technological lifespans, she’s excited about expanding the scope of her artwork.

Her clients are already all over the globe — Norway, Australia, Thailand — and reachable with the click of a button, as April 2012 | The Good Life

are her photo-sharing buddies, her collaborators, her fantasyfiction fans, her agent in Taos, her publisher in London. She is connected, tuned in, in constant touch with the larger art world.

Looming soon is a delicious bidding war between two major

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publishers with multimedia intentions (Aimee discreetly leaves them unnamed) vying for her first ever children’s book. It features sumptuously digitalized illustrations, an ennobling storyline, and a theme that revolves around music. Listening to her, you know there’s pure joy in the creation and in the anticipation.

Merging her favorite talents in a labor of love, this big project could only have happened with the help of technology.

Aimee acknowledged that the computer alone can be a career gateway to many people who live in rural communities, but she also offers this advice for all artists — whether the dream is high tech or low tech, sooner or later: “If you have a talent, you have to nurture it — savor the gift you’re given.”

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HOME IS WHERE THE WINERY IS Total Comfort In A House of Straw The winery building and tasting room fits naturally against a backdrop of basalt cliffs.

A

Story by Susan Lagsdin Photos by Donna Cassidy

l Mathews tried hard to grow grapes in his hometown of Great Falls, Montana, as well as Alaska, but he didn’t like the taste of the most cold-resistant varieties.

Then, on a commercial construction job that based him in Wenatchee, he fell in love with the geography and with Kathy, a local interior designer, raised in Napa, who’d always fancied herself owning a vineyard. (“I think she had a vision of a sundress and a big floppy hat, maybe on a swing in the shade,” Al teased.)

The rest is quick history: purchasing 20 unlikely-looking acres high above the Columbia, planting 1,000 vines a year for four years, working their

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Al Mathews rests on leftover bales — the construction was all his, including hoisting the straw bales ceiling high.

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separate jobs full time, building first their small home and workspace, and then — voila!

— Malaga Springs Winery, was completed with its elegant tasting room in 2010.

From the first house sketches to move-in ready, then to their mature vineyards and their winery license, it’s been a challenging decade. “We did all the work ourselves — Kathy designed everything, then I just did whatever she told me to do,” Al said.

Between Al’s construction background and Kathy’s interior painting expertise, they’ve created the flair and flavor of

A deep window ledge — made possible by the straw bale construction — in the winery building allows display space and a shelf for pottery while the window itself offers a view to the hibernating grape vines in the vineyard.

Hand-built cabinetry and tile work add warmth to the small but wellplanned living space, home for 10 years.

the Southwest in southwest Wenatchee. The small estate is a stylistic tribute to wine grapes imported from Malaga, Spain in the late 19th Century, the simple start of our complex local wine industry.

A small directional sign about one-half mile out (“Keep the Faith”) comforts new visitors who take the winding gravel drive off Joe Miller Road in search of Malaga Springs. On approach, down from the crest

of a hill, the stark sage and rockbound landscape softens a bit with ornamental grasses, rose terraces and a garden wall.

Colored in bright coppery terra cotta with a crenellated façade and wood pole vegas (extended beams) the high-ceilinged winery building catches the eye first, evoking Taos or Sedona. Cement tiles and heavy wooden doors continue the theme.

The more imposing structure, it’s the second to be built. Back from the drive is a smaller one housing the Mathews’ original

}}} Continued on next page

The “copper penny” color of the winery was chosen by designer/owner Kathy Mathews. Photo by Al Mathews

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HOME IS WHERE THE WINERY IS }}} Continued from previous page cozy apartment. At 680 square feet it takes up only one-quarter of the footprint. The rest was at first the vineyard’s storage and workspace; now it houses their pottery studio.

Every wall of both buildings is made of straw. That means 90-pound bales of dry, compressed Ellensburg wheat stalks, measuring two feet by four feet by 17 inches, stacked roof high.

Stabilized by re-bar and framed in (by post and beam in the first house and steel beams in the winery) the thick straw bale walls give a whopping R-58 protection from the elements, from freeze to heat wave.

Savings on heating and cool-

Genial hosts, the Mathews and their helpers serve up an impressive sipping selection at this wine barrel counter.

ing is the one big advantage of straw bale construction, but Al, who said he “had to learn a whole lot of new building skills” after his years in commercial contracting, enthusiastically touts straw’s other qualities.

It’s malleable. “Want a wall niche?” He pointed out a deep shower shelf, “Just take a chainsaw and cut one out. How about a bench? (The home’s living area features a window seat.) You just stack up a few bales.”

Even chunky patio walls, which are stuccoed straw bales, curve around the garden. Experimenting as he built, Al gave special attention to several distinctive window surrounds, bale deep and softly rounded, created to catch and disperse light.

Another trait of straw, Al described with fond memory, is that it’s extremely tactile. He recalled the sensation, the essence of “hands on,” that comes of mixing chaff and scraps with wet plaster and applying it in gobs to the prickly uncovered

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bales, “mooshing it around (his hands gesture here) filling in the low spots, just slapping the stuff on.” Colors and textures over that initial plaster are conventionally applied, but the first step is a playful mess.

Al learned, luckily pre-project, that the roof has to go on first.

These bales can’t get rained on, ever. They have to be bone dry before the interior plaster or exterior stucco goes on.

“You don’t want any hint of mildew or mold way in there,” he cautioned. But straw bale houses need little pampering after that. Scrapes and dents that come from everyday use are easily smoothed over. He cited European straw bale structures 200 years old, even some medieval ones.

Al and Kathy have adorned their own small open-spaced living quarters with artful pottery and paintings, cabinetry, throws, wall texture and tile.

A raised hearth fireplace, a big bed, just enough kitchen, a few

Curves and crevices, timbered edges, and cement floors all contribute to the 680 square foot home’s livability.

comfy chairs — it’s all they’ve needed for then and now.

But the cozy apartment that has sufficed as their home for years will become a bed and breakfast soon. With a good reputation in the local industry and 20 healthy acres of designer grapes, now it’s time for the couple to build the big house.

Al points to a level place over the lip of the hill, “The house is going to be down there… when we finally get to it.” And sure, it’ll be made of straw bales.

The small winery and home site is nestled near the base of Jumpoff Ridge, the looming basalt monolith that’s a landmark of the region. But it’s more than a dramatic backdrop.

Al explains, “Those cliffs absorb heat from the sun all day long; then they radiate it back all night. It’s the perfect temperature up here for grapes.”

With its privacy, wide-open spaces and a carefully plotted compound of welcoming, closeto-the earth buildings, Malaga Springs seems a good place to nurture people, too.

You can almost picture a happy vineyard owner strolling the grounds in a flowing sundress, a swing in the shade…

Morning sun is a year-round companion. Notice the wall niche carved, literally, next to the bed.

NCW Home Professionals

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>>

column GARDEN OF DELIGHTS

bonnie orr

Grow your own hors d’oeuvres April is the month to plan

what you plant.

We all know we need tomatoes no matter what size the garden.

To prepare hors d’oeuvres, my garden list would include bell peppers, broccoli, carrots, green onions, kale, lemon cucumbers, peas, radishes, spinach, string beans and Walla Walla sweet onions.

I need these herbs: fennel, dill, chives, arugula, rosemary, sweet marjoram, thyme, savory and basil.

Some easy-to-make appetizers are so much more delicious because you grew them or purchased the fresh veggies from the farmer’s market.

From the garden, your meals will start with a snap! I love making up a colorful platter of young vegetables. They are so sweet and crisp that you need not make up a “dip.” Dips are designed to add flavor to long-ago harvested veggies sold in plastic containers.

In pots on the deck, I sprout cress and radish seeds. I feel jaded by the old dog “Caprese salad,” so I brighten it up by eliminating the basil. Fresh tomatoes and mozzarella are fine. Add cress or radish sprouts, or try watercress or arugula. Replace the balsamic vinegar with a fruity one. Ta Da! A fresh start to your meal.

KALE CRISPS

Kale crisps are a colorful and low calorie hors d’oeuvres.

Kathleen Williams taught me to make them. The baking of them is a careful process and worth the effort.

Ingredients 10 large kale leaves 1 teaspoon coarse salt or fla-

Kale crisps are an optionally salted snack that once you have one, it’s easy to want more.

vored salt such as lemon, garlic, chili, etc.

2 tablespoons olive oil or a flavored oil such as sesame, peanut or chili.

The purpose of the oil is to fix the salt onto the leaves. If you want unsalted chips, you do not need to use the oil.

The kale becomes crisp when the moisture evaporates in the oven. One bunch of kale will make two or three large baking sheets of leaves. Cook only one sheet at a time so the evaporation is most effective.

Directions Wash the kale leaves. Dry thoroughly. (This is very important.) Use a salad spinner. I then wrap them in a bath towel to be sure they are totally dry.

Into a large bowl, tear the leaves from the stems into 2 - 3 inch pieces approximately square.

If you wanted salted chips, toss the leaves in the oil.

Scrunch the leaves all about in the oil to be sure each leaf is coated. Add the salt and stir it thoroughly through the leaves.

Spread the leaves on a baking

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sheet so they barely touch.

Bake for 8 minutes in a 350 oven. Stir the leaves. Bake for an additional 2-4 minutes watching carefully that they do not turn brown nor burn.

Empty the crisp leaves on a clean, dry dish towel to cool.

The towel will absorb any moisture residue.

Bake the second batch and third one.

The next day, the extras can be re-crisped in a 200-degree oven for five minutes.

VEGETABLE TERRINE

A Terrine is not your mother’s lemon Jell-o salad. It is a terrific start for a meal because it is so versatile and can be prepared a day in advance.

Ingredients About 2 cups of sliced vegetables of your choice. Make them colorful ones from your garden such as young zucchini, carrots, asparagus, yellow or red bell peppers and string beans cut into strips or small chunks. Be sure to include some savory ones such as garlic greens, green on-

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ions, spicy peppers or radishes.

About 1/4 cup mixed herb leaves: basil, tarragon, parsley and chives, savory, finely chopped. Your choice.

1 tablespoon gelatin 1/2 cup cold water 1 1/2 cups boiling water 1 tablespoon lemon juice 1 tablespoon lemon zest Salt White pepper Directions Separately parboil each chopped veggie from the garden.

Dip in boiling water for 2 minutes so the veggies are still stiff but soft enough to bite into. Add salt and pepper. Then chill them totally.

Sprinkle gelatin over 1/2 cup cold water. Let sit for three minutes until it is moistened.

Then stir in the boiling water to dissolve the gelatin completely.

Allow it to cool slightly.

Line an oblong dish with plastic wrap. I use a glass bread pan.

Place the veggies in color complimentary layers. Place one layer the width of the pan, the next layer the length of the pan. Place the chopped herbs in a layer in the center of your creation.

Gently pour gelatin mixture over the veggies to totally cover them. Press them down into the liquid.

Chill for at least 4 hours.

Invert from pan/mold onto a cold platter and garnish with additional chopped herbs. Make slices about 2 inches thick.

Admire how beautiful it is and serve it with pride!

Bonnie Orr — the dirt diva — gardens and cooks in East Wenatchee.

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column ALEX ON WINE

ALEX SALIBY

Start-up winery already pleasing the palate Cindy Rarick, one of the na-

tion’s LPGA stars and a continuing participant in the LPGA’s “Legends Tour,” appears to have hit the leader’s board once again.

This time though, Cindy’s victory is in a different venue from her life of golf. Cindy entered the world of wine. More specifically, Cindy has invested her time and her talents into a winery, Silvara Vineyards, which is just above Smallwoods Harvest near Peshastin.

Cindy joined Arizona businessman Gary Seidler as he changed careers to try his hand at becoming a winery owner and winemaker.

When they were asked about the reasons why they chose Washington as the location for the winery, they had slightly different variations of the same theme.

Cindy, who will serve as the principal director, quickly responded, “Seems like the world already knows that Washington is the most exciting new premium wine grape growing region in the world. I’ve always tried to play on the side of the winning team.”

Gary agreed with Cindy’s assessment but offered, “We have friends in the California wine industry, and we both enjoy California wines. “(Yet,) California seems to us to be already over-developed.

Washington is in the early stages of blossoming and already produces some of the best, most highly rated wines in the world. The opportunity to make a difference and a contribution are greater and more exciting in Washington.”

This is a start-up winery in its early days, and it’s a winery

Cindy Rarick and Gary Seidler: Excited to create a Washington winery.

“I must source quality grapes if I’m ever going to make world class wine. I focus on finding the best quality fruit from only the best available vineyards and producers.”

Gary was quick to remind me that Gary Figgins at Leonetti Cellars had a mere two- acre vineyard of his own grapes when he started that venture.

“A great many well-received, award-winning wineries here in Washington do not own vineyards; they source their grapes,” Gary went on, and I knew this to be true.

My wife and I like the selection of wines at Silvara, both red and white; they please our palates and are food-friendly.

Some of the wines Gary had a hand in making: crushing,

without a producing vineyard, although the Riesling grapes planted on the property last year, if they survived the winter, should help change that before long.

After completing the viticulture program at U.C. Davis, Gary, then age 51, spent time as a cellar rat, washing bottles and doing anything and everything that needed doing at several Washington wineries, including a few local NCW wineries.

“I’m several years away from being a great wine maker,” Gary recently told me, “but I’m working at it. I’ve already learned there is wisdom in the words of the old world winemakers: great wine begins with great fruit.

Know of someone stepping off the beaten path in the search for fun and excitement? E-mail us at editor@ncwgoodlife.com April 2012 | The Good Life

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blending and bottling, while others are wines he sourced from highly respected producers and vineyards in Washington.

Silvara’s tasting room will reopen to the public in early April when Gary returns from Arizona. He plans to have an outdoor pizza oven installed and offer some exciting, outdoor cuisine items to complement his wines.

— Joanne Saliby contributed to this article Alex Saliby is a wine lover who spends far too much time reading about the grapes, the process of making wine and the wines themselves.

He can be contacted at alex39@msn. com.

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column THE TRAVELing DOCTOR

jim brown, m.d.

How safe is a tourist in Mexico?

For 16 years every February

we head for Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.

This is our favorite winter destination. We have always felt very safe there, and despite U.S. State Department warnings about travel in Mexico, that has not changed.

With all the negative publicity about Mexico’s drug cartel’s crimes and killings over the past few years, it is understandable that the most common comment we have from our friends is, “Are you really going to Mexico?” followed by, “Is it safe there?”

In recent years one of our sons has tried to talk us out of going.

Last year he offered to pay us for our tickets that we had already purchased if we did not go.

It is ironic how the tables have turned. This was the son who turned our hair white with his adventures as a bicycle racer here and in Europe. For years we worried about all three of our kids when they left home to live on their own. Now our son worries about us.

I am grateful that he cares, but we have yet to change our winter travel plans. This year was no different.

We simply haven’t found a

Until a year ago this was a street filled with cars and taxis going through downtown Puerto Vallarta for about 1.5 miles along the ocean. Now it is a total walking street, no cars. It’s lined with restaurants, mimes, entertainers, painters and concerts. Its a daily thing in PV, walking the “malecon” for families, kids, natives, tourists.

winter destination as great as Puerto Vallarta. The tropical climate and soft breezes and soothing sounds of the ocean call us back each year.

Since my wife speaks Spanish, it is an added bonus to see her delight in trying to practice this skill.

Hawaii has a similar tropical appeal but is more expensive than going to Vallarta. In PV we do not need a rental car, the food is fabulous and the

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Mexican people are gracious and welcoming.

Reading a book under a palapa on the beach is my idea of paradise.

When growing up in South Dakota, a place like this was beyond my wildest dreams. Vacations of any kind were rare in our family because my parents owned a small shoestore, open six days a week, and someone always had to be minding the store.

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I am very grateful that, unlike my parents, I have had the opportunity to travel.

A few years ago the Conde Naste travel magazine listed Puerto Vallarta as one of the 10 best destinations in the world.

With a population of 250,000, it was the smallest city on the list going up against the likes of Rome, London and Sydney. They also said it was the friendliest place in the world. Yes, I can vouch for that.

Mexico is the world’s 14th largest country and the 11th most populated country. Twenty-two million foreign tourists visit Mexico each year, and 1.5 million US residents live in Mexico year round. Alaska Airlines flies a million tourists to Mexico every year from the West Coast.

But is it safe?

Well, in 2010, two foreign tourists were murdered in Mexico. One was a woman killed by her husband in Cancun. In 2011, a Canadian who had lived in Puerto Vallarta for six years was killed in a home burglary by someone he knew.

Murders of foreign tourists are extremely rare in Mexico.

Ninety per cent of the murders

We aren’t foolish, but in recent years in Vallarta, we have found we can eat salads and drink the house water in restaurants. in Mexico occur within members of the drug trade. Seven per cent are government employees.

In comparison, last year in Quincy, there were three gang related murders. In the first seven weeks of 2012, Seattle had nine homicides and 18 major aggravated assaults involving firearms. Bad things happen everywhere.

There are several reasons why Puerto Vallarta is mostly safe. It is not located on a major highway. In fact the highway coming into PV ends at PV. Therefore, the city is somewhat isolated.

Recently the US State department lifted travel warnings for most of the popular tourist areas like Puerto Vallarta, Cancun and Los Cabos.

Puerto Vallarta and other popular tourist areas on the State Department list rely heavily on tourism. This alone is a reason for Mexico to keep these areas as safe as possible.

Located in Puerto Vallarta are the following: a large army base at the airport, a large navy base at the cruise ship harbor, and a DEA office at the airport with helicopters. Federal police are located at the airport (although some question whose side the federalis are on), state police are at the airport, a regional DEA office building is in town, and hi-tech cameras are on main streets and at entrances to Marina Vallarta.

In addition navy ships and helicopters patrol Bandera Bay 24/7 and the army patrols the beaches daily from Vallarta north to Punta de Mita.

Of course, when one travels

The view from Jim Brown’s time share is of palm trees and the ocean.

anywhere it is always wise to use caution.

As I was writing this article, I learned that on Feb. 25 a tour bus carrying 22 foreigners from a cruise ship on their way to visit the tiny village of El Nogalito was stopped by armed banditos and the tourists robbed. Fortunately, no one was injured.

I had to go to Google maps to see where this village was and discovered it was not that far from PV but up in the mountains on a remote road that generally tourists would never find or visit. Authorities think it was not drug related. These banditos had to have been tipped off about when this tour bus was coming to this remote village in order to carry out this crime.

Aside from the personal safety issues, what about the food and water?

As a gastroenterologist, I am always concerned about taking every precaution I can to avoid traveler’s diarrhea or “tourista.”

When we first started going to PV, we never ate salads, never ate from street vendors, and ate only cooked food or fruit we could peel. We drank only bottled water, even using it for brushing our teeth.

There still are many areas in Latin and South America, Africa, Asia and the Mideast where that is very good advice.

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We aren’t foolish, but in recent years in Vallarta, we have found we can eat salads and drink the house water in restaurants. PV is one of two cities in Mexico that has potable city water. Most hotels and restaurants now have their own purification water systems as well. I rarely see anyone ordering bottled water in restaurants any more.

However, we still drink bottled water at our timeshare just to be extra cautious.

The food in Vallarta is fabulous, especially seafood.

The variety and quality of restaurants rival most large cities in the US, but the food is generally less expensive. We rarely eat indoors in Vallarta. Eating al fresco in wintertime, with city, ocean or garden views is wonderful.

Unfortunately, norovirus has become very common worldwide, especially on cruise ships.

This is a viral illness, lasting about 48 hours, for which there is no specific treatment other than “tincture of time” and antidiarrhea medication. It is said to afflict 1 in 15 Americans annually in the USA. Since its symptoms are abdominal cramps, vomiting and diarrhea, it is impossible to differentiate that infection from tourista. The US Centers of Disease Control now say that www.ncwgoodlife.com

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50 percent of all “food poisoning” cases are actually caused by norovirus.

Puerto Vallarta sales persons are known for their success in selling timeshares. I swore many years ago that I would never do anything that foolish.

When we first visited 16 years ago and fell in love with this place, we knew we wanted to return. Like many other visitors, we ended up purchasing a timeshare on the ocean that also had a nice view of downtown.

Whether on not this was a good investment is certainly debatable. These days it might be more practical to find a rental by an owner. Nevertheless, we have never regretted our decision because it has brought us back to Puerto Vallarta year after year.

Will we be back next year?

Definitely.

Jim Brown, M.D., is a semi-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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column moving up to the good life

june darling

Ben’s guide to self-improvement I recently became re-ac-

quainted with Ben after my four-year-old granddaughter gave a little boy a black eye and also bit an older girl.

Ben’s method of self-discipline and self-improvement had worked for him and many others. Perhaps it could work for my granddaughter.

Ben was an impressive, wildly successful man from working class roots. Despite having almost no formal education, he was a respected author, political theorist, scientist, musician, inventor, educator and highly engaged social activist.

Ben attributed much of his ability and many of his achievements to his own self-improvement method.

Ben, that is, Benjamin Franklin, called the method his “bold and arduous project of arriving at moral perfection.”

Ben concentrated on certain “virtues” by listing them on a chart daily. Then he reflected at the end of each day on how he’d done.

My daughter-in-law found a simplified version of Franklin’s self-improvement chart on the Internet. The chart has a picture of Ariel the Mermaid (my granddaughter’s favorite princess).

The top of the chart says “Things I Need To Work On To Become a Princess.”

Each day of the week is listed on the chart with blanks provided to write in desired behaviors.

My granddaughter’s selected behaviors are: 1) Be kind 2) Be polite 3) Be respectful 4) Count to 10 slowly when I’m mad A line below the chart asks, “How did I do?” that encourages her own reflection and opens the door for a discussion with her mom and dad.

It’s working.

My granddaughter has become quite focused on doing more of her princess-like behaviors.

She’s happier with herself. (Understandably, her little friends like her better too.)

We shouldn’t take these little structures too lightly. They can be quite useful for holding us accountable and helping us move forward.

It worked for Ben and my fouryear-old granddaughter; it could work for you and me.

Benjamin Franklin died on April 17, 1790 at the age of 84.

He hoped that posterity would read his autobiography and find his self-improvement “artifice”

More blooms, less water You can use less water and still have a beautiful garden.

“The Constitution only gives people the right to pursue happiness. You have to catch it yourself.” useful.

He confesses in his autobiography that he never arrived at perfection. (He found himself truly incorrigible with respect to “order.”)

Though Franklin claimed that he fell far short of his ambition, he claimed he was a better and happier man by attempting it.

Most of us would like to be better and happier. We want our own children and our children’s children to be better and happier.

If you’d like to keep Ben Franklin’s self-improvement spirit alive, begin this April.

Start by being inspired, read his story. Let him be your rolemodel.

Then decide what behaviors, values or virtues you’d like to make into a habit. Chart your progress each day and reflect on your growth.

June Darling, Ph.D., is an executive coach who consults with businesses and individuals to achieve goals and increase happiness. She can be reached at drjunedarling@aol.com, or drjunedarling.blogspot.com or at her twitter address: twitter.com/ drjunedarling. Her website is www. summitgroupresources.com.

Browse a colorful list of more than 60 drought-tolerant blooms like this Coreopsis verticillata in the "Xeriscape" section at www.chelanpud.org. Prefer a purple posy? Use our search feature to design a garden to your liking.

Check out the benefits of drought-tolerant landscaping on our Web site, or call our conservation experts at 661-8008.

30

Only a few of us may choose to commit to Ben Franklin’s entire project toward moral perfection. He spent his whole life trying to be and do better.

All of us can, however, improve ourselves a bit and become a little happier by using the two questions that Franklin asked himself every day.

In the morning: “What good shall I do this day?”

In the evening: “What good have I done this day?”

Franklin was quite aware that ultimately we must take personal responsibility for becoming better, happier people.

As Franklin said, “The Constitution only gives people the right to pursue happiness. You have to catch it yourself.”

How might you move up to The Good Life by using Ben Franklin’s example of self-improvement as your guide?

| The Good Life

www.ncwgoodlife.com

| April 2012

www.chelanpud.org

>>

WHAT TO DO

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

Easter Egg Hunt, 4/1, 2 – 4 p.m.

Face painting, pumper truck rides, prizes. Eastmont Community Park.

Cost: $1 per two tickets. Info: eastwenatchee.com.

Foothills Trails Opening Day, 4/1, all day. This is the official reopening of the trails from the winter habitat closure. Remember to use the trails only if they are firm and you leave no footprints — please stay off muddy trails.

For trail maps and more info: cd-

landtrust.org.

Blue Grass, 3/1, 7 p.m. Every Thursday night for some good old fashioned foot stomp’n knee slap’n bluegrass. Icicle Brewing Co. Leavenworth. Info: iciclebrewing.com.

Silent Film-Son of the Sheik, 4/1, 4 p.m. World-renowned organist Dennis James will work his magic on the Liberty Theater Pipe Organ as he accompanies the silent film classic, Son of the Sheik.

Rudolph Valentino stars as the dashing Arabian prince Ahmed, also playing the role of Ahmed’s father in the swashbuckling film whose romantic scenes took America by storm in 1926. Popcorn and soda

April 2012 | The Good Life

are included in the admission price.

Wenatchee Valley Museum and Cultural Center. Cost: $12 adults, $8 children. Info: 888-6240 or store. wvmcc.org.

Underground Blues Jam, 4/2, 7:30 - 10 p.m. Open blues jam every first Monday of the month. 10 Below, 29 N. Columbia side B. Info: Joe Guimond 664-4077.

Super Spring Break Adventure Camp, 4/2 – 5, 9 a.m. Take a ride on a miniature railroad, see apples hurled through the air, build a tule lodge and learn about pioneer life in the Wenatchee Valley. Each day has its own theme, sign up for one day or four. Grades 1 through

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7. Wenatchee Valley Museum and Cultural Center. Cost: $20 per day.

Info: wvmcc.org Vegetarian Cook Class, 4/3, 5 p.m. Falafel sandwich in warm pita with tomato, onion and lettuce with Tahini dressing. Lacto-vegetarian: orange and mozzarella towers with orange balsamic vinaigrette. LactoOvo-vegetarian: blue mac and cheese. Pesco-vegetarian: avocado, mango and shrimp salad. Pollovegetarian: Thai larb spicy chicken salad. Dessert pear tart. The Ivy Wild Inn. Cost: $40. Info: 293-5517.

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>>

The Art Life

WHAT TO DO

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

}}} Continued from previous page Wenatchee Chambermaid Takes on Supreme Court, 4/3, 7 p.m.

Dr. Helen J. Knowles will present the program Elsie Parrish Goes to Court: How a Wenatchee Chambermaid Became the “Minimum Pay Law Joan of Arc.” Wenatchee Valley Museum and Cultural Center. Cost: by donation. Info: wvmcc.org.

Improv/Acting Workshop, 4/3, 7 p.m. Every Tuesday night with theater games for novice and experienced players. Fun, casual and free. Riverside Playhouse. Info: mtow.org.

Mission: Improv, 4/5, 7 p.m. & every Thursday. Free open workshop, theater games for novice and experienced players. Fun and casual. Riverside Playhouse. Info: www.mtow.org.

Gallery 4 South, 4/6, 5 – 8 p.m.

Meet artist Linda Lowry and her photographic expressions. Enjoy the art, conversation and hors d’oeuvres. Cost: free. Exhibit runs through April 29.

Wenatchee First Fridays, 4/6, 5 p.m. – 8 p.m. Walk downtown for art, music, dining and entertainment. Downtown Wenatchee.

Dog and Cat Show, 4/6, 5 p.m.

Highlighting the work of Northwest artists who portray furry friends in their art. Wenatchee Valley Museum and Cultural Center. Info: wvmcc.org.

2 Rivers Art Gallery, 4/6, 5 – 8 p.m. Wine, refreshments and live music. 102 N Columbia, Wenatchee.

Cost: free.

Easter Egg Hunt, 4/7, noon. Don Morse Memorial Park, Chelan.

Easter Egg Hunt, 4/7, 10 a.m.

Pioneer Park, Waterville.

Wine Country Jazz, 4/7. Vine du Lac Winery. Info: lakechelan.com.

Come Together — The Music of The Beatles, 4/7, 7 p.m. The Seattle Men’s Chorus will perform.

Proceeds benefit the family of Rafael Morelos and North Central Washington Partnership for Children and Families. Performing Arts Center. Cost: $15 students and $25 for adults. Info: pacwen.org.

Risen, 4/8, 10 a.m. Grace Covenant Church will hold Easter Sunday Service at Performing Arts Center.

// SKETCHES OF LOCAL ARTISTS

Cost: free.

Kelly Clarkson, 4/13, 7:30 p.m.

Town Toyota Center. Info: towntoyotacenter.com.

Land Trust Spring Social, 4/13, 7 -9 p.m. Join the Chelan-Douglas Land Trust for a fun, free evening featuring desserts, coffee and lively conversation. Bob Bugert will provide an update on Land Trust projects and recent successes.

Cashmere Riverside Center. Cost: free. Info: Kathy 667-9708.

The Starbirds, 4/13, 7 p.m. Live concert. River Haus in the Pines Bed and Breakfast, 9690 East Leavenworth Rd, Leavenworth. Info: riverhausinthepines.com.

Empty Bowls Dinner, 4/14, 5 p.m.

A simple soup and bread dinner will help feed the hungry in our area.

A raffle will be held of artist bowls donated by local artists Tim Lynch, Matthew Kimmel, Anita Eaton and Virginia Martin. Proceeds to benefit Wenatchee area food banks.

Wenatchee Community Center.

Cost: $15.

Live and Silent Auction, 4/14, 4 p.m. Manson Elementary Parent Teacher Committee and the Trojan Booster Club will hold a live and silent auction to raise funds upgrading the playground. Benson Vineyards Estate Winery, Manson.

Info: lakechelan.com.

Puppet Slam, 4/14, 10 a.m. Brian Kooser will perform with some of his own creations while offering tips and instruction to aspiring artists young and old. Create your own puppet or bring a puppet from a previous class, and make it perform - in a group or on your own.

Wenatchee Valley Museum and Cultural Center. Cost: $5 adults, $4 seniors, $2 kids, $20 family. Info: wvmcc.org.

Wenatchee Valley Symphony Orchestra, 4/14, 7 p.m. Music includes familiar music from: Lord of the Rings, Titanic, Schindler’s List, Dances with Wolves, Jurassic Park, and Harry Potter: Pre-Concert Reception with live jazz, refreshments and silent auctions beginning at 5:30 in the PAC lower lobby.

Performing Arts Center. Cost: $20 adults, $10 students, $25 balcony.

Info: pacwen.org.

Steve Burchett memorial SKI & GOLF CLASSIC, 4/14, 9 a.m. First run on snow portion at Mission Ridge, 9:15 am. Shotgun golf start at Leavenworth Golf Course 1:30 p.m. After golf dinner and awards and prizes. Cost: $300. Info: 663-

32

| The Good Life

Bass violin maker: Bending shape into sound A

verage humidity in Seattle = 70 percent; average humidity in Wenatchee = 30 percent.

Not many artists would find these particular statistics an important factor in their work. But Daniel Hachez, lifelong “luthier” (from lute maker) knows that a bass violin built in this dry climate fares much better moving to a life on the west side than vice versa.

One reason? The cellular structure of the 3/16 inch curly maple forming its top and back and attached to the instrument’s “ribs” (vertical sides) can expand harmlessly with ambient moisture, while contracting in dry heat from its original position would cause cracks. An instrument that can cost $50,000 demands climate control.

Thus, in a family move to Washington in 2009 Daniel and his wife chose a home on the dry side, with a below-story workshop with sunny French doors in East Wenatchee.

There, a single refrigeratorsized bass violin is cradled in a rack in the midst of tools, templates and solvents. On the wall are enticing full-color pin-up posters for inspiration: threesided elevations of Stradivari and Guarneri violins.

“I like working on one instru6543.

Laugh Riot, 4/14, 8 p.m. Wenatchee Convention Center. Stand up comedians Chas Elstner and David Crowe will perform. Cost: $22. Info: 669-0821 or laughriot.net.

Spring Wine Release, 4/14, 15 and 4/21-23. Lake Chelan Wine Growers Association will celebrate

www.ncwgoodlife.com

| April 2012

ment at a time — there’s a nice progression from one step to another, with just enough variation in all kinds of processes from carving to varnishing,” said Daniel.

Making only three or four double basses a year, he works alone in the shop, with no apprentice or assistant, just himself, two Springer spaniels, and whatever CD tunes move the day along.

He has been creating bowed, stringed instruments since junior high, when an interest in playing flamenco necessitated a better guitar. Time and tools were more accessible than money, so with encouragement and a “how to” book, he set out to make his own “It probably wasn’t very good,” Daniel reflected. “Looking back, I’m guessing the sound was a little off.” But having built one, he moved on to make more, and a career was born.

Makeshift spaces in different places have always served his one-man production needs, the exception being 17 years with Robertson Violin Shop, an instrument maker in New Mexico that now brokers his work. His specialty, the classical bass violin, aka double bass, stand-up bass, contra bass, or bass fiddle (not cello, a later iteration) has brought him three gold medal awards for his work by the Society of Bassists.

Now 62, he needs a bit of respite for his well-used hands.

“It’s hard labor, working with that wood day after day, so I have to be careful of the ergonomics.” the release of “nouveau” white and rosé wines. All of the premier, award-winning locally produced wines will be available for tasting and purchasing — but the spotlight will be on the vibrant young, never-before-offered releases. Info: lakechelan.com.

The Compassionate Friends, 4/16, 7 p.m. Meeting to support

Daniel Hachez in his wood shop, and an example of his artistic “signatures” — the carving, and the tiny arrow-shaped curve of inlaid wood (purfling) on his current bass violin.

Daniel is humble about the rewards of success. “It’s time to slow down, a little. I can’t really ‘rest on my laurels’ just yet,” he said, smiling, “But I can occasionally lean on them.”

Slow is the only way to go in this art form.

The big golden-hued double bass in the shop right now has been four months in the making. It’s already been strung up and help each other deal with grief and hope to have a better year after losing a child. Grace Lutheran Church, 1408 Washington St. Info: Carol 665-9987.

Introduction to the Basics of Winemaking, 4/18, 6 – 9 p.m.

Wine making is part art and part science. Learn from local, award winning winemakers Glenn Liner

and John Butler how to get started making wine in your home or garage, from crushing the fruit to bottling. You will learn about equipment and supplies to purchase (and where to purchase them) and how to buy grapes from local vineyards. Wenatchee Valley College, Wenatchi Hall room 2210. Cost: $45. Register online at: www.ced. wvc.edu or phone 509-682-6900.

April 2012 | The Good Life

and tested for a full sound. Then seven coats of spirit varnish brought out the distinctive filigreed maple grain and the bookmatched join at the center. After 10 coats, Daniel will add color, creating the dark burnished tone coveted by bass players.

Contemporary luthiers respect the traditions of the old master builders, so you’ll rarely see an avant garde or even updated violin, viola, cello, or bass.

But they all bring to the work personal symbols of regard for their craft. Perhaps a distinctive extra curve on the scroll (at the sky-end of the bass). Maybe using a paler shellac where the player’s hand and body naturally touch the wood (like spotbleached jeans for the wornalready look).

Or “purfling.” Daniel said of this ebony embellishment, “Purfling has nothing to do with the sound. It’s just there as decoration. All double basses have this. They always have...”

To show what he meant, Daniel indicated a fine imbedded edging of three-layered wood, slim as string, channeled into the perimeter of the instrument.

He bent close to point out a tiny fillip of arrow-shaped curve.

“See? That’s my ‘signature’ design. Anybody looking at it would recognize it as my work.”

Pride of accomplishment fills the workshop as well as the concert hall, and art begets art in the world Daniel works in. After months of labor, he’ll willingly offer this sculpted instrument a lifetime of pleasure in the hands of an unknown musician.

— by Susan Lagsdin Wildflower Walk, 4/19, 6 -8 p.m.

This hike is open to newly joined members of either the Washington Native Plant Society or the ChelanDouglas Land Trust. Botanist Pam Camp and biologist Susan Ballinger each lead sections of the walk, introducing the shrub-steppe flora, and talking about each organization’s work on the Jacobson Preserve. Info: cdlandtrust.org.

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Pedal Driven, 4/27, 7 p.m. This 2010 documentary by local filmmaker Howell at the Moon examines the confrontation between extreme mountain bikers, or freeriders, and U.S. Forest Service rangers over the use of public lands.

The 60-minute film is set in a world of hidden trailheads and clandestine pathways near Leavenworth where forest rangers are charged with destroying illegal bike trails and jailing trespassers. Wenatchee Valley Museum and Cultural Center.

Cost: $5 donation suggested. Info: wvmcc.org.

Frankie and Nina’s Big Italian Wedding, 4/20 & 4/21, 7:30 p.m.

Join two kids from Brooklyn as they walk down the aisle and attempt to join their families in the most interactive dinner-theater show in the country. Performing Arts Center.

Cost: $60, $58 senior and students.

Info: pacwen.org.

Arbor Day Tree Distribution Event, 4/21, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Walla Walla Point Park. The following are 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. Cashmere: Clifford’s Hardware. Leavenworth: Fish Hatchery. Entiat: City Hall. Manson: Grange Hall. Orondo: Market Place.

Volunteers are sought to help wrap the trees for distribution from 4 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on Thursday, 4/19, at Ballard Ambulance, 1028 North Wenatchee Ave. There will be door prizes and pizza. Bring gloves and wear a jacket and shoes good for standing for several hours at a time.

Gold and Treasure Show, 4/21 & 4/22, 9 a.m. See the latest in prospecting supplies, rock hound supplies, metal detectors, dredge equipment and sluice boxes. Learn how to pan for gold, see a real dredge in operation and choose from a large selection of gold and silver jewelry. Door prizes, raffle and food. Chelan County Fairgrounds in Cashmere. Cost: $3; children 12 and under free. Info: 667-9858.

Renaissance Faire, 4/21-22 10 a.m. -5 p.m. Come see many things including musical performers, fighting demonstrations, minstrels, knights, belly dancers, merchants, and much more. While you are there you can design a shield, compete in medieval events of skill and valor, shoot a bow at a knight, dance around the maypole, read all about history, discover hidden treasures, participate in a grail quest, marvel at a fire breathing jester, or watch the Blacksmith of Keystone Ironworks forge with his full operating bellows. Watch various fighting demos or sway with the

}}} Continued on next page

>>

WHAT TO DO

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

}}} Continued from previous page dancers of Sabah Tribe. You may receive instruction in quarter staff or find your way around a labyrinth.

You may watch the fancy Irish feet of An Daire Academy, listen to tales from Shakespeare, consume various culinary feastings, watch a seamstress spin a spinning wheel, explore the grounds. As well as

all the performers and interactive activities there will be around 30 merchants there to sell various items of medieval clothing, armor, chainmail, tapestries, pirate goods, statutes, jewelry, arts, soaps, furs, fantasy pieces, forged items and weaponry. Between the various shows and shops there are hours of entertainment for all ages in a festive atmosphere. Wenatchee Valley College Campus. Cost: $7, $5 child.

Info: wenrenfaire.com.

Brazil and Beyond: Viola/Guitar Duo, 4/21, 7:30 p.m. The lyrical beauty of this music spans from Brazil to Bach, from the elegance of Baroque suites and sonatas, to the colorful and exciting rhythms of Latin and Afro-Brazilian sambas, choros, and tangos. Canyon Wren at Icicle Creek Center for the Arts.

Cost: $10. Info: icicle.org.

Your medical records are just a click away Your medical records

Classical Music, 4/21, Live classical music by Brian Shaffer. Vin du Lac Winery, Chelan. Info: lakechelan.com.

are just a click away

As a patient of Wenatchee Valley Medical Center, you will soon be able to view your medical records online. Our new and secure patient portal provides greater flexibility and more direct access to your health information than ever before.

Wenatchee Marathon, 4/21, 6:30 a.m. A fast course with something for everyone. Great Boston qualifier, gorgeous course, largely on asphalt trails along the Columbia River with Cascade Mountain views. Full marathon, half and 10k categories.

Info: teddriven.com/events/2012wenatchee-marathon.

As a patient of Wenatchee Valley Medical

Center, youatwill soon be able to view your Starting April 16th, sign-up https://mychart.wvmedical.com or ask your doctor or nurse about MyChart at your next visit. medical records online.

Our new and secure

patient portal provides greater flexibility and Your medical records are more direct access to your health information just a click away than ever before.

As a patient of Wenatchee Valley Medical Center, you will soon Starting April sign-up at be able to view your medical records online.

Our16th, new and secure Design by WVMC :: MyChart Epic Systems Corp. patient portal provides greater flexibility and more direct access to https://mychart.wvmedical.com your health information than ever before. ®

or ask your doctor or nurse about MyChart at

your next visit.

Starting April 16th, sign-up at https://mychart.wvmedical.com or ask your doctor or nurse about MyChart at your next visit.

Sock Hop and Silent Auction, 4/21, 6:30 p.m. 1950s style hors d’oeuvres catered by Studebakers, 1950s dancing, contests for dancing, hula hoop, costume, Elvis impersonation duck tails and more.

The Conservatory in Cashmere.

Cost: $15 per person or $25 per couple. Proceeds benefit the Grief Place. Info: 662-6069 and tickets.

Design by WVMC :: MyChart® Epic Systems Corp.

34

| The Good Life

Earth Day Fair, 4/21, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. Children’s activities, arts and crafts, informational and educational booths, local farmer’s markets, gardening, plants, recycling, composting, alternative energy, food vendors, library book sale.

Riverwalk Park Chelan. Cost: free.

Info: lakechelan.com.

Wildflower Walk, 4/22, noon – 3

www.ncwgoodlife.com

| April 2012

p.m. This joint WNPS and ChelanDouglas Land Trust walk will explore the spring wildflowers at the Land Trust’s Sam Hill property, which is located outside of Leavenworth on the slopes above Icicle Creek. Even though the mileage is short, the terrain is rugged and suited only for people comfortable with off-trail travel. Wear hiking boots, bring water and snacks, and dress for the weather. Info: 6679708.

The Art of Nature Journaling, 4/27-29. Icicle Creek and nature artist and wildlife biologist Heather A. Wallis Murphy presents retreats on drawing, painting, writing and field recordings that will unleash the intrigue of the out of doors.

Includes meals, lodging art and nature instruction, birding field trips, most art supplies and a musical concert to top it off. More dates offered. Info: cwilliams@icicle.org.

Chocolate Confessions, 4/27, 7:30 p.m. a one-woman musical comedy about love, life and chocolate. Starring Joan Freed. Performing Arts Center. Cost: $33, $32 senior and student. Info: pacwen. org.

Plant Sale, 4/28, 9 a.m. – 3 p.m.

The WSU Chelan County Master Gardeners’ plant sale will feature 13 heirloom tomatoes including Kellogg Breakfast voted the best tomato at last fall’s tomato tasting. Many other vegetable and herb plants will also be available, along with ornamental grasses, other ornamental perennials and annuals. Gesa Credit Union’s parking lot, 1000 N Wenatchee Ave.

Apple Blossom begins

Xanadu, 4/25-28, 5/3-5, 10-12 & 17-19, 7:30, 5/12 & 19, 2 p.m.

Musical spoof directed by Paul Atwood. Riverside Playhouse.

Info: appleblossom.org.

93 Years of Apple Blossom Festival Royalty, 4/26- 5/6.

See photographs and memorabilia of past Apple Blossom Festival Royalty from 1920 through today. Wenatchee Valley Museum and Cultural Center.

Cost: $5 adults, $4 seniors, $2 children 6-12, under 6 free. Info: wvmcc.org.

Food Fair and Entertainment, 4/26 – 5/6. Memorial Park corner of Orondo St and Chelan Ave. Info: appleblossom. org.

Funtastic Shows Carnival, 4/27 – 5/6. Wide array of rides and games for all ages. Open 5 p.m. weekdays and noon on weekends. Wenatchee Riverfront Park. No gate fees.

All Nature Sings, 4/27, 7:30 p.m. Mountains, trees, rivers, birds and other elements of nature will be the focus of this spring concert performed by The Wenatchee Columbia Chorale.

Grace Lutheran Church, 1408 Washington St. Cost: $15 adults, $8 students and under. Info: pacwen.org.

Corvette Rally & Cruise, 4/28, register 8:30 - 10:30 a.m.

Prizes awarded. Dusty’s In-NOut. Cost: $10 registration fee.

Info: appleblossom.org.

Youth Parade, 4/28, 11 a.m.

Starts at Triangle Park, runs down Orondo, turns on left on Mission. Cost: free. Info: appleblossom.org.

Ride the Miniature Train, 4/28 – 5/5, 1 p.m. – 6 p.m. Take your family for a special ride on the little train that runs on a 10-inch-gauge track in scenic Riverfront Park. The course winds through a figure-8 layout of bridges, trestles and rails along the Columbia River just south of the carnival. The train is operated by volunteers with the Wenatchee Riverfront Railway and Navigation Association, an affiliate of the Wenatchee Valley Museum and Cultural Center.

Youth Day, 4/29, 11 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Great performances and activities just for kids. Memorial Park.

Motorcycle Extravaganza,

4/29, 1 – 3 p.m. Shine up your hog or any favorite motorcycle and ride it on down to the best show in Wenatchee. No entry fees. RiverWest Retirement Center on Western Ave. Info: 662-2797.

All-Service Club Luncheon, 5/2, noon. Wenatchee Convention Center. Cost: $20. Info: appleblossom.org.

Golf Tournament, 5/3, 9:30 a.m. Awards, raffles and more.

Highlander Golf Course. Info: 662-3616.

Classy Chassis Parade, 5/4, 6:30 p.m. Parade starts at Eastmont Community Park in East Wenatchee, travels down Grant Road, turns right on Valley Mall Parkway. Cost: free.

Arts and Crafts Fair, 5/4 – 6, 10 a.m. – 7 p.m. 11 a.m. – 5 p.m. on Sunday. Over 100 talented artists, musicians and crafters. Festival souvenirs: t-shirts, sweatshirts, youth apparel, hats, jewelry, pins, art prints and more.

Memorial Park.

Square Dance, 5/4 – 5/6, Friday 7 p.m. – 10 p.m., Saturday, 10 a.m. – 11:30 a.m., 1 – 4 p.m. & 7 -10 p.m. Sunday, 10 a.m. – noon.

Vale Elementary School, Cashmere. Free to watch or $30 to dance.

Tell us a story about

your best day

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3 on 3 Basketball Tournament, 5/5, 9 a.m. – 8 p.m. 5/6, 9 a.m. – 6 p.m. Walla Walla Point Park. Info: Paul Floyd 264-7663.

Kiwanis Pancake Breakfast, 5/5, 6:30 - 10:30 a.m. All you can eat pancakes, eggs, juice, milk and coffee. Triangle Park. Cost: $5 in advance or $6 at the gate.

Each ticket is an entry for a $500 gas giveaway. Info: Tom Irvin 662-0200.

Grand Parade, 5/5, 11 a.m.

Parade starts at Triangle Park, runs down Orondo, turns left on Mission St. Apple Blossom Run, 5/5, 9:40 a.m. Runners have a choice of four events: 1 Mile Kids Run for grades 1-8; 5K Run, 10K Run and 5K Walk. Info: Steph Grubich 663-8711.

April 2012 | The Good Life

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e

June 2010 n Cover price: $3

GS Long Bull Riding Blowout, 5/4 – 5, 7 p.m. Over 35 cowboys and bulls, mutton bustin, cowboy poke and more. Town Toyota Center. Cost: $25. Info: towntoyotacenter.com.

LIVING IN A STRAW HOUSE Y “LET’S START A TV SHOW” Y EVENTS CALENDAR

June 2011

Open for fun and adventure

Cover price: $3

EXPLORING THE SKY Hitching a ride on the thermals

TEACHING THE OLD WAYS

plus Canoeing in Cambodia

NATIVE LIFE UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL

June Darling: How will you use your life?

www.ncwgoodlife.com

June 2010

June 2011

The Good Life celebrates our 5th birthday this year. We’re curious... it has been good for us, has it been good for you?

Tell us your best story from the past 5 years, and win a chance at a prize. *Prize to be announced later Selected stories may be published in the June issue

Send your stories to: editor@ncwgoodlife.com

10 First Street, #108, Wenatchee, WA 98801 • 888-6527 www.ncwgoodlife.com

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column those were the days

rod molzahn

Riverboat dreams end in a fiery blaze Historian Rod Molzahn is taking some time off from writing his monthly column to work on his book.

He’ll be back with a new column next month.

This is a revised column originally published previously.

R

esidents of Wenatchee were roused from their sleep at 2:20 on the morning of July 8, 1915 by the sound of alarms and shouts of “Fire! Fire!”

Flames could be seen rising above the shipyards at the foot of Fifth Street. Fire had broken out on the deck of the 100-foot steamship North Star tied at a shipyard dock. In two minutes, the blaze had spread to the Columbia, Okanogan and Chelan, docked alongside the North Star.

When the fire department reached the scene with a horse drawn chemical and ladder wagon and a new auto fire truck, all four sternwheelers were engulfed in flames.

The Wenatchee Daily World reported that, “It was only through the hardest work… that any part of the yard was saved.”

The first effort to bring a steamship to the upper Columbia was in 1880 when the U.S. Army attempted to bring the 60-foot Chelan through the Rock Island Rapids. After several failed tries to pass through the rapids the Chelan was taken back down river to White Bluffs where it was cut into two sections and loaded onto wagons to be hauled overland to Fort Chelan.

Four years later Captain William Gray made the next, unsuccessful try at the Rock Island Rapids with the steamer John Gates. After a day of futile attempts, Captain Gray declared the rapids impassable.

He was persuaded in 1888, however, to try again, this time

went on until April of 1911 when the last obstructions were removed from Foster Creek north.

In 1896 a shipyard was opened along the Columbia River in Wenatchee. The first boat built was the 84-foot Oro. The next year the Echo was brought, in sections, over Enterprise being repaired at the shipyard at the end of Fifth Street, Wenatchee. the Cascades from Photo from Wenatchee Valley Museum & Cultural Center #85-110-1 the Snohomish with the City of Ellensburgh car- gan Steamboat Company and, River and rebuilt at the shiprying 45 tons of freight and pas- with his sons, eventually built yard. sengers. For this attempt four and operated the largest fleet of The shipyard’s carpenters and ropes anchored to huge boulders sternwheelers on the river. blacksmiths went on to build on shore were used to winch Ruby Earle recalled a trip up10 more sternwheelers between and guide the boat through the river in 1889. “The boat stopped 1898 and 1907. They were all rocks. at night, and some of the passhallow-draft, four-deck boats For the next nine years the sengers cut driftwood to run holding freight on the first deck, City of Ellensburgh was the the boat the next day. We finally passengers on the second and a only steamer working the river arrived at Ives Landing (now control room and wheelhouse between Rock Island and the Pateros).” above that. They varied in size Okanogan.

John Gellatly, early Wenatchee from the 79-foot Wenatchee to When J.J. Hill put his Great mayor, wrote that the boat left the queen of the river, the 137Northern Railroad through the the wharf at Wenatchee at about foot, 432-ton Okanogan.

Wenatchee Valley in 1891 he 4 a.m. and finally arrived at Construction costs could knew it would drastically inVirginia City (now Brewster) “far range up to $35,000 depending crease steamboat freight busiinto the night.” on size and amenities. ness on the upper Columbia.

Efforts to improve navigation In spite of the efforts to clear He asked his friend, Alexander on the upper Columbia began the river of obstructions, the Griggs, steamboat captain and in 1881 when the Army Corps Columbia remained hazardous. owner on the Red River in Minof Engineers surveyed the river Fire, floods, rocks and rapids nesota, to come to Wenatchee from Kettle Falls in the north to were always threats. A few boats and profit from the business. the confluence with the Snake survived six or seven years.

Griggs moved his family to the River. They estimated a cost of Many were wrecked then rebuilt valley in 1892, purchased the just over $3 million to remove only to be wrecked or burned City of Ellensburgh and relocated snags and rock hazards from again. the steamboat dock north to those 376 miles of the Columbia.

Others weren’t that fortunate. the growing town of Wenatchee It was 1890 before the work The Selkirk sank at the dock in where there were newly laid rail- was begun on the first section the night, with the crew asleep, road tracks to the wharf. Griggs between Priest Rapids and the after taking on wheat north formed the Columbia & OkanoRock Island Rapids. The work of Orondo. The two-year-old

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... she saw, “debris being washed down the river; logs, shacks and once a haystack with a rooster on top.

We were glad to cross the river and leave it.”

Wenatchee burned at its dock in 1901 and the Alexander Griggs, also in its second year, wrecked in the Entiat Rapids where at least a half dozen steamboats were lost.

Ed Ferguson, longtime Wenatchee resident, worked as a deck hand and fireman for the Columbia & Okanogan Steamboat Company and recalled the day the Thomas L. Nixon, heavily loaded with wheat, lost steering and rammed a rock just below Entiat, punching a stovepipe sized hole in the bow. The boat was left hung up on the rock.

Ferguson and the captain’s son worked furiously to plug the hole with blankets and cord wood. By the time the river rose high enough to free the boat,

W. H. Pringle wrecked in the Entiat Rapids. Photo from Wenatchee Valley Museum & Cultural Center #006-42-19

water in the hull was within a foot of the deck. Heavy with freight and water the unmanageable ship drifted down river, hung up briefly on a sand bar then swung free and floated into the eddy at the Wenatchee shipyards.

The rapids weren’t the only peril.

In the spring the boats faced regular high water and occasional floods that would fill the river with debris.

Flora Jones recalled that while waiting for the steamship she saw, “debris being washed down

the river; logs, shacks and once a haystack with a rooster on top.

We were glad to cross the river and leave it.”

In the winter floating ice could damage boats and freezing rivers could trap them and crush a hull.

Added to these were the manmade hazards of ferry cables strung across the river over, at least, seven places between Wenatchee and Virginia City.

Steamboat captains complained that, especially during high water, cables could snag smokestacks and wheelhouses.

In June of 1898 the City of Ellensburgh caught the cable of the Virginia City ferry setting it loose in mid-river. The injured ferryman jumped free of the drifting ferry near Pateros.

None of those hazards, however, brought the end to the upper Columbia steamboat traffic. The Great Northern Railroad did that in 1914 when it opened its branch line from Wenatchee to the Okanogan.

The great paddle wheelers bowed to progress and most of them disappeared from the river.

The North Star, Columbia, Chelan and Okanogan, the last four ships of the C & O Steamship Company, had been idle at the dock for a year when they burned to the waterline on that July night in 1915.

The cause of the fire remained unknown though a story did surface more than 50 years later claiming boys, swimming that night, had lit the fire on the North Star to warm themselves.

Historian, actor and teacher Rod Molzahn can be reached at shake. speak@frontier.com. His third history CD, Legends & Legacies Vol. III - Stories of Wenatchee and North Central Washington, is now available at the Wenatchee Valley Museum and Cultural Center and at other locations throughout the area.

Marketplace Animal Communication

Insurance

April 2012 | The Good Life

Window Cleaners

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Window Cleaners

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FUN STUFF // check out these activities

5 reasons to venture out Y

our life can be a masterpiece — at least in your eyes — but any good masterpiece needs lots of chapters and plenty of page-turning twists and turns.

In other words, while the same-old, same-old has its comfortable allure, perhaps it’s time to try something new.

And for that, you’ve come to the right place. Here are five highlights from this month’s What to Do listings:

ment and supplies —including the grapes — to purchase (and where to purchase them).

“This one three-hour evening seminar will give you the tools and confidence to start your own winemaking,” say the fellows. Cost: $45. Wednesday, April 18, 6 p.m. WVC Wenatchi Hall, Rm2210.

Register online at: www.ced. wvc.edu or phone 682-6900.

Looking for gold

Making wine at home The Good Life wine

columnist and long time wine taster Alex Saliby has an idea for this month.

“I’ve been doing the Chelan County Fair’s Amateur wine Judging contest since 2004,” said Alex, “and these guys have walked away with more blue ribbons and Best of Class and Best of Show awards than you can imagine.”

He’s talking about Glenn Liner and John Butler, who are offering a one-night class on how to get started making wine in your home or garage, from crushing the fruit to bottling.

You will learn about equip-

offer items of medieval clothing, armor, chainmail, tapestries, pirate goods, jewelry, arts, soaps, furs, fantasy pieces, forged items and weaponry. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, April 21. Wenatchee Valley College Campus. Cost: $7, $5 children. Info: wenrenfaire.com.

Maidens and Knights If you think things

were better in the old days — the really olde days — then come to the Renaissance Faire.

Mingle among musical performers, fighting demonstrations, minstrels, knights, belly dancers, merchants, and much more.

Plus, around 30 merchants will

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See the latest in prospecting supplies, rock hound supplies, metal detectors, dredge equipment and sluice boxes at the Gold and Treasure Show. Learn how to pan for gold, see a real dredge in operation and choose from a large selection of gold and silver jewelry. Saturday and Sunday, April 21 and 22, 9 a.m.

Chelan County Fairgrounds in Cashmere. Cost: $3, children 12 and under free. Info: 667-9858.

Bite into the apple

Apple Blossom fun begins in late April. The opening item is Xanadu, a musical spoof that opens April 25 at the Riverside Playhouse.

The food booths open in Memorial Park on Thursday,

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| April 2012

April 26 (yum, yum), the carnival Friday, April, 27, and the youth parade on Saturday, April 28.

For a list of more Apple Blossom fun, check out the special pink section on page 35.

Plants, plants, plants

If the increasing sunlight has you sketching ideas for your garden on the back of scrap paper, then the WSU Chelan County Master Gardeners’ traditional plant sale could add even more choices.

The master gardeners have grown dozens of types of unique plants all selected to thrive in this region including 13 heirloom tomatoes such as the “Kellogg Breakfast” voted the best tomato at last fall’s tomato tasting.

Many other vegetable and herb plants will be available as well as perennial ornamental grasses, perennials such as Penstemons and Salvias adapted for xeriscaped landscapes, other ornamental perennials and annuals all will be ready to plant in your garden.

The sale is the last Saturday in April at Gesa Credit Union’s parking lot, 1000 N. Wenatchee Ave. from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

May 4th & 5th at 7:30pm

FEATURING PBR & PRCA RIDERS

Tickets at: www.towntoyotacenter.com or 509-667-7847