The Good Life September 2019

WHY ME MOVED HERE STORIES Y EVENTS CALENDAR

WENATCHEE VALLEY’S

NUMBER ONE MAGAZINE

September 2019

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Contents

Features

7

‘do you remember

me?’

Retired teacher loves hearing from past students, even if she can’t immediately put a name to a face last seen in elementary school

9 why we moved

here

Readers share why they moved to this area — sometimes for love, sometimes for the weather and sometimes by error

16 modern

page 28

THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING A GREAT GRANDPARENT

homesteading

She’s a little brave, a lot selfreliant and strongly dedicated to making a life in an enclave overlooking the mighty Columbia

18 - 27 TIS THE

15 The traveling doctor: Why we moved here 28 June Darling: Grandparenting, updated 30-34 Arts & Entertainment & a Dan McConnell cartoon

35 Pet Tales: Samson has outgrown his football stage 36 History: Promises, promises, promises 38 That’s life: Where’s the beef?

SEason for home tours

Three home tours happen in September, including the big BNCW Tour with 11 homes.

Additional information on some of the homes, along with details about the Chelen and Leavenworth tours Art sketches n Full Circle Theatre Company founders David Harvill, Meg Kappler, Maren Cagle and Pete Kappler, page 28 Columns & Departments 6 A bird in the lens: Northern Flicker drums up business

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

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OPENING SHOT

®

Year 13, Number 9 September 2019 The Good Life is published by NCW Good Life, LLC, dba The Good Life PO Box 2142 Wenatchee, WA 98807 PHONE: (509) 888-6527 EMAIL: editor@ncwgoodlife.com

sales@ncwgoodlife.com ONLINE: www.ncwgoodlife.com FACEBOOK: https://www. facebook.com/NCWGoodLife Editor/Publisher, Mike Cassidy Contributors, Constance Nelson Bean, Kathleen A. Miller, Esther Dalgas, Merry Roy, Michelle McNiel, Susan Sampson, Teri McGarr, Joe St.Jean, Wayne Christensen, Cheryl Bishop, Story Burke, Travis Knoop, Marlene Farrell, Kevin Farrell, Jamie Howell, Bruce McCammon, Donna Cassidy, Jim Brown, June Darling, Dan McConnell, Susan Lagsdin and Rod Molzahn Advertising: Lianne Taylor Bookkeeping and circulation, Donna Cassidy Proofing, Dianne Cornell Ad design, Clint Hollingsworth Video editor, Aaron Cassidy TO SUBSCRIBE: For $25, ($30 out of state address) you can have 12 issues of The Good Life mailed to you or a friend. Send payment to: The Good Life PO Box 2142 Wenatchee, WA 98807 For circulation questions, email: donna@ncwgoodlife.com EVENTS: donna@ncwgoodlife.com BUY A COPY of The Good Life at Safeway stores, Mike’s Meats at Pybus, Martin’s Market Place (Cashmere) and Dan’s Food Market (Leavenworth) ADVERTISING: For information about advertising in The Good Life, contact Lianne Taylor at (509) 6696556 or lianne@ncwgoodlife.com WRITE FOR THE GOOD LIFE: We welcome articles about people from Chelan and Douglas counties.

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

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

here’s smiling at you

By Donna Cassidy

While taking house photos

on the Waypoint Farms for this issue — see page 18 — I noticed the farm had alpacas.

Now this photographer cannot pass up taking pictures of

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alpacas, as their faces are so darn cute.

As I approached their pen, they walked towards a lower section of the fence where I could see them better.

Then, these two — Aviator on the left, O’Shaunessy on the right — came up to greet me. I do believe they are smiling.

Owner Sue Steensma said she and her husband, Randy, had four alpacas on their property in Eagle Rock then started add-

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September 2019

ing more so they needed more space.

They moved to a 12-acre spot, built their new home and barn, and now have 38 alpacas.

And yes, there was cooing.

On the cover

Story Burke and Reddington — a mixed breed dairy goat buck — stand in front of the garden gate at Homestead with a View.

Photo by Donna Cassidy.

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editor’s notes

MIKE CASSIDY

A career saved by a simple sentence Somewhere in the last cen-

tury, I landed my first non-farm job by working part-time at a small rural Western Washington daily newspaper, helping the sports editor cover high school and other local sports.

This was a great job for me, as toting heavy hay bales and shoveling muck neither suited my slightly-muscled frame nor my sensitive nose.

I was still in high school, but thought this might be the first step in my climb out of the farm laboring life. Yippee!

Except… in high school, I was pulling a solid “B” average — and in my high school, that meant I could be wrong on 12

percent of the answers on a test and still earn a “B” with an 88 percent score.

Newspaper work, even at small newspapers covering fairly inconsequential local sports, requires a higher standard.

If I spelled even 5 percent of the 40 names wrong in the local list of high bowling scores for the week I collected over the phone, (5 percent wrong would actually be “A” work at my school) — and I swear, all the best bowlers were Polish with impossible to spell, or even pronounce, names — my 300-pound sports editor by the name of Ken Martin (now there’s

any easy name to spell), would fume, pound his desk, denounce the ability of my teachers and in general proclaim I was not fit to work indoors.

This went on for a while until one afternoon when I came to work, Ken glared at me and said, “That’s it, Mike, I quit, I’m going to work in radio where I don’t have to put up with your errors!”

And sure enough, in a couple of days, he was gone.

It helps being a dumb kid, because I didn’t know what to make of Ken’s outburst and quitting.

I kept showing up for work at my regular time, although realizing it was odd for my boss to quit rather than just firing me.

The editor of the paper — we all worked around a large desk (I said it was a small paper, right?)

— had heard Ken’s comments.

“You’re doing fine, Mike, Ken’s a jerk,” he told me, and began adding to my workload general news stories, with luckily fewer Polish names.

A new sports editor was

brought in who leaned on me for local knowledge and I continued at the paper after school for the next couple of years.

Decades later, firmly entrenched in my career, by chance I came across the editor’s name, now at another newspaper. I wrote him a short letter, thanking him for those few words and for saving my love of this work.

I thought of this episode when I read Connie Nelson Bean’s story on page 7 in this issue, and how she was both touched by teachers and she in turn touched students during her long career as an elementary school teacher.

There are times when a few words from a teacher, or editor or anyone in authority, can set a young person on the track for a good life.

If we ever have a chance to say those few words, we shouldn’t let it pass.

Pass it along, help someone else enjoy The Good Life.

— Mike

If you love peeking inside of local homes, we have you covered every month B ig homes, small homes, homes designed by architects, homes constructed with the owner’s two hands, homes in the city, homes in the country, castles and condos, straight-laced homes and homes where the imagination has gone wild, we have featured all of these and more.

Come with us through the front doors into fun and interesting homes of the local area.

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delivered right to your home monthly Subscribe online at: www.ncwgoodlife.com Or, email Donna at: donna@ncwgoodlife.com 888-6527 • PO Box 2142 • Wenatchee, WA 98807

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column a bird in the lens

Northern Flicker: Hey, ladies, listen to my drum beat A

By Bruce McCammon

s we walked on the Apple Capital Loop Trail one spring, we heard what sounded like a jackhammer pounding on metal.

We’d heard variations of this before and knew that we’d soon see a Northern Flicker sitting on top of a light along the path.

We paused after we located the bird and watched it repeatedly Bruce McCammon drum on the is retired, colortop of the blind and enjoys light. photographing the birds in north cenIt was tral Washington. spring and the male flicker was announcing himself to the ladies as well as letting other males know that he was staking the area out as his own.

These birds seem to have discovered that if they pound on metal, the sound carries farther and is louder. Other woodpeckers drum on trees to accomplish the same end.

The behavior is well understood and interesting to watch

— unless the flicker sets up shop on your house’s wood siding.

Then, the behavior gets seriously annoying.

If you move them around frequently, Owl effigies may help deter the woodpecker from chiseling into your siding.

The Northern Flickers we see in north central Washington are also referred to as “red-shafted” flickers due to the color of the feathers on the undersides of the wings and tail feathers. The

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To our dismay, we watched a pair of flickers run a pair of Red-breasted Nuthatches out of a new cavity in the Horan Natural Area. Size and attitude do matter. eastern United States supports “yellow-shafted” flickers.

Our flickers show a distinctive black bib with undersides that are richly patterned with spots, bars and crescents. Males have a red moustache stripe that runs from its bill down to its cheek.

These birds are frequently seen on the ground as they hop about stirring up piles of leaves and debris in search of ants, caterpillars, termites or beetle larvae. They will also eat berries and nest in tree cavities.

To our dismay, we watched

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September 2019

a pair of flickers run a pair of Red-breasted Nuthatches out of a new cavity in the Horan Natural Area. Size and attitude do matter.

Northern Flickers are usually found in areas with lots of trees. We don’t see them in shrub-steppe areas unless power poles or wood-sided houses are common.

Northern Flickers have a distinctive flight pattern. As they fly, they move up and down along the flight path with short periods when the bird glides between longer periods of rapid wing beats. You’re likely to see a white patch at the top of the tail as the bird flies away.

Since Northern Flickers are here all year, you have a good chance to see or photograph them. Your chances to observe them are increased during the winter when the trees are leafless. Bundle up and go find them. Don’t forget your binoculars and camera.

Good luck.

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MY WORLD // a personal essay

‘Hello Mrs. Nelson, do you remember me?’

By Constance Nelson Bean I have been retired from teaching for 25 years, but it takes no time at all to be back in the classroom whenever an adult approaches me and says, “Hello, Mrs. Nelson, do you remember me?”

Oh my, how my brain scrambles to try and see a familiar feature, a gesture, a voice sound, something that will trigger a name for me.

Hundreds of children have passed through my classrooms — mostly in Wenatchee — in a career of 25-plus years and I wish I could name all quickly if approached today. But at 83 years of age this is just not possible.

On rare occasion, I will recognize someone quickly, but bear in mind, early students in my elementary classrooms are in their 60s and do look a bit different than when they were in grade school.

Years have passed since our paths may have crossed, years of growing up, education, military service, careers, families, and now possibly even retirement.

But oh my, what a lovely gift

it is to hear those sweet words, “Hello, Mrs. Nelson, do you remember me?”

I share that, “You have certainly grown up since I last saw you, please help me with your name.”

When a name is given, often memories flood back that will place this gracious adult face back in my first grade. I thank them for remembering me and speaking. We smile, maybe share a story or two and move on.

I am quite sure I speak for many retired teachers who have experienced the same emotions as I have.

As I look back over the past decades I wonder, just where did all those years go and what has happened to all the children that passed through my classroom door.

I also wonder if I touched any child in a special way, helped turn a child in a different direction, gave comfort to a child in pain, loved a child that needed love, and all the other emotions one shares with other human beings.

I loved my teaching career. My own children laugh when I share in my early days of teaching the biggest concern was chew-

If even one teacher has touched the soul of a student in a positive way that student will carry that with them forever.

Constance Nelson Bean: What has happened to the students who passed through my classrooms?

ing gum, chatting too much in class and heavens forbid, cutting ahead in lunch line too often.

I always hated to call parents in those days as I knew if I did, the poor child would be in such trouble when they got home, but I also knew they would never be a problem in my classroom again.

Over the years I taught three principals here in our valley, successful businessmen, teachers, homemakers, doctors, businesswomen, policemen, caregivers, nurses, doctors, salesmen, banking executives, difficult students, gifted students and ones that I have never forgotten.

Always there are those few that write forever on your heart and they live there always.

I would hope in return there are students who feel the same about some teachers as they move through schools. If even one teacher has touched the soul of a student in a positive way that student will carry that with them forever.

I still remember my kindergarten teacher, Miss Wren. All teachers were single in Seattle when I grew up as you could not marry and teach school.

When WWII was over, this rule changed, and Miss Wren got married. Many of us attended a wedding shower for her at Bryant Grade School in Seattle.

Today as we gather in our middle 80s, we former students always share how we all loved Miss Wren. She loved each of us the best we knew. She gave us milk and crackers at break time before our quiet time on

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Do you remember me? }}} Continued from previous page the floor mats followed by story time.

Those were wonderful days of innocence and surrounded by the love of our teacher.

Speaking of kindergarten, one story that is fun to share is about the principal of Eastmont High School, Lance Noel.

His family moved to Wenatchee from Alaska after school was started and he was brought to my kindergarten class at Lewis and Clark, one unhappy and scared little boy. He clung to his mom’s leg, big tears in his eyes, and really did not want a thing to do with this new class, children or Mrs. Nelson.

My heart went out to him, as I could imagine being uprooted, plopped in a new class filled with strange children and a teacher he had never seen before.

We had a few days of getting acquainted, and within a short period of time he was once again a happy little boy. And now, he is a fine principal of Eastmont High School.

This was one time I identified myself to a student. One evening after he was in a performance at the PAC I went up and asked,

A former difficult student was inspired by Mrs. Nelson

BY ANDREA WALLIN

I

was one of THOSE kids in school.

I remember my first and second grade teacher, Mrs. Connie Nelson with such love and fondness. Mostly because she was always kind and loving towards me.

I very distinctly remember having an extremely difficult time (probably a tantrum) and she pulled me into her lap and just let me cry on her.

That day, I looked at her and told her that I was going to be a teacher when I grew up so I could make kids feel better too.

Connie Nelson is quite literally the reason I became a teacher.

Some 41 years after I was in her class, I am (advancing) with “Lance, do you remember me!”

He said, “Oh my, Mrs. Nelson!”

He could not believe it was me after all those years.

Another story with a little 4th grader who arrived from England, named Ian. His parents brought him to school in a precious little gray flannel suit, short pants, white shirt and a tie.

Oh my, that took a bit of work to make all happy for Ian. Fortunately, his parents understood the importance of

my own students to the next grade. I’m doing so because they are so emotionally needy and have made such progress this year that I jumped at the opportunity to stay with them.

Not only did Mrs. Nelson reach me and change my life by simply loving me, but she instilled that love for the troubled kids into my heart.

Because of her love, I became a teacher and love my students.

Who knows who might be inspired in my classroom because of the patient love Connie Nelson shared with me?

Andrea Wallin is teaching in Nampa, Idaho. She wrote the above memory after serendipitously meeting Connie’s son-in-law, who is secondary instructional director at the Nampa school district.

changing his school attire and we all learned lessons in acceptance, differences and understanding.

Yes, I have had students end up in the Big House in Walla Walla, commit suicide, killed in horrible accidents, become lost souls in our society.

For the year I had them, some of these students struggled so hard, and you could almost see the handwriting on the wall.

Others you never saw the signs of destruction.

Life is a long journey, and some move along with only a few potholes along the way, others find all the potholes and make new ones.

Life is a long journey, and some move along with only a few potholes along the way, others find all the potholes and make new ones.

Looking back, I focus on the good times, most of the students I had were just a delight. They made my days happy with their enthusiasm and interest.

Happy memories are the only one’s worth hanging on to. I share this thought with my own children.

Yes, students all, I remember you because each of you in your own unique way touched my heart and life forever.

Please always stop me and say, “Hello, Mrs. Nelson, do you remember me?”

After teaching early in her career in Bellevue and Edmonds, Constance Nelson Bean taught 20-plus years was in the Wenatchee School District.

She has lived in Wenatchee the past 51 years and has been retired 25-plus years.

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WHY WE MOVED

HERE

Earlier this summer, we asked readers why they moved here — for climate, for love, for work, for fun or for some other reasons. Here are some of our favorite responses:

WHY MOVE WE D HERE

W I NN

ER

Coming for love... and hiking; returning for hiking I

By Kathleen A. Miller

met Terry Valdez at a YMCA “Youth in Government” training in Olympia in 1982.

Terry was a YMCA program director in Wenatchee while I was a YMCA program director in Seattle.

For four days, I gazed across the table at Terry’s bedroom eyes. He was also a hiker.

When it was time to leave, I pushed myself across the room and introduced myself to Terry, handing him my business card. “I’m looking forward to getting to know you in Olympia,” I said and left.

In Wenatchee, Terry drove around for four months looking at my business card taped to his Subaru ashtray.

At the Youth in Government program in April, Terry and I fell in love in front of 400 high school students. Highly unprofessional.

Terry lied about being a runner and bought running shorts. We ran seven miles around Lake Olympia, talking and laughing.

For two days, I laughed as Terry stiff-legged up the marble steps of the Capitol building.

Our first date was a backpacking trip to Domke Lake. Terry didn’t realize the Lake Chelan ferry started on Sunday. I arrived on Friday afternoon. So, Terry scrambled and hired a float plane to fly us from Chelan to Domke Lake.

From the air, Domke Lake looked like an emerald surrounded by green ridges covered in evergreen trees. Wow! I had put our food for the weekend in a large Ziploc bag, then into a stringed bag to

Kathleen Miller and Terry Valdez at Ingalls Lake in 1982: Backpacking love.

hang high in a tree away from bears. Arriving at the lake, Terry loosely tied the food bag to a floating log to keep the food cool.

“Terry!” I called, alarmed. “The food bag is floating away in the lake!”

Terry couldn’t swim. (I taught him to swim later.) I zipped into the woods and found a branch long enough to reach the food if I hurried, stripping off small branches as I ran. I carefully walked the floating log and rescued our food for the weekend.

We did a cross-mountain romance. Terry sucked me over the mountains like a romantic vacuum cleaner. We were married in 1985. Our daughter was born in 1990.

“What’s the point of killing yourself hiking to a high ridge or peak, and you can’t see squat in the fog, mist and rain?” I reply when people ask if I hike in Western Washington.

Besides, Western WA trails are insanely overcrowded.

After our divorce and a few escapes, I returned to Wenatchee because I love the spectacular hiking here.

September 2019 | The Good Life

Looking for orchard work, finding magic along the river

By Esther Dalgas

I

remember well when our family first came to Entiat in the summer of 1981.

Gary, my husband, and I with our two children, Geoffrey and Ruthie, were traveling with a group of young likeminded friends seeking adventure, camaraderie and work in the orchards.

As our caravan of four or five vehicles including trailers, a converted bus, and vans pulled into the north end of the Entiat park, my heart felt a connection and sense of wonder at arriving at this most beautiful place along the Columbia River. It was likely the magic of my heart finding home.

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WHY WE MOVED

HERE

Merry and Joe Roy are still traveling: This photo was taken on their Coast to Coast walk across England May and June 2018.

Esther Dalgas: “I cannot imagine anything more rewarding to me than being a link between books and people and helping people to access all that the library offers.”

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questionable outsiders, living in our gypsy fashion.

But I recall many very welcoming and friendly encounters.

I recall visiting the small Entiat Library, then housed in the city hall building and run by Ruth Honey as a welcoming and friendly experience.

She surely took to heart the mission of all librarians to be a link to library resources for patrons of all walks of life.

I later became a librarian, and after five years in Wenatchee, I leaped at the chance to work for NCRL as the Entiat librarian. For the next 23 years, I had the best job in the world.

I had found my life’s work. I cannot imagine anything more rewarding to me than being a link between books and people and helping people to access all that the library offers.

I am originally a Midwesterner but had met the love of my life, Gary Dalgas in Corvallis, Oregon. We had traveled with our friends from Corvallis, using CB radios to communicate along the way.

Once past the magnificent giant bluffs of the Columbia River Gorge, we continued north on I-90. We stopped in Yakima finding ash still remaining from the explosion of Mount St. Helens from the previous late spring.

Continuing north, we came over Blewett Pass on Hwy 97 and then turned towards Wenatchee on 2/97. At the juncture of Hwy 97 and 97A, we took 97 on the east side of the Columbia intending on finding orchard work in Brewster where our friends John and Lynn Bain had worked the previous summer.

But because it was late in the day and we needed to find a spot to camp, or maybe we were confused about how to get to our destination of Brewster, we turned around, came up the west side of the river and ended up in Entiat.

Entiat was not our long-term intended desBy Merry Roy tination for sure. However, we were open to working in the orchards at any location with n the second year of our marriage, Joe good camping. and I lived in the UK and Germany. We That summer, when Gary and our fellow travelers were hired by Naumes Orchards to worked with Outward Bound Schools, ending up in Zurich at the Jung Institute before pick fruit we undoubtedly were considered

Camping our way West, looking for teaching jobs I

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returning to the U.S. While in Zurich, we looked up U.S. towns that fit the description of where we thought we would like to live and teach — in the West, near mountains, dry climate, a small city but with access to a larger city — and wrote to their school districts.

Out of 30 inquiries we received 15 responses, mostly saying ha-ha when you’re in the vicinity, contact us again.

So that became our plan.

Back in the U.S., we packed everything we had into our VW square back and camped our way West, interviewing in Colorado, Oregon and Washington.

Many districts in the early 1970s would not even consider hiring a married couple in the same district, let alone in the same school.

Then we came to Wenatchee and camped for two weeks up the Icicle River, interviewing and exploring the area.

Blessings on Wenatchee High School. Bob Bradford interviewed and hired us, Joe to teach social studies and me to teach English.

To our delight, we were able to create our own curriculums in that era — mythology, poetry, mystical literature, anthropology, archeology, psychology and propaganda techniques.

But it was July and we wouldn’t be paid until the end of September. We found a basement apartment in the home of Mrs. Chin whose family owned the Mandarin restaurant, and she let us postpone our rent until the end of September. (She also would knock on the basement door and offer us REAL

September 2019

Chinese food from time to time.)

That left the rest of the summer to eke out a living.

We picked cherries up on Stemilt. I was so slow I knew we would starve if I had to pick fruit for a living.

After cherries were done, Joe volunteered to assist Lee Bofto in coaching football, and I walked from orchard to orchard along the Columbia River asking if they needed pickers.

The orchardist who risked hiring me in spite of my inexperience became a family friend. I picked pears and came home every day covered with sticky pear psylla goo. This was our initiation into the culture of the Wenatchee Valley.

We loved teaching those last two years at the old Wenatchee High School and made many life-long friends. Now almost 50 years later, we’re still here.

‘Mold in my cowboy boots? We’re moving!’

WHY WE MOVED

HERE

Susan Sampson dusted off her umbrella just for the sake of this photo — unlike her past home, she doesn’t have much use for it in Wenatchee.

spending the weekends touring familiar towns such as Granger, Walla Walla, Toppenish, Selah, Cashmere and Wenatchee looking for our forever home.

By Joe St.Jean Our criteria for selection included — besides 300 days of sunshine — the reputation ow this may sound like a funny reason of the schools, whether the area had large to pick up a young family of three and move trees and parks, the cultural experiences 250 miles away to find a locale that thrives available through a community college, and on sunshine. But it is true… if they had grand older homes.

My wife and I were both elementary teachNot wanting to leave an avenue unturned, ers. We graduated from Central Washington we also listened to others in class and in the University in Ellensburg in 1969 and had dorm “mess hall.” come to love the dry sunny climate that As a result of several of those conversacentral Washington enjoys. But opportunity tions, it seemed Wenatchee would be a great knocked and we both found teaching jobs place to relocate. in the middle of the Columbia Gorge area So we set a plan in motion of getting to where we had grown up. know as many Wenatchee teachers as possiWhile we both loved our students, we had ble who were also attending Summer School forgotten during our four years in Ellensburg in Ellensburg, getting to know Wenatchee that the Columbia Gorge is second only to School administrators, and getting to know the Olympic Rain Forest in amount of anthe community. nual rainfall.

It took a year of returning to the rainy That fateful spring day when I found mold climate, but during that year we followed growing in my cowboy boots was the day our plan. We spent spring vacation touring that we vowed to move east of the mounWenatchee and making sure Wenatchee tains forever. would fill the bill.

During the ’60s and ’70s, teachers were I am happy to report that Wenatchee required to take additional classes during completed our vision of a great place to live, the summer to earn either their Fifth Year grow and raise a family certification or a Masters Degree. … and, yes, after a year or so I was able to We chose Central Washington University buy a new pair of Justin cowboy boots. again for our Summer School and moved there during the summer months.

Joe St.Jean is a retired teacher and principal of the Wenatchee School District.

Once in Ellensburg we found ourselves

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September 2019 | The Good Life

It may be a hokey little town, but seldom does it rain

By Susan Sampson

“Listen to the rhythm of the falling

rain.”

“Raindrops keep fallin’ on my head.”

“Here comes that rainy day feeling again.”

Nothing you can say or sing can convince my husband that rainfall is romantic. He was born to be a desert rat.

Me? I’m from the Oregon coast, 100 inches of rain per year, where we grow webs between our toes and pretending we’re ducks.

Rain doesn’t bother me a bit.

When he and I got together, he relocated from the edge of the Mojave Desert to join me near Seattle.

He kind of knew the area — he was a government brat (F.A.A.) and spent his last high school years in Des Moines, near SeaTac. His military papers said his home was Des Moines, WA. He hated the area in 1966, and he hated it all over again when he relocated in 2000.

I took a Friday off work so we could hike to an alpine lake in the Cascades. We were almost rained out.

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WHY WE MOVED

Wenatchee, where the sun shines most days, and if it doesn’t, you know it will the next day.

And the people are wonderful here, I really wouldn’t want to live anywhere else.

HERE

}}} Continued from previous page Instead of returning home, we dropped over the east side of the mountains and got a motel room in East Wenatchee. We were almost shut out — there was a little league baseball tournament in town, and nearly every room in town was taken.

We awakened early Saturday to sunshine and saw the pedestrian bridge across the Columbia just outside our window.

We crossed under ospreys glaring at us from the bridge trusses, and noticed the sign marking the height of flood water the last time the tunnel under the railroad had flooded.

Downtown was quiet — nothing was open yet, and there were parking places everywhere. We admired the remnants of an ad for Swift’s Premium Ham painted on old brick and spotted a deco-era museum in an old post office with ’30s mural and all.

“What a hokey little town” he said, and we decided to shop for a house in Wenatchee.

Teri and Lee McGarr: She moved from Scotland to a The week we signed our closing papers, sunny and bonny life in Wenatchee. newspapers ran stories about Wenatchee being one of the fastest-growing cities in the So I sent him a message — did he rememUnited States, thanks to “equity-rich retirees ber me? It had been well over 20 years, and from Seattle.” life had gone on, That described us.

He said yes he did, and asked if I was who I said I was, what kind of car did he have in high school?

I replied, “A 1976 Chevy Nova, and the license plate was ******.”

He knew for sure I was who I said I was — and he was impressed I’d remembered the license.

A year or two went by then he came over to visit, and all the old feelings came back as

By Teri McGarr soon as I set eyes on him.

He told me he was living in Wenatchee n 1980, I met and had a major teenage and had been since ’99. And that I should crush on my mom’s friend’s son, Lee, who was two years older than I. We became best come visit — which I did several times.

I grew to love Wenatchee and him, more friends until he went to college in ’83, and every time I came over, and it got harder to we lost touch.

By 1990, I was living in the UK, in the cold go back each time.

In November 2011, he came to Scotland to and damp climate of The Lake District of visit and attend my sister’s wedding. northwest England.

In December 2012 he proposed long disFast forward to 2008, I had moved to Abtance, of course I said, “Yes!” In 2014, we erdeen, Scotland to be near my family.

Every time I logged on to my PC I was try- married at the Chelan County courthouse.

Why did I move here? ing to find my old friend Lee. I had joined Simply put: I moved here for the love of a all the social media platforms, Friends Reunited, and myspace and now I had joined good man. I had compared every man I came across to him over the years. None held a Facebook, candle to him.

One day, there it was, Lee’s profile! I He is “home,” and I’m sure glad it’s couldn’t contain my excitement!

Teenage crush had to survive time and an ocean of distance I

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Government error worked out in our favor, naturally T

By Wayne Christensen

wo things happened in 1974 that brought us to Wenatchee. The first was an error on the part of the Federal Government. The second was a good decision on our part.

We were living in Vernal, Utah, and I was working for the U.S. Forest Service.

There was a proposed organizational upheaval in that region that would cost many of the Forest Service employees their jobs. They encouraged anyone that could to apply for a transfer to another region, regardless of whether their jobs were actually threatened.

We had already moved back and forth across the country 10 times. Another move would not have been a big thing, so I applied.

We had lived in the Pacific Northwest before, so that was the region I applied for.

And then, SURPRISE, the threat of upheaval went away, the applications were supposed to have been shredded, and life was back to normal. Somehow, though, my application was not shredded (the government error), and for over a year it was moving around the Pacific Northwest Region.

When an opening for the leader of an engineering group in Leavenworth, Washington became available, my application floated to the top, and I was selected. I was offered the job.

We don’t exactly remember why — we hadn’t moved for a few years, we needed a new adventure, there was a promotion attached — but we accepted the job (our good decision).

Our introduction to Wenatchee was bad.

We came on a house-hunting trip and were given the bad advice to fly into Yakima and drive to Wenatchee rather than fly directly into Wenatchee.

It was a hot, windy August day as we entered the valley from the south. We saw the

September 2019

apple trees down by Spanish Castle growing at a 45-degree angle because of the wind.

Many of the businesses in the south end of Wenatchee were closed and boarded up at that time, and the wind was blowing the garbage around. Had we made a big mistake?

We purchased a house in Wenatchee (the houses we looked at in Leavenworth and Cashmere are another story for another day).

We settled in and life was good.

Much of my work was driving and hiking around in the forest. Many people pay to be able to do that. After about five years, I started looking at vacancy announcements and applied for a couple positions with no

success. Then one day I was filling out an application for a position in Missoula, Montana.

I guess I was doing some serious thinking and came up with a good question. Why would we want to move to Missoula? Is it a better place to live? Not close. Would the position offer more prestige? By that time in my career I had decided that prestige was overrated. Did I need a new challenge? I had plenty of challenges. Why go looking for more? Was it more money? Yes, but didn’t we have enough to live comfortably? I tore up the application and never applied for another job until I applied for a part time job after

September 2019 | The Good Life

WHY WE MOVED

HERE

my retirement.

So why did we think Wenatchee was a better place to live?

Was it the mountains, the hills, the valleys, the rivers, streams and lakes? Was it the weather, the seasons, the loop trail and the parks, the camping or hunting opportunities? Was it the orchards and the available fruit? Was it the towns, the people, the schools our children attended, the church

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WHY WE MOVED

Then there are the green velvet mountains in spring with their crown of balsamroot and the incredible majestic mountains with their snowcapped peaks.

We enjoy walks on the waterfront, the recreation opportunities and the people of this valley.

I never tire or lose my love of the beauty that we have right here.

This is home.

HERE

}}} Continued from previous page we attend or the businesses? Was it the Apple Blossom Festival with the parades, the food and the arts and crafts in the park?

Was it the performances of the Music Theater of Wenatchee, Wenatchee High School and Leavenworth Summer Theater?

Or was it all of these things and many others mixed together in one great valley?

Is it perfect? No — the traffic in Wenatchee gets worse every year and my vote on the roundabouts is still out — but Wenatchee is still perfect for us.

Beauty of Wenatchee Valley just sung to young couple

Steve and Cheryl Bishop: Area’s beauty still sparkles.

truly etched the beauty of this place in my memory.

Steve and I married in the spring of 1974 and by the fall of 1975 we found out that we not only had one baby in our arms but were

By Cheryl Bishop already expecting number two.

Steve had switched from working at the was born and raised not too far from U&I sugar factory to the Samaritan Hospital here, in the community of Moses Lake. It in Moses Lake as a supply clerk. We realized was there I met my future husband Steve on quickly we needed more education. the first day of my junior year in high school Steve applied to Wenatchee Valley Com— his senior year. munity College for the Respiratory Therapy Steve was born in El Reno, Oklahoma. program. He was accepted and we moved to His father served in the military in both the Wenatchee in the fall of 1975.

Air Force and the Army. They moved every Once Steve was done with the program, he couple of years and saw many, many places landed a job here at Deaconess Hospital bein this amazing country and world, includginning his first career. It was at that point ing three stints at Larson Air Force Base in that I was accepted into the nursing program Moses Lake. here at WVCC and began my career at CenSteve’s dad fell in love with the unique tral Washington Hospital as an R.N. beauty of Moses Lake: The gorgeous sunAfter a few years, Steve’s feet were getsets, the hunting and fishing, the people and ting restless. He had never been in one spot community. So, after he finished his stint in this long and it felt strange to him. Yet, he Vietnam, he completed his 20-year career at started sensing a deeper community than he Fort Lewis and then retired to Moses Lake. had ever felt before.

Steve and I found we had several classes We have raised our family here. We have together that year, one being select choir. enjoyed a rich sense of community through In the spring of 1973, our choir came to the kid’s schools and sports programs, our Wenatchee for a competition of sorts — church family and within our employment.

“The battle of the choirs” or something like We are now privileged to watch many of our that. So, we piled in the buses and drove to grandchildren in varies school programs, Wenatchee to the old high school. sports and community plays.

During a break, I remember so clearly We have both traveled and have seen many standing on the steps of the school with places. The world is filled with beauty, both Steve and a few other friends, looking out at similar and unique. the green velvet hills and talking about the But here, I love the sound of the train, incredible beauty of this valley. the mighty river that runs through, the rim We each have previous separate memories rocks at sunset that glow of purple to pink to of this valley but that was the moment that orange, reminding me of the Grand Canyon.

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Seeking someplace close to Canada with jobs available M

By Michelle McNiel

y mom is from Kamloops, B.C., and my dad is from L.A. When they got married, they lived in southern California and drove all the way to Kamloops to visit my mom’s parents every year.

After the third kid came along (me), the long road trips got a little more challenging.

So my parents loaded up their 1968 station wagon with three kids, a dog and a 50-gallon fish tank, and filled their camper with all the worldly possessions they could fit, and headed toward Canada with no destination in mind. Their goal: find a place to live as close to the Canadian border as they could find where my dad could also find work.

They tried Yakima first, but he couldn’t find a job, so they continued on to Wenatchee. Long story short, he found a job, they bought a house, and stayed.

Instead of a multi-day trip to visit family, it was now an eight-hour drive. We all liked it so much that three of us four kids stayed or came back after college, and raised/are raising our kids here now.

Our parents may have chosen Wenatchee out of necessity, but they stayed because they loved the area — and now we do too!

Our parents chose well.

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column THE TRAVELing DOCTOR

jim brown, m.d.

Our story on why we are here Over the years I was often

asked, “How did you decide to settle in Wenatchee?”

Before deciding to move here, neither my wife nor I had ever been in the state of Washington.

Growing up in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, I had never seen an ocean and had never been west of the Black Hills in western South Dakota.

During my senior year at Northwestern University Medical School in Chicago, my undergraduate University of Nebraska football team qualified to play in the Orange Bowl against Auburn University. My wife’s dad, a life-long Cornhusker fan, decided to take the whole family to the game held in Miami.

I remember flying out of freezing Chicago on the evening of Dec. 27 and landing in Miami at 10 p.m. It was warm and balmy. I just couldn’t believe it.

My first reaction was, “Why did my parents move to South Dakota when they left Detroit when there were places like this?”

Finally, I saw an ocean as well as saw Nebraska as underdogs beat Auburn 14-7. I was in Husker heaven, I thought.

After I graduated from medical school, we moved to Minneapolis where I interned for a year and also where our son Steve was born. The Vietnam war was building up when I was an intern. I decided then to enlist in the U.S. Navy reserve.

The Navy guaranteed me that I would be deferred from active duty until I finished all my specialty training, and then I would go into active duty in the Navy.

The year following my internship we moved to Rochester, Minnesota, where I had been accepted for a Mayo Clinic

The winters there were bitter cold and miserable. We had to plug heaters into our car radiators so they would start in the morning. One winter day the high temperature was 24 degrees below zero, not even counting the wind chill temperature. I told my wife Lynn that I had had enough. residency in internal medicine.

Our second son, Dave, was born there.

The winters there were bitter cold and miserable. We had to plug heaters into our car radiators so they would start in the morning. One winter day the high temperature was 24 degrees below zero, not even counting the wind chill temperature.

I told my wife Lynn that I had had enough. As soon as possible we were moving to a warmer climate, preferably on the West Coast that I had never seen.

That spring, a fellow Mayo resident and friend made a trip to the West Coast to look for a potential place to practice medicine. When he came back to Rochester he told me that he looked at a very nice clinic in Wenatchee, Washington, which he said, was in a beautiful area.

That was the first time I had

ever heard of Wenatchee. We had never considered the possibility of living in Washington State.

After finishing my Mayo training, we moved to the San Diego area where I had been offered a fellowship in Gastroenterology at the Scripps Clinic and Research Foundation. The day after my fellowship ended I was immediately assigned to active duty at the huge Balboa Navy Hospital in San Diego, where I practiced medicine for the next two years. It was a great medical experience.

During my second year there, we started looking for a place to practice. About that same time our daughter, Kirsten was born in San Diego. There were numerous job offers in Southern California, but my wife did not want to raise our family there.

Then I remembered the comment my Mayo friend had made about Wenatchee, some four years earlier.

I wrote to the Wenatchee Chamber of Commerce and got several brochures. From what we could see, it looked like a paradise, so I contacted the Wenatchee Valley Clinic about their needs.

There was not a single board certified gastroenterologist in the state between Seattle and Spokane at that time. They invited me to visit.

The Navy sent me to Seattle for a couple of weeks, so when there, I rented a car and drove over to get a glimpse of Wenatchee and speak to some of the physicians at the clinic.

There were only 19 doctors there at that time. They were anxious to add a gastroenterologist.

After I returned to California, Lynn and I decided to return

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together for an official interview to see if this was a place where we might want to live.

As we drove over Stevens Pass through the beautiful Tumwater canyon, Lynn was thrilled.

Getting closer to Wenatchee, the trees started disappearing and the barren hills were brown.

Lynn’s comment was, “what’s happening? Are you sure about this?”

After meeting the clinic’s doctors and their wives at Dr. Vaughn Smith’s home, they offered me the job. The next day we went out to Ohme Gardens to discuss, think and pray about our decision and our future.

It was so beautiful at Ohme Gardens that fall day. As we looked out on the Wenatchee Valley, we decided to say yes, to move to this place we had never seen before.

There were many other offers, all of which offered better starting salaries, but we decided that this was the place we wanted to put down roots and hopefully live here the rest of our lives.

Lynn and I are both people of faith and believe that there is a higher power that has helped and guided us, not only in meeting each other and marrying, but also in much of our decision making throughout our lives.

Once we make our decisions, we try not to look back but assume that we are being guided by that power on the path we have chosen.

Coming here in 1970 was a decision we never regretted.

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

Modern homesteading This is the life of a modern homesteader. Everyone else comes first but at the end of the day, it is all worth it

By Story Burke photos by donna cassidy

I’m a modern homesteader.

To understand me, take a step back into the days of pioneers; think of the blood, sweat and tears those adventuresome souls gave in search of a land to call their own.

There are several differences between the pioneers and modern homesteaders but the idea and goals are similar.

Modern homesteaders are oftentimes portrayed as awkward outcasts who are downright incompetent, but that is not the case.

I believe modern homesteaders are far from ignorant. In fact, most of my fellow homesteaders are constantly in search of knowledge; the knowledge to be as self-sufficient as possible and have something to call their own.

How does a woman in her late 20s decide one day to tackle the homestead life?

The dream of a farm began for me as an adolescent. I grew up an overall-wearing, wild-haired child in the Shawnee National Forest in southern Illinois.

As adulthood crept over me, I longed to return to a simple life covered in mud under the shade of trees.

I found tucked in a mountain overlooking the Columbia River in Douglas County a beautiful 20-acre attempt at a farm (think off-grid cabin/shed with a chicken coop) that had almost been lost. Vegetation had encased the land and nature was calling the once cleared land back into itself.

For the price of my life savings as a down payment, I was able to claim the land to create

Poseidon, one of Story’s angora bucks, demonstrates his friendly disposition and almost full length fiber coat.

Jessica, the Lamancha milking goat, and her baby Tina do a little weeding the natural way in front of the primary residence, which is the last home on the end of a gravel road.

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my place, which I named Homestead with a View.

This diamond in the rough was my chance to have my own home and land for livestock and my horse.

As a young professional, my budget was tight and most properties were unobtainable. To achieve my dream of land I had to be willing to compromise, which meant saying goodbye to electricity, and, at first running water.

Homestead with a View began with me hauling in water in three 55-gallon drums, a long commute to work, and a life lived by oil lamp or a loud generator.

In the first year, I really roughed it by using an outhouse and outdoor camp shower. (Pro tip: hang the toilet seat by the wood stove in winter for maximum comfort.)

There was a lot of work to be done, and compromises to be made, but I was ready to tackle the short-term trials for my lifetime goals.

Step into a day in the life with me as a modern homesteader, and catch a glimpse of reaping what you sow.

Mornings begin as soon as the sun rises. Being off-grid means no A/C, so all of the windows must be left open at night and closed early in summer, typically around 4:30 a.m.

Once awake, I start the morning brew in the percolator over a propane stovetop. By the time chores are completed, you will appreciate that simple and rewarding routine.

Slip-on some garden shoes and step outdoors to the chuckle of anticipating chickens, the dogs rush out behind you, almost toppling you over as you rub the sleep from your eyes.

Rabbits thump their feet on the cage bottoms to let you know they are ready for breakfast and a quick scratch behind the ears.

After the goats hear the commotion, they remind you with a nagging breath not to forget their breakfast, too.

Before the heat of the day, the honey bees are zipping past you to collect as much nectar as possible from every flower within a three-mile radius. The sun will dry the nectar of the flowers long before noon.

The business of the day has begun and now you can go back to the house to enjoy your morning coffee before the real work begins. In order to keep this dream alive there is still a regular “9-5” desk position in town that helps pay for improvement and keeps the dream’s momentum.

This is the life of a homesteader.

Everyone else comes first but at the end of the day, it is all worth it.

The reward will be fresh eggs by mid-day, a surprise garden bounty, two quarts of raw goats milk, honey breaking free from the perfect white comb, and fiber to spin up later for a soft and beautiful garment.

As my friends say, this is the land of milk and honey.

Homestead with a View is home to 16 angora rabbits, five laying hens, four dairy goats, 34 honey beehives, two guard dogs and two barn cats.

As with any farmer’s life, the daily routine varies by the season. The life of a farmer is the life of a caretaker. My rabbits are a fiber breed and must be groomed on a regular schedule. These rabbits produce the most luxurious soft fiber, which I shave and hand spin into art yarn. Grooming rabbits is amazingly therapeutic and relaxing.

The hum and constant working flights of the bees is a reassurance that hive health is good, but, regular inspections are also necessary to maintain their

I am not just a homesteader, goat herder, landlord, beekeeper, gardener and spinner. I am an entrepreneur. wellbeing.

The bleating of goats in the distance lets me know it is getting close to the milking hour and maybe tonight will be an evening to make cheese or fresh yogurt.

The garden and small orchard during spring and summer require constant attention.

However, the fruits of my labor are ever so sweet, and even the critters benefit from the garden surplus.

All of this has a purpose; I am not just a homesteader, goat herder, landlord, beekeeper, gardener and spinner. I am an entrepreneur.

Being a modern homesteader has its perks and not just fresh eating.

I have been able to take advantage of technology by creating an online store for my honeybee business, a website for my offgrid vacation rental, as well as a blog for curious minds to follow the journey with me.

The homestead also has a local presence at the evening farmers markets in Chelan, and even the Douglas County fair has invited me to spin and educate fair guests this year on returning to a more self-sustainable lifestyle.

I take pride in sharing the wealth of knowledge I have accumulated through this journey.

I relish the opportunity to share with other self-starters who have a dream, no matter how small.

Stepping out of fear has led me to this beautiful life. Though some days are trying, every day is rewarding.

Jessica excitedly awaits getting out for a walk around the property.

Homestead with a View came by it’s name honestly: Here is the north facing view of the Columbia River.

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For more information on Homestead With a View visit www.homesteadwithaview.com.

★★

ah ★ o to me see

BNCW Home Tour & Remodeling Expo Sept. 13 - 15

Siting the home for the best views, while allowing for wind and sun, was an important step. The entire alpaca operation is visible from the tall windows, and the owners enjoy summer’s sunny mornings and shady evenings on the east-facing patio, at right. Photo by Travis Knoop

Closer to the alpacas Moving down the mountain with help from family builder friends

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Story by Susan Lagsdin Photos by Donna Cassidy

t was the Monteith brothers who built a home for Sue and Randy Steensma.

But it was the alpacas that moved them down the mountain.

Sue became enamored of

alpacas in 2005, and the original four darlings kept at their highup Eagle Rock home expanded enough that they purchased some (not very) nearby acreage for more. And more, as the business of breeding and raising the animals grew.

She doesn’t remember the

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T

his is one of the homes on the Building North Central Washington’s 2019 Home Tour and Remodeling Expo.

Tour dates are Sept. 13 - 15, with 11 homes. Visit: www. buildingncw.org/events for more information and to buy tickets for Chefs on Tour on Sept. 12 and for the tour itself.

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The home’s front entryway introduces visitors to the strong dark beams and rockwork that’s repeated inside. Sidelights at the door offer the first peek at the Horse Lake hillside straight across the valley.

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September 2019

Parts for the ornate stair railings “came in a million different pieces” said Mike Monteith, but all agree they came together in a simple, functional design that suits the style of the house.

With a 22-foot ceiling opening up the main living area for the expanse of light and views, the lower foyer and kitchen ceilings offer a cozy contrast. Here Sue shares a few building stories with John.

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Closer to the alpacas }}} Continued from page 18 final straw, but the inconvenience of driving twice a day to check on the animals at their big alpaca pasture at the base of Lower Monitor Road motivated the couple into architect Brad Brisbane’s office, sketching traffic patterns and computing square footage of a new house.

The 12-acre piece they’d purchased in 2010, the terraced open end of a hillside orchard, was always intended as a place to downsize, and the time had come.

And what better choice of builder than their own son’s buddy from high school and his brother? They naturally chose Monteith Construction. (The couple also encouraged their new favorite builders to try for this year’s Home Tour, first time.)

Fast closing in on 40, John and Mike Monteith, who Sue calls “the boys,” have been building quality houses on their own for five years, after 12 years apprenticing with and employed by builders Scott and Gary Isaacson.

Working as family friends could put special pressure on a builder and owner alike, but John and Mike heartily agreed with Sue’s first description of the relationship. “It was smooth… easy… wonderful!” She went on, “If I couldn’t make a decision,

The master bath continues the home’s color scheme in its tilework and features knotty alder wood with maple stain, a coordinating constant throughout the house on doors, all the wood trim and the cabinetry.

they’d always help me.”

John said, “We loved having her here, sometimes twice a day. It was so easy to say, ‘come take a look’ and try things out before we got too far.” They even mocked up a fireplace surround, and a kitchen island, for her approval.

They built or oversaw every detail, pleased for a final walk-through just in time (that brought a collective “whew” from the trio) for the Steensmas to host the 2018 Christmas party

for Randy’s company, Honey Bear Tree Fruit.

And what about the pressure of being brothers, close in age, different in temperament and working together all day for months at a time?

John explained that growing up in Swakane Canyon, they’d become each other’s best friend.

“There was nobody else — we depended on each other. People are always surprised that we get along so well — and we have from the time we were kids.”

We’re experts at finding dirt’s

The brothers were pleased with the opportunity to build a friend’s home, and they found it a satisfying process that matched their own work ethic.

Mike said, “I don’t think that there is anything that we would change. We take a lot of pride in our work and are very handson with the entire project from start to finish.” John added, ”We’re always here on the job, 40 hours a week — that’s something we learned a long time ago from the Issacsons.”

Way Up Here

Right Here Way Back Here Under Here

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living room entrance, the deeply coved master suite ceiling, a wall fashioned from an old silo, bedroom window seats, delicate wrought iron stair rails, patterned patio concrete. They even built the big family-sized dining room table.

What visitors tour will be a Northwest-craftsman style 3,400-square foot home with a distinctive presence and an easy floor plan.

But long before the walls and roof and the exquisite finishing details (that’s John Monteith’s favorite part) were in place, the groundwork of Three major features of the house was the most the project were a wellrigorous challenge. researched and deliberate The Monteiths Sue Steensma fully enjoyed working with builders John Monteith, above, and Mike Monteith, swapped out overhead choice: the rock facing, left, friends of the family from way back when and now again. the woodwork and the power lines for 1,200 floors. feet of underground, nets themselves. Sue searched As the house neared compleThe earth colors of the outside wood shops on her own for re-routed the access road to the tion, John and Mike constructed rock, the interior fireplace and colors and became enamored of }}} Continued on next page one more beam to anchor the dramatic vertical beams match the grain, glow and tone of this the earth tones of their hillside particular combination: knotty Come see our custom work at the Tour of Homes site. Inside, decorative rock was alder with a walnut stain. It’s precisely cut to fit “dry stacked,” everywhere, and it works. while exterior rock is securely The choice of hand-scraped anchored with grout. Soft grey white oak for all the floors, wall colors were pulled from the with appropriate touches of soft rock palette. carpeting, lightens the all-over Also lending continuity was look. the untypical consistency of the Some favorite items were full-house window and door included by the architect, some trim and all the doors and cabiadded by the builder.

Inside, decorative rock was precisely cut to fit “dry stacked,” while exterior rock is securely anchored with grout. Soft grey wall colors were pulled from the rock palette.

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Closer to the alpacas }}} Continued from previous page top of the house site, and on an engineer’s advice poured 12-inch foundation walls. A terraced lawn and rock wall at the ditch side of the home seemed simple by comparison.

But that’s all backstage, over and done — what brings pleasure to the Steensmas every day is not about dirt, rock and concrete; it’s the south view to the foothills, the flow of the house, the natural colors, the functionality of each room. Storage space is generous, parties and big family gatherings are a breeze.

Equally pleasurable is the much-improved access to the big barn and pastures, which are well-tended and scenic in their own right.

Sue pointed out a pair of binoculars hanging on a hook in the patio. “It’s so easy to see every single one of the alpacas whenever I want to.”

Two years ago, she drove a few miles to tend her flock; now it’s just an easy stroll down from the patio.

Travis Knoop is a local real estate photographer working in Central Washington. More of his work can be found at www.TravisKnoopPhotography.com.

Looking to Buy or Sell?

Call Me, I Can Help You!

The view from the wall of front windows is of the barn and alpacas grazing serenely in the fields.

Three distinctive features throughout the house show nicely in this pre-move-in photograph: hand-scraped white oak floors, dark knotty alder trim, and rock work that set the palette of the whole house inside and out.

Photo by Travis Knoop

What Are You Laughing At? We’re looking for fresh, true stories from local people that’ll bring a chuckle to our readers.

“DON’T MAKE A MOVE WITHOUT ME!”

Cell: 509-679-4625 Pam@Windermere.com

www.WenatcheeValleyProperty.com

Limit yourself to 500 to 1,000 words and send to: editor@ncwgoodlife.com

Windermere Real Estate/NCW

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September 2019

★★

ah ★ o to me see

BNCW Home Tour & Remodeling Expo Sept. 13 - 15

LEXAR HOMES

143 Starlight Ave., Wenatchee Lexar’s Tour Home welcomes you with a stately, timber-framed front porch.

The home features a separate formal dining space, large kitchen with a wine, beer and coffee bar.

The great room has an elegant touch of a 72-inch electric fireplace and built-in shelving.

The home also includes an expansive back porch with an outdoor kitchen.

The home’s three bedrooms are tucked away, and conveniently separated from the living spaces by hallways.

There is also a three-car garage that is perfect for a third vehicle or provides for extra storage space.

The 11 homes in this year’s BNCW Tour Eleven homes by 10 local builders are in the Building North Central Washington’s 2019 Home Tour and Remodeling Expo.

The homes are: Real Homes — 19 Margaux Loop, Malaga.

Enjoy life in this super energy efficient one level floorplan, outdoor dining under your shaded patio cover. Granite countertops, upgraded cabinetry and flooring.

Wessman Construction — 12529 Bretz Rd, Plain.

Open concept vacation cabin. Kitchen, dining and living areas with rustic flair. Custom features including granite countertops, tile showers and whole home speakers.

Pinnacle Custom Builders — 4200 NW Cascade Ave, East Wenatchee.

Beautifully crafted modern-contemporary three bed, 4.5 bath home overlooking the Columbia river. Designer kitchen, open concept living. Covered outdoor living areas with outdoor stone fireplace and grand pool.

Stimac Construction — 438 S Kansas Loop, East Wenatchee.

Cottage community with open concept rambler. 3 beds, 2 baths. SS appliances in kitchen. Master suite with walk in closet.

Monteith Construction — 2101 Lower Monitor Rd, Wenatchee.

Beautiful custom home with custom wood features including hardwood flooring and exposed beams, quartz countertops, 22-foot vaulted ceilings. Covered patio looking out on the owners’ alpaca farm.

Carlisle Classic Homes — 18580 US Hwy 2, Leavenworth.

Modern design with separated spaces to give home more of a cabin feel. Outdoor living space with exterior wood stove and pizza oven. Floor to ceiling windows and doors.

Custom built cabinets in all bedrooms.

Lange Construction — 2994 Blue Heron Ln. East Wenatchee.

Scenic view of the Columbia River through brushed nickel windows. SS garage doors.

New waterproof hardwood flooring, large master with sitting area. Two large covered patios and a custom water feature.

Jessup Home Design — 2784 NW Arlenes Ct, East Wenatchee.

Open floor plan, large kitchen with huge granite island. Double master closets, freestanding soaker tub in master, double sinks in master with vanity. Fireplace with stone

September 2019 | The Good Life

floor to ceiling in living room.

Lexar Homes — 143 Starlight Ave, Wenatchee.

Wine bar, coffee station, built-in bar with beer tap. Timber framed porches, rustic alder stained cabinets and trim, black fiberglass windows, pre-finished black garage doors. Quartz countertops throughout, custom master shower and custom master closet.

Village Life — 818 S. Lamplight Lane, East Wenatchee The Braeburn Reserve, the newest gated community in East Wenatchee, offers views of the mighty Columbia River and the gorgeous surrounding hills. Craftsman style homes are thoughtfully planned and solidly built for peace of mind and functionality.

Gourmet kitchens, open concept, walk in closets, soaker tubs, 3 car garages and outdoor living space.

Village Life — 244 Burch Hollow Lane, Wenatchee.

Perched on top of Burch Mountain, experience breathtaking, panoramic views. Offered are a variety of floorplans including 2 story, 3 story and single-story ramblers.

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BNCW Home Tour & Remodeling Expo Sept. 13 - 15

Village Life

Welcome to Braeburn by Village Life.

818 S. Lamplight Lane, East Wenatchee, WA 98802 Model Home – Homesite 1

Live Tastefully in East Wenatchee! The Braeburn Reserve, our newest gated community in East Wenatchee, offers views of the mighty Columbia River and gorgeous surrounding hills. Close to golf, wine tasting, skiing, parks, boat ramps, local amenities, and all of the outdoor activities your heart desires! Our craftsman style homes are thoughtfully planned and solidly built for peace of mind and functionality. Gourmet kitchens, open concept, walk in closets, soaker tubs, 3 car garages and outdoor living space. Our homes have the designer finishes that you’ve come to expect in a Village Life Home. This lovely community is no exception! Your home awaits – call Peggy Lord 509.885.8148 today for a viewing appointment!

Welcome to Burch Mountain

by Village Life.

107 Lone Ram Lane, Wenatchee WA 98801 Model Home – Homesite 24

Live remarkably in our newest, most exclusive community in Wenatchee! Located on top of Burch Mountain, experience sweeping panoramic views that you will enjoy for years to come.

Enjoy the spacious great room, gourmet kitchen and outdoor living spaces. Our unwavering devotion to honesty, integrity, superior quality and craftsman design are what make Village Life Homes exceptional. Call Julz Fowler 509.264.5423 to learn more about our home.

Visit VillageLifeHomes.com for more information.

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September 2019

Cascade Medical Foundation Home & Garden tour Sept. 14

Stumbling into sketching Artist gets joy and gives joy with his home drawings Story by Marlene Farrell Photos by Kevin Farrell

M

ogens Bach is a relatively new board member of Cascade Medical Foundation (CMF), but he’s been putting his artistic talent to work for their cause.

His sketches of homes were such a hit at the auction of the Cascade Golf Classic in June that CMF asked him if he’d also sketch the homes of the 24th Annual Home and Garden Tour as a thank you gift to the owners.

He generously agreed to committing many hours to the effort.

Mogens’ art has a scientific element to it, deriving from his engineering background, first in aeronautics and then in construction.

Born and raised in Copenhagen, he came to the U.S. to work for one of the big airplane manufacturers, but in the ’70s, Boeing and McDonnell Douglas were laying off workers.

He was given the advice to, “Go back to Denmark.” Undeterred, Mogens broadened his job search, finding himself a gig

Mogens Bach, at his drawing table: “Then I thought, wouldn’t it be fun to draw the house?”

as a draftsman for San Francisco subway station projects.

A hard worker, he rose through the ranks of one company and started his own when he was 32. For 43 years, he worked and lived in Tiburon, with a view of the Golden Gate Bridge and the San Francisco Bay. In 1992, he met his wife, Mary Catherine.

The drawing skills learned as a draftsman mostly incubated during his busy career.

“After retirement we were gypsies for a couple years,” he said.

A stay in a family cabin in Plain gave them a taste of this area.

Before they came to stay for good, Mogens and Mary Catherine spent one year in Copenhagen, speaking “Danglish” to each other, and enjoying the countryside and city alike.

It was there that Mogens stumbled into sketching. He visited a home where his shipbuilding ancestors had lived in the 1700s. He journaled, took photos and painted its likeness.

“Then I thought, wouldn’t it be fun to draw the house? It’d be more personal. Friends told me it looked pretty good.”

Mogens started drawing

friends’ houses and other buildings. “I made about 50 sketches during that year stay in Denmark.”

Now Mogens sketches for fun

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and for hire in his free time.

Each new project begins with photographing the home, which can be challenging. Sloping

}}} Continued on next page

leavenworth tour features 5 beautiful homes, most along the river The Cascade Medical Founda-

tion is hosting the 24th Annual Home and Garden Tour on Saturday, Sept. 14, from noon to 5 p.m.

This year’s tour features five homes in the Plain area, four of which are riverfront.

The homes represent a variety of architecture and home décor styles. Outside, the homes and gardens make the most of the idyllic settings with thoughtful landscaping, rockery and gazebos. Inside, participants will glimpse impressive river rock features and other lovely accents, such as sandstone floors, soap-

stone counters and handcrafted furniture. This is a chance to see some beautiful homes and their distinct charms.

Tickets are $20 each, and can be purchased online and at Plain Hardware starting at the end of August, or on the day of event.

Additionally, Plain Cellars is offering free wine tastings, along with fare by Taste of Plain.

All proceeds support CMF and 3D Mammography at Cascade Medical.

More info: www.cascademedicalfoundation.org/fundraisers/ home-garden-show. Email questions to: foundation@cascademedical.org.

joy in sketching homes }}} Continued from previous page yards and prolific shade trees make roof lines and exterior details hard to capture.

Back home on a light table, he captures the basic outlines from the photo onto vellum and then transfers those lines to his drawing paper.

Next, with the photo propped nearby, he uses a steady hand and an assortment of pens ranging in tip width from 0.03 to 0.8mm.

Mogens draws every board, window frame, roof tile and leaf of landscaping freehand. This

exhaustive level of detail brings the home to life.

“I don’t draw any lines using a ruler. I use a ruler only to block areas so I can shade without accidentally going over.”

He shared some of the techniques he’s learned over the years.

“Once I get all the right angles, I shade to add another dimension. I keep the trees lighter so the house doesn’t get lost against the background. I finish with a darkening line to make certain features pop.”

It’s hard to imagine using

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Mogens draws every board, window frame, roof tile and leaf of landscaping freehand. This exhaustive level of detail brings the home to life.

black ink to make the hues of pale gray that appear in his sketches. “Old pens are handy because their ink is lighter.”

Affable and dapper, Mogens is a people person as much as he is the solitary artist. “I like to chat and get to know the owners.”

However, sometimes in Denmark he sketched the houses of strangers. “I thought I should knock and show them my drawing, but I’m not a salesman. I don’t like rejection.”

These days he doesn’t have to sell himself; business is finding him.

Mogens is giving back by being on the all-volunteer board of CMF. “The Foundation isn’t

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September 2019

small. It donates in the six figures. “When I was invited to join, I agreed. There are a lot of good people on the board,” he said.

CMF’s mission is to assist Cascade Medical to achieve high quality healthcare, primarily through the purchase of medical equipment, but also through programmatic support.

Mogens, now 74 years old, exudes healthy well-being. One of the keys is his sketching, which takes about a day and a half per house. “It’s therapy.”

Mogens is truly living “the good life,” doing something that benefits others and his community, while also helping himself.

D ‘B’

Lake Chelan Community Hospital Guild B Home Tour Sept. 21

4 homes & art show in Lake Chelan Tour

Have you recently crossed out an item on your bucket list — that list of goals you want to reach before you kick the bucket?

Send us an e-mail — with pictures if possible — to: editor@ncwgoodlife.com

T

here is a home tour in Chelan in September, too, with Guild B — the fundraising friends of the Chelan Hospital — showcasing four distinctive sites for the annual Chelan Home Tour plus sponsoring a related art show.

The 2019 tour is Saturday, Sept. 21, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and the related art show is at Larc Hill Vineyard Ranch, next to Tsillan Cellars the same day and time.

Some dozen-plus Pacific Northwest artists will show their work, including oil and watercolor paintings, various types of handcrafted jewelry, concrete art and other items.

Money raised is donated to the Lake Chelan Community Hospital.

Homes in the tour are: Meraki Lodge, 223 Meraki Lane, Manson (featured in the August issue of The Good Life) — Visitors are greeted by magnificent views of the Chelan Valley, the surrounding vineyards and orchards, and the lake beyond. A towering stone fireplace reaches the high vaulted ceiling and light pours into the comfortable great room and dining area beyond.

Traditional with a French Flair, 241 Crystal Drive, Chelan: Ornamental arched steel doors

LAKE CHELAN COMMUNITY HO

p r e s e n t LAKE CHELAN COMMUNITY HOSPITAL, GUILD ‘B’

p r e s e n t s

Sweeping lake and mountain views come with the farmhouse “On a Whim” in The Lookout.

lead into an elegant black and white marble hall set off with a spiral staircase of intricate metal and millwork designed and built by the owner. A color palette of black, white and gray is carried throughout the five-bedroom home, accented by antique French chairs, a settee and a handsome armoire.

On a Whim, 350 Porcupine Lane, Chelan — This barn red, modern farmhouse sits high in The Lookout planned community with sweeping views of Lake Chelan and the surrounding hills. Seemingly a two-story home, it actually includes four levels, one for the two-car ga-

Saturday, September 15, 201 Tickets $20

rage.

Available at Allisons of Manson, C Italian Villa, 106 Crystal Lake Chelan Chamber of Commerce, and at www Saturday, September 15, 2018 10am to 4pm All proceeds are used to purchase needed medical equipment for Drive, Chelan — Massive stoneTickets $20 work architecture defines the Available at Allisons of Manson, Culinary Apple, exterior aspect ofLake this custom Chelan Chamber of Commerce, and at www.LakeChelanHomeTour.com All proceeds are used to purchase needed medical equipment for Lake Chelan Community Hospital. home set in a terraced rock garden and built by the owners.

The floors are acacia hardwood and the walls are finished with Clos Chevalle silky Venetian plaster applied by a European artist.

Tickets for the Home Tour can Hawks Meadow Clos Chevalle be purchased for $25 from any Guild B member, at Allisons of Manson, The Culinary Apple, the Chelan Chamber of ComCity Cottage merce, or at lakechelancommunityhospital.com/about-us/ Art Show at Tsillan home-tour/.

Featuring Northwest Art

City Cottage

Bogey Blvd.

10am to 4pm • No ticket required to en

Saturday, September 21, 2019 • 10am to 4pm

Supporters:

Art Show at Tsillan Cellars

Tickets $25

pm

Available at: Allisons of Manson, the Culinary Apple or Featuring Northwest Artists 10am to 4pm • No ticket required to enjoy the Art Show. the Lake Chelan Chamber of Commerce and at www.LakeChelanHomeTour.com

Supporters:

509-682-3300 • 509-682-2511 • www.LakeChelanHospital.com

ur.com

Art Show at Larc Hill Vineyard Ranch Featuring Northwest Artists

tal.

Featured Homes

Supporters:

10am to 4pm • Next to Tsillan Cellars on 97A • No ticket required to enjoy the Art Show All proceeds are used to purchase needed medical equipment for Lake Chelan Community Hospital

ITALIAN VILLA

MERAKI

509-682-3300 • 509-682-2511 • www.LakeChelanHospital.com

TRADITIONAL WITH A FRENCH FLAIR

Meadow

gey Blvd.

The bucket list

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509-682-WINE • 509-682-9463 • www.tsillancellars.com

ON A WHIM

509-682-WINE

>>

column moving up to the good life

june darling

Grandparenting, so vital How are all the children? Modern grandparents have much to teach — and learn — from the little ones

W

hen I was in my late 20s, Jimmy Carter declared that we should honor grandparents on Sept. 8. The day would be set aside to appreciate the joy and wisdom grandparents bring.

I’m not sure Jimmy had any idea in the ’70s how involved grandparents would be in the 21st century.

These days, many grandparents live longer and are in good physical shape.

It is not unusual for me to hear my friends talking about their grandchildren’s graduation, marriages, even the birth of their grandchildren’s children.

This more intensive grandparenting can be a good thing for both grandparents and grandchildren in terms of well-being and resilience.

That’s not to say it’s all easy, particularly in the beginning.

John and I needed to update our skills and learning.

We learned not to put newborns on their tummies and to get rid of all those cute crib quilts, pillows, and bumpers.

We have learned how to deal with squabbling siblings using love, empathy, logic and consequences rather than the swats, rewards and threats we often resorted to in our parenting days.

We’ve become more thoughtful about what sort of grandparents we want to be and how to achieve our goals.

For the last three years we have conducted what we call

John Darling paddles with granddaughter Anna in Liberty Bay in Poulsbo. They have been observing the seals, slumbering in the background. Photo by June Darling

“Grand Camp.”

We want to have fun, connect the family, foster independence and a sense of adventure in addition to providing opportunities for mental, social and physical growth.

John knows a lot about all manner of flora and fauna.

He loves to hike, jump on the trampoline, swim, play tag and do all things outdoor and active.

I like to make sure there is time for reading, art, music, games, scavenger hunts, stories and just kicking back.

We hang out at home, at Lake Wenatchee, and sometimes

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boat to places in Puget Sound like Blake Island where kids can kayak, find shells, beach glass, and raccoons.

It is fun. And it is also exhausting. I hope we ARE bringing that joy and wisdom Jimmy envisioned.

Each year, in September, as school begins, I think not only about our grandchildren, but about all the children. Our collective heads are spinning in many directions, we all have agendas, but can we all agree on the importance of the children... all the children?

Several decades ago, in a

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September 2019

sermon entitled And How Are All The Children? Rev. Patrick T. O’Neill urged us to contemplate a world, a nation, a community, which starts off every encounter and every meeting with that question — and how are all the children?

What might happen if we heard and how are all the children asked many times every day? What might happen if we expected everyone, not only teachers, parents, and grandparents, but also politicians, police, entrepreneurs, administrators, neighbors and non-parents — everyone to seriously ponder

...all the children are not doing well, however. The causes are often related to poverty, social, and emotional distress… and having few folks on their side.We, particularly the elders, can do something about that. and address this question?

Rev. O’Neill evidently came up with this sermon after being told that “kasserian ingera” (how are the children) is the traditional question first asked when Maasai warriors of Kenya and Tanzania meet. It signifies their top value. The expected answer is “All the children are well.”

Whether that is true of the Maasai I do not know. No matter.

The question O’Neill raises, the vision the question invites is not only noble, but engenders hope and direction during troubled, confused, attentionscattered national times.

What might happen if we all took a breath, stepped back, and asked: “And how are all the children?” In what sort of world could we answer, “All the children are well?”

I see my grandchildren doing well in many ways. They are bright — can help me figure out how to use my smartphone to do all sorts of cool stuff.

They have also somehow sucked in what I would call ancient wisdom and updated it for today. For example, six-yearold Anna gave me a piece of her mind about growing up and becoming a “big person.”

“You are a big person when

you say you are sorry if you accidentally hit someone. If you are kind, if you share, if you play with everyone, don’t brag, don’t hit, aren’t mean, don’t break things, don’t complain about your bloody toes and having to go to the nurse, and if you talk to homeless people, and… if you don’t quit games when you don’t win.”

Anna’s grounded philosophy and the number of folks in her corner give her a solid foundation for living the good life.

My friend, and education expert, Dr. Gene Sharratt (who introduced me to the sermon by Rev. O’Neill) reminds me that all the children are not doing well, however. The causes are often related to poverty, social, and emotional distress… and having few folks on their side.

We, particularly the elders, can do something about that.

Evolutionary theorists have wondered why it is that humans continue to live 40 and even 50 years beyond our reproductive years.

Proposed answers are the elders can provide resources, skills and presence for the youngsters.

Research confirms elders can confer advantages.

September is the perfect month to celebrate grandparents, to examine the well-being of our young people, and to consider how we can help… as grandparents, neighbors and mentors.

Perhaps we can offer enthusiasm for certain activities and skills; perhaps money, time, or other resources like love, attentive listening and encouragement.

And we can keep lobbying… asking the question — and how are the children?

How might we move up to The Good Life by ensuring all the children are well?

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September 2019 | The Good Life

OPEN Tues. to Sun.!

Lianne Taylor ~ 669-6556 lianne@ncwgoodlife.com

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Hey, let’s start a theater Putting on plays they want to do, filling up seats, not losing money... high ambitions and simple goals

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ABOVE: From left: Full Circle Theatre Company founders David Harvill, Meg Kappler, Maren Cagle and Pete Kappler relax in the courtyard of the Numerica Performing Arts Center, where they recently staged The Tempest, the premier production of the PAC’s Twilight Theatre. Photo

by Susan Lagsdin

By Susan Lagsdin

hat’s in a name?

When two local couples made the big leap in 2016 to start a new theater company, they christened it the Full Circle Theatre Company. It symbolizes a return for them, said Pete Kappler, to “everything that excited us about theater when we were young.”

All four (Pete and Meg Kappler and David Harvill and Maren Cagle) have university degrees in their craft. They act, they direct, and they have all spent hundreds of hours with both Leavenworth Summer Theater and Music Theatre of Wenatchee on set construction, lighting design and props.

Call it hobby, avocation or passion — they are theater folk of the highest order in an increasingly arts-rich community.

Why then, after they met on set and became close friends, did they feel the need to start fresh?

It’s the age of start-ups, true, but generally in the tech world, not in the age-old art of drama.

They wanted autonomy: as their own board of directors, they choose the scripts and the season. They wanted flexibility: they can cast large or small, produce spare or lavish in any performance space they can find.

And they wanted to depend only on themselves and their own combined talents. Pete put their declaration of independence simply. “We are the only ones we can let down.”

Yes, but… start a theater? How big a step is that? How to begin?

It’s not easy, but Meg explained they had one superb boost.

Three years ago, an early mentor suddenly offered Meg an irresistible gift: the legal transference of the 501c3 status that a

30

AT LEFT: Rob Spradlin and Pete Kappler perform in Hound of the Baskervilles. Photo by Frank Cone

defunct non-profit Whidbey Island theater company had enjoyed. “We never would have tried to start a nonprofit, with all the rules and waiting and paperwork. But here it was — it landed right in our laps. It’s hard now to imagine saying ‘No, thanks.’”

Maren remembers the Kapplers’ ostensibly casual visit to the Leavenworth set she and David were constructing. “They brought coffee and snacks… we should have been suspicious.” Did they want to start a theater?

With no hesitation, the second couple said yes, and the show, so to speak, was on the road.

With small casts (mostly themselves) and rented space (thank you Riverside Playhouse, Radar Station), within three years of pooling their talents, Full Circle Theatre had produced readings and three short plays:

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The Dumb Waiter, The Turn of the Screw and The Hound of the Baskervilles.

They started with a small production on a small footprint and immediately received a big surprise — an outpouring of encouragement from local theaters, audiences and interested volunteers.

Maren marveled at the positive reaction.

“Everyone has been really helpful. Theater is essentially a collaborative art, and we are lucky to be in a true community of people who are constantly so supportive.”

One thrilling affirmation came last winter.

They had been encouraged to pitch Shakespeare’s The Tempest at Numerica PAC’s programming /funding forum, an annual, anxiety-producing “open audition” of productions.

Pete remembers, “The first sponsor hand that went up was (Hot August Nights director) Jaime Donegan’s. We were so excited

September 2019

fun stuff what to do around here for the next month Rocky Reach Hydro Project, now through 11/1, 9 a.m. – 6 p.m.

Museum, café, balconies that offer panoramic views to the dam and grounds, juvenile fish bypass system. A 90-seat theater shows movies and ample parking for recreational vehicles and buses.

Guided tours by appointment. Info: facebook.com/visitrockyreach.

Homegrown Oldies Jam, every first and third Monday, 7 to 10 p.m.

Riverside Pub. Cost: free.

Pete Kappler and Maren Cagle do a scene in Turn of the Screw. Photo by Frank Cone

about the partnership… they even named it Twilight Theatre.

A good sign.”

Full Circle staged The Tempest over two July weekends in the PAC’s lower courtyard off Wenatchee Avenue. They had simple backdrops, 17 actors and dancers (some Valley veterans, two new in town) professional choreography and specially commissioned music. Each night was sold out.

Their next show, scheduled for this November, is Obie Awardwinning Circle Mirror Transformation, by Annie Baker, which the New York Times called “absorbing, unblinking and sharply funny.”

As with each script they choose, it has the full approval of each of them. For these four, working together as a theater company is consciously conflict-free, with major decisions discussed honestly and often.

After all, these are business partners who hang out together on the weekends. Meg reiterates “Friendship first, always.”

“We choose plays we all like,” Pete said. “What would we like to see? Maybe they’re strange or interesting, not on other groups’ short lists. We know what works best for us.”

Though now they are a theater “company” and not a physical building, they envision in the

future a single physical home for production, education and collaboration with other groups.

Their realistic, close-up goal?

Pete said, “All we need to do is not lose money. It’s that simple.”

It’s working. The seats fill up; not only do they cover their expenses with ticket sales, but, untypical of community theaters, they offer modest stipends to the after-hours actors and craftspeople who augment their productions.

But to start a theater? And somehow support six people?

Gas, food, lodging, lattes… gotta pay the bills, and the Kapplers have two young sons.

Don’t worry; the Full Circle Theatre founders do have pretty good day jobs.

Pete is a travel trainer for Link Transit, Meg administers Behavioral Health at Columbia Valley Health, David, tested in many trades, teaches STEM classes at Cascade High School and Maren is director of Upper Valley Connections and manages federal monies for the Cascade School District.

The rest of their life is almost all theater, all the time. Just the way it was when they were young and adventuresome, when they trusted themselves and were willing to take risks.

They’ve come full circle. That’s what’s in a name.

NCW BLUES JAM, every second and fourth Monday. 7 – 10 p.m. Riverside Pub. Cost: free.

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

Info: wenatcheepaddle.org.

Upper Valley Running Club, every Tuesday, 4:30 – 6 p.m.

Check-in at the gravel lot across from O’Grady’s Pantry. Maps will be

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available for a marked 3-mile trail route, partly along Icicle Creek. Run or walk, by yourself, with a friend or with your family. Participate 10 or more times and earn an Upper Valley Running Club tech tee. Info: sleepinglady.com.

From scratch, 4:30 – 6 p.m. Every Tuesday in the Cashmere Valley Bank Community Kitchen at Pybus Public Market, Linda Brown will be cooking meals made from scratch for you to take home. Order ahead of time on her website and pick up from 4:30 – 6 p.m. Info: fromscratchatpybus.com/welcome.

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

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

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Music in the Park, 9/1, 4 – 6 p.m.

Enjoy a family-friendly Sunday afternoon in the park listening to Mugsy’s Groove. Bring a picnic and chairs. Riverwalk Park, Downtown Chelan. Cost: free.

WHAT TO DO

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

The Sound of Music, 9/1, 8 p.m.

The story of the von Trapp family.

Live performance. Ski Hill Amphitheater, Leavenworth. Cost: $14 $35. Info: leavenworthsummertheater.org.

}}} Continued from previous page environment, fueled by caffeine.

Coffee provided by Mela Coffee Roasting. Wenatchee Valley Chamber office, 137 N. Wenatchee Ave.

Theater Under the stars: The Miserable Phantom of the Op’ry, 9/1, 8 p.m. A musical comedy mash-up parody (that we call a “Farsical”) mixes two Broadway classics with country music and then adds a lot of cornball hillbilly hijinks. 204 W Okanogan Ave, Chelan. Cost: From $19. Info: theaterunderthestars.org.

Mid Week Farmers Market, every Wednesday, 11 a.m. – 3 p.m.

South parking lot of Pybus Public Market.

Conversations around death/ death conversations group, meets every third Wednesday, 9 to 10:30 a.m. Does your family really know what you want? Do you have a current will? Who gets what?

This is a an information group that is looking at what we or our family should expect upon our passing.

Chelan Senior Center. Cost: free.

Info: Concie Luna 630-2972.

Shrub-steppe poetry podium, every last Wednesday, 4 – 5 p.m.

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

Leavenworth Community Farmers Market, every Thursday through August, 4 – 8 p.m.

Offers everything from local eggs, meats, cheeses and bread to local produce, fruits, prepared foods, local crafts and more. Lions Club Park, Leavenworth.

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

Chelan County Fair, 9/5 – 8. Live music all days. Dachshund Dash, noon Saturday. Rodeo Saturday, 7 p.m. The Marlin James Band Saturday, 9:30 p.m. Rodeo Sunday, 1 p.m. Carnival, barns and exhibits, games, animals, food vendors and more. Chelan County Fairgrounds, 5700 Wescott Cashmere. Info: chelancountyfair.com. runs and receive a free shirt. Cost: free (other than a smile).

ber, 8 a.m. – 1 p.m. Lauzier Park, 1600 13th Ave. SW, Quincy.

Chelan Thursday evening farmers market, 4 - 7 p.m. 20 plus vendors. Riverwalk Park. Cost: free. Info: chelanfarmersmarket. org.

Jam at the Crow, 7 – 10 p.m.

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

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

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

Game Night, every 4th Friday.

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

Cost: free. Info: pybuspublicmarket. org.

Wenatchee Valley Farmers market, every Saturday, 8 a.m. – 1 p.m. Local farmers, artisans, winemakers, bakers and chefs make up the friendly, hardworking vendors.

West parking lot of Pybus Public Market.

Quincy Farmers Market, first and third Saturdays thru Septem-

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Village Art in the Park, now thru 10/21. Friday through Sunday and Thursdays will be added during the months of July and August. 9 a.m.

– 6 p.m. The Pacific Northwest’s longest continually run outdoor art show. Downtown Leavenworth.

Commissions are used as: $8,000 scholarships for students pursuing a higher education in the arts, financial support for art programs in local schools and community projects that are of an artistic nature.

Info: villageartinthepark.org.

Lake Chelan Car show, 9/6 from 5 p.m. and all day 9/7, BBQ, live music, beer garden, show –n –shine.

Riverwalk Park.

Lake Chelan Sailing Regatta, 9/7, 8. Hosting for the 2019 San Juan 21 Western Nationals. This event will feature skippers and boats from the western half of North America vying to become the classes next nationals Champions.

Expect to see 30 – 50 sailboats navigating the clear blue waters of Lake Chelan.

First Friday Events Include: *Class with a Glass, 9/6, 5 – 8 p.m. 10 S Columbia St. *Collapse, 9/6, 4 – 9 p.m. 115 S Wenatchee Ave. (in front of RadarStation).

Become a Wenatchee Naturalist, September through December.

Explore local plants, animals and landscapes. Do fieldwork in beautiful locations. Learn from expert scientists. Pass your knowledge on to others…. become a steward of the Wenatchee Valley. Info and registration: ced.wvc.edu or 682-6900.

*Gypsy Lotus, 9/6, 5 – 8 p.m. 1 S Wenatchee Ave. Cost: free.

Wenatchee Riverfront Railway, 9/1, 10 a.m. – 2. p.m. Home of the Nile Saunders Orchard mini train. All train runs are weather permitting. Birthday rents available by appointment. Wenatchee Riverfront Park. Cost: $2. Info: Steve Sleeman 663-2900.

*Mela, 9/6, 5 – 8 p.m. Nosh provided. Cost: free. 17 N. Wenatchee Ave. Cost: free.

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*Lemolo Café and Deli, 9/6, 11 a.m. – 6 p.m. 114 N Wenatchee Ave. *MAC Gallery, 9/6, 5 – 7 p.m.

Wenatchee Valley College Music and Art Center, 1300 Fifth St.

*Mission Street Commons, 9/6, 5 – 8 p.m. 218 S Mission St. *Pans Grotto, 9/6, 4 – 9 p.m. 3 N Wenatchee Ave. Ste 2.

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WHAT TO DO

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

*RadarStation, 9/6, 4 – 9 p.m. 115 S Wenatchee Ave. *Tumbleweed Bead Co., 9/6, 5-7 p.m. Refreshments served. 105 Palouse St. Cost: free. Info: tumbleweedbeadco.com. *Two Rivers Art Gallery, 9/6, 5 – 8 p.m. Featured artist is cartoonist Dan McConnell. Music by guitarist Paul Graves. Complimentary refreshments. 102 N Columbia, Wenatchee. Cost: free. Info: 2riversgallery.com. *Wenatchee Valley Chamber of Commerce, 9/6, 5 – 8 p.m. 137 N Wenatchee Ave. *Wenatchee Valley Museum and Cultural Center, 9/6, 5.

– 8 p.m. Light refreshments. Cost: free. Info: Wenatchee.org. *Ye Olde Bookshoppe, 9/6, 5 – 8 p.m. 11 Palouse St. Sleeping Lady bird walks, 9/7, 8 – 9:30 a.m. Join Heather Murphy, a local wildlife biologist, nature journalist and artist. Meet at the gazebo in the organic garden at Sleeping Lady. Bring your binoculars and join in for the full hour and a half walk. Cost: free. Info: sleepinglady.com.

Railroad history tour, 9/7, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. Randy Dasho will take you on a guided tour of the Wellington site where the deadliest avalanche occurred. Meet at Wenatchee Valley Museum and board a tour bus stopping at other sites between Leavenworth and Stevens Pass. Cost: $45. Info: wenatcheevalleymuseum.org.

Kabob Fest, 9/7, 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. Kabob (pork and chicken) marinated and served in pita bread, baklava ice cream sundaes, bottled water, coffee and baklava to go. Good food, music and good company.

Three Hierarchs Orthodox Christian Church, 1915 N Western Ave (across from the Wenatchee Cemetery). Cost: $6. Info: wenorthodox. com.

Blind Date with Lilac, dinner and auction, 9/7, 5 – 8 p.m. Fundraiser for Lilac Services for the Blind. Dinner catered by Country Boys BBQ. Impairment activities and inspirational speakers who will talk about how Lilac’s services has helped them. Pybus Public Market. Cost: $40 pp or $75 per couple. Info:

Stephen Evitt 888-4254.

Twilight Alphorn Serenade, 9/7, 8 p.m. End your day with the soothing tones of the Leavenworth Alphorns. The evening serenade is followed by a brief demonstration with information and fun facts about this alpine folk instrument.

Front Street Park, Leavenworth.

Cost: free. Info: leavenworth.com.

Pybus University: Reducing Stress and Finding resiliency with mindfulness and selfcompassion, 9/10, 7 – 8:15 p.m.

Learn simple tools that reduce stress and increase resiliency.

Instructor, Oori Silberstein, teaches practical, evidence-based skills that reduce stress and burn out, and increase emotional resiliency. Pybus Public Market. Cost: free. Info: pybuspublicmarket.org.

Elephant Man, 9/12, 13, 14, 7:30 p.m. and 9/14, 2:30 p.m. Live performance by the Mission Creek Players. Numerica Performing Arts Center. Cost: $25. Info: numericapac.com.

Four minutes of fame, 9/12, 6:30 - 9 p.m. WOTR presents Four Minutes of Fame, a free open mic event for sharing original poetry or prose.

On the deck at South restaurant in Leavenworth. Reading slots are open to all but are limited; sign up at info@writeontheriver.org.

Building NCW home tour and remodeling expo, 9/13-15. Chefs on tour, 9/12. Eleven homes on tour.

Info: buildingncw.org/events.

Movies in the gardens, 9/13, 8:30 p.m. Bring the family, spread out on the lawn and enjoy The Lego Movie 2 under the stars. Ohme Gardens. Cost: $3, kids 2 and under free. Concessions available. Info: ohmegardens.org.

Lions Club community breakfast, 9/14, 7 – 11 a.m. All you can eat pancakes, eggs, sausage, coffee and milk. Proceeds go to Lions Club projects, locally and worldwide.

Lions Club Park, Leavenworth.

Reading Forest Health on Nason Ridge, 9/14, 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. Join forest health specialist Connie Mehmel on a hike along Nason Ridge and learn about the interactions of trees, under story plants, insects and diseases. RSVP required. Info: hillary@cdlandtrust. org. or 667-9708.

Historical walking tours of Leavenworth, 9/14, 10 a.m. The railroad and mill tour is along the Wenatchee River and you will see

some remains of the mill. Walk will be on dirt trails, with one hill and sidewalks. Wear good walking shoes and bring water. Walks start at the Lions Club Park and are one to two hours long. Cost: $5 donation. Info: Upper Valley Museum, 548-0728.

Home and Garden Tour, 9/14, noon – 5 p.m. The Cascade Medical Foundation is hosting their annual home and garden tour. The tour features five homes in the Plain area, most overlooking the river.

Cost: $20. Info: cascademedicalfoundation.org.

Twilight Alphorn Serenade, 9/14, 8 p.m. End your day with the soothing tones of the Leavenworth Alphorns. The evening serenade is followed by a brief demonstration with information and fun facts about this alpine folk instrument.

Front Street Park, Leavenworth.

Cost: free. Info: leavenworth.com.

White River Salmon Tour, 9/15, 1 – 4 p.m. Experience and learn about sockeye salmon’s return to the White River with local fish biologist Chuck Peven. RSVP required. Info: hillary@cdlandtrust. org or 667-9708.

Harvest dinner on the old bridge, 9/15, 5 - 10 p.m. Harvest Moon Dinner will include wine tasting, a four-course dinner with wine pairings, dessert and a live auction with auctioneer. Dine, celebrate, listen to light jazz and enjoy the spectacular view of Lake Chelan from the newly renovated historic bridge. Info: 509 682-4322 or historicchelan.org.

Pybus University: Acrylic Pour painting, 9/17, 7 – 8:15 p.m. Learn to create a gorgeous abstract by pouring paint on a canvas. Pybus Public Market. Cost: $10. Info: pybuspublicmarket.org.

An Evening with George Winston, 9/17, 7:30 p.m. Live concert.

Numerica Performing Arts Center.

Cost: $30 and $37. Info: pac.org.

Glenn Miller Orchestra, 9/18, 7:30 p.m. Numerica Performing Arts Center. Cost: $37-$42. Info: pac.org.

Community Science: ebird monitoring at Mountain Home Preserve, 9/19, 7 – 10:30 a.m. Would you like to spend a weekday morning hiking, viewing wildlife, wildflowers and snowcapped mountains, while being part of a small team collecting bird species data? Learn more about becoming a CDLT citizen scientist

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volunteer by contacting Susan Ballinger at susan@cdlantrust.org or 667-9708.

PNW Cruise and travel show, 9/19, 4 - 7 p.m. Learn about all the places you can sail including Alaska, Hawaii, the California Coast or even the Panama Canal… all from Seattle or Vancouver, BC. A AAA Wenatchee event. Pybus Public Market. Info: 665-6299.

Guided Tours for kids, 9/20, 10:30 a.m. These tours are designed for children and their caregivers seeking ways to explore interesting and fun destinations, which are easily accessed with Link Transit’s fixed-route system. Ride the bus to Owl Drug and watch for trains as you traverse the Riverwalk Bridge on the way to experience a ride on the Wenatchee Riverfront Railway. This popular destination has delighted young and old for 30 years. All tours begin and end at Columbia Station. Cost: free. Info: 664-7624 or sdanko@linktransit. com.

Sleeping Lady bird walks, 9/21, 8 – 9:30 a.m. Join Heather Murphy, a local wildlife biologist, nature journalist and artist. Meet at the gazebo in the organic garden at Sleeping Lady. Bring your binoculars and join in for the full hour and a half walk. Cost: free. Info: sleepinglady.com.

NCW walk to end Alzheimer’s, 9/21, 8:30 a.m. This inspiring event calls on participants of all ages and abilities to join the fight against this disease. Pybus Public Market.

Cost: free. Info: 207-7999.

Hike for health, 9/21, 9 – 11 a.m.

Improve your health, be part of a team, take home prizes and be entered to win one of the many grand prizes at the end of the hiking season. Odabashian to Coyote Dunes (2.6 miles, 1.5 hours). Info: cdlandtrust.org.

Quincy Basin Geology tour, 9/21, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. Ice Age Floods using the Grand Coulee and Upper Crab Creek drainages, filled the Quincy Basin at a rate up to 16.5 million cubic meters of water per second. This tour, led by Ken Lacy, will examine the incredible erosive consequences of the floodwaters escaping the Quincy Basin, via Lynch, Potholes and Frenchman Springs Coulee. Meet at the Wenatchee Valley Museum to board a tour bus. Cost: $45. Info: wenatcheevalleymuseum.org.

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The Elephant Man Marches into the PAC

WHAT TO DO

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

}}} Continued from previous page Free Bike helmet fitting and give-away, 9/21, 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. Seattle Children’s and Pybus Market Charitable Foundation are hosting a free bike helmet fitting and give-away for kids ages 1 to 18.

Pybus Public Market. Info: pybuspublicmarket.org.

Fall into spring: plant and prepare now for next year, 9/21, 10 a.m. – noon. Perennials, bulbs, tubers, trees, and grasses for year-round beauty and color will be discussed. Community Education Garden, 1100 N Western Ave. Cost: free.

Wenatchee River Salmon Festival, 9/21, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Celebrate the return of the salmon to our northwest rivers. The rivers that are home to the salmon also provide sustenance for birds, frogs, salamanders, foxes, deer, bugs, bears and countless trees, brushes and flowers. Learn about the connections between our rivers, salmon and people, and other wildlife and habitats through educational and recreation activities. Leavenworth National Fish Hatchery. Cost: free. Info: salmonfest.org.

Wenatchee Riverfront Railway, 9/21, 10 a.m. – 3. p.m. Home of the Nile Saunders Orchard mini train. All train runs are weather permitting. Nile Saunders Memorial Run. Wenatchee Riverfront Park.

Cost: $2. Info: Steve Sleeman 6632900.

Safety Fair, 9/21, 10 a.m. – 3 p.m.

This event will include important safety information, fun activities and exhibits that will help community members be better prepared for emergencies such as wild land fires and other major disasters.

Free lunch served. Lake Chelan Fire Department. Cost: free. Info: 6824475.

Guild B Home Tour and Art Sale, 9/21, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Featuring four of the area’s most beautiful homes. This fundraising event gives participants the opportunity to view some of the most spectacular Lake Chelan homes they have always wondered about. The art sale at Tsillan Cellars will feature local and regional artists who will donate 25% of their proceeds to purchase new hospital equipment. Cost: $25.

Info: lchealthwellness.com.

Bacon, Bourbon, bluegrass and brews, 9/21, 5 – 8 p.m. It’s Museum Day and they are celebrating the year of music with an enticing blend of bourbon, bacon and brews. Featuring live music from Killdeer String Band and Chumlilies.

All ticket holders will receive four tasting tickets and two full pour tokens. Samples of bacon and pork appetizers are included in the ticket price. Cost: $55. Info: wenatcheevalleymuseum.org.

The Mission Creek Players are doing The Elephant Man during September, and promising it’s “like nothing you’ve seen before.”

It is based on the true story of Joseph “John” Merrick, a 19th Century Englishman who was afflicted with a disfiguring congenital disease. With the help of kindly Dr. Frederick Treves, Merrick attempts to regain the dignity he lost after years spent as a sideshow freak.

Merrick becomes the toast of London and charms a caring actress before his death at 27.

Matt Cadman is the director, with Tiffany Mausser playing Mrs. Kendall, Peter Kappler playing Dr. Treves and Matthew Pippen as The Elephant Man. Performances are Sept. 12, 13 and 14 at 7:30 p.m. and Sept.

14 at 2:30 p.m. at the Numerica Performing Arts Center. Tickets are $25. Info: 663-ARTS or www.pac.com.

Twilight Alphorn Serenade, 9/21 and 9/288 p.m. End your day with the soothing tones of the Leavenworth Alphorns. The evening serenade is followed by a brief demonstration about this alpine instrument. Front Street Park, Leavenworth. Cost: free. Info: leavenworth.com.

Pybus University: Youth and cultural exchange in the Wenatchee Valley, 9/24, 7 – 8:15 p.m. Hear from exchange students and local experts on the whole exchange programs. Patrick Bodell from Rotary Exchange International and Wenatchee Valley Misawa Sister City Association will speak. Pybus Public Market. Cost: free. Info: pybuspublicmarket.org.

Murder mystery dinner, 9/26, 6 – 8:30 p.m. You are a passenger on the luxurious Oriental Express. Your fellow passengers number several unsavory characters, almost certainly up to no good. You don’t know whom you can trust. A passenger is murdered. Who dun it?

Dinner will be pasta, salad, bread and a dessert. Wenatchee Valley Museum. Cost: $45 members - $55 non- members. Info: wenatcheevalleymuseum.org.

Autumn Leaf Festival, 9/27, 28, 29, all day. Come celebrate the turning colors of the autumn leaves. Grand parade at noon. Info: autumnleaffestival.com.

LEAVENWORTH FRIENDS OF THE LIBRARY USED BOOK SALE, 9/27 thru 10/6, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. weekdays and 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Thousands of quality used books for adults and children.

All proceeds support the many children’s and adult programs and library expenses to benefit our community and promote literacy.

Downtown Leavenworth at 8th and Commercial Streets. Cost: $1 and $2.

Movies in the gardens, 9/27, 8:30 p.m. Bring the family, spread out on the lawn and enjoy Toy Story 4 under the stars. Ohme Gardens.

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Cost: $3, kids 2 and under free.

Concessions available. Info: ohmegardens.org.

Two day dahlia Show, 9/28, noon to 5 p.m. 9/29, 9 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. Come see the State’s best collection of dahlias in what many flower growers consider to be the best venue in Washington. Pybus Public Market. Cost: free. Info: pybuspublicmarket.org.

Lions Club community breakfast, 9/28, 7 – 11 a.m. All you can eat pancakes, eggs, sausage, coffee and milk. Proceeds go to Lions Club projects, locally and worldwide.

Lions Club Park, Leavenworth.

Native heritage bus tour, 9/28, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. Explore culturally significant locations from Peshastin Pinnacles to the Wenatchee Heights with Native American guide Randy Lewis. Meet at the Wenatchee Valley Museum to board a tour bus. Cost: $55. Info: wenatcheevalleymuseum.org.

SAGE’s When I grow up 5k fun run/walk, 9/28, 10 – 11:30 a.m.

Support prevention efforts against child abuse. Costumes are strongly

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encouraged, so please dress up as to what you want to be when you grow up. Adults and children of all ages are invited. Register at: 710 N Chelan or 663-7446. Pybus Public Market.

Community Science: ebird monitoring at Horse Lake Reserve, 10/4, 7 – 11:30 a.m.

Would you like to spend a weekday morning hiking, viewing wildlife, wildflowers and snow-capped mountains, while being part of a small team collecting bird species data? Learn more about becoming a CDLT citizen scientist volunteer by contacting Susan Ballinger at susan@cdlantrust.org or 667-9708.

Walking the Wild Side: The Nature of Nature Writing, 10/12, 8:30 a.m to 4:30 p.m. Write on the River and the Wenatchee River Institute bring together three north central Washington writers with unique perspectives on observing, recording and sharing words about the natural world. Writers are Ana Maria Spagna, Heather Murphy and Derek Sheffield. Cost: $60-$70.

Info: www.wenatcheeinstitute.org or www.writeontheriver.org.

PET tales

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

Dan Massaro, Wenatchee,

Mailee Goller, Wenatchee

walks Samson daily.

Samson is a 3 1/2-year-old Alaskan Malamute.

“He was the size of a football when we got him (at five weeks), said Mailee, and she carried him around clutched in her arm like a football player carries a football.

“He now weighs 175 pounds.

“Samson is a good cuddler and super sweet,” she added.

Living at Riverside apartments, Mailee said it was convenient to walk the dog. “And Samson has a lot of friends.”

Asked if Samson slobbered a

lot, Mailee said, “Yes! You should see the inside of my car!”

September 2019 | The Good Life

walks his dog Lmuma every day.

Lmuma is a 3-year-old Lab mix.

“She is really a sweet, easy dog. I have no problems with her. She doesn’t bark,” said Dan. Lmuma was part of the prison Ridge Dog program so she is

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very well behaved.

Dan says he also likes to take Lmuma to Club Pet, the doggie day care at the Wenatchee Humane Society, “because she comes home tired.”

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column those were the days

rod molzahn

Promises. Promises. Promises.

As white Americans headed

west to settle new lands, they were armed with the doctrine of “Manifest Destiny.”

They had the right to take, for their own, the ancestral lands of Native Americans with thousands of years of prior claims.

The native people, of course, resisted the taking of their lands.

White settlers insisted the Indians had too much land that they were wasting, land that could be put to better use by white farmers and ranchers.

That notion persisted at least into the early 1900s. In 1891, the Belle of Chelan steamed up Lake Chelan carrying N.W. Durham, editor of the Spokane Review newspaper.

A.F. Nichols, an owner of the Belle, was along to point out “the interesting features” along the lake.

As they passed by the Wapato Point area, encompassing land allotments of 13 Wapato families, Nichols commented, “Of course we should prefer to see these choice lands in the possession of 200 or 300 white families.”

The United States government had, early on, settled on a program of negotiating reservations for the native people in exchange for them giving up their rights to the remainder of their ancestral lands.

On May 2, 1855, the government, in the person of Washington Territorial Governor Isaac Stevens, met with central Washington tribes to negotiate treaties and reservations.

Five thousand Indian men, women and children gathered in camps, large and small, around the council grounds in the Walla Walla Valley.

They represented many tribes including Nez Perce, Cayuse,

Speeches from both sides went on for five weeks. The white men made promises, demands and threats. Stevens famously told chiefs that if they didn’t sign their people “would be knee deep in blood.”

Yakama, Walla Walla, Umatilla and, from the Wenatchee/ P’squose valley, Chief Tecolekun and a few of his men.

Speeches from both sides went on for five weeks. The white men made promises, demands and threats. Stevens famously told chiefs that if they didn’t sign their people “would be knee deep in blood.”

On June 11, 1855, three treaties were signed creating reservations for the Nez Perce, Umatillas and Yakamas. Other tribes would be placed on those reservations as well.

Article Ten of the Yakama Treaty was the government’s response to Tecolekun’s request for a fishery reservation at the critically important confluence of the Icicle and Wenatchee Rivers.

There was no salmon fishery more productive anywhere on the upper Columbia and salmon was the foundation of the native diet.

Article Ten provides for a reservation six miles square, a township, at the Wenatchee/Icicle confluence called the Wenatshapam Fishery, “to be surveyed

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and marked out whenever the President may direct.”

In the summer of the following year, 1856, Col. George Wright met with P’squose chief, Skamow, at the sight of the reservation and identified its boundaries.

In 1858 Lt. Archer, with Lt. Garnett’s troops, expanded the reservation to eight miles to the side, a reward for the help the P’squose people gave to a group of white miners when they were attacked by Sinkiuse and Yakama warriors near the Wenatchee/Columbia confluence.

In the end none of that mattered. The President never ordered the survey and without that protection white settlers claimed the fishery lands for their own.

In 1871, the federal government decided that reservations would no longer be established through negotiations but, instead, would be created by presidential executive order.

One of the first was the Colville Reservation, created by President Grant April 9, 1872. It was intended for the Methow, Okanogan, San Poil, Lakes, Colville, Kalispel and Coeur d’ Alene tribes.

The reservation was bordered by the Columbia River on the west, the Pend O’reille on the east, the Canadian border to the north and the Spokane River on the south. This included all of the rich farmland of the Colville Valley.

About 60 white settlers claiming to have farms in the valley immediately protested that the land was too good for Indians and that the reservation should be moved to drier, harsher land to the west.

Three months later, July 2, 1872, to the dismay of Indians,

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President Grant did just that. The original reservation was returned to public domain and a new Colville Reservation created with a western border along the Okanogan River, Canada to the north, and the Columbia River to the south and east.

After giving resident Indians 80-acre allotments of their choice, the north half of the Colville Reservation was opened to white settlers Oct. 10, 1900 and the south half May 3, 1916, one of the last places in the United States to open for homesteading.

Even after the formation of the Colville Reservation in 1872, the government plan to open all north central Washington to white settlement was still beset with problems.

Some tribes including the Wenatchees, who still believed they had a fishery reservation, the Entiats, Chelans, Methows and some Okanogans refused to move to the Colville Reservation. Chief Moses and his Sinkiuse people refused to go to any reservation including the Yakama.

On September 7, 1878, Moses met with his friend, General O.O. Howard, on the steamship Spokane at Priest Rapids.

Moses laid out the boundaries of a reservation that he would accept.

It was a huge piece of land including all of his people’s traditional homeland; the Wenatchee Confluence, the Wenatshapam Fishery, Badger Mountain, Moses Lake and south to the White Bluffs along the Columbia.

White ranchers and farmers quickly objected.

General Howard considered the request reasonable and sent

This set off a wave of demands that all the reservation be opened to white settlement. it to the president for his consideration.

The president, at the insistence of his Interior Department, refused the proposal.

At a subsequent meeting, April 18, 1879, in Washington D.C. Chief Moses did agree to land called the Columbia or Moses/Columbia Reservation.

It was bordered on the west by the crest of the Cascades, Canada to the north, the Okanogan River on the east and the Columbia River and Lake Chelan on the south.

It encompassed all of the Chelan and Methow Valleys as well as the western half of the Okanogan Valley.

White ranchers and miners loudly objected and demanded that the northern most 15-mile strip be returned immediately.

The president and Interior Department agreed and the strip was turned back to public domain on February 23, 1883.

This set off a wave of demands

that all the reservation be opened to white settlement.

It was returned to public domain July 4, 1884. After allowing resident Chelans, Methows and Okanogans time to select individual allotments the Moses Columbia Reservation was opened to white homesteading on May 1, 1886.

Of North Central Washington’s three reservations, only the Colville remains, shared by both Indians and white ranchers.

The Wenatshapam Fishery was never more than an unfulfilled promise.

In the face of withering white objections and demands, the

Moses/Columbia Reservation never had a real chance.

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

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

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Where’s the Beef? Or Mission Impossible Whopper I

By Jamie Howell

grew up regarding red meat with a certain reverence.

I was 22 years old, long-haired and a good 80 pounds lighter than I am today, out to travel the world with a guitar and a backpack when, on a broad swing through the South, I stopped in to visit with my great-great-aunt Nannie who had been taken ill.

Nannie looked up at me from her hospital bed and found me wanting — too scrawny and insubstantial a man to satisfy her Southern sensibilities.

“You know what you need,” she said earnestly, “is a good piece of red meat.” And with that she handed me a $50 bill and inJamie Howell gets a taste of the future with Burger King’s beefless beef. structed me to go buy myself a steak dinner. (Oh, and to get a tone as in, “Fine, already, have nificantly, meat is a $1.4 trillion haircut because she thought I it your way. We’re a burger joint global market every year. As looked like Thomas Jefferson — for Pete’s sake, we’ve really got the real stuff gets priced out of which I suppose I was meant to to lose the meat?” range or stigmatized (#Meatfind unflattering.)

I ordered up one of each — Too), there’s a big slice of that I did as instructed and, sure one Classic Whopper and one meat pie up for grabs that has enough, “scrawny” is no longer Impossible Whopper — and the alternative meat producers a word any reasonable person embarked on my 1,290 calorie and their investors salivating. would associate with me. But research mission (that’s foregoBeyond Meat, just one in a that life-fortifying red meat that ing the fries). slew of emerging competitors in Nannie believed in so ardently is I get the problem. We are this sector, snapped up nearly a under fire these days. feeding more people than at any quarter of a billion dollars when The alternatives have arrived time in the history of the world it went public earlier this year.

— plant-based meat substitutes and meat is not the best way to They’re not kidding, it’s coming. are moving in and, around here, do that. It takes loads of land, I took my first bite of the they’ve moved in most recently water and fertilizer, and when future. at Burger King. you take the corn and feed it to Hmmm, was that a note of I decided it was time to go give the cows, suddenly an acre of alfalfa?

Maybe an undertone of the future a try. land that could produce enough wheatgrass?

Colorful banners out front calories to sustain 14 people a In truth, the textures of the declare the availability of the year now sustains only three. two patties were extremely new “Impossible Whopper.”

And all that water and fertilsimilar, although this might be “100% Whopper, 0% Beef,” they izer tends to sluice off into the attributed to the fact that the trumpet. oceans nearby creating issues Classic Whopper is already of a Though I couldn’t help but feel like the 8,000 square-mile dead questionable texture for meat. that the longer-standing Burger zone that blooms in the Gulf of As for the taste, by the second King slogan, “Have it your way,” Mexico every summer. bite, if you noticed a differhad taken on a newly embittered The monetary motivations are ence, it’s pretty well forgotten. pretty straight-forward as well.

I did note that the edges of the Know of someone stepping off First off, it’s a buck more to Impossible Whopper patty are the beaten path in the search for buy the Impossible Whopper a little more artificially defined fun and excitement? E-mail us at editor@ncwgoodlife.com at Burger King. But more sigthan those of the actual beef

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burger because it doesn’t shrink when cooked the way real meat will, but retains that frozen factory-pressed form.

Burger King and Impossible Foods (the maker of the Impossible Whopper patty) would be on me about distinguishing their product from “real meat.”

Their claim is that they are making real meat, just with plants. They would much prefer that we use their words. To that end, there is educational literature at the cash register and internal seminars and study guides to keep staffers from saying bad words like “fake,” “faux,” or “veggie” when slinging these new burgers.

“Eat A Burger, Save the World” goes another of their current marketing mantras.

In truth, the environment and animal welfare place a sorry third and fourth respectively on the list of reasons that people are willing to give meat alternatives a try. The top two reasons — health and taste.

In reality, though, the simple fact of finding yourself standing in line at a Burger King should be a clue that you’re not truly on the road to better health.

And while the taste differences may be subtle, for me there is a certain char and a chomp and my memory of Nannie for which there can be no substitute.

As much as I wish it weren’t so, alternatives to meat are a good idea. There are just too darn many of us anymore to eat the way we’ve always eaten. But when the “real meat” really does go away, I’m going to miss it.

My most immediate recommendation: Don’t eat two Whoppers, Impossible or not, in one sitting. My stomach hurts from trying to save the world.

Jamie Howell is a writer, filmmaker and owner of Howell at the Moon Productions based in Wenatchee.

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