The good life september 2015

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LOCAL EVENTS CALENDAR

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WENATCHEE VALLEY’S

NUMBER ONE MAGAZINE

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September 2015

Open for fun and adventure

(tiny) TRAILER LIFE Our

100th issue Best Days

5 readers tell their favorite stories

Ed’s Boat

Tree wanted to be a beautiful dory

They Built This City

Who made Wenatchee the livable city it is

Price: $3

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Benefit It’s Public Power Week

&

We’re charged up about electrification Celebrate the benefits of public power with Chelan PUD

11 a.m. - 1 p.m.

Pybus Market in Wenatchee Oct. 3, 2015 See electric vehicles. Hear about even more public power benefits voted on by customer-owners.

AND, get tips on Columbia River angling from Fishin’ Magician Dave Graybill.

!

It’s going to be electrifying

>>

Contents

page 10

Tree flow naturally into being a boat

Features

7

doing the outdoors IN STYLE

A tiny trailer got them off the ground, and Glamping got them camping with flair

12

THE BEAUTY OF ICELAND

With daylight lasting around the clock, there was much to see in this land 40 km below the Arctic Circle

15 BEST DAY CONTEST

Five readers share their favorite days from the past 8 years

18 volunteering is invigorating

Cruise & Car Show - Friday 10/2 cruise and Sat. 10/3 car show.

Leavenworth resident Corky Broaddus still works the Salmon Fest she helped create, but also finds other ways to help

20 Mother Nature’s helpers

Graduates of Wenatchee Naturalist class go on to help the environment in a number of ways

22 THEY BUILT THIS CITY

Find out who made Wenatchee the livable city it is today in the kick-off of this special advertorial section

27 A PESHASTIN REPLACEMENT HOME

Remodeling a 1950’s era home wouldn’t work, so couple hires builder to create new home on the same property

31 featured homes on the tour

See some of the homes featured on this year’s Home Tour, and the builders and subcontractors who did the work.

44 quilting united generations

The “Thomsen girls” were a familiar sight at fabric stores and the annual Harvest Quilt Show

ART SKETCHES

n The Nutcracker Lady, Arlene Wagner, page 40 n Graphic artist and author Clint Hollingsworth, page 42 Columns & Departments 26 Pet Tales: Travels with Yutah 36 The traveling doctor: Tips for food safety at home 38 Bonnie Orr: Delicious tomatoes for breakfast 39 June Darling: The healthy way of being passionate 41-46 Arts & Entertainment & a Dan McConnell cartoon 45 The night sky: View a long-lasting eclipse 47 History: A mixed up fight over Confluence land 50 Alex Saliby: Star sparkles at Plain Cellars September 2015 | The Good Life

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OPENING SHOT

®

Year 9, Number 9 September 2015 The Good Life is published by NCW Good Life, LLC, dba The Good Life 10 First Street, Suite 108 Wenatchee, WA 98801 PHONE: (509) 888-6527 EMAIL: editor@ncwgoodlife.com

sales@ncwgoodlife.com ONLINE: www.ncwgoodlife.com FACEBOOK: https://www. facebook.com/NCWGoodLife Editor/Publisher, Mike Cassidy Contributors, Travis Knoop, Leona Holahan, Doug Lewis, Lisa Therrell, Marilyn Sherling, Lance Stegemann, Maureen Stivers, Sheryl Jeffries, Peter Bauer, Betsy McIndoe, Jane Zanol, Terry Hunter, Cary Ordway, Arlene Wagner, Donna Cassidy, Bonnie Orr, Alex Saliby, Jim Brown, June Darling, Dan McConnell, Susan Lagsdin, Peter Lind and Rod Molzahn Advertising manager, Terry Smith Advertising sales, Lianne Taylor and Donna Cassidy Bookkeeping and circulation, Donna Cassidy Proofing, Dianne Cornell Ad design, Clint Hollingsworth TO SUBSCRIBE: For $25, ($30 out of state address) you can have 12 issues of The Good Life mailed to you or a friend. Send payment to: The Good Life 10 First Street, Suite 108 Wenatchee, WA 98801 For circulation questions, email: donna@ncwgoodlife.com BUY A COPY of The Good Life at Hastings, Safeway stores, Walgreens, Mike’s Meats at Pybus, Rhubarb Market, Martin’s Market Place (Cashmere) and A Book for All Seasons (Leavenworth) ADVERTISING: For information about advertising in The Good Life, contact advertising at (509) 8886527, or sales@ncwgoodlife.com WRITE FOR THE GOOD LIFE: We welcome articles about people from Chelan and Douglas counties.

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

The Good Life® is a registered trademark of NCW Good Life, LLC. Copyright 2015

by NCW Good Life, LLC.

piles of fun along the icicle river

By Travis Knoop

Last summer I found myself

up in Leavenworth for a real estate shoot.

Having finished up earlier than anticipated I thought a quick hike sounded like a good idea. But where to go?

Without a whole lot of time and lacking gear, staying close was the best plan. I was thinking about revisiting the Red Bridge but decided that I hadn’t been to the Icicle Gorge trail for years and I remembered it being a nice easy scenic loop.

The Icicle Gorge trail is a nearly-flat four mile loop along the Icicle River and through pine and fir forests, perfect for three season usage.

Access the trailhead by driving 16.5 miles up the Icicle River Road to Chatter Creek campground then continue another

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3/4 of a mile to a large parking area on the left.

Follow the trail out of the parking area and shortly you’ll come to a junction and be presented with the option of taking the trail up or down river, which is where I took a left and started downstream.

You’ll wander through the forest, cross Chatter Creek, pass an awesome viewpoint and finally pass over an iconic bridge.

Heading up the south side always feels nice as you alternate between sun and shade as you make your way along the river.

At one particular grove of trees there was a nice clearing so I wandered down to the water to take a little break.

Approaching the shore I started looking around and discovered balanced rock stacks everywhere. It reminded me of seeing cairns sometimes used for off-trail navigation but much more artistic and delicate.

It was fun to imagine someone spending an afternoon relaxing at the river playing with rocks.

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September 2015

After taking a few photos and sitting for a bit listening to the river, I continued the rest of the way around the trail and back to where I’d started less than two hours before.

What a perfect break in the day.

Travis Knoop is a real estate photographer based in Wenatchee. More of his work can be found at www.TravisKnoopPhotography.com and www.

ChelanCountyCommons.com.

Editor’s note: For another view of cairns, from a retired Forest Service wilderness manager, see Lisa Therrell’s account of finding a field of cairns in Iceland on page 14.

And read about hiker Peter Bauer using cairns to find his way to safety on a foggy Norwegian mountain, page 17

On the cover

Tom and Leona Holahan relax around The Love Shack, which gets them off the ground and camping in style.

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editor’s notes

MIKE CASSIDY

I love this job!

OK, I’ll admit it right up

front: this issue — our 100th — is a creature of desperation.

It happened this way... a month ago, we sent our 99th issue (you remember, the one with the big “99” on the cover) to the press. I was tired, but satisfied, thinking the issue with its excerpts from a selected number of past stories read well, and with the other stories and columns, really showcased the spirit of The Good Life.

And then, a worker at the press emailed me: “Your 99th issue looks great — I can’t wait to see the 100th!”

Yikes! Pressure!

I had some vague concepts for issue 100 — and we did have our Best Day contest going — but little in hand. No cover photo, no champion Best Day story, no fun adventure stories, no story worth the $3 cover price of the magazine. (An aside: A long time ago, a newspaper editor told me every paper needed a 25¢ story to justify readers laying down their two-bits for that copy. That was pre-inflation advice.)

But, the very first thing that had to happen in producing issue 100 was to have ads. Another long ago editor told me (I think I was being caustic about a big ad getting in the way of my story), “Mike, without advertising, there is no journalism.”

Early in the cycle for this 100th issue, ad commitments started flowing. This issue was penciling out to be the biggest ad issue of the year... and every ad dollar is a vote of confidence in our publication. Whew!

Next, columnists sent in their articles; Jim Brown with his food safety advice, June Darling on passion, Rod Molzahn on a crazy, mixed-up early day land

battle, and all of the rest.

Next Leona Holahan wrote about finding love in the outdoors when she and her husband stumbled across a teardrop trailer and thought, “whoa!”

Her’s was our first $3 story.

I had seen a thumbnail-sized photo of The Love Shack and thought it would be perfect for the cover. Leona couldn’t find the original, though, so sent some alternatives. Not as good.

Then, a few days before the deadline to send the cover to the printers, in comes the original photo. Score!

Entries to our Best Day contest started populating our email inbox, and with each one, it was “That’s the best one.” All of a sudden, we went from having no winner to a tough decision.

Jane Zanol returned from a trip just in time to write about how graduates of Susan Ballinger’s Wenatchee Naturalist class were going on to help the local environment.

The Nutcracker Lady, Arlene Wagner, sent in an offbeat story with photos of odd nutcrackers.

We had to run that story.

Cary Ordway submitted the first of a projected series of advertorials about local businesses who have Built This City.

Homebuilders, through ads and copy, began sharing their fine work to be shown at the upcoming Home Tour.

And more and more. Until now, we have a wonderful 100th issue — perhaps none better!

(Please though, no talk of issue 101 yet, OK?) What a fine place we live and what fine people live here. Enjoy The Good Life.

— Mike September 2015 | The Good Life

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fun stuff a full LISTING of what to do begins ON PAGE 41 tion Garden, 1100 N Western Ave. Cost: free. 10 a.m.

– noon, Saturday, Sept. 19.

Fall in for fun You know fall is in the air when Leavenworth’s Autumn Leaf Festival rolls around, as it does near the end of September.

That’s a beautiful time to take a leisurely circular drive through Tumwater Canyon and then back through Plain. Plus, there are a couple of tasty ice cream stops and winery stops — depending on your predilection — along the way.

This is a great month — cooler, too — to be exploring around here. Check out these items found in this month’s What to Do calendar: Hot Air Balloon Festival — Morning launches, nightglow and fireworks, food vendors wine and beer tasting and live music. Bring your lawn chairs or blanket. Lauzier Park in Quincy.

6 a.m. – 10 p.m., Saturday, Sept.

12.

Sailing Regatta — All sail-

boats are welcome, this race focuses on having a good time and protests are not allowed. One-

Wenatchee Taste of the Harvest — Beer and wine

garden, food and Artisan vendors, harvest market vendors, kids activities, music at Centennial Park and more. Downtown Wenatchee. Cost: free. Info: Wenatchee.org. 10 a.m. – 5 p.m, Saturday, Sept. 19.

Life-sized dinosaurs are coming to Town Toyota Center Sept. 25-27.

design classes for large enough groups as well as Portsmouth divisions for mixed mono, multi and dinghy classes allow every boat to compete. Chelan Lakeshore Marina. Cost: $10. Info: sailchelan.com. 11 a.m., Saturday, Sept. 12.

Five homes to tour. Art show at Tsillan Cellars. All proceeds are used to purchase needed medical equipment for Lake Chelan Community Hospital. Cost: $20.

Info: lakechelanhometour.com.

10 a.m. – 4 p.m., Saturday, Sept.

19.

BNCW Home Tour and Remodeling Expo —See what’s new

Harvesting for Yourself… and Outwitting Critters —

and exciting with these 10 new homes. Cost: $11 adults, $5 children. Friday through Sunday, Sept. 18-20.

Lake Chelan Home Tour —

Making the most of your harvest – ranging from tasty edibles to composting and coping with wildlife in your landscape. By Chelan/Douglas County Master Gardeners. Community Educa-

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September 2015

Jurassic Quest — A Dinosaur Adventure for the whole family. The main dinosaur exhibit features ultra-realistic, life-size animatronics dinosaurs; Over 50 life-size dinosaurs in all.

Visitors can interact with these huge creatures, learn about them and even ride a few. Town Toyota Center. Info: towntoyotacenter.com. Friday through Sunday, Sept. 25-27.

Autumn Leaf Festival — The Autumn Leaf Festival celebrates the turning colors of the autumn leaves and is the town’s original festival; originating in 1964.

Entertainment and family fun activities. Grand parade noon Saturday. Downtown Leavenworth. Info: Leavenworth.org.

Friday through Sunday, Sept.

25-27.

Fall Family Day Hikes — Want to take your kids out hiking but don’t know where to go? Or get out occasionally and want to learn more about what you see on the trail? Join the Land Trust and the City of Wenatchee Parks and Recreation Department for fun morning walks. Info: hillary@ cdlandtrust.org. 9 a.m. – 12:30 p.m., Saturdays on Sept. 26, Oct. 3 and Oct. 10.

CAMPING in style NO MORE SLEEPING ON THE GROUND, EATING OFF PAPER PLATES, DRINKING WINE FROM DIXIE CUPS

By Leona Holahan

W

ho can forget the moment they fall in love? For Tom and me, it was when we saw our first vintage style T@B teardrop trailer “in the wild.”

We were walking off the morning’s aches and pains from a long night on an un-poppable, yet mysteriously flat, air mattress in an overcrowded campground, surrounded by children shrieking in dolphin-tongue with the urgency and volume of an air raid siren.

A glimpse through the trees had us slowing our feet in hopes of meeting the owner and getting a sneak-peek. Happily they obliged in part, we discovered, because it was soon going to be for sale.

But when our new best friends shared the low, low price for this eight-year-old camper, the cupid’s harp playing in the background broke a string. “Are you kidding me?” (She wasn’t.)

Over the next few weeks, Tom and I played it cool and tried to talk each other out of a teardrop but after hours of research and jealous finger-pointing we decided that the style and considerable re-sell value justified buying new and decided to “take a look” at a not so distant dealership.

Big surprise, we found exactly what we wanted at our very first stop.

The Love Shack (TLS to our friends), also a T@B, has all of the benefits and none of the hassles that come with a larger camping conveyance. It’s especially nice that we retain tent site status in the campgrounds and aren’t forced to muscle-in with the big RVs in the gentrified parts of our parks.

TLS a svelte 1,600 pounds of push-me,

TOP: Leona and Tom Holahan sip a morning drink around their tiny trailer.

BOTTOM: Glamour camping at meal time.

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pull-you with easy grip handles on the outside and the balance of a ballerina. Tom is especially grateful for this as I get occasional flashes of right-angle fever that require turning her exactly 3 degrees to the right.

She is 16.5 feet long from tongue to tail and hosts 90 square feet of living space that includes a wrap-around kitchen nook/king size bed, stove, refrigerator, sink and heater. There’s also an air conditioner and a DVD-player, which I doubt we’ll ever use but balk at the thought of removing.

She’ll power up via electricity, battery, propane or solar with the additional purchase of a small panel.

She holds 19 gallons of potable water and has a hand-held shower on the outside for a quick foot rinse or a full wash.

Personally, I prefer the slight fear that a determined breeze might endanger the modesty of my shower curtain to the attack of full on heebie-jeebies I get every time I even think about public showers.

}}} Continued on next page

CAMPING in style }}} Continued from previous page One last note on the plumbing, “Yes, it has a portable marine toilet.”

The story could end here but, during our online research, I had received an unhealthy level of exposure to Glamping (Glamor Camping).

Glamping is camping in Better Homes and Gardens style with Pinterest-inspired flair.

It means I finally get to use grandma’s 60-year-old insanely bright patchwork quilt the way she intended. It also means dumping the plastic utensils and paper plates in favor of the good silverware, matching plates and a vintage table cloth. And, of course, a vase for fresh cut flowers and herbs.

It also means a serious upgrade in camp fare. With vegeta-

dishes, sip our morning tea and do the majority of our camping activities outside. We hike, read and enjoy the campfire but now we can do it year round.

And, when day is done we’ll be relaxing over The layout of the trailer: The table gives way for a bed, a candlelight plus there is a sink, stove and storage. dinner, comparing notes in our journal about the campbles staying fresh in the refrigground, bug-to-human ratio, erator a week at a time, we’re enjoying dishes like cilantro jerk “nailed-it” recipes and special chicken while sipping Pinot Noir moments or photos.

At this early stage, we are from real wine glasses. Mother strictly Glamping 101. We don’t Nature has honored us by coming to dinner and we are dressed have jeweled holders for our Citronella candles and the ornaup and ready to host her with mental strings of light (for star our very best outdoor living. gazing-friendly illumination) In fact, we still cook, wash

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September 2015

are still in the box. But comfy Adirondack chairs and bright skirts with cowboy boots are a comfortable reality.

In the few times we’ve been out in TLS there have been many awkward moments. Like our first trip when we discovered the water heater wasn’t working as the dealership had winterized it for delivery or when the radiant heater wouldn’t engage while camping in two feet of snow and we realized we’d forgotten the owner’s manual.

But we’ve learned and you’ll often hear one of us say, “just pretend you’re camping” whenever anything goes wrong in life.

It’s a reminder that no matter what happens, we can handle it and still have fun.

And then there are the moments when a friendly, sleep deprived camper starts slowing his feet as he passes our site hoping for a “sneak-peek” and we get all chuffed up again playing show and tell.

Opportunities for glamping are expanding. Festivals, concerts and overnight trips around NCW have suddenly become spontaneous pleasures without the prospect of a tired drive home or the expense of a motel.

Closer to home, we’ve enjoyed several evenings in our own back yard sitting in TLS with appetizers, dreaming out loud about our next and biggest adventure, our ultimate goal … boon-docking.

Good-bye public campgrounds. We’re taking TLS to the legal off-site camping opportunities (boon-docking) offered by the Bureau of Land Management and our National Parks. Back to the good old days of youthful camping trips surrounded by forest with no dolphin-shrieking for miles.

I’d like to have finished my gypsy-chic interior remodel by then but there’s no hurry. This is our lifetime camping journey.

Together, we’re discovering our perfect balance of lifestyle and self-expression. Rushing to decorate would ruin the fun of find-

ing the perfect piece of gnarled driftwood décor while strolling along the Oregon beaches at sunrise. In time, memories like that will be our ultimate interior decorator.

In retrospect, it was never

about the re-sell value, the dolphin-speaking children (whom I occasionally share my bottles of soap bubbles with) or Glamping it up.

It is about finding our own personal soul-candy and, for

Live Well

us, that just happens to involve spending our free time comfortably surrounded by the quiet beauty of our forests, oceans and streams in a warm bed that never goes flat.

When they’re not glamping, Tom and

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Ed’s boat a log... wood... of course, build a boat! it’s all in the flow of man and nature in harmony

By Doug Lewis Has a natural object — a raw piece of nature ever caught your eye and caused you to wonder what it could become — with a little help?

Add something here, reshape it there, polish it... could become a lasting trophy, a piece of art, a wonderful gift, something of value? Ashamed to say, it doesn’t often happen to me but I know a wonderful example of where it did happen.

After recently moving to the Lake Wenatchee area, I met an interesting fellow who had also recently moved, with his wife, for full time living on the lake.

I heard about Ed Martinez from a relative who was asked about cutting some lumber for Ed — he said Ed was going to build a boat.

A boat? Curious, I wanted to meet this guy, find out what he might be up to.

Ed’s early growing up years were in Honduras. His mother was American and his father was from El Salvador. With the outbreak of the Soccer Wars, Ed’s family came to America. Ed was eight years old. His older brother stayed in El Salvador and to keep himself going made crafts from wood to sell at street fairs.

Outfitted for salmon fishing, Ed takes his dog, Sammy, for a ride in his self-made dory on Lake Wenatchee.

Somewhat later Ed spent several summers helping his brother. With no formal training and with the most basic tools, Ed quickly learned how a simple piece of wood could be transformed into something useful and of value.

Mistakes never bothered Ed, he would simply make the best out of it, and besides, he said, “mistakes always helped me do it better the next time.”

Two important values emerged and solidified for Ed from those early woodworking experiences.

One, “don’t ever worry about trying to be perfect,” he said, adding, “never throw something away or under value it because it didn’t turn out to be exactly as

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you envisioned.”

The other, “when you do a project, always add something of yourself to personalize it, make it uniquely your work — put your stamp on it.”

Those values served him well as he moved through a career with Microsoft as a principal developer in the formulation of the major software programs, Microsoft Office and Microsoft Publisher. As a lead, Ed mentored many who went on to develop some of the capabilities we take for granted in our electronic devices today.

His career with Microsoft took him and his family, (wife, two girls and a boy) to Denmark for three years and to India for two.

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September 2015

While in India, Ed and a buddy started a bike riding club and a weekly bike ride. Today that club is over 5,000 strong and still growing. This year Ed and his wife Julie did the Seattle to Portland bike ride.

His deepest fear in his life?

“Failure to keep learning, being productive, of becoming complaisant, idle, not learning new things,” he said.

Retirement came for Ed a couple of years ago and he was eager to begin his own software business. As he contemplated the possibilities within a different slice of the world he kept finding himself being drawn to what really makes him tick — a fascination for the natural

“...the tree seemed to breathe great satisfaction in lending itself to become a useful, functional, beautiful boat.” things we have in this world.

Abandoning the business plan, he began connecting with what was right in front of him — starting with what he looked at every day: The beach in his front yard.

As he pondered a log that had washed up on that beach, he began to wonder. Wonder soon led to an idea, the idea quickly burst into a plan. “A log... wood… of course — a boat!” he thought.

As he looked more closely and got some advice, he sadly discovered the log was the wrong kind of wood.

Not to worry, there was the right kind somewhere. But, “somewhere” was important to Ed — he wanted to use wood that grew in his own neighborhood.

Fortunately, the best wood turned out to be cedar. On property just down the road, construction had required a cedar tree to be removed. Ed bargained for it, had it milled into planks three-quarters inch thick by 13 inches wide.

He had his lumber — his project was under way.

While visiting with Ed about his boat, my intrigue led me to ask if I could see his plans, a parts list, all the dimensions for each piece and how they all fit together. He grinned and quickly handed me a piece of paper about three inches by four inches. Sure he was kidding, I pressed the question. He laughed and said, “No, this is it.”

What he handed me was a basic mathematical formula for the design of the boat showing the dimensions for the length

ABOVE: The finished dory.

LEFT: Ed’s daughter, Leah, helps with construction.

and the height of sides, which are determined by the positioning of the ribs. Each plank of the lap-sided plank construction was unique and had to be cut and shaped exactly to fit the “skeleton” of the boat. How all this was to be done came right out of Ed’s head.

Ed had decided to make an America adaptation of the ancient Dory — the Hammond Swampscott Dory, a 16-foot-long design and size most commonly used by East Coast fisherman.

It is described as having pleasing lines, and is a good boat for rowing that can carry a load, is not too large for one person to handle and yet is tough enough for beaching and withstands rough weather and windy conditions.

The overlap of the planks are September 2015 | The Good Life

packed with hemp rope to make the boat watertight. The ends and ribs were of maple — also native to the area. It weights 180 pounds.

Ed made the ores as well, three lengths for the different sitting positions in the boat depending on load, wind and size of rower.

Ed likes to share his projects, even solicits help with them — if there is anyone standing by — but he doesn’t wait around. His daughter, Leah, came to stay for a few day and was put to work helping to measure for plank size and to set the copper nails used to hold them in place.

A very focused and determined guy, Ed says he can become obsessive. Yet while he built that boat in a little over a month, he told me that the most important life lesson he’s www.ncwgoodlife.com

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learned so far is to, “Relax, take it easy, nothing is overly serious, things work out.”

Ed and family use the boat for fishing and frequent — four to five times a week — rowing excursions.

Ed describes the experience of embracing the natural things surrounding him as completely exhilarating.

He said he was surprised at how the wood flowed naturally into its intended use.

“I made the tree into usable pieces and from there the tree seemed to breathe great satisfaction in lending itself to become a useful, functional, beautiful boat,” he said.

It was, he said, “A blending of nature’s handiwork and my handiwork. What a beautiful expression of life.”

After 35 very enjoyable years living in Wenatchee, Doug and his wife, Christi, recently moved to the Lake Wenatchee area. Both continue to teach in Wenatchee School District — Doug at Washington Elementary and Christi at Mission View.

Carefully maintained turf houses can still be seen around Iceland.

ICELAND

FROM FAIRIES TO FJORDS, VOLCANOES TO ICE SHEETS, PROUD PUFFINS TO GENTLE HORSES, A VISIT TO THIS COUNTRY 40 KM BELOW THE ARCTIC CIRCLE WAS An odyssey of DELIGHT

By Lisa Therrell

The couple spoke German. I

couldn’t follow what the woman was saying as she first came up onto the viewing platform to behold thousands of Atlantic puffins in front of their burrows.

But shared elation is understood in any language. I offered her my binoculars for a better look, which she accepted gratefully.

My eyes welled up with tears, overcome with gratefulness for the opportunity to travel internationally in Iceland. The juxtaposition of this grassy sea stack covered with nesting birds, a picturesque turf outbuilding, and the remote fiord framed by snowclad peaks was simply otherworldly.

Borgarfjörður Eystri, the small and lovely village nearby, has a large rock mound that is home to the Icelandic queen of the fairies. Most Icelanders believe in fairies and other forms of paranormal humanoids. As a traveler I decided to suspend my disbelief. “Best to get along with

Lisa Therrell stops for a moment on the descent into the continental rift at Þingvellir.

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the locals, no matter what their species,” I reasoned.

I’m an opportunistic traveler.

My retired Forest Service friend Judith Fraser sent me a letter from her home in Montana, written on the back of cut-up geological maps, enticing me to join her on a trip to Iceland.

I bit on the lure of hiking, great scenery, ice sheets, botanizing, bird-watching and farm stays. We planned our trip for mid-June, which would put us there just ahead of the big tourist rush. We would also leverage the never-ending daylight leading up to solstice, catch the beginnings of the floral display, and the last wave of bird migration.

Iceland is two-thirds the size of Washington. Icelandair offers direct flights from Seattle to Reykjavík, Iceland’s biggest city and capital, so with a seven hour red-eye flight over Hudson Bay and the Baffin Islands I found myself with Judith in Iceland.

We booked all of our lodging and a rental car through Icelandic Farm Holidays, which saved us some krónur. Iceland is very

expensive, with gas being about nine dollars per gallon or 1,200 krónur, just to put things into perspective.

After a night of sleeping off jetlag in Reykjavík and stocking up on books and cash, we set out in our four-wheel drive rental car. Our plan was to travel Highway 1, the Ring Road around the coast of Iceland, staying at a different farm almost every night.

We had also been provided with a suggested hike for each day.

Our first day we took in the “Golden Circle,” which is all that many stopover tourists might have time to see from a tour bus.

First stop was Þingvellir, a Unesco World Heritage Site that is significant for two reasons. Þingvellir (the “Þ” is pronounced like an “f ”) is where the North American and European continental plates meet and are pulling apart at the rate of about 18 millimeters per year.

We hiked down into the rift between the two continents to the location of the Alþing, which is where Iceland held an annual wilderness parliament from 930 A.D. until 1271 when the Norwegian government assumed power.

Citizens travelled by horse from all over Iceland to attend the parliament, which was also a social event and where legal arrangements and court cases were heard. The basalt canyon walls amplified the voice of the speakers, making it a natural amphitheater. Echoes of the ancient orators stoked my imagination.

The daughter of the landowner protested by walking 150 km barefoot to Reykjavík, declaring that she would throw herself off the falls.

Iceland is a land of tremendous waterfalls, and Gullfoss was perhaps the most spectacular. Imagine the Columbia dropping 105 feet into a basalt chasm in two steps, with a twist between each drop. That is Gullfoss.

Foreign investors conspired to build a dam and hydroelectric plant here and obtained permission from the government.

The daughter of the landowner protested by walking 150 km barefoot to Reykjavík, declaring that she would throw herself off the falls.

She gained public support, and the area is protected as a national park today.

Have I mentioned that Iceland has basalt? Most of the country is formed of basalt, reminiscent of the Columbia Plateau in the spring when things are green.

Throw in lots of waterfalls and sheep like New Zealand, the lava fields of the Big Island, 30 active volcanoes, and a few ice caps for good measure and you have

An Atlantic puffin surveys Borgarfjörður.

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Exhibit at the Wenatchee Valley Museum & Cultural Center Sept. 1 - Nov. 21, 2015

Photographs by John Marshall and others illustrating the role of fire in Eastern Cascades ecosystems

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Iceland }}} Continued from previous page Iceland.

The south coast has two large ice caps. Vatnajökull is the largest ice cap in the world outside of the poles, which is now preserved in a national park by that name. Lobes of the ice cap reach almost to the Atlantic Ocean, and are easily viewed from the Ring Road.

Bucolic farms along the way

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belie the cataclysmic challenges of living near ice sheets and active volcanoes. Farms and whole regions have been wiped out by volcanic eruptions and huge glacial floods akin to the Bretz floods that scoured out the Columbia Basin. Farms eventually relocated out of the glacial outwashes and are tucked up against the hillsides instead to escape the flow of floods and lava.

We hiked up through dwarf birch and willow forests to view the glaciers and glacial lagoons with huge chunks of ice drifting in murky waters. Joke: “What do you do if you are lost in an Iceland forest?” Answer: “You stand up.”

Rock ptarmigan, redwings and jack snipes called from the bush and occasionally presented themselves along the trail, much to my birding satisfaction.

Iceland lies 40 kilometers south of the Arctic Circle. You can’t visit this island of 330,000 people without admiring their resilience, tenacity, and innovativeness.

Lacking natural resources that we take for granted, buildings were constructed of driftwood and turf for 1,000 years. Modern building construction as we know it replaced turf in the 1930s.

Beautiful examples of turf construction still remain, including an underground root cellar on most farms.

Historically the diet consisted of marine mammals, fish, birds like ptarmigan and puffin, and a few wild plants and food crops.

We ate lamb and fish for dinner. Today Icelanders have industrial scale greenhouses both heated and powered by geothermal to grow food crops. We were served fresh salads with our dinner almost every night, and cucumber and tomato slices are part of the Icelandic breakfast.

One thousand years of isolation has its benefits. We rode

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Tourists Run Amok Building Cairns

On our way to Þingvellir, Judith and I pulled into a scenic pullout

overlooking beautiful Lake Þingvallavatn.

We both started cracking up.

Before us lay a thousand tiny rock cairns, the bane of our professional life working as wilderness managers for the U.S. Forest Service.

Cairn building is very destructive because it disturbs the surrounding vegetation and funnels hikers onto the wrong routes or causes new trails to form. We spent much of our career carefully dismantling cairns unless they were official ones built by the Forest Service.

Here tourists were gleefully adding to these tiny cairns.

Soon after we started running into strong messages from the Iceland Park Service, imploring tourists to not build cairns. In a recent news story, a landowner cleaned up all the cairns at our pullout, only to have them start reappearing overnight. beautiful Icelandic horses, brought by the first Viking settlers from Norway and bred in the isolated island gene pool.

The horses are gentle, sure-footed, and love people. Icelandic horses have a unique gate called a “tölt,” which is about the speed of a trot up to a canter, but very smooth for the rider. Both watching the tölt, and experiencing it was pure delight.

Judith and I were giddy with all the daylight.

June 11, our second night in Iceland, we stayed up until midnight just to see how light it was. The sun had set at about 11 p.m. but barely dipped below the horizon, providing bright twilight for a few hours until the sun rose at about 2 a.m. The northern lights put on a show that night, but we missed it.

By solstice the sun did not completely set. We had a hard time convincing ourselves that it was time to wind down and sleep, and became increasingly sleep deficit as the trip wore on.

Who needs sleep? You can sleep when you are dead.

Farm stays are probably the most affordable way to travel, along with hostels and tent camping, the latter of which can be brutal in the wind and rain.

Most of our accommodations were very nice and our hosts were charming and welcoming. Many of the farms are 1,000 years old, and in some cases

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are mentioned in the Icelandic sagas.

Icelandic, which is very difficult to learn, is the language of Iceland. But almost everyone also learns English in school. It was too easy to only speak English, and we never had a significant language barrier. Hello is “halló” and good-bye is “bless.”

How hard is that?

Iceland is very rural. Twothirds of Iceland’s population lives in Reykjavík. We went through about five towns in 700 miles that had a population larger than 200.

Akureyri, in the north on Eyjafjörður (yet another fiord), is the second largest city with a population of 17,000. We spent a day enjoying the botanical garden and the very European downtown.

One of the first plants we noticed flowering in the botanical garden was Tweedy’s Lewisia, a beloved Wenatchee Mountain endemic, kept alive by a gulf stream climate. One world. And another moment of being overcome with the delights of travel.

One would think of Iceland as a once-in-a-lifetime trip. But I’m already scheming how to go back.

Lisa Therrell is a retired Forest Service wilderness manager who does most of her international travel by sitting in her arm chair reading stories in The Good Life. She enjoys hiking, biking, gardening, botanizing and bird watching.

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Remmel Mountain from the camp site of Marilyn Sherling.

Readers share 5 fun stories about

their best day in the past 8 years

THE WINNING STORY

would be back in six days to pick us up.

Man, what a week! We took day hikes, fished in a high mountain lake and snapped a thousand pictures.

But, what made this particular day’s evening so special is that two packs of coyotes sang to us under a million stars. The pack

By Marilyn Sherling in the west would start, and the pack to the south would answer. Back and forth, back here are so many good days in life, but and forth they sang. I just sat there and what stands out in my mind was at the con- loved it. clusion of a good day — a great evening.

We have coyotes where we live, but, never It was the first week in August, about five have I heard a chorus like that! It was probyears ago. We had taken a pack trip 25 miles ably a once in a lifetime experience and the from the end of the road, up to the middle of culmination of a great day. the Pasayten Wilderness.

Editor’s note: A $95 gift certificate from The wrangler had dropped us off at a Buzz Inn West goes to Marilyn Sherling for this campsite with our supplies and left. He howling good story.

Howling under the stars T

Across town, across country or world wide

Egg delicious

By Lance Stegemann

M

aybe it wasn’t the best day in the past eight years, but an omelet made from our own fresh eggs, ranks pretty high in my book.

My wife Barb and I saw some Rhode Island Red hens for sale in a Craigslist ad, and decided we were ready to take on the task of raising a few backyard birds.

The hens were still young, and not quite laying yet, which in chicken terms is known as a pullet.

The young woman I talked with on the

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}}} Continued from previous page phone lived in Cashmere and had a few chickens to sell. I told her we could only take four due to where we lived and what the city ordinances required. She told me that was just fine and to, “Come on out.”

That was the start of our productive little flock. We turned them loose in our garden area to search for bugs and leftover garden scraps. They were in a new-found paradise and worked the ground over looking to unearth that next delicacy lying just beneath the soil.

I had previously built a fairly elaborate chicken tractor and now we had the occupants to fill it. There was only one thing left for us to do, and that was to patiently wait until that first egg arrived.

Barb and I would trade off chores as we got home from work, with feeding, filling or cleaning out the water dish, and adding fresh bedding to the small mobile chicken coop.

A month went by, then another, and then yet another. September had arrived and every once in awhile, we’d ask one another if there was an egg in the nest yet. Finally, my wife called me at work: “Guess what?”

That’s when the egg laying took off and each hen followed suit as our backyard sounded off with another proud chorus of clucking.

Our eggs continued to get increasingly larger and each within its own unique shell in shades of brown. The yolks were a deep yellow-orange and some eggs produced twin yolks.

We had the most delicious egg dishes and Barb tried more recipes than I was able to keep track of.

My personal favorite, which isn’t even really a recipe at all, is the dirty egg. It’s simply an egg, cooked over easy, sprinkled with

ISSUE n ratio celeb

2 epiphanies in the French Alps

By Maureen Stivers

M

Barb Stegemann and the lone remaining Rhode Island Red egg producer.

course ground pepper, and fried in sausage grease. That’s probably not what we’d consider healthy today, but it’s sure tasty!

We now have only one hen left from our original batch, but she continues to lay an egg almost daily.

Although we were a little skeptical at first if we’d have the time to care for a backyard flock, we found it to be relatively easy.

I believe we’ll be looking to connect with our friend in Cashmere next spring and hopefully she’ll have a few more of those productive little red hens.

y kind, generous husband Carl took me skiing in the French Alps for my 50th birthday celebration.

We arrived at Tignes/Val d’Isere in a blizzard, thrilled at the prospect of endless powder.

Our first day did not bring shushing and bliss but rather an afternoon spent on inappropriate equipment thrashing about. I got a few great turns in but spent most of the time We took our digging myself and betime... ing dug out of a meter of spring, wind-packed stomachs full glop. of delicious I pride myself on my skiing ability and expect- melted cheese, ed the usual self-chastis- heads full of ing for skiing poorly. It wine. never came.

It was replaced by the first of two unanticipated epiphanies. I was 50, for god’s sake — and look what I was doing!

From that moment on, anything I did was OK. The worry of not performing to self-set standards disappeared that day. It has never returned. This is my continuing attitude: if I do it, it’s all good.

That same evening, we took part in the weekly dinner of Raclette (a melted cowmilk cheese) and rowdiness at the top of the mountain in the panoramic restaurant.

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dinner ended around 11 p.m., which was followed by a late-night ski to the bottom.

The run was beautifully groomed to decrease the likelihood of drunken injuries and we were all equipped with torches to light our way.

They were not necessary. A nearly full moon was out which illuminated a view of stunning peaks as far as the eye could see.

We took our time, pausing to gawk at the glory of it all, stomachs full of delicious melted cheese, heads full of wine.

At that moment the setting and company of the love of my life (and knowing that I also had the love of a dear daughter) brought me to my second epiphany: my life could not be better. And it remains the best.

A quacking fun time in Seattle

By Sheryl Jeffries

Looking for direction in the foggy hills of Norway. Photo by Phil Venditti

I decided when I retired I would do some Happiness seen fun and unusual trips to see my daughter and granddaughters in Kent. through the fog I did a little research and chose my first-

back either. We’d better follow this compass bearing as long as we still see cairns.”

After several hours of hiking, half of that searching for the cabin we knew was nearby, the fog eventually got so thick, it was all we after-retirement trip. could do to find the last cairn we had passed.

By Peter Bauer I’m pretty sure my granddaughters (then If we really got off the trail to one side or 19 and 16) probably thought their Nana had ometimes happiness comes as a conse- the other, the topography was such that we blown a fuse; but I wanted to ride on the would be well and truly lost. quence of a bad situation resolving. notorious Duck Tour Bus. We were stuck in a cold fog, now 5:30 p.m.

We hiked straight into a cloud. The four So all by myself I drove to the coast, en“We could freeze to death!” of us (my wife and I with Phil Venditti and listed my daughter and two granddaughters “You didn’t bring hat or gloves?!”

Yuna Min) were hiking to a “self service” hut in the adventure.

“I’m not afraid to die.” in the mountains of Norway last summer.

We purchased our tickets and off we went.

“What?! You’re not helping.”

A late start compounded by currency issues Seattle has some really unusual things to “Don’t panic!” I said, on the verge of panic. and a long drive had us starting mid-afterdo but this was just crazy enough for my Finally we agreed that we should put on all noon. first adventure of retirement. our clothes, and huddle together, toughing it The cloud sat directly on the ridge above As the Duck Bus is also amphibious, we out for the night in a group hug. As I pulled us, but we hadn’t traveled this far to be engaged in a from-the-shore-to-the-water on my rain pants, the fog parted for literally turned back by a little fog. trek in the same lake where Sleepless in SeAs it turns out, above 3,000 feet in Norway two seconds revealing a squat rectangular attle was filmed (at least part of it). there is no vegetation higher than four inch- shape.

We toured downtown Seattle and, oh, I “The hut! The hut! The hut!” was all I es — and almost no dirt. No footpath can be need to mention that everyone in the bus could say, pointing. The fog closed over the seen. The trail is marked by cairns spaced was given a duck whistle (or should I say hut like a fist, erasing it. However, we had all frequently, easily followed in good weather. quacker)…. we quacked everywhere — there seen it. It was only 60 yards away.

Which was not what we were experiencing. are places in Seattle that I never knew about.

Later that evening, two wood stoves roar“I can see two cairns ahead.”

As a side note: I don’t think my granding, sitting in dry t-shirts and shorts, we “I can see three cairns!” daughters were THAT bored because we had played hearts by candlelight. A cold rain “I can’t see a cairn.” a very good looking captain of our bus. He spattered the windows outside, indicating “Can anyone see anything?” was goofy and entertaining in his different the kind of night we could have had.

“Where’s the trail?” hats for the different places we went.

If that’s not happiness, I don’t know what “This is horrible!”

All and all it was crazy and fun. What a is.

“We’d better turn back, now!” way to kick off the freedom of retirement.

“Um, it looks like we can’t find our way

S

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Volunteers

Rewired & inspired Salmon fest still lures in corky broaddus, who finds invigoration through volunteer projects

By Betsy McIndoe

Leavenworth resident Corky

Broaddus was a public affairs specialist with the Forest Service when she — along with a cadre of enthusiastic fish biologists, Tribal leaders, Chambers of Commerce, local, state and federal agencies, business sponsors and volunteers — began Salmon Fest in 1991 to celebrate the return of the salmon to the Wenatchee River.

But it’s a non-return that makes her laugh when she remembers those early days.

“Planning an event always has its unexpected moments,” she said.

“There was the time we had a falconer do a live demonstration with this beautiful and well trained falcon” Corky explains.

“The falcon took off in glorious flight, and we had the landing area staked out, the trainer was ready, people engrossed in its flight, and the falcon didn’t come back!”

She laughs as she relates the rest of the story. “We put out an all-points-bulletin in the Leavenworth neighborhood, and finally a woman from East Wenatchee called and said there was a falcon in her chicken coop. Its those things that make it always interesting and keep you on your toes.”

After working with the U.S. Forest Service in the Wenatchee National Forest and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service at the Leavenworth National Fish Hatchery, Corky retired from a career focused primarily on creating connections for people and nature, building and nurturing friendships and partnerships, and providing opportunities for experiential learning and “edutainment” (i.e. having fun while learning).

After she said goodbye to her career in the federal government, she continuously was asked, “How does it feel to be retired?”

Her answer to the question

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Corky Broaddus talks with a Japanese student about the amazing salmon.

25th annual Salmon Fest is Sept. 19

High School students and community citizens make up the more than 300 volunteers that are needed to implement Salmon Fest each year.

Due to the dedicated volunteers, resource specialists, non-profits, and exhibitors alike, Salmon Fest has been the recipient of such prestigious awards as “Volunteer Organization of the Year” by the American Fisheries Society, “Sense of Wonder Award” by the USFWS, Pinnacle Award for “Best Environmental Education” by the International Festivals and Events Association, the Carl L. Sullivan Award for “Most Outstanding Conservation Education Event in the United States”, and national Summit Award for “Best Children’s Program.”

Come on up to the Leavenworth National Fish Hatchery and join volunteer Corky Broaddus and the staff of the Wenatchee River Salmon Festival on Sept. 19 celebrating 25 years of the Wenatchee River Salmon Festival. It’s fun and it’s free.

was: “I am not retired, I am rewired!”

Volunteering is invigorating

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for Corky. Retirement has offered her opportunities to venture into activities and projects that she could not previously juggle into her full-time work schedule.

“Volunteering is my new way of life. It is a selfish way of living for me because of the mutual benefits gained. On a personal level, volunteering feeds my body, mind and soul. I am learning something new every day. I am making new friends and working with people I have admired from a distance.”

Now, as a Salmon Fest volunteer, Corky enthusiastically

“On a personal level, volunteering feeds my body, mind and soul.” contributes her work behind the scenes year-round to create and plan the event.

Salmon Fest is one of the first nature festivals in the United States and has been recognized as a model for others throughout the country. This free fun special event focuses on outdoor education for youth and families, recreation, nature and the arts, and the cultural significance of salmon to the people of the Pacific Northwest.

A lifetime dream came true in 2003 for Corky when she was invited to lead 26 students, teachers, school principals and agency staff on a seven-day journey to Kanose, Japan celebrating salmon and culture with foreign middle-school aged students and educators from Alaska, Russia, South Korea, Japan and the Yakama Indian Nation.

This evolved into the first International Salmon Summit for Students hosted by One Reel Productions of Seattle.

“Our privileged traveling group members were honored guests during the 300 year old annual fall Salmon Festival in Murakami, Japan. This epic trip reinforced to each of us that salmon crosses all boundaries and connects the world of nature within our lives,” said Corky.

In addition to Salmon Fest, Corky volunteers weekly as a kitchen helper and food transporter for the Leavenworth Senior Center’s Meals on Wheels program led by the Okanogan County Transportation Nutrition program. She also serves the Upper Valley Museum based in Leavenworth as a project leader for a Chelan County Historical Preservation grant gathering oral histories of upper

valley pioneer families.

She support’s her husband, Duane’s, work serving Veterans through The Bunker – a Wenatchee thrift store that benefits veterans — and North Central Washington Vets Serving Vets. And, she provides fun natural resource education indoor and outdoor experiences for pre-schools and the elderly.

Corky gives thought to how she now relates to her new rewiring of energy.

“I can honestly say that being on the side of volunteering, behind the scenes instead out front in the lead, I find myself inspired by the amazing people I meet in that it presents new, enjoyable situations and challenges for me.

“Volunteering at the Upper Valley Museum has introduced me to pioneers of our area that are relating such rich historical information and engaging stories it is fascinating. I absolutely love the discovery of these folks’ experiences.”

Yet, it’s the Salmon Fest that gives her special joy.

This year you will find Corky with many assignments at the festival. Some behind the scenes, and some on stage.

“I am very excited about our 25th anniversary year and the historical exhibit we are putting together,” said Corky.

“I love this place and its history and to be able to tell the story of the festival and the hatchery to our community will be a personal highlight for me.”

Betsy McIndoe has organized the Wenatchee River Salmon Festival the past 15 years as a contractor to the Friends of Northwest Hatcheries.

Her past 14 winters have been spent working at Stevens Pass Mountain Resort. She lives with her husband Doug on their Nason Creek property in Merritt.

Know of someone stepping off the beaten path in the search for fun and excitement? E-mail us at editor@ncwgoodlife.com September 2015 | The Good Life

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By Jane Zanol

H

ave you ever wondered how you could help the environment?

People who have taken the Wenatchee Naturalist class are doing just that. The class, created by Susan Ballinger, not only teaches people about the three ecosystems within the Wenatchee watershed, it also showcases opportunities for volunteering locally with organizations and projects that positively impact the natural world.

While volunteer work is optional after the class, many people are enthusiastically embracing the chance to utilize their new knowledge and skills.

One way that Wenatchee Naturalist students apply what they learn in the class is teaching others.

In 2013, Hana Butler used the Wenatchee Naturalist class curricula as a springboard to design and teach a year-long, fieldbased natural resources high school class, with a three-week summer program, for the regional technical learning center, serving students 16-20 years old.

Her students earn credit while engaging with relevant, meaningful projects that help enhance and sustain our natural resources.

As a Leavenworth native, Hana believes high school students in the area need more experiences in nature. She says that the mission of her class is character development, which Jane Zanol is a retired English professor who moved from Columbia, Missouri to Wenatchee in 2000. The Wenatchee Naturalist class oriented her to life in our spectacular valley.

Mother Nature’s helpers Graduates of wenatchee naturalist class put their knowledge to work

leads students to care about the larger world.

Hana explains, “I have found that many of my students don’t know what the word ‘naturalist’ means or they associate it with a hobby and people who are kind of hippies or dorky. My work is creating programming that engages youth in hands-on interactions with their community and environment in order to foster a sense of belonging, stewardship and a desire for lifelong learning.”

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Artist Lori Aylesworth, whose art shows a love of nature, champions growing milkweed plants locally to entice the beautiful Monarch butterfly. At left, a Monarch settles on a milkweed plant.

Her students have worked with the Chelan-Douglas Land Trust building trails on Castle Rock, as well as restoration and trash pickup projects. They’ve also worked with Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife on projects to improve water quality and restore habitat.

They’ve visited the landfill in East Wenatchee and learned about its engineering and maintenance, and with the Chelan County Conservation District, they explored biocontrol bugs

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for knapweed eradication.

Hana counts all these experiences as great community collaborations, which will prepare the students for summer internships and jobs, as well as their future careers.

While Hana has been working with students, local artist and photographer Lori Aylesworth has focused her efforts on a plant.

But the plant — milkweed — is a vital plant for Monarch butterflies, and Lori discovered that farmers and gardeners have largely eradicated the plant locally.

After the Naturalist class, Lori decided she would learn more about milkweed and promote people planting it. She contacted several experts who helped her understand the connection between Monarch butterflies and milkweed, the only plant species on which the butterflies lay their eggs.

Lori says that milkweed pods “offer a place for Monarchs to lay their eggs, as well as provide nectar for bees, hummingbirds, and butterflies.” She collected Showy Milkweed seedpods, which she planted and distrib-

uted. She also discovered that Ted Alway at Derby Canyon Natives Plant Nursery in Peshastin sells Showy Milkweed.

She has happily discovered that “there are lots of caring folks who “I have found that many have so much of my students don’t knowledge about helping know what the word the Monarch ‘naturalist’ means or survive.”

In her inthey associate it with a vestigation, hobby and people who she found that the Monarchs North Central are kind of hippies or are less likely to Washington. dorky.” frequent LeavThe longenworth and term project — Teacher Hana Butler areas closer to the has been North Cascades and much more rewarding, according to Gro: likely to be found around Cash“Bruce and I did the wolverine mere and Wenatchee. She is inproject for three different sites: tent upon bringing the need for Chatter Creek, Icicle Road, milkweed plants to the attenand Stevens Pass. Learning the tion of people in the Wenatchee techniques and specifications of valley; she even researched and setting up the sites was based on wrote an article for The Good years of input from other projLife about milkweed and Monects. Each time was an advenarchs. ture and a learning experience Lori says that “There is a which made me intrigued with wealth of information, and there learning more about wolverines are people all over the country and their habitat needs.” who are concerned about the Cathy Gaylord, a math teacher Monarchs. Perhaps together we at Eastmont High School in all can make a difference.”

East Wenatchee, recounts that Three other Wenatchee she “began volunteering with Naturalist graduates have spent Conservation Northwest doing hundreds of hours during the I-90 animal tracking at the same past three years as citizen scitime I was doing the Naturalist entist volunteers for the nonClass. The combination of learnprofit organization Conservation ing about flora and fauna in our Northwest. area in the Naturalist classes At several locations in the and field sessions complimented Wenatchee Mountains, Cathy both my volunteering and the Gaylord, Bruce Williams, and Naturalist class experience. The Gro Buer constructed and main- I-90 animal tracking involved tained food lures equipped with documenting tracks to be used motion-detecting cameras. in determining use of the new They learned that taking I-90 animal under and over photographs of visiting wildlife passes. is a non-invasive way to sample “Because of the Naturalist wolverine population levels in class, I also knew the trees I was September 2015 | The Good Life

How to become a Wenatchee Naturalist

seeing, the birds and the interactions of the environment I was working on.

“By the end of the class I had progressed to more involved volunteering with Conservation Northwest by being involved in their remote camera rare predator program.”

Cathy says that she and her husband Drew have met many wonderful people through both the Naturalist program and subsequent volunteer experiences.

Their volunteer experiences continue to expand: “We recently helped relocate pygmy rabbits in Eastern Washington, have helped count pika in the North Cascades, and have helped attempting to document grizzly bears in Washington state. I credit the Naturalist class with giving me the skills and opportunities to make these activities possible.”

Wenatchee Naturalist Gro says that the Naturalist class and her citizen science work have enhanced her life as well, recounting that she “was lucky enough to see a wolverine when I was skiing on the Icicle Road outside of Leavenworth. Now, whenever I am up in the mountains, I am hyper aware and hope to see another.

“I appreciate and support www.ncwgoodlife.com

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If you are looking for a way to deepen your connection to both the natural and human aspects of our collective home, consider becoming a Wenatchee Naturalist.

The next 50-hour Wenatchee Naturalist course is offered through Wenatchee Valley College Continuing Education, Sept.

16-Dec. 9. The course is designed to allow participants to meet new friends, discover lovely local places to visit again and to gain new eyes for the natural wonders of north central Washington.

To date, 140 people, ages 12-81, have completed the course.

Instructor Susan Ballinger is offering both a daytime and an evening course: Wednesday afternoon with four Thursday field trips and Wednesday evening with four Saturday field trips.

Field trips explore habitats along the White, Entiat, Columbia, and Wenatchee River corridors, guided by expert guest field scientists.

The interdisciplinary course includes readings, lectures, handouts, guest scientists, labs, and nature journaling. Field trips explore three ecosystems (shrubsteppe, riparian and dry forest) focusing on 100 common species of the Wenatchee watershed.

Every class includes hands-on activities and practice using a science field journal. Tuition is $350 and includes supplies, a field journal, and a loaned mini-library and hand lens.

The course is offered once a year in the fall. For questions, contact the course instructor, Susan Ballinger (skylinebal@gmail. com; 669.7820). Learn more and register at www.ced.wve.edu.

Conservation Northwest and am grateful for the opportunity to help with citizen science, which can aid in saving this incredible species.”

Wenatchee created by dreamers, risk-takers

by CARY ORDWAY

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he residents of the Wenatchee Valley are a proud lot. They see a steady stream of “Coast people” moving into town -- along with job transfers and lifestyle transfers from just about everywhere else – and it’s a kind of reinforcement of what they knew already: The Wenatchee Valley is a darn good place to live.

But it’s not like it was ever pre-destined to happen, this city by the river that just seems to keep running on all cylinders, fully utilizing every God-given resource to create a quality of life that is the envy of many the Big City dweller. The story of the Wenatchee Valley is a tale not unlike the tale of our country: a study in vision, determination, risk-taking and strong leaders who not only dreamed, but acted upon those dreams.

Suppose we were to carve out four “faces” on Saddle Rock, and we decided that our own Mount Rushmore was going to honor the Founding Fathers of the Wenatchee Valley. Who would we put there?

Before we offer some suggestions, let’s review how this whole

thing got started. Local historians say it was the Miller-Freer Trading Post, set up in the area of what is now Confluence Park, that got the ball rolling back in 1871. There were just five people living in Wenatchee at the time, but the Columbia River provided access to river travelers who traded with locals and Indians along the way. It was about this time, by the way, that a guy named Phillip Miller became Wenatchee’s first orchardist.

B

y the mid-1880’s there were a few dozen people living in Wenatchee when word started getting around that J.J. Hill would be routing the Great Northern Railway right through Wenatchee.

The arrival of the railroad in 1892 suddenly made Wenatchee quite viable for business. Word soon got out that Wenatchee also had a great climate and soil that was perfect for growing things. Cue the fruit industry, which actually began promoting Wenatchee as the Apple Capital of the World in the early 1900s.

Downtown Wenatchee, circa 1905-1912 / Photo #94-64-8 courtesy Wenatchee Valley Museum.

Local historians agree that savvy businessman and County Auditor John Gellatly is a strong candidate for “Wenatchee’s Rushmore” because of his vision and leadership in the Commercial Club, Wenatchee’s first business organization. An irrigation canal was constructed in 1903, making much more land suitable for planting orchards. The fruit industry was off to the races.

In 1905, 20 local businessmen chipped in to start the Wenatchee World newspaper because, according to former World Publisher Wilfred Woods, the two local weekly newspapers weren’t Republican enough. When the investors couldn’t make a go of it, Rufus Woods – Wilfred’s father – partnered with his brother to buy the Wenatchee World in 1907. It wasn’t long before they tripled the

Cary Ordway is president of GMC, which produces They Built This City for Good Life Magazine.

This quarterly section tells the untold story of how Wenatchee-area businesses and agencies were created and have improved our quality of life. It is made possible by sponsors appearing in the articles in this section. Email Cary at getawaymediacorp@gmail.com.

FALL 2015 | THE GOOD LIFE | They Built This City |

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paper’s circulation.

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ufus Woods, with his vision and boundless determination to build out not only the Wenatchee Valley but Central Washington, is another major candidate for Wenatchee’s Rushmore. Read any history about the Grand Coulee Dam and it’s clear that Woods was championing the idea as early as 1918 and pulling the political levers right on up to the start of construction in 1932. The dam resulted in massive irrigation over vast acreage in Central Washington, creating the foundation for today’s vibrant agricultural industry.

The first Apple Blossom Festival was in 1920 and started with local business leaders inviting Seattle business people to ride the train over the mountains – there was no Stevens Pass Highway – and enjoy the blossoms and beauty of the area. There was a queen, a pageant and a baseball game and the festival grew every year until, in the 1950’s, it had

reached the point it was being covered nationally by CBS Radio.

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he 1920s were a boom time for the local apple industry, with new varieties coming to market that were proving highly successful. An orchardist by the name of A.Z. Wells is considered by local historians to be another prime candidate for Wenatchee’s Rushmore not only because of his heavy involvement in local agriculture but because he was also an entrepreneur and visionary. Along with Jim Wade, Wells operated Wells and Wade hardware store, a fixture in the local business community for decades. He donated his unique castle-style home -- now called Wells House – to Wenatchee Valley College in 1949.

The 1930s in the Wenatchee area saw the creation of public utility districts, which would go a long way toward improving both quality of life and the local economy. Eventually PUD’s became involved with and took ownership of local dams.

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ith its completion in 1933, Rock Island Dam became the first dam to span the Columbia River. That set the stage for the construction of the Wenatchee Alcoa plant in 1952. Prior to Alcoa, only a portion of Rock Island’s power-generating capacity was being used and more of the dam’s capacity was put on line to provide the cheap power that had attracted Alcoa to the Wenatchee Valley in the first place.

“Alcoa is what made us a city,” remembers Wilfred Woods. Alcoa’s 1,000 new employees changed

the Wenatchee Valley economy almost overnight.

The dams along the Columbia played a big role as the years and decades went by and more dams like Rocky Reach, Wells, Chief Joseph and Priest Rapids were built on the Columbia. Not only were they providing low-cost energy and irrigation, but they were creating attractive new recreation areas that over the years have been expanded and improved.

T

hat brings us to another candidate for Wenatchee’s Rushmore: Kirby Billingsly, a reporter and managing editor of the Wenatchee World during the 30’s and early 40’s, followed by many years as secretary-manager of the Columbia Basin Commission. Billingsly was considered the main architect of local control of electric power in this region and is given much of the credit for working out the deal that brought Alcoa to Wenatchee. He also envisioned the parks you see today on the Columbia, and one has even been named after him – the Kirby Billingsly Hydro Park.

With Billingsly we now have a total of four Rushmore faces for Saddle Rock, but there were so many other key people over the years that have contributed to the Wenatchee story.

In the earlier years, we might have pointed to Conrad Rose, the most successful businessman of the early 1900’s and a man who did well enough to build the mansion that eventually became the Jones & Jones Funeral Home.

Wenatchee Valley as seen from East Wenatchee, circa1925 Photo #98-26-28 courtesy Wenatchee Valley Museum.

Or, in the 1950’s, how about Archie Van Doren who invented controlled atmosphere storage that doubled the storage life for fruit?

And don’t forget Grady Auvil, the grower that put the Granny Smith apple on the map.

Health services in the Wenatchee Valley got a big boost when three doctors – L. M. Mares, A.G. Haug and L.S. Smith – founded the Wenatchee Valley Clinic in 1940. Today, Confluence Health provides state-of-the-art medical care that once required local residents to travel to Seattle or Spokane to receive.

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enatchee Valley College brought higher education to the Valley as early as 1939, being accredited as a state institution two years later.

The politicians who have brought Wenatchee to the attention of government authorities are too numerous to list, but people like Earl Tilly, Walt Horan and Horace Bozarth were representative of a long succession of legislators who loved the Wenatchee Valley and did all they could to find tax dollars that could be spent locally.

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A

nd lest we forget, Wenatchee is the four-seasons recreation

paradise it is today because of people like Walt Hampton who pushed hard for development of the Mission Ridge ski area in 1966.

Wenatchee residents play a lot in summer, too, as cities, counties and PUD’s have created an amazing variety of parks that include some of the Northwest’s premier waterfront. Hiking trails abound.

In recent years, high technology has come to the Valley and the stories are still being written about such innovators as LocalTel, Frontier Communications and others who provide world-class communications for Valley residents. High-tech businesses have not only arrived, they have thrived.

Wenatchee’s had quite a ride.

Nothing came easy or fast, and a lot of people were involved in creating our present quality of life. But the end result is an everlasting tribute to the people who built this city. ✦ (Local historian, Chris Rader, contributed information for this article.)

Wilfred Woods

Wilfred’s laugh is contagioous and he brings it out often, especially when recounting some of the behind-thescenes stories about “Dad” (you remember, George Washington). One of his favorite stories is about the time Rufus was trying to lobby Herbert Hoover’s Secretary of the Interior to green light Grand Coulee Dam. As Rufus was driving the dignitary around the site, he was getting more and more animated, flailing his arms around in excitement about the Grand Coulee project, causing him to nearly run off the road.

Rolodex of Wenatchee history

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ilfred Woods was in his element, all right, this walking, talking history book who had a front-row seat as Wenatchee came of age in the 20th Century. It was a little like sitting down with George Washington to learn about the Revolutionary War.

Or maybe more precisely, George Washington’s son. For it was Wilfred’s father, Wenatchee World Publisher Rufus Woods who was the center of the Wenatchee universe during the pivotal first half of the 20th Century and who had played such an instrumental role in convincing presidents of the United States that it really was a pretty good idea to build Grand Coulee Dam. Wilfred, too, had decades at the helm of Wenatchee’s daily newspaper and guided the paper from 1950 until his son, Rufus G. Woods, took over in 1997. Today, Wilfred is Chairman emeritus, which means he can take a few minutes to sit on the couch

in his unpretentious office and spill the beans on what really happened during Wenatchee’s formative years.

A

sk Wilfred a question about Wenatchee history and it’s like throwing him a fast ball right over home plate -- he’ll hit it out of the park because that’s just the pitch he’s been waiting for. He gets a big smile, his eyes twinkle and with Google-like speed he immediately retrieves whatever bit of information you were seeking. It’s all stored there in the archives because he lived it. He remembers precise dates, names, all the stuff you and I hope we will remember when we get to be Wilfred’s age -- which happens to be a very spry 95.

A new, quarterly, special section

J

ust who is responsible for this great place to live that we call the Wenatchee Valley? If you’ve read

our opening piece, you now have a good idea of some of the major movers and shakers who put it all on the line to make our part of the state such a desirable place to live.

But with that article we just scratched the surface. There are hundreds of untold stories here in the Valley, some of them about your neighbors or people and businesses you visit on a regular basis.

Maybe not quite so funny was the story about how the Wenatchee World almost ceased to exist back in 1910 when a competing weekly newspaper decided to go daily.

Rufus had to borrow money from his family and even the publisher of the Spokane newspaper to stay afloat long enough to outlast the other paper -- he did, but it took four long years of struggle before the other paper gave up.

T

he dams and power in North Central Washington are fairly complicated subjects, what with PUD’s, the U.S. Corps of Engineers, Puget Power and who-knows-who-else having some say on how these things were built and maintained. But ask Wilfred

Likewise with the fruit industry, which grew so much during his own tenure as World publisher. He pulls out interesting stats like the fact that today’s apple orchards are producing three times the number of apples in the same amount of acreage than they did 50 years ago thanks to changes in the way trees are planted and other scientific developments.

Dates, times, places -- all the info is right there in Wilfred’s mental rolodex to bring out on demand.

Wilfred laments the reduction of the local timber industry that occurred after the spotted owl controversy.

He has a sense of amazement about some of the new industries like Bitcoin that can set up shop in just about any house here in North Central Washington to take advantage of cheap power. He’s kind of wondering what’s next.

Grand Coulee to spotted owls to Bitcoin -- if it’s happened in North Central Washington over the past century or so, Wilfred Woods lived it, or at least heard some pretty darn good stories about it. ✦

expect fascinating articles about interesting peo-

You’ll be surprised at what a rich and interest-

ple here in the Valley. In future editions of They

ing history these Wenatchee trendsetters have, and

Built This City, you’re going to meet some of the

how they have adapted with the times to keep their

people who brought their expertise to Wenatchee

businesses thriving for decades. You’ll be amazed

to create a better life for their families, and to help

at the sacrifices they were willing to make to bring

meet the needs of a growing and diversified pop-

their dream to the Wenatchee Valley, sometimes

ulation. The one thing they all have in common is

risking everything just because they knew in their

that they have helped improve our quality of life in

hearts they could succeed.

the Wenatchee Valley.

So be sure and look for They Built This City,

And it’s not only people and businesses. We’ll

which will be published four times a year – in the

look at some of the agencies such as the Chelan

September, December, March and June issues of

County PUD, featured in this first edition of They Built This City. Future issues will look at such institutions as Wenatchee Valley College as well as amazing high-tech firms that have brought 21st Century technology to our little piece of

With the Good Life Magazine you’ve come to

a question about it and he boils it all down masterfully, again recalling all the key decison points, the players and the end results.

the Good Life Magazine. And, by the way, if you have any stories we should know about – give us a call at 888-255-7735, or email getawaymediacorp@gmail.com.

— Cary Ordway, for They Built This City

Washington State.

FALL 2015 | THE GOOD LIFE | They Built This City |

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FALL FALL 20152015 | THE | GOOD THE GOOD LIFE LIFE | They | They Built Built This City This City | 25|

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PET tales

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

Y

utah and me at Quincy Lakes — I am trying to explain to her why she should be looking into the camera instead of looking so bored with the whole thing.

Yutah, which means People of the Mountains, will be three in November. She is my constant companion and everyone who meets her thinks she is great (which of course she is.)

We do a lot of hiking around the area and in southern Utah. More pictures of our travels can be seen on Yutah’s Facebook. https://www. facebook.com/yutahsadventures.

— Dixie Dringman

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| The Good Life

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enatchee Valley Humane Society worker Barbara McGrady kisses mayor candidate Roscoe, a 9 1/2-year-old trained walker hound mix.

Roscoes’ champaign slogan is “A bone for every bowl.”

You can vote for Roscoe or any of the other 36 candidates for $1 a vote and vote as much as you like. Proceeds help feed the animals at the Wenatchee Humane Society. For more information on A Mayor’s Tail see www.wendown.org or the humane society.

Roscoe is also available for adoption.

www.ncwgoodlife.com

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September 2015

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his is one of the homes on the Building North Central Washington’s 2015 Home Tour and Remodeling Expo.

For other select homes on the tour, see pages 31 through 35.

Tour dates are Sept. 18 - 20, with 10 homes. Visit: www. buildingncw.org/events for more information and to buy tickets for Chefs on Tour and for the tour itself.

With a building lot only zoned for one house, a replacement home that takes great advantage of the view is built only inches from the original cinder block mid-20th Century farm house that will be demolished.

Story by Susan Lagsdin Photos by Donna Cassidy

When

remodeling was a no go, a replacement home on the same lot became the answer AT e HSPoONm SOR

W

ith seven weeks to go before the Sept. 18 Home Tour — and a reporter standing nearby with an open notebook — builder Shane Covey could only withstand a limited number of construction crises.

As we talked on the site of his second show home (the first was his mom’s house, featured in the May 2013 issue of The Good Life) we heard the ominous sound of a bulldozer sputtering to a stop in mid-push.

Not good.

The driver appeared around the corner of the in-progress house, looking sheepish. “Out of gas.” OK. Big slowdown averted.

A full crew was working today. Pickups lined the dusty drive and the rattle and hum of

}}} Continued on next page

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Home owner Cyndi Garza took the above photo on a clear day showing a view of still-snow capped mountains in the distance. But even on a smoky day, rear windows still allow an uninterrupted view of the nearby orchards and tree-covered hills.

Replacement home }}} Continued from previous page tools was everywhere. At some point in a year-long project, something’s bound to go a little wrong, but in Shane’s hands, it turns right very quickly.

He’s a super-organized builder with a linear approach to process. But he’s also well known for his creative problem solving. The home’s owner, Cyndi Garza, reminded him of their early conversation about a living room feature. She kept saying, “No, that won’t work.” “Nope, not that.” “No… I don’t think so.”

And on the next suggestion?

“That’s it!”

Was he just lucky? “No,” she said, “I think Shane would have

had as many suggestions as we needed to look at.” With new construction as with his many remodels, Shane believes the owner needs to be comfortable and happy at every step, and he’s patient with others’ decisionmaking processes.

Jay and Cyndi Garza have a long relationship with their builder.

He was an integral part of the three-year remodeling marathon — notably the veranda maker — on their newly-acquired (in 2001) Beecher Hill House, a Peshastin landmark, now an event center and B&B. They later saw Shane’s Sunnyslope Tour house and agreed that his skill and

style, and especially his attitude toward his craft, was what they wanted for their own new house.

At one point, “their own new house” wasn’t really meant to be, until they learned the reality of remodeling.

Cyndi, a local girl come back home, and her husband Jay, from afar but loving it here, purchased in 2013 a one-acre agricultural site high enough above Peshastin that it captures spectacularly lovely views of Wedge Mountain and the Stuart range. They gave themselves a year to discover 1) if they could live with large orchard fans in close proximity, and 2) if the little old cinder block house they

were living in would be worthy of a remodel.

Yes to the first. No to the second.

A total remodel would be more like a demolition. Insulation was nil; an R factor of 3 in the walls made this a summer hotbox.

The ceiling heat source would have to go if the roof was raised as desired, and the new windows they wanted are difficult at best to install in cinder block. Stefan Swoboda (local architect) and Covey (remodel expert) both advised against reconstruction.

“With both of them in agreement, we took that as a very sensible ‘no,’” said Cyndi.

Last fall, they decided to build

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September 2015

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Plenty of large windows and a glassed door to the deck bring plenty of light into the living room, which will have a fireplace at one end.

new on their one-acre lot. But they couldn’t start with a clean slate, an empty building site.

They lived full time in the small house, which had been moved back several yards from the paved road long ago, and it would be a tight squeeze to build their almost 2,000 square foot home in that same viewrich sweet spot.

Architect and builder, measuring very carefully (standard in the industry but decidedly more important with clearance in the inches) placed the new foundation at a perfect angle and started their collaboration. Extremes of weather took their toll on the pace of the project, but now it’s full steam ahead, and they know the place will be ready for public scrutiny in September.

Simple criteria guided the design of a new place: a shed roof, windows to the southwest, big enough for comfort but small enough to keep clean, and don’t hurt the lilac tree.

At some point between finishing the new and demolishing the old home, Jay and Cyndi will relocate architectural artifacts

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from their “midcentury modest” home — doors and their knobs with skeleton keys, some wallpaper swatches and distinctive light fixtures. They’ll also invite Habitat for Humanity to take all other usable components of the original structure.

When it came to the myriad interior decisions in the new house, from paint to drawer

}}} Continued on next page

September 2015 | The Good Life

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Replacement home }}} Continued from previous page pulls to faucets, trim, tile and beyond — a responsibility many owners relish but they do not — Cyndi had an easy out.

“My friend (and Beecher Hill employee) Pam (Kiehn) has a great eye and knows me, and she loves making those kinds of choices. All I ask is that someone show me A, B and C and then let me choose one.” Shane also helped her out by suggesting local vendors, which kept her from constant Internet sitehopping.

The home was custom-designed for a couple with distant grandkids.

The open-plan first floor has a guest room and bath and a master suite. Stairs lead to a much smaller loft study/extra bedroom, the latter with an irresistible use of underroof space: a hidden cubby play area.

By early August when these accompa- So far, the centrally located lilac tree has survived construction of the new house with its nying pictures were soaring roof lines that is going on all around. taken, the two most notable features were very much with a faux-rock ledge will crepatio areas, lawn and plantings in evidence: the soaring roofate a wainscoting effect, and the will soften the edges. Three lines and wide-open views from height of the house is in variesmall storage sheds in the back tall windows. gated sizes of cement lap siding. and a garage (itself on its third At the exterior base, stucco In the near future, decking and move) will be shifted to new spots and kept functional.

What else will remain of the old orchard home?

A few hardy rows of Red Star Crimson pears, the quiet of a country road and always the distant mountains to the southwest. The view straight from the living area and down the windowed gallery hall is dark jagged ridges in the far distance, with a glimpse of Mountain Home Road snaking its way along a timbered ridge.

Another remnant, planted decades ago in the front yard and lovingly nurtured, is that single lilac tree. It’s determined to survive and thrive in the midst of a busy construction site.

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September 2015

see these featured homes FRIDAY THROUGH SUNDAY, SEPT. 18 - 20

Custom Construction & Cabinetry by Shane Covey

The Xtrordinaire fireplace with custom bamboo cabinetry surrounding it adds that touch of warmth and charm that can be seen from above in the open loft space.

This master en suite has a spacious bedroom with the master bath and walk-in closet enclosed in their own private room. Heated 9730 Nibblelink Rd, Peshastin floors, shower and shower bench offer a warming touch to this en suite package.

Surrounded by orchard, this contemporary From design to completion, this home ofdesigned home is private as well as peaceful. fers a variety of intricate and unique features.

When you first enter the home, you will be From the doors and windows down to the drawn to the wall of windows and vaulted custom tile and bamboo cabinets and back ceilings with a stunning view of the surup to the open loft space. You will find somerounding mountains. thing creative around every corner.

Kitchen, dining room and living room all We hope you enjoy the Home Tour this year share nice open space that is perfect for en- and thank you for visiting this featured home. tertaining guests.

• • • • •

Residential Commercial Custom Homes New Construction Remodels

Thanks for choosing us to be a part of your tour home!

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September 2015 | The Good Life

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DRIVING INSTRUCTIONS: Go west towards Leavenworth, turn across the bridge into Peshastin, after going under the train overpass, turn left and follow North Road to a 90 degree bend to the left. Rather than turning, go straight onto Nibblelink Road.

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September 2015

Home Tour & Remodeling Expo Sept. 18 - 20

Boa Construction Co. 2838 SE Falcon View Dr. East Wenatchee

This Ryan Kelso design has a smart casual feel. Spacious areas abound.

As you glide across the hickory hardwood floors through the knotty alder doors in this single level living home, you will experience the simple yet elegant feel.

Enjoy a warm summer afternoon with friends and your favorite beverage on the large covered patio or a cool winter

night in front of a stone faced fireplace with a live-edge wood mantel.

The kitchen invites gathering and conversation around a large island with efficient space to entertain or everyday living.

There is a powder room you will remember.

The guest bedrooms may encourage a longer stay that you may hope for.

Even if they are here for another day you can retire to the master suite to relax and with just a touch of a button enjoy a long warm bath.

A generous closet allows you to be

Congratulations BOA Construction.

Proud to have provided the stucco finishes on your tour home.

organized and ready to make the most of every day.

This beautiful home boasts a maintenance- free exterior of stucco and Pella wood-clad windows. With fewer things to worry about, you will have plenty of time to enjoy hobbies and projects in this oversized three car garage.

This is a house you would be proud to call your home.

DRIVING INSTRUCTIONS: Up Grant Road, right on Nile, left on 8th St. SE, right on Par Lane, right on Falcon View Drive.

Congratulations BOA Construction on your Tour home.

BOA Construction for choosing Sav-mart for your new appliances on your tour home.

1729 N. Wenatchee Ave. 663-1671 • www.savmart.net

509-421-7999

September 2015 | The Good Life

Thank you

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Home Tour & Remodeling Expo Sept. 18 - 20

Sadler Construction 915 N. Lyle St., East Wenatchee

First impressions are so important and from the very moment you approach this beautiful contemporary-styled home, you cannot help but be in awe of its stunning exterior appeal and hillside placement, made possible by the native basalt retaining walls.

From the large exterior gradient wood beams, to the integrated use of lap, board and batten and shingle siding, to the gorgeous wood-clad windows, the quality of construction in this home is immediately evident.

Beauty and attention to detail transition from the home’s exterior to its interior. The white oak hardwood floors and extensive painted millwork set off the interior appeal.

The oversized chef’s kitchen includes features like a large walk-in pantry, quartz countertops and beautiful Columbia cabinets.

With its open floor plan, the kitchen flows into an expansive living and dining area that

showcases a beautiful gas fireplace with custom mantle, as well as large picture windows and glass doors that provide access to one of the home’s two fantastic decks and a commanding territorial view of the Valley.

The master bedroom retreat includes such amenities as a walk-in closet, a master bath with a tile walk-in shower and soaker tub, as well as heated floors for comfort on those chilly mornings. Not to be outdone, the guest bathroom includes tile and heated floors, too.

Whether it’s details like the use of LED lighting throughout, or its large oversized garage, or the custom built metal roof and matching metal fascia, this home is truly stunning — both inside and out.

DRIVING INSTRUCTIONS: North on Eastmont Ave. Take a right on 10th St. and follow it up and around the corner. Take a left on 9th St. (just past the corner, look for signs). When you get to the Lyle St. “T,” take a left. House is second house in on the right.

Rain Gutters Contractors & GALE • Insulation Upgrades • Garage Doors • Fireplaces • Rain Gutters Garage Doors 509-662-5171

www.mascocs.com

Senior and Military Discounts

Congratulations Sadler Construction on your tour home.

It was a pleasure supplying your appliances.

1729 N. Wenatchee Ave. 663-1671 • www.savmart.net

Call for your FREE Estimate Today!

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September 2015

Home Tour & Remodeling Expo Sept. 18 - 20

Hanson Home Construction LLC 873 Sagecrest Drive, Wenatchee

This home is located in Sunnyslope with stunning views of Wenatchee and the surrounding mountains.

The great neighborhood of Birch Run fills you with peace and solitude so your home will be immensely enjoyed inside and out.

When you enter you will see the main focus is the easy flowing open floor plan, which is complimented by beautiful finishing touches.

The great room, kitchen and dining room create a space which is perfect for entertaining and family gatherings.

In the kitchen, the stainless appliances are highlighted by beautiful custom cabinets, slab granite and tile flooring.

Truly a kitchen any chef would enjoy.

A nice separation of bedrooms allows for privacy. The master suite offers a soaking tub with tile surround and separate tiled shower. A large walk-in closet and double sink vanity allows plenty of space and storage.

The highlight is the 27 x 32 detached shop, which gives a nice escape for working projects.

To complete your home a 2-10 home warranty is provided to allow peace of mind.

DRIVING INSTRUCTIONS: West on Easy Street, Right on Crestview. Go through American Fruit Road, right on Sage Crest Drive.

BUILDER BIO: Hanson Homes began with hard work and a dream to provide quality housing at an affordable price. Our company has built over 100 homes in the Wenatchee Valley.

Exterior Solutions your NCW premier door & window supplier.

Congratulations Hanson Homes!

Drywall installation is a project that takes a lot of preparation in order to do it right the first time.

I take pride in my work and it shows.

Jim Dorsey

Phone: (509) 886-3333

Vidals Drywall LLC Jaime Vidal - Owner

1120 N. Denis Ct. • East Wenatchee, WA

509-670-3761

#VIDALDL900JZ

Congratulations Hanson Homes on your Tour home.

Congratulations Hanson Homes!

Proud to have supplied your custom Doors, Millwork and Cabinets for your Tour Home

Proud to have supplied appliances on Hanson Homes Tour of Homes house.

1729 N. Wenatchee Ave. 663-1671 • www.savmart.net

September 2015 | The Good Life

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column THE TRAVELing DOCTOR

jim brown, m.d.

Food safety — what you can do at home

After I wrote last month’s

article on food safety — where I reported food born illnesses affect 48 million Americans annually — my wife, Lynn, asked, “How can we protect ourselves from food-related illnesses?”

We are all in contact with millions of bacteria daily, both within and on our bodies. A Yale researcher found that when a person enters a room, they add about 37 million bacteria to the air every hour. (Don’t ask me how anyone figured that out.)

Most bacteria that we encounter daily are not harmful and most are necessary for our very survival. Only a relatively small number of bacteria are known to cause disease.

Eighty percent of all infectious diseases are transmitted by direct or indirect human contact.

Our hands have the greatest contact with the world around us and as such they have millions of bacteria living on them and under our fingernails. The longer the nails, the more bacteria and fungi they harbor.

Unless you have an open wound, the germs you collect on your hands cannot enter your body except when you touch your eyes, nose or mouth. We touch our noses about 200 times per day.

My good friend and colleague, Dr. Richard Tucker before his tragic death some years ago, gave one of the best talks in memory at a medical meeting titled, “My mother taught me everything I know about infectious disease.”

I remember the first two things he mentioned: that she always said “Wash your hands before meals and wash your hands after going to the bathroom.”

This still is sage advice. Only 50 percent of males wash their hands after using the bathroom.

I’ve seen many briefly rinse their hands with water alone, but that does nothing except remove some dirt. It has no effect on bacteria.

It is important to wash your hands in hot soapy water for at least 20 seconds before each step in food preparation, before eating and after going to the bathroom. Our moms were right.

In the kitchen, remember to dry your hands on paper towels and not on the dishtowels where germs may continue to reproduce. Hand sanitizers are convenient but not as effective as washing with soap and hot water.

Dr. Philip Tierno, a professor of microbiology at the New York University medical school, is known as “Dr. Germ” due to his obsession with germs and the infectious illnesses they cause.

He states that we are in daily combat with a mortal enemy.

The enemy — pathogenic germs — are lurking everywhere, in our homes, the supermarket, the office and particularly when we travel.

About 80 percent of the infectious diseases are transmitted through human contact. Travel dramatically increases these encounters. When you place your hand on the seat of a cab or grip the handrail on an escalator, it is the same as holding hands with thousands of people there before you.

You get the idea. Dr. Tucker’s mother was right long before modern microbiology.

So what can we do in our homes, you might ask.

After I retired from my medical practice, I volunteered to be a caregiver for a friend under-

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going his second bone marrow transplant at the University of Washington in his battle against leukemia. I stayed there with him in special housing the medical center provided for severely immune compromised patients.

As a result I was given food safety and general guidelines important in keeping food and the environment as clean and as safe as possible.

Food safety starts at the supermarket. We know that all raw meat has a lot of bacteria on it when we buy it. We need to separate raw meat from our other food items even in our grocery carts and when transporting our grocery items even if in plastic bags. Once home we should store all raw meat on the bottom shelf in our refrigerator if we are not freezing it.

We should only purchase pasteurized milk, milk products and juices.

It is recommended we avoid pre-cut fruit and vegetables despite their convenience. Sprouts of all kinds should be avoided due to their frequent association with salmonella outbreaks.

At home our refrigerator’s temperature should be below 40 degrees to slow the growth of any bacteria.

Our raw meat needs to be separated from any ready-to-eat foods. If you don’t plan to eat the meat soon, you should freeze it.

Always wash fresh fruit or vegetables before eating or peeling.

We need to have at least two cutting boards, and use one for meat and one for everything else. We should never cut or chop vegetables or fruit using the same cutting board as your meat.

The cutting board shouldn’t be cracked or scored as food particles with bacteria can grow

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September 2015

there. We should clean our cutting boards and utensils before going to the next food we are preparing.

We need to frequently clean our kitchen surfaces with Clorox wipes or a bleach mixture of one-third cup of bleach and three-and-a-third cups of water and change that solution daily.

We should also sanitize our refrigerators inside and out once a week. After their use, our sponges should be sanitized in the dishwasher or microwaved for 1 minute.

Meats should be defrosted either in the refrigerator, in cold running water or the microwave.

Never defrost meats in the open air on the counter. If marinating meat do it in the fridge.

When cooking meat the temperature should be above 145 degrees for rare, 160 degrees for medium and 170 degrees for well done and up to 180 degrees for whole poultry. Be sure to use a meat thermometer to be certain.

Below 140 degrees, bacterial growth is encouraged. You should not eat leftovers after three days in the fridge. If in doubt throw it out.

Most of us love shrimp but is it safe to eat?

Consumer Reports says to beware. Most of the shrimp eaten in the U.S. is imported, the majority from China and other Asian countries. These shrimp are frequently grown in filthy tanks or ponds teeming with bacteria. Shrimp have a poor immune system so the bacteria thrive in them.

There is little oversight of imported shrimp with less than one percent of shrimp imports being inspected and none of the

I have decided that I only want to consume fish that I know is fresh caught, wild, not farm raised, and local. overseas producers are inspected. Much of our other seafood is imported as well, typically from Asia including nearly 100 percent of the tilapia consumed in the U.S. Tilapia, imported almost entirely from China, is the number four fish eaten in this country, in part because it is cheap and easy to prepare.

Paul Greenberg, a noted authority and author of American Catch, The Fight For Our Local Seafood, recommends we only eat fish that comes from America. This is because only countries like the United States, Norway, Iceland, Canada and

Australia are doing the best to apply science-based fish management.

We export most of our American fish to Asia since they are willing to pay top dollar for good fish and in return they export their cheaper fish back to us.

I have decided that I only want to consume fish that I know is fresh caught, wild, not farm raised, and local. If I don’t catch it myself, I will be as careful as possible to find out where it comes from.

Greenberg does say that U.S. shrimp from Louisiana is very safe but hard for us in the Northwest to obtain. I recently had prawns in a fine restaurant on Whidbey Island after I was assured they came from Louisiana.

We are now fortunate in our area to have fresh fish available from Alaska’s Arctic waters thanks to Rich and Sena Wheeler of Ardenvoir.

They have started a company named SenaSea Seafood. Rich

September 2015 | The Good Life

is a commercial fisherman who fishes five months a year in Alaskan waters from 500-3,000 feet deep. They say that the deep cold water builds extra fat in the fish, making them more tasty and loaded with Omega 3 oils.

Lynn and I just had some of their black cod, which was as good as it gets. Their fish, once caught, is flash frozen and shipped by air to Pak-It-Rite in Wenatchee.

It is then packaged and shipped globally, but we can buy it directly at Pak-It-Rite in dinner-sized portions. It may cost a bit more, but is it ever good and safe.

After eating the sockeye salmon I catch in Lake Wenatchee, it is nice to know I can have a local source for safe Alaskan fish including salmon, halibut and black cod the rest of the year.

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

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Save The Date November 13, 2015 CONFLUENCE HEALTH FOUNDATION presents

Honoring - Ed Farrar, MD Sponsored by:

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column GARDEN OF DELIGHTS

bonnie orr

Delicious tomatoes for breakfast B

ecause they are relatively easy to grow despite the hiccups of blossom-end rot or stink bugs, tomatoes are the most popular garden vegetable.

Cooks check their plants daily anticipating the first ripe tomatoes, and those small sugarluscious cherry tomatoes never make it into the house.

This tasty fruit is most often eaten fresh during the summer, but many people can them for the other three seasons.

Most cooks incorporate tomatoes into dishes for lunch and dinner; breakfast is the perfect time for tomatoes as well.

When I lived in Great Britain, I adored the breakfasts that included grilled tomatoes. Even though they were most often hot-house tomatoes, hot tomatoes dripping with butter went perfectly with a cup of tea and a fried egg, toast, and don’t forget the baked beans.

To simulate the taste I have grilled tomatoes in a toaster oven or heated them in a microwave.

There are many creative, delicious ways to cook tomatoes for breakfast.

Be aware that hot tomatoes are really hot and can scald the cook and the eater who is not anticipating a taste that includes boiling tomato. A tomato contains more water than an equal amount of whole milk, so it is easy to bring tomatoes to a boil without realizing how hot they are.

I prefer to skin my tomatoes by dropping them in boiling water for 10 seconds. Some types of tomatoes have stringy or tough skins. I also like to seed the tomatoes I use in breakfast dishes because seeding them removes not only the seeds but also excess juice which will make what

Baked tomato muffins can be made with a variety of cheeses, depending on your zest for zing.

ing pan.

My favorite eaters have suggested that if you prefer breakfast with a zing, use pepper jack cheese, double the chives and add basil. If you are brave use feta even though its texture makes a moister muffin.

Serves 4; 15 minutes prep 400 degrees - 20 minutes

you are cooking rather watery.

Breakfast dishes don’t bake or cook for long periods of time, so the extra moisture does not boil off.

Easy tomato recipe? Slice a tomato, dig out the seeds, put the slices in hot oil in a pan, cover with beaten eggs, top with cheese.

My favorite is poached eggs.

Yes. Instead of using broth or water to poach eggs, use tomato sauce. It is easy, filling and delicious. For this recipe use either the tomato sauce you canned last year or whirl fresh tomatoes in the blender to make the sauce.

Summer poached tomatoes 15 minutes; serves 2 2 cups tomato sauce 4 eggs 1/4 cup of small cubes of mozzarella

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Pinches of herbs of your choice: basil, sweet marjoram, savory, dill, fennel, etc.

Salt and pepper Bring the tomato sauce to a boil in a large frying pan.

Break the eggs onto the boiling sauce. Add salt and pepper.

Turn down the heat and cook eggs until they are your preferred firmness.

Sprinkle the cheese on top of the eggs. Wait until it is melted.

Serve two eggs for each person, and cover with the tomato sauce and cheese. Be sure to have toast made from great bread.

Baked tomatoes with cheddar and chives For a stress-free breakfast, I prefer to use paper muffin cups inserted into the muffin pan. That way, there is no clean-up of a messy baking pan.

Over-mixing muffin dough creates tough muffins. Be sure the oven is at 400 degrees before inserting the bak-

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September 2015

1 cup flour 2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 cup oil 1 egg 1 cup buttermilk or water 1 large tomato peeled, deseeded and chopped — at least one cup 1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese 1 tablespoon chives finely chopped White pepper

Oil a muffin pan (12 medium-sized cups) or use muffin papers with a puff of aerosol oil.

Whisk the egg, buttermilk and oil until well blended. Add the chives.

Mix the flour, salt and baking powder Stir the egg and flour mixture together — about ten strokes. Lumps are OK. Stir in the tomato and cheese until barely mixed.

Drop tablespoons of the mixture into the muffin pan sections.

Bake for 20 minutes — until the tops are browned.

Serve with tomato jam or orange marmalade.

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

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column moving up to the good life

june darling

Follow your passion the healthy way S

heena’s story fascinated us.

The 12-year-old was up each morning by 4:30. She dressed herself for two hours of early morning ice-skating practice, packed her lunch and did her school homework.

As we heard the story, I looked at Sheena’s mother, Tina. She threw up her arms as if denying any part in it. She wanted to make it clear she was not a helicopter parent.

“It’s all her. She wakes herself up; she does it all. She just loves skating,” Tina said.

“She’ll be in the Olympics,” someone in the group said. Everyone nodded.

The encounter with Sheena got me thinking: n What exactly is the connection between motivation, particularly self-motivation, and achievement? n Is being highly motivated to engage in an activity a good thing in terms of happiness and well-being — does it lead to the good life? n If high motivation does lead to the good life, how do we develop it?

The person’s whose research most addresses these questions is Dr. Robert Vallerand.

Vallerand’s studies indicate that passion is the concept we need to understand more.

We may typically think of passion as a “red-hot” date we had decades ago, but that’s not what Vallerand primarily studies. His work is mostly about the strong attractions people have to an activity, like skating.

But passion is more than a love for something. When people are passionate about an activity they also value it — they find it meaningful. They regularly invest time and energy doing it.

It is part of their identity; they

don’t just skate, they are skaters.

Passion is the thing that leads to high self-motivation, which leads to hard work, practice, paying attention to feed-back, pushing past failures and achievement. That’s the answer to the first question above about the connection between motivation and achievement.

Now question two. Is passion a good thing? Let’s take the easy part first. The person with little or no passion is not going to be as happy as a person with at least a moderate amount of passion. Next.

Here I must stop and add a word to the reader. Some people cannot think about the word passion without getting confusing images — probably still thinking about that hot date years ago. Though it would make researchers shiver, if this is a problem for you, I suggest you substitute the words “high motivation” or “great enthusiasm” for the word “passion.”

Let’s move on to consider the passion problem. According to Vallerand, there are two different types of passion. One type is healthy and leads to happiness and the good life, but the other isn’t and doesn’t so much.

Vallerand calls the more healthy type, harmonious (if this word sounds too foo-foo for you,

broaden your mind, be tolerant.

Vallerand is from Quebec, they are less squeamish about using these sorts of words) and the more unhealthy type, obsessives.

The harmoniously passionate people are a lot happier than the obsessives. Why? The harmonious group takes up their activity because they choose to; they want to for their own internal reasons. They are intrinsically motivated.

The obsessives largely engage in the activity for external reasons, for the rewards of respect and acceptance, for example.

They are more extrinsically motivated.

The difference in “why-theydo-what-they-do” leads to a difference in goals and enjoyment.

The harmonious ones are much more able to get into a state of flow so that time passes quickly; to be creative and to enjoy themselves while doing their activity. They tend to have what researchers call “mastery goals.”

Mastery goals are not about beating others or about being beat by others. Mastery goals are about improving one’s ability to achieve a certain objective outcome like being able to run a mile in five minutes.

Obsessives are much more focused on winning or not being last. This preoccupation about

performing better than others leads them to worry and get anxious while they are performing and feel ashamed after they lose.

Answer to question two: Passion can be a good thing. It can make you happy, but only if it is of the harmonious type, freely chosen.

Question 3. How do we develop healthy passions in ourselves and others? Here’s the short answer.

Remember harmonious passion comes about through choice (and support, not control). Researchers suggest exploring a number of activities — sports, music, movies, cooking, art, travel, or different ways of working.

Notice what things are exciting, meaningful and resonate.

Develop a few of those interests or cultivate current ones; passion for activities often intensifies with a little time and experience. Create mastery goals rather than comparisons with others. Use word like “I want to” rather than “I have to.”

How might you develop a healthy passion (or great enthusiasm) and move up to The Good Life?

No More Lonely Days Rare opportunity!

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Enjoy life with a bit of added ease at Colonial Vista All Inclusive Rates: • Delicious Meals • Housekeeping • Transportation

• Entertainment • Activities and so much more..

Make new friends or reconnect with an old one at Wenatchee’s happiest Independent & Assisted Living Community! Check us out on facebook to see all the fun we’re having!

Call for a tour and free lunch 509-663-3337 We look forward to meeting you!

Longevity Strength Commitment • Locally Operated & Family Owned September 2015 | The Good Life

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Nutcrackers in the shape of bears — including a bear riding a sleigh. Pictures of nutcrackers are from the museum books, The Art & Character of Nutcrackers and An Addendum to the Art & Character of Nutcrackers, both copyrighted by the Leavenworth Nutcracker Museum.

Yes, a nutcracker museum has its interesting moments

By Arlene Wagner

I

nteresting things can happen when you run a museum for nutcrackers and have a young, ambitious European antique dealer as a best friend.

The phone rang at 1:30 in the morning. It was Rik Gijsen of The Netherlands.

“Hello, Holland calling. I found a bear on a sled” “You found what?”

“For the museum… I found a bear on a sled.”

“Rik, bears don’t sleigh ride!”

“This one does — you have to have it.”

And so it goes. Another time it was a pair of shoes. The museum shows carved wood nut-

crackers in the shape of shoes, but a real pair of shoes?

“Rik, where are you and what have you been drinking?”

The museum now has a pair of 17th Century shoes that were used to remove the spiky husk of the edible chestnut after it was dried.

I have traveled many miles in Europe with this man to antique shows, to museums, everywhere there might be a nutcracker.

We’ve been at London’s Portobello road at 5 in the morning to be the first in line. And to many other antique districts in such interesting places as Birmingham, Paris, Rouen, Amsterdam, Zurich, Seiffen and Brussels. But don’t ask me about the well-

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Nutcracker Lady Arlene Wagner holds a nutcracker carved in her image by Mathias Freund, a German carver. The carving shows Arlene holding a book she authored, which opens when the nut is cracked.

known tourist spots in these places — maybe someday I will take the time to see something other than antiques.

From Rik’s passion of hunting for the unusual, the museum shows a spectacular carved boxwood nutcracker circa 1500, a rare Roman bronze discovered in 1960 after being buried for over 1,800 years, a Bedouin tool for both cracking nuts and roasting them over a fire, a 17th Century multi-use tool, a solid silver Betel cutter from India, a 17th Century wrought iron lever with whistles in the ends, a carved ivory screw imbedded with over 1,000 pieces of gold

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September 2015

pique, and even nutting stones from the Sahara desert when it was a lush green paradise thousands of years ago.

Antique dealers, like Rik, have made it possible for the Leavenworth Nutcracker Museum, tucked away in this Washington village, to acquire such a high quality collection of specimens.

The museum is known around the world, evidenced by the fact that people have traveled from over 70 countries to see the collection, and copies of the museum’s recently published book have already been sent to such faraway places as New Zealand, Norway, England, Netherlands,

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WHAT TO DO

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

NCW Blues Jam, every second and fourth Monday, 7:30 – 11 p.m. Columbia Valley Brewery, 538 Riverside Dr, Wenatchee. Info: facebook. com/NCWBluesJam. Wenatchee Farmers Market, every Wednesday, 4 – 8 p.m. and Saturday, 8 a.m. – 2 p.m. Pybus Public Market.

Weekly Club Runs, every Thursday check in between 4:30 and 6:30 p.m. at Saddle Rock Pub and Brewery. Either a 5k or 10k walk or run on the Apple Capital Recreation Loop Trail. Complete 10 weekly runs and receive a free shirt. Cost: free (other than a smile). Info: Joel Rhyner 387-0051.

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

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

Village Art in the Park, now through Oct. Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, 9 a.m. – 6 p.m. Downtown Leavenworth.

ABOVE: A rare Roman bronze discovered in 1960 after being buried for over 1,800 years.

Pack Walks, every 4th Saturday, 9 a.m. Bring your friends and dogs on leashes and walk the riverfront trail. Meet on the loop behind Pybus Public Market at the boat launch. Info: wenatcheefido.org.

AT RIGHT: A carved boxwood nutcracker circa 1500

Germany, Italy, Poland and Lithuania.

The Leavenworth Nutcracker Museum was founded by George Wagner and myself in 1995. We donated our huge collection and the building in which it is housed, for we wanted to be sure that future generations would be able to enjoy it. Now, as a non-profit foundation, others too have donated nutcrackers, probably making this the largest collection in the world.

Many years ago a family stopped by to see the nutcrackers. Their little boy was fascinat-

ed with all the soldiers, especially the ones with big furry hats.

He gave me a big smile when I gave him a little folder with many nutcracker pictures.

The next day I was with friends at a nearby shopping mall, and I heard a loud, excited voice: “Look Mama, there is that nutcracker lady.” And the name stuck....

The web site for the museum is www. nutcrackermuseum.com and there is a special page for students at wwwKidsLoveNutcrackers.com.

September 2015 | The Good Life

Sleeping Lady Birdwalks, 1st and 3rd Saturdays through September, 9 – 10:30 a.m. Heather Murphy, local wildlife biologist, nature journalist and artist has recorded 109 species of birds in the Sleeping Lady area, join her for these walks.

Info: sleepinglady.com.

Wildfires and Us, 9/1 – 11/21.

Photographs by John Marshall and others illustrating the role of fire in Eastern Cascades ecosystems.

Wenatchee Valley Museum and Cultural Center. Info: wenatcheevalleymuseum.org.

Live From New York, 9/3, 7 p.m.

This film explores the early years of Saturday Night Live. Archival footage is interwoven with stolen moments and exclusive commentary from SNL legends, journalists,

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hosts, musical guests, crew and others influenced by the comedy giant. Snowy Owl Theater. Cost: $12 or $14 at the door. first friday events: n Two Rivers Art Gallery, 9/4, 5 – 8 p.m. Featuring painter Dennis Conger along with 50 other professional and emerging artists, exhibiting works in wood, clay, glass, jewelry, paint and fabric.

Music by guitarist Brian Ohme.

Wines by White Heron Cellars and complimentary refreshments. 102 N Columbia, Wenatchee. Cost: free.

Info: 2riversgallery.com. n Merriment Party Goods, 9/4, 5 – 8 p.m. Snacks and beverages.

23, S Wenatchee Ave. Cost: free.

Info: facebook.com/merrimentpartygoods. n Tumbleweed Bead Co., 9/4, 5-7 p.m. Refreshments served. 105 Palouse St. Cost: free. Info: tumbleweedbeadco.com. n Wildfires and Us reception, 9/4, 5-8 p.m. Educational photo exhibit at Wenatchee Valley Museum and Cultural Center. Info: wenatcheevalleymuseum.org.

Leavenworth Lions Craft Fair, 9/5, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Hand made craft works by local crafters. Food available. Leavenworth Lions Club Park. Cost: free. Info: kohoradio. com/local/events.

Helicopter Flights, 9/5, 19, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. Enjoy the ride along the river from bridge to bridge. Just north of Pybus Public Market. Cost: $40. Info: 699-8044. Tickets sold at Pybus Public Market information booth on Saturdays only.

Manson summer nights concert series, 9/6, 6:30 – 9 p.m.

Summer Nights Bash Rust On The Rails will be featured; an amazing combination of four different PNW bands, well known in their own right plus more. Leffler Field, Hwy 150/Wapato Way. Cost: $10. Info: mansonsummernights.com.

The Audience, 9/10, 7 p.m. This film features Helen Mirren in her Tony and Olivier Award-winning performance as Queen Elizabeth II, following her Academy Award win for the same role in The Queen.

Snowy Owl Theater. Cost: $12 or $14 at the door. Info: icicle.org.

The 31st Annual Quilt Show, Harvest of Quilts, 9/11-12, 10 a.m. Items and fabrics from guild members’s own sewing rooms,

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The Art Life

WHAT TO DO

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

}}} Continued from previous page raffle, a beaded art display, silent and live demonstrations. Town Toyota Center. Cost: $5.

911 Spirit of America memorial, 9/11, 11 a.m. – noon. This memorial is a reminder of all that occurred at the Pentagon and New York City’s World Trade Center.

Cashmere Chamber of Commerce.

Info: wenatchee.org.

Chef Extravaganza, 9/11, 6 p.m.

Showcasing local foods and culinary talent in order to properly kick off Farmer Consumer Awareness Days. All foods from the Quincy Basin and three chefs having fun.

Music to be determined. White Heron Cellars. Cost: $25. Info: whiteheronwine.com/events.

Hot Air Balloon Festival, 9/12, 6 a.m. – 10 p.m. Morning launches, nightglow and fireworks, food vendors wine and beer tasting and live music. Bring your lawn chairs or blanket. Lauzier Park in Quincy.

Walk to End Alzheimer’s, 9/12, 8

– 10 a.m. Pybus Public Market. Info: pybuspublicmarket.org.

Leavenworth Fall Wine Walk, 9/12. Stroll, sip and sample in Leavenworth to taste an award winning variety of wines and beverages at over 20 locations. Includes commemorative wine glass, bottle tote, complimentary snacks and prizes. Cheers! Cost: $45 pp or $80 couple. Info: leavenworth.org.

Sailing Regatta, 9/12, 11 a.m. All sailboats are welcome, this race focuses on having a good time and protests are not allowed. Onedesign classes for large enough groups as well as Portsmouth divisions for mixed mono, multi and dinghy classes allow every boat to compete. Skippers meet 10 a.m. at the Chelan Lakeshore Marina. Dinner party at Rusty’s Nut Farm, cost: $10. Info: sailchelan.com.

Shore to Shore marathon, one-half marathon, 10k, 9/12, noon.

The course begins at Field’s Point Landing on Chelan’s South Shore Road. Runners pass thru Chelan on Hwy 97A onto Manson Hwy 150, the North Shore Road, for the final stretch to the waterfront finish at Manson Bay Park. The course is predominately flat and rolling with

COMING UP AT

ICICLE CREEK CENTER FOR THE ARTS I N L EAVENWORTH SEPTEMBER

(2) half-mile inclines in the full marathon. Info: lakechelan.com.

Wellness Place Gala Auction, 9/12, 5:30 – 10 p.m. Vintage Circus Theme, dinner performers, silent and live auction. Pybus Public Market. Cost: $75. Info: welnessplacewenatchee.org/#!wpgala/cx6e.

Grandparents Day/Connecting Generations, 9/13, 2 – 4 p.m. The Ripple Foundation presents Elder Speak, a conversation connecting generations. Join Harriet Bullitt, Wilfred Woods, Pamela Amos, Beth Pratt, Wendell George and Pat Harris, representatives of our Elder Community, for an afternoon of sharing wisdom through sharing life experiences. Canyon Wren at Icicle Center for the Arts, 7409 Icicle Rd, Leavenworth. Cost: by donation. Info: 548-5371.

Wenatchee Naturalist, 9/16, 1 -3:30 p.m. plus four Thursday field trips or 6-8:30 p.m. plus four Saturday field trips. Learn about the ecosystems within the Wenatchee watershed. Instructor: Susan Ballinger. Cost: $350. Register: wvc.edu/directory/departments/ conted/.

Discover the Peak of Adventure, 9/16, 5:30 – 6:45 p.m. Come see why the award-winning Rocky Mountaineer is one of the “Best Train Experiences in the World.”

Rail journeys take you from Seattle to beautiful British Columbia and into the spectacular Canadian Rockies. AAA Wenatchee, 221 N. Mission RSVP 665-6299.

Meru, 9/17, 7 p.m. Film on rock climbing of Mount Meru in Northern India. Snowy Owl Theater. Cost: $12, $14 at the door. Info: icicle.org.

NT LIVE FILM

SEP 3, 7PM

LIVE FROM NEW YORK

JAZZ

FILM

SEP 10, 7PM

THE AUDIENCE

BNCW Home Tour and Remodeling Expo, 9/18-20. See what’s new and exciting with these 10 new homes. Cost: $11 adults, $5 children.

SEP 19, 7PM

FILM

PEARL DJANGO

SEP 17, 7PM

MERU

Lake Chelan Home Tour, 9/19, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. 5 homes to tour. Art show at Tsillan Cellars. All proceeds are used to purchase needed medical equipment for Lake Chelan Community Hospital. Cost: $20.

Info: lakechelanhometour.com.

OPERA EDUCATION

SEP 20, 1-5PM

PERFORMING SHAKESPEARE

FILM

SEP 27, 2PM

SIGNATURE

SEP 24, 7PM

RAISING OF AMERICA

SEP 26, 7PM

EMILY BEAR TRIO

SEATTLE’S PUBLIC OPERA LIVE ON STAGE

ICICLE.ORG (509) 548-6347 7409 ICICLE ROAD, LEAVENWORTH, WA

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Wenatchee Harvest Hustle, 9/19, 9:30 a.m. Wear your best ‘80s attire, invite your friends and family and sign up for the 2.1k, 5k or 10k course on the Apple Capital Loop Trail along the beautiful Columbia River. The run will loop over the pedestrian bridge with turn-around

}}} Continued on page 44 | The Good Life

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September 2015

// SKETCHES

Working less, creating more, now that’s a healthy lifestyle If you were a cinematogra-

pher, how would you shoot this scene? What camera angles (down, side, up), what range, (zoom in, zoom out?) And what details?

I headed back to where I had lost Lizzie’s trail. The marks on the mossy log were completely different than the impressions she had been leaving in the loam… I followed the old cedar log until it was crossed by a newer blown down tree and for a moment lost the track… With a heavy thump, something hit the ground behind me and I found myself in a caveman crouch, my knife in my hand without my remembering drawing it from its sheath.

Leavenworth graphic artist Clint Hollingsworth uses his realistic pen and ink drawing skill as intentionally as any filmmaker uses a camera, and might translate that passage into five frames in a comic strip, complete with its suspense, indecision and explosive action.

The artistic decisions are almost exactly the same as in filmmaking. In fact, he’s done the equivalent (at the rate of five frames posted five days a week for 15 years) in his post-apocalyptic web comic The Wandering Ones, a survival adventure series that has captured the attention of 20,000 readers world-wide.

This passage, however, is NOT from the script of that longrunning comic book. It’s from page 48 of The Sage Wind Blows Cold, Clint’s first full-text, nonillustrated action novel, published in February and available on Amazon.

The evolution of his storytelling talent from doodle to comics

S OF LOCAL ARTISTS

Clint Hollingsworth: Cutting back on his day job(s) allowed more time for creativity to flow.

to novel is a personal tale with its own happy ending.

Clint remembers his first venture into narrative graphics as a toddler. It was a spontaneous multi-art collaboration: while his dad was reading the funnies aloud to him, Clint was reinventing the stories step-by-step, furtively scribbling stick figures on the wall.

The scribbling took off — he kept on drawing, training himself without mentoring or lessons — basically self-propelled.

But, untypically, he was also blessed with a family that supported his passion and considered art as good a career as any.

An art scholarship to Wenatchee Valley College and a degree from Washington State University didn’t quite get him what he needed. “There’s nothing quite as motivating as working at Kinko’s and Domino’s Pizza for a few years,” he admitted.

Clint’s second degree in 1988 from the Art Institute of Seattle gave him an entré into the world

of commercial art.

That’s been his bread-andbutter profession for years, even as The Wandering Ones gained readership.

When he and his wife Susie (also a writer) moved to the area in 2004, and later to the family land on Icicle Creek Road, he continued working full time designing ads, and his art had to wait its turn. “Comics were something I did last, before I crashed at the end of the day.

It was like a second 20-hour-aweek job.”

The turning point in Clint’s art life came quite recently.

At 54, he realized that popularity doesn’t necessarily mean financial success in the comics world, that the combination of his Type 2 diabetes and full time work were draining his energies and that he was actually a pretty good writer.

With Susie’s encouragement, Clint made three big pressurechanging decisions that helped him immeasurably.

September 2015 | The Good Life

He cut his day job(s) down by half, continuing with small contract projects (like designing ads for The Good Life).

He slowed the pace of The Wanderers, offering up one four-panel scene a week, which freed him to begin a new online comic, appropriately titled Starting from Scratch.

Then he turned his love of storytelling into strictly words, writing and self-publishing the aforementioned and wellreviewed Sage Wind, with every intention of serializing the adventures of Mac Crow, his young bounty-hunting protagonist.

In addition to his imagination and a flair for adventuresome storytelling, there are two strong physical strands in this artist’s life that shape and inform his work.

Clint holds a black belt in Goju Ryu (Okinawan karate) and last year co-authored a book with a martial arts theme. Sometimes his current characters’ lives depend on his knowledge.

And, even more soul-filling is his long and abiding love of the outdoors, a passion first nurtured by his grandparents, then fine-tuned over the years as survival skills with professional hunters and trackers.

When interviewed for this article, Clint had just returned from a bow-making class, where he carved his own bow, made sinew-like string, fletched his www.ncwgoodlife.com

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Books and signing

Clint Hollingsworth’s book can be found at the Wenatchee Book Company, 11 Palouse, Wenatchee. He will be doing a signing there on Nov. 6 with wife, Susie, also an author, and award-winning author Wendy Delaney (who writes the Working Stiffs cozy mysteries).

Wandering Ones can be found at http://wanderingones.com.Starting From Scratch at http://www.startingfromscratchcomic.com.

own arrows.

With job pressure off and a flexible schedule, he’s reading more, hiking more and stretching his artistic talents.

He is also optimistic about success in Internet publishing, which is gradually bringing income.

He said candidly, “Everything you write can be ‘monetized’ in any number of ways.” It’s not easy, but it’s a marketplace about which he’s increasingly respectful and increasingly savvy.

Clint describes his work with the wisdom of a man who has slowed his pace, Tortoise and Hare style, to extend his life.

“Living in Paradise can only help one’s art — a good environment helps the artistic process,” he said. His home studio looks out at pasture and timbered foothills, and a rucksack with camping gear is close at hand.

He summarized his wellconsidered transition. “I’m really glad I was able to finally focus on my health and my creativity.

“Now I’m living the life I always wanted to live.”

>>

WHAT TO DO

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

}}} Continued from page 42 points. Info: raceentry.com.

British Car Show and Shine, 9/19, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. Open to all makes of British cars, trucks and motorcycles. No charge for the general public to browse the cars.

Pybus Public Market. Info: pybuspublicmarket.org.

Wenatchee River Salmon Festival, 9/19, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Family friendly event offering environmental education, outdoor recreation, hands on activities, entertainment and more. Leavenworth Fish Hatchery. Info: salmonfest.org.

Harvesting for Yourself… and Outwitting Critters, 9/19, 10 a.m. – noon. Making the most of your harvest – ranging from tasty edibles to composting and coping with wildlife in your landscape. By Chelan/Douglas County Master Gardeners. Community Education Garden, 1100 N Western Ave. Cost: free.

Wenatchee Taste of the Harvest, 9/19, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Beer and wine garden, food and Artisan vendors, harvest market vendors, kids activities, music at Centennial Park and more. Downtown Wenatchee. Cost: free. Info: Wenatchee.org.

Walk to Remember, 9/19, 10 a.m.

An uplifting healing event. Provides a venue for bereaved families to support each other while honoring their children. Event includes: guest speaker, two mile walk, balloon release, lunch, raffle, t-shirt, music, remembrance board and grief literature. Fundraiser for The Compassionate Friends Wenatchee Chapter. Walla Walla Point Park.

Cost: $20 pp or $60 for family of 4.

Info: tcfwenatcheevalley.org.

Pearl Django, 9/19, 7 p.m. This band’s signature style is marked by pristine and dexterous string work, colors of Bal Musette, the steady pulse of rhythm guitar and an unmistakable swing that delights audiences of all musical sensibilities. Snowy Owl Theater. Cost: $22, $24 at the door.

Run boy Run, 9/19, 7:30 p.m. Live band, an all-acoustic format blends bluegrass, folk and the old time American vernacular with touches of classical and jazz. Numerica Performing Arts Center. Info: numericapac.org.

The Raising of America, 9/24, 7 p.m. The U.S. is a can-do nation.

So why is child well being in the U.S. so much worse than in other rich countries? How does what Paul Kershaw calls “the growing squeeze” on so many young families and caregivers — the squeeze for time, for money and for resources — “drip down” on their infants and young children, literally altering the wiring of their developing brains with potential long-term consequences for learning, earning and mental and physical health?

How might we do better? Snowy Owl Theater. Cost: $12, $14 at the door. Info: icicle.org.

Friends of the Library Used book sale, 9/25-10/4, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday 10 a.m.

- 6 p.m. 8th St and Commercial St downtown Leavenworth. Cost: $1-$3. Proceeds go to Leavenworth Library.

Jurassic Quest, 9/25-27. A Dinosaur Adventure for the whole family. The main dinosaur exhibit features ultra-realistic, life-size animatronics dinosaurs; Over 50 lifesize dinosaurs in all. Visitors can interact with these huge creatures,

learn about them and even ride a few. It features realistic scenes, enormous dinosaurs, cute baby dinosaurs and lots of fun activities for kids of all ages. There are huge T-Rex and Triceratops fossil digs where young paleontologists can uncover long hidden dinosaurs bones, the “Dino Bounce” area with several, towering, dinosaur theme inflatable mazes, face painting, Dino crafts and much more. Town Toyota Center. Info: towntoyotacenter.com.

Autumn Leaf Festival, 9/25-27.

The Autumn Leaf Festival celebrates the turning colors of the autumn leaves and is the town’s original festival; originating in 1964. Entertainment and family fun activities. Grand parade noon Saturday. Downtown Leavenworth.

“Desperate Housewives meets Mamma Mia!” - Applause Magazine

Fri, October 9 at 7:30pm Tickets $19-$29 (increase showday) www.numericapac.org • 663-ARTS

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September 2015

Info: Leavenworth.org.

Fall Family Day Hikes, 9/26, 10/3, 10, 9 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Want to take your kids out hiking but don’t know where to go? Or get out occasionally and want to learn more about what you see on the trail?

Join the Land Trust and the City of Wenatchee Parks and Recreation Department for fun morning walks.

Each week we choose a theme – bugs, wildlife, birds and more.

Locations to be announced later.

Info: hillary@cdlandtrust.org.

NCW Dahlia Show and Exhibition, 9/26-27, all day. Hundreds of beautiful dahlias. Pybus Public Market. Cost: free. Info: pybuspublicmarket.org.

Emily Bear Trio, 9/26, 7 – 10 p.m.

At age 13, Emily Bear is a prolific musical talent – composing, orchestrating and performing in a diverse collection of styles. Snowy Owl Theater. Cost: $28 or $32 at the door. Info: icicle.org.

Harvest Festival, 9/26-27. Food vendors, beer garden, live entertainment, fun stuff for kids. St Joseph Catholic School, Wenatchee.

Cost: free.

Seattle’s Public Opera, 9/27, 2 p.m. A special Opera Series kickoff event featuring music by Public Opera from Seattle!. Public Opera will be singing excerpts from the Metropolitan Opera’s HD Broadcast season including Il Trovatore,

>>

WHAT TO DO

Othello, Les Pecheurs de Perles, Tannhauser, Turandot, Madame Butterfly and more. Snowy Owl Theater. Cost: $22, $24 at the door.

Series pass: $222 (12 shows). Info: icicle.org.

An Unforgettable Cruise Adventure, 9/28, 5:30 – 6:45 p.m.

Experience small ship adventures and river cruises. Destinations like Alaska, Columbia and Snake Rivers, Central America, Galápagos, Hawaiian Islands, Mexico’s Sea of Cortez and the Pacific Northwest all await on an Un-Cruise Adventures vacation. AAA Wenatchee, 221 N. Mission RSVP 665-6299.

Rediscover America on the Mighty Mississippi, 9/29, 5:306:45 p.m. Join us for a sentimental journey through American history as you learn about cruising the legendary Mississippi River on the only authentic overnight paddlewheel steamboat, American Queen. Location: Lakeside Lodge and Suites, 2312 W. Woodin Ave., Chelan Hosted by: AAA Travel & American Queen Steamboat Company RSVP: 665-6299.

Wings and Wheels, 10/1-4, 11 a.m. Carnival rides, food and craft vendors, car show, swap meet, helicopter rides, Red Apple Flyers model aircraft demos at Red Apple Flyers Field and an old fashioned cruise begins at Eastmont Community Park and Ends at the Hot Rod Café on Friday night at 5:30 p.m.

Info: Wenatchee.org.

The Breach, 10/1, 7 p.m. This film is Mark Titus’s journey to discover where the fish have gone and what might bring them back. Snowy Owl Theater. Info: icicle.org.

Skyfest, 10/2-4, 9 a.m. – 11 p.m.

There will be hundreds of skydivers building large flying formations, record attempts, wing suit formation flights, tandem skydives for first time jumpers, and much more. Lake Chelan Airport. Info: skydivechelan. com.

Wings and Wheels Kids Day, 10/3, 11 a.m. – 3 p.m. Airplane art, balloon animals, bean bag toss, car races, computer games, live performances, magnet games, mini pumper rides, tattoo art, petting zoo, safety booths, snacks and drinks and more. Eastmont Committee Park. Cost: free.

Make a Difference Day, 10/24.

To submit project ideas, list your planned activities, or learn how you can participate, call Laurel Helton 663-6662 or Margie Kerr 6705684.

>>

column the night sky this month

Peter Lind

View a long-lasting total eclipse If you’ve been keeping track,

the first half of 2015 had lots to see in the evening sky but as we fall towards autumn, the focus is going to be on the predawn skies as Venus, Mars and Jupiter return to prominence on September mornings.

There is still plenty to see in the evening and night sky this month, and the overnight hours will offer some of the best views of Uranus and Neptune of the year.

But the star attraction is much closer to home.

The moon grabs attention three times during its monthly march across the sky.

Twice, the moon will eclipse a star. The first is Aldebaran, the main star in Taurus the bull.

People on the East Coast as far south as Florida will see the star emerge from a third-quarter moon’s dark limb just before dawn on Sept. 5, an event that a lot of amateur astronomers love.

On the 13th, the moon passes in front of a much bigger and brighter star. This time it’s the sun, and people in southern Africa, Madagascar, and as far south as Antarctic will see a partial solar eclipse, as the moon blocks 30 percent of the sun’s surface area.

The moon’s final and most impressive act arrives the night of Sept. 27 when it dives deep into earth’s shadow to create a very striking total lunar eclipse.

Observers across most of North America will see the moon in totality for 72 minutes.

Viewers in most of Europe and the Middle East will witness a short eclipse just before dawn on the 28th. This is always an exciting event as the moon turns a deep reddish glow and the deepness of the glow is never known until the event happens September 2015 | The Good Life

due to changing atmospheric conditions.

In contrast to events involving the moon, which are counted in minutes or a few hours, planets usually show little or no change over a period of days.

Mercury, which hangs low in the west after sunset during the first half of September, is a perfect example of little movement.

The ecliptic, the sun’s path across the sky that the planets follow, and the autumnal equinox cause Mercury to suspend just over the horizon all month.

Saturn is a much more attractive target for observers in the evening and night sky. It stands about 20 degrees above the southwest horizon as darkness falls in mid-September and doesn’t set until around 10 p.m.

The ringed planet shows best through a telescope and when it lies higher in the sky during the early evening hours. Any instrument will show the planet’s ring system, as it is tilted 24 degrees to our line of sight.

Titan, the major moon, should easily be seen in close proximity to the planet. Titan sits directly north of the planet Sept. 7 and due south on the 15th.

Neptune reached opposition on the final evening of August and its appearance stays about the same throughout September. The planet appears in the southeast as darkness falls and climbs toward the zenith as midnight approaches.

You’ll need binoculars or a small telescope to clearly spot it among the background stars of central Aquarius, the water bearer.

Uranus appears low in the East after dark and reaches opposition in mid-October. It trails Neptune by about two hours and sits in a faint part of Pisces.

Early morning hours bring www.ncwgoodlife.com

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another dazzling display of three bright planets just before dawn. Venus starts out by rising an hour before sunrise, and is a brilliant planet, far brighter than either Mars or Jupiter which follow Venus up above the eastern horizon just as twilight comes.

Although August held the Perseid meteor shower, September holds its own shower from Perseus. This is a minor shower displaying up to five meteors per hour. For those in North America, the peak arrives the night of Sept. 9. A thin waning crescent moon, which rises around 4 a.m., won’t interfere at all.

By the time you read this, I will have already returned from this year’s Oregon Star Party, held in the Ochoco National Forest in remote eastern Oregon.

I have been attending the Table Mountain Star Party for the last several years and decided it was time to try something new.

The Oregon Star party attracts serious amateur astronomers because of its very dark skies. Dark skies are hard to come by these days and the darker the sky the better your eyes like it.

Because of all the recent excitement over Pluto and all the information we have now, I have decided that my main objective at this star party is to find and observe Pluto, something I have never done. I will be reporting back on my new adventure, but in the meantime, find a friend and go out to discover all the gems waiting for you in the night sky.

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

Harvest of Quilts Sept. 11-12

Quilting stitched together 3 generations

By Terry Hunter

A

regular sight at J.C.’s Stitchin’ Post in Wenatchee was Mary Thomsen, with daughters, Beth, Debbie, Brooke and granddaughters Fiona and Ellie close at hand, ready to do extensive research with many bolts of fabric pulled out for comparison and conversation.

At home, they would gather to piece and quilt together. The “princess for the day” chose the project. She sat on the “princess chair” (the person at the sewing machine) was attended by her “ladies in waiting” (the people doing the cutting, pinning and pressing).

Debbie (Koehnen) said, “It’s hard to keep up with a princess!

The person sewing usually had free time and therefore cooked and fed her helpers. Mom (Mary) was great at entertaining the kids too. She would read them books, tell stories or draw with them.

“Although, Mom didn’t often earn ‘Princess’ status, she really was the Queen surrounded by her loving court”.

Mary, raised in Quincy, entered a steer for her first 4-H project when she was just 10 years old, and used the money she received when she sold her steer to purchase a sewing machine, a Singer 221 Featherweight. She taught her

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

daughters to sew on the same machine, even before they took up quilting in earnest and discovered the Featherweight was a coveted machine among quilters.

Jo Piper of Quincy taught Mary to sew during her second year in 4-H. She was hooked. In addition to sewing, Mary loved history, teaching and sharing her wisdom. Mary served on the Grant County Centennial Committee, and as museum director at Grant County Historical Museum in Ephrata.

She later worked at the North Central Washington museum in Wenatchee. She died this last May. All three of Mary’s daughters and two granddaughters continue to quilt. Debbie has taught hundreds of classes to beginners and seasoned quilters alike.

Mary taught her granddaughter, Fiona, a third generation NCW Quilt Guild member, to sew when Fiona was 3 years old using the same Singer Featherweight Mary had bought in 1951 while in 4-H. Later that same year, Fiona entered her first quilt in the NCW Harvest of Quilts Show. A few years later, Ellie — Fiona’s younger sister — overheard Debbie and Fiona talking about the quilts they were going to enter in the annual quilt show.

Ellie, who was only 3 at the time, said she wanted to make something to enter too, so Debbie taught Ellie how to piece a quilt top.

That fall, Ellie entered her first quilt in the quilt show. Ellie said, “It’s fun and exciting to earn a ribbon. Plus it’s cool to see what other people made.”

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| The Good Life

Debbie Koehnen and daughter Fiona display Fiona’s sophomore Honors English project of a crazy quilt inspired by the book, To Kill a Mockingbird.

Like their grandmother, Fiona and Ellie were hooked. Over the years Fiona has helped piece hundreds of quilts and has made 20 or so quilts on her own. She recently started machine quilting the tops using a long-arm quilting machine.

In the 10th grade, Fiona did a project for her Honors English class on To Kill a Mockingbird.

“I usually over-stress myself with these kinds of projects and quilting helps calm me down. So I decided to make a quilt,” said Fiona.

She researched colors that would represent the feelings of the characters at the trial.

Then pieced a quilt, a Buggy Barn Pattern, called Coneflower Crazy, using her favorite Buggy Barn technique, which shuffles the fabric throughout the flowers with triangular flying geese sections bordering the flowers in just two weeks and entered it in the 2014 Harvest of Quilts Show.

Fiona plans to take her quilting skills abroad when she travels to Germany this fall where she will be an exchange student.

Fiona said one of the first things she will do is locate a quilt shop and offer to teach a class in exchange for using one of their machines.

All three generations have been members of the NCW Quilt Guild where Mary served

www.ncwgoodlife.com

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September 2015

as the Quilt Guild librarian for many years.

The “Thomsen girls,” as they were known to members of the NCW Quilt Guild, always looked forward to going to the annual Harvest of Quilts show together to see the quilts made by the members of the NCW Quilt Guild, to marvel at the creativity and gather inspiration for future projects.

The 31st Annual Quilt Show, Harvest of Quilts, will be held Sept. 11 and 12 at the Town Toyota Center. Hours are Friday 10-6 and Saturday 10-5. Admission is $5 at the door.

Attractions include the Merchant Mall, the Quilters’ Boutique featuring items and fabric from Guild members’ own sewing rooms, Quilt Show Raffle Quilt, a beaded art display, silent and live demonstrations.

The Moses Lake Modern Quilters are the Guest Guild this year and Jan Lawr, a local master quilter and NCW Guild member, is the 2015 featured quilter.

Also, on exhibit will be Patriotic Quilts in memory of 9/11.

In addition, new this year is the Artisan Consignment Shop where new handmade items will be for sale.

Terry Hunter has been quilting since the ‘70s, and has been a member of the NCW Quilt Guild since 2003.

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column those were the days

rod molzahn

The fight over the Freer girls’ land Two orphaned sisters, a

“land grabber from California” and north central Washington’s first truly homeless person were at the center of a long running dispute over 249 acres of land at the Wenatchee/Columbia confluence that included the Miller/ Freer trading post.

When Sam Miller and the Freer brothers came to the Wenatchee Valley and took over operation of the trading post in 1872, they all claimed squatter’s rights on parcels of land at the confluence.

Legal Homestead claims could not be filed on land that had not been government surveyed. The confluence area was not surveyed until 1884.

Sam Miller claimed land that straddled the Wenatchee River just above the mouth. It included the present location of the old Horan house on the north bank as well as much of the Horan Nature Area on the south bank. Frank Freer claimed land along the Columbia that included the trading post and out buildings. David Freer’s land was adjacent to Frank’s.

In 1873 or ’74, Frank Freer

married Quinmeetsa, who must have been about 14. She was the oldest daughter of Chilcosahaskt, the Entiat chief and his youngest wife, Spokokalx.

Franklin and Quinmeetsa had two children; Mattie in 1875 and Minnie in 1877. Franklin died in October of 1877 in the Kittitas Valley while returning from Portland. He left no will.

Just a few months after Frank’s death, Quinmeetsa married David Freer. In April of 1879 their son, Johnny, was born. Less than a year later Quinmeetsa died, still in her teens. David Freer was left with three young children to raise. He soon married another Indian woman named Mary Aspile, a widow with two young daughters. She also died young, within a year or so of marrying David. Sometime, in the midst of all this, Sam Miller took on the responsibility of

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THOSE WERE THE DAYS

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Girls’ claim denied because they were ‘half-breeds’ }}} Continued from previous page

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helping raise and educate the Freer children.

In 1884, after the confluence had been surveyed, David Freer went to the Land Office in Yakima and filed a homestead claim to legalize his Squatter’s claim of 1872.

He was not allowed to file on his brother, Franklin’s, adjacent and improved land. Neither were Mattie and Minnie. They were denied the right to file on their father’s land because they were minors and because, as the Land Office succinctly put it, “they were half-breeds.”

That same year Charlie Burch, the first of the Burch family to make it to the Wenatchee Valley, filed his homestead on land to the north of Sam Miller’s ranch in, what is now, Olds Station.

The next year Charlie persuaded his father, E. C. Burch (either Everett or Emmet Charles) to come from San Jose, California to see the Wenatchee Valley. E. C. liked what he saw and took a homestead adjoining Charlie’s.

In early 1886 E. C. returned to San Jose to bring his wife, Ellen, and their other three adult children back to Wenatchee.

Soon after arriving the three Burch children all filed their own homestead claims on land at the confluence.

That’s when the trouble started.

One of their homestead claims was Frank Freer’s “unclaimed” land including the trading post with its house and barns. At the Yakima land Office the Burch’s claimed that the land was vacant and unimproved. They filed a Timber Culture claim on it.

At that time the confluence area south of the Wenatchee River was a mile long meadow with no trees. Just right for a

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September 2015

Soon after arriving the three Burch children all filed their own homestead claims on land at the confluence.

Timber Culture claim that could be proved up by just planting some trees. Their claim was allowed by the Yakima Land Office.

In March of 1888 David Freer died leaving his property to his son, Johnny. At the same time the Burch family was in a battle to oust the Freer orphans and take possession of their land.

That’s when Frank Streamer got involved.

Streamer had come to eastern Washington in 1877. He was a homeless wanderer who had left his family in the East and walked across the country to Washington Territory, a meandering journey of over 7,000 miles.

For the next 20 years he walked back and forth between Yakima and the Canadian border stopping to stay, rest and eat with whoever would take him in, Indian or white.

Streamer was a keeper of journals and wrote vivid descriptions of his travels and of life in central and north central Washington. He was also a binge-drinking alcoholic who suffered bouts of paranoia and schizophrenia. He was finally committed to Eastern Washington Hospital at Medical Lake where he lived for 14 years until his death.

So many letters, in fact, that a clerk in one of the offices wrote on the margin of a Streamer letter, “Streamer is crazy and it is useless to try to answer his numerous letters.”

Frank Streamer was a friend of Chief Moses and an advocate

for Indian rights. He was also a friend of Sam Miller and knew the Freer girls and their uncle David well. When Streamer learned of the girls’ plight he threw himself into the battle.

He wrote letters on their behalf to his friend, General O. O. Howard, to Federal Land Commissioner H.M. Stockslager and to Secretary of the Interior Lucius Lamar — a barrage of letters that got responses.

So many letters, in fact, that a clerk in one of the offices wrote on the margin of a Streamer letter, “Streamer is crazy and it is useless to try to answer his numerous letters.”

Crazy or not, the letters got people’s attention.

General Howard was, at Streamer’s insistence, also writing letters to Judge W. Groff of the General Land Office in Washington. After considering the matter, Judge Groff responded with a letter to the Yakima Land Office stating his decision that gave the land to the Freer girls but also gave the Burch family 60 days to appeal.

The Burch family did appeal and the case went to the Secretary of the Interior who determined that, “The entry of Burch was allowed (by the Yakima Land Office) in violation and

— will be canceled — the land in question given to the Freer heirs.”

After six years and the Frank Streamer letter barrage justice won out and two orphan girls got what was theirs.

The Burch family lost the land but got a mountain named after them.

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

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Women Surviving Cancer is a free support group for women with all types of cancer who are facing treatment, receiving treatment, or have already completed treatment.

Join us on the first and third Wednesday of each month at Grace Lutheran Church in Wenatchee at 11:30am. Lunch is provided.

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>>

column ALEX ON WINE

ALEX SALIBY

Rising star sparkles at Plain Cellars Back in October of 2014 I

mentioned Bob Sage and Garrett Grubbs at Plain Cellars.

That was a brief note in passing, without any details. It’s past time to correct that glossing over and provide some details about Plain Cellars and the success I feel that the young winemaker, Garrett Grubbs, is bringing to the winery.

My wife and I knew Garrett way back when he grunted as a kind of cellar rat at Karma Vineyards; we followed him along the path to winemaker — first because we rather liked the guy — but because as former teachers, we both felt we were witnessing the development of a rising star.

We’re both pompous enough to gloat that we were right. The quality of Garrett’s wines at Plain Cellars proves our point.

A balanced offering of different wines is available to sample and purchase while you are visiting the winery. Two white wines will refresh your palate: a very dry Riesling crisp with brilliant acidity, and a lightly-oaked Chardonnay.

Fruit for the Chardonnay came A meal of pork tenderloin cutlets in a mustard and white wine reduction sauce goes quite nicely with a dry Riesling.

from the Upland vineyards in the Snipes Mountain AVA region around Yakima. Both wines deserve awards for their flavors and aromatic qualities.

“But I don’t drink white wine,” you say. Cheer up, then, because in addition to the two white wines, eight red wines are available to sample.

Four of the red wines are made in the Bordeaux style: Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, a Bordeaux blend called Eclipse (Cab Sauv, Merlot, Malbec &

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Petit Verdot) and a Malbec In addition to the Bordeaux style reds you’ll discover their Southern Rhone styled blend, Just Plain Red, consisting of Grenache, Mourvedre and Syrah, and an American-styled blend called Summer Solstice Red, created from Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah.

The reds are rounded out with an outstanding wine from the Spanish Tempranillo grape, and a delicious Petite Sirah.

Wines are also available by the

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September 2015

glass, should you care to just sit out on the veranda and enjoy the tranquility of the location.

We had the pleasure of having a bottle of the as yet unreleased 2014 dry Riesling to pair with a meal. Feel free to email me for the recipe if you like, but I’ll warn you now — do not pair this sauce with any off-dry or sweet Riesling.

The meal is simple: pork tenderloin cutlets in a mustard and white wine reduction sauce.

It’s the sauce that completes the marriage of the food with the wine, not the meat. These two, the Plain Cellars dry Riesling and that sauce, were meant for each other.

The tasting room located in the village of Plain is open Saturdays only, noon til 5 p.m. or by appointment.

However, they recently moved into the town of Leavenworth, sharing the space with their good friends at Okanogan Winery located at 703 Hwy. 2 (The Book For All Seasons building). The winery’s entrance is on Front Street below the book store. Tasting room hours in the Leavenworth location are noon to 5 p.m. daily, year round.

For those of you interested, they do have a wine club offering benefits of 15 percent off all purchases of glasses of wine or bottles; 20 percent off case purchases and of course, free tasting for members and up to four guests.

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

He can be contacted at alex39@msn. com.

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