The Good Life Magazine August 2010 by The Good Life

CANOE CRAZY Y THE BEST LOCAL EVENTS CALENDAR

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August 2010

GEEKS ON ANTIQUES Learn quickly or suffer the falls

Cover price: $3

OPENING SHOT ®

Year 4, Number 8 August 2010 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 E-MAIL: editor@ncwgoodlife.com sales@ncwgoodlife.com Editor, Mike Cassidy Contributors, Peter Bauer, Andy Dappen, Frants Holm-Nielsen, Michael Teaney, Jeri Freimuth, Molly Steere, Alan Moen, Donna Cassidy, Kim Bacon, Bonnie Orr, Alex Saliby, Jim Brown, June Darling, Dan McConnell, Susan Lagsdin, Rod Molzahn, and NCW Events Online Advertising manager, Jim Senst Advertising sales, John Hunter Bookkeeping and circulation, Donna Cassidy Proofing, Jean Senst and Joyce Pittsinger Ad design, Rick Conant

Outdoor photographer Peter

Bauer took this shot at Alpine Lookout near Round Mountain on Nason Ridge. “Mountain goats often congregate there, in part because the fire spotters put out a salt lick,” said Peter. “The photo was an example of being prepared. Accompanied by my son, Gordon, I hiked with a heavy telephoto zoom attached to a digital SLR camera with the

express intent of capturing shots of mountain goats. Happily they obliged with several handsome, shedding beauties posing reluctantly for me. “If I approached any closer than 60 yards, the goats got nervous (unlike some goats I’ve run into near Lake Vivianne. There, they kept approaching me until I got nervous!).” Peter’s photos are on display at Frameworks Gallery in Wenatchee, the Family Practice

Clinic at Central Washington Hospital, and at www.photoshop.com/user/pbauerphotography.

On the cover

Editor Mike Cassidy took this photograph of Peter Sanderson and his penny-farthings, the iconic bike with the large front wheel and small rear wheel that symbolize the Victorian era.

TO SUBSCRIBE: For $25, ($30 out of state) 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 To subscribe/renew by e-mail, send credit card info to: donna@ncwgoodlife.com or phone 888-6527 BUY A COPY of The Good Life at Hastings, Caffé Mela, Eastmont Pharmacy, Martin’s Market Place (Cashmere) and A Book for All Seasons (Leavenworth) ADVERTISING: For information about advertising in The Good Life, contact Jim Senst, advertising manager, at (509) 670-8783, 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

August 2010 | The Good Life |

Contents

editor’s notes

MIKE CASSIDY

At Home with The Good Life Let’s try something new.

page 12

riding tall in the saddle Features

5 PEDDLING THE BACKROADS

Take the slow roads to Leavenworth by two wheels — see and smell the scenic wonderland

6 WHY I MOVED HERE

A new occasional feature: Well, there was this cute girl...

8 canoe crazy

Tom Feil loves to get into a canoe and paddle as far away from people as he can

10 RIDING THE EMPIRE BUILDER

This train is a time machine with its own click-clack beat

14 HOST FAMILY

Hosting an AppleSox player for the season brings back childhood memories of playing baseball all summer long

15 At Home with The Good Life

• Why live with plain white walls? • Interior Images owner Jim Norris picks his favorite things • Home is marriage of woods and design ideas

Columns & Departments 23 Alex on wine: Right wine, right food — tasty! 24 The traveling doctor: An excellent adventure 25 June Darling: What’s better than a bigger paycheck? 26 Bonnie Orr: It’s drying time again 28-31 Events, The Art Life & a Dan McConnell cartoon 32 History: The Ancient Ones left their marks 34 Check it out: A CD to drink wine to

This month, we are introducing At Home with The Good Life, a magazine-within-amagazine about local homes, and offering — as we say in the subhead under the logo — fresh ideas for the home. We love stories about people getting out, doing something, but our homes are important as places of refuge and comfort. Our homes can express our personalities too and be places to recharge while we plan our next great adventure. We will move our monthly house feature to this new At Home section. We also want to bring in some local experts with such regular features as: Favorites — We will ask a store owner or artisan to share his or her favorite items for the home. Perhaps it will be something practical such as plumbing fixtures, other times something a little wild like we have for you this month from Jim Norris at Interior Designs. Good advice — We have a great mix of local experts when it comes to anything around the house. Perhaps they’ll have just the solution to the problem your home is having. As always, all of our stories will be about local people. We like the folks who live here. I first moved to this area in the early 1970s because of a job posting I discovered on a threeby-five card in a school counselor’s office located on the other side of the mountains. I came without a car and without long hair. I didn’t have a car because I was broke (hence,

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the reason for seeking the job). I didn’t have long hair because my would-be employer told me over the phone: “Long hair won’t fit in here.” After a while, when I had a car and the sun had tanned the white sidewalls of my scalp created from the former days of long hair, I left. I next returned in search of cheap baby-sitting — along with the opportunity to buy a business. The business was a life’s dream, but didn’t pay much. When I was here the first time, I met and married a local girl with a large extended family that now offered the promise of low-cost baby-sitting for our own growing family. The baby-sitting we took advantage of, the business we learned from, and as one thing has lead to another, somewhat surprising to me, we haven’t left. My coming here was mostly chance and small decisions. Life is funny in that way. So, I am curious: If you moved here, why did you do it? I know the Chamber of Commerce reasons, but many places have good weather and beauty. What were the particulars that made you pack up and come? If you have a good story, share it with our readers. Write a couple hundred words — a short e-mail, really — and send it to editor@ncwgoodlife.com. I’m eager to use such stories in an occasional series we are starting called: Why I moved here. Home is where you get to be who you want to be. Enjoy The Good Life. — Mike

Wenatchee outdoors

Curvy roads beckon the bike rider.

Peddling along the backroads R

By Andy Dappen

iding a bicycle at a relaxed and leisurely pace along the back roads from Wenatchee to Leavenworth is possible — with only a few miles of exposure to Highway 2 — and a great way to experience the outdoors. The ride takes you through the orchards and below the foothills of the Wenatchee Valley, making it both a scenic training ride as well as an enjoyable outing with friends or family. The majority of the ride is on frontage roads or along orchard roads where the traffic is light. The ride is especially enjoyable in spring when the orchards are in bloom, and in autumn when pears and apples are ready to harvest. Skill: 2 (intermediate). Fitness: 2+ (strong intermediate) Distance. Roundtrip distance from Confluence Park in Wenatchee to downtown Leavenworth is roughly 55 miles.

Whether the North Dryden Road (above) in autumn, or orchards along the Sleepy Hollow Road (below) in the spring, great views abound.

Elevation gain. Unknown. The route climbs and descends a number of hills.    Hazards: Most of this ride is along small frontage roads and orchard roads. The shoulders of some of these roads are narrow or non-existent but the traffic is light. Small sections of the route hit Highway 2 where the traffic is heavy and fast but the shoulder is wide. Recommended season: Spring, summer, fall. Even during the hot months this can be a pleasant ride in early morning or evening. Buses: One way for less fit cyclists to complete this ride is

to bike one way and use the bus (Link) for the other leg. Scheduling is often easier if you take the bus first and bike back. Get the bus schedule before taking this ride by calling 662-1155 or visiting www.linktransit.com.

August 2010 | The Good Life |

There’s no bus service on Sundays. Route: For complete turnby-turn instructions, visit this WenatcheeOutdoors.org guidebook posting: www.justgetout. net/Wenatchee/18451.

why i moved here

From Detroit to Wenatchee, from decay to sunshine By Michael A. Teaney

I found myself in Wenatchee

by divine intervention. I had been raised in a very small town in upstate New York. I took that lifestyle for granted when I was young and, like a lot of young adults, sought the big city life. After grad school I moved to Michigan and worked in banking for 25 years, mostly within the city of Detroit. Detroit is a city in decline, nearly bankrupt and with a sordid history of corruption in government. The downtown area is in decay despite decades of revitalization efforts. The decline in the automotive sector has caused the unemployment rate in the state to approach 20 percent and nearly 50 percent within the city limits. Despite these facts, I continued to build a career feeling that I could not leave the businesses I had worked with for such a long period of time. In April 2009, my professional career was rocked by the failure of the bank I was working for. After two decades at large institutions, I had been hired

about a year earlier to on a fabulously sunny help change the culture day. I was amazed at the at this small bank. I scenery and was in awe of had enjoyed the small the valley. I spent three bank atmosphere but days interviewing but fell the economic decline in in love on day one. the real estate industry, When I joined the Banwhere value had fallen ner Bank, there were little by 60-80 percent in articles in the World and southeast Michigan, The Wenatchee Business created a situation in Journal about my joining which the bank could the bank. I soon found Michael Teaney not survive. people I had never met The FDIC came into coming into my office to the bank on a Friday at 6 p.m. welcome me to the valley. and closed the bank forever. People were open and invited While I was hired by the FDIC me into their homes. I found to sell the assets of the bank, a church and soon members and to close others in the area, I were inviting me to their small knew that I had to find another groups. I joined the Wenatchee job. Despite my years of experiCentral Lions and became a ence, the current banking enboard member of the Wenatchee vironment did not provide any Downtown Association where I opportunities. With the bank’s hope that some of my experiencassets being liquidated I was es will help the business comrunning out of time. munity. I still pinch myself at With four small children and times to make sure this is real. seemingly no options, I was I chased what I thought was desperate. I remember saying my dream for over 20 years. a prayer for God to show me That journey took me to a highwhere he wanted me to go. I had pressured world and a location no other direction to turn. where people pass by you every The next day I received a call day without even looking at you. from a recruiter in Bellingham By chance, and maybe divine inabout several job opportunities; tervention, I have found a home one in Iowa, one in Fairbanks, where there are strong values and one in Wenatchee. I had and sense of community. never heard of Wenatchee (nor Not since I was a young boy could I pronounce it at first). have I felt as accepted as I feel I visited the first two locations now. and finally got the chance to visPlease don’t take for granted it Wenatchee. I flew into Seattle the magic of this valley. The and drove across the mountains downtown family-owned stores

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are a thing of the past in many of today’s towns and cities. The support of the Wild and AppleSox is a truly amazing experience. Yes, we may not have professional teams like Detroit, but the fact that you can watch quality entertainment with your friends for the cost of a hot dog and beverage at a professional ballpark is something that can’t be replaced. Yes, Wenatchee is a small town and has small town ways. But I have lived in the other world and wouldn’t trade it for anything to go back.

Michael A. Teaney is vice president, Commercial Lending, with Banner Bank in East Wenatchee.

there was this ski hill in the alps, and a cute girl... By Frants Holm-Nielsen

I was born and raised in the

outskirts of Copenhagen in a small town called Birkeroed, where the town church is 800 years old. When I was 29, a couple of friends asked me to go skiing in the Austrian Alps, and while I was a crummy skier, I agreed. The second evening in St. Anton, we went to dinner at an

old mansion turned restaurant where the cutest young woman was serving our dinner. When I asked her what she was doing the next day she looked at me with eyebrows lifted and said, “Well, since we are in a skiresort... I’ll let you figure that one out.” So I asked if she wanted to go skiing and she agreed. On our third date, she agreed to marry me. I suggested we settle in Copenhagen, she raised those same eyebrows and said, “Chelan.” After a summer in the Greek Islands, a winter back in Austria, followed by a few months in Copenhagen, I found myself on my way to her hometown — Manson on Frants HolmLake Chelan — Nielsen Photo by Yvette Davis not knowing of The Wenatchee what to expect. Business Journal In a travel book I had read that if anywhere else in the world a Loch Ness Monster was to be found, it would be in Lake Chelan... cool! In the summer of 1985, Terrie and I moved to Seattle from Denmark, and in 1992 we moved to Chelan, because we wanted to live in a small town where we would know people. We also liked the fact that skiing and snowboarding are close by on a great hill and that everybody knows what “season’s pass” you are talking about. Everything is here in the Chelan Valley and Wenatchee Valley. If you miss the big city, it’ll only take you three hours to get there and two-and-a-half to get back. Frants Holm-Nielsen and his wife, Terrie, are the owners of Columbia Furniture in Chelan, with a new store opening in Wenatchee. August 2010 | The Good Life |

Tom Feil canoes the Bowron Lakes in British Columbia during the fall of 2008.

Canoe crazy: Tom Feil, master paddler Gliding through pristine waters in the remote outback of Canada By Alan Moen With the Columbia River running through it, it stands to reason there’s no shortage of boating enthusiasts in North Central Washington. Tom Feil has been working for his father, Bob, at Bob Feil Boats in East Wenatchee since 1965 or so. But although he services and repairs mostly machinepowered boats for a living, Tom prefers the muscle-powered variety for recreation. “I started paddling in 1980,” Tom said. “I thought I could

build a better canoe than the ones I could buy. I really couldn’t, but I wouldn’t take anybody’s advice and built a couple anyway.” Tom was selling aluminum canoes at this time. He made a mold and built two fiberglass canoes to begin with. But although he decided that making canoes really wasn’t for him, he never gave up canoeing itself. “That was the first year of the Ridge to River race in Wenatchee,” Tom remembers, “and I used my canoe in it.” Before the race was finally cancelled this year, Tom was an active participant in the race, entering some 24 times in the next 29 years, although not always on the canoe leg. “I usually entered in the family division,

and we won a lot,” he said. But Tom was interested in doing more than a local race. In July 1995, he embarked on his first canoe trip down the Yukon River from Dawson City in Canada to the Pipeline Bridge in Alaska. The 400-mile journey took nine days for his party of 11, who took all their own gear along and camped out along the way. “What was neat was the remoteness,” Tom recalls. “No other people, just some wildlife and the river.” His paddling companions were on their own as well, canoeing down a huge wilderness river with a strong flow, but only minor rapids. Tom laughs about the experience of crossing the border into the U.S. back in the casual

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days before the terrorist attacks of 9/11. “We told the customs agent, ‘We’re here, you can come check our boats’ and he said, ‘Don’t worry about it.’” Tom went back to canoe the Yukon again in 1999. That time, he tackled the upper river from Johnson’s Crossing to Dawson City. Tom entered the Yukon Quest race in 2000, a trip of 460 miles from Whitehorse to Dawson City, an Iditarod-style competition with mandatory layovers and some 46 hours of paddle time. He finished second, and won the race in 2001. One of his favorite longer canoe trips, though, has been to the Bowron Lakes in British Columbia — a chain of mountain lakes with short portages in between. This has become a

Tom Feil, left, paddles with his brother, Dick, on the Nahanni River in the Northwest Territories of Canada.

popular trip, with designated campsites along the route that have to be reserved in advance. Tom has done it mostly with a small group of friends, but he once led 21 canoeists on the trip. He made the group’s own two-wheeled carts for portaging their canoes, and everyone was limited to only 100 pounds of food and gear per person. “Everyone was responsible for their own lunches, and for one group dinner on the trip (extra food is carried for a fourth dinner just in case). I did all the breakfasts, usually pancakes and bacon or sausage,” Tom said. The three-to-four day trip cost only around $200 per person, with most of the expense involved in just transportation to and from the area. ‘We started out doing it in the summer, but lately we’ve done it in the fall instead for more

solitude,” he said. “We’ve only met two people on the way in the last two years.” Probably the most remote of Tom’s canoe trips has been on the Nahanni River in Canada’s Northwest Territories, which again he did in the fall (late August). “It took me a year’s worth of research to figure out whether I could do it or not,” Tom said. “You have to fly in — tie your canoes to the pontoons on a float plane.” With a party of eight and four canoes, the nine-day trip (which he admits should ideally take more like two weeks) includes a 2-mile portage around Virginia Falls, a massive cascade on the river. The party traveled about 30 miles a day. The cost for the journey was about $2,000 per person without a guide, which most parties use. Tom recalls how incredulous one person

was that they met along the way when he told him they were on their own. Even though he’s taken these canoe trips sometimes with his brother and a nephew, that’s not a priority, he said. “It’s kind of important to get away from my family,” Tom said with a laugh. Now 57 and married with three kids and another “adopted” youngster who lives at his house, Tom prefers to leave the domestic scene completely behind in favor of the exhilarating feeling of gliding through pristine waters, far from his normal family routine. “What I really enjoy is being remote, and canoeing is the way I do that.” Writer Alan Moen of Entiat remembers canoeing once against a strong wind on Lake Otsego in upstate New York, and how sore his wrists were afterwards.

August 2010 | The Good Life |

What would grandma think? Riding Back in Time with the Empire Builder

By Jeri Freimuth

s we left Seattle and wound around the misty edge of Puget Sound, I realized the train I was on had a heart beat, a faint but steady click-clack of wheels on rails that touched the edges of my consciousness and made me feel at ease. As I watched the water lapping at the sand alongside the tracks and a heron fishing just a few yards from our passing train, I started thinking of days-goneby when life moved more slowly. I was gazing out the window at the rain-washed evening with a placid gray Puget Sound beneath a silver sky, and an Ayn Rand novel beside me, thinking I could read later; there was no need to hurry and much to see. I’d been in Seattle for meetings and the train fit my schedule better than a plane and was cheaper, plus, the station was just a five-minute cab ride from my downtown hotel. But the choice of expedience quickly turned into a journey through time and a wonderful way to unwind at the end of a busy week. It seemed odd that a train could be so calming. When I’m

standing on solid ground watching a train go by, it always seems big and loud and, actually, a little scary. But sitting, as I was, in the second car from the rear, everything was quiet. At an average speed of 50 miles per hour, we seemed to Jeri Freimuth finds plenty of room and reclining seats make it easy to relax. be gliding serenely through the landbusiest long-distance Amtrak scape and rather than seemrun in the country, carrying ing heavy, I felt as though the more than a half-million people car was floating weightlessly each year. Coming west, the through space. Riding along Daily stops track splits at Spokane and with the countryside sliding West bound: passengers can go to either past, I thought of my grandma Wenatchee 5:35 a.m. Seattle or Portland. The Seattle coming from Nebraska on a Leavenworth 6:08 a.m. route includes daily stops in train in 1905, and I wondered if Seattle 10:25 a.m. Wenatchee and Leavenworth her train had the same kind of Eastbound with the train going west in the heartbeat. Seattle departure 4:40 p.m. morning and east in the eveThe story of grandma’s trip, Leavenworth 8 p.m. ning. with her mother and two sisters, Wenatchee 8:32 p.m. The trains don’t always run riding a series of trains pulled by One-way fare: around $30 on time — mine left Seattle 90 steam locomotives, was passed with advance reservations; minutes late. Fortunately, you down to my mother and then to round-trip around $50. can track your train’s status on a me, but the story really came to Buy tickets and check train computer or web-enabled phone life when I rode a train myself. status at www.amtrak.com and adjust your arrival time at The Empire Builder was inthe station. I bet grandma would augurated in 1929 with service Northern Railroad. The pashave loved that technology, and from Chicago to Washington senger route was taken over by so would her father who waited State, and it quickly became Amtrak in 1971 and is now the to meet them on the platform the premiere train of the Great

Empire Builder Info

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... a new station, but the same town where my greatgreat grandfather waited as my grandma’s train chugged in. at Leavenworth more than 100 years ago. I also bought my ticket through the Amtrak web site and then picked up a printed version at the Seattle King Street Station where the modern technology contrasted with the landmark building. Opened in 1906, the King Street Station was designed by the same architectural firm responsible for New York’s Grand Central Station. A $29-million renovation is now stripping away false ceilings and other architectural offenses to reveal the King Street Station’s original grandeur. I admired the original terrazzo tile floors and the entry, known as the Compass Room, which has already been restored. Boarding the train involved a long walk down the siding pulling my suitcase. Once inside, I stowed my bag and headed to the second level where I found a roomy window seat and stretched out with my novel. The conductor came by and took our tickets and dinner reservations, much as conductors have done for decades. He put a card above each occupied seat showing the passenger’s destination, and as he left I read the names of cities along the route to Chicago, and found myself thinking about the trip over the Rockies and across the plains, wishing a little bit that I could go too. I was thinking I could retrace my grandma’s journey and look out the window at the same landscape she saw near the turn of a different century. The Empire Builder traveled along the coast to Everett and turned inland toward Stevens

Pass just as I was called for my dinner reservation. I was seated with a couple from Wisconsin and a gentleman from Delaware. All three had been visiting their children in Seattle and were headed home. I had a good time learning a little about their home states and told them about the Wenatchee valley’s orchards and hydropower. I chose vegetarian lasagna from the menu and a glass of red wine, then for a treat I had tea and cheese cake. The meal cost $23 including tip and I went back to my seat thinking it’s really quite fun eating with strangers — at least now and then. For most of the way, the route of the Empire Builder was close to that of the highway, but the views were different enough to keep me interested as waterfalls tumbled out from beneath the tracks and rushing rivers and mountain vistas came and went. Twelve hundred feet below the top of Stevens Pass, the train dove into a 7.8-mile-long tunnel

— the second longest tunnel in the United States and an engineering marvel carved through the mountain in the 1920s to save trains from a sometimesdeadly mountain passage. We emerged about 20 minutes later on the east side of the mountains, heading down the pass towards Winton and then Pine Canyon and the Leavenworth station — a new station, but the same town where my great-great grandfather waited as my grandma’s train chugged in. What a

journey she must have had. My own ride was simple by comparison but still memorable, and as we pulled into Wenatchee, I put my novel away without having ever opened it, retrieved my bag and stepped out onto the siding where my husband was waiting to take me back to the faster-paced world of computers, cars and traffic lights. He had no way of knowing that I was stepping off a time machine.

Thomas Tucker, M.D. Medical Oncology

Wenatchee Valley Medical Center welcomes Thomas Tucker, MD to its Medical Oncology Department. Dr. Tucker comes to us from Austin, Texas where he has practiced for the past 18 years at Southwest Regional Cancer Center. He received his Medical Doctorate from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in Dallas, Texas; completed his Residency in Internal Medicine at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio, Texas and his Fellowship in Hematology/Oncology at Boston University Medical Center in Boston, Massachusetts. He has been listed as a Super Doctor in Texas Monthly magazine for the past five years, and performed the first autologous stem cell transplants for cancer in Central Texas. Dr. Tucker and his wife, Melanie, have five children. Dr. Tucker and Melanie enjoy hiking, running, travel, music and theatre, and reading--particularly in history, historical fiction and theology/ spirituality.

Physician-owned and patient-centered since 1940

820 N. Chelan Avenue • 663-8711 • www.wvmedical.com August 2010 | The Good Life |

Geeks on antiques Riding bikes from the victorian era isn’t for the faint of heart: You have to learn quickly or you get hurt

By Molly Steere

any of us enjoy a sport that involves a team or a group. We’ll meet our teammates at the soccer field, a couple friends on the ski hill or a climbing partner at the trailhead. Peter Sanderson engages in a sport that only about a dozen other people in the world do with regularity. A dozen. In the WORLD. Fortunately, it’s a tight-knit dozen. Peter rides penny-farthings, the iconic bikes with the large front wheel and small rear wheel that symbolize the Victorian era. There are plenty of people around the world who love these bikes, admire these bikes and even collect these bikes. However, very few are brave enough to ride them significant distances. Penny-farthings, although prevalent in many art forms due to their uniqueness, were actually short-lived. They were only around from about 1870 to the mid 1890s. However, the impact they made on the world was widespread. Considered the first true bicycle, penny-farthings drove many of the mechanisms you find in cars today. Bicycling was the province of the rich and one of the first examples of conspicuous consumption.

Peter Sanderson rides with a friend past the Big Ben clock tower in London.

The name penny-farthing comes from the British penny and farthing coins, one much larger than the other, so that the side view resembles a penny leading a farthing. “High wheel” and “Ordinary” are other names for the bikes. Back then, bikes were direct drive because chains of that day were too big and heavy to reasonably use on bicycles. The large front wheel was as big as 60 inches in diameter to allow for higher speeds. I wasn’t sure what to expect when I arrived at Peter’s house to interview him about riding penny-farthings. He was a little late because something came up at work and my imagination got the best of me — I anticipated him swooping in, wearing a top hat and tails and running the interview like a ring leader at a circus. As it turns out, theatrics are not Peter’s thing. He arrived

profusely apologetic, genuinely down-to-earth and excited to talk about his hobby. How on earth does one get started in the sport of riding penny-farthings? “My dad,” Peter said placidly, “my dad is nuts.” The Sanderson family lived in England for a few years when Peter was a kid, and they saw a lot of penny-farthings there. Peter’s dad, Gary, was intrigued by the antique bikes. In the early 1990s, a few years before Gary retired, he got in touch with a guy who was a retired industrial arts high school teacher who started building the bikes and selling them. Gary bought one of them and was immediately head-over-heels with the sport. And the sport has sent him head over heels, quite literally. These bikes are dangerous machines. The rider sits high,

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almost directly above the front axle with his legs tucked under handlebars. When the wheel hits ruts or rocks, or if the brake is applied too hard, the rider can be pitched over the handlebars head first. Peter’s dad took a nasty “header” when he was riding alone to a rally in Vermont. The tire rubber came off the wheel and wrapped itself around the pedals, stopping the bike suddenly and sending Gary over the handlebars. The crash resulted in fractured facial bones, a compound fracture of the humerus and various other injuries. “He got jacked up,” Peter said simply. Gary was riding again as soon as he healed. Peter shares his dad’s unwavering passion for riding. He didn’t start riding the bikes until about 2000. At first, his dad only had one bike but soon added a

second bike (his stable would eventually swell to include many penny-farthings and other antique bikes). When Peter visited, they’d go for rides of increasing distances. Peter, who was in grad school at the time, said, “I started riding them whenever I had the chance but I didn’t have any money to buy one myself at the time.” Now, Peter owns two pennyfarthing style bicycles. One of the bikes was hand-made by his friend Robin Willan of Christchurch, New Zealand and it is a gorgeous machine. “It’s all handmade. I know the guy who made it and I have huge respect for him as a machinist and craftsman.” You can buy one of these bikes for $3,500 to $4,000 which, when you look at what people are spending on mountain or road bikes today, is a pretty reasonable price. Once in possession of a bike, Peter jumped into riding full swing. His first ride was about 750 miles on the East Coast. “It was a scary ride, but I learned a lot. You have to learn quickly or you get hurt,” said Peter. Since then he has participated in lengthy tours and meets in Australia, Germany, England, Netherlands, Canada, and of course, the United States. One trip had him cycling right through Manhattan on his iron horse. Peter, his dad and their small crew of antique bike-loving friends join together in various locales for multiple-day tours, usually including at least one 100-mile day, on their way to a

meet. The meets are organized by the Wheelmen (a North American club), or the International Veteran Cycling Association. At a meet recently, more than 300 penny-farthing owners mounted their bikes in a line side by side, holding their neighbor’s handlebars, for what was called a “Penny Stack.” They were just shy of the world record. (Riders can’t sit still on a bike, which is why they held each other up.) When asked what his favorite part about riding the bikes is, Peter said, “I guess I’m a bit of an adrenaline junkie. It’s a thrill. It’s hard work. People want to talk to you when you’re out there and that’s kind of cool. What really is the most fun though is the people I bike with. They’re great people. It’s like anything you do, climbing mountains or whatever. You’re doing something that’s got a little danger to it, you’re overcoming obstacles, you’re doing it together and it builds this camaraderie… and that’s just a nice cup of tea.” Peter agreed to take the bike for a spin in his Wenatchee neighborhood so I can watch him in action. “There are three things you need to learn how

I watched Peter push the bike a few feet down the street, step up onto the peg above the rear wheel and smoothly transition himself onto the seat and start pedaling down the tree-lined street. He immediately looked regal and astoundingly tall. “You can look over garden walls,” Peter said of the height. “You can be quite the voyeur.” He pedaled back to me and dismounted smoothly. He made it look easy and I almost took him up on his offer to try it out before I remembered I’m accidentprone and it’s a very long drop from the seat to the pavement. When asked what his friends and family think of his hobby, Peter laughed and said, “My son calls us Geeks on Antiques.” It’s not for everyone, but when I asked Peter if he’ll continue to ride them, he didn’t miss a beat. “Absolutely,” he said, “absolutely. They’re a lot of fun to ride, they’re hard work and they keep you in shape. But really, it’s all about the people.”

You’re doing something that’s got a little danger to it, you’re overcoming obstacles, you’re doing it together and it builds this camaraderie… and that’s just a nice cup of tea.” to do when you’re riding one of these,” said Peter as he rolled the bike down his driveway toward the street. “You need to learn how to get up, you need to learn how to get down, and you need to learn how to let go of your death grip on the handlebars so you can wave to people as you ride because you are always on display.” Although Peter doesn’t savor the extra attention, he does acknowledge that the bike opens doors for him while he travels. People want to talk to him, invite him into their homes and even feed him when he’s travelling on his penny-farthing.

August 2010 | The Good Life |

Molly Steere is a freelance writer and avid mountain biker. She is now much more appreciative of her full suspension, disc brakes and multiple gear rings. Molly can be reached through her website www.mollyflewthecoop.com.

VOLUNTEERS

Hosts provide a home for AppleSox players R

By Donna Cassidy

obin Thompson, East Wenatchee, grew up in Round Hill, Virginia and baseball was his baby-sitter. “My brother and I played from 8 a.m. until dark every day. We got one baseball a year and in six weeks it would be all torn up and we would wrap it up and keep playing with it,” said Robin. He said he went to and watched the Baltimore Orioles and the Washington Senators play ball back in the ’60s. Robin said he played baseball until he went into the service. “It was a fun life and now I want to give back to the kids. “My wife, Tracey, and I were at an AppleSox game when they announced the team needed host families and I thought what a good idea. We signed up five years ago,” said Robin. Tracey said, “We have some extra space in our home and we thought it would be a fun thing to do.” This year, 22 host families are housing 27 guys including two coaches. “Some of our families take two players, they say it helps with travel and makes it more

fun because the guys become friends, said AppleSox assistant general manager and co-owner Ken Osborne. “Our host families provide the basics: food, shelter and cable TV to our players. The AppleSox keep them busy, with 54 games in 60 days. Players also help instruct at our youth clinics, work on the field, and visit various community projects and events. We also get them a summer membership at Gold’s Gym. So the families don’t have to worry about keeping them entertained,” said Ken. Tracey said the players are independent and self-sufficient. “We try to provide a home away from home for them.” This year the Thompson’s are hosting Marco Gonzales from Colorado — his mom came out for a week and now the dad plans on coming for a week. “It is a good way to meet new people and see their way of life. We even host the parents.” Robin said one mother stayed 10 days. “We still get phone calls from past team players and invitations to hook up. It’s been a terrific experience,” said Robin. “The AppleSox organization

Host family Robin and Tracey Thompson: “It’s been a terrific experience.”

gets better and better every year. It is a top-notch organization and the support is good.(Owner) Jim Corcoran, Ken Osborne and (coach) Ed Knaggs are always there and it’s very convenient to call them.” Robin is an engineer at Central Washington Hospital and Tracey is a first grade teacher at Lee Elementary School. To learn more about being a

| The Good Life | August 2010

host for an AppleSox player, call Ken at 665-6900 or ken@applesox.com. One benefit host families receive is season tickets to all of the home games, which Robin and Tracey appreciate. Said Tracey: “Baseball has a positive impact on Robin’s life and watching the games brings back all those good memories for him.”

At Home fresh ideas for the home

Home is marriage of ideas/20 Why live with white walls?/16 Favorite things/18

Natural beauty is evident both inside and outside the Randy Wessman Tour of Homes house near Leavenworth. See page 20

August 2010 | AT HOME WITH The Good Life |

{

Voice of Experience }

Why have plain white walls? M

By Kim Bacon

any people believe painting a room white will make it appear larger. But white is so boring and very cold. Even in a small room having color on walls changes the entire atmosphere of the room. If you have a room in your home you just don’t like, chances are there is a color on the walls you just don’t feel good in, or it simply works against other elements in the room such as woodwork, cabinets, or even furniture. The first thing is to make sure you are choosing the right color, tone or texture to compliment the furnishings and style of your home. If you have ever painted a room Taupe only to find it has a pink tone to it, you will understand this. Let’s say you have just installed brand-new granite coun-

tertops. What is the first thing you want to notice when you walk into the room — is it the walls or the expensive granite? Choosing a color that is in your granite or one that is complimentary for your wall color, will create a backdrop so the granite stands out — it won’t get lost in the wall, especially if that wall is white. Seeing paint on a small color chip doesn’t always give you a real idea of what that color will look like in your home. Most people are visual so when I am working with a client I have 16inch by 20-inch sample boards of the different colors and finishes. This way I can show them by putting color behind their furnishings how much more they stand out. You can get many ideas from magazines and websites and many paint stores now will mix up sample sizes of paint. I would encourage you to get some samples of paint and some poster board and do some samples. This way you are not investing time and money to find out the color you have chosen just

TOP: A dramatic or bold color such as red really can add richness to any room. LEFT: The decorative finish behind this armoire not only has accent colors that are used in the room but it also is a great backdrop so the armoire and other furnishings stand out.

doesn’t look good. Choosing color is not always easy so don’t be afraid to contact a professional who works with color. You may have to pay a consultation fee but it is worth the price if in the long run you will have a room you feel great in. Just like when you are cook-

| AT HOME WITH The Good Life | August 2010

ing, different spices will bring out the flavors of others, color is the same way. Other colors will compliment each other. One of my favorite finishes is to layer in two or more colors, maybe three on a paint strip and layer them together to create a soft blended finish. I choose colors that are close together to

Enhance a ceiling fixture with a painted or embossed ceiling medallion.

avoid too much contrast, which can look busy. This is a beautiful finish that is rich with color and can make any room be one you just want to be in. If you have a home with lessthan-desirable walls, you may want to consider having a textured finish. Many people know about Venetian Plaster, which is a mineral product made from marble dust, burnished to a high smooth shine. The same rule holds true with texture as it does with color; it is important you choose the right texture that fits your furnishings and the style of the home. We can now have textured finishes on walls that are not only environmentally friendly, or “green,” but they actually can absorb harmful VOC’s (volatile organic compounds), humidity and noise. People who have allergies or who are sensitive to paint smells can enjoy these finishes and colors. When painting your home don’t forget to look up at that fifth wall… the ceiling. It’s common to leave ceilings white and paint the walls with a color, and there’s nothing wrong with that. But why not think beyond the walls and brighten your ceiling with paint? Use the same color as the walls for a seamless look, or try something different — a soft blended

When painting your home don’t forget to look up at that fifth wall… the ceiling. finish or a bold color, especially in recessed ceilings or powder rooms. Enhance a beautiful chandelier or ceiling fan with a painted or embossed ceiling medallion. The medallion added just enough design to the ceiling, enhanced the room and complimented the chandelier without being a distraction. You don’t have to stop with your walls. Other areas that really could benefit with a bit of accent color or texture are doors and trim. Don’t be afraid of color — the next time you admire the beauty of a sunset, pay close attention to all the colors and see how you enjoy them.

Kim Bacon is owner and designer of Wall Effects in Quincy, specializing in decorative painting on walls and other surfaces. She has been in business for 10 years, and has worked in homes and businesses in Eastern and Western Washington, Scottsdale, Arizona, and Boise, Idaho. For a color consultation or more information, contact Kim at (509) 787-3795, klbacon@turf4u.com or visit her website www.kimbacon.com.

Sign up for SNAP and receive a free set of six solar yard lights. Your contributions to Sustainable Natural Alternative Power support your neighbors and schools who produce solar and wind power for us in Chelan County. They’ve planted the seeds – now you can help them grow. Solar yard light offer is open to the first 100 new customers who agree to contribute at least $2.50 a month for six months. Sign up at any Chelan PUD office in Wenatchee, Leavenworth or Chelan.

SNAP

August 2010 | AT HOME WITH The Good Life |

www.chelanpud.org

{

the home from local Favorite Things } For merchants and artisans

‘I buy what I like’

Koi Fish These pieces in various sizes symbolize good fortune or good luck.

Some years ago, Jim Norris wanted a few nice lamps for his home. All he found locally were in big box stores, so he went to Seattle — he purchased lamps but they came with a high cost. Jim found wholesalers and started selling lamps at his Interior Images location in Wenatchee. They flew out the door. Looking to add more home decor items, Jim went to a trade show in Seattle. “In this one booth, I liked about 90 percent of what the lady had. She said she was getting out of the business and sold me everything, even the displays. I loaded up two trucks and brought it all back to Wenatchee, and that was the beginning of this.” While floor covering — carpet, tile and stone work — is the mainstay of Interior Images, it’s the home decor pieces in the showroom that’s the most enjoyable. “I just buy what I like — this is fun for me.”

| AT HOME WITH The Good Life | August 2010

“Lola” A unique piece of accent art that you don’t see in anybody else’s home, said Jim. “I bought the first one for myself,” he added, “and when it sold, I bought out the collection.”

Stone table and chairs A beautiful creation from Mother Nature Natural River rock with polished tops.

Wooden ducks “I used to hunt,” said Jim, “so I like these ducks — all hand-carved and painted in a variety of colors.”

Wood Vanity Is made of reclaimed wood with hammered copper top and copper sink.

NCW Home Professionals

August 2010 | AT HOME WITH The Good Life |

A beauty worth waiting for Text by Susan Lagsdin Photos by Donna Cassidy

ngled perfectly into a mountain-facing meadow off The Icicle Creek Road home is open to views of nature. the Icicle Creek Road is a home about marriage. Not just the marriage of the owners, Tim and Christi Jenkins of Edmonds, whose different homebuilding sensibilities melded nicely (“rustic” and “craftsman” are rarely juxtaposed as defining styles in one house). It’s also a marriage of ideas from two men with clear opinions — architect Mick O’Neill and local contractor, Randy Wessman, both friends of the owners in two parts of the state. It’s a marriage of mancrafted and naturemade, of luxury and rusticity, of easy access and mountain wildness. The 5,150-squareNatural support beams used throughout the house — such as these foot house was on the fireplace — show their rooted feet. slated to dazzle

architecture aficionados on the 2009 Tour of Homes, but a few long-deliberated decisions stacked up on one another and created a timing snafu that actually worked to the good. By this September, the last details will have been worked out and, with a year’s grace, reworked. The house has eased itself into the improved landscape, and the contractor can breathe easy knowing it is good to go. And it is good. It looks comfortable on its one-plus acre, shading the front with a small grove of weep-

| AT HOME WITH The Good Life | August 2010

Tour new local homes Sept. 16-19 The 2010 NCHBA and Sangster Motors Tour of Homes is Sept.16 – 19, featuring homes in Wenatchee, East Wenatchee, Leavenworth and Orondo. Tickets are $11 for an adult and $5 for children from 2 to 12. Coupons for $1 off will be available at various local locations and on the website, www. nchba.cc More information on the sponsors, builders and the event can also be found on the website. ing birch, red cedar and aspen, politely tucking a three-bay garage out of sight, turning the best windows to Sleeping Lady Mountain. This house is built for the ages, ready to bear time and weather, but endowed by its creators with delicate artful touches and unique luxuries. The first impression on ap-

The master bedroom has a fireplace and outside door.

proach is the traditional mass and line of a ski lodge: deep eaves, a snow country roofline, the sturdy stone base topped with cedar siding (board and batten, shingle, and clapboard), but then there’s a touch of symbolic whimsy. A shallow winding river of stones leads from the drive into the timbered entryway, becomes aggregate inlaid with fish designs, and continues into the foyer. There, subtley positioned in the first floor slate, five more distinctive fish sym-

bolize each family member. Eye-catching artistry, something that Randy Wessman loves to bring somewhere, somehow, to every project, is found amid grand scale. Interlocking wrought iron twigs wind invitingly up the broad staircase, supporting the handrail. In the children’s rooms, custom shelving for lamp and book abut the twin bed in each arched alcove. Showers with space galore and multiple spray heads are artfully tiled in colors of native

Glass, light, wood, tile work together in the master bath.

rock. Randy vetoed a ho-hum white vinyl mitten rack in the mudroom, installing instead a branch-like shelf and wrought iron bars. Randy loves what he does. “You walk away at the end of the day and then pause and look back — you can actually see what you’ve accomplished.” Though known for notably sumptuous homes, he admits to a thrifty streak that pushes his creativity. He installed exotic verde granite, motion sensor

August 2010 | AT HOME WITH The Good Life |

toe lights under the bathroom sinks, 81-pound matting for the carpet, and solid two-inch to three-inch close-cell foam insulation wrapping the house, but he also hunted slash piles, a friend’s hillside, and a demolished barn for sticks and timbers, carefully selected pieces of unmatched but beautifully cohesive wood. The home’s eclectic wood elements meld nicely together: alder doors and trim, an elm

}}} Continued on next page

A bed is tucked into the wall in an upstairs child’s bedroom. The home’s eclectic wood elements meld nicely together.

}}} Continued from previous page island counter (“That was originally a table we found on Queen Anne Hill,” he pointed out), light pine ceilings throughout,

Estate Planning Elder Law n Probate

hand-scraped knotty birch floor planks with a coppery finish. Sweeping feet of cedar and the upside down Y of branches form bases, and one massive Douglas

Trust Administration Guardianship n Medicaid Planning Advice

409 North Mission St. - Wenatchee Telephone (509) 662-2031

fir was completely used up in beams, slabs and “live-side out” au natural shelving. Allowing a refreshing foil for the many shades, shapes and textures of wood is pale sheetrock painted in soft shades of celery and ivory, and upstairs carpeting in dark chocolate. Facing meadow and mountain are several large, bright unadorned windows. Local craftsmen, artisans and designers lent their expertise throughout the 16-month project. And as happens, some bigger structural re-decisions rose up within the progress of building, a test of the “marriage” of professional preferences.

NCW Home Professionals

| AT HOME WITH The Good Life | August 2010

A broad, welcoming upper hallway meant a smaller side room. Dormer windows flattened when a bonus room extended over a patio, a nine-foot ceiling rose to 22 feet, the upstairs catwalk became a deeper reading nook, a square kitchen angled down to a cozier size with the island set on the bias. Randy admits the (successful) cedar trunk and basalt fireplace was an iffy proposition until the end. A few trim and tile details came late in the game. And what about the life in the house? In winter or summertime, the living is easy. The whole family treasured their vacation visits to the home this past nine months, and Tim and Christie can foresee active retirement here in their closeto-town neighborhood that feels like wilderness. They’ve planned well with a big office for on-line management of his consulting firm, storage space for vehicles and gear, privacy for and from guests, and insulation and orientation to make the best of the climate. All the disparate parts involved in building a house, from the first “let’s do it” idea to the last vacuuming of sawdust traces have finally come to completion. It’s summer 2010. Time to open the doors and welcome visitors.

column ALEX ON WINE

ALEX SALIBY

Right wine makes gastronomic heaven A

few issues back I wrote about the simple marriage of a food and wine. In that marriage, as is often the case in such food and wine marriages, a sauce played a major role in determining what wine to pair with the meal. Coq au Vin, a chicken dish, (wow, is Julia Childs turning over in her grave at this moment because I’ve reduced Coq au Vin to being simply, “a chicken dish?”) is a meal where the sauce is made with red wine. It’s that sauce which takes the chicken from its usual white wine realm and elevates it to the red wine world. Oops, perhaps “elevates” is a biased comment, indicating red wines are somehow superior to whites. First, that isn’t true. Second, that wasn’t my intention. Perhaps I should have said, “Switches the meal from its white to the red wine world?” But sauces, while they are important conjunctions in the food and wine pairing process, aren’t the only aspects to be considered. Other factors also play a major roll in bringing food and wine pairing into balance. This is where I raise the question: “Which is best, selecting the menu first and then choosing the wines, or choosing the

wine and then building the meal around it?” We’ve done both at our house, and we’ve worked at events where we’ve done both. I don’t know from any definitive standpoint which is the easier or the better, or even the more preferred method, but I do know that our preference is to select the wine and then work to create a meal that Mrs. S knows almost intuitively will work best with the wine. While it is true there is a common denominator in wines from a common grape: Cabernet Sauvignon is Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay is Chardonnay, for example, it is also true that winemaker’s style plays a role in determining what basic flavor components are present in any well made wine. Winemaker’s style greatly affects the end result of the wine, and that is an important detail to consider when selecting the food to pair with the bottled wine. Among other, far more technical aspects, style refers to the specific oak regimen, if any, which the winemaker employed, as well as to the blending components in the wine. There is a world of difference between Cabernet Sauvignons aged on oak beans and in steel for eight

or nine months and those aged in new French oak barrels for two or three years, bottled and rested for six months before marketing. Here’s one way to sample the style differences of two wines to see how they work best with specific foods. First, find for yourself a well-made bottle of Pinot Noir that has been vinted in a lighter, more delicate manner by the winemaker. Try one of these: Benson Estate Vineyards, or Chelan Estates, or Fair le Pont Pinot Noirs. All of these are lighter, more delicate and often elegant wines. They pair perfectly with salmon prepared by topping the fish with a coating of garlic and seasoned breadcrumbs then baking the fish. We’ve eaten salmon prepared in this fashion with all these wines, at different times of course, and found all the wines work well with the fish, for the food and wine characteristics are in balance. Prepare that same salmon and try drinking, say a Lake Chelan Winery’s Pinot Noir, and you should find, as we have, that the wine is far too big and bold for this salmon dish. The wine’s flavors and characteristics overshadow the fish flavors. We had the same results with Josh Bergstrom’s Oregon Pinot

August 2010 | The Good Life |

Noir wines and this dish. Josh, too, makes a huge, very bold, almost Syrah-like Pinot Noir that overpowers this particular salmon recipe. However, take that Lake Chelan Winery Pinot Noir and serve it with baked or poached salmon topped with a caramelized red onion, Pancetta and Pinot Noir reduction sauce, and you’ll find yourself in gastronomic heaven. Wine and topping are in perfect balance, not fighting each other, but rather working wonders with the natural flavors of each. I’ve no intention here of even remotely suggesting that one wine is better than the other. Both styles of Pinot Noir have their place and both styles represent quality winemaking. More importantly, each works wonders with different foods. An old rule — and a good one — is to serve light bodied wines with lighter foods and more intense, bolder wines with heartier, more strongly flavored foods. 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.

column THE TRAVELing DOCTOR

jim brown, m.d.

Dan and the two Jim’s excellent adventure

bout six months before the annual United States Sectional Tennis Championships held every June in Sun River, Ore., Jim Russell decided the WRAC should enter a Super Senior (over age 60) 6.0 rated tourna-

ment. As a veteran of these tournaments, he put together a team of eight of us, four of whom, including myself, had never played in a tennis tournament of any kind. Our team consisted of captain Jim Russell, Bill McDow-

ell, Jerry Spragg, Dick Milner, Dick Thayer, Dan Feil, and myself of Wenatchee plus Monty Drummond from Oroville. Most of these players brought their wives and made this USTA tournament also a fun holiday. To qualify for the sectional

| The Good Life | August 2010

championships, our team had to finish in the top two teams in the regional tournament held each year in Richland. We managed to qualify, so it was on to Sun River in June to play teams representing cities from Oregon and Washington. In Sun River, all were vying for the right to play in the national championships in Palm Springs. Wenatchee was quite well represented with five teams playing in different divisions plus many fans cheering us all on. During one of my matches played with my partner Jerry Spragg, the other team asked us, “Did you bring all of Wenatchee to cheer for you?” Since everyone except Dan Feil, Jim Russell and me had wives going, Dan offered to fly us down in his Cessna 180 airplane. Dan has been flying for more than 15 years. His first plane was a Chinese training plane, which he and Arnie Clark traveled to San Diego to pick up and fly back to Wenatchee. Dan was convinced this was an avocation he would enjoy. Our wives were pretty skeptical of our flying in a small airplane and encouraged us to drive the six to seven hours to Sun River rather than fly down in one hour and 43 minutes. The idea of getting there that quickly won out, and we met Dan at Pangborn where he picked us up after he flew his plane from Cashmere airstrip where he keeps his plane. At the airport we ran into our state Senator Linda Evans Parlette who had just flown in by private plane from meetings in Walla Walla. I learned that her husband Bob is a longtime pilot since his years in the US Air Force as a fighter pilot during

He pointed out a small white spot that looked to me about the size of a tennis ball and said, “That is where we are going to land... ” the Vietnam war. Once airborne, we flew at 7,500 to 8,500 feet and enjoyed viewing the amazing country in which we are fortunate to live. After about 18 minutes, we were flying over Ellensburg and soon over the Columbia River near Biggs. I thought about that fourhour long drive from Wenatchee to Biggs and marveled at how smooth and easy this was in comparison. Thoughts of taking flying lessons briefly entered my mind, but they were fleeting ideas since I knew becoming a pilot wasn’t very realistic at my age, and most certainly my practical wife would veto it. In the area southeast of the Colockum and on both sides of the Columbia River near Biggs wind turbines appeared as far as the eye could see. The turbines were much more extensive than ones seen from an automobile when driving south out of Goldendale. Wind turbines may be somewhat controversial in some circles, but I was very pleased to see that we are at least doing something to decrease our reliance on foreign oil. From the air the varied topography and remoteness of the land we live in was quite apparent. From the green forests, to wheat fields with single farms every square mile, our land seems huge and unoccupied. The barren lava national park near Bend is much more extensive than I realized. After we flew over Bend, I started worrying about landing in the small airport in Sun River about 17 miles south of Bend.

Dan admitted he had never flown into Sun River before. He pointed out a small white spot that looked to me about the size of a tennis ball and said, “That is where we are going to land in a few minutes.” I breathed a sigh of relief when his landing was perfect and smooth. I hadn’t been to Sun River for many years. There has been much more development than I recalled, and it is much larger than I remembered, especially seeing it from the air. Tennis is a big attraction with dozens of courts in addition to several great looking golf courses. The trail system there makes Sun River a fitness paradise. It seemed like everyone was biking, running and walking on the maze of trails. The day we got there they had a triathalon race, and two days later another big marathon was scheduled. Sun River has done a great job selling itself as a sport and family destination spot. Most of the condos and homes in Sun River are available for short-term rental through the various real estate agents there. In addition, the main lodge has hotel rooms available. As for the tennis tournament, we did pretty well I thought, especially for a team made up mostly of tennis tournament novices, even though our 6.0 team didn’t qualify to go on to Nationals. Each day our team played three matches against other Northwest clubs. Our tennis highlight came on our third day, when we beat the then undefeated team from Federal Way. There were Wenatchee high fives all around. As we flew back to Wenatchee that evening with a strong tailwind, the three of us — two Jims and Dan — agreed it had been an excellent adventure. 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. August 2010 | The Good Life |

column moving up to the good life

june darling

Money is nice, but meaning is neater Joanie makes $30,000 a year

doing work that she finds meaningful. She has three strong friendships and laughs a whole lot more than she worries. Is Joanie living a good life? Is Joanie a

good person? Do you desire to live a life like Joanie’s? This scenario and these questions are similar to those posed by researchers who want to know more about what regular folks (rather than philosophers, theologians, and psychologists)

consider “good” — what they believe “the good life” to be. As it turns out, regular folks think money is nice (the Asians find it nicer than most people do), but after the basics are covered, money is five times less important than happiness to those surveyed. But happiness turns out not to be the biggest marker of the good life. What regular folks consider to be six times more important than money is having meaning and purpose in life. If we really want to move up to the good life, we should be spending much more of our time becoming affluent in meaning and purpose. Here’s some good news: It’s never too late to amass more meaning in your life. I offer this story about my father to spur your creativity. At the age of forty-nine, my father had a serious heart attack which compromised his capability and stamina, but increased the intensity of his desire to build more meaning into his life. He thought about what he could do to contribute to others’ lives. Here’s what he chose to do. My father called people and acknowledged their birthdays. It was a simple gesture and it made his life worthwhile. My father had a large direc-

| The Good Life | August 2010

tory, made by a church of local people which listed their phone numbers as well as their birthdays. Every evening he asked my mother to look at whose birthday it was that day. Then he dialed their number, acknowledged the importance of the day, and encouraged them; sometimes he sang. (Though my father was given less than a year to live after his heart attack, his birthday mission lasted for thirty years. At his funeral many people told me with tears in their eyes how much they looked forward to my dad’s call and would miss it.) We may seek a bigger 401K, new toys, and more exotic vacations. All that may be just fine as long as we remember our true turn-on – that which truly makes us feel alive and rich, doing something worth our while. How might you move up to the good life by becoming more affluent in meaning? 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.

column GARDEN OF DELIGHTS

bonnie orr

It’s the drying time of year (canning, too) wine vinegar, garlic and onions. 4. Mix all the ingredients together and let set for at least three hours or overnight. Stir several times to be sure all the squash is coated. 5. Place on the dehydrator dryer screens in single layers. 6. Dry. It will take 8-15 hours depending on your system. The chips should be crisp when they are dry. 7. Store in Ziplock bags if there are any left to store. Make another batch. Reconsider if you want to use more or less salt.

Because I want to savor

summer all year long, I know now is time to start thinking of winter. On or about Aug. 15, sniff the air in the early morning. It has changed from sweet, redolent, green to a sharp, bright hint of autumn… and the swallows have left, too. Let’s store the summer’s garden produce to brighten winter days. I have been harvesting raspberries, loganberries and black currants. I pop them into the freezer right now, and then, when the inevitable gray inversion sets in, I thaw the berries and juice them and then watch the windows steam over with summer fragrance while I make jam — and it is a darned sight cooler to make jam in November as well. I leave one of the jars of the intense ruby jelly in the windowsill, so the winter’s sunlight illuminates it. Drying food is popular and easy. I used to dry 500 pounds of garden produce a year. Little did I know that 100 pounds of tomatoes produced 65 ounces of dried fruit. Fruit and vegetables dry readily in our low humidity climate. Herbs take only a few hours to dry. If you do not have a dehydrator, use cake cooling racks covered with nylon netting. Set them in the sun in your driveway. I love to make what I call Apple Pie Slices. Slice tart apples thinly. Brush with a syrup made of 50 percent warm water and 50 percent honey with a dash of cinnamon. Sprinkle the dampened slices with finely ground nuts. As the slices dry in the dehydrator, the nuts toast, and the honey adheres them to the fruit. Yummy, yum.

Pickled Green Beans Makes 7 pints

Ingredients: 5 pounds green beans 5 cups water 5 cups vinegar ½ cup salt Hot red pepper Whole mustard seed (1 teaspoon each per pint jar) Dill seed Clove garlic peeled (1 or 2 per pint jar)

1.Cut the ends from the beans into lengths for the jar. (4 inches long for a wide pint mason jar.) 2.Stuff beans tightly into each jar 3. Add the spices and the garlic. Add as much hot pepper as you like, but remember it does get stronger the longer it sits in jar. 4.Boil the vinegar, water and salt. Pour into jar. Wiggle a dinner knife in the jar to remove extra air bubbles. Put on a new canning lid and ring and process according to instructions.

Dried Zucchini Chips

These little guys are perfect for an hors d’oeuvre — if there are any left to serve to guests. Ingredients: 3 pounds zucchini or summer squash not more than 4-5 inches in circumference. You don’t want to use ones with big hollow spots where the seed have developed or with tough skin.

2 cups wine vinegar 2 cloves garlic ¼ cup chopped onions 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon white pepper 1. Slice the fruit (yes, it is a fruit) very thinly with a sharp knife or a mandolin. 2. Place the slices in a large bowl. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. 3. In a food processor blend the

August 2010 | The Good Life |

One of my most-requested garden treasure is pickled green beans. My pickled beans recipe came from my godmother’s mother more than 40 years ago. This is another one of those recipes that makes my mouth water just to read it. The pickled beans need to be made now so they can sit for three months before being eaten. I am not going to give you all the important instructions for canning; you will be responsible for that. There are books on canning, and the WSU Extension service has lots of brochures about canning. It is essential to follow the safety instructions for sterilizing, sealing, processing, etc. You wouldn’t want someone sick on Christmas Eve when they ate your treats, would you? The tomatoes are coming on this month, but you are not tired of eating them fresh yet. Next month, I will share some unusual recipes for preserving tomatoes. Bonnie Orr lives and cooks in East Wenatchee.

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WHAT TO DO

These listings are created with the help of NCW Events Online, a one-stop clearinghouse for event information in Chelan, Douglas and Okanogan counties. Visit the website at: www.ncwevents.com.

e v e n t s

The Sound of Music, 8/ 3, 6, 11, 13, 17, 20, 25, 28 & 29, 8 p.m. Outdoors and under the stars. Ski Hill Amphitheater. Cost: $14, $22 & $28. Info: 548-2000 or www.leavenworthsummertheater.org.

is Happy Hour at Tunnel Hill Winery in Chelan. Relax in the waterfall garden and enjoy live music. Cost: $5 glass and complimentary chevre and crackers. Info: www.tunnelhillwinery.com or 682-3243.

Pen and Ink Garden Sketches, 8/3 – 8/4, 9 a.m. – noon. Instructor Ginger Spice will teach you to draw a garden scene. Wear walking shoes and pack a sack lunch. Ohme Gardens, 3327 Ohme Rd. Cost: $50 for the two days. Info: 662-5785.

Summer Music Series, 8/5, 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. Cabin Fever will perform at Ohme Gardens. Cost: $10 adults, $5 youth. Info: 662-5785.

w w w. n c we ve n t s. co m

Icicle Creek International Chamber Music Festival, 8/1, 2 p.m. Sleeping Lady Chapel Theatre, Leavenworth. Info: www.icicle.org.

Back Street Boys, 8/4, 7:30 p.m. Town Toyota Center. Info: www. towntoyotacenter.com. Happy Hour at Tunnel Hill Winery, 8/5, every Thursday 4 – 6 p.m.

Facebook 101: What It’s All About! 8/5, 6 – 8 p.m. If you are mystified by this social networking tool that everyone seems to be using, this evening is for you! Learn how you can connect with friends and family, share photos, and keep up with everyone all at once. A Facebook sign-in and password

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WHAT TO DO

p.m. artists reception. To submit a print contact Teresa Rae 264-7024. 2107 N Duncan Dr. Suite #802, Wenatchee. Info: 264-7024. Leavenworth Farmer’s Market, 8/5, every Thursday. 3 p.m. – 7 p.m. Plenty of shade and picnic tables. Live music, freshly prepared food vendors, yard art and crafts. Lion’s Club Park. Info: www.leavenworth. com. As You Like It, 8/5, 6, 7, 12, 13 & 14, 7 p.m. The Short Shakespeareans will perform the William Shakespeare play edited and adapted by Sherry Schreck. Riverside Playhouse. Cost: $12 for adults, $8 for kids and $10 for seniors. Info: 662-7814. 2 Rivers Gallery, 8/6, 5 – 8 p.m. First Friday reception, meet the artists. see their latest paintings, sculpture, glass, ceramics, wood carvings, gourd & fabric art and more. Music by harpist Suzanne Grassell. Featured artist Romella (Bagdon) Cheney’s paintings will be on exhibit.Info: 888-9504 or www.2riversgallery.com. Summer Concert Series, every Friday in August, 7 p.m. Centennial Park, downtown Wenatchee. 8/6 – Eric Verlinde and Alyse Black will perform. 8/13 – Kirk Lewellen and Chelsea Craven will perform. 8/20 – Goodluck Numbers and Once Minutos will perform and 8/27 Mugsy’s Groove and Kirk Lewellen will perform. Info: www.wendowntown.org. Heather Wallis and Sam Collett, 8/6, 5 – 7 p.m. Enjoy the works of plain air painter Sam Collett, on display in the museum’s Gold Gallery, and meet Leavenworth artist/biologist Heather Wallis Murphy, whose exhibit “The Naturalist’s Eye” is showing in the Main Gallery. Refreshments will be served at this free reception, which

is part of Wenatchee’s “First Friday” art gallery series. Wenatchee Valley Museum & Cultural Center. Cost: free. Live Music at Lake Chelan Winery, 8//6, 6:30-9:30 p.m. BBQ in the vineyard, music by the Lake Boys, a classic rock band. Info: www.cometothelake.com. Friday Funnies, 8/7, every Friday through Aug. 13, 8 – 10 p.m. Mission: Improv on Friday night for cheap, local entertainment. Cost: $5. Info: Cynthia Brown, 670-8233. Coolest Yard Sale in Town, 8/7, 7 a.m. – 2 p.m. Rent space or browse. Town Toyota Center. Info: www.towntoyotacenter1.com. Chelan to Africa, 8/7, 6 p.m. Third annual benefit concert. Kevin Jones Band will perform. Benson Vineyards, 754 Winesap Ave., Manson. Cost: $20. Info: www.bensonvineyards.com. Kris Orlowski Band, 8/7, 7 p.m. – 9 p.m. Singer, songwriter, Kris Orlowski will perform at Tildio Winery, 70 E Wapato Lake Road, Manson. Info: www.tildio.com. Creative Cupcaking, 8/7, 9 -11 a.m. Learn how to make your cupcakes stand out from the crowd. Explore designs for baby showers, birthdays, parties, wedding showers and more. Pre-registration required. Wenatchee Valley College, Wells Hall. Cost: $29. Info: 682-6900.

Saint Laurent Feast Day, 8/7 5 – 9 p.m. Good food, great wine and outdoor fun and games. Cost: $15.95 per person. Info: www.saintlaurent.net. How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, 8/7, 14, 21 & 28, 8 p.m. Leavenworth Festhalle, 1001 Front St. Cost: $14, $22 & $28. Info: 548-2000 or www. leavenworthsummertheater.org. Papermaking Workshop, 8/7, 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. Spend a Saturday making beautiful handmade paper. This one-day workshop will leave you with handmade paper you can use to create frames, craft book covers and much more. Fee includes mold kits you can take home after the course. Bring two bath towels, hand wipes and found things from nature (flower petals, twigs, grass) to create your own unique paper work of art. Pre-registration is required. Wenatchee Valley College Music and Arts Center. Info: 682-6900. Crazy, Chocolate Wacky Cake, 8/10, 5:30 – 7:30 p.m. Tonia will show you how to jazz up a simple chocolate cake recipe and make something special. Explore the possibilities to add your own special touch and “wow!” your family and

}}} Continued on next page

One Eyed Jack, 8/7, 7 p.m. One Eyed Jack will perform at Tsillan Cellars in Chelan. Cost: $15. Info: www.tsillancellars.com. Walking Tour of The Sunshine Farm, 8/7 and every Saturday in August. Guy Evans will lead a walking tour of orchards, market garden and vineyards. Learn about the history, present and future of farming in the valley. Chelan. Cost: Free. Info: www.thesunshinefarm.com.

August 2010 | The Good Life |

WHAT TO DO

}}} Continued from previous page friends. King’s Orchard Church of Christ. Cost: $29, pre-registration required. Info: 682-6900. Summer Music Series, 8/12, 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. Swing Shift will perform at Ohme Gardens. Cost; $10. Info: 662-5785 or www.ohmegardens.org. Quigley Trio, 8/13, 6:30 – 9:30 p.m. BBQ in the vineyard at Chelan Winery and listen to Quigley Trio, a jazz band. Info: www.cometothelake.com. Weekend Weaving, 8/13 & 8/14, 9 a.m. – noon. Learn about and use different types of looms including floor and table looms. Get creative and choose a color and design as you experience the rhythm of weaving. You will create a small piece to take home. Registration is required. Weaving Studio, 2201 N Duncan Rd. Wenatchee. Cost: $59. Info: 682-6900. The Crying Tree, 8/13, 7 – 8 p.m. “Beautifully written, expertly crafted, forcefully rendered, “The Crying Tree” is a story of redemption, but at its core it is a love story as well, and that is the most powerful story of all,” says author Garth Stein. Stein will be at the Leavenworth Library and at A Book For All Seasons from 1 – 3 p.m. Cost: free. Info: 548-1451. Grupo Amoroso Concert, 8/14,

7 – 9 p.m. Grupo Amoroso, a bossa nova/jazz band will perform at Tildio Winery. Info: www.tildio.com. Naturalist’s Study Hike, 8/14, 8 a.m. – 3 p.m. Join Leavenworth wildlife biologist and artist Heather A. Wallis Murphy in exploring one of her favorite field studies in the Mission Ridge area. Hike and study habitat, plants and landscapes; view animals and record their “evidence”; and sketch and journal on this 3- to 5-mile hike in the higher elevations, escaping the summer heat. Bring a sketchbook and drawing tools; hiking boots; and a day pack with water, food and layers for hot or cold. The study hike will begin at the Wenatchee Valley Museum & Cultural Center with a brief orientation. Then participants will form carpools and drive to the field site. The day will end with a viewing of Murphy’s exhibit at WVMCC, “The Naturalist’s Eye.” Preregister at 888-6240. Live Music, 8/14, 4 – 6 p.m. Live music on the crush pad with oldies band Deja Voodoo. Bring your dancing shoes and Woodstock memories. Hard Row to Hoe, Manson. Info: jumpintheboat@hardrow.com. Bread, Cheese & Cured Meat Festival, 8/14, 5 – 10 p.m. Third annual event at White Heron Cellars. Cost: $10. Info: 797-9463. Less is More, 8/15, 3 – 5 p.m. Author Cecille Andrews will be at A Book For All Seasons in Leavenworth for his book signing. Cost: Free. Info: 548-1451.

Collins Elite Hockey Camp, 8/16- 20. Town Toyota Center. Info: www.towntoyotacenter1.com. Fine Arts Festival Gallery Gala, 8/19, 7 – 10 p.m. Preview of the Juried Art Gallery will be the focus of this party with announcement of the awards for the gallery, entertainment, no host bar and hors d’oeuvres. Art will be for sale. Campbell’s Resort Park Room, Chelan. Cost: $25. Info: www.cometothelake.com. Summer Music Series, 8/19, 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. All Strings Considered will perform at Ohme Gardens. Cost: $10. Info: www.ohmegardens. com. Watercolor in the Park, 8/19, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Watercolor in the Park with Renee Healy. White paper, water, fabulous color mixing together as they follow a path of liquid. Expand your painting’s ability to talk with multi-media,

| The Good Life | August 2010

small brushes and drips of water that carry pigment into a stunning topic. Chelan. Cost: $75. Info: info@ mainstreetgallerychelan.com. Bretz’s Flood: The Remarkable Story of a Rebel Geologist and the World’s Greatest Flood, 8/20, 7 p.m. John Soennichsen presents information from his book of the same title. Harlen Bretz put the pieces of the puzzle together and determined how the coulees, scablands, and deserts of Eastern Washington were formed. Books available for purchase and signing. Barn at Barn Beach Reserve in Leavenworth. Will also be at A Book For All Seasons 8/21 1 – 3 p.m. Info: www.barnbeachreserve. org. Wine Tasting Festival, 8/21, noon – 6 p.m. Enjoy wine gourmet foods while listening to live music. Sleeping Lady Mountain Resort. Cost: $30 per person, $50 per couple. Info: 548-6784.

WHAT TO DO

Chelan Fine Arts Festival, 8/20 – 8/22. Friday noon – 9 p.m. Saturday 10 a.m. – 9 p.m. Sunday 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. Meet the artists and see their displays and buy original works of art. Juried art show, food, entertainment and much more. Profits benefit Lake Chelan area cultural programs. Riverwalk Park Chelan. Info: www.lakechelanartscouncil.com. Just Plain Darin, 8/20, 7 – 9 p.m. Just Plain Darin, a blues/Americana band will be performing at Tildio Winery Manson. Info: www.tildio. com. Andy Burnett, 8/20, 6:30 – 9:30 p.m. BBQ and listen to Andy Burnett, a classic rock band. Lake Chelan Winery. Info: cometothelake.com. Kevin Jones & Larry Murante, 8/21, 7 p.m. Concert at Tsillan Cellars, Chelan. Info: www.tsillancellars.com. Rotary Salmon BBQ, 8/21, 4 – 8 p.m. BBQ salmon, cole slaw, corn on the cob, baked beans, roll and soda. Riverwalk Park Chelan. Info: cometothelake.com. St. Andrew’s Annual Pie Social, 8/21. Homemade pies by the slice and whole. St. Andrew’s Log Church, downtown Chelan. Info: cometothelake.com. 6th Annual Mustard Seed Golf Classic, 8/23, 1 p.m. at the Wenatchee Golf and Country Club, 1600 Country Club Drive, East Wenatchee. All proceeds to benefit the Mustard Seed Neighborhood Center of Wenatchee, providing child care for low-income families. For registration or more information contact mustardseedgolf@ gmail.com, or 630-7989. Cost: $100 per player. Rod Molzahn: Early Wenatchee Residents, 8/26, 2 – 3 p.m. Historian Rod Molzahn will present a slide show of people important to the early development of Wenatchee, describing their places in history. Included will be stories of bootlegging, moon shining and Shacktown. Wenatchee Valley Museum & Cultural Center. Info: www. wenatcheewa.gov. Lake Boys Band, 8/27, 6:30 – 9:30 p.m. BBQ in the vineyard and listen to a classic rock band. Lake Chelan Winery. Info: cometothelake.com. Stevens Pass Railroad History Tour, 8/28 & 8/29, 9:30 a.m. – 2 p.m. Railroad historian Mark Behler will lead tours. Meet at the muse-

The Art Life

// SKETCHES OF LOCAL ARTISTS

Singing nun feeling more like a mother superior Y

ou may notice something slightly off kilter in the photograph at right — in fact, 10,000 summer theater-goers would too. Susan Gubsch, who plays the Abbess of the Nonnberg Abbey in “The Sound of Music,” is looking a bit lighthearted, prettily uncomposed, compared to the cloistered nun they are used to. It’s a nice face, but it’s not her well-known stage face. In this photo, dress rehearsal for opening night of her 18th year in Leavenworth Summer Theater’s classic is imminent, and Susan is rarin’ to go. She not only plays Maria’s venerable spiritual leader, a key character, she is also the music director of a convent full of actress/nuns. Additionally, she and her fellow cast members have pre-and post-show duties first greeting audience members, and after the performance chatting with them on their tour busses, meeting people from all around the world. This is Susan’s 18th year in the role of the Abbess. “I had to skip 2002 because I was just finishing my master’s degree that summer,” she said. As the one remaining member of the original cast, her own maturation fuels the role — when she first auditioned at age 31 she felt too um and form carpools to five sites along Hwy 2 that were significant in the history of the Great Northern Railway, including the location of the March 1910 Wellington Disaster. Bring water and a lunch, and wear walking shoes for a half-mile hike to the Wellington site. Additional hiking on the Iron Goat Trail

Susan Gubsch sings sprightly near the hills of the Upper Valley.

young, but her life experiences add depth to the character. Every year it’s slightly different, because “I don’t come back unless I have a challenge… and this year I really feel like a mother.” Mentoring the revolving cast of singing nuns, as well as shepherding countless new Maria’s under different directors most years, means a real-life guidance role for the veteran Mother Superior. It has, Susan realized, enhanced her leadership skills both on and off stage. Singing came naturally in her musical family, but acting only when she sought a college speech credit, later auditioning for musicals “as a way of learning a new community, getting out and meeting people.” During the school year this high-energy single mom of two sons, now grown, teaches Spanish and drama full time at Cashmere High School, and directs student productions. Susan loves what every summer brings to her life. The is optional. Cost: $20 pre-register: 548-0728. Jump Ensemble Concert, 8/28, 7 – 9 p.m. This jazz band will be performing at Tidlio Winery in Manson. Info: www.tildio.com. Quigley Trio Concert, 8/28, 6:30 – 9:30 p.m. BBQ in the vineyard

August 2010 | The Good Life |

months of being another person on stage are a joy to her; she’s proud of the magical look of the Ski Hill’s amphitheater, she’s formed off-stage family ties and finds pleasure in meeting people who love the show. The tough part of her job? “I need to wear that heavy costume all evening, sometimes in 100-degree heat — the gown, scapula, bib, wimple, veil, rope, and cross, plus black stockings and our ‘ugly shoes’.” This year Susan expands her repertoire as a completely opposite character by stretching her singing and acting talents in a new role: the obnoxious, insensitive head secretary Miss Jones, played with a grating “n’yawk” accent, in “How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying.” She realizes this may be a shock for fans local and far who’ve known her for years only as the Abbess, the hills behind her alive with music. — by Susan Lagsdin

and listen to this jazz band at Lake Chelan Winery. Info: lakechelanwinery.com. Jonathan Kingham Live, 8/28, 7 p.m. A blend of folk, pop, country and jazz. River Haus in the Pines, Leavenworth. Cost: $45 dinner included. Info: 548-9690,

column those were the days

rod molzahn

The Ancient Ones left their marks T

he Clovis people left their cache of stone and bone blades and implements on the bench above East Wenatchee just over 11,000 years ago. It would be another 1,000 years before other hunters and their families began leaving signs of their lives; tools and blades much different from Clovis style and pictures scraped, chipped and painted on rocks as they spread through eastern Washington along the Columbia and its tributaries. Local Indians in the 1800s told early white settlers the rock art was the work of the ancient ones who came before them and those who came before them. In 1946, bison bones were found protruding from a bank

15 feet below ground level along Lind Coulee, south of Moses Lake. The bones showed charring – a strong suggestion of man’s involvement. Further excavation uncovered more animal bones along with stone knives, projectile points and scrapers. Radiocarbon dating put the age at 9,000 BP (before present). In the early 1970s, new excavations found more tools and points, also dated to 9,000 BP, including rarely seen bone needles used, it is believed, to sew skin clothing – necessary in the cool, damp climate of the time. The artifacts suggest a hunting camp returned to each spring by the same group of people. Needles were also found at the Marmes Rock Shelter near Palouse Falls in the southeast

corner of the state. This made the Marmes and Lind Coulee sites two of only four sites in North America where bone needles have been found. Even more unexpected finds would come from the Marmes Rock Shelter, some dated to more than 10,000 BP. The cave and the immediate area around it held finely crafted arrowheads of semiprecious stone, much older spear points of basalt and grooved stones used with atlatls, a kind of sling used to hurl a spear, a technology dating back to 8,000 BP. There were mortars and pestles for grinding and pounding berries, seeds and roots, a large number of saltwater snail shells traded from the coast to use as jewelry.

There were also human bones including skull portions and teeth from at least five to eight individuals, old and young. The bones were radiocarbon dated as more than

Earliest Wenatchee River dwellers told the stories of their experiences using stone chippers and red ochre on the rocks along the river. This picture of a man with rays shooting from his head is fading, but still visible.

10,000 BP. The bones had been charred, likely on the blackened stone hearth uncovered nearby and thought to be a cremation hearth. Other sites along the Columbia have yielded artifacts equally as old including Kettle Falls and Little’s Landing at the west end of Wenatchee’s Odabashian Bridge. Excavations in preparation for the bridge construction turned up points dated at near 9,000 BP. Further up the Wenatchee Valley, in the Lake Wenatchee area, excavations in the 1980s found evidence of house pits and habitation dating from the 1800s

| The Good Life | August 2010

The work of the earliest point makers was excellent in the oldest pieces found and only materials, design and size changed. back to 8,000 BP. One site, used continually through that time span, held a variety of artifacts includ-

ing projectile points, knife and scraper blades, hammer stones and cobble choppers, drills, engravers, pipes and saws fashioned from bone and a variety of stone from basalt to obsidian. Animal bones present included deer, elk and smaller mammals as well as fish spines and fresh water mussel shells. As with other sites throughout the area, a change in tool technology is evident through the years, but it is an evolution in tool style and materials used, not in quality. The work of the earliest point makers was excellent in the oldest pieces found

and only materials, design and size changed. Points grew smaller reflecting improved hunting techniques and smaller game as the last ice age receded away to the north and the large mammals of the Pleistocene died off. Just as people all along the rivers had done for thousands of years, these earliest Wenatchee River dwellers told the stories of their experiences using stone chippers and red ochre on the rocks along the river. They made animal forms, human figures with rays and circles emanating from their heads and images of abstract forms on the stone canvasses.

It’s not clear where the artists, hunters and tool makers came from – the south, across the ocean from the west, the east or down from the north along the Pacific Coast. Their tool and point technology and style suggests they were not Clovis and, unlike the Clovis who came and left, these Ancient Ones stayed. Historian, actor and teacher Rod Molzahn can be reached at shake. speak@verizon.net. His third history CD, Legends & Legacies Vol. III - Stories of Wenatchee and North Central Washington, is now available at the Wenatchee Valley Museum and Cultural Center and at other locations throughout the area.

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August 2010 | The Good Life |

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Fire up computer, open CD & pour a glass of wine I

By Alex Saliby

’m a fan of Leo Haas, who, with his wife Terri, owns and operates Cascade Catering. I’m a fan because Leo’s foods work with our local wines, and he is an excellent chef. My respect for Leo’s skill as a chef goes back a few years when he and Terri operated Restaurant Osterreich in Leavenworth. The restaurant was a small, almost bistro-like facility that offered quality food and attentive service. Even then, many of the wines on the wine list were Washington wines. We were disappointed when Osterreich closed, but we were equally happy when we read that Leo and Terri were partnered in a new restaurant venture on Front Street in Leavenworth. But Leo and Terri moved on, deciding to stop working for someone else and open their own catering business. Chef Leo Haas breaks rules when he caters. But he doesn’t disrespect the foods he’s preparing. Better still, he pays attention to the character of the foods, the textures, the aromas

and the flavors. That attenMountain’s Cabernet tion to the detailed quality Franc, or one of several of the foods is one of the local Pinot Noirs. “Several reasons why Leo’s catered local wines work for this affairs work so well with recipe,” Leo adds. Then, his the wines served at the eyes brighten and he ofevents. fers, “…and the Icicle Ridge My first experience with Sparkling Syrah is grand Cascade Catering’s excelwith the Quail.” lent food was at the wine The scallops need a solid, tasting room St. Lauhigh acid Riesling or a rent Winery opened on well-made GewurztraminWenatchee Avenue when er to complement the recthey rented a space and ipe’s complex flavors and hosted an event featuring bring some balance to both Chef Leo prepares Roasted Summer Vegetable their new wines, complethe aromas and the flavors. Quiche for the Icicle Ridge Winery ladies’ night. mented by Leo’s hors “Or a sparkling wine works d’oeuvres. very well here,” Leo is quick The bites were delicious! Or to add. If you’re not fortunate enough should I have used one of those He’s a fan of the Icicle Ridge’s to have been invited to or hosted Seattle Magazine words like, Sparkling Muller Thurgau with on your own Cascade Catering “scrumptious?” What really imthis dish, but the Saint Laurent’s event, you needn’t despair. You pressed me was Leo’s pairing of Riesling works nicely, as do both can now recreate some of Leo’s food bites to the wines. St Lauthe Karma Gewurztraminer and savory items in your own kitchrent brought to the event their the new entry into the market, en and at your own pace, all first bottling of La Boheme, a the Crayelle Cellars Riesling. made possible because Leo and Bordeaux style blend. This was A good thing about food and Terri have recently published and is a grand wine, and Leo’s wine pairing is that usually and released their own cook pairing that evening matched more than one wine will work book CD, Seasoned in Leavenboth flavors and quality of the with the food being served. Of worth, Washington. You can wine. course, that’s the fun part of learn all about that by visiting We’ve had similarly fantastic pairing. You have to taste a lot the website: www.cascadecaterexperiences at other catered of wine to find the one you want ing.net. events, always a delightful and for the recipe and the occaTwo of the recipes inside the exhilarating food and wine exsion. I’m happy to tend to those CD are: perience. chores. n Seared Quail Breast served I’ve said before, I’m a major on a Potato Roulade with a Red Along with being the wine columfan of good food, but particuCurrant-Orange-Soy Reduction. nist for The Good Life magazine, Alex Saliby has a Walter Mitty like larly I’m a fan of foods that work n Seared Sea Scallops with relationship with himself pretendwell with the wines I drink. The Thai Red Curry, Coconut Veing he is the New York Times food chief chef and bottle washer at loute and Shaved Fennel Salad. critic assigned to cover North Central Cascade Catering, Leo Haas, For the Quail, Leo recomWashington. He asks that you kindly creates such foods. invite him to your next catered event. mends reds such as the Wedge

| The Good Life | August 2010

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1701 Orchard Avenue, Wenatchee, WA 98801

(509) 293-6869 and

• Housekeeping and linen services, local transportation and all utitilies except phone • Innovative health and well-being programs • Personalized Assisted Living and Memory Care services to meet your needs • A dedicated and caring staff on site 24 hours a day...and so much more

1740 Madison Street,Wenatchee, WA 98801

(509) 293-4128

LaVidaCommunities.com

Ask how VA Aid & Attendance Benefits can save qualified veterans and surviving spouses up to $1949/month! Call today to set up a complimentary lunch and tour!