May 2016 The Good Life by The Good Life

WISDOM FOR A BETTER LIFE Y EVENTS CALENDAR

WENATCHEE VALLEY’S

NUMBER ONE MAGAZINE

May 2016

Open for fun and adventure

Still blowing the horn for Leavenworth A QUICK SAIL IN THE SAN JUANS HOW TO START YOUR OWN FILM CLUB THE PROBLEM OF HUSSIES IN PUBLIC

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Contents

page 18

a good day for a sail with a friend

e have the best bike rental fleet in the Wenatchee Valley. Rent bikes from us and experience riding one of Washington’s longest paved paths, the Apple Capital Recreation Loop Trail. Start riding immediately from our door and leisurely traverse along the Wenatchee and East Wenatchee side of the Columbia River. Even better, take the footbridge and visit our flagship store, Arlberg SportsDowntown, on the corner of Wenatchee Avenue and First Street. If you have little ones that are too young to pedal solo, we also rent bike strollers. We even have “trail-a-bikes” which attach to the back of any adult bike . . .it’s like a tandem and kids love it! We’ve always been firm believers that families who recreate together, stay together! So, come in and ride on!

Features

7 my ems life in el salvador

Amazing violence but also amazing courage and care in some very dangerous situations

how to form a film club

Like movies? Like discussions over snacks and beverages?

12 blowing the horn for leavenworth

Downtown Wenatchee 25 N Wenatchee Ave. 663-7401

14 Navigating an rv

Cashmere Senior Care Campus

Bob Johnson is a Leavenworth icon who provides the sound effects for the Bavarian dream Skills from the right hand seat can make a fun adventure even better... unless a wrong turn is involved

16 hunting morels

Pybus Market 7 N Worthen St. 888-7433

Leavenworth 1207 Front St. 548-5615

Cashmere

Convalescent and Rehab Center

A husband introduces his wife to the treasure seeking days of his childhood

20 hey, blue!

Being an ump can be an intimidating job for a woman, but Danielle Ouellette isn’t a woman who is easily intimidated

22 built with a grand piano in mind

Creating a venue for a grand piano was only one of the challenges builder Jim Ghiglia had at this Columbia River view home

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Independence… Choices …

n Painter Dean Rainey, page 32 n Author Paul Roberts, page 34 Columns & Departments 26 Pet Tales: It was a ‘Max’ day at the riverfront 27 Bonnie Orr: Giving cukes a second look 28 June Darling: How to be wiser for a better life 30 The traveling doctor: The amazing brain 32-39 Arts & Entertainment & a Dan McConnell cartoon 39 The night sky: Here comes Mercury 40 History: The problem of hussies in public 42 Alex Saliby: Singing the praises of Pinot Noir May 2016 | The Good Life

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OPENING SHOT

Year 10, Number 5 May 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, Alice Thompson, Mark Hoffman, Charlene Woodward, Marlene and Kevin Farrell, Susan Weber, Lance Stegemann, Eron Drew, Rachel DiLorenzo, 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)

Cycling the scenic Wenatchee Valley

enworth and Lake Wenatchee areas. The rides are 25 miles, 50 miles and 100 miles in length. The ride is always the first Saturday in June. Go to applebikeride.com to register or for more information.

By Alice Thompson

e never know what kind of bikes riders will pedal in our Apple Century Bike Ride. One guy rode the entire 100 miles on a “fixie,” a fixed-gear bicycle (photo at right). One of our Sunrise Rotary Club members, Dave Whitmore, put our first bike ride together 29 years ago. We’ve been on a roll ever since.

Alice Thompson is co-chair of 2016 Apple Century Bike Ride.

The Apple Century Bike Ride on June 4, will take you through the Wenatchee Valley’s orchard and wine country as well as in and around the beautiful Leav-

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

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May 2016

On the cover

Kevin Farrell took this photo of Bob Johnson blowing his alphorn from the balcony of The Enzian in Leavenworth.

editor’s notes

MIKE CASSIDY

Right is fine, wise is better N

ot long ago, a friend emailed me about an epiphany he’d had. This friend, who is not young, but not old, either, noticed he was pushing people away, especially those closest to him. And the epiphany was he realized that he spent a great deal of time trying to be right… or rather, trying to show he was right. “In almost any kind of social situation, I would raise my voice, be forceful, even make up facts on the spot to prove my point, because of course, I was right,” he wrote in the email. You probably know someone like this person… I sure do. I thought of my friend’s email when I read June Darling’s column this month. And not to give too much away from June’s work, but she wants to elevate wisdom in our society. In telling June I liked her column, I said it seems these days we value “being right” over “being wise.” Start any discussion on any topic, and quick enough, the “right” answers flow: “Fords are so much better than Toyotas,” “Climate change? Let me tell you about the facts of climate change…” “Young people should never, ever…” I’m probably as guilty as the next person at this practice. (Women might say I am as guilty as the next man — that I have M.A.S. … male answer syndrome, a disease where we males are chronically forced to interject an answer into any discussion, even if we know so little we have to invent facts. However, this is one area where I think women are achieving equity with men.) As my emailing friend found

out, though, being forceful about being right all the time doesn’t necessarily work out in the long run. As June might say, it’s not a wise course of action. June has some great observations on how to improve your life by upping your wisdom game. See her column, page 28. I would say her ideas sound right to me… but then, there I go again. For years, I have sought a story about hunting wild mushrooms. At social situations, I’d come across woodsy guys talking about bagging morels, chanterelles, matsutakes and other exotic edibles, and I’d suggest they write a story for us. They’d just laugh, give each other a conspiratorial look and say something like, “Oh no, we don’t want people to know. This is our secret.” And then, finally, Marlene Farrell wrote a cover story last month about super mushroom hunter Sherri Schneider. Yes! Score for us! Marlene’s story was no sooner on the page than ding! — landing in my email inbox was a story from Lance Stegemann about hunting morels. Too late for last month’s issue — but would it be overkill to have back-to-back months with mushroom stories? Nah… Lance’s story — just like the shrooms themselves — was too tasty to set aside. For a second helping of hunting wild mushrooms, see page 16. It’s a wise idea to enjoy The Good Life while you can. — Mike May 2016 | The Good Life

Visit us! Stroll, swim, relax, play. Enjoy free summer fun in Chelan PUD’s 14 parks. Details at chelanpud.org > ”Parks and Recreation”

Turning 65 or new to the area? Come to a FREE Health Alliance Medicare Seminar 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. Confluence Health May 12, 11:00 a.m.

Miller Street Conference Room 1000 N. Miller, Wenatchee

Call us today to reserve your spot. 1-877-561-1463 or TTY 711, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. weekdays. A sales person will be present with information and applications. For accommodation of persons with special needs at sales meetings, call 1-877-561-1463. Health Alliance Medicare is an HMO plan with a Medicare contract. Enrollment in Health Alliance Medicare depends on contract renewal. med-ageinsemad-0515 | Y0034_15_28225 www.ncwgoodlife.com

fun stuff a full LISTING of what to do begins ON PAGE 33 parades. Check out the What to Do list for details.

no may-be about it, this is the time for fun, fun, fun

Mary Poppins — Music

Theatre of Wenatchee’s Apple Blossom Musical performs live. Numerica Performing Arts Center. Cost: $15-$29. Info: numericapac.org. May 4-7 and 11-14 at 7:30 p.m. and May 8 and 14 at 2 p.m. Write on the River Conference — A focus on genre fiction,

You say you want LOUD this

month? We have LOUD. You say you want a quiet run in the country? We have that. You say you want a little magic? We have that. How about advice on how to finally write — or better yet, sell — your love story? We have that. You want to finally learn about the incredible geology around here? We have that... we even have a nice opportunity to have a cup of coffee with a cop this month as fun activities break out all over. Check these items out from this month’s calendar: Horse Lake Trail Runs — five

mile, 12k and half marathon. Open to runners and walkers, runners only for 12k and half marathon. Horse Lake Reserve, Wenatchee Foothills. Shuttles

What flowers will still be blooming when you make your walk in the Foothills? Photo from WenatcheeOutdoors.com

leaving the Wal-Mart parking lot from 7 – 8 a.m. Return trips as runners finish. Info: horselakehalf.eventbrite.com. Sunday, May 1. Wildflower Walks in the Foothills:

n May 4, 9 – 10 a.m. Bring your camera and walk with conservation fellow Susan Ballinger. Saddle Rock Trailhead. RSVP Hillary 667-9708 or hillary@ cdlandtrust.org. n May 11,, 6-7 p.m. Balsamroot Trailhead (at Horse Lake Road) n May 18, 9-10 a.m. Jacobson

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Trailhead n May 25, 6 -7 p.m. Jacobson Trailhead n June 1, 9 – 10 a.m. Balsamroot Trailhead (at Horse Lake Road) n June 8, noon – 1 p.m. Saddle Rock Trailhead to Forest Apple Blossom blooms

over the last weekend of April and the first weekend of May. Arts and crafts, the tasty food booths, classy cars, bike race through the downtown, classy cars on the eastside, and two fun

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May 2016

romance writing in particular — along with traditional emphasis on core craft instruction and writing nonfiction. Wenatchee Valley College. Info: writeontheriver.org/conference. May 13-15. Coffee with a cop —

Wenatchee Police Department invites you to join your neighbors and police officer for coffee and conversation. No agenda or speeches. Pybus Public Market. Cost: free. Info: pybuspublicmarket.org. 11 a.m. – noon May 13. Rock on! Geology Tours —

Cataclysmic floods, traveling rocks and sweeping vistas. We live in a geological wonderland. Come explore with our experts. Guided bus tours take you to all the best sights. Reservations: 888-6240. Cost: $45. 9 a.m. – 2 p.m., May 14.

My EMS life in El Salvador

“Solidarity gringo” is a story in an El Salvadorian newspaper about Mark Hoffman and his work with the Comandos de Salvamento in his first five years there, and since. Mark, in sunglasses, is rendering aid in the lead photo.

By Mark Hoffman Twenty years ago, I boarded a plane to San Salvador with a group of Ivy League pre-med students to work in marginalized areas of San Salvador as health promoters, “promotores de salud.” Since then, I have been back and forth between the U.S. and El Salvador, working with first responders and seeing amazing courage and equally amazing emergency situations. When I went in 1996, I had been to El Salvador various times before and had been chosen to be the cultural and linguistic liaison. We had been trained in Rural Wil(SOLO) in Conway, New Hampshire. derness Emergency Medicine at the first The essence of Wilderness Emergency ever “GeoMedic” course offered through Medicine is to offer care and stabilization Stonehearth Open Learning Opportunities to patients in rural environments with very

limited resources. Instruction was offered through SOLO and Doctors Without Borders, which had been operating in Afghanistan when the Taliban took over in 1996. After training, we were sent to Comunidad Iberia; a marginalized community in eastern

}}} Continued on next page

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An EMS in El Salvador }}} Continued from previous page San Salvador. The Civil War Peace Accords had already been signed in 1992 and there was an influx of deported gang-influenced youth from the USA flooding San Salvador. Shootings and stabbings were common events. We were assigned to work out of the Polígono Industrial Don Bosco alongside Catholic priest Pepe Moratalla. It was there that I became involved in an EMS and Community Health group called Comandos de Salvamento, commonly known as Los Comandos. CDS was founded in 1961 by a former Guatemalan firefighter and a grassroot movement of Salvadorans whose mission statement was to offer EMS services to all people regardless of religion, race, economic level or political creed. Between 1979 and 1992, CDS honed their skills in crisis mediation while responding to acute civil unrest and trauma that civilians were exposed to while under gunfire between the FMLN guerrillas and the Salvadoran Army. They hold the value of strict neutrality while offering care to anyone in the field. The experience they garnered during the war continues in gangcontrolled areas of the country where all citizens have access to services regardless of their ability to pay. CDS first responders include male, female and youth as young as 10 years old. Their comando prayer, akin to a Boy Scout motto, is pronounced with pride and a salute by each volunteer before their 12-hour shift. Lord, help me to serve my brethren with all my will. Teach me to alleviate the pain of my people. Show me the right path when I face danger. Give me the www.ncwgoodlife.com

May 2016

Comando Reyes evacuates an infant during floodings outside San Salvador in 2007.

strength to humbly fulfill the mission that I have voluntarily embraced. When I arrived in 1996, CDS had a satellite base in the middle of Comunidad Iberia that included one blood-stained army stretcher and a rickety 1985 Dodge van-converted “ambulance.” Two of my GeoMedic colleagues had experienced an exciting run with the Comandos just a week before. They learned that the first EMS rule that anyone in the U.S.A. learns regarding “scene safety” is thrown out the window in El Salvador. Apparently the rickety Dodge ambulance with siren and lights ablaze had picked them up on the way to an emergency. Once they found out the destination, they had asked the Comandos why they were driving towards a gang shootout, instead of away from it. Although there were no casualties once they arrived, it

was nonetheless exciting and my colleagues highly recommended, “the experience.” I was invited by Comando Luis Kolatto to do some shifts at their main base. I had been trained in direct patient care and jumped at the opportunity to put my skills to the test. My first shift included learning how to manually connect some wires to start the siren and the ambulance at the same time and to observe how they rewashed their limited supply of donated latex gloves. I also had the opportunity to suture a lacerated forehead when I had only practiced on dead chicken meat at SOLO a month prior. That week we attended to a patient with a hemothorax secondary to gunshot, multiple people affected by tear gas/rubber bullets during union strikes, and pushed an out-of-gas ambulance to the local Texaco with a concerned yet patient traffic accident victim aboard. We were even called out on a suspicious bite on the neck of

a cow reported to be from the then infamous chupacabra (a legendary creature known as the “goat sucker”) that was rumored to have swam over from Puerto Rico. I learned very quickly that the initial call was always different when we arrived on scene and many previously planned adrenalin fueled “rescues” turned into here we go again recoveries accompanied by forensic police investigators. I decided to live at the Comandos another five years, immersing myself in a radical version of EMS that involved responding to jail/soccer riots, traffic accident victims, industrial accidents, fires, live births, suturing with lidocaine, psychiatric incidents, dog rescues and responding to natural disasters like Hurricane Mitch and the 2001 earthquake. The Comandos quickly adopted me into their close knit family. A culture of witty dark humor reminiscent of the T.V. show M*A*S*H* was an everyday occasion since Salvadoran EMS May 2016 | The Good Life

ranges from common emergencies to the outright bizarre. Salvadorans are a very proud and resilient people. The youth of the country mature early and many join Comandos to “servir al prójimo,” the biblical term for serving others. I volunteered alongside 10- to 17-year-old youth who have been witness to things that many others do not see in their entire lifetime. Since moving back to the States, I migrated into a career of mental health but continue to make yearly trips to volunteer and organize international trainings and exchange experiences for U.S. based EMS and medical providers. El Salvador is the most densely populated country in Central America and traffic accidents are commonplace. Twelve years ago, it was not uncommon to extricate a patient using basic fulcrum principals and manual tools. In 2012 I was able to formulate a working relationship with Vice President Steve Howden of Hi-Lift, who donated a first responder extrication jack, which I used to offer the first extrication course to Comandos using this tool. The following year I was able to network with the Puyallup Extrication Team who offered extrication training to over 80 more first responders from other institutions. While I believe it is important for U.S. first responders to have a cross-cultural immersion experience, I believe it equally necessary to give that same opportunity to Salvadoran first responders. By networking with local EMS agencies Ballard Ambulance, based in Wenatchee, and Protection 1 out of Quincy, I was able to host Comando Luis Kolatto. Ballard and Protection 1 offered Luis a supportive learning experience during EMS runs and he was able to participate in daily rapport with EMTs and medics of these agencies. Quincy Community Health www.ncwgoodlife.com

hosted Luis to shadow primary care. In return, Luis and I offered two free basic first aid classes for monolingual Spanish speakers in Quincy and Wenatchee. Like other first responder agencies throughout the world, CDS have experienced their fair share of line of duty deaths during rescues or civil war. Unfortunately with the increase in violence — El Salvador is the murder capitol of the world now — this last April 10, 14-year-old EMT-B at the Quetzaltepeque CDS base, Erick Beltrán became a victim while on shift. Even though circumstances are trying in El Salvador, the memories and brotherhood I have cultivated with the Comandos will last for years to come. I am collaborating with other Salvadorans on a documentary film that should be out this fall and I continue to welcome partnerships with medical providers that want to volunteer in San Salvador or host any CDS first responders in north central Washington. I intend to continue being a force of solidarity with CDS in upholding their mission statement of helping anyone in need regardless of religion, race, economic level or political creed and am currently planning my next trip to El Salvador. Mark Hoffman has lived in the Wenatchee Valley for over 15 years and is a mental health professional for Confluence Health and Catholic Family Child Services. He enjoys snowboarding at Mission Ridge and is an avid triathlete. Information regarding volunteering or donating equipment to Mark’s mission can be found at http://salvamed.org. Financial support can be offered at any Cashmere Valley Bank in the name of Salvamed International or via PayPal at donations@salvamed.org. He also runs http://www.salvamento. org and is a Comandos International representative. For a recent Wall Street Journal article about the Comandos, please see http://tinyurl.com/hth3br5.

Like movies? Like to talk over snacks and beverages? Here’s an idea for you:

How to start your own film club By Charlene Woodward

lmost two years ago my friend, Kip Johnson, and I were talking about a shared interest in meeting new people and having stimulating conversations about things other than jobs, kids or the ills of society. We ruled out forming a book club when I said I was sure to be the one person who didn’t finish the book. Besides, Kip already belonged to one and was looking for something different. That’s when we hit on the idea of forming a movie group. Ah! Movies. You sit down and are entertained for a couple of hours. Not a big time commitment and there are tens of thousands of movies to choose from, making for endless possibilities. What’s not to like? No committee work for us We knew we didn’t want this group to be one more responsibility for either of us. We wanted it to be a cooperative effort between like-minded people with no need for a hierarchy, committees or arduous planning. Yet we knew we had to create a structure of some sort to get us going and avoid chaos. Now that we’ve discussed more than 20 movies I think it’s time to share our story and encourage you to form your own “Friends of Film” (or Fans of Film) group. Looking for a role model Starting out, we naively assumed we’d be able to find

movie group models aplenty. Sure, there were lots of “best movies of all time” lists and lists based on theme or genre. But the only resource we found on actually forming a film discussion group was an out-of-print book with the spot-on title The Movie Lovers’ Club. How to Start Your Own Film Group. I found an inexpensive copy online and we started with that.

Kip Johnson and Charlene Woodward: Founders of the film club.

needed. So we began our adventure with a little bit of knowledge and a lot of enthusiasm. You have to start somewhere Kip and I agreed to reach out to people we thought might be interested in this new venture but were not necessarily people we knew well. We came up with five people.

It doesn’t need to be complicated The book is designed to help you form your own group and it has many good ideas about how to set up and operate and it had numerous movie suggestions. But it had some drawbacks; the most glaring was that the model the author developed was more complicated (read: sophisticated) than we thought we

| The Good Life

Many hands make light work The plan was that one person would act as host (light snacks and beverages) while another person selected the film and facilitated the discussion. The next task was to find a movie to discuss that we could all agree upon. We thought we should watch the movie together and follow it with a discussion. Then the question was: how often to meet and when? Meeting once a month on a weekday worked for Kip and I so we went with that. We left it up to the facilitator to decide how to lead the discussion knowing that everyone would have a different style and that would add to the getting-

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May 2016

to-know-you experience. We nearly didn’t make it Five people were too few. If two or three people missed a month, discussions could fall flat. But getting more people involved wasn’t that easy. Everybody is overbooked and, I think because it was a novel concept with a hazy (at the beginning) set of operating guidelines, people were hesitant to join us. (OK. Maybe they didn’t trust us.) We almost gave up. But gradually, word of our venture spread and friends invited other friends. We are at a comfortable 10 and if two or more people are missing we still have great discussions. You only need one One host and one facilitator meant two people had to coordinate the planning. Good luck with that. We came to realize that by having the same person host, select the movie and facilitate it was so much simpler. And you only had to host once every 10 months.

The curse of consensus Trying to get consensus on movie selection was a mistake. At the beginning, we tried to select the next movie at that month’s discussion. Eventually, we realized that people were tired at the end of a discussion and it didn’t make for good discussions. Having the person who hosts select the movie and facilitate has worked well for us. No one falls asleep Watching the movie the same night that we discussed it didn’t work well. By the second, or, heaven forbid, third hour, people were TIRED and, while no one actually dozed off, the discussion definitely became less lively. Now we watch the movie on our own and devote an hour and a half to talking about the movie, enjoying some light snacks and beverages and socializing. Imported or domestic? We’ve watched so many foreign films, subtitles and all, that one of our group suggested, in jest, that we call ourselves the “Foreign Film Club.” You will find many foreign films on the list here but that is just because we seek out the remarkable and less familiar, not because that’s our focus. Your group may want to specialize in a genre, topic, filmmaking era. Westerns? Yeehaw! Horror? Yikes! Comedy? Yuck it up! Love it or hate it, that’s not the point It’s become a mantra that you “don’t have to like the movie” to have a great discussion. As a matter of fact, even the question: “Do you like the movie?” is a road to nowhere. Besides people often change their opinion about a film because of our discussion. It is fun at the end of our discussion to ask that question and see what comes up.

Movies watched so far Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind Ponette Chocolate The Intouchables Girl with Pearl Earring Kumare Philomena Her The Visitor Nebraska Railway Man Gone Girl Theory of Everything Selma Calvary A Very Long Engagement Babadook A Separation Jean de Florette Dean Spanley Spotlight Lars and the Real Girl The Lunchbox

Is “discussable” a verb or a noun? We’ve found that the key to creating lively discussions is to select movies that are “discussable.” And that is determined by the host who has, ideally, already watched the film. The quest for interesting films has led us down some different paths. To the French film Ponette, the sci-fi movie Babadook and the quirky AmericanCanadian comedy Lars and the Real Girl. A recent selection, The Lunchbox, which was a drama set in modern India, was enjoyed by all. Some even said that it was their favorite so far. And while we usually meet at one another’s homes, this time we met at a local Indian restaurant. Our host/facilitator, Sylvia Simon, treated us to a sample menu of Indian foods and we were able to ask the Indian-born owner about some of the finer points of life in India and he happily obliged. May 2016 | The Good Life

Film club members: clockwise from left, Charlene Woodward, Sylvia Simon, Kathy Thornock, Kim Reid, Gary Smith, Kip Johnson and MaryAnn McNair and. Not at the table: Paige Ahnemiller, Karen Knox and Dee Riggs.

Sci-fi, Action, Romance? Oh my! Without actually ruling on this, our group has stayed away from movies with a great deal of blood and/or violence and, so far, no one has selected a particularly racy movie. Internet research really helps here. Sites like Rotten Tomatoes, IMDb.com and others give summaries, reviews and plot points that help in selecting a movie and for bringing up talking points for the facilitator. Even when not a leader, the curious and research-oriented do our own research and this enriches our discussions. DVD Some of the movies selected are hard to find as rentals or on Netflix, Amazon Prime or streaming. It’s important for the host/selector to take this into consideration when making a selection. If their choice is hard to find, the host provides a copy of the DVD and circulates it among members. “Showing in theaters now” Every once in a while it’s fun to change it up if there’s a new movie showing locally that we all want to discuss while it is current. Spotlight was a recent example. One group member watched it while traveling so www.ncwgoodlife.com

she wouldn’t miss out on that month’s discussion. Our next host/facilitator, Gary Smith, has selected an episode of his favorite drama, West Wing, which we will watch together (45 minutes) and then discuss. Gender bias or all inclusive? A word here about the lone male in our group, Gary Smith. We didn’t start out to be the “Ladies Only Fans of Film” group. It just happened that way. When I mentioned, in passing, to Gary that I belong to a film discussion group his face lit up. He said he loved movies and would I mind if he came? Of course. “I look forward to coming to the monthly movie group,” said Gary. “I have watched many remarkable movies which I would probably not have selected on my own.” So many movies. So little time! Now you can go out and start your own Fans of Film group. Charlene Woodward is so enthusiastic about sharing her “Fans of Film” wisdom she’s willing to give free advice to anyone who wants to start their own. You can email her at charlenew@dogwise.com). Charlene and husband Larry own Dogwise Publishing. They’ve lived in Wenatchee for 25 years and are active community volunteers.

Bob Johnson: Still providing the sound effects for the Leavenworth dream Story By Marlene Farrell Photos by Kevin Farrell

ob Johnson deserves his local celebrity status. Every morning Bob, 83, dresses in soft brown leather lederhosen, long embroidered socks, checked shirt and felt hat adorned with a feather and a Norwegian flag pin. He then heads to the fourth floor of the hotel, The Enzian, which he built with his son Rob, in the 1980s. The guests turn from their breakfasts of pastries and omelets to watch Bob carrying the three long pieces of an alphorn. Once on the balcony, Bob assembles the alphorn and pulls out a wooden step from its slot in a bench (the bench, like almost all of the ornate woodwork in the hotel, was handmade by Bob or Rob). For the attentive crowd now gathered on the balcony, Bob hops up two steps to the six-inch wide balcony. He begins to play the alphorn, which extends out 11 feet and rests on a pedestal on the balcony. The alphorn is an alpine instrument known for its sound capacity, which carries for many kilometers, and for its shape. It must be carved from the trunk of a young spruce growing with natural curvature on a steep mountainside. Bob taught himself to play and has done so for 32 years. He

“I love the reaction of the little kids,” said Bob Johnson when he blows his alphorn inside The Enzian.

bought four authentic alphorns in Germany and later carved his own. He plays a few traditional songs and chats with the crowd. From his precarious perch, he tells them, “My doctor says, ‘Don’t go up there.’” He then does an encore performance in the dining room. With curious children nearby, he plays and slides the alphorn across the carpet, getting ever closer to his young targets. The children cling to their mothers but stare wide-eyed and grinning at the approaching horn. Bob does this, not once, but twice each morning. He says, “I love the reaction of the little

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Bob remembers the sleepy little town that was Leavenworth in the 1930s. For a few years his parents owned a bakery downtown. kids.” Leavenworth and Bavarian seem synonymous these days. However, Bob remembers the sleepy little town that was Leavenworth in the 1930s. For a

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May 2016

few years his parents owned a bakery downtown. The family moved to Oregon, but Bob, an avid skier, remembered Leavenworth, and in 1960 returned with his wife Nola and three young children “to play in the snow for a year.” That resonates with what draws young families to move to Leavenworth today, with one large difference. Leavenworth was then a ghost town, with empty storefronts marked by peeling paint and broken windows. But the Johnsons never looked back. They could imagine what it could be. Leavenworth had one thing going for it, Ski Hill’s giant ski

jump. The largest on the West Coast, it was still active in the 1950s and drew hundreds to spectate the jumpers fly for over 300 feet. Bob and Nola both loved to ski, and their children became involved in ski jumping and ski racing. Committed community members like the Johnsons kept the ski jump alive. There were a few low snow winters when they had to figure out how to manufacture good snow coverage for the jumping tournaments. One year Bob’s handmade wooden sled was filled with snow for the PUD to haul uphill with a winch. The Olympic class ski jump closed in 1978, signifying the end of an era. But today the two small jumps at Ski Hill allow kids to get the flavor of jumping. Children and adults alike can learn more about local ski heritage at the Northwest Ski Hall of Fame that the Johnsons have housed in a foyer in the Enzian. Nola and Bob believed in the idea of Leavenworth’s Bavarian transformation. It began in 1964, fronting the buildings with Bavarian façade. The businesses took great risk, as they paid for these upgrades with no guarantee that tourists would come. The Johnsons opened their hotel The Enzian in 1984. It grew in stages, adding new wings of rooms as the business grew. Nola studied books about Bavaria in order to help design the interior and the decorations. They embraced the Bavarian theme in all that they did. These days, tourists expect to be greeted by friendly goats along the wrought iron fence as they stroll downtown. But goats were not allowed until the Johnsons’ son Rob convinced the town council, comparing Leavenworth’s goats to Disneyland’s Mickey Mouse. The goats serve as mascots and mowers of the slope above the Enzian miniature golf course. In the winter the three goats live in Bob’s barn and fenced yard. Every day Bob throws

It took a while for the goats to be accepted as part of Leavenworth’s theme.

Leavenworth wasn’t much more than a ghost town when Bob and Nola move there in 1960. May 2016 | The Good Life

them some hay in the yard and gives them each a scoop of mixed grains in feeding buckets. Then he stands back and watches the antics as one male repeatedly prods the others with his horns to get more than his share. In early spring the goats return to the miniature golf course hill to munch grass. In 1990, Nola was chosen the Royal Lady, Leavenworth’s official spokesperson. With a team of supporters she traveled around the state promoting Leavenworth as a destination. She said, “In 1990 Leavenworth was just getting on the map. It was an exciting time.” Through the process of learning more about Bavarian culture, Nola reconnected with her German heritage, which was deemphasized when she was a child during World War II. She said, “I was

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Through the process of learning more about Bavarian culture, Nola reconnected with her German heritage, which was deemphasized when she was a child during World War II. blessed to be who I really am. When I finally went to Germany when I was 50, I felt right at home there.” They have eased up on work commitments by handing over the reigns of the Enzian to their children. Family takes precedence, with their three children, eight grandchildren and a burgeoning number of great grandchildren (six, with one on the way), all living nearby. Nola said, “If you can say anything about our family, you can say we have a good time.” They hold onto the values that brought them to Leavenworth in the first place. In the winter, after the alphorn serenade at the Enzian, Bob skis a lap or two at the Icicle River Trails, enjoying the sunwarmed snow. Nola continues to follow her passion for decorating and sewing. When she visits the Enzian, she talks to employees and visitors alike, and they lean in to hear her funny stories. What Leavenworth has become, a destination for its culture, events and recreation, is the reality they imagined 50 years ago. Nola said it simply, “Leavenworth was a dream for us as we began to build on the early ideas of others.” It was a dream they never relinquished and continue to savor.

Oh, the places you can go

(if you have a good navigator)

Oregon Coast from front window of the motor home.

Story and photos By Susan Weber

e love to travel and my husband Dave and I both believe that travel is more about the experiences you have than the sights you see. But to be honest, we also love the comfort of being at home. The two may seem incompatible but for us they are not. When we hit the road for new vistas and new experiences our home goes with us. We are aware that motor homes or any recreational vehicle are sometimes looked upon with disdain by other campers… that comes with the territory. However, negative attitudes and sideways glances don’t bother us because we have all the joys of being in the great outdoors but have eliminated the discomforts; I think of it as a type of extreme camping. Campgrounds almost always bring you into close contact with your neighbors and you don’t

Waking up to snow at Bryce Canyon

want to be obvious but let’s face it, you are checking them out and they are doing the same. Sometimes, we’ve been right across from someone in a small tent while we have a pretty large… ok… really big motor home. This provides an almost comical contrast of the many ways people enjoy camping. When we pull in and set up we are “at home.” Totally comfortable. It’s all about the experience. There have been several times

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when we have awakened to three or four inches of unexpected snow on the ground. We throw back the covers but don’t have to grimace at the freezing cold because the thermostat already turned on the heat. Recently we had this experience and while we were sitting having a hot cup of coffee we “noticed” our neighbors in the tent across the way were breathing out steam, rubbing their hands together and patting themselves while trying to get a

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May 2016

fire started. They quickly scampered off to the restroom to get changed and cleaned up. We had a second cup of coffee and then checked our email. Did I mention “it’s all about the experience?” Admittedly some people actually like to rough it in a tent, others, like us, not so much. For us our motor home is the greatest way to travel and see the country. It’s enjoyable and very comfortable. In fact, even if you can’t locate a great campsite to park for the night it doesn’t have to be a big issue. Just get parked, push out your slides, hook up to electricity and water or turn on the generator and use the water you have on board, pull down the shades and … hey… you have all the com-

... one of the first rules of navigation is to never have the driver exit onto an unknown road... forts you need. Dinner will be ready in a few minutes and then we can read or watch a ball game on TV. Tomorrow we will be off again for new and exciting experiences. Another delightful aspect of RV travel is the unexpected encounter of a delightful local museum like the Sherman County Historical Museum in Moro, Ore., or an out of the way down-home restaurant that never made it on Trip Advisor. That is probably because the locals all know it’s great and maybe just want to keep it to themselves. Often you won’t pay an arm and a leg either. It is up to the navigator to discover these gems. The hint will usually come from one of your fellow travelers you meet while you are both at the “doggie park” or just getting the lowdown from a helpful ranger or camp host. It will usually come out something like, “you’ve eaten at the La Hood steak house haven’t ya? No? Don’t pass it up!” We didn’t. The ambiance was one notch below low key but the prime rib would give the House of Prime Rib in San Francisco a run for their money. The menu and the prices don’t seem to have changed since the ’70s. But you might be thinking… Isn’t it a lot of work, isn’t it hard to drive that big rig? You’ll have to check with Dave about how hard it is to drive. He is able to handle it like a pro. But don’t think I just sit back and enjoy the scenery. My job as navigator has its own level of excitement. I am usually the one who plans the trip. The responsibility is onerous. There are rea-

Susan Weber takes a self-portrait in Antelope Canyon, AZ.

sons for this that I like to share with anyone who will listen and sympathize a bit. I’ll share a recent experience we had in the Tetons. After considerable research and planning, I found the perfect campground. It looked spacious enough, was located near a lake and near a biking trail. What could be better? The problem came as we approached the turn off. I am, as always, dutifully watching the GPS “bubble” on my smart phone. I can see the turns ahead and my job is to let Dave know when to turn. As we approached I said, “It’s coming up on the right.” A problem occurred when the sign didn’t correspond to the campground I had reserved. Experience had already taught us that sudden stops and u-turns are not good in an RV. And one of the first rules of navigation is to never have the driver exit onto an unknown road because you don’t know if you can find a place to turn around. A quick decision at 50 miles an May 2016 | The Good Life

hour was called for. To turn in or not… yes… no? No, keep going. We pull a car, or “toad” in RV lingo (you figure it out) and towing a car does not allow you to back up. This can present severe stress. So on down the road we go with me frantically trying to figure out what to do. I soon realized that even though the sign wasn’t clear to us it actually was the campground we reserved. We needed to go back and the next exit was a long six miles away. We finally pulled off the highway on a road that looked completely doable on Google Maps. So, all we needed to do was “go around the block,” right? Two turns into that and a man runs out, stops us, runs up to our window and tells us, “You can’t go through here… this is private… you have to back up.” By now there were a couple of cars behind us showing signs of displeasure. So what do you do? We get out, unhook the “toad” (got it figured out yet?) and drive it off to the side out of the way. www.ncwgoodlife.com

Then my job is to run around looking at all sides of the coach at once to make sure we don’t hit a tree, rock or vehicle… Oh, and also look up because tree limbs can be really nasty. My expert driver husband was able to translate my waving arms and get us turned around. We hooked up the toad and headed back to the highway. It was very quiet on the six mile drive back to the campground. We pulled in and set up. Then we walked down to see the lake and WOW! Just across a beautiful lake were the spectacular Grand Tetons rising up in all their majesty. I grabbed my camera and starting shooting. So… never underestimate the responsibility of the navigator. And remember, if you can keep the driver happy, it’ll be a good day. Happy and safe travels. Susan Weber retired from being a practicing physician and active Bible teacher and now finds more time to enjoy photography and travel but will always list being a wife, mother and grandmother as God’s greatest blessings of her life.

Childhood memories come flooding back on a hunt for

Story and Photos By Lance Stegemann

MORELS

lutching to an overhanging tree limb, I tried to steady myself as I dug a foothold into the steep side slope. The ground is blackened from a forest fire that took place only a few months earlier. There’s a slight drizzle from a mountain shower passing overhead and the wet ashen soil makes for some slippery footing. Finding a solid perch near a charred tree stump, I almost step on the very thing I’ve Often elusive, the wild morel mushroom is a prize for the dinner table. come here to find. There, only inches from my Today I’m out looking for the high with melting snow water boot heel, grows a familiar cata- sometimes elusive, but always and new growth abounds with comb crowned diamond in the deliciously prized, morel musheach passing day. rough. Reaching down with my rooms. It’s these early days of spring pocketknife I slice through its There’s something deeply grat- I find myself roving the forests spongy cream colored stem and ifying about wandering through in search of my favorite fungi place the fragile gem gently into the woods, as winter ebbs (Morchella esculenta) or more a folded paper sack. toward spring, a light breeze commonly known as the morel Scanning the ground carefully, carries the scent of musty earth, mushroom. The draw for me I spot two more, then maybe a and the ruffed grouse thumps isn’t just the pursuit of finding half dozen or so, and suddenly its wings in protest against the a few mushrooms, but also the they seem to be everywhere. long endured silence. Creeks run fond memories I have associated

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with this particular outdoor activity. Every spring, my family would partake in a traditional mushroom hunt, with friendly wagers on who might find the largest or who could pick the most. We were a bit competitive to say the least, but it was all in good fun. Over time, I developed a keen eye for spotting the familiar cone shaped mushroom caps that revealed their inconspicuous whereabouts. Old burns and recent timber cuts proved to be a worthwhile place to do some exploring. With a little leg work and a knack for finding the honey holes, let’s just say, I won my fair share of wagers. Now my wife Barb has started hunting mushrooms with me. Today we find ourselves in one of the old burn sites from last year. The clouds are starting to break and a warm glow scatters across the charred landscape.

May 2016

Harvesting is free, but... The harvest of five gallons per day of mushrooms is free in the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest, however, a free Incidental Use Mushroom Information Sheet is required to be in the possession of anyone collecting morel mushrooms for personal use. Sheets can be downloaded here: www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/ fseprd497571.pdf. Contact ranger district offices for more information. Roads may be opening and closing throughout the mushroom season so check the alerts and closures list before heading out into the woods.

A striped gopher snake twists across the forest floor.

New vegetation sprouts from the blackened soil, adding to the familiarity of another season’s renewal. Barb spots a striped gopher snake as it fluently disappears into an old stump hole. We are both covered in black soot streaks as we weave our way through a tangle of lifeless tree limbs. Despite our grungy appearance, it’s a great day to be out in the woods, and the thought of a sizzling skillet full of sautéed morels keeps our motivation high. Both Barb and I had been hiking for some time, when the near miss of my boot heel revealed the first morels of the day. It was like I’d stumbled into nirvana. I began to harvest my prized find, when I heard Barb excitedly shout she’d also found a sizable patch. Good fortune had reluctantly found us and we both began picking at a feverish pace. Our paper sacks bulged perilously under the strain of countless mushrooms. Feeling a bit famished from a light lunch, our thoughts turned toward deciding how we might prepare the first dish of the season; whether to sauté them simply in a hot skillet or add them collectively to a favorite entrée. We found ourselves in a state of mental bliss as we thought up various dishes we might prepare. The possibilities were endless. By mid afternoon, we’d gathered enough mushrooms to

That evening we indulged ourselves with a glass of red wine and a decadent meal of freshly picked morels. I don’t know if we were just extremely ravenous by dinnertime or the morels were really that good, but a tastier dish would’ve been hard to find. With an air of satisfaction and quietly enjoying our delectable table fare, I eased my chair back against the wall and unpretentiously asked Barb, “What do you know about huckleberries?”

Recently burned areas are a good place to hunt for the morels.

meet our needs, and decided to call it a day. We gently spread them out over a sheet of cheesecloth and admired our sizable bounty. It was a good year for morels

and a great way to introduce my wife to one of my favorite pastimes. She’s also an exceptional cook and appreciates the value of fresh ingredients, so this was an activity we could both enjoy.

Lance Stegemann works for the Wenatchee River Ranger District in Leavenworth as a packer for the trails department. He lives in East Wenatchee and enjoys the outdoors with his wife Barbara and two Australian Shepard dogs.

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A friend with a sailboat Peg is docked at Vendovi Island for a quick afternoon hike by Eron and Robin.

By Eron Drew

started to fall in love with sailboats during middle school. In art class, I would spend hours painting watercolors of sloops, schooners and colonial trading vessels. I would sketch small figures in striped shirts manning the decks and would imagine that it was me. My art teacher told me that, in dream psychology, boats represent a desire to escape and be free. That revelation couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have felt any closer to my own personal 13-year-old truth. This was also about the time when my family acquired a small, single-sailed Sunfish. During the hot summer weekends, my dad would load the small craft into the back of the truck and would take us sailing on Crystal Lake. On windier days, we would race the little boat as fast as possible to see

After years of dreaming, Robin and Eron were very excited to finally be sailing together.

how far she would lean before catching water in her sails; eventually swamping or flipping. Over time, our family dynamics evolved. Weekends of taking the little sailboat out on the water made way for pre-college

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employment and other teenage distractions. The Sunfish was eventually sold and my sailing days came to an end. However, in the years that followed, I found myself gravitating toward the water now

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May 2016

and again, if only to admire the beautiful sailboats that were moored along every coast that I have ever visited. I kept having this urge to jump aboard the deck, throw the lines loose and sail away on some epic deep sea adventureâ&#x20AC;Ś but it never happened; until recently. Robin Kodner has been my best friend since college. She is a take-charge kind of woman and her adventurous spirit never ceases to amaze me. During grad school on the East Coast, Robin found herself leading multi-week sailing courses for Outward Bound during her summer vacations. After graduation, she crewed for a private family and spent time sailing around the Canary Islands and various other exotic locations. For years, we have joked about running away and becoming pirates; two women on the high

seas with wind in our sails and salt in our hair. So it came as no surprise, when she found herself permanently residing in Bellingham that she would end up as a partner in a three-way boat share of a 38-foot sloop named Arpege. Peg is a beauty. Built in the ’70s, her interior is composed of impeccable mahogany with sleeping space for five people, a small kitchen and an even smaller head (bathroom). Her lines are classic and graceful and her previous owners showed obvious care for her (including all new upholstery and a full engine rebuild). Although a financial stretch for a single, professional woman, Robin couldn’t refuse her and drained a good portion of her savings to both purchase the boat and pay for moorage. During the first months of ownership, Robin defaulted to her more experienced boat partners and never took Peg out in Bellingham Bay or the San Juans without a few additional crew members to help with the lines and the rigging. But when mid-summer arrived last year, I could tell that Robin was itching to become the captain of her own vessel. I talked her into taking me out on an overnight sail as her only crew member. Just the two of us, like we had always imagined. My summer work schedule is hectic. I am often limited to trips that can happen within 36 hours or less from door-to-door. I knew that taking on an overnight sailing trip in this amount of time was pushing the limits of what was logistically possible coming from Leavenworth. But the idea of taking Peg into the San Juans with my best friend was too good to pass up. I was in my car by 10 a.m. on a Monday morning in July. By about 1 p.m. I was at Robin’s house. By 2:30 p.m. we were loading up the boat and throwing off the lines. The weather was sunny and bright with a variable wind of 5 to 10 knots.

This trip was Robin’s first chance to be the captain of her own sailboat.

Robin takes a moment to fill out the trip report in the travel log that is kept in Peg’s hull.

The water was flat and glassy; a perfect afternoon for sailing. We tacked our way across Bellingham Bay and crossed May 2016 | The Good Life

Lummi Channel with a favorable wind. Peg glided through the water at a reasonable pace and we only www.ncwgoodlife.com

needed to tack one time while shooting through the narrow channel between Lummi and Eliza islands. We set ourselves on course for Vendovi Island, a remote private island that is now held in a preservation trust. We reached Vendovi without incident and went on a quick hike around some of the most amazing, pristine forest I have ever visited. All vistas on Vendovi looked out over the water and the multitude of small islands that dot the Washington coast. Vendovi closes to the public at sunset with no overnight moorage available, so we hopped aboard Peg and motored our way back over to Lummi Island where we spent the night anchored in Inati Bay. We entered Inati just as the sun was sinking into the water; the heavens ablaze in oranges, reds and purples. The night entered the sky clear and calm, with the stars in full array across the horizon. I fell asleep to the gentle swing of the boat on its bow line as Peg swayed back and forth with the surging tide. In the morning, we awoke to an unforeseen bout of weather. Although Inati Bay was calm, we could see that the Lummi Channel was surging with five to six foot swells and a wind blowing a steady 20 knots in the wrong direction. Feeling slightly out of my league as first mate, we motored across the channel and only raised the sails after passing into calmer waters, coasting gently back to Bellingham. True to plan, I was back in Leavenworth by Tuesday afternoon having completed my first overnight sail with one of my favorite people. This summer we plan on sailing together out to the Sucia Islands. It’s our practice trip for when we really do run away and become pirates. Eron Drew lives with her family in Leavenworth and enjoys playing outside whenever the opportunity arises.

LADY UMP calls a strike on BOREDOM By Rachel DiLorenzo

Some folks find enough ex-

citement in everyday routine. Others actively seek out the thrill of new experiences and daring adventures. For Danielle Ouellette, there is simply a pervasive dedication to avoiding the “b” word: Yes, that’s right, boredom. A native Texan, she has called Wenatchee home for the past 16 years. Danielle moved her three sons here from Whatcom County when she accepted a teaching position at Wenatchee High School. “I love going to work,” she said with a laugh, “Every day is a challenge, as well as its own reward. I am never bored.” Although she knew she wanted to be a teacher back in third grade, Danielle’s life has had its challenges and lessons. “I moved away from home, discovered beer and boys, and experienced quite a few years of very bad choices,” she added, “I sure did create a whirlwind life that left no stone unturned, and no life unscarred...” There is no doubt that the passionate redhead keeps life interesting for those around her. With an accent “as ingrained as my breath,” she knocks boredom out of the park with her homespun sayings, wicked southern humor, and the confidence to handle both fly balls and fouls. Her first love was for a HarleyDavidson. In the days before electronic ignitions, the eight year-old watched as family friend, Klenk, cranked his motorcycle engine. “Then I’d cling like a monkey to his back, and we roared down

Danielle Ouellette waits for a play to develop at home base.

On the road with Scarlett O’Harley in New Mexico.

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May 2016

the highways. I rode with him every chance I got, and grew a Harley heart.” Danielle said with a sigh, “There is nothing better or more pure than the open road, for my soul. It is therapy of the richest kind, and it is available for merely the price of gas. Amazing.” Years later, she found herself raising three sons while working various part-time jobs. Meanwhile, the determined, single mom managed to earn a B.A. in Education from Western Washington University. After graduation, she was frustrated at locating only substitute teaching jobs. “During this time, I was drawn to special education classrooms. Working in small groups with students struggling with all types of issues — from learning disabilities, to physical limitations, to huge behavioral obstacles — I found my path.” Content knowing her place in the world, she returned to school to earn a special ed credential. Danielle still loves “that challenge, the uniqueness of a classroom of that nature, and of the students. I’m never bored with my students or my career,” she said, “and I am easily bored.” Around that time, she stumbled into a fortuitous part-time job: softball umpire. This was a job to which she could bring her boys. Happy to have the children outside enjoying the fresh air, Danielle packed picnic dinners, school work and blankets. “I would help with homework, settle arguments, mama them between innings, feed them between games and love them through the back stop,” she said. “The two youngest (6 and 8 at the time) would

“I was not brought up to argue… and I felt totally out of my comfort zone to call a man ‘out.’” fall asleep under the bleachers before the 10:30 lights-out. I’d haul them up, out of the ball park to our trusty Pinto station wagon.” A self-described “deeply Southern woman,” Danielle was initially hesitant to argue over calls. “I was not brought up to argue… and I felt totally out of my comfort zone to call a man ‘out.’” During a particularly grueling period involving an early a.m. gas station shift, substitute teaching and umpiring nine games a week, she was exhausted. “I’d been yelled at and told I was the stupidest umpire ever. I was ready to give up this umpire thing, when two of the biggest players walked up behind me, grabbed my supper bags, and lifted the sleeping boys without another word.” The same guys who had heatedly argued her calls on the field, were now being total gentlemen. After depositing the sleepers into the Pinto, one of them said, “Don’t quit. Blue, you’re doing okay. It’s nice having a lady umpire.” Nowadays (and 19 years later), she has no trouble calling players ‘out;’ and there are no longer arguments from the players, either. One weekend in 2008, she met Marty, a cute catcher from the west side. “He was handsome, classy and even-tempered all weekend, in spite of the 100-plus temperatures.” After the scorekeeper suggested the couple go out for dinner, the saucy umpire couldn’t help remarking, “If you’re very good at supper buying, maybe I’ll buy

Danielle and Marty were married at the Mariners baseball field.

you breakfast.” The catcher man called the next week, and a romance ensued. They wound up marrying over two years ago, appropriately exchanging vows on home plate at Seattle’s Safeco field. Early in their WenatcheeRenton, long-distance romance, Marty asked what her plans were for her “Scarlett O’Harley.” Alarmed, Danielle explained that she hoped he did not want her making a choice between the two of them. “I told him I would really miss him if he did.” Marty laughed, saying he was considering buying a motorcycle himself. That is exactly what he did, and the two have been adventuring together ever since. The newlyweds enjoy traveling throughout the U.S. Last summer, they made it all the way to Georgia. “I have lived in lots of places, but this is the valley of the gods for me,” Danielle smiles, “The Wenatchee valley has offered me the feeling of coming home — of connection to the earth, the community, and my heart. Marty and I love to vacation elsewhere. But no matter where we go, we love to come home. “It’s a wonderful feeling to drop down into our valley after a May 2016 | The Good Life

period away. Its magic captured me, and holds me hostage still.” Rachel DiLorenzo loves to meet new people. She continues her quest for the ideal wine pairing for the Little Debbie Swiss Roll.

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Home with a

view grand piano — and a place for the

Visual variations in the textured glass doors, large sand-finished pavers, gravel, rock pillars, and tiles lend visual interest to the home’s entryway. Comfy Adirondacks share a cool spot in a north-side niche.

Story by Susan Lagsdin Photos by Donna Cassidy

rian and Sara Bowe, who happily settled into their new East Wenatchee home last December, didn’t have too many extraordinary requests of their construction team: lots of light in every room, plenty of space for older kids and potential grandkids, one level living, zero-tolerance on maintenance and yard care… and oh, yes: a large dedicated open interior area, humidity-controlled and calibrated acoustically for a new grand piano. All that wasn’t even part of a long-term plan. The transition from their Wenatchee home had been brewing, but only to a preowned place in a different locale. However, Brian’s adamant “No — we’ll never build a new house!” softened considerably when he strolled up to a nearby lot after visiting a friend. The cliffside property on a cul-de-sac of elegant homes near the golf course faced south to Jumpoff Ridge and

This Bosendorfer piano, once the darling of the Seattle Symphony, occupies its specially constructed niche near the entryway, where it gets a lot of play. Recessed fir cross beams allow acoustical fidelity.

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516 Fresco

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These tall living room windows with an open view to the mountains and river were originally slated for the east wall, a problem solved with a structural fix between ceiling and roof.

looked straight down onto the Columbia River. Building their own perfect place right there suddenly looked reasonable. Working long distance with a Portland architect for the 18 months from lot purchase to

permitting finals, Brian enthusiastically involved himself in myriad design details. When the going got tough, Sara only had to remind him that the new house would hold his new grand piano, a very first for this ardent musician.

Quality spa time, keep connected with the ones you love.

They hired family friend and builder/contractor Jim Ghiglia, though both parties knew the little marriage of builder and owner is fragile at best, and most builders wisely decline working for friends. This relationship thrived, however; Jim

felt freedom to make decisions and the Bowes felt absolute trust in his judgement. Here’s the way Jim does business, and it made a difference for him and the Bowes. He described, “Every day you drive up

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View and grand piano }}} Continued from previous page to your lot, you’ll see my truck in the driveway. I won’t be driving around checking on crews on my cell phone, cruising from coffee shop to building site…” He’s put 37 years into building, with 80 homes completed in Nevada before moving here a dozen years ago. He contracts out electricity, plumbing, drywall, tile; yes, he hires a helper or two on roof truss and ceiling days; he needs and respects landscapers and interior designers. But, as he did on Sara and Brian’s new home, Jim builds the house himself. Sara said, “The guys up at the (Highlander) golf shop said they wondered what this guy was doing all alone every day, and then in 60 days — there was the house, all framed.” She thanked Jim for stresslessly orchestrating people and process over the whole nine-month building period. Jim credits his long-term subs as well as Dan Johnson with Absolute Landscaping and Kim Ferderer at InDwell for their pitch-perfect ideas and quality execution. Even with well-drawn plans, every builder wrestles with changes both structural and aesthetic. Pointing to the deceptively simple living room ceiling, Jim noted that hidden above it were re-fashioned roof trusses — to keep the south view orientation it was impossible to build as seen on the blueprints. And the decision to make this into a truly “stepless” (absolutely flat) design meant rethinking foundation components, but the result offers surprising ease, with no step, however small, into any doorway. One of the most visually pleasing of “it could have beens” is the originally-drawn L-shaped kitchen peninsula and window-

The complex “no standing water” water feature, initially meant to mask traffic noise but now so much more than that, was set below grade to give an uninterrupted view while lounging on the patio.

Owner Sara Bowe and builder Jim Ghiglia, seated on the remarkably windless patio, were close family-style friends when this venture started and remain so due to trust and constant contact.

less stove wall, which morphed instead into a huge central counter space and one bright square window over the sink that faces morning sun and golf links. The piano space needed special care. Bulky rock pillars in the blueprints, nice enough outside, changed instead to the more refined look of paneled

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wood, and a grid of criss-crossed fir beams in the coved ceiling fracture sound appropriately. A major indoor design decision involved the walking distance from the three-car garage door to the kitchen counter. Usually in ramblers, there’s next-door placement. But again, strategy trumped the typical.

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Re-situating the kitchen further from the garage would open up views. Easily realizing what the trade-off was, the Bowes now appreciate the longer stroll. Nearby, the necessarily long bedroom wing hallway is visually shortened with extra width and a windowed wall. Every time there was a discussion about changing a room size, the master closet seemed to have the flex footage. In the end it won out — huge and wellequipped with a center console equivalent to four dressers, it took noticeable inches from the cozy but workable guest bathroom. Sara likened the complete and harmonious feeling of the house to a really good musical chord. “You can’t quite pick out the three notes but you know they’re there.” She’s still enjoying the subtler details of traffic flow, color, window placement. “There should be something interesting wherever you look,” Jim said, and he achieved it without busy-ness. Beveled sheetrock corners, rather than hard right angles, soften the whole look of a room.

In the living areas, using the same ceiling treatment outside as inside visually extends the house, and wood trim is burnished so it looks and feels good enough to caress. Placing rooms at the correct position means privacy can be maintained even with open doorways (but on every door he sets, Jim also aims for a satisfying chunk sound). Jim painted the garage walls the same soft gray as the interior’s walls for a pleasant transition, a welcome home. That constant soothing tone throughout, by the way, was a bold decision by Kim, agreed to and then applauded by Sara. (They say at first the cool color brought shudders to the cabinet installer, an émigré from rainy Seattle who soon warmed to it. Literally.) There’s space in the 4,000 square foot home for the Bowes to be together and to be apart. A big bonus bedroom capping the hallway could become a media center, a sewing room, a den, another guest room. Sara uses her private office with sitting patio to work on her theology masters and plan a weekly 200-student Bible study class. Brian has a professional office at the hospital, so he uses his off-the-master cubby for working on scores for musical comedy — currently it’s Mary Poppins — and Wenatchee’s Swingin’ Big Band. The house was built for comfort. The south patio is shielded from wind and accompanied by the sound of waterfall, a big fireplace centers the almost lodgelooking living room, and there are two hot water and furnace systems as well as a humidifier (for piano’s sake, mostly). And an unexpected bonus feature still delights — the luxury of floor-heated tiles in the master bath. The last, a gift from Jim to his friends, was a total surprise that came at the very end of the building process where most couples get nervous and con-

Sara loves the kitchen, including a specialized “steaming oven,” not pictured, atop the conventional one. It’s tough to imagine the original plan with no window and a skinny L-shaped peninsula.

sider shaving off some features somewhere. Sara remembered on their walk-through she stood in the bathroom, puzzled, and thought, “Hmmm, this floor feels awfully good…” Here’s one reason the two years went so well, and it’s a formula more builders would love to have owners take to heart: the building professionals and the home owners respected each other. Brian said at the outset of this long journey from vacant lot to home sweet home, “Hire people you trust and let them do their jobs.” They did, and they did.

May 2016 | The Good Life

Each bedroom (the others are smaller) shares features of this master: full windows, well-thought-out closet design, soft soothing colors. The very substantial bathroom and closet are unforeseen luxuries.

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PET tales

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

A ‘Max’ day on the riverfront trail P

eggy Christensen and Max, left photo, relax under a tree after Max went for a swim in the Columbia River. Max is a golden retriever Peggy got when he was 7 1/2 weeks old. Max is now 10 and goes everywhere with Peggy. Peggy said Max has a playful personality, minds well and is a good companion. Max recently had his tail amputated and luckily the tumor was benign.

egan Cook and her golden doodle, Max, center photo, take time out after a swim in the Columbia River to pose for this photo. Max is 2 years old and Megan got him from a breeder in Moses Lake. “Max gets me outside. He is a fun dog and he is my best friend.” Megan also says she didn’t think he would get so big. He was a small puppy. “He is part of the family.”

Justin Miller, DVM. is accepting new patients at Cascade Veterinary Clinic 509-663-0793.

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howing no fear, Roger Dewees of Peshastin took his dog Max, right photo, for a walk on Riverfront Park. Max is 8. Roger said not too long ago a hawk swooped down and grabbed Max and flew away. Roger said he prayed, “God if you care for me at all please bring Max back.” Max was later found in a ditch, shakened but basically unharmed, and they were reunited.

column GARDEN OF DELIGHTS

bonnie orr

Come on, give cucumbers a 2nd chance Cucumbers can be a tea

sandwich, a garnish in a glass of water or a face-pack. But this mild, juicy fruit can be much more. Sadly, many people eschew cucumbers because they can cause “burping.” They are not a salad favorite since cucumbers are served as large unwieldy chunks, and many homegrown cukes are bitter. But — cucumbers need a second chance! These fruits are easy to grow in NCW gardens. If you don’t have a lot of space in your garden, grow the cucumber on a trellis or up a wall. Bitterness can be avoided if the plants are watered regularly and not allowed to wilt or droop. (The plant takes revenge for the gardener’s poor treatment.) The blossom end of the fruit can be the bitterest part. Cucumber types range from the large slicers to small picklers, from seeded to seedless and to burpless. And in between are some of the really tasty ones. I love the gray-green Armenian cucumber that is long and warty. Many people like the little round, lemon cucumbers. Overall, cucumbers are awful when cooked. They are fine in a chilled soup because the cuke is added after all the other soup ingredients have been cooked up. Cucumbers can be juiced, and are really tasty added to apple and celery juice. When I travelled in the Mediterranean region, I found out what Tzatziki is supposed to taste like. The secret is lots and lots of fresh garlic. Any type of cucumber can be used; if it is large, peel, grate and drain the fruit before you use it to prevent the dish from becoming soggy and watery. This sauce

Prepare and mix all the ingredients. Serve immediately.

Cucumber rice salad

Cucumber rice salad: Nice with a colorful rice.

is used as a dip for other vegetables or crusty bread. It can also be served alongside roasted meat.

Tzatziki Serves 4; 30 minute preparation 1 pound cucumbers 2 large cloves fresh garlic minced 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 tablespoon white vinegar 8 oz. whole milk Greek Yogurt 2 teaspoons salt 1/2 teaspoon chili pepper 1 teaspoon fresh mint finely chopped or 1 teaspoon fresh dill leaves finely chopped White pepper to taste Peel and coarsely grate the cucumber. Sprinkle with salt and let the cucumber drain for 20 minutes. Mix together the other ingredients. Stir in the drained cucumber. Let sit for at least 3 hours in the refrigerator.

give it new life on your dining room table. This recipe was inspired by The New Middle Eastern Vegetarian cookbook by Sally Butcher. This salad is wonderful because of the combination of hot, sweet and cool. It can be used as a sandwich spread with roasted chicken slices.

Cucumber and pomegranate salad Serves 4; 20 minutes preparation 1 large fresh pomegranate seeded 1 large cucumber peeled, diced and drained 1 large ancho pepper seeded and diced 1/3 cup chopped cilantro 1/3 cup chopped fresh mint 1/3 cup chopped parsley 1 cup chopped green onions 2 tablespoons lemon juice 2 tablespoons olive oil Salt and pepper

Spicing up the cucumber may May 2016 | The Good Life

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This salad is perfect for lunch or for a barbecued dinner. It can be made a day ahead. Consider using a colorful rice such as red, black or wild rice. Serves 4; 1 hour prep 1 cup rice 1 cup coconut milk 3/4 cup water Salt 1 English cucumber 1/2 cup cilantro finely chopped 1/4 cup red onion finely chopped 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice 1/2 teaspoon chili powder 2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds Salt/ pepper Cook the rice until tender and all the moisture has been absorbed —about 20 minutes. Turn off the heat and let it sit for five minutes. Dice and salt the cucumber. Set in a sieve to drain. Chop and prepare the rest of the herbs and the vegetables. Mix together the chili powder, the lime juice and sesame seeds. Stir all the veggies and herbs into the cooked rice. Season with the chili powder mixture and the salt and pepper. Serve room temperature or chilled.

If you have only bought cucumbers from the grocery store, be sure to visit the farmers market this summer to buy some of the unusual, tasty fruit. Bonnie Orr — the dirt diva — cooks and gardens in East Wenatchee.

column moving up to the good life

june darling

The good life requires wisdom

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f I were Queen of the World, I would make the love of wisdom cool again like it was in the great cultures of the past. Why? Because we seem to be getting smarter and smarter, but more and more foolish. A number of articles and at least one book has been written outlining all the really dumb things smart people have done lately. I don’t want to rehash the stupidity, I want to fix it by making us wiser. In my kingdom, even your Average Joe would be thinking about, reading about, and discussing wisdom. Wisdom would be studied by children. Wise people would be pointed out. The short definition of wisdom is the ability to make sound judgments. Wise people know what’s really important in life. Socrates, Confucius, Jesus, the Buddha, Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, Marcus Aurelius and Winston Churchill are often cited as famous wise people. My example of a wise person is “Chief.” Chief is the chief of police in Morristown, Tennessee. Chief was called in to help when a young mother refused to give up her dead baby to officers. The newborn had suffocated from a pillow in the crib. The mother became hysterical when officers insisted on taking the baby’s body for autopsy. Chief sat down on the floor with the mother; comforted her, and gently asked permission to hold her little one. He held the dead baby to his chest, rocked back and forth, while patting its back. Chief understood the mother’s pain and how she viewed the www.ncwgoodlife.com

May 2016

If we were all wiser, we could more effectively solve problems together, have stronger relationships, and feel more satisfied with life. little body. He also realized that the officers were stuck in their view of reality and police protocol. Chief was able to wisely negotiate a difficult situation because of his understanding of what was happening. Wise people deal well with their own and others’ emotions. They see from multiple viewpoints; they understand what’s really important. Wise people elevate us all. If we were all wiser, we could more effectively solve problems together, have stronger relationships, and feel more satisfied with life. Who would you choose as a wise person? Why? I’ve been asking a lot of folks. These conversations have been some of the most enlightening, useful, and satisfying chats I’ve had in a long time. Not only have I learned a lot about wisdom, but I’ve felt more connected to others, and just had a lot of fun. I talked with a young waitress in Park City, Utah. She told me Gandhi and her father were the wisest people she knew. She craved world peace and appreci-

Talk regularly with at least a few friends ... who have radically different points of view. ated her dad’s gentle guidance. The surprising part was finding out about her fly-fishing business (got her card) and that she was raised in Wenatchee. I wish I could share all the comments and conversations because they were such good learning for me. What I can tell you is that the bulk of the comments supported recent research that emotional and social intelligence are a big part of wisdom. People say things like: 1. My grandmother never seemed angry. She was understanding, put herself in others’ shoes. 2. My mother was non-judging of others. She was reflective, adaptable and made the best of things. 3. My grandpa was always very open to working with lots of different people and felt it was important to honor and respect all different sorts of opinions. Conversations are a quick way to boost your wisdom quotient. Books about wise people and autobiographies written by wise people can also be helpful, particularly if they are deeply considered and discussed. Travel can also be an adventure in raising wisdom. Interactions with people from different cultures and countries — trying to see the world from different perspectives can be enlightening. Reading books from writers who have different points of view or are from different cultures are good wisdom stretchers. Studying history from different perspectives is similarly useful. Now here’s a very difficult and hugely rewarding way to

stretch your wisdom. Talk regularly with at least a few friends or family members who have radically different points of view. Have some real dialogue. Do your best to consider their background, their thoughts, their emotions. Luckily I have a Chinese daughter-in-law who can help me with a lot of this stuff. Our conversations 10 years ago were not these exact words, but the sentiment is accurate: “You’ve been brainwashed.” “No, you’ve been brainwashed.” These less-than-brilliant chats were mostly about history, politics, diet, or parenting. They are becoming a bit more thoughtful over the years. What I have learned through these encounters is how much I don’t know about other people, about other perspectives, about myself, about my beliefs, about the world. I’ve become a bit more humble. I’m taking that as a good sign. If you, like me, would like to stretch your wisdom, start noticing wise people. Think about what makes them wise. Read about wise people, travel, read different writers. Have conversations with people who think very differently from you. Listen, talk. Reflect. Dig out that old story about the elephant and the six blind men. Consider why that story has been told for hundreds of years. Read it to your children and grandchildren. Knowledge can be useful if it doesn’t lead to arrogance and foolishness, but it is not nearly sufficient for understanding and living the good life. The good life requires wisdom. How might you move up to The Good Life by bringing back a love of wisdom? 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. May 2016 | The Good Life

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column THE TRAVELing DOCTOR

jim brown, m.d.

Our mysterious brain When physicians my age

studied medicine and in particular human anatomy in B.C. (before computers), we used textbooks like Grey’s Anatomy, which was about 1,000 pages long and seemed to weigh about five pounds. Our primary teachers of human anatomy were our cadavers, which were preserved human bodies that some generous people had donated to medical schools after death to be used as teaching tools or else they were unclaimed bodies from the Chicago morgue. We were grateful to our cadavers for their generous gift to us. We spent a few hours every day our freshman year slowly dissecting the cadaver in or-

WRITE ON THE RIVER

... the brain was the most complex and mysterious organ that we studied... der to learn every blood vessel, nerve, muscle and organ. The last organ we studied was the brain. I was amazed that this rather nondescript strange organ unlike any other was the most important one in our body. I know that each specialist thinks that his or her organ is the most important. But admittedly the brain was the most complex and mysterious organ that we stud-

ied back then in B.C. and continues to be so even today. The brain is one of the largest and most complex organs in our body. It contains about 100 BILLION nerves that communicate in trillions of connections called synapses. Our brain is made up of many specialized areas that work together. Thinking and voluntary movements reside in the outer layer called the cortex. Our basic bodily functions such as sleep and breathing are controlled in the brain stem located between the main brain and the spinal cord. In the center of the brain reside our basal ganglia that coordinate messages between other brain areas. The job of the

cerebellum at the back of the brain is coordination and balance. The brain is also divided into several lobes. The frontal lobe deals with problem solving, judgment and motor function. Behind the frontal lobes are the parietal lobes that control writing, sensation and body positioning. Below these two lobes are the temporal lobes that involve memory and hearing. At the back of the brain the occipital lobes contain the brain’s visual processing. Our brain “computer” is encased in the skull for protection. In studies at the National Institute of Mental Health and

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“The incessant stream of thoughts flowing through our minds leaves us very little respite for inner quiet.” at McGill University in Montreal, 145 normal children had MRI scans of their brains every two years. It was discovered that 95 percent of the structure of the brain was formed by age 5; however, there were changes that occurred later in childhood development. The prefrontal cortex, behind the forehead, appeared to be growing again just before puberty (average of age 11 in girls and 12 in boys). This area controls planning, working memory, organization and modulating moods. As it matures teenagers can reason better, develop more control over impulses and make better judgments (we hope). I suspect many parents look forward to this occurring. The cerebellum also changes well into adolescence. This plays a role in physical coordination but also in processing mental tasks including higher thought, mathematics, music, decisionmaking and social skills. As we have learned, the cerebellum plays a much bigger role than coordination and balance alone.

I have been reading a book titled Wherever You Go, There You Are by Jon Kabat-Zinn. His main focus is on mindfulness meditation in everyday life. He states, “We tend to be unaware that we are thinking virtually all the time. The incessant stream of thoughts flowing through our minds leaves us very little respite for inner quiet.” I don’t know about you, but I seem to be constantly thinking about the past or, in particular, the future. This occurs even when we are sleeping in the form of dreams and, in my case, problem solving. At one time I was the chairman of a critical committee at my work. We had 10 physicians representing each specialty and each satellite clinic working on some critical issues. The only night we could all get together was on Sunday evenings. Thus we met every Sunday evening from 7-9 p.m. for a year until we solved these issues. At times I came home trying to think of a way around an impasse, and when I awoke in the morning I had the answer or at least a direction that we needed to go. The solution occurred when I was sound asleep. I realized then that our brains never quit working. The book by Kabat-Zinn introduced me again to the present moment. He offers some methods in which we can stop and focus on

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the “now” moment. He calls it “mindfulness meditation,” but it is not like meditating that many are familiar with. It can happen any time, in any place, even for brief moments. This focus helps us appreciate feelings such as joy, peacefulness and happiness that are often fleeting and often unacknowledged. He calls this shifting into a “being mode” where we think of ourselves as an external witness, watching the moment without trying to change anything. We might ask ourselves, “What do I see, feel and hear?” The technique is quite simple. While focusing on the now moment, one simply concentrates fully on breathing — breathing in slowly and breathing out slowly. It seems too easy and too simple, but I have found that when I have many thoughts and worries going through my mind, focusing on my breath does shut them off temporally. I have to think this is good for my brain’s health. Our brains are truly an amazing gift. I am convinced that practicing mindfulness in some form several times a day, even if very briefly each time, is helpful not only for our brain but for our well being and physical health.

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Dean Rainey Western artist actually grew up working on a Badger Mountain ranch By Susan Lagsdin

n 1927, East Wenatchee artist Dean Rainey’s great-grandfather was deer hunting on horseback up on Badger Mountain, and he chanced upon 1,100 acres that became the family’s ranch. Years later, being raised there inspired and informed Dean’s art, and the property itself, his by inheritance, still plays a major role in his life. It’s just a 15-minute drive from his much newer Baker Street house, and he frequently visits it for minor maintenance and the simple pleasure of being there again. It was tough growing up so far from town; Dean cited the endless rhythm of feeding cattle, driving to school, coming home, doing homework, feeding cattle, falling asleep. But with an artist’s eye from the start, whenever he rode the hills he saw and remembered eagles in flight, herds of deer, coyotes and the play of clouds and sky in all weathers. His Eastmont High School art teacher encouraged him, his mother bought him a fine paint kit his senior year, everything clicked and he was college bound. Dean parlayed his art degree from Central Washington University into a niche job that he perfected and enjoyed for 15 years: designing high-end retail window displays, most notably for Nordstrom. He also started and grew his 35-year-old wooden sign enterprise (using carving and paint-

Dean Rainey in his second floor home studio with his newest work: “I haven’t named it yet, but I am thinking about calling it The One Dollar Ranch.”

“Santa Fe Tom — an acrylic on masonite — is one of my best pieces, I display it often in shows,” said Dean.

ing) that’s put his art front and center on businesses all around the region. The art genre that most fully uses his skills and imagination, and for which he recently won first place awards in the Graves Gallery members show and Native American and Western Art Show, was inspired by a mentorship with Western artist Don

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Cook. Gaining the confidence to expand his early inclinations, Dean started painting Native American portraits, wildlife, Western history scenes and wide open landscapes that included the artifacts of his Badger Mountain childhood. That renewed direction lead to copious research and a result-

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May 2016

ing library of floor to ceiling bookshelves full of source material. He attributes his care to a second college degree in anthropology. “I’m all about precision, and I hate making mistakes — there are so many experts out there. If I’m painting an 1892 cavalry officer, I’d better be sure about when that exact style of uniform was adopted.” Using photographs from his files only as a starting point, he’ll paint his scene with acrylics on masonite board in his home studio, an upstairs room with a view of the Cascades. He said especially when he’s depicting an animal, he goes to his textual sources for anatomical accuracy. And when he needs other detail for his painting — a tree, old machinery — he just goes out and either photographs it or collects it. “See this barn board?” he said, picking up a weathered gray scrap from an abandoned Badger Mountain site. “I can use this any time in my studio for the color and texture of an old fence.”

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“I do a lot of coyotes, because I know coyotes really well,” said Dean, who grew up on a Badger Mountain ranch.

Dean said about his dedication to his art: “I’m 200 percent serious — I’ve been practicing for 49 years.” Between his signmaking shop, his fine art studio and his meticulously decorated home, he’s using his creativity every day. His files are full of images of his favorite Western subjects including photos — like a recent subject, a derelict red pickup truck — taken by his wife Carole. (The Raineys met at school at age “The Eskimo was a painting on a wooden sign advertising my art show,” said Dean. “A woman 15, “married other who saw the sign liked it so well I had to dismantle people” and then the sign because she paid me right on the spot and re-met and married wanted to take the piece.” each other 30 years ago. There’s history all around him…) flew frequently. Plenty of other interests fuel At 67, Dean is chock-full of his busy life. ideas, energy and optimism. Dean has a long association Although both his airplane life with the Cashmere Museum and and ranching life are in a pePioneer Village, a cache of fine riod of transition, he described local artifacts and Native Ameri- interesting options that abound can history information. He esfor each. tablished a tour business where He revels in his semi-/quasihe and a partner lead caravans retirement. on adventure drives, most notaHe doesn’t have to go to work bly to visit and experience their for anyone else, his paintings are mining claim on Blewett Pass. gaining acclaim, and he’s having And he’s satisfied a childhood a good time. “I figured out why desire to pilot planes, a dream I feel so young,” he said with his he put on hold until he was characteristic charming grin, grown and could afford his own. “It’s because I never really grew He kept three planes nearby and up.” May 2016 | The Good Life

Village Art in the Park, May through Oct. 18, 9 a.m. – 6 p.m. Outdoor art show sponsored by local non-profit organizations dedicated to provide scholarships for art education using a venue that supports amateur and professional artists. Downtown Leavenworth. NCW Blues Jam, every second and fourth Monday, 7 p.m. Riverside Pub at Columbia Valley Brewing, 538 Riverside Dr. 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. 5/5 run theme is Cinco de Mayo. 2 Left Feet, every Thursday, 7 – 9 p.m. 2 Left Feet is a loose organization of local dance enthusiasts who would like to see more dancing in the Wenatchee Valley. Beginner lesson at the top of the hour followed by carefree social dancing. No partner necessary to join in the fun. Dance style will be 1940s swing with a bit of salsa, blues, waltz or tango thrown in. Pybus Public Market. Cost: free. Info: pybuspublicmarket.org. Game Night, every fourth Friday, 7 – 9 p.m. Board games, card games or any games you would like to bring. Open to all and all ages. Pybus Public Market. Cost: free. Info: pybuspublicmarket.org.

under are free. Purchase tickets at the gate or at WenRenFaire.org. Wenatchee Valley College. Horse Lake Trail Runs, 5/1. 5 mile, 12k and half marathon. Open to runners and walkers, runners only for 12k and half marathon. Horse Lake Reserve, Wenatchee Foothills. Shuttles leaving the WalMart parking lot from 7 – 8 a.m. Return trips as runners finish. Info: horselakehalf.eventbrite.com. Wenatchee Valley Columbia Chorale, 5/2, 7:30. Live performance, program theme is Fun, Folk and Film. Snowy Owl Theater. eBird skills development, 5/4 and 5/18, 6 -7:30 a.m. Join conservation fellow Susan Ballinger to observe and identify birds using Number Two Canyon. Meet at Number Two Canyon Road, at the junction with Skyline Drive to carpool. RSVP: Hillary 667-9708 or hillary@ cdlandtrust.org. Wildflower Walks in the Foothills, 5/4, 9 – 10 a.m. Bring your camera and walk with conservation fellow Susan Ballinger. Saddle Rock Trailhead. RSVP Hillary 667-9708 or hillary@cdlandtrust.org. *5/11, 6-7 p.m. Balsamroot Trailhead (at Horse Lake Road) *5/18, 9-10 a.m. Jacobson Trailhead

}}} Continued on next page

Coming attractions May 6

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 trail behind Pybus Public Market. Info: wenatcheefido.org. Wenatchee Valley Renaissance Faire, 4/30 10 a.m.-6 p.m. and 5/1, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. The west field of the Wenatchee Valley College shall become a medieval marketplace filled with horses, knights, ladies, gypsies, minstrels and even pirates. Experience the joy of shooting an arrow, watch the Joust or be awed by an ogre, a fawn, fairies and fire breathing. Prices: $10 for adults, kids 6-17 are $5, and kids 5 and

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WHAT TO DO

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}}} Continued from previous page *5/25, 6 -7 p.m. Jacobson Trailhead *6/1, 9 – 10 a.m. Balsamroot Trailhead (at Horse Lake Road) *6/8, noon – 1 Saddle Rock Trailhead to Forest Mary Poppins, 5/4, -7, 11-14, 7:30 p.m. 5/8, 14, 2 p.m. Music Theatre of Wenatchee’s Apple Blossom Musical performs live. Numerica Performing Arts Center. Cost: $15$29. Info: numericapac.org. Thursday Walk and Talk Series: The Highline Canal and our apple orchards, 5/5, 6-7 p.m. Join local historian Chris Rader who will tell the story of how our sagebrush valley has turned into orchards with the opening of the Highline Canal in the early 1900s. Meet at Saddle Rock trailhead. Info: 6679708. Film series: As You like it, 5/5, 7 p.m. Broadcast from London to Snowy Owl Screen, Shakespeare’s comedy of love and change. Cost:

$12 advance or $14 at the door. Info: icicle.org. Svetlana Smolina, 5/5, 7:30 p.m. Live concert. Wenatchee High School Auditorium. Info: wenatcheeconcerts.org. First Friday events: nTwo Rivers Art Gallery, 5/6, 5 – 8 p.m. Presenting the oil paintings of artist Phyllis Emmert. Live music by guitarist Brian Ohme. Wines by Gingko Forest Winery and complimentary refreshments. 102 N Columbia, Wenatchee. Cost: free. Info: 2riversgallery.com. nMerriment Party Goods, 5/6, 5 – 8 p.m. Becca, the owner of BB Designs will be here to chat about refurbished furniture, rustic home goods and hand painted vinyl cut signs . Snacks and beverages. 23, S Wenatchee Ave. Cost: free. Info: facebook.com/merrimentpartygoods. nTumbleweed Bead Co., 5/6, 5-7 p.m. Free Warrior Designs, clothing created by Tonya Kutch. Quality fabrics used and each garment personally created with hand-drawn designs and sizing that makes sense. Refreshments served. 105 Palouse St. Cost: free. Info: tumble-

weedbeadco.com. nSmall Artworks Gallery, 5/6, 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. Notable Exceptions, 5/6, 7 p.m. Live music at Pybus Public Market. Cost: free. Info: pybuspublicmarket. org. Jazz Series: House of Waters, 5/6, 7 p.m. A three-person ensemble embracing the multi-layered sound of the world, ignoring limiting definitions and restrictive genres. Snowy Owl Theater. Cost: $22 advance or $24 at the door. Info: icicle.org. Wenatchee Riverfront Railway train, 5/7-8, 1- 5 p.m. Ride the mini train. 155 N Worthen, east end of the railroad pedestrian bridge. Cost: $1. Apple Blossom events: *5/1-8, Arts and crafts, food fair and Blossom and Brews (beer garden) open. Live entertainment. Memorial Park. *5/1-8, Funtastic Shows Carnival, rides and games for all ages. Across from Riverfront Park on Worthen St. *5/1, Motorcycle Extravaganza, 1 – 3 p.m. at River West Retirement Home, 900 N Western. *5/4, All Service club Luncheon, noon. Wenatchee Convention Center. *5/4, Golf Tournament, 9:30 a.m. – 4 p.m. Highlander Golf Course. *5/6, Cruis-In on the avenue, 7 – 10 p.m. Palouse Street to Second Avenue on Wenatchee Avenue. *5/6, Classy Chassis Parade, 6:30 p.m. Starts at Eastmont Community Park goes down Grant Road, north on Valley Mall Parkway to 9th St. East Wenatchee *5/7, Apple Blossom Run, 8 – 10 a.m. Wenatchee Apple Bowl. *5/7, Tour De Bloom twilight criterium bike race. Downtown Wenatchee 2:30 – 11 p.m. *5/7,8, 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. Apple Blossom Radio Control Fun Fly. Wenatchee Red Apple Flyers Field, East Wenatchee. *5/7, Grand Parade, 11 a.m.

}}} Continued on page 36

| The Good Life

// SKETCHES

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May 2016

Paul Roberts

Writer on big topics finds little Leavenworth a peaceful respite By Marlene Farrell

aul Roberts claims two hometowns, Leavenworth and Seattle. They differ in size, culture and pace, and Paul, a journalist for over 30 years, enjoys straddling both worlds. He said, “Leavenworth is a good place to raise kids, but it’s somewhat tough professionally. More travel is necessary. It’s easy to become sequestered in a job that already involves a lot of solitary time. Seattle has that marketplace of ideas that helps my writing.” But looking at it a different way, Paul said, “In Leavenworth I can ride my bike every day. It’s so quiet and clean. People who live in a big city can have these things too, but must accept the extra costs of noise and pollution.” Such thoughtful deliberation describes Paul’s lifestyle and also relates to his writing focus. The choices people make are fascinating to Paul. His articles and books deal with how people, institutions and governments make decisions regarding energy sources, food production, healthcare and consumer products. For three decades Paul has covered these complex issues for publications including the Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Outside, National Geo-

S OF LOCAL ARTISTS

Paul Roberts: “If you don’t start with the passion, and a bit of a ‘just do it’ attitude, then even getting a big advance from a publisher won’t produce something worth reading.” Photo by Kevin Farrell

graphic, Rolling Stone and Harper’s. It was his Harper’s exposé on the rise of SUVs and changes in both the supply and demand for fuel efficient vehicles that led to an expanded analysis of America’s energy economy in his first book, The End of Oil, published in 2004. Since then Paul has written two other books (The End of Food and The Impulse Society), also on topics relating to the environment and politics. Each time he starts a new project he has a clear outline and knows how he’s going to bring the reader in. In a book, it’s the same process as with an article, just in much longer form. He offered advice to aspiring authors. “You need to set out with the idea that you’re writing for yourself. You have a story that you really feel passionate

about telling. “If you don’t start with the passion, and a bit of a ‘just do it’ attitude, then even getting a big advance from a publisher won’t produce something worth reading. “That said, don’t treat your writing as if it’s a solo venture. Especially with fiction, it’s important to get feedback from others with a similar passion. Join a writing group. The feedback is essential, and so is the encouragement.” The success of his books is a testament to his diligence, and yet he has had to work at finding balance. As his children Hannah and Isaac grew more independent (they are both in college now), he realized the importance of time with them. “I am conscious of the temporary. To have time May 2016 | The Good Life

with my family, I was forced to be more efficient with my writing time.” The problem for a writer is that one can feel like every spare moment should be spent writing. “You can write anytime, so it’s like you’re never done. And yet, you have to be fully focused, or the work won’t be good.” His schedule has changed now that he’s an empty nester. In the morning he checks email, regularly reads seven newspapers (local as well as national) and then settles into three hours of writing time. He takes a lunch break, works for the afternoon and bikes or runs before dinner. Exercise allows him to clear his head and stretch after hours at the computer. “After dinner I can also have a productive work block, but I have to be careful, or I’ll have trouble falling asleep.” He is in Seattle about half the week, reconnecting with colleagues and contributing to Crosscut, an online publication that covers local and regional political issues. Research can feel like a rabbit hole from which an author cannot escape. Paul solves that dilemma by interviewing dozens of world experts for each book. Then he weaves their evidence together into a compelling argument. He cautioned, “The key to fresh writing is to draw your material from real sources. Writing is flat if it is dependent on Wikipedia. It misses the juicy details and the interesting context of in-person research that reveals a lot about how and why people think a certain way.” His book topics are controversial and sometimes met with skepticism and disagreement. But Paul does not shy away from challenge. When writing and discussing his books, he goes through phases of discouragement and hope. “It has taught me to not www.ncwgoodlife.com

“... changing the world will be a slow process, two steps forward and one step back.” be judgmental. There’s a temptation to wonder, ‘why don’t people just behave?’ but I can’t take a moral stance because we all have setbacks. “For that reason, changing the world will be a slow process, two steps forward and one step back. If I can draw people’s attention to an issue, then I have succeeded.” Paul has shared his research through book tours, other speaking engagements and on the radio and TV. “I have had to learn to become a good public speaker. The audience is looking to be educated and entertained. I approach it like any other project.” One of his biggest audiences was his keynote address for the University of Santa Barbara School of Engineering commencement. However, Paul said, “The toughest crowds are the small, familiar ones, where there’s an almost intimate connection with the audience, and you really feel responsible for their experience.” No matter the crowd size, he said, “The Q and A is the best part. That’s when ideas are exchanged and tested. They are questioning me in real time. If I feel discomfort, then I am also learning something.” Leavenworth enables his need for quiet focus, but also allows for a sense of connection in this tight-knit community. “Leavenworth has great people and a gorgeous setting. As much as I like the energy and diversity of the city, I really seem to need the bigger space and quiet, more deliberate pace of Leavenworth.”

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}}} Continued from page 34 Downtown Wenatchee. *5/7, Classy Chassis Car Show, noon – 5 p.m. Eastmont Community Park. Simple Measures Horn Trio, 5/7, 7 p.m. Horn, violin and piano featuring Seattle Symphony Principal horn Jeffrey Fair and other pieces. Canyon Wren Recital Hall. Cost: $22 advance or $24 at the door. Info: icicle.org. Pybus Fine art Sunday, 5/8, 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. Meet and visit with local artists who are actually practicing their craft while at Pybus Public Market. Cost: free. Info: pybuspublicmarket.org. Bird ID SKILLS BUILDING, 5/11, 25, 7:30 – 9:45 a.m. Hone your field ID skill and learn to contribute to the online birding tool eBird with Susan Ballinger. Walla Walla Park (meet at the north end of the park near the restrooms. Info: susan@cdlandtrus. org.

Horse Lake Trail Run, 5/11, 5 – 7 p.m. Learn the lay of the land and get tips from an expert with Adam Vognild. RSVP required. Cost: free. Info: 667-9708 or cdlandtrust.org. Upper Valley Nature walks at ski hill, 5/12, 31, 6/2, 6 p.m. Join Connie McCauley to explore the Ski Hill area, looking at wildflowers, birds and wildlife. Walk will cover 2-3 miles for about 2 hours. Meet at the Ski Hill parking lot. Info: 6679708 or cdlandtrust.org. Walk and talk series: Native American Saddle Rock Stories, 5/12, 6 – 7 p.m. Join local historian and author Bill Layman for an hour walk taking in nature and telling stories of the central character of the spires of Saddle Rock. Meet at the Saddle Rock trailhead. Info: 667-9708 or cdlandtrust.org. Film series: Hot Pix, 5/12, 7 p.m. Snowy Owl Theater. Cost: $12 advance or $14 at the door. Info: icicle.org. Maifest, 5/13, -15, all day long. A 95 foot Maibaum (Maypole) will be raised. Live German music, German dances, art in the park, plant sale, classic Porsches, bouncy houses and more. Downtown Leavenworth.

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

Info: Leavenworth.org. Write on the River Conference: 5/13-15. A focus on genre fiction, romance writing in particular – along with traditional emphasis on core craft instruction and writing nonfiction. Wenatchee Valley College. Info: writeontheriver. org/conference. Coffee with a cop, 5/13, 11 a.m. – noon. Wenatchee Police Department invites you to join your neighbors and police officer for coffee and conversation. No agenda or speeches. Pybus Public Market. Cost: free. Info: pybuspublicmarket. org. Waterdog, 5/13, 7 p.m. Live music at Pybus Public Market. Cost: free. Info: pybuspublicmarket.org. Hell on Hooves: Roughstock Rodeo, 5/13-14, 7:30 – 10 p.m. Six events each night: bareback, barrel racing, bull riding, saddlebronc and bull poker. Kids activities: pony rides, mechanical bull rides and touch a truck. Town Toyota Center. Cost: $20-$25. Info: towntoyotacenter.com. Lions Club Community Breakfast, 5/14, 28, 7 – 11 a.m. All you

can eat pancakes, eggs, sausage, coffee or mile. Lions Club Park next to the city pool. Leavenworth. Info: leavenworthlions.com. Dahlia Tuber Sale, 5/14, 21, 8 a.m. – 2 p.m. The NCW Dahlia Society will sell dahlia tubers at $3 a tuber. Pybus Public Market. Info: ncwdahlia.org. Cascade Garden Club Plant and Bake Sale, 5/14, 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. Fundraiser sale of perennials, herbs and vegetables selected from local gardens based on their ability to thrive in Wenatchee Valley climate. Leavenworth Chamber of Commerce parking lot on Hwy 2 next to the Post Office. Rock on! Geology Tours, 5/14, 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. Cataclysmic floods, traveling rocks and sweeping vistas. Explore with the experts. Guided bus tours take you to all the best sights. Reservations: 8886240. Cost: $45. Eastern Washington BBQ championship, 5/14,15. Watch BBQ masters in action and sample some of the best BBQ in the Pacific Northwest. Pybus Public Market. Historical Walking Tour, 5/14,

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10 a.m. Town walk will start at Upper Valley Museum stops at Fest Halle to see Centennial Quilt. Walk is 1 to 2 hours. Leavenworth. Cost: $3 donation. Info: 548-0728. Rocky Reach Park Playground Ribbon Cutting Ceremony, 5/14, 2 p.m. Rocky Reach Dam Visitor Center. Eight films that changed America, 5/14, 1 p.m. Renowned Yale professor Marc Lapadula will take you on a fascinating tour of the eight films that for the better or worse, mad an indelible mark on American society. The films are: The Jazz Singer, I am a Fugitive From a Chain Gang, Easy Rider, The Graduate, Jaws, Annie Hall, The China Syndrome and Philadelphia. Snowy Owl Theater. Cost: $49. Info: icicle.org. Icicle Creek New Play Festival, 5/15. Daisy by Sean Devine, 1 p.m. Mary’s Girl by Wendy MacLeod, 7 p.m. Snowy Owl Theater. Cost: $12 per play or $20 for both. Info: icicle. org. Western Wanderings, 5/17, 5:30 – 6:45 p.m. Discover the West. Join John King, AAA’s wide-roaming Travel Research Coordinator and Cartographer, as he presents “Western Wanderings,” an informative talk showcasing national parks, scenic routes and out-of-the-way gems found in the western U.S., Hawaii and Alaska. Plus, guests will receive a souvenir booklet with dozens of hand-drawn maps. AAA Wenatchee, 221 N. Mission. Cost: free. RSVP 665-6299. eBird skills development: Shrub-steppe upland and ravine habitats, 5/18, 6/1, 6 – 7:30 a.m. Every spring over 40 neo-tropical bird species arrive to our foothill canyons to build nests, rear young and feast on insects and fruits. Join Susan Ballinger to observe and identify birds. Number Two Canyon Road at junction with Skyline Dr. Info: cdlandtrust.org. CELEBRATION FOR CANCER SURVIVORS, 5/18, 4 – 7 p.m. The Don’t Wait Project is holding a celebration event for local cancer survivors where stories focusing on life after Know of someone stepping off the beaten path in the search for fun and excitement? E-mail us at editor@ncwgoodlife.com

Info: pybuspublicmarket.org.

cancer will be gathered through interviews and photographs. These stories will comprise the upcoming Don’t Wait to Celebrate Survivorship exhibit on display at Pybus Public Market June 30 - July 13 and is being produced by local 20-year cancer survivor and DWP founder Lisa Bradshaw. Pybus Public Market. Cost: free. Info and sign up: www.dontwaitproject.org.

Monthly movie: Breakfast at Tiffany’s, 5/18, 6:30 p.m. Numerica Performing Arts Center. Cost: $3. Info: numericapac.org. Walk and Talk Series: WRITE A POEM IN THE SADDLE ROCK FOREST, 5/19, 6 – 7 p.m. Let the landscape ignite your inner poet. Join poet and Wenatchee Valley College professor Derek Sheffield guide you to create a poem as you explore the conifer forest tucked into the base

Ride of Silence, 5/18, 7 p.m. Honors those lost or injured while riding bicycles. Pybus Public Market.

of Saddle Rock. Meet at Saddle Rock trailhead. Info: cdlandtrust. org. We’ve Only Just Begun: Carpenters Remembered, 5/19, 7:30 p.m. Live performance with Michelle Berting Brett and her 7 piece band. Numerica Performing Arts Center. Cost: $19-35. Info: numericapac.org. Butterflies, bugs and blooms at Stormy Creak Preserve,

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}}} Continued from previous page 5/21, 9 a.m. – noon. Join Phil Archibald for an exploration of full-blown spring glory at Stormy Creek Preserve. Info: cdlandtrust.org. Leavenworth Spring Bird Fest, 5/19-22, 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. Barn Beach Reserve, a 9-acre nature preserve on the banks of the Wenatchee River in Leavenworth is the heart of the festival. Register, check-in for field trips, grab a program, pick up a birding checklist and get your questions answered. Info: leavenworthspringbirdfest.com. Bird Fest includes: *Mini film fest: Audubon, 5/19, 7 p.m. Audubon tells the story of a rare man and the wild creatures he loved. Snowy Owl Theater. Cost: $12 advance or $14 at the door. *Casual Friday, 5/20, 3 – 5 p.m. Grab a beverage from the nohost bar and chat it up with other birders including keynote speaker Tony Angell. Live music by Lindee Hoshikawa. River Haus at Bird Fest Central on the Wenatchee River Institute campus. *BBQ, 5/20 5:30 – 6:30, 7 – 8:30 p.m. Noted wildlife artist and author, Tony Angell will close the evening with the Keynote Address:

The Age of Owls. Red Tail Canyon Farm. *Mini film fest: The Messenger, 5/20, 7 p.m. This film takes viewers on a visually stunning journey revealing how the problems facing birds also pose daunting implications for our planet and ourselves. Wenatchee River Institute. *Family Discovery Center, 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. A family birding class with conservationist Woody Wheeler. Interaction with live raptors courtesy of Sarvey Wildlife Care Center. Wenatchee River Institute. Cost: free. *Migration Marketplace, 5/21, 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. Products and exhibits related to birding, natural history and outdoor pursuits. Wenatchee River Institute. Business Expos and Job Fair, 5/20, 9:30 a.m. – 8:30 p.m. Local businesses showcasing products and services with some recruiting of seasonal or permanent staff. Door prizes. If you are job searching bring a resume and be prepared to be interviewed on the spot. Lake Chelan Community Gym, E. Johnson Ave. Chelan. Cost: free. Info: lakechelan.com/jobfair/. Friends of the Wenatchee Library book sale, 5/20, 4 – 8 p.m. 5/21, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. Paper back, hardback book, CDs, DVD, videos and books on tape. Pybus Public Market. Info: pybuspublicmarket.org.

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Eden Moody, 5/20, 7 p.m. Live music. Pybus Public Market. Cost: free. Info: pybuspublicmarket.org. Iris Show, 5/21, 8 a.m. – 3 p.m. Come see the iris in full bloom. Pybus Public Market. Cost: free. Info: pybuspublicmarket.org. From Garden to Table, 5/21, 10 a.m. – noon. Tips on planting, using

and harvesting vegetables. Tool sharpening demonstration, too. Community Education Garden, 1100 N Western Ave. River Ramble at Rocky Reach Dam, 5/21, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Learn how wildlife and plants have created traditions that have been passed down from the vibrant peoples who once thrived along our rivers. Build

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WHAT TO DO

a tipi, play Native American sports and games, see the reptile man, dance with Native American drummers and dancers. Rocky Reach Dam. Info: 633-7522. Wenatchee Apollo Club Spring Potpourri, 5/21, 6:30 p.m. Live male choral group will perform. Cost: students and seniors $15, adults $18. Day of performance: $20. Numerica Performing Arts Center. Red Devil Challenge Trail Runs, 5/22. 10k and 25k plus a free kids race. Sandcreek Trailhead, Wenatchee National Forest, Cashmere. Info: reddevil.eventbrite.com. Horse Lake Trail Ride, 5/25, 5:30 – 7:30 p.m. Learn the lay of the land and get mountain biking tips from Adam Vognild. Info: cdlandtrust. org. All Service Club Golf Tournament, 5/26, 1:30 p.m. Rotary, Lions, Kiwanis and Exchange clubs unite for this annual fundraiser at Three Lakes Golf Course. Shotgun start, four person team scramble format. Walk and talk series: destress on the trail, 5/26, 6 – 7 p.m. Learn a variety of easy techniques to help you de-stress and relax on this gentle walk at Jacobson Preserve. Join Cheryl Short. Info: cdlandtrust.org. Film series: Palio, 5/26, 7 p.m. Oldest horse race in the world. Not your average race: strategy, bribery and corruption play as much a part as the skill of the riders. Snowy Owl Theater. Cost: $12 advance, $14 at the door. Chloe Grace, 5/27, 7 p.m. Live music. Pybus Public Market. Cost: free. Info: pybuspublicmarket.org. Wenatchee Riverfront Railway, 5/28, 1-5 p.m. Ride the mini train. 155 N Worthen, east end of the railroad pedestrian bridge. Cost: $1. Memorial day flag ceremony, 5/30, noon. This moving and somber ceremony will include a Convocation, and a short history of Memorial Day. Taps will be played, and an Honor Guard will conduct the Firing of Three Volleys to Honor the Fallen. The Ceremony will be presented by VFW Post 3617 and the Honor Guard will be represented by American Legion Post 10. A Benediction will conclude the Ceremony. Pybus Public Market. Cost: free. Info: pybuspublicmarket.org.

column the night sky this month

Peter Lind

Mars is getting closer, closer... May is a busy viewing

month this year. Mars is at its biggest and brightest in 11 years, the Eta Aquariid meteor shower peaks under a moon-free sky, and Mercury makes its first transit of the sun since 2006. But there’s plenty more to see on these warm spring nights. Jupiter and Saturn will captivate anyone who enjoys looking at the night sky. As darkness falls over the valley in early May, Jupiter sits about two-thirds to the Zenith above the southern horizon. It shines at magnitude -2.3, outshining all the surrounding stars in Leo the Lion. The giant world is brighter than all other planets or stars. By month’s end, as Jupiter pulls away from earth it will dim noticeably. Mars reaches opposition and peak visibility in the last half of May, but it is an impressive sight all month. It rises around 10 p.m. local daylight time along with the background stars of northern Scorpius the Scorpion. Shining at magnitude -1.5, the red planet is far brighter than all other objects in this part of the sky. Two more prominent objects join Mars within the next hour. The planet’s ancient rival, Antares in Scorpius, and magnitude 0.2 Saturn pop above the southeastern horizon almost simultaneously a half hour after Mars. Mars has a very close approach to earth this year, and will be the brightest it’s been since the extreme close approach in 2005. This year the centers of our two planets, at close approach, will be just 46.8 million miles apart. This means Mars looms large through a telescope. Although Mars is large and May 2016 | The Good Life

bright this month, Saturn is worth a look also. The ringed planet reaches opposition in June, but the view is still impressive this month. Its yellow glow is a nice contrast with the orangey red hues of its neighbors, Mars and Antares. Of course the rings are what make Saturn the planet that is most looked at. The tilt of the rings is 26 degrees, almost the maximum angle they achieve from our view. With the rings tilted at close to maximum, even a moderate telescope will reveal the divisions in the ring system. Mercury passes between the sun and earth on the ninth, the first time since November 2006. This transit will be visible to the whole of the United States and lasts 7 1/2 hours. You’ll need to equip a telescope with a solar filter to see the tiny black disk in front of the sun. Detailed viewing instructions can easily be found on the Internet. Following the transit, Mercury moves back to a morning planet. By late May, it has climbed above the eastern horizon enough to view. Neptune joins Mercury as an early morning planet. You’ll need a good pair of binoculars or a telescope to spot the outermost major planet. Uranus remains too close to the sun to be seen from northern latitudes this month. It will come into better view in June and throughout the summer. Comet 1P/Halley passes through the solar system every 75 years. It is not scheduled to return for another 45 years, but you can see pieces of this great object in early May. Earth will push through debris Halley left behind on previous inner solar system visits. The Eta Aquariid meteor shower peaks on May 5, so www.ncwgoodlife.com

this shower should be good the night of the fifth and sixth, which coincides with a new moon. From a dark site you should be able to see up to 20 meteors an hour emanating from the direction of Aquarius. Over the years one of the biggest challenges for amateur astronomers is dark skies. With the constant increase in population, and the everincreasing need for society to spread out, lights have become a big issue. In fact my observatory succumbed to the lights of a new development, where an eight acre cherry orchard once sat. We now face an even greater challenge as the new standard in outdoor lighting moves toward the much brighter LED fixtures. Lighting changes are coming to Wenatchee and the greater Valley as regulations ban older inefficient lights. Almost all manufacturers produce light fixtures that shine down, where the light is needed, but don’t allow light to be scattered up to block starlight. We have a chance right now to make sure that the correct type of “dark sky” lighting is installed. Not only will correct lighting be good for humans, but the real benefits are felt by our natural surroundings and animals that have to live with our lighting, as documented in the PBS film The City Dark. International Dark-Sky Association has a wealth of information about the need for dark skies, http://darksky.org/. Happy viewing and clear skies. Peter Lind is a local amateur astronomer. He can be reached at ppjl@ juno.com.

column those were the days

rod molzahn

The problem of hussies & smoking in public Editor’s note: Rod Molzahn is taking a few months off. Here is an encore column from a past issue.

After successfully closing all

the legal saloons in Wenatchee, Mayor John Gellatly and the city council took on two more of the town’s moral failings; what Mayor Gellatly called the problem of “hussies” doing business in “resorts along Columbia Street” and a short-lived attempt to end the public use of tobacco. In June of 1909, a new state law took effect that made possession of tobacco and cigarette papers a crime. While many of the state’s city and county law enforcement officers chose to ignore the law both Chelan County District Attorney Fred Kemp and county sheriff Ed Ferguson said the law would be rigorously enforced in both the county and the city. Ed Ferguson was the 30-yearold son of past marshal and mayor, James Ferguson. Mayor Gellatly had appointed Ed Ferguson as chief of Wenatchee’s first uniformed police force in 1907 along with officers Nate Inscho and Bob Nelson. Ferguson had gotten the mayor’s nod after breaking up a drunken brawl in one of Wenatchee’s saloons. In 1908 Ferguson was elected Chelan County Sheriff and served for a time as both city police chief and county sheriff. On June 12, 1909, the first day of the new tobacco law, Police Officer Fred Howser was walking his beat on North Wenatchee Avenue when he approached the Olympia Bar. Robert Allen stood on the wooden sidewalk in front of the Olympia and, in spite of warnings from his friends, began to roll a cigarette. He was immediately arrested by Officer Howser,

Wenatchee Shacktown in the late 1940s, looking south toward the pipeline bridge. (The museum received the photo from Wenatchee Public Works. No one knows the reason for the ink line drawn through the middle of the photo.) Photos From The Wenatchee Valley Museum & Cultural Center

brought to trial two days later, quickly convicted and fined $250. When he couldn’t pay, he was sentenced to 90 days in the city jail, described by the city engineer and the police force in 1907 as the “Black Hole” of Wenatchee and the “Deadly, vermin-ridden cell of the squalid polecat den misnamed a jail.” In less than a month, it was discovered that language exempting personal tobacco use, present in the law as passed by the legislature, had been left out of the published version. The rest of the state stopped prosecuting personal use but not

| The Good Life

Chelan County. Three months later, in October, Police Chief Nate Inscho arrested Rienzi Bethel, a Seattle contractor building sidewalks in Wenatchee, for smoking in public during a work break. Superior Court Judge William Grimshaw quickly dismissed the case. It was the last tobacco arrest made in the county. That same year, 1909, Mayor Gellatly and the council took up the problem of the “hussies” along Columbia Street, something the mayor also called a “morally depraving situation.” Merchants with businesses along the east side of Wenatchee

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May 2016

Avenue had been demanding the council put an end to the “houses of ill repute” that operated in Shacktown along Columbia Street behind their shops. Thelma Stanley, Wenatchee’s most notorious madame, continued to sell liquor from her establishment in defiance of city prohibition. Prostitution was not illegal in the city and Thelma Stanley, along with other madams, paid a $15 monthly license fee to operate undisturbed. The councilmen considered the matter over the course of several meetings but, in spite of much discussion, and perhaps some personal interest, they could not agree and took no action. The merchants then insisted that if these “women of questionable character” were to be tolerated in Wenatchee it was the responsibility of the council to relocate their establishments to some other, less visible, part of town. Mayor Gellatly named three of the councilmen to a committee charged with finding a suitable new location. They favored somewhere further down along the river or out in the southern, less developed part of town. Problems arose with each new proposed location. Neighboring property owners filled the council room and protested loudly that they would “never stand for such a plan!” After several weeks of this, the committee reported back to the mayor and council that they were “whipped” and could not find a new location for the ladies to ply their trade. After much confusion and consideration the council voted that the whole question be left to the mayor to resolve.

John Arthur Gellatly, pictured when he was a Wenatchee City Councilman in 1902.

Gellatly rose, pointed to Chief of Police Ed Ferguson and stated to him that he must get busy

and drive this tripe out of the city — bag and baggage — within 48 hours. Chief Ferguson stood and said, ‘Mr. Mayor, your orders shall be obeyed.’” Gellatly recalled later that, “Next day there was the greatest rustling of dray wagons and rattling of furniture that had been seen in our little city for many days.” The mayor contended that, “This class of people has always caused worriment for the authorities.” Gellatly argued further that the city should not, “become partners in such a vice by accepting license fees, and

that if the city had to resort to that source of funds, it had better dis-incorporate and be freed from the shame of our inability to run a city without accepting tainted or disgracefully begotten money.” By 1910, with the saloons closed and the “hussies” gone, Wenatchee was legally free of vice. The reality, of course, was quite different. Morals are hard to legislate and even harder to enforce. Bootleggers operated in Shacktown and local druggists filled questionable prescriptions for medical alcohol. In October, 1912 druggist J. E. Marsden was

arrested and fined twice for liquor violations. Thelma Stanley found her way back to Columbia Street where she was arrested four times for selling liquor from her establishment. She was fined a total of $298. She admitted in trial that her recent liquor sales had averaged $1,200 monthly.  Rod Molzahn has long been interested in local history. He can be reached at shake.speak@verizon.net. His CD “Legends & Legacies – Stories of Wenatchee and North Central Washington” can be found at the Wenatchee Valley Museum & Cultural Center gift shop. They are also available at www.shakespearespeaks. com. Click on Legends & Legacies.

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column ALEX ON WINE

ALEX SALIBY

Singing the praises of Pinot Noir I like Pinot Noir wines, but it

wasn’t always that way. I remember reading Hugh Johnson’s works decades ago and wondering why that bon vivant seemed to be carrying on a love affair with the red wines of Burgundy. Of course, back then I was really ignorant of wine. I mean, the good stuff for me came in gallon jugs by Carlo Rossi or Gallo. We even took two cases of gallon jugs of Inglenook Burgundy with us when we moved from San Jose, CA to Roswell, GA in 1974. One of those cases was dropped off the moving van and went smashing down onto the driveway of our new Georgia home. All four gallons were lost in that accident. But I digress. Those early “Burgundy” beverages were far from what they claimed to be. For the most part, those jug wines were blends of a variety of grapes and rarely had any real Pinot Noir juice in the mix. I didn’t know back then the wines were not named for the grape for just that reason. Call a

bottle of wine Pinot Noir, and 75 percent of the juice from which the wine had been made must have been squeezed from Pinot Noir grapes. By calling the wine “Hearty Burgundy” and suggesting the presence of the principal red wine grape of Burgundy, which is Pinot Noir, Gallo was free to blend juice from any kind of grape into the wine. Carignan, Zinfandel, Grenache, Petite Sirah: wines from all those grapes got mixed into a variety of specially named wines that attempted to conjure images of the delightful beverages of Burgundy. Thankfully, times have changed. Wine makers here at home, from California, Oregon and Washington, recognize there’s a market for good, solidly made Pinot Noir wine. Pinot Noir is not a hearty wine, as the name Hearty Burgundy suggests. On the contrary, most Pinot Noir, properly made, is delicate and lighter in color and body than wines made from many other red wine grapes. Pinot is: n Light in color, not deep and dark like plum or blackberry. Pinot Noir grapes have less pigment in the skins than most

other red wines, so the wine in your glass will seem more transparent. n Complex in aromatics and flavors, so search for cloves and cinnamon, violets and mint, and look for mushrooms and loam on the nose and often espresso and licorice on the palate, as well as the cherry, raspberry and sometimes even strawberry fruits. n Lighter in weight than the reds of Bordeaux or the Rhone regions. n Lower in alcohol level than many other red wines. This is true of a real Burgundy-grown wine where the growing season is shorter and cooler. There are some winemaker tricks that hot climate wineries can employ to lower the alcohol. Reverse osmosis or spinning cone treatments can be used, or they can simply add back some water to the wine, reducing the alcohol by volume level to the desired point. n Flexible in food pairing. Pinot Noir pairs beautifully with an array of foods, including those often reserved exclusively for white wines. One food writer I read recently suggested pairing Pinot Noir with scallops, or black cod or tuna, as well as with the ever-popular salmon.

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And Pinot Noir is said to pair brilliantly with Camembert and Gruyere cheeses. Over a decade ago I was in a meeting where both Steve Kludt and Bob Christopher were present, and the talk was about the possibility of seeing the Lake Chelan area develop into a premium wine-growing region. Both men were among several in that area who were early planters of grapes and early believers in the region’s quality potential. One of Steve’s comments has stayed with me all these years as we have seen his vision materialize. He predicted, “I think you’ll see the day when Lake Chelan will be a renowned Pinot Noir growing region.” As it turned out, Steve was correct: the Lake Chelan AVA region has some outstanding Pinot Noir wines being made from Lake Chelan AVA grown grapes, but he was a bit short of being really clairvoyant because he missed forecasting the importance of the greater NCW growing area as a haven for the grape. We now know that quality Pinot Noir wines are being made from estate grapes as far north in Washington as the upper Okanogan Valley and as far south as Mattawa, where Milbrandt’s Evergreen Vineyard is also producing quality Pinot Noir fruit. The grape has arrived in style in this region. Alex Saliby is a wine lover who spends far too much time reading about the grapes, the process of making wine and the wines themselves. He can be contacted at alex39@msn. com.

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