March 2016 The Good Life

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THE MAKING OF A

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Contents

page 20

‘Forest Service’ lodge takes advantage of view

Elegance and femininity for any occasion

Features

7

THE MAKING OF A COWBOY

Former “Barn Slave” discovers the pleasures of herding cattle into pens while riding an athletic mount

9 spring mountain biking

Soon, the snow in the hills will be replaced by “hero” dirt and the pleasures that come with pedaling over trails

10 Jim’s canoe

He fell in love with a beautifully crafted canoe as a young man — it just took him a few decades to find time to build one himself

12 on the trail of dangerous women

2 South Wenatchee Ave. Monday ~ Saturday 10-6

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Women who spoke out, stood up and made a noise about injustice have always been the most interesting

14 peru in the rough

East Wenatchee dentist goes to Peru to help, and finds the roads are bumpy, the beds short, the food sometimes tough, but the people humble and capable

Turning 65 or new to the area?

16 stories from the trail

Come to a FREE Health Alliance Medicare Seminar

18 pacific city

We’ll walk you through our Medicare Advantage plans in person. Learn how we can save you money and provide one easy-to-use package for your medical, prescription drug, dental and vision care needs.

Everyone has a story who walks the Pacific Crest Trail, and Rich Brinkman has written a few of them down A call from an old friend breaks up cabin fever with a woodsy walk, stroll along the beach and tasty clam chowder

26 they built this city

Cary Ordway presents a special advertorial section about the builders of the Valley

Confluence Health March 10, 11:00 a.m.

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n Actor, writer and painter TJ Farrell, page 36 Columns & Departments 25 Pet Tales: Two is better than one 30 Bonnie Orr: A cooking experiment 29 The night sky: Brilliant Jupiter reaches opposition 32 June Darling: Putting the awesome into your life 34 The traveling doctor: Melanoma and skin cancers 36-39 Arts & Entertainment & a Dan McConnell cartoon 40 History: The last wild horse roundup 42 Alex Saliby: What’s in that bottle of wine?

March 2016 | The Good Life

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Call us today to reserve your spot. 1-877-561-1463 or TTY 711, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. weekdays.

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OPENING SHOT

®

Year 10, Number 3 March 2016 The Good Life is published by NCW Good Life, LLC, dba The Good Life 10 First Street, Suite 108 Wenatchee, WA 98801 PHONE: (509) 888-6527 EMAIL: editor@ncwgoodlife.com

sales@ncwgoodlife.com ONLINE: www.ncwgoodlife.com FACEBOOK: https://www. facebook.com/NCWGoodLife Editor/Publisher, Mike Cassidy Contributors, Brad Brisbine, Katherine March, Sara Villalobos, Jim Garrett, Susan Butruille, Rob Merrill, Rich Brinkman, Lance Stegemann, Donna Cassidy, Bonnie Orr, Alex Saliby, Jim Brown, June Darling, Dan McConnell, Susan Lagsdin, Peter Lind and Rod Molzahn Advertising manager, Terry Smith Advertising sales, Lianne Taylor and Donna Cassidy Bookkeeping and circulation, Donna Cassidy Proofing, Dianne Cornell Ad design, Clint Hollingsworth TO SUBSCRIBE: For $25, ($30 out of state address) you can have 12 issues of The Good Life mailed to you or a friend. Send payment to: The Good Life 10 First Street, Suite 108 Wenatchee, WA 98801 For circulation questions, email: donna@ncwgoodlife.com BUY A COPY of The Good Life at Hastings, Safeway stores, Walgreens, Mike’s Meats at Pybus, Rhubarb Market, Martin’s Market Place (Cashmere) and A Book for All Seasons and Dan’s Food Market (both Leavenworth)

Bruce Bikes

By Brad Brisbine

A

silent snow had fallen through the night.

A clear dawn turned the fluffy topping blue until the sunrise warmed it to orange. Long shadows blended pink to lavender. Some of the flakes caught the sun like mirrors, making a magical sparkle.

I was smiling because I was capturing my favorite composi-

tions on camera.

As the light cooled, I shouldered my camera and headed to the office. As I walked a familiar route down Palouse Street, a splash of geometric color caught my eye. Against the brick alley wall of the Bruce Hotel were the kids’ bikes, clustered tight. This scene hadn’t caught my interest until now. Soft white snow piled up on the top edges turning a common scene to art.

I smiled again, because I still had my camera slung over my shoulder. Good thing, because the artist’s eye never turns off.

Brad Brisbine is a Wenatchee architect, who enjoys photography, oil painting, skiing Mission Ridge and backpacking the Cascades.

On the cover

Katherine March took this photo of her husband, John Lehmkuhl, sorting cattle with his horse, Willy.

See Katherine’s story of how John went from Barn Slave to a full bore cattle sorter, beginning on page 7.

ADVERTISING: For information about advertising in The Good Life, contact advertising at (509) 8886527, or sales@ncwgoodlife.com WRITE FOR THE GOOD LIFE: We welcome articles about people from Chelan and Douglas counties.

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

The Good Life® is a registered trademark of NCW Good Life, LLC. Copyright 2016

by NCW Good Life, LLC.

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editor’s notes

MIKE CASSIDY

The books of our lives to this point I

just picked up a new book at the library, called The Point Is (Making Sense of Birth, Death and Everything in Between).

I’m only a few chapters into it, but the author, Lee Eisenberg, creates a nice way of thinking about your life — that it’s a book being written by a tiny author in your head.

From the time you begin forming permanent memories — about age 3 or so — until the time you are no longer keeping track of your memories, this little fellow edits your memories and shades your experiences to create a book-length story that’s you.

Now, of course, this isn’t true. Even a two-parter CSI Wenatchee couldn’t find a gnome sweating out a deadline, tapping the keys of the most micro of a micro-computer in your noggin.

But, it’s a convenient way of thinking about the arc of your life. So, rather than a series of loose-leaf days filled with annoying frustrations and minor victories, with your time draining away — as the soap opera says: Like sands through the hourglass, so are the days of our lives — perhaps it would be helpful to think of your days like pages in a book, actually adding up to a story to tell.

And if it did, what would that story be?

A mystery? A classic love story, or a heaving-bosom swashbuckling adventure, a rags-to-riches story (or the also common riches-to-rags counterpart), a story of quiet desperation played out in a small town, or something along the lines of Waiting for Godot, where it’s not exactly clear what or who anyone is

waiting for.

Perhaps it might be a little like mine, which I just thought of this title for: Accidental Tourist. (OK, I didn’t just think of that title, it has already been used by a much better writer than me, but since I can’t remember his book, I am going to steal the title for mine. This is, after all, my story.)

So, Accidental Tourist. This is where the hero — that’s me — bumbles along, visiting each day as if I’m passing through another, slightly strange room, as I habitually check my itinerary for my next destination.

Yet, on another day, I might be The Gentleman Farmer, Lost in America, or if my wife gets lucky in the lotto, The Great Gatsby.

My point is that my book — and your book — hasn’t been sent off to the publisher yet.

No matter what the prologue was, or how the first chapters went, there’s time for a surprising twist, or at least a swelling conclusion.

If you need some inspiration, look no further than this issue of The Good Life.

Rich Brinkman writes about people who more or less cast aside their work-a-day identities as they hiked the Pacific Crest Trail, local orthodontist Rob Merrill tells of his good works in Peru that came about partially because of a terrible skiing accident, and Lance Stegemann responds to a call from a long time friend that beckoned to the wet and beauty of Pacific City.

Don’t dawdle, keep writing new chapters in your life’s book. Enjoy The Good Life.

— Mike March 2016 | The Good Life

It’s starts out as a family ride together . . . and then it’s a lifetime sport.

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fun stuff a full LISTING of what to do begins ON PAGE 37 ing, figure skating, snowboard and basketball. Info: specialolympicswashington.org. 8:30 am. – 3 p.m., Saturday, March 5.

The coming of the green

KPQ Home and Garden Spring Expo — Free admission, Town

Yea! The snow is melting,

Toyota Center. Info: towntoyotacenter.com. Friday, March 11, noon – 7 p.m.; Saturday, March 12, 9 a.m. – 7 p.m.; Sunday, March 13, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.

spring is on its way.

This month features some uprising music, ideas for the home gardener and the world’s shortest St. Patrick’s Day Parade.

(Short for lots of reasons, but standing outside on March 17 is often a sobering experience in Wenatchee, while inside a friendly establishment can bring a glow to your cheeks.)

Here are a few items plucked from this month’s What to Do list:

Vox Docs film festival — A weekend festival showcasing the best documentaries of the year. Films include: He Named Me Malala, The Mask We Live In, Unbranded, Racing and Extinction. Snowy Owl Theater. Info: icicle.org. Friday and Saturday, March 11 -12.

Two Rivers Art Gallery —

Celebrating its 7th anniversary with the annual Members Show.

Live music by Connie Celustka on hammered dulcimer. Jones of Washington wines. Complimentary refreshments. 102 N Columbia, Wenatchee. Cost: free. Info: 2riversgallery.com. 5 – 8 p.m., Friday, March 4.

Music for the Heart and Soul — Matt Cadman, emcee,

music by Bonga Marimba Band, Columbia River Music Conservatory Youth Choir, Eastmont High School Chamber Choir,

St. Patrick’s Day parade —

Two Rivers Art Gallery is featuring art from its members during the 7th anniversary First Friday event. Watercolor by Jennifer Evenhus

All Strings Considered, Cassidy Cunningham and Parker Kiesz, Wenatchee Apollo Club and Follies A La Mode Tap Dancers plus an Apple Blossom preview of Mary Poppins. Mobile Meals Benefit concert. Numerica Performing Arts Center. Tickets at Chinook Music, Pak it Rite, Winnie’s Hallmark, Wenatchee

Senior Center or by calling the Mobile Meals Office, 665-6254. 7 p.m. Friday, March 4.

Special Olympics — Athletes

from across the state will converge on Wenatchee, Mission Ridge Ski Resort and Leavenworth to compete in six sports: alpine skiing, cross country ski-

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Keep Moving (509) 665-3156

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March 2016

The shortest St. Patrick’s Day Parade Route in the world. One block long at the corner of Orondo and Mission Street. Staging at 6:15 p.m., parade starts 7ish, Thursday, March 17.

King Michael: A glorious tribute to the king of pop —

Featuring Michael Jackson’s greatest hits and an all-star dance company. Numerica Performing Arts Center. Info: numericapac.org. 7:30 p.m., Friday, March 25.

GWATA Luncheon — Awards including Tech Savvy Business of the Year, Innovative Use of Technology in the Classroom, Future Technology Leader K-12, Future Technology Leader PostSecondary. Keynote presenter is Ari Hollander, of DeepStream VR, which is pioneering virtual reality games to help relieve pain and improve quality of life.

Wenatchee Convention Center. $25 members, $30 public. Info: gwata.org or 661-9000. noon – 1:30 p.m., Tuesday, March 29.

The making of a cowboy

John gallops Willy, racing to get the steer through the gate. This is where reading the cattle is so important. It’s easy to drag along a second steer, and even easier to scatter the herd, making sorting as easy as chasing bees back to their hive.

yip, yip, yip, — how a slightly nerdy scientist became a yee-hawing horse-riding man story and photos

by Katherine March

I called my husband, John

Lehmkuhl, The Barn Slave.

When he had no interest in horses, John built me two barns, put up fences, okayed the purchase of the big truck and horse trailer, and has never asked how much I paid for a horse or a saddle, or why the UPS truck comes so often.

So, I was not surprised when John asked me to find a horse for him. After all, the infrastructure

was already there.

When John’s first horse found us, we unknowingly began the evolution of the slightly nerdy, very quiet guy from the Los Angeles area, to the cattle-chasing, yelling cowboy.

All we need to do is open our eyes near a map to realize that central Washington is the answer to all our wildest dreams.

The endless trails a short drive away, and many we can hike for hours without seeing another two-legged animal, was one of the attractions when making the decision to work here in March 2016 | The Good Life

Wenatchee.

John, a scientist, did not need to do much research to find that he could cover much more ground on four legs with hooves than on two legs attached to five toes.

John’s approach to learning to ride a horse was no different than riding a bike — once you stop landing on the ground you have it conquered.

His first horse, Sadie, a paint mare, had not spent a lot of time under a saddle, but she had mastered the art of standing around looking pretty. www.ncwgoodlife.com

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There is a saying, “Green on green makes black and blue.”

John and Sadie — each green but with beginner’s luck — got along rosy while they learned the trails together, usually lagging behind their pals because in spite of Sadie’s efforts she was bred to stand around in the show ring, and her mind and body were not suitable for allday rides in the hills.

She was a sweet, smart horse, and she only sent me to the emergency room once, but she told lies to my Appaloosa geld-

}}} Continued on next page

does not curse, but I will never cease to be amazed at the repertoire of yips, yeehaws, and heys, with a range of nearly two octaves, that John leaves in his saddlebags when he comes home.

When I was young, I never dared to dream I would have a cowboy in the house, but the hat, }}} Continued from dirty jeans and boots are previous page qualifiers. ing, Harvey, making him I still get some time to think he was the legendride too, but things are ary white stallion. busy at home, and my Willy, John’s second current saddle horse, horse, is a little red quarWinston, a Friesian thorterhorse bred to comoughbred, has threatened petitively cut cattle, with John, Katie Wiley and Kathy Wendlant enter the pen to sort cattle. In three-man sorting one to spend the day in Kitperson guards the gate, one cuts the cattle, and one is between the herd and the gate. Threea pedigree so fast your titas County if I pushed man is more complicated than two-man because communication between three sorters has head would spin trying him to touch a steer. to be fast and direct, while everyone has their eyes on the herd. to read it, is the quick The fishing boat is dry, and nimble trail horse of there is no annual ski thing that the traditional cowJohn’s dreams. from one pen to another by pass, and the golf clubs boy got paid for a week of work.

All was going well in the hills some cowboys and cowgirls, and have gone to Goodwill, although The horse was often left with a until a well-meaning friend the cost is 5 percent of the cutthey never worked right anyway. trainer for cutting practice, leav- ting competition. invited John to a cattle-cutting As the trailer pulls away with ing John with no horse to ride weekend.

Moving numbered steers John, and the nice widow lady on the trail.

The first time he cut a steer one by one from a pen into an next door with their horses, he John realized he was spendwith Willy, the horse’s hot genes adjacent one, might seem like as does not yell when he reminds ing so much time and money on much of an art as checking your me that he is allergic to hay, kicked in like a number 5 on a cutting, and missing out on the Mexican restaurant menu. John emails; but when the beasts’ those bales don’t weigh as much trail riding that was his primary herding instincts take charge, smiled like he never had before, as I do, the feed room needs and that may have been because reason to have a horse, and he they prefer to stick together. work, the manure should be needed to change his horsemanhe stayed in the saddle, but also The result is a 90 second dumped just so when the stalls because he felt like he’d won the ship goals. He could not shake scramble while a team of two are cleaned, the wasp nests are the taste for working the cattle, lottery, or maybe an Olympic or three horse and rider pairs building up in the barn, the so he found a way to chase medal. works to pick 10 steers in a given electric fence is shorting out and cattle, and hit the trails as well.

The next move was to comorder. should be fixed, and to carry a Our riding club, Appleatchee petitively cut cattle. We began The challenge is to cut the cell phone to call an ambulance bleeding the money for training, Riders, keeps steers for ropsteer without blowing up the en- in case I get run over. ing. These steers were standing and paying $100 a minute to cut tire herd making the others next He calls me his Barn Slave. around waiting to be moved a steer out of a herd —someto impossible to cut, and there is a 90 second time limit. That’s 10 John Lehmkuhl and Katherine March are each wildlife biologists. John resteers, in order, 90 seconds. tired from his position as a Research John and Willy have reached a Scientist for the Forest Service at competitive level of sorting, and the Wenatchee Forestry Science Lab, and currently is Chief Scientist at have found the key to moving Wildwoods Consulting. He also is a cattle — yelling. Yelling very leatherworker who owns and operloud. ates Squilchuck Saddlery. Katherine Never, except maybe when he worked for Washington State Fish stepped on a rattler, has John and Wildlife in north central Washington. They live near Wenatchee raised his voice at anything or with their horses, and stay busy anyone. working and training their three We try to train our dogs and wirehaired pointing griffon hunting horses to respond to a whisper, dogs. but cattle demand high volume control. A gentleman cowboy

the making of a cowboy

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Mountain biking in the spring brings the joy of

Hero Dirt

By Sara Villalobos

A

s the snow melts and gives way to the moist earth beneath it, a local past time is revived each year.

Mountain biking in Wenatchee reaches its peak in spring when novice and experienced riders alike brush off their helmets and rebuild their fitness, pushing pedals and putting rubber to the “hero dirt” that is prized this time of year. “‘Hero Dirt’ is tacky, playful, responsive, lively trail conditions on the single track where the berms aren’t dry, dusty or airy,” said Adam Love, a local cyclist and the bicycle buyer for area bike shop Arlberg Sports.

“It’s something that you don’t get when it’s July and it’s 105 degrees out and it’s been dry for weeks.”

Adam is the guy who gets to learn about the latest and greatest in the bike world, and figure out what’s going to work best for you on the roads and trails of the Wenatchee Valley.

A Wenatchee local, born and raised, Adam didn’t begin biking himself until after a season at Arlberg Sports piqued his interest staying outdoors and active after ski season. “I was hired on for winter and then come springtime biking became an interest,” Adam said. “I started commuting and then it became mountain biking and then road riding. Next thing you know you have six bikes in your garage and they all have a different purpose.”

Fourteen years later, Adam is as dedicated to cycling as he is to the winter activities that originally drew him to work at Arlberg Sports. Like many

people who get back on the bike in their adulthood, Adam’s perceptions of local transportation were changed when he began using a bicycle to commute.

“In Wenatchee, being the size that it is, it’s actually very easy to not drive and just get around on your bicycle if you just give yourself enough time,” he said.

“Not being a cyclist you don’t think about it, but when you are a cyclist you definitely conduct yourself differently when you drive. It just makes everything work together. To me that was a pretty big eye-opener for the way that I keep myself alert when I drive and keep myself alert when I ride my bike.”

Between the Apple Capital Loop and a spectacular grid of bike lanes and on-street bike routes, Wenatchee is a highly bike friendly city. But the practical aspects are just the beginning of the joy of local biking.

“The amount of energy you get and the way you feel after you ride your bike is bar none better than pushing down on a gas pedal,” Adam explains. “It’s a great energy. A great feeling. It’s like drinking coffee but there’s no caffeine.”

That kind of buzz is what attracts Adam and many others to stay on the bike. Luckily, Wenatchee is practically built for biking. With its on-road infrastructure surrounded by off-road mountain biking, world class bicycling is a hot commodity that Adam doesn’t take for granted.

“We’re very fortunate to live in the valley and have all of these things around us,” he said. “The single track, the forest service roads, the Cascades. It’s something that other people take a lot of time to go access and we March 2016 | The Good Life

Adam Love and a mountain bike: “You feel the burn the first couple of rides and then after that it starts to come back.”

have it right in our back yard.”

Springtime is a kind of reawakening for those trails, and the legs who’ll pedal up and down them. Even those who stay fit in the winter skiing and snowboarding have an adjustment period getting back on the bike.

No matter who you are, “the beginning is always a climb,” said Adam. “You feel the burn the first couple of rides and then after that it starts to come back. That’s also the cool thing because you can kind of see how you build. You can ride the trail a few times and see the progression.”

Areas like Sage Hills and Horse Lake Reserve give a challenging-but-approachable mountain biking experience within minutes of Wenatchee.

For beginners, the My City Bikes Wenatchee app provides a list of entry-level MTB rides and GPS enabled directions to find your way to the trailhead. The proximity of mountain biking www.ncwgoodlife.com

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and the ability to ride to scenic heights to the Wenatchee city limits is unusual, and the hero dirt and flowering fields are a beckoning distraction from the fitness curve faced by experienced and novice riders alike.

“If you live in town you can get on your bike and ride to a trailhead within 15 minutes,” explains Adam. “Or you can get in your vehicle and drive half an hour to get a different scenery and be in the trees.

“Within 20 minutes you can be looking at an awesome view of the valley. In the springtime everything is blooming and it’s just beautiful.”

Sara Villalobos is a My City Bikes spokeswoman and cycling advocate from San Jose, CA. My City Bikes is the web and mobile public health alliance supporting beginner cyclists at every age. The My City Bikes Wenatchee app is the beginner’s guide to biking in Wenatchee.

It is available to download free on Apple and Android devices. To download, visit mycitybikes.org/washington.

Canoe builder Jim Garrett with his wooden creation.

Jim’s canoe A long held dream finally gets realized, but not without spills, frustrations and challenges

By Jim Garrett

I was never far from a canoe

during my formative years.

My dad and an uncle owned a 17-foot aluminum canoe. Dad took me fishing at Jamison Lake and over to Sun Lakes many times. We paddled around Turtle Rock. A cousin and I journeyed part way up Lake Chelan in the canoe, camping along the way.

I’ve always loved being on the water. In the ’70s and ’80s, I lived in Wenatchee, working at a local hardware store and one of my customers was Ray Wonacott.

Ray manufactured and sold cedar strip canoes from his local shop.

The first time I saw one of his canoes I was amazed. It was more a piece of furniture to be placed in your home and treasured than a vessel to be tied to your car, launched in a lake and

scratched by a dirty old rock.

Just starting out in life, I could not afford one of his canoes but I always had it in my mind that one day I would have a wooden canoe.

Fast forward 40 years. I was considering retirement and the usual question popped up: Will I have enough to keep me busy?

I acquired a fair set of woodworking tools over the years and had enjoyed building furniture, so I knew that woodworking would be a large part of my retirement.

Years ago I found a howto book, Canoecraft, by Ted Moores. I read it several times and considered building my own canoe. But the time needed was more than I could find while working full time, keeping up a home, and all that goes along with life.

Now with extra time on the horizon, that “aha” moment occurred. I did a simple Inter-

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net search and found a whole society of woodworkers engaged in the home building of canoes; many websites and sources for tools, materials, and most importantly help.

Even after further reading and research I still had some doubts about my abilities to complete the build.

Our vacation was approaching and by chance we would be close to the Port Townsend Wooden Boat Show. So I attended it, taking part in some of the seminars on boat building and talking to several of the exhibitors. They convinced me.

I found the plans for my canoe at the Bear Mountain Boat Company. It is 16 feet long, weighs 68 pounds and took approximately 400 hours to complete.

The technique is called stripping, cutting cedar into thin strips and edge gluing them together to form the canoe.

You start out by building a

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March 2016

For me, the epoxy was the scariest part of the whole build, especially the day I dropped the epoxy can, spilling it all over the floor, my shoes and my feet. strongback, a long narrow box on which you attach the canoe forms. This is essentially your workbench.

The strips (there are over 140 in my canoe) are then bent around the forms and glued to each other and to the stems (ends of the hull).

The strips are 1/4-inch thick by 5/8-inch wide by 17 feet long and

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Three views of Jim’s canoe: More than 140 cedar strips were glued together to make the craft.

each strip has a bead and cove edge.

When the edges mate they form a tight joint and have the ability to bend around the form and still maintain that tight joint.

Laying up one strip at a time, you work from the mid-point of each side up to the keel. Holding the strips together while the glue dries can be a challenge. I chose to use clamps to hold the strips, waiting at least five hours for the glue to dry, removing the clamps then gluing the next strip in place… very time consuming but it has a very clean appearance.

Hull strength is accomplished by laying fiberglass over the hull and soaking it with epoxy. With three coats of epoxy the exterior is complete.

It was time to lift the hull off the molds flip it over and repeat the processes on the interior.

For me, the epoxy was the scariest part of the whole build, especially the day I dropped the epoxy can, spilling it all over the floor, my shoes and my feet.

I was scrambling to clean it up before it dried.

When the inside was complete then came the part that gives the boat a personality; attaching the trim, and designing the seats and thwart. I used ash for these parts and as accent strips in the hull.

This is what everyone will first see and what makes the boat different from all others. Of course it always had the shape of a canoe but with the addition of the gunwales and decks and that final shaping of the top curve and tumblehome along the gunwales it was suddenly an March 2016 | The Good Life

actual watercraft.

The final piece of the build was to lay on seven coats of varnish.

It was a fun build.

It challenged my determination and it challenged my knowledge and abilities but in the end I found all the answers to my questions.

Challenge is good, it keeps you alert.

There were times I was so discouraged I wanted to scrap it all. But thanks to my very smart wife Janet, I was persuaded to set it aside for a while, do more research, and come back to it later.

It was worth the effort and I’m looking forward to many hours of paddling and flyfishing.

Jim Garrett grew up in Waterville and is now living on the rainy side of the mountains.

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ON THE TRAIL OF

DANGEROUS WOMEN LEARNING ABOUT WOMEN WHO CHANGED HISTORY OPENED A NEW WORLD

By Susan Butruille

“D

angerous Women!

That’s our title!” shouted a member of our team.

“Dangerous women? Isn’t that a little scary?” asked another.

“Although you’ve got to admit, it’s catchy.”

We were planning our Showcase for the March 20 Icicle Creek Center for the Arts’ celebration of Women’s History Month, a national observance since 1987.

We needed a catchy title.

“It fits,” I thought.

The quote by Laurel Ulrich that reads: “Women who behave seldom make history,” says it all. Women who behave stick to rules they didn’t make, and observe sacred traditions they didn’t invent.

Historically, there’s an air of danger about women who dare to follow their own paths. They challenge the status quo, and often encounter danger themselves.

Long ago I set out on a trail of women in history. It began with our country’s Bicentennial in 1976, when I was living with my family in Lincoln City, on the Oregon Coast.

I decided it would be fun to put together a presentation on women in our country’s history, incorporating narrative, poetry and song. It would be easy, I thought, since there weren’t that many historical women.

Audiences applauded my perfor-

Above: Susan Butruille backpacks in the Cinque Terre, Italy.

Left: Susan dresses as Gold Rush miner Marie Suize Pantalon, who was once arrested for cross-dressing.

Photo by Kathy Gaudry

mances, and I discovered how wrong I was.

Learning about the women who made history, and then were ignored in our history books, opened up a new world for me. I’ve been traveling it ever since. Many dangerous women have inspired me, challenged me and informed my path.

I hadn’t thought of tennis great Billie Jean King as particularly dangerous when in

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1974 I invited women friends in Dubois, Wyoming to celebrate King’s victory over that braggart Bobby Riggs. “I’ll tell you why I’ll win,” Riggs crowed. “She’s a woman and they don’t have the emotional stability” to win.

King turned out to be queen of the match, leaving Riggs quite emotional. Billie Jean King worked as hard for equality in sports as she did to perfect her game.

I thought of her when I testified before the Alaska State Legislature to retain Title IX, mandating equal opportunity in federally-funded education. A backlash was building because girls were beginning to claim their places in sports.

Memory took me back to

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March 2016

seventh grade, when I went out for basketball, only to learn that girls could only play half-court.

Now my granddaughter plays full-court basketball and Title IX remains, thanks in part to Billie Jean King. She had the audacity to challenge the notion that only men are tough enough to win big in competitive sports.

That alone makes her dangerous.

Where to begin our Showcase, with so many courageous women to choose from our history?

We’ll start with introductory background music by prolific British composer and suffragette Dame Ethel Smyth, one of more than 6,000 documented women composers. Smyth wrote symphonies, chamber music, choral works and operas.

She loved women, played sports and wore men’s clothes.

Joining the militant suffragettes, Smyth was one of a brigade of women who were arrested for smashing windows of suffrage opponents.

Through her cell window, Smyth conducted, with her toothbrush, suffragettes singing her March of the Women in the prison courtyard below. Ethel Smyth’s music is featured in the new film Suffragette, and Bard College in upstate New York recently revived her timely opera The Wreckers, on the theme of religious fanaticism.

Upper Valley realtor Momi Palmieri and her authentic hula troupe will dance and sing the invocation for the showcase, honoring the dangerous Hawaiian Fire Goddess Pele who, after much wandering, now resides in Kilauea Volcano on the Big Island.

Legends surround Pele. Some years ago, my husband and I visited Pele’s volcano in Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park, now

celebrating its centennial. A park ranger cautioned us not to take any of Pele’s lava rock lest we suffer bad luck. So we let it lie and sure enough, our luck stayed with us.

We also were advised to be kind to strangers because one never knew when she might be Pele in disguise. Not bad advice for anyone.

When I was 19, I was planning my wedding. When Elizabeth Cochrane was 19, she wrote a fiery response to a columnist who labeled working women “monstrosities.”

The teenager’s rebuttal won her a newspaper job, along with a new name: Nellie Bly. As an investigative reporter, she risked her life and feigned madness to get inside a New York asylum.

Her description of patient abuse, rancid food and filthy conditions prompted reforms by New York officials.

10 Days in a Madhouse is the title of a newly-released movie based on Bly’s horrifying experience. Her 72-day journey around the world beat Jules Verne’s fictional hero’s trip in Around the World in 80 Days.

Jane Addams was first revered, then reviled as “the most dangerous woman in America.” She was the respected co-founder of Hull House, the home and lifetraining center for immigrants that became the model for the settlement house movement.

I think of Jane Addams standing before an audience in Carnegie Hall in 1915 after her return from a conference of European and American women in The Hague, Netherlands. The women were trying to stop World War I. Addams shared what she had learned: that all warring parties professed to be fighting in selfdefense, and that leaders refused to negotiate because they would be seen as weak.

Jane Addams’ audience booed her there in Carnegie Hall, and pundits called her a communist.

She did not retreat, and went on to co-found the Women’s Inter-

In Celebration of Dangerous Women In observance of Women’s History Month, Leavenworth’s Icicle

Creek Center for the Arts presents In Celebration of Dangerous Women on Sunday, March 20, from 1:30 p.m. to 5:30 in the Snowy Owl Theater.

The afternoon begins with a showcase of music, dance and drama highlighting feisty, trailblazing women, performed by artists from the Valley.

During an interlude, attendees can view historical exhibits and an arts and crafts show, with food and beverages available. The afternoon will culminate with a one-woman show, Returning the Bones, performed by Seattle actor Gin Hammond. Based on Gin’s own family’s true story, she plays 28 characters with multiple dialects as she explores subjects of race, family and dreams.

Icicle Creek Center for the Arts is located at 7409 Icicle Road near Leavenworth. Information and tickets: www.icicle.org or 548-6347.

Her character stands for the scores of women who were jailed and force-fed for picketing the White House, badgering President Wilson to support equal suffrage... national League for Peace and Freedom. In 1931, Jane Addams became the first American woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize.

A scene from my musical readers theatre, Recipe For Justice, brings alive the fictional Elizabeth. Her character stands for the scores of women who were jailed and force-fed for picketing the White House, badgering President Wilson to support equal suffrage, finally won in 1920.

My travels have taken me to a number of places that preserve the history of the 72-year-long campaign for women’s right to vote: n The Sewall-Belmont House and Museum in Washington, D.C. is the home of the National Woman’s Party, co-founded in March 2016 | The Good Life

1916 by militant suffragist Alice Paul, author in 1923 of the Equal Rights Amendment. n Next door in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda stands the Portrait Monument, which memorializes three giants of the suffrage movement: Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucretia Mott and Susan B. Anthony. n The charming village of Seneca Falls, New York, where women first publicly demanded the vote in the U.S., is the site of the Women’s Rights National Historical Park. Among its features are the dramatic visitor center; the home of Elizabeth Cady Stanton; Wesleyan Chapel, site of the first Women’s Rights Convention in 1848; and the church where Alice Paul proposed the ERA. Knowing about women in history has enriched my travels near and far: n A journey along the Oregon Trail with my mother laid the foundation for my first book, Women’s Voices from the Oregon Trail. n A chapter in my book Women’s Voices from the Mother Lode: Tales from the California Gold Rush led me to the French village of Thônes, home of pants-wearing Gold Rush miner Marie Suize “Pantalon.” There I performed my one-woman show about the woman miner who www.ncwgoodlife.com

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was arrested for cross-dressing.

In Marie’s village, I also met historian Monique Fillion, who later traveled with me to Jackson, California to dedicate a plaque to Madame Pantalon. n A visit to Judy Chicago’s monumental installation art project The Dinner Party in the Brooklyn Museum left me in awe of the historical women memorialized in ceramic and needlework.

Sacred places around the world have brought me close to ancient traces of dangerous women: n The towering sandstone monolith known as Spider Rock in Arizona’s Canyon de Chelly embodies Spider Woman, who wove the web of the universe and taught the Din’eh (Navajo) people to create beauty. n At Delphi in Greece, I walked with my mother on ground where the Earth Goddess Gaia was venerated long before Apollo was associated with the place. n My little statuette of the dark-skinned Sainte Sarah often inspires my writing. I found her in the French Provençal village of Les Saintes Maries de la Mer (the Saints Maries of the Sea).

Sainte Sarah is the patron saint of the area’s Gypsies, and part of a legend about Mary Magdalene and two other Marys who landed on a raft near the church where little Sarah can now be found in the crypt.

During Women’s History Month — and beyond — I encourage people to join me in learning about the dangerous women who have made history.

These historical encounters can greatly enrich anyone’s journey in this world, no matter where one lives and travels.

Susan Butruille began writing as a commercial fishing columnist in Petersburg, Alaska. She is the author of three books, a musical readers theatre, film scripts and numerous articles. She now lives in Leavenworth with her husband, John, and continues to pursue stories of dangerous women.

From an orthodontist practice in east Wenatchee to the strange and rough world of

PERU

By Dr. Rob Merrill

East Wenatchee (lately of Lima, Peru) Guests of honor We are the guests of honor and I can’t get my teeth to penetrate the chicken in the meal that’s been prepared for us.

It is as tough as the rubber tires on my Buick back home in East Wenatchee.

All that I have is a spoon to try to get some leverage on the meat, to somehow get some morsel to separate from the bone. Defeated, I’m grateful there are some potatoes in the broth that simmered in its unsuccessful attempt to make the chicken edible.

I’m sitting at a table on the dirt floor of the windowless room that was once the only school for the community of Huallanca, a small informal community in the Andes Mountains of Peru in the forgotten province of Huacaybamba.

We are the guests of the community to thank us for the donation of windows, doors, student desks, a single used computer and cement to make a concrete floor in the adobe (mud) brick school built by the parents of the 30 elementary age students here.

This is a far cry from where I would have placed myself just a short time ago.

I recently marked five years since the ski accident that brought a halt to what I thought was my life’s work practicing orthodontics in East Wenatchee with my younger brother, Tom. Little did I suspect then how radically that collision with another skier would alter the trajectory of my life.

My wife, Mary, and I are living in Lima, Peru coordinating various humanitarian initiatives throughout Peru as humanitarian missionaries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

My former professional experiences working with elected officials, government agencies, and non-profit NGO groups (NonGovernment Organizations) have proved invaluable since we are working with many similar groups here in Peru.

Our assignment has us partnering with organizations here in Peru to help them become more self-sufficient in their efforts. We

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The Merrills pose at Machu Picchu with Waynapicchu Mountain rising beyond. “We climbed Waynapicchu, shrouded in clouds in this photo, but completely clear by the time we reached the summit!” said Rob Merrill.

A woman walks along the road to Huallanca with her children.

are involved with well construction for clean drinking water in communities to reduce water bourn illness. We coordinate training of health professionals in neo-natal resusci| The Good Life

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tation techniques to reduce infant mortality.

We assist and coordinate equipment and training to reduce preventable blindness, to detect complications of pregnancy to reduce maternal mortality. We assist schools to improve educational opportunities in impoverished communities.

My Master Gardener training from WSU has been put to use to establish and support family and community food production to improve food security and nutrition. Our wheelchair donations to provide mobility to disabled people to be able to work or attend school to improve their opportunities for self-sufficiency and independence.

While we have taken a circuitous route to get here, our life experience and acquired abilities seem to be a remarkable fit for the circumstances in which we now find ourselves.

March 2016

We enjoy working with humble and capable people who share our goals of relieving suffering and helping families and communities become more selfreliant in a sustainable fashion.

This isn’t the Marriott If you search the web for the 10 most dangerous roads in the world, one of them would be the road to Huacaybamba.

Crossing the Andes Mountains from Huaraz the pavement ends at the summit of the Andes and it is a rough, bone-jarring fourand-a-half hour ride down the east slope of the Andes across the Marañon River and up the mountain to Huacaybamba.

At times I found it hard to breathe. I soon realized my difficulty in breathing was less a function of my emotional state (fear) and actually related to the fact that with each bounce of the road my seat belt tightened until gradually I was immobilized.

When the rare smooth spot came I was ready to quickly loosen the belt and turn sideways to use my hip to lengthen the belt and ease my breathing, at least until we’d bounced back into immobilization again. I arrived with bruises on both knees — from the gearshift on the left and the door on the right.

We were guests of the “best” hotel in town. I thought the bed felt like it was just a sheet on top of bare metal coils and so it was a long night with wool blankets that smelled like a dead animal on top and a medieval torture device beneath us.

The bathroom, whose doorway reaches my shoulder (only one good head bonk during the night), features running water from 6 a.m. — 7 a.m. with a plug-in heating element on the showerhead that sort of took the chill off the water.

One towel between the two of us completed our memorable night. Not exactly like the hotels I’d stayed in back home while traveling, but I’m not here for the comforts of a vacation. It’s

10 million people it is the third largest city in the Americas. It is very noisy compared to our quiet little valley. And we have yet to find and eat at a Mexican restaurant. We find the thing we have missed the most from home is Casa Tapatia on Grant Road.

Something else I’ve noticed here, the people of Lima take their pets very seriously.

One of the deities that the Quechua (Inca) people worshipped was the rainbow. One pet salon we walk past on our way to the office had a poster to dye a poodle in the colors of the rainbow. While this might be “culturally appropriate” for the country, I don’t know if the fashion will catch on much beyond Lima.

Due to the “cold” winter temperatures here in Lima, we noticed right away upon our arrival in August (winter) that most of the dogs around town were wearing sweaters.

The winter temperatures here can dip as low as 55 degrees at night in the coldest part of the winter. Many of the dogs also wear little booties that are either to keep their toes from getting cold or to keep their paws from getting dirty.

Unlike many areas in the developing world these dogs are pretty easygoing for the most part, which is good since we walk past a lot of them every day walking the 3 kilometers (1.86 miles) each way from our apartment to the church office that is our home base here in Lima.

Mary has a couple favorites she likes to give a dog biscuit to so we do have friends here in Lima.

We will be here in Lima with our new friends until early 2017 when our assignment ends and we return home to family, friends, and our beautiful Wenatchee Valley.

The school in Huallanca, with new desks waiting to be moved inside.

“I think this hotel was built for shorter people,” said Rob.

A Lima pet shop offers to do your dog in the colors of a rainbow.

more on par with the many backpacking trips I’d taken in the Cascades as a scoutmaster for many years in Wenatchee.

March 2016 | The Good Life

The dog days of Lima Lima is most definitely not like Wenatchee.

With a population of almost www.ncwgoodlife.com

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If you are interested in more detail of what we’ve been involved in while in Peru, feel free to check out our blog: http://peru-notes.blogspot.com.

Stories from the trail THE PCT IS NOT JUST ABOUT YOUR OWN ADVENTURE, BUT IT’S ABOUT THE FELLOW WALKERS YOU MEeT ALONG THE WAY Editor’s Note: Rich Brinkman reported on his PCT hike in the August 2015 issue, now he’s back to share the stores of a few travelers.

By Rich Brinkman

T

he Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) is a 2,650-mile footpath from Mexico to Canada, and each year an increasing number of people from all walks of life attempt to hike its entire length.

With deep gratitude to Wenatchee Valley College, I was awarded a sabbatical to hike the trail in 2015 and conduct sociological research along the way.

I met many wonderful people — fellow thru-hikers and trail angels alike — and I am excited to share some of their stories here in The Good Life.

Trail names are a very significant part of the PCT experience, as thru-hikers leave their identity behind and develop a new one on trail.

In one of my interviews, fellow thru-hiker “Ladies Man” explained it this way: “While out there, the trail becomes a great equalizer, and the trail name emphasizes this alternative life/ experience. You become this

Roadrunner and Rich pose for a trail photo just north of Big Bear City.

new person on equal footing like everyone else. Your off-trail life is left behind when you become a thru-hiker, and the trail name becomes the finalization of that.”

“Outland” was drawn to the trail 10 years ago when PCT guidebooks caught his eye in a bookstore. He had always loved hiking so he bought the guidebooks and had read them at least a dozen times leading up to his 2015 thru-hike.

He envisioned the beauty ultimate freedom on the PCT, and the trail didn’t disappoint.

Back home, “Outland” is a graduate teaching assistant at a California university. While the name “Outland” was given to him by a fellow hiker, it turns out that “Outland” is actually the last name of one of his favorite literary characters, Tom Outland in The Professor’s House, who is very much opposed to the material world.

Virtually all thru-hikers on the PCT are at least somewhat alienated by the materialistic aspects of our society, and most even more so. “Outland” saw himself on trail as being in the

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natural world in order to escape the material world.

When “Outland” was approaching Walker Pass as the desert section of the PCT was coming to a close, he was running out of food and knew he would be facing a tough decision upon reaching the pass.

It would still be two days of solid hiking to reach Kennedy Meadows, a major milestone for hikers as it marks the end of the desert and the beginning of the Sierra. From Walker Pass it would be a very difficult 40-mile hitch to the nearest town of Lake Isabella to resupply.

When he reached the pass, however, legendary trail angel “Meadow Ed” was there with his RV and tent, and provided “Outland” and other hikers with more than enough food to get to their next resupply at Kennedy Meadows.

Most PCT hikers take a side trip to the summit Mount Whitney, which is the highest peak in the contiguous United States at 14,505 feet.

“Outland” had always had a fear of heights, and he was worried and tense about his summit bid. While the climb was sketchy in some areas, his successful summit and return led to a feeling of pride in himself that

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March 2016

he had never experienced in his entire life. He was able to conquer that fear of heights, and he was no longer worried about the high passes in the Sierra that now awaited him.

All PCT hikers I met were blown away by the generosity of strangers, whether trail angels or not, and how fellow hikers not only look out for each other but go out of their way to help a hiker in need. “Ladies Man” offered an example: “When someone really needed something, like a first-aid item or Benadryl, everyone offers the item.”

All thru-hikers have tough moments, but they demonstrate an incredible resilience.

Two of my own toughest moments occurred in Oregon, where I had to make it 100 miles in shoes that were too small due to my swelling feet, and the 150 miles from the South Sister to Mount Hood with a severe shin splint.

In “Outland’s” own words, he “definitely learned that there are going to be 10,000 bumps in the road, and the only thing you can do is go to sleep, wake up the next day, and keep going. That is the only thing you can do… just take it day by day. You have to believe it is going to get better because it is.”

Another hiker, “Lebowski,” offered the same sentiment: “No matter how bad it gets you know you will get through it. If you can just handle it for a little while… you’re good.”

This caption could read: PCT walkers throw off their old identities and embrace the freedom of the trail; but it would likely be more accurate to say trail walkers celebrate a goofy moment near Mount Hood.

*** “Roadrunner” was drawn to the PCT five years ago when she and a friend were camping at Crater Lake, OR, and ran into PCT thru-hikers who shared some of their trail experiences.

She grew up in Oregon but had lived the last year in the Bay area, and had been going back and forth between living in Oregon or California.

In addition to being enthralled by the PCT after meeting those thru-hikers five years ago, “Roadrunner” also saw her trail experience as an opportunity to walk through both California and Oregon to decide where she wanted to live.

“Roadrunner’s” lowest moment

March 2016 | The Good Life

on trail occurred just beyond South Lake Tahoe, where she reversed course back to town and decided to quit the trail.

When she woke up the next day in her own bed, she knew she had to get back on the PCT. She took a few days to revise her expectations of the experience, and was back hiking stronger than ever, even averaging 30mile days. *** Like many other hikers on trail, “KC” was at a point in her life when she needed to do something that was important to her.

She grew up with conventional values, and many around her were not enthusiastic about her

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hiking the PCT. But, she was not happy with the “traditional” life she “was supposed to live,” and felt the need to hike without being concerned about how people were going to think or judge.

“One of my biggest regrets in life is not going after certain things for fear of judgment or failure,” she said. “I was doing something that I felt was important… that would help me. On trail we were all from very different backgrounds, but everyone was on a level playing field. We were all doing the same work to get where we were going (Canada). I feel society places too much importance on your profession and how much money you make… materialistic things that really don’t tell who you really are as a person.”

As KC emphasizes, one consistent finding among thru-hikers is that we become our truer selves while on trail. *** I am again beyond grateful to Wenatchee Valley College for this amazing opportunity.

While I have had many incredible life experiences, the PCT experience was equivalent to my two years of service in the United States Peace Corps.

Our society and world could learn a lot from the long-distance hiking subculture, and I hope my research with Dr. Kristi Fondren at Marshall University will contribute to that realization.

Clockwise from top left: The Yaquina Head Lighthouse, an unfolding fern, a seagull strolls at sunset on the beach, the woods on the way to Drift Creek Falls and the almost invisible owl.

Pacific

City

Driving trip to Oregon Coast relieves cabin fever with a woodsy walk, beach stroll and tasty clam chowder Story and Photos

By Lance Stegemann

W

hen I got a call from an old friend of mine to come visit, I decided it was time to pull anchor and hit the open road once again.

My wife Barb was between jobs, and we were feeling a little restless from some winter cabin

fever.

My friend Debbie and her husband Marty had just moved to Pacific City, Oregon and were settling into life on the coast.

Debbie had taken a new Ranger job on the Siuslaw National Forest, and she gave me a call one day and said, “You and Barb really need to come visit us and check this place out.”

That was all the incentive we

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needed to start packing our bags. The timing was perfect and Barb wouldn’t be starting her job for another couple of weeks.

We loaded the Toyota, hitched the trailer, grabbed the dogs, and were on our way within the hour.

Things went fairly smooth until we hit traffic in Portland, but were making good time up

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March 2016

until then. Barb gave Debbie a call while we were stuck in traffic and got better directions with an address where we could all meet up.

When we reached Pacific City, and our meeting place, we were instantly greeted by two wildly energetic dogs. One was a young lab-terrier mix, full of enthusiasm and vigor; the other a slightly grumpy but pleasant

enough mannered schnauzer.

We had also brought our two aussies along, so they immediately began sizing up their new acquaintances.

While the dogs continued to check each other out, we caught up on the latest news and events while grabbing a quick bite to eat. Debbie had already become familiar with many of the local attractions and had a list of places we could check out during our stay.

For the evening she suggested we all go down to the beach and let the dogs burn off some excess energy.

When we arrived, the sun was already sinking low over the horizon. Our small pack of inquisitive canines spotted a flock of seagulls feeding along the shore, and sent the birds off in a flurry of beating wings.

The dogs continued their pursuit until we could barely see them off in the distance. The gulls seemed to enjoy taunting the high-spirited group who eventually came to the realization their efforts were all but in vain.

Finally, with tongues hanging out and panting heavily, the dogs returned in search of a new game; something a little less demanding.

At dawn, the sun was out, and we were ready to stretch our legs.

Debbie and Marty had the day off, so we all decided to go on a hike that would lead us to a viewpoint called Drift Creek Falls.

Along the way, we noticed a variety of plants and animals hiding among the dense vegetation and towering old growth conifers.

A giant slug quietly slithered across the damp moss and tall ferns supported intricate spider webs still drenched in the morning’s dew. A barred owl sat motionless on a dead tree branch, and only its eyes moved as we hastily passed by.

After about an hour or so, we came to an impressive suspen-

sion bridge that spanned a narrow gorge and gave us our first view of the falls which spills over a rock wall some 60 plus feet down. We continued on the trail for another quarter mile until we reached the bottom.

The moist cool air from the falls felt refreshing, and it was a pleasant reprieve from the hike in. I snapped a few photos while we relaxed on a log near the water’s edge.

The sound of the falls was deafening and you could barely hear the person next to you over the rumble of boiling water. We sat for awhile enjoying the view, then started our gradual climb back up to the trailhead.

The next day Barb and I had some time to ourselves since Marty and Debbie had to be back at work.

We took a trip to the town of Newport along the coast, stopped at a place called Mo’s for some infamous clam chowder, and visited the tide pools near Yaquina Head. We wandered

March 2016 | The Good Life

around exploring the diverse sea life that occupied the shallow saltwater pools and searched nearby cliffs for illusive harbor seals.

Way off in the distance, we could see small fishing vessels as they trolled back and forth in search of a day’s catch. Barb found a small cave and I took her picture as she posed near the arched entrance.

We eventually found a comfortable seat to rest on and began tossing small pieces of bread from our sandwich toward a group of gulls still basking in the afternoon sun.

Later that week, Debbie took us to the Sand Lake Recreation Area near Cape Kiwanda. It’s a well known and popular place for off road vehicle enthusiasts who enjoy nature in the fast lane.

We stopped at the day use area and watched passersby as they raced up and down the sand covered hills at warp speed. They had orange flags

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mounted on thin flexible rods, which waved high above their machines, to alert others, and hopefully prevent any accidental collisions.

The high-speed ATVs would come into sight and then quickly disappear behind a curtain of sand as they raced toward the next hill. Some would even go airborne as they barreled over the top. It was quite a spectacle to watch, but probably even more amusing to do.

“Way too much fun,” I told my friend Debbie, as we made our way back to the truck.

When the day came to a close, our last stop was at the Pelican Brewery in Pacific City. With some fish and chips to settle our persistent hunger pangs and a cold beer to wash it all down, our vacation was now complete.

“Next time we’ll have to go to the Tillamook Creamery,” was Debbie’s parting words.

That sounds like an excuse for another trip to me, I was thinking.

THE NATURAL with an open view of sleeping lady mountain, this ‘early forest service’ mountain lodge fits its site ideally

Reclaimed oak floors and dark timbers hint at the lodge look in this wide-open living area, all ready to welcome this summer’s house concert guests. The table sits 8 to 10 — “with different chairs,” said owner Mike Hendricks.

Story by Susan Lagsdin Photos by Donna Cassidy

B

y the time Leavenworth builder Mike Hendricks and his wife Cindy started constructing their own home high up off Dempsey Road, they knew

AT e HSPoONm SOR

precisely what they wanted.

From a dozen years of experience in the area, helping other people struggling with design and décor decisions and seeing them nicely played out, they’d become expert in determining the details.

“We never made a decision

about anything in the house that we didn’t both love,” Cindy said proudly (not a typical home-making strategy for most couples, they realize). With Mike’s expertise in construction and her eye for interior comforts both visual and tactile, they made a good team.

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Across from Les Schwab

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March 2016

A 700-foot graveled driveway leads to this spot-on perfect location, surrounded by Leavenworth’s grandeur.

Cooper the dog unofficially patrols the perimeter but enjoys romps just about anywhere.

LEFT: The curved arches at the ceiling are a strong but not load-bearing visual element; hidden above them at the roofline are steel trusses and two feet of space for roof insulation and ventilation.

LOWER LEFT: Mike and Cindy wanted an open floor plan and lots of natural light, and they‘ve achieved their goal.

It’s easy to recognize the big choices: the exact orientation (straight on) to the view of the iconic Sleeping Lady Mountain, the authentic exterior look (mountain lodge) and the all-over interior wall color (a soft burnt gold) are strikingly strategic. Those all came from research and deliberation, not whim.

When Mike was building for a client up in the hillside development off East Leavenworth Road, he found a beautifully situated acre for their own home.

But it was just a bit too small for the exact positioning and view that he dreamed of. He negotiated another 1.5 acres down the slope, and the rest is… engineering: the excavation and road building, terracing and foundation work for their 3,439-squarefoot, one-level house.

Cindy praised Mike’s reputation for choosing the perfect

}}} Continued on next page

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Front entry beams announcing the entrance are structural elements embellished with sturdy metal detailing, and one of Mike’s next finishing-up projects is replicating that look on inside timbers.

THE NATURAL }}} Continued from previous page spot on any site, saying, “He makes houses sit on the property like they really belong there.”

“Really belonging” on the wooded west-facing hillside also determined a traditional look evocative of the big National Park lodges of the 1930s.

The steep pitched metal roof, the distinctive end braces (called outlookers), the vertical board and batten siding in what Mike calls “early Forest Service,” the rock work and the heavy timber

beams at the entrance — they all make sense with the land and climate.

By contrast, their former B&B (close by, but down on the river) that Mike built and in which they lived for 10 years, is pure Craftsman. The site was smaller, the neighbors were closer, and they wanted to welcome guests to a homey cottage.

Though the mountain lodge look is strong on approach, a step inside instantly turns it to “mountain home.” The warm

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TOP: The working parts of the kitchen are brightened by the gloss of granite, a full view window at the sink and pale glass-fronted cabinets. As in most open plan homes, this is where the action is.

ABOVE: Matching a few other dominant pieces of furniture (all edged by aphorisms, song lyrics and messages in Cindy’s calligraphy) the vividly painted stove vent surround is a notch above typical shiny steel ones.

burnished gold paint color throughout — on all the walls and ceilings — gives a glow to the house. “It’s slightly paler in the laundry room, office, and pantry,” said Cindy. “We figured those rooms would need a little

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March 2016

more light.”

Other interior choices — and homebuilders know there are dozens to make — were simplified by holding to a vision of continuity. All the flooring besides carpeted bedrooms is

Tub soaking doesn’t get much better than this, with a view up the Icicle Valley. Plentiful space and radiant heated floors are functional; the Lori Aylesworth painting and decorative tile are pure delight.

either reclaimed golden oak or earth-toned porcelain tile, the same that forms the showers.

All the kitchen counters, including the 6 foot by 8 foot slab that centers the room, are the same river stone granite color.

Big, view-grabbing windows are trimmed in dark wood (all sans coverings — with the exception of the guest room, for urban visitors’ sensibilities), and each room in the hallway boasts a glass transom for ambient light. Here’s a design ethic that defies most home interior Internet sites: “I don’t think you have to choose dozens of different styles and materials just because you can. We decided to make a few good choices and stay with those,” said Cindy.

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THE NATURAL

}}} Continued from previous page

Even without art, fixtures and furnishings, the whole house would feel inviting, unified by natural colors.

But Cindy’s other choices extend the homey feel, like mixedpattern upholstery fabrics on the living room seating at the fireplace and creamy kitchen cabinets with glass fronts, the same lightly textured glass of the front door and transoms.

Squishy beanbag chairs in the small media room and luxurious linens and comforters on the beds read relaxation, and the choice of a vivid burst of color (from Sticks, which custom-creates home art) on a table top and stove vent cover add a vibrant zest to the main rooms.

Though some furnishings were purchased for the new house a year ago, Mike and Cindy have collected over the years and kept some notably old and ornate oak pieces that fit right in — a china hutch, a unique bookshelf/bench, and a table that became a bathroom vanity.

Other favorite pieces stayed behind when they sold the B&B — they realized the new house needed to be free of clutter. The big open space will be perfect for house concerts, something these music lovers enjoyed with

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Positioned strategically at the end of the living room, these two chairs are ready for relaxing when Mike and Cindy want to enjoy cloud play, sunsets, wildlife and weather.

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Mike and Cindy chose to accentuate a lower ceiling with dark curved beams, creating a kind of barrel vault on a flat surface. That effect rounds off the room, contains the furnishings and points directly to the natural wonder that is the Icicle Creek Valley and the mountains

friends and guests in the past and hope to continue.

The 15-foot-high living room (only 9 feet at the entry) brings a personal scale to the entire center of the house. Most homes of this style feature soaring cathedral ceilings, so it was an untypical choice.

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When construction started in May 2014, Mike had a sterling line-up of subcontractors, people he’d depended on before, and whose skills he admired.

He especially cited carpenter Chris Droic, who did the beams and finish work, and David Clinton, a master tile worker whose whimsical bathroom floor design is a delight.

The couple has been in the house for four full seasons.

They’ve loved their first year, but Mike’s eager for the spring thaw to finally take on the landscape project of his dreams.

Tons of excavation-displaced granite boulders will be reassembled on the back (mountain-facing) side of the house to help form a recycling water feature — a pond, a stream and a waterfall. Their view right now is breathtaking enough, looking over the tops of aspens into the distant snowy ridges. But they spent a decade within sight and sound of the river, and they miss it.

Planners that they are, they’ve anticipated their home’s sweet spot. Their favorite place in the whole house is off to the side of the cozy conversation area.

There, strategically placed directly in front of the floor-toceiling living room windows are two big, comfortable easy chairs placed close together, facing out. Pond, or mountain, or both — Mike and Cindy are ready to enjoy everything the big west view can offer them.

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March 2016

PET tales

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

“We adopted Polly, left, and Blue from

J

esse Whitt and Daniel Genther of Wenatchee recently took Achmed, Jesse’s rescued service animal she got from a Florida pound, for a play day along the river front.

Achmed is an 8-year-old Afghan hound.

“He is the easiest dog. He needs no verbal commands, he just follows me everywhere. He is mild mannered and always happy,” said Jesse.

She also said that he was great therapy after she got out of the military. She and Achmed have traveled all over the U.S. and even to Mexico together.

Achmed’s tail was dyed to match Jesse’s hair, “It’s all vegan natural stuff,” said Jesse.

the Wenatchee Valley Humane Society and we could not love them more.

“We adopted Polly first and then decided she might want a friend. When we visited the shelter to see about adopting a second dog we met Blue. He had just arrived as a rescue from Fort Worth, Texas and we knew he was the one!”

— Kim Miller Photo by Kathie Teeley

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Perrin Cornell

Well-rounded career helps him excel in real estate

by CARY ORDWAY

F

or Eastmont High graduate Perrin Cornell, the road to selling Wenatchee Valley real estate was a circuitous path, but it seems like each stop along the way Cornell picked up something that makes him a more effective real estate agent today.

The Century 21 agent went from Eastmont to Seattle University, where he majored in military science and economics.

The latter discipline was a springboard to an accounting position in a large real estate firm which led to later positions in secondary marketing, land development and running the company’s loan service. As if that wasn’t enough for any well-rounded agent, Cornell went to Notre Dame’s school for mortgage banking.

All of which means that Cornell is well-equipped to navigate the complicated world of real estate financing, a real plus if he happens to be your agent.

“I can tell if a loan office gets sidetracked and the borrower is not getting the whole story,” he said. “And what types of loans are the best types for the property.”

About half of Cornell’s time is spent on residential real

estate in the Wenatchee Valley, where he has been a real estate agent since 2004. The other half of his time is split between developmental, and commercial or income property.

In case you didn’t know it, the Wenatchee Valley is a very hot real estate market right now.

It’s a seller’s market because of a comparatively low inventory.

Cornell says any residential property below $350,000 is likely to sell fast, with the hottest sales being between $185,000 and $300,000 due to the shortage of inventory in that price range. Multiple offers are not uncommon these days.

“When something comes up and it’s priced well, it gets snapped up,” Cornell noted, adding that buyers will pay the asking price but will require that the property be in good condition. About half of his potential buyers are local, either moving up or downsizing.

About 20 percent of his buyers come from outside the region, attracted to the Wenatchee Valley for its lifestyle or perhaps they’re moving closer to family.

Perrin Cornell got into real estate by way of a career in banking and marketing

Interestingly, about 20 percent of his transactions are cash buyers.

Cornell points out that many people are attracted to the Wenatchee Valley because it’s the geographical and financial center of the state. Confluence Health, for example, is the third largest medical clinic in the state. There are more professionals in this community than is typical of other communities this size.

Cornell has deep roots in the area with his family

Cary Ordway is president of GMC, which produces They Built This City for The Good Life Magazine. This quarterly section tells the untold story of how Wenatchee-area businesses and agencies were created and have improved our quality of life. It is made possible by sponsors appearing in the articles in this section. Email Cary at getawaymediacorp@gmail.com.

SPRING 2016 | THE GOOD LIFE | They Built This City |

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moving here in 1918. In fact, his grandfather served as Wenatchee’s mayor. While he didn’t live here the whole time, he’s witnessed his hometown grow up since his days at Eastmont.

What he sees now is a serious shortage of buildable lots.

“We hit the peak of the market, with a lot of projects coming to the market just before everything collapsed in the 2008 time frame,” Cornell remembers. “Over the years since then, the good lots were sold without a lot of new lots coming available.”

As far as commercial real estate, Cornell points out that about 85 percent of the land in Chelan

Perrin Cornell...

County is owned by some sort of government. With other acreage set aside for habitats, or simply not buildable, there is only about 2 to 3 percent of the land in Chelan County that can be developed. The net impact: it’s tougher nowadays to find parcels where there’s room and infrastructure for development and also the everyday traffic needed to sustain businesses and retailers.

Such local knowledge is valuable to both sellers and buyers of Wenatchee Valley real estate. Cornell is confident that his extensive background will pay off for his clients. Not to

mention the people he knows: “I tend to be relationshiporiented rather than transaction-oriented,” he said.

“Relationships get repeat business when transactions don’t.”

Most of all, Cornell feels privileged to live in the Wenatchee Valley and he’s very proud of his community and the way in which he serves that community. He loves his job.

“I take a great deal of time with my clients,” Cornell explains.

“You don’t live in an investment, you live in a home. So I’m dealing with a lot of happy people – they’re either happy to be moving in, or happy to be moving on.”

Century 21 Exclusively is located at 135 N. Mission St., Wenatchee. For more information, call 509-662-2100.

They Built This City: Here’s what it’s all about

W

hen we came up with the idea to publish They Built This City every quarter, the reaction from readers and advertisers was overwhelming.

It’s an advertorial section, but no one appears in these pages to put a hard sell on you. They just find this a convenient way to communicate what they’re all about.

“What a great idea!” they said. They -- and we -- saw it as a chance to show off local business leaders, entrepreneurs and public officials and how they have contributed to the quality of life we know today in the Wenatchee Valley.

These stories are not about promises, bargains or a sales pitch for you to buy more of whatever they sell. They’re about the valuable role each of our subjects has played -and continue to perform -- in the Wenatchee Valley community.

It’s this back story that we really love. It’s the story behind the story of how these smart and energetic people have made a difference in our community.

If you know of someone whose story would fit well within these pages, be sure and let us know. Just give us a call at 888-255-7735.

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Growing Stronger Local co-op helped Valley growers in tough times

T

here is a lot more to the agriculture industry than rows of pretty trees that blossom in springtime and give us an excuse to hold one of the northwest’s biggest annual festivals. Those fragrant blossoms represent an entire industry that has helped bring prosperity to the Wenatchee Valley and greatly improved the lives of local citizens.

But, along the way, there have been hard times for farmers and growers and it was out of this adversity that a cooperative called Northwest Wholesale Incorporated was born.

The year was 1937 to be exact.

North Central Washington fruit growers were having a tough go of it because of high costs for spray, along with the need to buy expensive fruit washing equipment. Growers were falling into debt as fancy pack apples – considered a luxury item – weren’t selling well because the Depression had made it difficult for most people to afford them. Growers were going bankrupt.

It was then that growers Jesse Widby and Homer Cordell of Wenatchee, and J.D. Bonar of Entiat, signed the papers that created Northwest Wholesale.

Other growers followed. The idea was to create a cooperative that would use its combined buying power to negotiate lower prices for the everyday items – feed, seed, chemicals,

Northwest Wholesale Inc. was founded in 1937 during tough financial times for growers

fertilizer and supplies of every sort -- needed for growers to run their businesses.

The co-op got off to a slow start but the economic climate for growers got even worse and, in 1940, the President of the United States declared the Wenatchee-Okanogan area a financial disaster area. A regional agriculture credit council then mandated NCW growers to set up a co-op. Since Northwest Wholesale was already in existence, it now became the region’s co-op.

What followed was an immediate drop in the prices paid by growers and, because of the way the co-op was set up, any profits made by the organization were returned to the members of the co-op. In those early years, Northwest Wholesale got a boost because banks allowed the co-op to buy inventory but pay for it only as it was purchased by local growers. The co-op became stronger and stronger.

Fast forward to 2016 and today Northwest Wholesale has 352 members who last year shared profits of

$2.3 million, according to General Manager Ken Knappert.

says, “such as more and more rules and regulations.”

Based at 1567 North Wenatchee Avenue, the organization has grown to 57 employees – field staff, office staff, truck drivers, purchasers and others – and Knappert pointed out that employees will work hand-inhand with growers to help them choose the right products and be as efficient as they can be. Northwest Wholesale’s mantra is “service with savings.”

But history has shown that Northwest Wholesale has become an important part of its members’ business strategy. The best way to explain that is to consider the most often used definition of a farmer’s cooperative: “It helps farmers to do together what they couldn’t do alone.”

With 40 years working at Northwest Wholesale in various positions and capacities, Knappert has had a birdseye view of the regional ag industry.

He has seen a lot of consolidation over the last 20 years, with larger growers buying out smaller growers, but he declares that the industry is quite healthy.

“We still have our challenges,” he

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For more information on Northwest Wholesale Inc., please visit www.nwwinc. com or phone (800) 874-6607.

>>

column the night sky this month

Peter Lind

Brilliant Jupiter reaches opposition March ushers in spring, and

warmer weather for much of the country.

The warm conditions should allow observers to be drawn outside to catch views of the planets as they march across the night sky.

The stars of the show this month are Jupiter and Mars.

Jupiter is at its peak in March, and Mars dominates the early morning sky. Saturn shares the predawn morning with Mars, but will need a few more months to be dominant in the night sky.

The first of the month you’ll want to grab a decent pair of binoculars, and wait for the last hint of twilight to fade away, and you’ll find Uranus in the Great Square of Pegasus. A star chart, printable from the Internet, will help pinpoint its position.

Jupiter, king of the planets, is at center stage this month as it reaches opposition. Opposition means that earth sits directly between Jupiter and the sun.

This also puts it closest to earth in their respective orbits around the sun.

Even the smallest telescope will show the cloud bands of Jupiter. Any pair of binoculars will easily show the moons and over the course of a night you can see their position change around the planet.

On the night of March 14 two of the moon’s orbits will cast shadows on the face of Jupiter.

With a modest telescope you will be able to see these shadows as they move across the planet.

Io, the inner moon and last to start across the planet catches up to Europa and passes it before they complete their transit.

As Jupiter is high in the sky at midnight, Mars rises above the southeast horizon and sits in the constellation Scorpius for the

Even the smallest telescope will show the cloud bands of Jupiter. first part of the month.

Mars reaches opposition in May, and as it approaches it grows in size and brightness. It easily outshines Antares, Scorpius’ brightest star. If you look at Mars and Antares and see the similar color, you’ll see how Antares (meaning “rival of Mars”) got its name.

Observers in Indonesia and parts of the Pacific Ocean will get to witness one of nature’s grandest spectacles, a total solar eclipse on March 8.

The immense media attention given to New Horizons flyby of Pluto last July shows just how much fascination there is with Pluto.

That fascination started in 1930, as Pluto was the last, and only planet discovered in the modern age.

I found a story of how Pluto’s name was chosen.

After the discovery was made, the new planet was known as Planet X and suggestions for names started pouring in to the Lowell Observatory in Arizona, where Pluto was first observed.

One of those suggestions came from an 11-year-old girl from England who enjoyed learning about mythological characters.

On the morning of March 14, the day after the announcement of the discovery, while Venetia Burney ate breakfast, her grandMarch 2016 | The Good Life

father read to her a newspaper account of the planet’s discovery.

After thinking about it for a little bit and reflecting on her knowledge of mythology, she told her grandfather she thought the planet should be named Pluto, after the god of the distant, cold underworld.

Her grandfather sent her suggestion, unknown to Venetia, to the Royal British Astronomer H.H. Turner, who in turn sent a telegram with the following suggestion “Naming new planet please consider Pluto, suggested by small girl, Venetia Burney, for Dark Gloomy Planet,” to Clyde Tombaugh, the discoverer.

On May 1 of that year the American Astronomical Society announced the name with the following, “As far as we know Pluto was first suggested by Miss Venetia Burney, aged 11 of Oxford, England.”

In an interview 76 years after the discovery and naming, Venetia (Burney) Phair had this to say, “I don’t quite know why I suggested it. I was fairly familiar with Greek and Roman legends from various children’s books that I had read, and of course I did know about the solar system and the names the other planets have. And so I suppose I just thought that this was a name that hadn’t been used. And there it was.”

Clyde Tombaugh was pleased with the name as the first two letters are the initials of Percival Lowell, the man who first suggested a ninth planet around the turn of the century.

Peter Lind is a local amateur astronomer. He can be reached at ppjl@ juno.com.

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column GARDEN OF DELIGHTS

bonnie orr

A cooking experiment One ethnic dish made with authentic ingredients; its clone made with easy-to-grab substitutes

W

hat was I thinking?

Why was I reading Bon Appetite Magazine when I lived in a rural town of 1,800 people and one grocery store?

Has this ever happened to you? You read a recipe that sounds just yummy, and it calls for an ingredient that you have never heard of, costs a fortune, calls for two tablespoons when you must buy a quart, requires special tools and/or no local store carries an unusual ingredient.

Exotic ingredients are included in recipes because they are common in that culture’s cuisine, be it French or Jewish or Indonesian.

They add a distinctive taste, yes, but are they essential to the success of the dish? I don’t think that you abandon a recipe that calls for bits of flavoring, when some local flavoring would be as successful — it would just create a slightly different recipe in the same way as your aunt and your older sister claim to make your mom’s creamed chicken pot pie, but it is not the same no matter how delicious it is.

I try to stock up on unusual “ethnic” ingredients when I visit the big city. The best local source for unusual ingredients is Grocery Outlet on North Wenatchee Avenue.

Besides the unusual herbs or spices called for in a recipe, the actual truth is that foreign cuisine will never taste authentic when using locally grown ingredients.

Visiting my friend Vita Monteleone’s Italian cousins in the mountains of Sicily exposed me to that truth. The stunning Sicilian tomatoes taste nothing

1 egg + 1 egg yolk Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg 2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano Salt and pepper Pasta 1 cup “00” flour 3/4 cup fresh chestnut flour 2 whole eggs + 1 egg white 1 Tablespoon olive oil Salt

The tortelli on the lower left is made with authentic ingredients, such as chestnuts, and the giant penne on the upper right is the clone recipe made with mushrooms and cashews.

like American tomatoes even if we grow the same seeds. The flavor is derived from that magic “terroir” that we associate with bread and wine varieties.

In my experience if the recipe calls for less than 1 teaspoon of an unavailable ingredient, I ignore it. If it is only a couple of tablespoons, it can be substituted for a near-tasting cousin — for instance, apple cider vinegar for lemon juice, leek for shallot.

In my opinion, using fresh herbs and quality ingredients trumps the loss of many other seasonings.

I have practiced working around unavailable ingredients and this month decided to make a dish with authentic recipe components and one with ersatz ingredients — and then try them out on my friends.

I love leeks and chestnuts so this little ravioli recipe appealed

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to me. It took a year for me to assemble the ingredients. The stumblers: I had to wait until the Christmas season to find the fresh chestnuts. Then chestnut flour, Parmigiano-Reggiano, and “OO” flour had to be purchased in the “big city.”

I grew Tuscan kale, but the aphids loved it, so I tore it out.

If truth be known, this dish was made with leaves from ordinary kale from my garden.

Dish One: inspired by La Cucina Italiana

Chestnut tortelli with leeks

Serves 6; 2 1/2 hours

Filling 1 pound chestnuts cooked and pureed (3 cups) 1 cup ricotta cheese

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March 2016

Sauce 1 1/2 cups Tuscan kale, choppedstems removed 1/2 stick unsalted butter 3 tablespoons

olive oil 1 cup sliced leeks -white and light green parts Salt and pepper

Mix the chestnut puree, whole egg, egg yolk, ricotta cheese and spices.

Mix the pasta ingredients. Knead the dough for two minutes, then pass it through your pasta maker to make thin sheets of dough. Place the dough on a floured surface. Cut into 30 three-inch circles.

Place a tablespoon of the mixture on one half of the circle. Moisten the edges of the circle and fold in half and seal. You now have half a circle. Pinch the narrow ends together to make the “bellybutton” shape.

Slice the leeks into a bowl of cold water and swish them to remove any trace of soil. Drain.

In a saucepan, heat the kale in the oil, add the leeks. Cook until wilted.

Add salt and pepper.

Bring a gallon of water to a boil.

Turn down heat, simmer the tortelli for 4 minutes.

Drain and arrange on a heated platter. Top with the kale sauce

OK, now on to recipe two where I make substitutions.

The sweet nutty taste and the leeks are what appealed to me in the original recipe.

Cashews are sweet like chestnut, but are too dense to create a dish with an entire pound of them, so I added fresh mushrooms. I decided to use spinach, but I could have used the kale, or made a half/half mixture.

No ricotta in the fridge, but small curd cottage cheese was available, and I like it because it is less salty than the ricotta.

Shallots and leeks are both mild onions.

Lastly, I used purchased pasta.

Dish 2: Pasta with Cashews and greens Serves 4 1 1/4 hours assembly 40 minutes baking 1/2 cup cashews coarsely chopped 1 1/2 cups raw mushrooms finely chopped 1 cup small curd cottage cheese 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg 24 uncooked giant stuffing pasta shells: penne, manicotti, lumache, etc.

2 tablespoons olive oil 1 1/2 cups chopped spinach 1 cup leeks sliced — white and light green parts 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese grated 1/2 cup yogurt or sour cream Salt and pepper Boil the pasta in a gallon of water until it is barely firm.

Heat a tablespoon of oil and cook the mushrooms until they are wilted.

Mix together the nuts, mushrooms, cottage cheese, and spices.

Oil a 9 x13 baking dish.

Spoon 1 tablespoon of the nut mix into each shell.

Lay the shells in the baking dish.

Slice the leeks into a bowl of cool water to remove any bits of soil.

Drain. Mix together the vegetables.

Layer on top of the stuffed shells.

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

Mix together the Parmesan and sour cream and dab on top of the vegetables.

Bake covered at 350 for 25 minutes.

Remove the lid and brown for 5-8 minutes.

North Central Washington’s Technology Alliance

Most of “taster” friends liked my version better — probably because it tasted of more familiar ingredients.

Some of the tasters thought the chestnut ravioli were too sweet. The kale and leek sauce was more popular than the spinach and leek and sour cream because it was not the familiar mixture. What can you say?

To me, the most satisfying comments were that people were pleased to know that substituted ingredients created a dish that was close to the original and just as tasty.

They said that they were inspired now to try recipes with substitutions.

TUESDAY

29 2016 MARCH

LUNCHEON 12-1:30pm

TH

WENATCHEE

Convention Center

Join us for our 16th year celebrating regional innovation, technology, and education in NCW. Doors open at 11 a.m. | $25 members / $30 public Register at www.gwata.org

Featuring keynote presenter Ari Hollander, of DeepStream VR DeepStream VR is a virtual reality company in Seattle pioneering virtual reality games to help relieve pain and improve quality of life.

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

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column moving up to the good life

june darling

Awesome: What a way to live a richer life someone overcoming extreme adversity — of others pitching in to help and I’ll be choked up.

Researchers think what’s going on in these cases is related to that word we’ve been carelessly tossing around for at least the last 20 years.

I remember the first time I heard it. Awe-some. Just the sound of the word grabbed me.

Though we react very little to the word awesome anymore, many people definitely do physically react to beautiful (or vast) scenes and sounds. Many also react to moral beauty or excellence, or anything skillfully crafted.

Researchers continue to hag-

A

friend of mine told me that she could be driving on Steven’s Pass, round a corner, see a beautiful tree, and have to pull over to dry her eyes before she could continue.

My father would weep over a seed as he contemplated “the miracle of life.”

Many people tear up when they listen to certain music, walk in nature, or look up at the stars.

One young man known neither for his intelligence nor his vocal ability brought an entire group of people to tears and a standing ovation when he squeaked out every verse of Amazing Grace at a local church service.

Tell me almost any story of

An awe-some March moment watching Sophia, one of June’s granddaughters, on Flowery Divide.

Photo by John Darling

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March 2016

gle over definitions, measures and theories of why we have this awe thing. It seems to be related to other emotions like hope, wonder and gratitude.

When people talk about their awe-filled, peak experiences they talk about perceiving the world as good and worthwhile even though being aware of suffering and evil. They feel more loving and accepting. They are more humble. They are less selfcentered and appreciative.

Researchers find that aweexperiencers are more altruistic too. An increase in more giving behaviors is not uncommon with most positive emotions like joy and gratitude.

But here’s a very unique effect of awe. People who have just experienced awe are more thoughtful and less influenced by weak arguments. They think more critically, look for solid facts and logical reasoning, and are less influenced by unsound thinking.

Researchers have also found health benefits, particularly around chronic inflammation, for those who regularly experience awe.

And people who experience awe seem to feel less crunched for time and are more likely to give of their time.

An example of a person who lived under the regular influence of awe is the poet, Walt Whitman.

Here’s how a doctor described him: “Perhaps, indeed, no man who ever lived liked so many things and disliked so few as Walt Whitman. All natural objects seemed to have a charm for him. All sights and sounds seemed to please him. He appeared to like (and I believe he did like) all the men, women and children he saw.”

Experiencing awe is harder for some. Especially people who are strongly inclined toward materialism, cynicism and pessimism seem to have more difficulty.

People on Wall Street are not noted for their ability to feel awe.

Women are more prone to be elevated by what might be called “virtuous actions.” That is, seeing teenagers voluntarily giving up their seats to older people on the subway for example.

Well known psychologist, Abraham Maslow, who had more to say about awe than any other researcher in his day, suggested that people who regularly experienced peak experiences were possibly more mentally healthy.

Despite our proclivities, gender, professions and mental health, we can all do things which give us a better chance of experiencing awe.

Though I’m writing this article in January, I can experience a bit of awe just by imagining what I’ll be seeing, hearing, and feeling by the end of the month — the awakening of spring, new life.

The purple lupine and yellow balsam are shaking off the snow and basking in the warm sunbeams. Squat coveys of fat little quail are parading through the backyard with their top-knots jiggling.

I imagine sap stirring in the aspens and elderberry bushes.

The hummingbirds are furiously seeking their sweet fix. Life is mind-blowingly good.

March is a great time to begin our awe experiments.

You might take a walk in nature — romp through the balsam, look up at the sky or out at the mountains, read inspiring stories, listen to moving music or go to a concert, hold a newborn, or watch a child embrace a magical world. See what causes your eyes to widen a bit or your heart to soar a tad.

How might you move up to The Good Life by experimenting with more awe-some activities?

June Darling, Ph.D. can be contacted at drjunedarling1@gmail. com; website: www.summitgroupresources.com. Her books, including 7 Giant Steps To The Good Life, can be bought or read for free at Amazon. com.

March 2016 | The Good Life

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O’Grady’s St. Paddy’s 5k Run! Join us for the inaugural runnin’ and wearin’ o’ the green! A chip-timed 5K that starts and finishes at O’Grady’s Pantry near Leavenworth. Post-race party at O’Grady’s with specials! Race registration or more info: RunWenatchee.com SleepingLady.com | 509.548.6344

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column THE TRAVELing DOCTOR

jim brown, m.d.

Melanoma and other skin cancers D

id you know that the body’s largest organ is the skin?

It protects us against heat, sunlight, injury and infection.

Our skin helps control our body temperature and stores fat, water and vitamin D. The skin’s two main layers are the epidermis (outer layer) and the dermis (inner layer).

Skin cancer begins in the epidermis, which is made up of three kinds of cells. The top layer has squamous or flat cells.

Basal cells are round and are just under the squamous cells.

Melanocytes are cells that make melanin and are in the lower part of the epidermis.

Melanin is the pigment that gives skin its natural color.

When exposed to sun light melanocytes make more pigment, causing the skin to darken.

Of the more than 1 million new diagnoses of skin cancer each year, roughly 68,000 involve melanoma. More than 8,000 people in the United States die each year of melanoma. The numbers of cases of melanoma are steadily increasing, most commonly in adults.

Melanoma is the rarest form of skin cancer and the deadliest, since it has the ability to spread locally and to distant organs. For some reason in men, melanomas are often found on the trunk from the shoulders to the hips, and in women most are found on the arms and legs.

Melanoma can occur in the eye as well.

Squamous cell and basal cell cancers are the most common skin cancers and rarely spread to other parts of the body.

The primary risk factors for melanoma include a fair complexion with skin that freckles and burns easily and tans

(My doctor) tells me that my skin lesions that she freezes off every year are a result of my sun exposure as a young person.

For two years, I was a lifeguard at a large municipal pool.

My summer jobs during college were all outdoor jobs. poorly. People with blue, green or light colored eyes, and red or blond hair are at greater risk.

Being exposed to natural sunlight and artificial light such as tanning booths for long periods of time increase the risk. People with dark skin rarely get melanoma compared to those with white skin.

A history of blistering sunburns as a child or teenager increases the risk.

I have had two basal cell cancers and my wife has had one basal and one squamous cell cancers removed by our dermatologist, Dr. Sharon Sequin.

We both see her every year for a total skin check up.

She tells me that my skin lesions that she freezes off every year are a result of my sun exposure as a young person. For two years as a teenager, I was a lifeguard at a large municipal pool. My summer jobs during college were all outdoor jobs.

Sunscreen was unheard of, and everyone I knew wanted to

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get as tan as possible. I still love the sun and tan easily but am paying the price for that now.

If you have a mole (nevus) that changes size, shape, color or has an irregular border, itches or bleeds, see a dermatologist soon.

Most melanomas found in an early stage can be cured by surgery.

A small percentage of melanomas eventually spread to other parts and organs of the body.

When that happens, more sophisticated treatment is necessary. For years the main treatment available was radiation therapy or chemotherapy.

Treatment depends in a large part on the stage the cancer is in. For example, stage 3 means it has spread to lymph nodes in a more regional fashion while stage 4 means the cancer has spread to other organs such as bone, liver, lungs and brain.

The outlook for melanoma that has distant spread has generally been poor. That might be changing. Immunotherapy and targeted therapy have shown promise and are changing the direction of melanoma research and treatment.

Recent research has shown that melanoma cells have certain gene patterns that can predict whether there will be a low rate or higher likelihood to spread. The latter group would conceivably require more testing and follow-up.

Immunotherapy offers some hope in that it helps the body’s own immune system attack the malignant melanoma cells.

Much of the research is aimed at treatment for the cancer that has spread.

Biologic therapy or immune therapy uses the patient’s own immune system to fight their cancer. Several research studies

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March 2016

in this modality of treatment are ongoing at the present time.

Targeted therapy is treatment using drugs that attack cancer cells but that do not harm normal cells.

If proven effective, this would seem to be an ideal treatment.

Targeted therapy agents are complex. Some of the therapies inhibit signals that allow the cancer to spread from cell to cell. Some targeted therapy is aimed at blocking the activity of mutant cancer genes while another has used a virus that infects and breaks down cancer cells but not normal cells.

Monoclonal antibodies are made in the laboratory that can identify cancer cells, attack and kill them while blocking their growth.

Another targeted therapy can block the growth of new blood vessels that tumors need to grow. Hopefully this research will lead to a more effective treatment in the future than radiation therapy and chemotherapy, which damage normal cells when trying to destroy the cancer cells.

President Jimmy Carter is the most famous current melanoma patient. He recently had surgery to remove a single lesion that had spread to his liver and also had radiation therapy for lesions that had spread to his brain.

He was then treated with a newly FDA approved immunologic drug called Keytruda. The media did him and other potential patients a disservice by reporting that he was “cured” and “cancer free.” It is way too early to make statements like that.

In fact in the company’s own original studies of Keytruda,

I have known patients whose cancer seems to be in prolonged remission but shows up again seven to nine years later. there were only 89 patients enrolled and only 21 of them had an overall response with partial or complete shrinkage of the cancer. In 18 of those 21 patients, the overall response rate ranged from 1.4 to 8.5 months.

I don’t know of any physician or oncologist what would talk about a cure at this early stage, but of course, we all hope it might be true.

If cancer is not detectable by current diagnostic tools such as CAT scans, MRI, or PET scans, that does not necessarily mean there are no cancer cells left.

The better term is undetectable or in remission.

I have known patients whose cancer seems to be in prolonged remission but shows up again seven to nine years later. One was a physician friend some

years ago who had a malignant melanoma removed from his skin and seemed to be doing fine for nine years when he collapsed while making hospital rounds and was found to have a recurrence of his melanoma in his brain.

Dr. Oliver Sachs, neurologist and author, recently died of melanoma that recurred nine years after his original ocular melanoma had been removed.

It is difficult for physicians to predict the likely life expectancy for many cancer patients.

One of my most memorable patients was a lady in her 60s in whom I diagnosed colon cancer.

Surgery revealed multiple metastatic cancers in her liver (stage 4). At that time the outlook for patients with a cancer like this spread to the liver was on average less than six months.

She and I discussed treatment that might have prolonged her life a short time. She decided to do nothing in order to avoid being sick from any chemotherapy.

She came to see me every month for a while. At six months she felt fine and had no symptoms, no weight loss and had a good appetite. Her blood work was all perfect. I saw her every few months for the next three

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years. She was still symptomfree and had normal blood work.

I finally asked one of our pathologists to review her slides again as I was now doubting the original diagnosis in her liver.

He reassured me that there was no doubt in the diagnosis of multiple cancers sites in her liver.

After five years she was doing fine so I asked an oncologist to review her records and tell me his opinion. He did so and said it was a “miracle.”

Her explanation was the prayers that she knew were being made on her behalf. Even though there are cases of “spontaneous remission” in cancer patients, I could not deny her

explanation of what truly was a miracle.

I am hopeful that the current research efforts will lead to eventual effective treatment for all cancers including melanoma.

This requires major government funding which our congress has been reluctant to provide. In his recent state of the union speech, President Barack Obama called for a “moonshot” effort to defeat cancer.

I am in complete agreement but also wish he had added defeating Alzheimer’s as well. We cannot afford not to do this.

Jim Brown, M.D., is a retired gastroenterologist who has practiced for 38 years in the Wenatchee area. He is a former CEO of the Wenatchee Valley Medical Center.

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The many faces and acts of TJ Farrell numbers person has a number of ways of expressing her artist side

By Susan Lagsdin

S

o, picture Orc, the big-fanged creature from Lord of the Rings, wearing Icelandic pop rave Bjork’s scintillating swan tutu dress and heading to work down the seriously businesslike halls of the Chelan P.U.D. It’s Halloween 2015 and nobody in the office bats an eye because… well, because risk management guru TJ Farrell, 52, just loves this holiday, and they have steeled themselves over the years for whatever comic or gruesome outrage she may devise. She’s even inspired a few colleagues to wear their own (somewhat more conventional) costumes.

TJ lived a quiet life, artistically speaking, until 2003 when she innocently volunteered to participate in the Mission Creek Haunted House. TJ said, “I realize I don’t mind being scared (by books and movies) but what I really like is scaring people.” Thus she became a regular and started custom-designing costumes as well as painting and building creepy set pieces.

It was director Cynthia Brown who encouraged her to audition for her first full scale musical, where TJ found out that she loves the tension, the teamwork, the smell of the greasepaint and the roar of the crowds.

Her performing self took off, and in only 12 years she’s had roles in The Rocky Horror Show, Bad Dates, The Farndale Avenue

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The many faces of TJ Farrell: Top, the workaday world; left, from The Rocky Horror Show in 2013, taken by Brian Abbey; middle, Berthe the maid from Boeing, Boeing, 2016, taken by Vicki Michael, and right, as Mother in Spamalot, the Apple Blossom musical in 2015.

Housing Estate’s Townswomen’s Guild Dramatic Society’s Christmas Carol, Bat Boy, Hamlet, Deathtrap, Spamalot, Cabaret, Boeing Boeing, the Follies, even a gone-viral Woody Goomsba commercial.

And she’s just landed a role in Chicago, Numerica PAC’s Hot August Nights offering this year. Not bad for a late-blooming rela| The Good Life

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tive newcomer to the stage.

Theatricality isn’t the only expression TJ delights in.

A ghost of an idea for a fantasy novel also started about 12 years ago, just about when she discovered her scary-self.

“It’s kind of a Harry Potter for women my age,” she said, about a woman who owns a haunted house that’s really haunted. Really — monsters, etc. — and she’s been drafting

March 2016

A chance incident at the airport (reading aloud to the child of a fellow traveler) gave her the idea for her collection of dog poems for children... it in spurts and starts all this time, calculating it’s about a third finished.

She said, “Writing is actually the hardest thing for me to settle down to — but then I get out of the daily ‘to-do list’ rut and then my mind runs faster than I can type.”

All TJ’s writing is directly inspired by her own life.

A chance incident at the airport (reading aloud to the child of a fellow traveler) gave her the idea for her collection of dog poems for children that she’s currently close to completing, written in a variety of lengths and forms, haiku to sestina (she admits they’re “dog-gerel”) and illustrated by a friend.

And some of the scathing and ribald memoirs from her work in the seafood packing industry (tentative title: Bottom Feeders) she’s often shared at Write On The River’s “Four Minutes of Fame,” to much applause.

Her most solitary art form is painting in acrylics, and one current project inspired by an artist friend gives her pleasure whenever she delves back into it. TJ’s cataloguing the progress of a painting with in-process photographs. The subject is her black cat on a bright pillow, and now snapshots show her first sketches through to color blocking and highlights.

Educated in accountancy and certified as a CPA, TJ has found engrossing work in a variety of fields that take her far beyond auditing. But still, her work life

is rife with statistics and regulations, and she’s adamant about including creativity in her busy weeks. Ironically, she’s got it down to percentages.

“Only about 5 percent of my waking hours are devoted to doing artistic endeavors of my own choosing, so I treasure the time I get to concentrate on creative things.”

Of those creative things, she balances the solitary labor of painting and writing with the collaboration and interaction of theater productions. She also envisions a good life where the percentage per day of all three is a great deal higher.

TJ’s advice to anyone bent on pursuing their own artistic inclination is, “Don’t start with the expectation of getting paid.

Do it for the love of creating art, (or in her case, sometimes scaring people) and for being happy with what you made… and be sure you ‘make’ the time for it, because ‘finding’ the time is just not going to happen.”

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WHAT TO DO

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

NCW Blues Jam, every second and fourth Tuesday, 7:30 – 11 p.m. Columbia Valley Brewery, 538 Riverside Dr, Wenatchee. Info: facebook. com/NCWBluesJam. Weekly Club Runs, every Thursday check in between 4:30 and 6:30 p.m. at Saddle Rock Pub and Brewery. Either a 5k or 10k walk or run on the Apple Capital Recreation Loop Trail. Complete 10 weekly runs and receive a free shirt. Cost: free (other than a smile). Info: Joel Rhyner 387-0051.

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

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

Wenatchee Farmers Market,

every Saturday, 8 a.m. – 2 p.m.

Pybus Public Market.

Pack Walks, every 4th Sunday at 3 p.m. Bring your friends and dogs on leashes and walk the riverfront trail. Meet on the loop behind Pybus Public Market at the boat launch. Info: wenatcheefido.org.

Pybus University: How to select and work with attorneys, 3/1, 7 – 8 p.m. Instructor Gil Sparks will lead the discussion on finding and selecting an attorney for personal or business issues.

Also tips on how to effectively set and agree on client expectations, effective and proactive communication practices and getting a clear understanding of legal fees and billing expectations. Pybus Public Market. Info: pybuspublicmarket. org.

Wenatchee Valley Chamber of Commerce Banquet, 3/3, 5:30 - 9 p.m. Lavishly decorated tables, silent auction, no-host bar, raffle, awards and dinner. Town Toyota Center. Cost: $50.

Film Series: Paper Tigers, 3/3, 7 p.m. A shifting paradigm for troubled teens. Filmed in Walla

Moving?

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Big D & Bubba Mornings More Music Workdays Paula Deen Cooking Tips Randy Roadz Afternoons Country Concert Connection Win Watershed Weekend Passes

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WHAT TO DO

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

}}} Continued from previous page Walla. Snowy Owl Theater. Cost: $12 advance or $14 at the door.

Info: icicle.org.

First Friday: nTwo Rivers Art Gallery, 3/4, 5 – 8 p.m. Celebrating our 7th anniversary with the annual Members Show. Featuring professional and emerging artists. Live music by Connie Celustka on hammered dulcimer. Jones of Washington wines.

Complimentary refreshments. 102 N Columbia, Wenatchee. Cost: free.

Info: 2riversgallery.com. nMerriment Party Goods, 3/4, 5 – 8 p.m. For the month of March will be showcasing Beautiful Dwellings. They specialize in unique gifts that are handmade for kids to home decor. Snacks and beverages.

23, S. Wenatchee Ave. Cost: free.

Info: facebook.com/merrimentpartygoods. nTumbleweed Bead Co., 3/4, 5-7 p.m. Refreshments served. 105 Palouse St. Cost: free. Info: tumbleweedbeadco.com. nSmall Artworks Gallery, 3/4, 5 p.m. Regional High School Art Show artists’ works will be on display at the Wenatchee Valley Museum and Cultural Center. Cost: free. Info: wvmcc.org.

Special Olympics Opening Ceremony, 3/4, 5-9 p.m. More than 1,500 Special Olympics athletes will represent Washington hometowns ranging from Bellingham to Vancouver and Seattle to Spokane.

Town Toyota Center. Cost: free.

Info: wenatchee.org.

Chloe Grace, 3/4, 6 – 8 p.m. Live performance. Pybus Public Market.

Cost: free. Info: pybuspublicmarket. org.

Music for the Heart and Soul, 3/4, 7 p.m. Matt Cadman, emcee, music by Bonga Marimba Band, Columbia River Music Conservatory Youth Choir, Eastmont High School Chamber Choir, All Strings Considered, Cassidy Cunningham and Parker Kiesz, Wenatchee Apollo Club and Follies A La Mode Tap Dancers plus an Apple Blossom preview of Mary Poppins. 8th annual Mobile Meals Benefit concert.

Numerica Performing Arts Center.

Tickets at Chinook Music, Pak it Rite, Winnie’s Hallmark, Wenatchee

Senior Center or by calling the Mobile Meals Office, 665-6254.

Lego Competition, 3/5, 6, 9:30 a.m. – 4 p.m. Build your own Lego creation. Prizes awarded. Pybus Public Market. Cost: free. Info: pybuspublicmarket.org.

Signature Series: Boston Brass, 3/5, 7 p.m. From exciting classical arrangements, to burning jazz standards, and the best of the original brass quintet repertoire.

Snowy Owl Theater. Cost: $28 advance or $32 at the door. Info: icicle.org.

Cave B Black Tie Gala, 3/5, 6 – 11 p.m. Twinkling lights, large dance floor, live big band sounds performed by Half-Pack Live. Champagne reception with Italian hors d’oeuvres followed by four-course dinner. Cave B, Quincy. Cost: $115.

Info: 785-3500 ext. 0 or wineclub@ caveb.com.

Special Olympics, 3/5, 6, 8:30 am.

– 3 p.m. Athletes from across the state will converge on Wenatchee, Mission Ridge Ski Resort and Leavenworth to compete in six sports: alpine skiing, cross country skiing, figure skating, snowboard and basketball. Info: specialolympicswashington.org.

Elevate Dance Diversity University Workshop, 3/6, 20 1:30 p.m. Meet performance artists and talk about their personal process of choreographing their kinetic murals. Numerica Performing Arts Center. Info: www.elevate.dance/.

Opera Series: Manon Lescaut, 3/6, 2 p.m. Snowy Owl Theater.

Cost: $22 advance or $24 at the door. Info: icicle.org.

your findings and contribute real data used by scientists to monitor bird populations around the world.

Meet at the north end of Walla Walla Park near the restrooms.

No RSVP required. Info: susan@ cdlandtrust.org.

Write on the River’s literary Events: 3/10, 7 – 9 p.m. “Four Minutes of Fame.” Meet at Mile post 111 in Cashmere. 3/31, last day for high school writers competition submissions. Online registration is open for May 13-15 Writers Conference at WVC. Info: writeontheriver. org.

Wenatchee Valley Appleaires, 3/6, 2 – 2:45 p.m. The ladies of the Wenatchee Valley Appleaires will perform Broadway songs. Pybus Public Market. Cost: free. Info: pybuspublicmarket.org.

The Man Who Came to Dinner, 3/10, 11, 12, 17, 18, 19, 7 p.m. 2 p.m. matinees on Saturdays. Wenatchee High School’s live performance.

Cost: $10 adults, $5 students and seniors. Tickets: PAC office or: wawenatchee.intouchreceipting.com.

Pybus University: Viewing the Wenatchee Night Sky, 3/8, 7 – 8 p.m. Instructor Dick Horton will use a portable dome and projector to explore a variety of objects. Pybus Public Market. Cost: free. Info: pybuspublicmarket.org.

KPQ Home and Garden Spring Expo, 3/11, noon – 7 p.m. 3/12, 9 a.m. – 7 p.m. 3/13, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.

Town Toyota Center. Info: towntoyotacenter.com.

Bird ID Skills Building, 3/9, 23, 7:30 -9:45 a.m. Come along with naturalist and Land Trust Conservation fellow Susan Ballinger on this bi-monthly outing for birders of all levels, from beginner to expert.

Hone your field ID skills and learn to contribute to the online birding tool eBird, which lets you track

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Vox Docs film festival, 3-11, 12. A weekend festival showcasing the best documentaries of the year. Films include: He Named Me Malala, The Mask We Live In, Unbranded, Racing and Extinction.

Snowy Owl Theater. Info: icicle.org.

Forest Beutel, 3/11, 6 – 8 p.m. Live performance on the rail car. Pybus Public Market. Cost: free. Info:

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March 2016

pybuspublicmarket.org.

Wayne Kelly Memorial Top Dog Parade, 3/12, noon – 12:30 p.m.

Dress up your dog or dogs and kids in green and try and win the Top Dog award. The parade line up begins at 11:30 a.m. in the parking lot behind Wells Fargo Bank in Downtown Chelan.

O’Grady’s St. Paddy’s 5k Run, 3/12. Post race party at O’Grady’s Pantry at Sleeping Lady. Run or walk on the Icicle Creek trails. Info: runwenatchee.com.

Pybus University: Family Art night-Oil Pastel Explorations, 3/15, 22, 7 – 8 p.m. Instructor Terry Valdez. Pybus Public Market. Cost: free. Info: pybuspublicmarket.org.

Film Series: The Messenger, 3/15, 7 – 8:30 p.m. An ode to the beauty and importance of the imperiled songbird, and what it would mean to all of us on both a global and human level if we lose them. Cosponsored by NCW Audubon Society. Wenatchee Valley Museum and Cultural Center. Cost: by donation. Info: wenatcheevalleymuseum.org.

Monthly Movie: The Princess Bride, 3/16, 6:30 p.m. Numerica Performing Arts Center. Cost: $3.

Info: numericapac.org.

>>

WHAT TO DO

Vancouver International Mountain Film Festival, 3/17, 7 p.m. Snowy Owl Theater. Cost: $12 advance or $14 at the door. Info: icicle.org.

St. Patrick’s Day parade, 3/17, 7ish. The shortest St. Patrick’s Day Parade Route in the world. One block long at the corner of Orondo and Mission Street.

Mariachi NW Festival, 3/18, 8:30 – 10:30 a.m. Student workshop. Concert Gala, 7:30 p.m. Town Toyota Center. Cost: $15, or $25 for workshop and Gala Concert. Info: mariachinorthwestfestival.com.

Gavin McLaughlin, 3/18, 7 – 9 p.m. Live performance. Pybus Public Market. Cost: free. Info: pybuspublicmarket.org.

Chamber Music Series: Spring Trio: Maria Sampen, Tim Christie and Alistair MacRae, 3/18, 7 p.m. Canyon Wren Recital Hall. Info: icicle.org.

ENTIAT KITE FESTIVAL, 3/19, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. 150 free kites for kids.

Entertainment, live music, vendors for food and kite-related paraphernalia, as well as a stunt kite fliers.

Cost: Free. Kiwanis Park in Entiat along Highway 97A. Family Pipe Organ Program, 3/19, 1 – 2:30 p.m. Brad Miller will play the museum’s beloved Liberty Theater Pipe Organ and the piano with a fun program for all ages.

He’ll accompany several short silent films, play a variety of music and lead sing-alongs. Wenatchee Valley Museum and Cultural Center.

Info: wenatcheevalleymuseum.org.

Spring Fling, 3/19, 6 p.m. Annual gala by the Numerica PAC to honor generous season supporters and roll out the 2016-17 season.

Numerica Performing Arts Center.

Info: numericapac.org.

Spring Fest, 3/19, 6 – 9 p.m. Light hors d’oeuvres, dessert and no host bar, silent and live auction, raffles, and drawings. Benefit for the Wenatchee Valley Farmers Market.

Cost: $25. Pybus Public Market.

Info: pybuspublicmarket.org.

CAHALEN MORRISON and ELI WEST, 3/19, 7:30 p.m. Cashmere Community Concerts. Smooth vocals, tight harmonies and the syncopated and rhythmic meld of their instruments makes Morrison and West the most innovative duo in roots music today. CCC at Cashmere Riverside Center. Cost: $3 at the door and pass the hat $8-$11.

Info: cashmereconcerts.com.

Easter Egg Hunt, 3/20, 2 – 4 p.m. Eastmont County Park. East Wenatchee.

Theater Series: In celebration of dangerous women, 3/20, 1:30 p.m. March is Women’s History month. The afternoon begins with stunning songs, dances and portrayals of some of history’s most notorious and respected women, as well as the unique talents of this area’s most dangerous women performed by artists from throughout the Valley. Next up is a one-woman show, Returning the Bones, performed and written

by Seattle actress Gin Hammond.

“Returning Bones” is based on a true story with Gin Hammond playing a multiplicity of roles in this poignant, humorous, and gripping portrayal. Snowy Owl Theater. Cost: $22 advance or $24 at the door.

Admission includes refreshments.

Beer and wine for purchase. Info: icicle.org.

Pybus University: Ask the attorney: all about health care for yourself and your family, 3/22, 7 – 8 p.m. Instructor Christina Davitt. Pybus Public Market. Cost: free. Info: pybuspublicmarket.org.

Film Series: The Winding Stream, 3/24, 7 p.m. The Carters, the Cashes and the course of country music. With special guest filmmaker Beth Harrington. Snowy Owl Theater. Cost: $12 advance or $14 at the door. Info: icicle.org.

Tech Savvy Business of the Year, Innovative Use of Technology in the Classroom, Future Technology Leader K-12, Future Technology Leader Post-Secondary. Featuring keynote presenter Ari Hollander, of DeepStream VR, a virtual reality company in Seattle pioneering virtual reality games to help relieve pain and improve quality of life.

Wenatchee Convention Center. $25 members, $30 public. Info: gwata. org or 661-9000.

Pybus University: Dahlias: a garden of earthly delights, 3/29, 7 – 8 p.m. Members of the NCW Dahlia Society will provide a hands on demonstration of how to plant and care for dahlias. Learn how to select dahlias to grow, understand dahlia terminology and how to interpret a dahlia catalog.

Each attendee will receive a free tuber. Pybus Public Market. Cost: free. Info: pybuspublicmarket.org. eBird 101 Workshop, 3/29, 6 – 8 p.m. Would you like to learn how to become a citizen scientist birder, sharing what you see in the field with researchers nationwide? Have you heard of “eBird” but aren’t sure how to get started? As an eBird user, do you have some questions

about how to enter your sightings, using your smart device, or setting up locations? If you’ve answered “yes.” this eBird 101 Workshop is designed for you. Participants can attend a free, 2-hour workshop either on Tuesday (6-8 p.m.) March 29 in Wenatchee or on Wednesday (9-11 a.m.) March 30 in Leavenworth (Wenatchee River Institute Barn). An optional 1-hour field data collection practice will be offered 11 a.m.-noon, after the Wednesday training. Chelan –Douglas Land Trust upstairs meeting room. Info: cdlandtrust.org.

Visiting Artist Series: Seattle Repertory Jazz Orchestra, 3/31-4/1. Snowy Owl Theater. Info: icicle.org.

Film Series: The Hunting Ground, 3/31, 7 p.m. Startling exposé of sexual assault on US college campuses. Snowy Owl Theater. Cost: $12 advance or $14 at the door. Info: icicle.org.

Norman Baker, 4/1, 7 – 9 p.m. Live performance on the rail car. Pybus Public Market. Cost: free. Info: pybuspublicmarket.org.

Springtime in Sage Hills is coming

Erin Moody, 3/25, 7 – 9 p.m. Live performance. Pybus Public Market.

Cost: free. Info: pybuspublicmarket. org.

Game Night, 3/25, 7 – 9 p.m. The Pacific Crest Church will host a game night every fourth Friday of the month. Board games, card games and any games you bring.

Pybus Public Market. Cost: free.

Info: pybuspublicmarket.org.

King Michael: A glorious tribute to the king of pop, 3/25, 7:30 p.m. Featuring Michael Jackson’s greatest hits and an all-star dance company. Numerica Performing Arts Center. Info: numericapac. org.

A Comedy Show – Part II, 3/26, 8 p.m. Drew Barth, Mitch Burrow and Derek Sheen will perform. Numerica Performing Arts Center. Cost: $15. Info: numericapac.org.

Winter is ending and the Mule Deer will soon be heading for the higher hills. Let them rest-up before their journey.

Sage Hills trails reopen to people and leashed pets on April 1. Until then, please respect all trail closures.

GWATA Luncheon, 3/29, noon – 1:30 p.m. Awards given to businesses showcasing entrepreneurship, innovation and education: March 2016 | The Good Life

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column those were the days

rod molzahn

The last wild horse roundup Editor’s note: Rod Molzahn is taking a few months off.

Here is an encore column from a past issue.

Wearing wide braces, a

white shirt and tie and a flat brimmed white hat, Al Soper sat astride a tall, powerful white horse.

He rode at the head of a double column of 300 cowboys, “Buckayros,” A. A. McIntyre calls them in his account.

They came from as far away as Texas, North Dakota and California and included a number of Indians from local bands as well as Sam Hutchinson, the tallest man in the state at seven feet four inches.

It was Tuesday, April 24, 1906 and the riders, along with cook wagons, bed wagons, camp outfits and 300 extra horses were heading out of Ephrata for the last great wild horse roundup ever held in Washington State.

They had been gathering in the town for much of the past week for the festivities that would celebrate the ride.

There had been a “Buckayro Ball” on Friday in the Wilson Creek Opera House, east of Ephrata, that was marked by the absence of the sort of drunken revelry found at most such occasions. Music was provided by fiddles, piano, drums and a oneman horn section.

Sunday, back in Ephrata, the festivities resumed. An ox was spit roasted over a bed of sage brush coals and heated rocks, and at 2:30 in the afternoon the games began.

There were quarter-mile and 600-yard horse races down Ephrata’s main street, a running high jump competition and foot races.

A bronco busting contest was

found no cowboys capable of sitting on their horses. The start was put off until Tuesday.

During the last of the 1800s, the southwest part of Douglas County, now Grant County, was one of the most important horse raising regions in the west.

As many as Riders line up before heading out to round up wild horses. Photos from the family collection of 60,000 horses Sally Patton, who is the niece of roundup leader Al Soper. in bands up to 100 ranged over the semi-arid land. By 1901, settlers were fencing the range and large scale stock raising had come to an end.

By 1906, 5,000 head still roamed the hills and coulees and Al Soper, one of the areas pioneer horsemen, organized the roundup to bring them in.

On Tuesday morning at 6 a.m., after a breakfast of coffee, biscuits, potatoes, bacon, butter and eggs, the riders moved out.

Forming lines that sometimes reached for miles across the hills and gullies, the riders would sweep through an area driving bands of wild horses in front of them. The ends of the line would swing inward, funneling horses down a ravine to water Dinner hour on the range: seating available on the ground. at Crab Creek or the Columbia won by Jot Heron who remountThe other accomplishment of River, then into waiting corrals. ed his horse and rode it to subthe day was putting away all the The adults and older colts mission after the horse had first liquor to be had in the town’s were cut out and branded. knocked Heron off by running only saloon. Monday the 23rd, A few of the young colts and under a clothesline. the planned first day of the ride, foals were taken by local farmers

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March 2016

but most were shot. There was no market for them and they would have starved in the hills without their mothers.

The horses were loaded into rail cars, 28 to a car, and shipped to buyers in North Dakota.

The Dakota Bad Lands were among the only free range areas left in the country and most of the large horse operations had moved there. When a train load of 600 to a 1,000 horses had been shipped out, the cowboys headed out again for more.

The roundup gained national attention. Eight newspapers from as close as Wilson Creek and as far as Boston sent report-

One last nip at the end of the day.

ers to cover and photograph the ride.

The Boston Herald sent Herbert Heywood who became a favorite of the cowboys. They called him “Boston Man” and developed a high respect for his unflagging interest in everything about the roundup and the cowboy life and his willingness to try it all himself.

The roundup went on until mid July, bringing in over 4,000 horses. Close to a 1,000 remained free in the hills, including one bunch of about a 100 black, gray and white horses, impossible to catch, known as “The Wild Goose Band.”

They were said to have descended from Arabian stallions.

Eventually even they disappeared from the hills, replaced by wheat, beans, peas and plodding cattle.

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

Got a good story to tell? email: editor@ncwgoodlife.com

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column ALEX ON WINE

ALEX SALIBY

What’s in that bottle of wine I just bought?

I had occasion, a short time

ago, to have a bottle of wine in my possession I knew very little about, never having had a wine from the winery before.

It was not a local wine, so I did some online research to learn a little more about the place.

The winery’s website was informative on a marketing level, but there was no information about the technical details of the wine.

I examined the label; it was an artistic work, with a made-up name for the red wine content and no mention of any grape varietal. On the back label were these words, “Bottled by...”

That phrase, “Bottled by” gave me two important facts: 1. The winery whose label was on the bottle, didn’t make the wine.

2. Since I’d no idea who made the wine, I also knew nothing of what kind of wine was in the bottle.

Best I could do was conclude there were no upsetting technical flaws in the bottle of wine.

But the experience just brought back those early ’60s days in California, when the wine regulations were less restrictive, Gallo had its Hearty Burgundy wines flooding the market. Remember, the red wine

I hope they help you sort out some of the meaning of what’s in that bottle of wine you just bought. of Burgundy is made from the Pinot Noir grape. There was no Pinot Noir wine in Gallo’s blended product.

Sorry for such a long way around arriving at the question, “How can consumers know exactly what they are getting in their bottles of wine?”

Some of the answers to the question come from the regulations imposed on wineries by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Those regulations are, as you might imagine, complicated and often confusing; below is my interpretation of these complicated rules. I hope they help you sort out some of the meaning of what’s in that bottle of wine you just bought.

Grown, produced and bottled by. This means the winery grew 100 percent of the grapes used to make the wine, produced the

wine at its facilities and when the wine was finished, bottled it.

Produced or bottled by. For these, the bottler fermented 75 percent of the wine or changed its tax class by the addition of spirits, flavors or colors, carbonation or secondary fermentation.

(If Estate bottled, 100 percent of the wine must have been fermented by the bottler.)

Cellared, prepared, vinted or bottled by. This phrase means the wine must have been aged or treated by the winery selling the wine (an example of treated might mean filtered without changing the class and type of the wine). Bottom line interpretation: the winery bought wine and aged it in a manner to turn it into a beverage the winery would be proud to have its label on.

Varietal designation. If a label identifies a variety of grape, then at least 75 percent of the wine in that bottle must have been made from grapes of that variety.

So, all wines showing the name of a grape as the kind of wine in the bottle must have been made from at least 75 percent of that grape.

Note to readers: There is still no regulation requiring wineries to identify the actual grape va-

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riety content of a bottle of their wines.

Shame on both the regulators and the bottlers for allowing this to continue.

Multiple varietal designations.

For these, the names of two or three of the varieties of grapes can be used as the type designation if: 1. All of the grapes used are of the labeled varieties; 2. The percentage of each is shown on the label, and 3. And in the case of a multicounty or multi-state appellation, the percentage of wine derived from each variety from each location must be shown on the label.

Vineyard designation. At least 95 percent of the grapes must have come from the designated area (if the wine is estate bottled, 100 percent of the grapes must be from the designated estate area.)

There’s more, of course, and remember, you’re reading my short-hand interpretations of what I’d actually refer to as legal gibberish on this subject.

So, for my mystery wine.

While the label passed all of the rules I just mentioned, it still leaves my original question unanswered: What the heck is in that bottle? The regulations covering blending do not require the winery to identify the grape content in blended wines.

Hope I’ve helped you read a label and come away feeling… well, almost comfortable.

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March 2016

It’s Back,

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Thursday, March 17 The “Shortest St. Patrick’s Day Parade Route” in the World!

Corner of Orondo and Mission Street, Parade Staging 6:15ish.

Parade starts at 7:00ish p.m.

Trophy Award Ceremony at Pybus 8:00ish.

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