Living on the Peninsula - Spring 2010

SPRING 2010

SCIENCE...

Pg.12

TThe Science of Forensics: TTracking Officer Anita Hicklin

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Quilcene National Fish Q Hatchery heritage H Boosting biomass B on the West End o TThe science of forestry

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Whale Camp inspires learning W

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Pg.24

LIVING ON THE PENINSULA | SPRING | MARCH 2010

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LIVING ON THE PENINSULA | SPRING | MARCH 2010

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32 14

DEPARTMENTS Recreation 8 Spring Duckabush pleases as one

& Entertainment 32 Arts Earthy alchemy: Art & science at

of few early spring choices

Bauer Haus Pottery

Gardening 14 Good Man and nature in harmony

& Soul 35 Heart Ordinary people

& Fitness 20 Health Healthy kids, healthy families,

New Life 38 Your Savor, with rapt attention

healthy communities

27 Cafe Paix / A Work in Progress Food & Spirits

& Architecture 28 Home Woodhaven Castle

40 Events Calendar Living End 42 The The Importance of Science on the Olympic Peninsula

& Then 44 Now Photographic journal

20 24

SPOTLIGHT

On the cover: Quilcene National Fish Hatchery manager Ron Wong oversees the hatchery, located two miles south of Quilcene at the confluence of Penny Creek and the Big Quilcene River.

Cover photo by Viviann Kuehl

Science of Forensics: 12 The Tracking Officer Anita Hicklin National Fish 17 Quilcene Hatchery heritage

24 Boosting biomass on the West End

30 The science of forestry 36 Whale Camp inspires learning LIVING ON THE PENINSULA | SPRING | MARCH 2010

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Anne Dean

Contributors

is the program manager for the Jefferson County Community Network, an organization dedicated to the prevention of child abuse and prevention of substance abuse. She moved to Port Townsend in 2001 and loves exploring the peninsula with her two young sons. She can be reached at adean@co.jefferson.wa.us.

Bob Boekelheide became director and education coordinator of the Dungeness River Audubon Center in September 2001. He holds a bachelor’s degeree in biology from California State University-Sacramento and master’s degree in ecology from the University of California-Davis. A longtime wildlife biologist and science teacher, his responsibilities at the center include developing and delivering programs and maintaining the facilities at Railroad Bridge Park in Sequim.

Karen Frank

received her master’s degree in transforming spirituality from Seattle University. She is a writer and spiritual director in Port Townsend.

Reach her at kdf1404@olypen.com or www.yourlifeassacredstory.org.

Beverly Hoffman writes a gardening column for the Sequim Gazette that appears the first Wednesday of each month. She is an enthusiastic longtime gardener. She can be reached via e-mail at columnists@sequim gazette.com.

Dana Casey is a retired prekindergarten teacher. She always has loved books and writing. She and her husband, Jim, are owned by two dogs who like to walk them regularly. She also enjoys hiking in the mountains and on the beach or biking on the Discovery Trail. Casey writes business and feature articles for the Sequim Gazette.

Jerry Kraft is a playwright, poet and theater critic. He reviews Seattle theater productions for SeattleActor.com and the national theater Web site AisleSay.com.

In addition to his writing and photography, he teaches memoir writing at the YMCA in Port Angeles where he lives with his wife, Bridgett Bell Kraft, and their daughters, McKenna and Luxie.

Chris Cook is the editor and publisher of the Forks Forum and a resident of Forks. He is the author of “The Kauai Movie Book” and other regional bestsellers in Hawaii. His book “Twilight Territory: A Fan’s Guide to Forks and LaPush” was published in May 2009. Cook is a graduate of the University of Hawaii.

Viviann Kuehl has been a landowner and resident of Quilcene since 1982, although her family ties go back to homesteading in Jefferson County in 1905. She has written about the Quilcene community and Jefferson County over the past 20 years.

Contact us:

Kelly McKillip always has loved writing and the arts and recently has forayed into combining the two in freelance articles. She has a bachelor’s degree in biology from Marylhurst College in Marylhurst, Ore., and a bachelor’s degree in nursing from Hayward State University in California. She works as a nurse at Olympic Medical Center and volunteers at The Dungeness Valley Health and Wellness Clinic.

P.O. Box 1750, Sequim, WA 98382 360-683-3311 Patricia Morrison Coate: patc@sequimgazette.com

226 Adams St., Port Townsend, WA 98368 360-385-2900 Fred Obee: fobee@ptleader.com Vol. 6, Number 1 Living on the Peninsula is a quarterly publication. © 2010 Sequim Gazette 6 © 2010 Port Townsend & Jefferson County Leader

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Ruth Marcus

has a private counseling practice in Sequim. She has earned a master’s degree in clinical psychology and a doctorate degree in religious studies. Her Sequim Gazette column appears the fourth Wednesday of the month. She is a published author and writes one-line daily inspirations for a national readership. To contact her, visit www.DrRuth Marcus.com or http:// open.salon.com/blog/dr_ruth_marcus.

Kelly Matlock is a prevention specialist and health educator with Jefferson County Public Health, focusing on the health of children and youth. She has lived in Port Townsend on and off since 1982. She loves experiencing the bounty of the Olympic Peninsula with her family. She can be reached at kmatlock@ co.jefferson.wa.us.

Leif Nesheim

was an awardwinning reporter and hiking columnist with the Sequim Gazette from 2003-2006.

He has a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and is the editor of the Montesano Vidette.

Felice Thompson has been a resident of Port Townsend for 21 years.

She is a graduate of Peninsula College and was the managing editor for the college’s student newspaper, The Buccaneer. She works for The Port Townsend and Jefferson County Leader as a freelance writer and photographer.

Joan Worley

A native of Ohio, Joan Worley holds a Ph.D. in comparative literature. She is a retired university teacher and administrator, currently at work on a novel. Joan and her husband, Jess McKenzie, live in Sequim.

Design: Melanie Reed is the awardwinning lead designer for Living on the Peninsula. She has been a graphic designer for the Sequim Gazette since May 2004. She earned a bachelor’s degree in drawing from Western Washington University and also enjoys painting. Reed can be reached at production@sequim gazette.com.

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Spring RECREATION

Story and photos by Leif Nesheim Below: The crystal clear waters of the Duckabush River flow alongside the trail.

The river is free of glacier melt that clouds many Olympic Mountain rivers.

Bottom: Mossy maples grow tall and mysterious along the Duckabush River.

Inset at right: Water drips down the rocks as the trail climbs its way up the “Big Hump.”

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S

pring hadn’t yet sprung on my latest hike. In fact, winter’s icy grip had dumped a load of snow that made travel to my top two preferred hikes precarious and the storms that devastated Olympic trails and roads further narrowed my hiking choices.

The person answering the phone at the Quilcene Ranger Station recommended I hike either the Duckabush or Lena Lake trails. Since I had just hiked to Lena Lake, I opted for the Duckabush.

It’s a fine hike with a splendid view from atop the “Big Hump” some four miles in. The ascent up the hump is steep but not too long and worth the effort. But there’s a lot more to the hike than just the view.

The hike begins with a steady climb up an old logging road through dense, secondgrowth forest. The understory is thick with fern, salal and kinnikinik.

The “Little Hump” peaks after 1.2 miles after gaining more than 500 feet of elevation.

The trail then scurries down toward the river. Massive stumps rise between the mature trees all around, giving silent testimony to the past devastation.

The Duckabush River makes a mighty rush on the left of the trail, which wends its way through a diverse forest of maple, fir and cedar. Past the logged area, the forest is the lowest-elevation virgin forest on the peninsula at just 700 feet.

The stroll is a pleasant and easy walk.

Glimpses of the peaks on both sides are barely visible through the trees. Every now and again, giant moss-covered boulders rise up out of the forest floor.

Then you come to the “Big Hump.”

It’s a steep climb. The trail gains 1,000 feet of elevation in a very short distance. The tread of the path is loose rock.

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A seasonal waterfall was visible, and audible, in the distance, a white ribbon beyond the trees. At the three-mile mark, you are about halfway up. A metal sign is bolted on a tree beneath a tall stone cliff covered in moss.

Though the trail doesn’t climb to the top of the cliff, it gives an idea of how much higher you must go to reach the top. Soon after this point, you catch a magnificent view of the mountain to the south. The views only get better.

A rocky promontory at the trailside provides a nice place to stop with a view of the valley and the snow-capped southern peaks. I went a short distance beyond this point, past a decaying foot bridge over a creek, to a second promontory.

The view was splendid. The valley swept away to the west. Beyond the rise of the “Little Hump” the distant Cascade Mountains were visible in a window framed by Olympic peaks. Green trees flowed up the valley sides to the tops of the craggy, snow-covered peaks to the south.

The massive bulk of St. Peter’s Dome seemed close enough to touch.

As noon approached, the sun too fully arrived in the valley. The morning gray had all burned away. Sun sparkled on the forest floor, covered in a magic blanket of verdant moss, lichen and liverwort.

Duckabush Trail How long: 8 miles round trip to “Big Hump.”

How hard: Mostly moderate, a bit strenuous at times.

How to get there: Take U.S. Highway 101 east past Quilcene. Turn west onto Forest Service Road 2510, about 3.5 miles south of Brinnon. Drive six miles to Forest Service Road 2510-60, a spur that leads to the trailhead.

The trailhead is well-marked and has both a stock unloading and parking area. A pass is required. There is a toilet at the trailhead.

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By Kelly McKillip

T R A C K I N G O F F I C E R A N I TA H I C K L I N

hemist Anita Hicklin has traveled a short distance from her childhood home in Port Angeles but a long way in terms of education and training to arrive at her new job as forensic investigator for the Sequim Police Department.

After graduating from Port Angeles High School and Peninsula College in 1998 through the Running Start Program, she became an intern at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. The internship launched a love of science and she went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from the University of Washington and a master’s degree in chemistry from Southeast Missouri State University.

Forensics first beckoned during graduate school as she worked in a crime lab and completed her thesis on gun powder residue composition comparison.

APB for a new career Hicklin returned to Washington in 2006, taking a position in code enforcement in Jefferson County for three years. She felt an affinity for police work and when the opportunity to attend the reserve academy came around in 2008, she did not hesitate to apply.

During the intense, four-month course she learned how and when to use the basic tools of law enforcement.

Weapons training was great but difficult and sometimes downright unpleasant such as when she had to submit to being “tased” and pepper sprayed.

After receiving her commission, she went to work as a reservist in the Jefferson County Sheriff ’s Office.

Meanwhile, in April 2009, the Sequim Police Department applied for a Recovery Act Grant. The federal funding is designed to assist rural law enforcement in combating drugs and crime. The SPD would use the monies to rehire, train and equip a civilian forensic investigator they had lost through retirement. The two-year, nearly $300,000 grant was received. The new hire would work within the Sequim Investigations Division and fill the gap for processing moderately difficult crime scenes that were

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beyond the scope of an average patrolman but not of such a heinous nature that the State Crime Lab needed to be called in. Also, expertise and training resources would be available to other jurisdictions.

Hicklin’s resume matched the three-page list of job requirements including a graduate degree in a related field of science, photography and computer savvy, critical thinking skills and ability to work both independently and with a team. Although police experience was not required, it was certainly an added bonus. Hicklin was hired in October 2009.

Intensive training There is a steep learning curve to becoming a competent forensic investigator and so far Hicklin has spent a good deal of time in hands-on training.

She has attended Northwestern University Crime Scene Technology Courses 1-3 in Illinois and the Sirchie Evidence Collection Training Program and a Sirchie Fingerprint Classification course, both in North Carolina. Many more classes are on the docket for the coming year including two weeks on blood pattern analysis and more advanced classes on latent fingerprints and digital evidence.

She needs 200 continuing education hours to become a certified crime scene technician through Northwestern University and 80 hours training and two years experience to apply for certification testing with the International Association of Identification. Currently, Police Officer Chris Wright is a great help with fingerprint analysis. Also, Don Kirst, who is retired from the Clallam County Sheriff ’s Office, lends his expertise to the processing of forensic

evidence and fingerprint analysis.

Although Sequim generally is thought to be a low crime area, there has been a steady increase in all types of misdeeds along with population growth. According to the 2008 SPD annual report, felony arrests increased from 73 in 2002 to 406 in 2008.

Who dunnit?

The processing of a crime scene is a team effort. Hicklin usually is walked through a secured area by Detective Sgt. Sean Madison or Detective Darrell C. Nelson. Each site requires a different approach but generally after being briefed and before processing any evidence, Hicklin takes photographs of all significant elements while another team member writes the number and description of each shot.

The photographs are admissible data in themselves but also provide backup in case physical evidence is damaged or lost. Measurements are taken and an accurate scene diagram completed.

Many types of evidence may be present. Meticulous care and timeliness are critical so information is not lost to weather, evaporation or other factors and the chain of evidence is maintained. Shoe prints on dry or wet surfaces can be lifted with tape or gel. Shoe impressions in soft ground are temporary but a permanent mold can be obtained by pouring resin into the

Left: The forensic optical comparator at the Sequim Police Department lab magnifies two fingerprints for comparison.

Inset upper left: The replica of a shoe sole lifted from an imprint in the ground can be an invaluable piece of evidence in solving a crime.

Photos by Kelly McKillip

LIVING ON THE PENINSULA | SPRING | MARCH 2010

depression, which produces a negative form, then recasting the form in a hardener to create an exact replica of the sole. A shoe identity expert can evaluate the wear that is unique with each individual and determine the brand. One tiny tread may hold as many as six separate identifiers.

Bite marks on a victim, in food or other objects may provide DNA or dental impressions. Photos of the marks are taken and casts of the bitten object may be made and sent to a forensic odontologist. In class, Hicklin learned that cases have been won by proving someone was in the vicinity of a crime by testing partially eaten food retrieved from a nearby dumpster.

Although it is best to transport evidence to the SPD or state lab for study, sometimes presumptive tests are done on scene, such as adding a reagent to a lifted stain to determine if the fluid is blood or other bodily secretions. Hair and fiber also may be secured for forensic examination.

Fingerprint science a favorite The most interesting and useful part of crime scene work for Hicklin is the lifting and processing of fingerprints. Prints are unique and unchanging. Even identical twins, who have matching DNA, will have different fingerprints. Digits have ridges in the epidermis that can be counted. Friction and natural secretions transmit an impression to anything touched.

At a crime scene, a fingerprint that is left in paint, blood, dust or other substances can be seen easily and photographed. Finding prints that are invisible to the naked eye is more of a challenge. A common white light flashlight is a frequently used tool to illuminate difficult to see prints but alternative light sources of different wave lengths may be employed to detect substances of varying fluorescence.

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made visible. This is where forensic know-how is critical so the print is not smeared and minutiae lost. Various types of regular, magnetic and fluorescent powders in black and a variety of colors are available. The most appropriate powder, usually in a contrasting hue, is dusted on the print and reacts with the moisture. Then, the visible impression is lifted by tape and transferred to a card.

Prints on rough surfaces such as leather require the application of gels of appropriate viscosity to be lifted successfully. Wet prints might be found on such surfaces as an outside railing in inclement weather or on a bottle or can with condensation. A small particle reagent is sprayed onto the item, rinsed and the print then may be lifted.

The secured evidence can be taken to the lab and the latent fingerprint enhanced by placing the card inside a fuming chamber with heated cyanoacrylate (Super Glue) and a small amount of humidity. A control card is placed inside the box as well so the prints are not over or under processed. After fuming with cyanoacrylate, the latent prints may be dusted with fingerprint powder and lifted with tape or other medium. The impressions are studied with a hand-held magnifier or in a forensic optical comparator. If they are of acceptable quality, they are sent to the State Crime Lab for identification.

Identifying the owner of fingerprints is done through the FBIâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Automated Fingerprint Identification System, which maintains many millions of fingerprints in its database. The modern system is based on the older Henry Classification developed in 1897 by Sir Edward Richard Henry. Ten inked fingers are rolled onto a card and then identified by three main categories and many subcategories of arches, loops and whorls, with loops being the most common.

The data is translated into a mathematical equation for easier identification. Hicklin compared 300 such sets of prints in a recent class.

Hicklin plans to learn everything she can about forensics in the next two years. Her long-range goals are as yet unformed, but her outlook on life is positive and optimistic, which she says she learned from her parents, Patricia and Sidney Hicklin Sr., of Port Angeles. Her twin sister Alisha Hicklin traveled the same academic route, also achieving a masterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s degree in chemistry, and works for Clallam County.

For Anita Hicklin, a policemanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s lot is a happy one.

She finds forensics fascinating and fun and is grateful to have her science education and career aspirations come together in one great job.

Left: Students at the Sirchie Evidence Collection Training Program in North Carolina learn the first step in making a replica of a shoe sole from an imprint in soft dirt.

Photo courtesy of Sirchie Right: Forensic investigator Anita Hicklin uses her new dome handheld magnifier that makes use of all available light to examine fingerprints.

Photo by Kelly McKillip

Right: Bite marks can provide DNA or dental impressions in an investigation. This cast was made from a partially eaten candy bar.

13

GOOD Gardening

By Beverly Hoffman Photos by David Godfrey

A

garden begins in one’s mind, but as one tends trees, applying a thoughtful touch while pruning and nourishing plants with rich organic matter applied with gentle hands, the gardener finds his garden resides as much in his heart as in his head.

It’s obvious when visiting The Bloedel Reserve on Bainbridge Island that it is a garden composed in the minds of Prentice and Virginia Bloedel but that it flourished because of their love.

The Bloedels bought the property in the early 1950s and lived in the French-style residence for more than 30 years. Virginia had a connection to the Olympic Peninsula because her father, R.D. Merrill, was one of the early loggers in this area. Upon purchase of the property, Prentice began his plans for the first stages of the gardens with the help of several landscapers and architects. The reserve comprises 150 acres, half forested that will remain untouched, and the other half the original residence, a Japanese guest house and various gardens.

Walking through the gardens takes about two hours. Even before seeing any of the gardens, visitors will notice and appreciate the quiet. No cell phones may be turned on.

No picnicking is allowed. One has an opportunity to relax into the setting, much the way we do when we slip into a warm bath and let tight muscles soften after a strenuous day.

When I walked along the paths with a friend, I noticed we whispered. A sacred feeling stirred in us as we walked through a canopy of ancient evergreens. The quiet Top left: The Zen garden is to be viewed from inside the guest house and was built in the early 1960s by Fujitaro Kubota of Seattle.

Middle left: Once the residence of the Bloedels and now the Visitor Center, the building was constructed in 1931.

Left: A boardwalk permits close-hand viewing of the second-growth forest wetland without damaging it.

Inset: The mottled and exfoliating bark of the Persian parrot tree (Parrotia persica) offers winter interest. The tree was planted in the 1960s as a one-gallon-sized shrub.

14

14

was so profound that it was almost a sound, something akin to the lowest note on a bassoon that resonates and harmonizes with all sounds.

Texture and curves One spectacular view is the large pond, with undulating curves and framed by a grass carpet, that is directly opposite and across the

drive of the original residence. A weeping willow (Salix alba var. tirstis) reflects its image on mirrored water and a Persian parrot tree (Parrotia persica) graces the opposite side.

During the winter, its bark’s mottled patterns are an art piece and during the fall, its leaves turn yellow with red, pink and orange. At the far end of the pond, the farthest distance from the residence, the Bloedels could have looked out to see a Japanese maple’s red leaves contrast the rich greens, which carried their eyes up a sloping bank to their Japanese guest house.

In the residence, now the Visitor Center, docents, some of whom have volunteered for more than 20 years, answer questions and invite people to leaf through a collection of gardening and nature books. Bouquets — both lavish and simple — are everywhere, even in the bathrooms, all from greenery and

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Bloedel Reserve 7571 N.E. Dolphin Drive Bainbridge Island 206-842-7631 Open 10 a.m.-4 p.m.

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timbers at the top, where black lily turf (Ophiopogon planescapens cv. Arabicus) flanks the pathway. Black has cultural significance in Japan. Black dyes were difficult to make from natural sources, so black dye was particularly prized. The open-grid fence on both sides of

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the grass is a simple structure where the strips of wood are tied with black twine.

For Christmas in 1970, Prentice gave his wife a new garden, named the Christmas pool.

Workers planted some of her favorite flowers — buttery yellow primroses (Primula

Above: A weeping willow (Salix alba var. tristis) dominates one side of the pond.

Photo by Bruce at Bentley Gardens

flowers from the reserve. From the residence, one can glimpse Puget Sound and see ripples of ships passing by.

Prentice was thorough in planning his gardens, creating one pond for irrigation purposes but also capitalizing on it by turning it into a natural habitat for birds where they would build secure nests away from predators. Virginia was particularly fond of swans and a resident pair always has nested there.

The day we went, however, a docent said there was an air of sadness in the gardens because that very morning a gardener had found one of the swans dead. Low, mourning sounds of the fowl filled the air.

The Japanese gardens, guest house and Zen garden were created and built in the 1960s. The guest house is built of western red cedar and the floor is teak discarded from the battleship USS New Jersey, acquired from a government surplus sale. The house is the traditional Japanese style but has elements of the northwest Native American and Pacific Northwest art.

The Zen garden is surrounded by red and black pine — black pines representing the male element and red pines representing the female traits. One leaves the garden under a torii gate, a two-columned structure with two horizontal

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Beyond the torii gate, a pathway flanked by black lily turf (Ophiopogon planescapens cv.Arabicus) leads to the moss garden.

veris) that were budding out in mid-February and would be in full bloom in March. Other primroses (Primula pulverulenta and Primula frondosa) will open as other primula species fade.

The moss garden was redefined in the 1980s when the Bloedels brought in more than 2,000 flats of Irish moss (Sagina subulata)

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Now native moss grows alongside Irish moss and cross-hatched light filters through tall alders to spotlight splashes of bright green moss. Fallen firs and alders, often with roots splayed, add a textural dimension and offer yet another habitat for birds.

One leaves the rich moss garden and enters a stark setting â&#x20AC;&#x201D; a 200foot reflecting pool. Surplus water flows out the 6-foot V-shaped bottom and waters the Japanese gardens. A single bench is set at the short end of the pool and a yew hedge surrounds and frames it.

It is here in the Reflection Garden where the Bloedels used to love to sit together. Their wish was to have their remains placed in this garden.

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The Bloedel gardens were created by minds working together to create a place where man worked harmoniously with nature, with judicious and wise choices. Prentice said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;The impression of raw nature is often one of chaos and confusion. Accordingly, the enjoyment of natural beauty may be enhanced by introducing some organization into the primitive confusion, but that organization should not destroy a sense of naturalness.â&#x20AC;?

Now 14 full-time gardeners tend his garden and honor his sense of direction for the property he gifted as a reserve. Docents pass their knowledge and love of the garden to others.

As a visitor, Bloedel captures my heart and I return again. And again.

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Quilcene NATIONAL FISH HATCHERY HERITAGE

By Viviann Kuehl

V

isitors always are welcome at the Quilcene National Fish Hatchery, one of the earliest on the Olympic Peninsula and in the state. It has been providing for fish since 1911 and is planning a centennial celebration Aug. 20, 2011.

In nearly a century of continuous operation, many species of fish have been raised at Quilcene NFH, including coho, chum, pink, chinook and sockeye salmon; and brook, cutthroat and rainbow trout. These fish were distributed into streams and rivers flowing into Hood Canal and the Strait of Juan de Fuca, said Ron Wong, hatchery manager since 1990.

Early methods of fish culture were primitive, Wong said. Hatchery workers would hang parts of horse or cow carcasses over the fish pond. Flies would lay eggs in the decaying flesh and the maggots would fall off into the water, feeding the fish. Later, fish food was made at the hatchery by grinding up fish carcasses and beef liver, adding salt and vitamins.

Today, commercial fish food manufacturers prepare specialized products for different species and sizes of fish from fry to adult broodstock, loading the pellets with nutrients to ensure healthy fish stocks and a high survival rate. The food’s quality is monitored both by the manufacturer and by U.S. Fish & Wildlife nutritionists, Wong said.

The hatchery’s work crew of six strives to ensure salmon survival. Its primary focus is producing coho salmon for release and for support of two tribal net pen programs with eyed eggs and presmolts.

A completely separate operation nurtures winter steelhead eggs and a third function is to help monitor Hood Canal summer chum salmon, whose return to the Big Quilcene River had dwindled to double digits before being placed on the Endangered Species List.

After 12 years of hatchery help, covering four generations of the 3-year-life-span chums, recovery was sufficient for the hatchery to suspend active intervention but careful monitoring continues.

LIVING ON THE PENINSULA | SPRING | MARCH 2010

“We provide fish for sport, commercial and tribal trust responsibilities,” said Wong. “Our mission is working with others to conserve, protect and enhance fish, wildlife, plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people.”

“The coho program is tremendously important,” said Dan Magneson, assistant manager. “A lot of people benefit from those fish.”

“The hatchery is currently involved in several programs, one that produces coho salmon for on-station release, and also provides eyed coho salmon eggs and coho pre-smolts for two tribal net pen programs,” Wong said.

The hatchery also assists in monitoring the Hood Canal summer chum salmon runs on the Big Quilcene River and is a partner in the Hood Canal Steelhead Supplementation

program, amplifying the survival of wild steelhead from the Dewatto and Duckabush rivers.

“The fish production program at Quilcene NFH is a cooperative effort involving many partners,” said Wong.

“Changes in fish production must meet legal mandates, adhere to several management plans and be agreed to by all partners.”

Adult fish live in the ocean, then return to the freshwater stream of their birth as they near the end of their life,

Quilcene National Fish Hatchery manager Ron Wong and assistant manager Dan Magneson pose by the sign.

Photo by Viviann Kuehl Inset below: A coho smolt is ready to move to freshwater estuaries from the hatchery.

Photo by Paul Kaiser

The fish production program partners include the Northwest Indian Fish Commission, Point No Point tribes (Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe, Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe), Skokomish Tribe, Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe and Suquamish Tribe.

Other federal agencies (NOAA fisheries), the Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife, Jefferson County, Port Townsend Mill and several private resource enhancement groups (Hood Canal Salmon Enhancement, Long Live the Kings) and other U.S. Fish & Wildlife offices, including the Washington Fish and Wildlife Office, Olympia Fish Health Center and Abernathy Fish Technology Center, also provide technical support.

where they spawn a new generation and die. They then become food for the insects that will nourish their offspring.

A salmon starts from an egg laid in the fall in a gravel nest on the river bottom. The nest, called a redd, is created by the powerful tail of the female making a shallow depression in the gravel. She deposits hundreds of small, round, orange eggs in the redd, which are fertilized by male fish swimming over them. Then they are covered in gravel by the female and left to incubate.

The egg begins to grow after laying hidden in the gravel a few months during the fall. Development is determined by the water temperature. In winter, an eye appears in the egg. As the salmon grows, the egg hatches and

17

Hatchery assistant manager Dan Magneson shows the automatic feeding system for fingerling fish at the Quilcene National Fish Hatchery. Photo by Viviann Kuehl

becomes a big round belly on a very small fish. This stage is called an alevin or sac fry. The fish is able to live off the egg yolk sac for a couple weeks without other food sources.

As the fish grows, the nourishment in the egg is used up and the egg sac gets smaller as the fish becomes more streamlined and more recognizable as a small salmon.

Now it must find its own food. When the salmon gets about as big as a finger, it’s called a fingerling or parr. For the next five to 10 weeks the fish grows, feeding off insects or other food in the environment.

The salmon grows until it is ready to migrate to the saltwater of the ocean. Now called a smolt, at this point the fish undergoes a number of transformations to enable it to survive in saltwater and its appearance changes as well. The salmon becomes silver, with a dark band at the rear edge of its tail. When this transformative adaptation from fresh to saltwater takes place, the salmon is ready to move into the estuaries where freshwater rivers flow into saltwater to continue growing.

Finally the salmon swims into saltwater to spend its adult life, at the end of which it returns to freshwater and undergoes another set of transformative changes. It stops eating and its appearance changes again, in form and color, from bright silver to species-specific spawning shapes and colors.

All Pacific salmon follow this basic cycle, with variations in timing and specific area use for different species.

Coho spend about a year and a half in the freshwater river

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and live to three years, averaging 6-12 pounds, while chum head for the estuary after a few days in freshwater and typically live for four years, averaging 10-15 pounds at the end of their lives. Coho nest higher upstream than chum.

The hatchery tries to help mitigate the numerous hazards to salmon survival by sheltering them during their early growth. The idea is to give the eggs and young fish a protected place to grow, thus boosting survival rates so more salmon can grow to adulthood and harvest.

A fish hatchery requires an abundant source of clean water to raise fish from eggs to releasable fish. The Quilcene hatchery gets its water for chum from the Big Quilcene River and Penny Creek.

“We have gravity flow,” said Wong. “It’s nice, it’s simple, it’s low cost and it’s not prone to equipment failures during power outages.”

Clean, cold water must wash over the eggs constantly as the fish develop undisturbed. For this, the hatchery uses a system of shallow trays stacked 16 high and four gallons of Penny Creek water a minute to ensure that all 75,000 eggs have an optimum chance to grow.

The fish must be tended to carefully through their various phases of growth. Space to swim, shade and food must be provided to them as fingerlings. They also must be protected from predators such as river otters and herons.

The salmon are released to the river when they average just under an ounce. The transfer must be done carefully to avoid injury and increased mortality rates, and they

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are marked for tracking purposes using an automated system that clips fins and inserts bits of coded wire into their noses.

When the adult salmon return in the fall, the hatchery is busy taking eggs and milt, or fish semen, from the fish to fertilize eggs for the next round of raising salmon.

It’s a lot of work and not without problems. Working with its co-managers, the hatchery is very careful about maintaining genetic diversity and managing the fish to prevent disease outbreaks. History has been humbling to hatchery operations when it was discovered that hatchery fish are vulnerable to disease, and the convenience of using few male fish in fertilizing eggs led to weakened stocks from inadequate gene pools. These lessons have been taken to heart and scrupulous care is used to nurture the hatchery fish.

Visitors are welcomed during regular hours, 7:30 a.m.3:30 p.m. Monday-Friday year-round. From mid-May to September, campground hosts welcome visitors on weekends from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. A visitor center shows the work of the hatchery through the year and workers always are available to answer any questions.

When fish return in the fall, tours are available and they can be arranged by calling the hatchery at 360-765-3334.

More Quilcene NFH details are available at www.fws.gov/quilcenenfh.

Quilcene National Fish Hatchery manager Ron Wong oversees the hatchery, located two miles south of Quilcene at the confluence of Penny Creek and the Big Quilcene River.

Photo by Viviann Kuehl

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Health&FITNESS

Healthy Kids, Healthy Families,

by Anne Dean, Jefferson County Community Network and Kelly Matlock, Jefferson County Public Health

“Any river that forgets its source will definitely dry up.”

African saying

C

hildren and families are our source; they are the foundation of our community. Children are the leaders of tomorrow. They are the future. Families are where our children grow and learn. How does a community support children and families? What tools and skills can be shared with children to ensure future vitality? What tools and skills can be shared with parents and caregivers?

Children and families need a supportive, safe and healthy environment in order to thrive. A healthy community is defined as “one that continuously creates and improves both its physical and social environments, helping people to support one another in aspects of daily life and to develop to their fullest potential … where every person is free to make choices amid a variety of healthy, available, accessible and affordable options” in the Healthy People 2010 report by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

This is a large undertaking even in the best of economic times. But in the midst of a struggling economy, how does a community respond to an increasing need for support with reduced funding and continuing financial uncertainty? How does a community ensure that the needs of children and families still are met?

All of the different elements of a community hold

20

a vital piece to the whole solution. By working cooperatively — government officials, schools, early learning programs, after-school programs, health care services, the faith-based community, businesses, families, and working and retired individuals — communities can identify issues and find solutions that contribute to the vitality of the community.

There are no easy answers, but every individual can make a difference. Everyone can build a community by caring for children and families to promote health and well-being. Ultimately, to ensure a healthy community is to help individuals realize their potential. Reach out to children. Reach out to your neighbors. Here are a few ways to accomplish this:

Parents and family members can: • Plan family time. Have dinner together. Turn off the TV/computer/video games, play a board game or go to the park. Take a walk together. Spend time where the primary focus is simply being together.

• Ask children questions about their life. Children want to be heard and know that their opinions and feelings are important. Children want to be respected. They need the opportunity to express themselves.

• Continue to educate yourself. Share both joyous and challenging parenting stories with trusted peers to gain support in the challenges of child rearing. Learn more. Join a parenting class or support group — in person or online.

Check out the parenting section at the library where there is a wide variety of parenting resources.

• Reach out for help. Parenting in today’s world is one of

the most challenging, if not the most challenging, endeavors a person can undertake. When a problematic situation develops, reach out for help. Call other parents, school counselors, your minister or other community members for support. Learn to take care of yourself in order to be the best parent you can be.

• Volunteer for activities with your children. Volunteer in their classroom, coach an extracurricular activity or chaperone a field trip. By participating in the activities in their life, you share experiences. In today’s busy world, it’s often hard to add one more activity, but a small effort can go a long way.

Community members can: • Invest in children. Encourage leaders in the community to be supportive of children and families. Ask your local and national lawmakers to support legislation to better protect our children and to improve their lives.

Ensure access to health care, dental care and mental health services for all families. Ask employers to provide family friendly work environments.

• Support our education system. Educate yourself about local needs. Early education enhances learning.

Support early education efforts for all children. Volunteer in the schools. Promote trained, licensed child care.

Even small actions can make a difference. Support can be both big and small. Simple neighborly support for children and parents can be an effective way to promote healthy children and families. Model supportive and problem-solving behaviors. Be a voice in your community for after-school activities, parent education classes,

LIVING ON THE PENINSULA | SPRING | MARCH 2010

Health&FITNESS

Healthy Communities and behaviors. Stop a problem before it happens.

• Invest in economic development/skills training. In order to have a successful and vital community, it is crucial to prepare youths for success in their future. A community’s economic success is dependent on a well-prepared work force.

• Teach children their rights. When children are taught that they are special and have the right to be safe, they are more likely to ask for what they need. Let them know they are important and respected.

• Know what child abuse is and report when necessary.

Know that unexplained injuries are not the only signs of abuse. Depression, fear of a certain adult, difficulty trusting others, sudden changes in eating or sleeping patterns are possible signs of abuse. Abuse also can be neglect or failure to provide a child with needed food, clothing and care. Children also can be emotionally abused when they are rejected, berated or continually isolated. If you witness a child being harmed, see evidence or suspect abuse, act in the best interest of the child. Call your local child protective services department or local law enforcement.

For more information about ways to help, go to www.jeffcocommunitynetwork.org, www.jeffersoncountypublichealth.org or www. preventionworkscc.org.

Left: Bobbing for apples at Apple Festival Above: Grant Street School field trip, both sponsored by the Port Townsend Food Co-op.

Photos by Brwyn Griffin

LIVING ON THE PENINSULA | SPRING | MARCH 2010

21

In

April, Jefferson County will be in bloom with pinwheels, pinwheels, pinwheels! April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month and Gov. Christine Gregoire proclaimed the pinwheel to be its symbol for Washington. It represents the community’s prevention efforts to preserve our children’s innocence and joy — and end child abuse.

Jefferson County will host its third annual “Our Kids: Our Business,” a social awareness and prevention campaign during April. It is a monthlong communitywide event with hundreds of individuals and dozens of organizations, service clubs, businesses and

Photo by Karen Obermeyer

mentoring programs and respite care.

• Develop an attitude of compassion. Judgments about children and adult behaviors and family situations make it more difficult for children, adults and families to ask for help.

• Volunteer your time. Get involved with the children and families in your community. Start a play group, a parenting class or support group. Be a mentor. Volunteer in the schools, with the YMCA, 4-H, your local parks department or other community organizations that provide services to children and families.

• Support prevention programs. Often intervention is offered only after problems have started. Investments are needed in proven programs that proactively support children and families and universally promote healthy choices

Photo by Kelly Matlock

21 21

government departments joining together to host events and activities for youngsters and community members, and sponsoring trainings on issues related to child abuse prevention. Colorful pinwheel displays at doctors’ offices, gyms, grocery stores and government departments will honor organizations for their programs and efforts on behalf of children and families.

Campaign sponsors will be asking community residents to make a pledge to do at least one thing in the next year to make Jefferson County a more nurturing and safe environment for children. This commitment can be as big as volunteering to be a mentor or as small as having an enthusiastic conversation with a neighborhood child about her soccer team. In 2009, more than 200 community members and more than 80 organizations pledged to support our youth with their actions.

A sampling of some of the community events and activities for this year are: • The Jefferson County Historical Society will host a Museum History Hunt from 11-3:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 10. Games will give children and families a fun way to learn Jefferson County history. Prizes will be given for completing the history game. Free admission for children.

• The Food Co-Op and Sound Experience will host “Our Co-Op Kids,” an Earth Day festival celebrating boats, planes, worms and fish from 1-4 p.m. on Sunday, April 18, in the Food Co-Op parking lot. Other participants are Northwest Maritime Center/Wooden Boat Foundation, Port Townsend Sea Scouts, Northwest School of Wooden Boatbuilding, Port Townsend Marine Science Center, Schooner Martha, Community Boat Project, Port Townsend Aero Museum, Tri-Area RC Club and the TriArea School Garden/Compost Program.

For more information about the “Our Kids: Our Business” campaign, a copy of the pledge form and listing of all activities occurring in April, go to www.jeffcocommunity network.org, or www.jeffersoncountypublichealth.org., and check your local newspapers.

22

Photo by Karen Obermeyer

Health&FITNESS

No

one person can do everything, but everyone can do something, and together we can create change for the better.

April is National Child Abuse Prevention and Sexual Assault Awareness Month. “Our Kids: Our Business” is a social awareness and prevention campaign. Many community partners collaborate to highlight things we can do as individuals, organizations, agencies and businesses to prevent child abuse and sexual assault. It is the community’s commitment to protect and nurture our children.

Community members are encouraged to pledge their individual commitment to taking action over the upcoming year in support of the Five Promises.

Five promises to our children • Caring adult • Safe places and constructive activities • A healthy start and future • Effective education for marketable skills • Opportunities to serve Actions can be big or small and can address any one of the above promises, such as: • Be a caring adult who asks neighbor children about their school activities.

• Serve an organization that supports healthy youth and families.

• Donate time or money to a cause that supports healthy youth and families.

• Allow youth opportunities to serve in your organization.

Prevention Works!

Mission: A community coalition of Clallam County advocates, educates and invests in our children. Through prevention efforts, we work to end child abuse and neglect, substance abuse and violence.

Prevention Works! is committed to giving our children a healthy start in life by supporting parents and families, by providing ongoing support groups, training opportunities, increasing public awareness about prevention and by facilitating community prevention planning. Together we can make a big difference in the life of a child and in our community’s future. General meetings are once a month, September-June.

Special project: Prevention Works! is sponsoring a work group of community members from diverse backgrounds to create a community-wide approach to reduce child abuse and neglect, violence and substance abuse in our county.

The goal is to have our Prevention Plan ready for community review by June.

For more information on our meetings or projects, go to www.preventionworkscc.org.

LIVING ON THE PENINSULA | SPRING | MARCH 2010

Health&FITNESS

Clallam County Events for children and families in March: Block Fest is coming to Clallam County. It is an indoor interactive exhibit that provides families with children under the age of 8 a rich, hands-on math and science learning opportunity. Parents get to learn and have fun, too. Children must be accompanied by a parent.

• Friday, March 19, in LaPush at the Akalat Community Center.

• Saturday, March 20, in Forks at Forks Elementary School • Tuesday, March 23, in Port Angeles at the YMCA. Wednesday, March 24 in Port Angeles at Dry Creek Elementary School.

• Thursday, March 25, in Sequim at Sequim Community School. Free.

Call to reserve a space at 582-3428 or 681-2250.

Check local media for times and locations for Block Fests coming to Clallam Bay. For more information, go to CCBlockfest@gmail.com or www.blockfestwa.org.

Resources for youths Answers For Youth. Provides outreach for street youths ages 13-17, 3-7 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays. Call 360-670-4363 for more information.

Peninsula Community Mental Health Center. Creative Family & Youth Skills class. For teens 13-17. Improve interpersonal relationships. Must have intake before attending class. 5:30-7:30 p.m.,Thursday, March 18, at 118 E. Eighth St., Port Angeles. Call 360-457-0431 or www. pcmhc.org.

Resources for parents and families First Step Family Support Center. Programs and services include parenting classes, mentoring programs, drop-in centers, maternity support services, case management, the Parent-Child Assistance Program, Parents As Teachers Home Visiting, Readiness to Learn, Summer Lunch Program for Children, Great Expectations Baby Showers, the First Books, support groups for postpartum depression, choosing healthy relationships and smoking cessation. 360-457-8355 or Cherie_fstep@olypen.com.

Olympic Medical Center. Universal home visiting for new parents, ongoing New Family Services’ childbirth preparation classes, postpartum home visiting, breastfeeding consultation and drop-in support groups sponsored by nurses and certified lactation consultants. Conscious Fathering class for new fathers. Call 360-457-7652 or www. olympicmedicalcenter.org.

Family Planning of Clallam County. Fatherhood First Parenting Class. Free for fathers. Sequim, Port Angeles, Forks. Call for details and to register. 360-452-2954, ext.

21, or www.familyplanningofcc.org.

Clallam County Health and Human Services. Guiding Good Choices for parents of 9-14 year olds. A series of classes, with food provided, child care, help and answers.

Offered throughout the year in Sequim, Port Angeles, Forks, Clallam County. Call for information, 360-4172436 or www.preventionworkscc.org .

Healthy Families of Clallam County. Nurturing Parenting Program, a class for parents of children 0-5 yrs. Free, child care, meal, prizes. Call to register. 360-452-3811 or www.healthyfam.org.

Sequim Community School. Developing Capable People Parenting Class. At Sequim Community School, 220 W. Alder St., Sequim. Suggested donation $30 for series or $45 per couple. Scholarships available, possible child care, light refreshments. To register call 360-5823428 or 360-681-2250.

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Belowt: This is a sample of the size of “bone dry” wood chips from a West End mill that would be one source of fuel for the Forks High School biomass furnace.

Above: University of Washington Olympic Natural Resources Center director John Calhoun (in white shirt) discusses the availability of wood waste on the North Olympic Peninsula at a Feb. 17 meeting in Forks. The mini-conference focused on the potential for using biomass for heating and generating electricity at Clallam Bay and Olympic corrections centers.

Story and photos

by Chris Cook

The

forest industry on the North Olympic Peninsula may have struck a vein of wooden gold.

Scrap branches and logs left behind by logging crews, wood chips trimmed off logs during processing in lumber mills and other wood waste found in mills and forests are the raw material for a burgeoning energy industry fueled with wood waste, which now has a fancier name: woody biomass.

Reports on biomass plants in Finland and elsewhere list sawdust, bark, plywood chips, wood pellets, wood stems, oversized wood logs, chips from logging residue, certain grasses and even straw as sources for biomass-fueled furnaces.

Boosting biomass on the West End gram funds, just as Midwest corn farmers are being funded to grow plants that are turned into ethanol. The funds are reported to be equal to the per-ton price paid by private companies and make it feasible to truck the wood waste from the West End to Port Angeles and elsewhere. Where a 50-mile radius once marked the profitable distance of

Forks gets biofueled

Once trash, now treasure This discussion speaks of “green industry loggers,” of energy independence, of new alternative energy jobs.

This is a big turnaround. Burning restrictions years ago closed down the landmark “wigwam” incinerators used to dispose of mill waste. To get rid of the waste, bins of the ground-up wood were trucked as far away as eastern Oregon.

Now the woody byproduct is becoming a much sought after pulp mill commodity, with haulers receiving federal transportation subsidy Bioenergy Crop Assistance Pro-

24

such loads, a 100-mile radius now is profitable, thanks to the federal dollars.

Additional requests for the woody biomass are likely to produce strong competition for the limited supply of wood waste now available on the West End and other logging regions.

Pulp and lumber mills are reported to be interested in installing plants to generate electricity with woody biomass-heated power systems.

Above: BLRB Architects of Tacoma provided this preliminary drawing of the Forks High School biomassfueled plant being built adjacent to the high school and Forks Middle School. The futuristic look of the ironcolored cylinder wrapping the plant’s stack recalls the days when “wigwam” incinerators burned wood waste at local lumber mills.

Photo courtesy of BLRB Architects

A real-time project is under way. Forks High School is the unlikely epicenter for statewide interest in using woody biomass to fuel a furnace that generates steam to heat classrooms, and possibly to spin micro-generators to create electricity.

On Feb. 4, a groundbreaking event was held at the site of the school’s new $1.5 million biomass furnace building.

At the groundbreaking were Rod Fleck, Forks city attorney/planner, and John Calhoun, Olympic Natural Resources Center director and Port of Port Angeles commissioner — toting shovels along with Diana Reaume, Quillayute Valley School District superintendent, and other officials involved in the project. ”The biomass plant will bring many benefits to our

LIVING ON THE PENINSULA | SPRING | MARCH 2010

students and school district with the first and foremost being a consistently warm classroom environment in the new high school addition and middle school,” Reaume said. “The district also anticipates operational savings that will allow us to keep at least one teaching unit in an economic time when every penny counts. We will be the first school district in the state of Washington to have this sized biomass boiler plant.”

Fleck and Calhoun have discussed, debated and pushed for more than half a dozen years the concept of using locally generated woody biomass to create heat and electricity.

“After years of promoting the idea of utilizing woody biomass, which is abundant in the West End, things finally are starting to happen,” Calhoun said. “Adding value with woody biomass will not replace the more valuable products from our forests but it will help. Woody biomass is the frosting on the cakel, not the cake.”

Their work — and dream — became a reality last year when the Legislature provided $1 million for the biomass pilot project now under construction in Forks. The money was gained with the help of a $100,000 biomass-to-energy study funded by the Clallam Economic Development Council. The balance of the school project funding is from a tie-in to the school district’s $16 million-plus school addition project set to begin construction this summer.

On top of making sure the biomass-burning plant will work as promised, Calhoun and Fleck face the job of

LIVING ON THE PENINSULA | SPRING | MARCH 2010

disseminating reports on the success of their task, how it was done and what benefits other communities in the state might gain from such projects. This likely means that along with “Twilight” fans, Forks soon will be hosting more modest-sized wood biomass energy tourism.

As the date for the scrap wood to meet the flame draws near, determining the optimum source for a steady supply of scrap wood has risen to the top of their punch list.

“The West End has been a leader in rural medicine, education, telecommunications and now biomass energy,” Fleck noted. “We promised the 24th District legislators that we would ensure that other communities learn from what we have gone through thereby reducing the costs of future similar efforts.”

Back to the future It’s late in 1885 and former Navy officer S.Z. Mitchell has arrived in Seattle with the dream of electrifying city streets and buildings, starting at the waterfront, in hopes of selling the 250 Edison lamps he’s brought from back East.

Essential to Mitchell’s plan is setting up a wood-fueled electrical generating plant, which he does.

In 1881, John Dolbeer, working in the redwood forests around Crescent City, Calif., models a portable winch after the donkey engines used aboard ships, adds cables and other gear and revolutionizes the logging industry by inventing the steam donkey. Goodbye oxen teams and horses.

Above: Quillayute Valley School District Superintendent Diana Reaume pours a symbolic five-gallon bucket of wood chips atop a pile of topsoil during the groundbreaking for Forks High School’s $1.5 million biomass-fueled boiler plant.

Other stakeholders, from left are Forks City Attorney/Planner Rod Fleck, representatives from contractor J.H. Kelly of Longview and BLRB Architects in Tacoma, Olympic Natural Resources Center Director John Calhoun, former Forks Mayor Nedra Reed and Quillayute Valley School District maintenance manager Bill Henderson.

Middle: The Forks High School biomass furnace facility is sited adjacent to the pre-World War II brick gym/ auditorium and the gray concrete block building pictured. The overhang in the foreground will be taken down to make way for the building.

Also in 1881, Ephraim Shay, of Michigan, files a patent for a steam locomotive powered by burning wood.

The basic elements of these Industrial Age biomass energy systems still are in use. In Hawaii, until the demise of the sugar cane plantation mills about a decade ago, bagasse, the leftover fibrous waste produced when raw sugar cane is ground to gather sugar crystals and molasses, was dried and used to fuel biomass furnaces. Thirty to 40 percent of the electricity running on grids powered homes and businesses for populations significantly larger than that of Clallam County.

24

Belowt: This is a sample of the size of “bone dry” wood chips from a West End mill that would be one source of fuel for the Forks High School biomass furnace.

Above: University of Washington Olympic Natural Resources Center director John Calhoun (in white shirt) discusses the availability of wood waste on the North Olympic Peninsula at a Feb. 17 meeting in Forks. The mini-conference focused on the potential for using biomass for heating and generating electricity at Clallam Bay and Olympic corrections centers.

Story and photos

by Chris Cook

The

forest industry on the North Olympic Peninsula may have struck a vein of wooden gold.

Scrap branches and logs left behind by logging crews, wood chips trimmed off logs during processing in lumber mills and other wood waste found in mills and forests are the raw material for a burgeoning energy industry fueled with wood waste, which now has a fancier name: woody biomass.

Reports on biomass plants in Finland and elsewhere list sawdust, bark, plywood chips, wood pellets, wood stems, oversized wood logs, chips from logging residue, certain grasses and even straw as sources for biomass-fueled furnaces.

Boosting biomass on the West End gram funds, just as Midwest corn farmers are being funded to grow plants that are turned into ethanol. The funds are reported to be equal to the per-ton price paid by private companies and make it feasible to truck the wood waste from the West End to Port Angeles and elsewhere. Where a 50-mile radius once marked the profitable distance of

Forks gets biofueled

Once trash, now treasure This discussion speaks of “green industry loggers,” of energy independence, of new alternative energy jobs.

This is a big turnaround. Burning restrictions years ago closed down the landmark “wigwam” incinerators used to dispose of mill waste. To get rid of the waste, bins of the ground-up wood were trucked as far away as eastern Oregon.

Now the woody byproduct is becoming a much sought after pulp mill commodity, with haulers receiving federal transportation subsidy Bioenergy Crop Assistance Pro-

24

such loads, a 100-mile radius now is profitable, thanks to the federal dollars.

Additional requests for the woody biomass are likely to produce strong competition for the limited supply of wood waste now available on the West End and other logging regions.

Pulp and lumber mills are reported to be interested in installing plants to generate electricity with woody biomass-heated power systems.

Above: BLRB Architects of Tacoma provided this preliminary drawing of the Forks High School biomassfueled plant being built adjacent to the high school and Forks Middle School. The futuristic look of the ironcolored cylinder wrapping the plant’s stack recalls the days when “wigwam” incinerators burned wood waste at local lumber mills.

Photo courtesy of BLRB Architects

A real-time project is under way. Forks High School is the unlikely epicenter for statewide interest in using woody biomass to fuel a furnace that generates steam to heat classrooms, and possibly to spin micro-generators to create electricity.

On Feb. 4, a groundbreaking event was held at the site of the school’s new $1.5 million biomass furnace building.

At the groundbreaking were Rod Fleck, Forks city attorney/planner, and John Calhoun, Olympic Natural Resources Center director and Port of Port Angeles commissioner — toting shovels along with Diana Reaume, Quillayute Valley School District superintendent, and other officials involved in the project. ”The biomass plant will bring many benefits to our

LIVING ON THE PENINSULA | SPRING | MARCH 2010

students and school district with the first and foremost being a consistently warm classroom environment in the new high school addition and middle school,” Reaume said. “The district also anticipates operational savings that will allow us to keep at least one teaching unit in an economic time when every penny counts. We will be the first school district in the state of Washington to have this sized biomass boiler plant.”

Fleck and Calhoun have discussed, debated and pushed for more than half a dozen years the concept of using locally generated woody biomass to create heat and electricity.

“After years of promoting the idea of utilizing woody biomass, which is abundant in the West End, things finally are starting to happen,” Calhoun said. “Adding value with woody biomass will not replace the more valuable products from our forests but it will help. Woody biomass is the frosting on the cakel, not the cake.”

Their work — and dream — became a reality last year when the Legislature provided $1 million for the biomass pilot project now under construction in Forks. The money was gained with the help of a $100,000 biomass-to-energy study funded by the Clallam Economic Development Council. The balance of the school project funding is from a tie-in to the school district’s $16 million-plus school addition project set to begin construction this summer.

On top of making sure the biomass-burning plant will work as promised, Calhoun and Fleck face the job of

LIVING ON THE PENINSULA | SPRING | MARCH 2010

disseminating reports on the success of their task, how it was done and what benefits other communities in the state might gain from such projects. This likely means that along with “Twilight” fans, Forks soon will be hosting more modest-sized wood biomass energy tourism.

As the date for the scrap wood to meet the flame draws near, determining the optimum source for a steady supply of scrap wood has risen to the top of their punch list.

“The West End has been a leader in rural medicine, education, telecommunications and now biomass energy,” Fleck noted. “We promised the 24th District legislators that we would ensure that other communities learn from what we have gone through thereby reducing the costs of future similar efforts.”

Back to the future It’s late in 1885 and former Navy officer S.Z. Mitchell has arrived in Seattle with the dream of electrifying city streets and buildings, starting at the waterfront, in hopes of selling the 250 Edison lamps he’s brought from back East.

Essential to Mitchell’s plan is setting up a wood-fueled electrical generating plant, which he does.

In 1881, John Dolbeer, working in the redwood forests around Crescent City, Calif., models a portable winch after the donkey engines used aboard ships, adds cables and other gear and revolutionizes the logging industry by inventing the steam donkey. Goodbye oxen teams and horses.

Above: Quillayute Valley School District Superintendent Diana Reaume pours a symbolic five-gallon bucket of wood chips atop a pile of topsoil during the groundbreaking for Forks High School’s $1.5 million biomass-fueled boiler plant.

Other stakeholders, from left are Forks City Attorney/Planner Rod Fleck, representatives from contractor J.H. Kelly of Longview and BLRB Architects in Tacoma, Olympic Natural Resources Center Director John Calhoun, former Forks Mayor Nedra Reed and Quillayute Valley School District maintenance manager Bill Henderson.

Middle: The Forks High School biomass furnace facility is sited adjacent to the pre-World War II brick gym/ auditorium and the gray concrete block building pictured. The overhang in the foreground will be taken down to make way for the building.

Also in 1881, Ephraim Shay, of Michigan, files a patent for a steam locomotive powered by burning wood.

The basic elements of these Industrial Age biomass energy systems still are in use. In Hawaii, until the demise of the sugar cane plantation mills about a decade ago, bagasse, the leftover fibrous waste produced when raw sugar cane is ground to gather sugar crystals and molasses, was dried and used to fuel biomass furnaces. Thirty to 40 percent of the electricity running on grids powered homes and businesses for populations significantly larger than that of Clallam County.

25

Left: A scaled-down version of a working wood-fueled “steam donkey” is on display at the Forks Timber Museum. The transportable steam works in the late 1800s made obsolete the pulling power of oxen and other animals used to haul felled logs in the West End forest.

In some ways the boiler at the heart of the new Forks biomass project is very much like these break-through technologies of yore. A wood product is burned, heating water, creating steam, letting off heat and energy in the form of steam.

The big difference today is the technology surrounding this basic wood-fired heat and energy source. For instance, emissions rising from the stack of the handsome building designed by BLRB Architects of Tacoma are minimal. The designers are working hand-in-hand with the Olympic Region Clean Air Agency, known for its stringent air pollution control rules. The Forks biomass system’s design promises to keep emissions below the world-best Kyoto Protocol air pollution standards, its builders say. This will be degrees cleaner than the fossil fuel-burning heating plant now in place.

The furnace burning the wood chips, possibly pellets, delivered to the school also will be highly efficient. Students at Forks High School and sections of Forks Middle School are eagerly awaiting the day when the plant is turned on. Today wintertime means chilly classrooms some mornings as the old furnace warms up. The biomass furnace is to run 24/7.

Having a local supply of woody biomass brought in by local haulers would reduce reliance on fuel supplies trucked from Port Angeles or beyond.

Corrections centers enter the picture On Feb. 17 a landmark biomass meeting was held at the University of Washington’s Olympic Natural Resources Center in Forks. The Biomass Community Meet-

26

ing brought together representatives from the Clallam Bay Corrections Center, on the north side of the West End; Olympic Corrections Center in the Clearwater region south of Forks, and other public organizations interested in biomass energy production.

Jack Brandt, operations manager at the 900-bed Clallam Bay prison, told the gathering of several dozen officials that his facility was designed to be heated and powered using wood heat-generated steam. Lower oil prices years ago resulted in forgoing a biomass plant. Now, however, with the older furnace reaching the end of its useful life and oil prices rising beyond the cost of biomass energy, the time might be right for a biomass plant to be built just outside the gates of the straitside prison.

Further, this new approach would meet the “sustainability objectives” of the department with regard to “greener” fuels. Better yet, such an effort would not require substantially large volumes of material and the woody biomass would be locally delivered in logging truck-hauled vans. The project could begin in two to three years.

Along with energy independence in a time of wide-

spread emergency, such a plant might play a part in reducing the need for Bonneville Power Authority to expand its high voltage lines to the area. Green credit tradeoffs might be sold to help finance the plant, which could produce electricity as well as heat.

Woody biomass for a potential OCC work camp plant in the Clearwater forest region pl could be fueled with wood scraps gathco ered and processed locally by inmates. er Learning how to gather wood fuel, Le process it and turn it into energy and pr heat using a biomass plant could prohe vide valuable training in this unique vi but growing technical field. bu “A project like this is doable at Olympic Corrections Center,” the O work camp’s superintendent John w Aldana told the gathering.

A Representatives from Washington State University in Bellingham attendSt ed the meeting and will be supplying research assistance for the Forks projre ect and for the prison biomass projects ec if and when they are launched.

The discussion at the meeting focused on supplying the furnaces, again raising what has become an all-important issue, just as the sources for oil are the energy foundation of society today.

Phil Kitchel, a corrections specialist at OCC, cited a bill alive in the current session of the Legislature that would boost the promise of woody biomass energy production.

Is there enough woody biomass available to meet existing needs, as well as fuel for the Forks High School project, the possible prison projects and the proposed mill projects?

Preliminary findings are expected to be released in June and the Forks biomass project is scheduled to go online in the summer of 2011.

Center: Details of the Forks High School biomass plant are discussed at its groundbreaking on Feb. 4 by (from left) Forks City Attorney/Planner Rod Fleck, Olympic Natural Resources Center Director John Calhoun and Quillayute Valley School District Superintendent Diana Reaume.

LIVING ON THE PENINSULA | SPRING | MARCH 2010

&

FOOD Spirits afé Paix/A Work in Progress is a great first stop in Forks following a drive to the West End from Port Angeles to the east or Aberdeen from the south for a “Twilight” visit, sightseeing, fishing, hiking along the coast or in Olympic National Park.

The combination café and antiques, used books and collectibles store is on North Forks Avenue in downtown Forks.

The café/store is well-furnished with an inviting homey atmosphere as comfortable as a West End cottage.

Richard Chesmore and Beth Palmer are the owners and hosts.

They serve a wide range of espresso and cocoa drinks, organic tea and chai tea lattes. Fruit smoothies are served in summer. The speciality drinks menu lists Italian sodas, one is called the West End Sunset. Fresh biscotti, muffins and cookies are laid out on platters alongside the

C

coffee bar.

About once a month the couple hosts live music evenings.

“We have live bluegrass and other types of music,” Chesmore said. “Seattle favorite Linda Waterfall occasionally plays a concert. We’ve held fundraisers for the author of ‘Three Cups of Tea.’ This is a way for my wife and me to get all our friends together for a few hours under one roof.”

Visitors are invited to attend the free laid-back music evenings. After all, the “paix” in Café Paix means “peace” in French.

Along with sipping your coffee and reading your e-mail through Café Paix’s Wi-Fi connection or a standalone Internet terminal, you can browse among 4,000 used books. The shop’s Stuck in the ’60s Room features a collection of John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King books and memorabilia.

Browsers also will find a good selection of locally-produced “Twilight” gifts and souvenirs, Quileute-made basketry and art and gift cards created by local photographers and artists.

Café Paix/A Work In Progress is open from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. daily including weekends.

Twisted mocha Mix ½ pump of Hershey’s chocolate syrup, 3 pumps of Da Vinci Vanilla syrup, ¼ scoop of white chocolate and two shots of hot coffee topped off with steaming milk or soy milk. The hot drink also should work well poured over ice.

(A locally concocted drink)

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27

Home&ARCHITECTURE

Story and photos

by Dana Casey

A

castle in Sequim? Really?

Yes, there is a modern-day castle just 3.5 miles from downtown Sequim, hiding behind Bell Hill, and you can rent it for a night, a week, a month or anything in between.

Jane Wadsworth and her husband, Ray, built the castle in 1986 for their family of five children. They always had wanted a castle and took elements of plans from a variety of houses to design their own. There are two bedrooms on the main floor, a master bedroom and two others are on the second floor. The attic has multiple beds that Wadsworth decorated for girls and a spiral staircase that leads to a tower bedroom. On the lower level is a hidden bedroom for one and a larger concealed room ready for several boys. The castle easily can accommodate 16-26 people.

After their youngest child turned 12, the Wadsworths opened their home to foster children. Over several years, they had 20 foster children share their home and lives. They still hear from some of them and cherish the contact. Wadsworth is very safety conscious, so stairway entrances can be locked and a deck outside the kitchen has locked gates at either end so young children can play outside and still be safe. That let her monitor

28

LIVING ON THE PENINSULA | SPRING | MARCH 2010

Home&ARCHITECTURE

the play and still do the work needed to care for her large family.

The children are grown and have families of their own and the castle is too big for two people, so the Wadsworths are renting the house for other families to enjoy. Family reunions, weddings, receptions and events have been held inside and more are planned for the more than 5,500-square-foot mansion.

Wadsworth has given each bedroom a theme and decorated in that style. For instance, there is a West Room with west-facing windows.

Its theme is fall and sunset so the colors are brown, orange and tan. Each room has its own towels, mugs and handmade robes that match the color scheme.

Behind a secret panel on the lower level is the Merlin bedroom, complete with an owl sitting beside the bed and a blue and silver robe. The master suite has a crown over the bed and a whirlpool spa.

Outside the door are wood carvings of Father Time and Mother Earth.

A closet in the master bedroom is full of costumes Wadsworth made for guests to wear for photographs. She has a box full of accessories such as wings, feathers and costume jewelry. In the hidden room for boys on the lower level, she has costumes for men and boys with swords, hats and even a hook for the Captain Hook costume. There are numerous toys and hiding places in the castle to

LIVING ON THE PENINSULA | SPRING | MARCH 2010

entertain children. One storage room holds a very long dragon, another a toddler bed. Both the great room on the lower level and the living room above it are heated by wood stoves in large river stone fireplaces.

Wadsworthâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s focus is on family activities so she has a large selection of videos and games including chess and Kingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Corner. There is an ample backyard for picnics or outdoor games. The main floor has wheel chair access.

For more information, contact Wadsworth at www.wood havencastle.com or 360-775-1711.

Clockwise from inset at left: Mother Earth smiles on all who enter the master suite.

A king-sized bed is just one of the amenities of in the master suite.

The fireplace that opens on two levels is custom-made from river rocks.

An owl perches beside Merlinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s bed in one of the secret rooms.

Facing page: The tower greets visitors to Woodhaven Castle.

Facing page inset: Jane Wadsworth holds one of the many costumes she has made for visitors to Woodhaven Castle.

29

Understanding and sustaining the forest environment Story and photos

by Jerry Kraft

An

important part of the distinctive and overwhelming beauty of the Olympic Peninsula is our forestlands, that vast wealth of trees and natural woodland that surrounds us. They are both a resource for commercial use and a sacred trust for future generations. A forest is a complex, fragile and enduring ecosystem and understanding and managing it is the focus of the science of forestry.

Foresters practice their science in a variety of jobs in laboratories and in the woods. They can be employed by universities, government agencies, conservation and environmental groups and by the timber industry. Their studies attempt to balance the many competing factors in a healthy forest environment. While working to maintain an economically viable and productive timber industry, they also are concerned with protecting natural habitat, maintaining the availability of recreational areas and ensuring the health of the land and watershed to protect its diversity and well-being.

While there is an obvious antipathy between commercial timber interests and those who would prefer that the forests remain in an untouched, pristine condition, forestry provides a balance between the two. Foresters who work for the timber industry contribute to ensuring that an abundant supply of healthy trees, strong and usable timber, grows in a balanced ecosystem. Government and independent foresters more often focus on the sustainability of those forests and they are engaged in forest regeneration and restoration and improving tree genetics.

To understand the forest and its diversity, foresters have

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to measure and model the growth and variety of species to balance and improve the ecosystem. In addition, they must understand all of the threats to those trees from insects to species imbalance to the ravages of natural wildfire.

Foresters generally have a bachelorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s or masterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s level of education that includes studies in biology, botany, genetics, soil science, climatology, hydrology, economics and

forest management. Because the issues of environmental management so often become political, it also is recommended that they study sociology and political science.

Most land-grant colleges and universities offer degrees in forestry and 48 of those schools have programs accredited by the Society of American Foresters. A prospective forester should enjoy scientific course study and, of course, enjoy working outdoors. Most forestry jobs balance field work with office work. As a result, most academic programs leading to a degree in forestry also require significant field experience. The majority of professional forestry jobs require at least a bachelorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s degree and the majority of professional foresters work for government agencies.

The most important of those agencies is the National Forest Service, which began in the late 19th century as a special agency in the U.S. Department of Agriculture assigned to assess the health of the forests. In 1891, the Forest Reserve Act authorized withdrawing land from the public domain to be managed by the Department of the Interior.

Then, in 1905, the management of forest reserves by the Bureau of Forestry was transferred from the Department of the Interior to the Department of Agriculture and Above: On the Olympic Peninsula, residents are accustomed to the abundance and beauty of forests.

Left: Old-growth forest on the peninsula is a rare and wonderful treasure. After decades of heavy logging, foresters place great emphasis on restoration and preservation of the woods.

LIVING ON THE PENINSULA | SPRING | MARCH 2010

became known as the U.S. Forest Service. The Forest Service today manages public lands in national forests and grasslands that encompass 193 million acres.

Because of very heavy timber harvesting in the past, much of the Forest Service emphasis is now on restoration, especially of areas that were “clear cut,” where every tree in an area was harvested and nothing left standing. They also are concerned with restoring areas damaged by forest fire. That restoration is a critical focus for Olympic National Forest, an area that includes 633,677 acres.

“Much of our focus is on restoration after decades of heavy logging, often clear-cut operations. We currently have large stands of young trees and a pretty extensive road system,” said Donna Nemeth, public affairs officer for the National Forest Service.

“We also have some fish passage concerns.

The restoration strategy looks at thinning some of the tree stands, road decommissioning and transforming them into trails, and restoring fish habitat.”

Above: Understanding and managing the forest requires As with all scientific careers, forestry is rigorous study and a deep love for the natural world. increasingly technological. Conservation scientists and foresters use a number of tools Left: The complexity of the forest ecosystem requires foresters to have a broad knowledge in science, both to perform their jobs. in and out of the classroom and laboratory.

Some examples given by the Society of American Foresters include: “Clinometers to measure the heights of trees, diameter tapes to measure tree diameters, and increment borers and bark gauges to measure the growth of trees so that timber volumes can be computed and growth rates estimated. Remote sensing (aerial photographs and other imagery taken from airplanes and satellites) and geographic information systems (GIS) data often are used for mapping large forest or range areas and for detecting widespread trends of forest and land use. Once a map is generated, data are digitized to create a computerized inventory of information required to manage the land and its resources. Hand-held computers, global positioning systems (GPS), and Internetbased applications are used extensively.”

Dedicated professional foresters are providing a vital service in restoring and preserving this critical natural resource. With the tremendous increase in the tools and knowledge of how complex ecosystems work, the professional forester’s continual efforts to better understand and manage those millions of acres of trees, those expansive wooded vistas, can help ensure that economically sound decisions will both sustain and enrich our forests and their inhabitants.

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ARTS Entertainment

Story and photos by Joan Worley

E

ven stone wears out. Silica and alumina — the remnants of weathered granite, sandstone and basalt — form the clay squished underfoot the world over.

Humble clay transforms through fire, however, and if glazed with a mixture of more clay, it vitrifies into a glassy material capable of great strength and beauty. This is part of the appeal for Rudy and Andi Bauer of Bauer Haus Pottery in Sequim. The other essential attraction is the challenge: The potter’s art has compelled them to expand their knowledge of geology, chemistry, thermodynamics and anatomy in order to turn out collections of unique pottery.

On a very basic level, says Rudy, anatomy determines style in potting. The shape and size of each potter’s hands set certain limits on what the potter will be able to make; at the same time, the unique anatomy of each potter allows for striking individuality in handmade work. Anatomy determines the “maker’s mark,” the singular look of a piece that enables the expert to identify the potter who created it.

Rudy possesses the hands of a linebacker. One would not expect his passion to be transforming finicky porcelain clays into thin-walled translucent vessels. But at Bauer Haus Pottery, Rudy and Andi have been turning out such work for 16 years.

Raw elements Each beautiful work begins as a lump of clay, weighing anywhere from a pound — for a cup — to 25 pounds —

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for an umbrella stand. As Rudy demonstrates, the clay is cut and kneaded, a process called “wedging,” until all the air has been driven out. It must be so — any pocket of air trapped in the finished piece could expand in the heat of the kiln and blast the pot into shrapnel.

Grabbing a lump of wedged clay, Rudy slaps it onto his potter’s wheel. Now he must coax the clay into useful symmetry. Watching him crouched over the wheel, elbows jammed into his thighs to brace his arms and hands, it becomes clear that pottery is a full-contact sport.

As the wheel spins, Rudy must persuade the mound of clay to whirl like a gyro on a perfect center of motion. He uses both hands to raise the lump into a high cone. He pushes the cone back down to form a hemisphere. Then he repeats the process until what began as a wobbling mass becomes so steady on the wheel that it’s almost impossible to see that it still is spinning.

With two fingers, Rudy drives a precise hole into the middle of the centered mound, then opens it into a squat cylinder. From that point, creating a mug, bowl, vase or an umbrella stand is a matter of hand-eye coordination and the skilled management of

opposed forces.

“When you start throwing clay on the wheel,” Rudy tells beginners, “make a simple cylinder. Then make a thousand.” He has made thousands of pots and “thrown” literally tons of clay.

Practice is vital. Pulling the clay upward requires the potter to balance the tension of opposing fingertips inside and outside the cylinder. This tension creates “waves” of clay that rise to build the walls of the form. Inconsistent pressure will cause uneven walls or even tear through the clay. Too little upward pull and the piece remains dumpy and heavy, what Rudy calls “home-defense pottery.” Too much pull and the clay walls slump under their own weight — think Jabba the Hutt. A slight Left: “Most of all, Eleanor taught me form,” says Rudy Bauer of his mentor, Eleanor Murphey of Sunstone Studios.

Top left: Rudy and Andi Bauer survey partially glazed pots. Glazes look much alike until the heat of the kiln transforms them.

Top right: A small light in a big dark: Memories of cave exploration sparked this series of oil lamps.

LIVING ON THE PENINSULA | SPRING | MARCH 2010

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ARTS Entertainment

jiggle in the potter’s braced muscles and the whole piece will wobble and veer — in Rudy’s word — “catawampus.”

Throwing so much as a cereal bowl requires physical force, isometric tension, Zen balance and a bit of surgical precision.

Rudy has an edge on this last item, having made his living as a surgical nurse. Trained as a medic in the Air Force, he worked on surgical teams through two tours in Vietnam. Post-military, he took the R.N. degree and completed the coursework for a graduate degree in nursing management while working as a nurse. Afterward, he spent 16 years as a nursing administrator and supervisor for the University of California at San Diego Medical Center. He was aware, however, that he needed another more personal challenge, “something I chose to do that would require accomplishment.”

Eureka moments Andi, along with Rudy’s son Chris, was first to be hooked on clay. It happened in her initial course at Mesa College in San Diego, she recalls: “I sculpted a bear with a salmon in its mouth. Sure, a few classmates asked me why a pig had a fish in its mouth, and sure, the body of the bear exploded in the kiln, but I was proud of that sculpture. We still have the bear’s head at home.”

After more coursework, she procured a kick wheel for their home and demonstrated to her husband how to throw “a very small pot.”

Unrestrainedly enthusiastic, Rudy picked up a whopping 8-pound hunk of clay and started in.

“I knew from working in surgery the importance of a soft touch,” he says, “how not to bruise the heart, how not to make neurons fade away, how to make tiny sutures.” That “soft touch” paid off with his first chunk of clay. “I thought my way through it and let the clay respond. In about an hour, I had a bowl.”

These days, watching him pull a mound of clay into a bowl or vase is much like watching a slick magician perform a hat trick. But that is only part of the trick, he says.

Trimming and glazing the piece are just as important as forming it on the wheel.

The final look of any pot depends on the potter’s ability to trim the partially dry (“leather-hard”) clay so that the foot, middle and rim of the pot work together to create a coherent form in the viewer’s eye. The underfoot of a bowl, for example, might be trimmed to mirror the curve of the inside surface. Matching the heft of a handle to its cup or shaping a lid that complements a teapot are other aesthetic challenges. “Proportionality is crucial,” Rudy says. “The top of a vase shouldn’t draw more attention than the middle or the bottom.”

LIVING ON THE PENINSULA | SPRING | MARCH 2010

Mining and mixing Perfecting the outside of a pot requires more decisions. Clay surfaces may be treated very simply, by burnishing or by covering with a “slip” of liquid clay. The glassy and impervious finish associated with most ceramics, however, comes only after glazing. Commercial glazes are widely available, of course, but most experienced potters formulate and mix their own glazes in order to achieve finishes unique to their own work.

The makings of a really good glaze are at once ubiquitous and elusive. “Most dirt,” says Rudy, “will fire into a glaze.”

However, color, consistency, transparency, glossiness and any special effects are all products of substantial chemical tinkering. Beginning with a glaze base (often clay itself), the potter must add the correct flux, sodium or potassium oxides, for example. Fluxes lower the melting temperature

of the glaze to the proper ranges. An added bit of alumina keeps the glaze from running off the pot.

Rudy knows the properties of glaze components — such as silica, dolomite, borates, alumina — and he is skilled in formulating those mixtures (in molecular units) to obtain the melting ranges, colors and textures he needs for each pot. Among his tools are computer programs and databases that contain the molecular weights and properties of thousands of materials and combinations. Each glaze and the clay on which it is applied must match each other in their rates of expansion and contraction at high temperatures; otherwise the glaze may crack off as it cools.

An avid hiker, Rudy has prospected and mined his own glaze clays from bluffs around the western states, even from the Bauers’ own backyard. Clay from a bluff in the Flathead Lake area of Montana yielded a glaze that turns to satin blue-black glass when

Top: Fingers brace each other for the delicate maneuver of forming the lip.

Inset above: Rudy Bauer compounds special glazes from native clays to achieve colors and textures not available commercially.

Right: Expert control of kiln temperature encourages crystal formation. Golden flecks like these are called “teadust.”

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laced with cobalt carbonate. In the Bauer Haus studio, this “Ravalli” glaze might be layered over clays from buckets labeled “Buffalo Field, Wyoming,” “Port Williams,” “Agnew,” “Chicken Coop Road” and “home.” The layered applications yield varieties of hue and texture, including Rudy’s special “oil-spot” glaze. Perhaps it isn’t turning lead into gold, but for him it is an earthy alchemy.

Sorcerer’s apprentice Andi and Rudy made a commitment to study the complexities of clay while still in San Diego, continuing with classes at Mesa College and at the Craft Center and Grove Gallery at UC San Diego. With their potting wheel under a large outdoor umbrella, they glazed their pots in the dining room and set up a kiln in a storeroom. As they began to sell their work at local markets, they also helped to promote the work of other artists as officers in the Clay Artists of San Diego.

In 2000, Rudy made a life-changing decision: he retired from the medical center and secured an apprenticeship with master potter Eleanor Murphey at Sunstone Studios in La Jolla, Calif. Andi, her clay work interrupted for half a year by chemotherapy, moved into the business end of pottery, keeping books for Sunstone as well as for Bauer Haus Pottery.

Over the next two years as an apprentice, he learned studio production of quality handmade pottery. “Most of all,” he says, “Eleanor taught me form. She insisted that form be perfect and she could be brutal.” Rudy still visits and learns from Murphey, whose studio is now in Oregon. “She likes to torture me,” he laughs. “Every time I’m there, she casually sits down at the wheel and shows me something new, something it’s going to take me years to learn.”

Firing a fuel-burning kiln is one of the toughest ceramic skills to acquire. Ancient kilns were wood-fired pits, but many potters today have moved to gas-fired and electric kilns. At Bauer Haus Pottery, the ceramic pieces undergo an initial bisque (from the French for biscuit) firing at a comparatively low temperature in an electric kiln about the size of a hot tub. Bisque firing stabilizes the clay, preparing

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it for glazing and the final firing in the big kiln. This 18-cubic-foot gas-fired dragon, lined with white firebrick, heated with propane, is reminiscent of a walk-in closet.

Using a carefully planned and executed firing schedule, Rudy fires the kiln slowly enough not to shock the clay, modifying the air intake to produce a reducing (oxygen-free) atmosphere. The chemical-rich hot gas inside the kiln becomes another ingredient in forming the finished glaze, he says, “so you must artfully maneuver the air, fuel and combustion to make the clay melt and reharden into glass.”

He allows the kiln to cool gently over a period of about two days. Even then, it is only with great care that Rudy can open the kiln to see gorgeous color on the clay surfaces and hear only blessed silence — no deadly “ping” of cracking glaze.

It takes more than a hundred pieces to fill the large kiln. Weeks of throwing, bisque firing and glazing are on the line each time Rudy carefully packs the big kiln for firing. No wonder many potters fashion tiny clay “kiln-gods” to watch over the process.

Like glaze firing, any arts-based business is a risky proposition, another commitment for the Bauers. In 2003, Rudy took an on-call position at Olympic Medical Center, and the couple moved to Sequim. Now he routinely arises at 4 a.m. to be available for calls for assistance at endoscopies and other procedures. The rest of his time is dedicated

to Bauer Haus Pottery. Andi, full-time program coordinator for diabetes education and nutritional services at OMC, has less time now to spend on studio work but she still keeps the books for Bauer Haus Pottery and takes part in design and production as time permits.

Cycles and series With each successful glaze firing, Bauer Haus Pottery completes a cycle of production. By the time the wellpacked kiln and the transformed pottery cool, however, Rudy has begun another cycle of work. Each cycle is dedicated to just a few series of forms. Sticking with a limited number of forms, he says, allows the potter to aim for perfection: “Pick out what you like. Make it specific. Make hundreds so that the work will progress.”

The market may dictate choice of a project but often the potter has a connection to certain forms. Recently, for example, Rudy has created a series of oil lamps that are tied to his memory of youthful cave exploration in Kentucky. “We were just kids,” he recalls, “but we went into areas people hadn’t been, crawling through tubes into caves, then later guiding reporters and county workers in.”

Underground, in a cave where no one else has set foot, he adds, “even a little lamp is like a search light.” So decades later, Rudy found himself dedicating one work cycle to an expanding variety of lamp shapes, in sizes ranging from Lilliputian to leviathan.

The pursuit of art is not unlike building a business: Both require persistence. Rudy’s work has been juried into international shows against the top ceramic artists in the world.

Locally his pottery is available at the Blue Whole Gallery in Sequim. Rudy pursues the outreach necessary to all artists: He always is looking for new outlets, entering exhibitions, winning awards and attending workshops. His work will be featured during July at the Museum and Arts Center in Sequim. In August, Rudy will be the featured artist at the Blue Whole Gallery.

Staying current with the community of potters also allows the Bauers to make social contributions. Bauer Haus Pottery participates in the Peninsula Empty Bowls Project.

Worldwide, Empty Bowls artists donate beautifully made bowls for simple meals aimed at gathering donations to relieve hunger. On Sept. 25, Peninsula Empty Bowls and Bauer Haus will be part of the Incredible Edible Festival to be held at the Sequim Boys & Girls Club.

Nor has Rudy forgotten his roots. Each year he donates ceramic artwork for the auction to fund his former highschool football team in Elizabethtown, Ky. Recently he offered workshops for art students at Sequim High School, enlisting students to create ceramic birds that can be sold in support of the Dungeness River Audubon Center at Railroad Bridge Park.

“I can’t wait to see what they come up with,” he says.

Top left: Rudy Bauer “Student artists are not locked “opens” a centered mound of clay. in to old designs. It’s going to Left: The 18-cubic-foot be wild — and definitely for the birds!” gas-fired kiln packed for firing.

LIVING ON THE PENINSULA | SPRING | MARCH 2010

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HEART Soul

Ordinary people

By Karen Frank

W

hen I was young, I wanted to do great things.

In my dreams, I saved people from burning buildings and nuclear blasts. Awake, I fantasized about winning both the Nobel Prize for Literature and the Nobel Peace Prize. I longed for the god-like power to change the world and re-create it without suffering.

More than anything, that desire for the grand gesture prevented me from seeing that I often failed to do the small, ordinary things that add up to being love. I’d forget to send people birthday cards until long after the fact. I adored my grandparents but I didn’t always call them or write them the little notes that my grandmother would have treasured.

Grandiosity still tempts me. After the tsunami, after Katrina and after Haiti, what I wanted to do was go to those places and rescue people or listen to their tales of trauma, helping them to heal their souls. Unfortunately I’m pretty squeamish and I’d likely faint dead away at the sight of the gruesome aftermath, adding to the problem.

Nor am I skilled in rescue work or construction. Still, to be told repeatedly that the most useful thing I can do for people is send money is frustrating. Money seems banal, contaminated and distant. And too little. My desire to do the special thing can get in the way of me doing the necessary, non-heroic act of writing out a check.

Most people are occupied with the everyday tasks that lead to lives filled with quiet caring. Like my dad, they show up for work every day for 30 or 40 years, often bored or tired. They persevere because they hold their families dear and want to provide for them. They do what might seem burdensome but rarely think of it that way.

My Aunt Gloria didn’t work outside the home except for a few years when she sold Avon products. For many years, I judged that she was living a narrow, uninteresting existence. I felt sorry for her. She didn’t travel or have a wide range of interests and friends. She resided in a small town in southern Illinois and seemed content.

Although she didn’t have a paying job, what she did do was take care of a profoundly retarded son all by herself for

LIVING ON THE PENINSULA | SPRING | MARCH 2010

more than 50 years, grieving at his death as if he had been a great gift to her rather than a burden. With her protection, he’d lived far longer than anyone had predicted. Working with a temporarily funded agency, he’d managed to learn to do some things for himself. He could feed himself and walk eventually but for many of his early years and his later years, my aunt carried him in her arms.

Unlike me, she didn’t bemoan her trials and tribulations. No one ever heard her curse her fate or saw her act resentfully. She didn’t play the martyr. She was a flawed and ordinary person who expressed extraordinary love on a daily basis.

We are all capable of that, all have the potential for self-transcendence. Most of us don’t believe it, though.

Mahatma Gandhi worried when people put him on a pedestal, calling him a saint. The problem, he noted, was that if people thought of him as something other than an ordinary human being, they were unlikely to believe themselves able to live in the same way. After all, they weren’t saints. They could excuse themselves from the effort of right action and right relationship. But Gandhi would not accept that. He told his followers that “Whatever you do may seem insignificant but it is most important that you do it.”

Small actions When my aunt rehabbed in a nursing home after a hospital stay, she came back to her room to find three beautiful valentines. The student nurses had made her a big one and anonymous workers created the other two. It not only was nice for my aunt, it cheered up my mother.

She was amazed. “This is probably more valentines than she would have received if she was at home,” she said.

Small meaningful actions like that often fall by the wayside while we try to figure out how we can make everything all better.

When I studied pastoral helping skills and when I entered my internship through Seattle University, professors and advisors repeatedly warned us against developing a messiah complex. Those of us drawn to ministry, counseling and the other helping professions have to be wary since we tend to want to rescue people or change situations beyond our control.

Something harder was required of us. We needed to deepen our compassion — the ability to be fully present to struggling individuals or painful situations. We had to learn to accept the things we could not change and do the things we could with open, loving hearts.

This winter I had a long, long cold that turned into asthma that I couldn’t seem to get under control. Dana woke up with me at night and reassured me when I struggled with breathlessness and fear. My friend Esther called me every few days to see if I was feeling better. Neither could “cure” me, but their presence reassured me — made me feel safer and not alone.

When I was 12, I decided that my purpose in life was to learn how to love. I don’t know why I decided that but I’m glad I recognized the importance of that task. I’ve realized that a life filled with ordinary kindness is the most amazing thing of all. When we pick out just the right card — like my mother does and my friend Andree — when we empty the dishwasher for a tired spouse and when we write the check to Doctors without Borders to put to good use in Haiti, we’re on the right path.

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By Felice Thompson

As

the fog lifts, the outline of this magnificent creature begins to unfold. Its majestic size, its prehistoric history and the mystery surrounding these creatures can spark curiosity and imagination. Whales: orcas, grays, minkes, humpbacks and others migrate to the waters of the Pacific Northwest from early spring into the fall.

the whale population. “You go out watching orcas; what you’re observing is the beauty and energy of the animal but you’re not thinking at the same time they are being exposed to toxins,” Palmer says.

Whale awareness

Drawing by Lee Post

This summer, Centrum and the Port Townsend Marine Science Museum are partnering to host a Whale Camp for youngsters ages 9-13, beginning July 11-17. The program is designed to educate through fun hands-on activities that raise awareness concerning the status of the southern exposure orca pods and other species of whales that live in the Pacific Northwest.

Why host a whale camp? Or maybe the real question is, “What do the wild whales need to live healthfully in our environment?” asks Libby Palmer, Orca Project manager.

The real problem is a general lack of awareness about

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In 2002, a female orca lay dead on a sandbar near Dungeness Spit. By her side was a young male, presumably her now-orphaned son. The young male, after repeated efforts, was returned to the sea.

When the necropsy (whale autopsy) was performed on the female, it was discovered that this orca had 400 times the amount of DDT (agricultural insecticide) and 100

Campers will spend a week at Fort Worden State Park engaged in activities that merge science and art. Youths will explore the world of whales with marine scientists and artists; hear the sounds of the ocean and discover the connection between humans and these little known “dolphins” of the sea.

Get a close-up view of an orca skeleton and research orca communication in Puget Sound. Experience a simu-

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times higher amounts of PCBs (industrial contaminates) than any orca found in the past. These toxins were banned more than 40 years ago and yet still are ending up in the oceans, eaten by microscopic plants and animals that then are eaten by larger animals and thus contaminating the entire food chain.

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lated whale migration from the southern California Baja region up to Alaska. Draw a life-size blue whale on the dock of the Port Townsend Marine Science Center. Create music from the recordings of orca soundings.

Two hydrophones (underwater microphones) are installed beneath the Port Townsend Marine Science Center pier. They are one of the five nodes of the Salish Sea sponsored by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. These hydrophones detect all sounds under the water: marine vessels, such as ferries, fishing boats, etc., and the sounds of the ocean and the whale soundings. To be a part in hydrophone research, go to http://orcasound.net and just listen. Can you identify the different sounds?

at the Marine Science Center. The campers also will go on a whale-watching trip to Friday Harbor and visit the science center.

“Our camp activities are much more creative and much more active than school,” says Martha Worthley, program manager of the Young Artist Project. “We want to look at local history of the whale and local native storytell-

ing about the myths that have arisen from our area; this will all be part of the cultural lens we’ll be looking through.”

Experienced counselors will supervise small groups and all meals and snacks are provided by the Fort Worden Commons, that specializes in fresh, local organic meals.

Visit Centrum’s Web site at www.centrum.org/youth/ whalecamp.html for tuition, room and board prices.

Living laboratories Camp activities will be conducted on local beaches, in laboratories, the aquarium and the natural history exhibit

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YOUR NEW Life

Savor,

By Ruth Marcus

A

brilliant wave of light captures your attention as it dances through the wet boughs of a cedar. Joy and gratitude fill every cell of your being.

A perfectly pitched note rises up as the musician becomes one with his instrument, and a chill goes up your spine — sheer pleasure. Savor the moment.

Focused attention is rapture — a richly intense mix of pleasure, awareness, appreciation, joy — and, yes, wonder.

We have the potential to experience rapt attention every moment of our lives.

Focused attention inspires us to write, dance, weep and appreciate the visual feast of a finely sculpted work of art.

We can live as though nothing is a miracle or as though everything is a miracle. Like Einstein riding a beam of light and immersing himself in the rapture — exploring, questioning, researching and discovering the theory of relativity — it begins by focusing on an idea.

Focus your mind on a pile of dung and soon life stinks.

Refocus and that same pile becomes compost that turns the garden into a spectrum of colors and scents, sounds and textures that flood your senses with wonder and delight.

Rapt attention requires fine-tuning your relationship to life. Be enthusiastic. Let curiosity and creativity come to the forefront. Look for the miracle in everything and you will find it.

If I say, hogwash, where does your attention go? Do you immediately feel rejected and judged? Refocus. Consider, instead, washing the hogs, listening to their snorts, their grunts and their squeals. Delight in the imaginative adventure of telling a story. Rapture lives where we focus our attention.

A friend came to visit one particular day and sat in the same chair that she always chose whenever she came to visit. Her hands rested on the wide arms of the chair and she slowly began to rub the smooth finished wood.

“Did you get a new chair?” she asked. I grinned. “No, it’s the same chair you’ve been sitting in all the years you have been coming to visit.” Her experience came brilliantly alive

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as she turned her attention to her sense of touch.

We often overlook the gifts of our senses. Allowing our hands to touch — touch with rapt attention connects us with everything. Touch the chair you sit in. Touch the cheek of your beloved. Turn your attention to what touches your heart and the stream of rapture makes life one brilliant moment after another.

Contours, textures, colors and sounds, tingling and tasting — your senses magnify and amplify your experience when you pay attention to them, one by one. Or all at once.

A morning shower becomes a waterfall bombarding and stimulating your skin. Listen as the water cascades, splashing and swirling. Life becomes a symphonic experience with the willingness to pay attention.

Venture out into something new and discover how quickly a creative challenge captures your attention.

Learn to build a birdhouse, cook Thai food, paint with watercolors. The immersion into something new produces energy. Pay attention to the vibrancy of engaging in life — participating fully.

Put a tiny piece of dark chocolate on your tongue and taste it. Really taste it. That’s rapt attention.

We choose where we place our attention. William James advises us not to sing because we’re happy, but to be happy because we sing. Choose your focus. Sing loud, sing long.

Attentiveness strengthens relationships. How does it feel to sit with a partner who mindlessly nods, “yep, uhhuh, yep,” never looking up, never actually listening?

Attentiveness means being present, looking at one another and really seeing, participating in what is being said. Ask questions because you want to understand what’s being said and respond thoughtfully.

Deeply connecting with your attention creates the bril-

liant moments to savor a relationship rather than wasting moments in dull stupors. It’s your life. You get to choose.

Our culture sweeps us into dull, distracted inattention — inattentively weaving through traffic, inattentively jotting down a grocery list and inattentively talking on a cell phone. It all becomes a twisted maze and our life’s precious moments slip away when we lack attentiveness.

In the evening, we wonder what we did with the day. Are we enjoying life? Or are we lost in the maze?

Focusing on what you want to experience is possible, yet desire is not enough. Maybe you have been a yes person most of your life. You realize that you’ve compromised your integrity, yet saying yes is familiar — an automatic response. Practice sessions are needed to heighten your ability to focus on a new way of responding.

Look in the mirror and say no. Watch your face. Notice the shape of your mouth when you say no. It looks like you’re preparing to blow out a candle, right? Compare that to how your mouth looks when you say yes.

Listen to the sound of no. Get used to it. Practice saying, “No, thank you,” and “Thanks, but I’m not interested.” Pay attention. You are empowering yourself when you incorporate no in your vocabulary.

An elder friend says that she and her friends refuse to take part in “organ concerts.” They agree not to talk about every aching organ in their bodies. They prefer to focus on enjoying one another’s company.

This is not to discount physical pain. Research shows that being able to differentiate between the physiological sensations and the thoughts and emotions connected to the sensations makes a vast difference in our experience.

When there is physical pain, the mind typically transforms that into “I’m suffering” rather than “Hmm, there’s that aching joint.”

Refocusing attention away from everything the mind wants to say about the aching joint reduces the pain — often as much as 30 percent according to research from the Omega Institute for Holistic Studies in Rhinebeck, N.Y. I’ve experienced this myself, feeling the dreaded symptoms of a cold — achy body, runny nose, watery eyes and maybe even a headache. Who hasn’t ached and felt depleted?

The doorbell rang. A friend stopped by, checking in to see how I was doing. She sat and visited for half an hour.

My attention turned away from my symptoms. I became engaged and focused on her presence. Voila! My aches and pains seemed to vanish. As she was leaving, she handed me a brown paper bag with a note attached. “Enjoy,” she said and stepped out into the evening air. I closed the door, grateful for her kindness.

The note read, “This recipe is my grandmother’s. Enjoy, and be well.” Inside, there was a jar of chicken soup flavored with a whole lot of love from a dear friend. I savored, with rapt attention.

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Visit www.DrRuthMarcus.com.

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Events CALENDAR EC March 19-21 • 28th Annual Fort Worden Kitemakers Conference at Fort Worden State Park, kitemakers.org.

March 20 • Jeffco Community Garage Sale — Jefferson County Fairgrounds, 9 a.m., Port Townsend. More than 40 garage sales in one location. 360-385-1013.

March 20-21 th

• 12 Annual Soroptimist Gala Garden Show — 9 a.m. Saturday, 10 a.m. Sunday; Boys & Girls Club, Sequim. The twoday show brings together products and professional services of horticultural and garden-related businesses.

March 23-25 • Peninsula Community Wooden Kayak Project. 6 p.m. Northwest Maritime Center Boatshop (Chandler Building). Port Townsend’s new Northwest Maritime Center and Redfish Custom Kayaks invite

the public to participate in the construction of a cedar-strip wooden kayak. www.redfishkayak.com.

the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe. 360-6814076 or www.olympicbirdfest.org.

area. Self-guided tour of Port Townsend’s most spectacular kitchens. www.aauwpt. org/kitchentour.htm.

April 15-16 March 27 • Irrigation Festival Kickoff Dinner — 5 p.m. Club Seven at 7 Cedars Casino, Blyn. 360-683-3408 or www.Irrigation Festival.com.

• 10th Annual Kayak Symposium — 9 a.m. Port Angeles City Pier, Port Angeles. 888-452-1443 or paks@raftand kayak.com.

April 17-18 March 27-28 • Nate Crippen Memorial Basketball Tournament — 9 a.m. Forks High School gym. Tournament fee $250. 360-3747532.

• RainFest 2010 — 10 a.m. various locations in Forks. Fun community event including the Fabric of the Forest Quilt Show in the Forks High School. psod. forks@centurytel.net.

April-June

April 23-25

• Spring White Cap Series on Port Townsend Bay, sponsored by Port Townsend Sailing Association, ptsail. org.

• Jazz in the Olympics Festival — Friday 2-10:30 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m.-11 p.m., Sunday 9:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Vern Burton Center, Naval Elks Lodge, Red Lion Hotel, Eagles Club, all in Port Angeles. 360-6816143 or www.jazzolympics.com.

April 9-11 • Olympic BirdFest 2010 — all day around Port Angeles and Sequim. Guided field trips, boat cruises in the Strait of Juan de Fuca and a salmon banquet with

April 24 • 13th Annual Kitchen Tour — 10 a.m.4 p.m. in Port Townsend-Cape George

• JeffCo Expo — 9 a.m. Jefferson County Fairgrounds, Port Townsend. 4x4 events, arm wrestling tournament, strongman competitions, helicopter rides, car and motorcycle show, horse show, vendors.

360-385-1013 or www.jeffcofairgrounds. com.

May 1 • The Backcountry Horsemen of Washington, Peninsula Chapter. 9 a.m.-2 p.m.

Saddle & tack sale at the Clallam County Fairgrounds Expo Hall. The club is soliciting items to sell as a fundraiser for BCH and selling booth space for others. For more information, contact Kim Beus at 582-7526 or 683-3306.

• Port Townsend Farmers Market opening day in uptown Port Townsend.

Continues each Saturday through midNovember at Tyler and Lawrence streets, 360-379-9098, ptfmhome.blogspot.com.

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LIVING ON THE PENINSULA | SPRING | MARCH 2010

May 1-2 • North Olympic Mustang 26th Annual Show ‘n Shine — 8 a.m. Clallam County Courthouse, Port Angeles. 360-683-7908 or showinfo@northolympicmustangs. com • JeffCo HomeShow — 10 a.m. at Jefferson County Fairgrounds, Port Townsend.

The JeffCo HomeShow has a building, remodeling and landscaping focus. Vendor booths and demonstrations. 360-3851087 or www.JeffCoHome Show.com.

May 1-9 • 115th Sequim Irrigation Festival — Times vary based on event, downtown Sequim. Juried, handcrafted arts and crafts, Grand Parade on May 8 at noon, royalty, logging show, strongman competition and car show. 360-683-3408 or www.irrigationfestival.com.

May 2 • 18th Annual Rhody Bike Tour, metric and half-metric century sponsored

by Port Townsend Bicycle Association, ptbikes.org.

Events CALENDAR EC

May 10-16 • 75th Annual Rhododendron Festival — all day in Port Townsend. Bed races, royalty, flower show, arts and crafts fair, carnival, pet parade, trike races, kiddies’ parade and the Rhody Festival Grand Parade. Contact www.rhody festival.org.

Day weekend festival features more than 125 performances of music, dance and theater from around the world, including musical workshops, a street fair, public art and special activities for children. 360457-5411 or www.jffa.org.

May 23

May 29-30

• Great Olympic Peninsula Duck Derby — 5 p.m. Ediz Hook, Port Angeles.

Fundraiser for Olympic Medical Center.

360-417-7144 or bruce@omhf.org.

May 16 • Rhody Run — 9 a.m. registration, 11 a.m. race at Fort Worden State Park, Port Townsend. The Rhody Run is a 12K (7.46 mile) race. 360-379-3595 or 877-4639786 or visit www.rhodyrun.com.

May 28-31 • Juan de Fuca Festival of the Arts — See schedule, Vern Burton Community Center, Port Angeles. This four-day Memorial

•10th Annual Halibut Derby — daylight to 2 p.m. Saturday and daylight to noon Sunday, Port Angeles Harbor, Port Angeles. A two-day event with $20,000 in cash prizes. $5,000 first prize, $2,500 for second, $1,500 in third. Cash payout for 30th prize at $135. Tickets are available at Swain’s General Store. 360-452-2357 or www.swainsinc.com.

• ShrimpFest — 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday, Brinnon. Site is the grassy field on the north side of the Dosewallips River on the east side of U.S. Highway 101.

360-796-4809 or www.emeraldtowns.

org/shrimpfest.htm.

• Olympic Art Festival — 10 a.m. at Olympic Art Gallery, 40 Washington St., Quilcene.

June 1 • Old Fort Townsend State Park Fun Run on the trails of Old Fort Townsend State Park, 360-385-3595, parks.wa.gov/ fortworden.

June 5-6 • 27th Classic Mariners’ Regatta sponsored by Wooden Boat Foundation, 360386-3628, woodenboat.org.

June 6 • North Olympic Discovery Marathon — all day, start at Carrie Blake Park in Sequim, ends in Port Angeles. 360-4171301 or www.northolympicdiscovery marathon.com.

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41

T END YHE OURLiving NEW Life

By Bob Boekelheide Dungeness River Audubon Center director

W

hen Living on the Peninsula editor Pat Coate asked me to write an article about the importance of science on the Olympic Peninsula, my initial feeling was, “We’re surrounded by science!” Basic science is involved in just about everything we do and in every consumer item we use, from the technical gizmos like computers and automobiles to the more mundane items found on every grocery shelf, like everyday food and household products.

Americans take for granted the scientists who have created our modern lives and help us understand how the world works. Unless you’re a Luddite hermit living in the backwoods, every day you use products and ideas created through the brilliance of scientific men and women.

How did products like computers and cell phones come into existence? Scientists and engineers somewhere ran experiments to determine the best materials, the best software and the best interfaces to make them practical for all of us to use.

I think of the story about the miniaturization of electronics during the U.S. space program in the 1960s.

The story goes that a computer big enough to fill a house in the 1950s had to shrink in size so it could fit into a shoebox by the time the first astronauts launched into space. Now the shoebox has been reduced in size to a small motherboard inside a pocket cell phone, yet the latest cell phones do much more a lot faster than the first computers ever dreamed of doing.

How did this happen? Scientists and engineers ran experiments over and over until they found new materials and systems that worked.

But is it just scientists who do science? In science classes, students learn about a mysterious thing called the “scien-

tific method,” which conjures up images of nerdy men in lab coats with pocket protectors working with test tubes.

In fact, we all use the scientific method every day, as we make informed decisions for ourselves.

The scientific method is sometimes described as a stepwise process to make decisions. Its steps are often listed as 1) making an observation about the world, 2) asking a question, 3) making a testable hypothesis or prediction to answer the question, 4) collecting data through experimentation, and 5) coming to a logical conclusion based on the results. In fact, we all make observations about the world, we all ask questions, we all make predictions about the outcome of things that we observe and we all base our conclusions, rightly or wrongly, on the results of our experiments.

and try new ones. In this case, I’ll make a new hypothesis — I’ll try my green shirt and see how it looks. The scientific method goes round and round, testing various hypotheses until we find the best, most suitable conclusion.

This is a simple explanation and in fact real scientists don’t sit around worrying about whether they’re correctly following the scientific method. But it illustrates that science is not a mysterious process only done by nerdy men in lab coats.

On the North Olympic Peninsula, many of the best jobs exist because scientists, both men and women, tested processes, products or medicines until they were satisfied with their conclusions. Employees in paper mills like Nippon Paper use steps developed through thousands of years of scientific experimentation to process fiber into paper. Employees at Westport Shipyard use fiberglass, paints and chemical compounds discovered through many trials and experiments to build multimillion dollar yachts. Doctors in every hospital and clinic rely on medical experimentation by scientists to provide the best treatments for you and me.

An important role for basic science is to help us understand how the world works.

Can the next cataclysmic earthquake be predicted? Is the climate getting warmer or colder? Can wild salmon populations be restored? These are basic scientific questions that affect all of us. Wrong answers will cost us lots of money and create even more impact on the environment.

We need to understand how science works so we become better observers, better consumers and better citizens. Scientists don’t have all the answers, and the answers they give us oftentimes seem contradictory, but science is undeniably a huge part of the lives of those who live on the Olympic Peninsula.

The Importance of Science O N T H E O LY M P I C P E N I N S U L A

42

For example, at the Dungeness River Audubon Center we often tell students to think about using the scientific method when dressing in the morning. Observation: I need to put on some clothes. Question: What shall I wear?

Hypothesis: If I wear my red shirt, then I’ll look good today.

Experiment: I put on the red shirt, look in the mirror and see how I look. Conclusion: The red shirt looks dirty and wrinkled; I can’t wear it.

Just like formal scientists, we may reject our hypotheses

LIVING ON THE PENINSULA | SPRING | MARCH 2010

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&

NOW Then Chetzemoka Park

C

hetzemoka Park has been a favorite gathering spot in Port Townsend since 1904, when civic club volunteers waded into the thicket on the newly donated land and began the chore of clearing the hillside parcel. According to historical accounts, 200 people showed up that day to do the work. In the years since, additional property was purchased by the city and added to the site so that today, the park is about 10 acres. It iss de ddeveloped velo ve loope p d wi w with ith t ggar th gardens arrde dens n aand ns nd n da gazebo and there are wide views Admiralty ewss ooff A ew dm mir i al alty ty ty Inlet and the Cascade Mountains beyond. A path leads to the beach below. The park is an extremely popular place for weddings and is bookedd regularly all summer long. It It is located on Jackson Street et et between Garfield and Roosevelt elt lt streets. The park takes its name me from Chief Chetzemoka, a NaNative American leader who w was as friendly with the settlers of Port P rtt Po Townsend.

Sequim Library

The

old Sequim Library, on the northwest corner of Sequim Avenue and Fir Street, was called the Clyde Rhodefer Memorial Library. It was dedicated Nov. 11, 1936, as a Works Progress Administration project. Both the land and the building were given to the city of Sequim at the time of the dedication. In 1947, the libraries in Sequim and Port Angeles merged, forming the North Olympic Library System. Libraries in Forks and Clallam Bay later joined NOLS.

Historical photo from The Leader collection lle lect c io ct ionn Current photo by Fred Obee

The current library on Sequim Avenue opened in May 1983 and was fully renovated in 2009. With 6,000 square feet and more than 55,000 items in its collection, the library includes study and reading areas for adults, public computers, areas for children and teens and a community meeting room. Friends of the Sequim Library holds a standing-roomonly book sale from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. the second Friday and Saturday of the month. Proceeds support children and teen programs.

Historical photo courtesy of the Sequim Museum and Arts Center Current photo by Patricia Morrison Coate

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