Field Guide to the Lower Columbia River in Poems and Pictures By Robert Michael Pyle and Judy VanderMaten.
Rex Ziak’s edited and annotated edition of Franchére’s 1820 journal, The First American Settlement on the Pacific.
FOR YOURSELF OR FOR A FRIEND!
11 issues $55
In three editions:
• Boxed Signature Edition, with color $50
• Collectors Edition, with color $35
Rex Ziak • $29.95
WORDS
AND WOOD
Pacific Northwest Woodcuts and Haiku by Debby Neely •Boxed, Gift Edition with tasseled bookmark $35
OF ART
• Trade paperback B/W $25 DISPATCHES FROM THE DISCOVERY TRAIL
•220 historic photos •Boxed, signed. $50. IN FULL VIEW
Southwest Washington author and explorer Rex Ziak revolutionized historical scholarship by documenting minute-by-minute the Corps’ dangerous days at the mouth of the Columbia.
COLLECTORS CLUB / BOOK MAIL ORDER FORM
BOOKS: A PERFECT GIFT
A Layman’s Lewis & Clark by Michael O. Perry.
•BW Edition $35
We’re popping champagne at the Reader this month, and now that we’re 21, it’s finally legal! Not that being “under age” has ever stopped us in the past. There’s always cause to celebrate. Whether it’s a significant milestone or simple pleasures in daily life, it’s not difficult to find things to rejoice about this spring.
Over these 21 years, the Reader has done its best to shine the light on opportunities for fun, learning, and enriching our lives... to help us all discover and enjoy the good life around the Columbia River region, at home and on the road.
Thanks for your support all this time. We appreciate our readers, advertisers, sponsors, writers, proofreaders, assorted helpers, and friends. In the spirit of celebration, here is a sampling from this month’s issue:
•Gardening season begins with Earth Day, plant sales, and feeding your roses (pages 11, 25).
•Romancing the Moon While awaiting the next moon walk, Greg helps us follow the Moon’s phases, look up, and enjoy that magical glowing orb (page 12).
•Let’s go for a ride! The Sunday Drive Like Hal’s family (People+Place, page 1922), my family embarked on countless adventures when my two older brothers and I were growing up. The outings usually
Publisher/Editor: Susan P. Piper
Columnists and contributors:
Hal Calbom
Nancy Chennault
Alice Dietz
Joe Fischer
Dayle Olson
Bob Park
Michael Perry
Ned Piper
Robert Michael Pyle
Marc Roland
Alan Rose
Greg Smith
Andre Stepankowsky
Jim Tejcka
Debra Tweedy
Judy VanerMaten
Editorial/Proofreading Assistants:
Merrilee Bauman, Michael Perry, Marilyn Perry, Tiffany Dickinson, Debra Tweedy, Ned Piper
Advertising Manager: Ned Piper, 360-749-2632
Columbia River Reader, llc 1333 14th Ave, Longview, WA 98632
P.O. Box 1643 • Rainier, OR 97048
Office Hours: M-W-F • 11–3* *Other times by chance or appointment
Celebrating 21 Years, Spring, and the Sunday Drive
included the three of us squeezed into the back seat, or posing for a photo by my dad, in front of an informational sign describing the geological-historical feature or scenic view. And hamburgers, ice cream cones, or some other treat along the way (in later years, I became fond of the tailgate picnic).
Columbia River Reader is published monthly, with 14,000 copies distributed in the Lower Columbia region. Entire contents copyrighted; No reproduction of any kind allowed without express written permission of Columbia River Reader, LLC. Opinions expressed herein, whether in editorial content or paid ad space, belong to the writers and advertisers and are not necessarily shared or endorsed by the Reader.
Submission guidelines: page 36. General Ad info: page 9. Ad Manager: Ned Piper 360-749-2632.
our website for the current issue and archive of past issues from 2013.
Often, there’d be a gift shop stop, mostly for my mom and me. And of course, stops for disciplinary purposes and timeouts for the boys for squabbling with and slugging their innocent little sister.
I heartily recommend the ThreeWaterfall Tour, ideal for all of the above (minus the fisticuffs, I hope).
Recollection and Reflection Be sure to read the lovely, thoughtful contributions this month by Andre (page 15) and Bob (page 13).
And finally, the piece de resistance: I offer my own “signature” Cornish Game Hens with Plum Sauce —- in case you’re looking for something special to serve this Easter, Mother’s Day, or for any celebration (it might even be good served cold at my proverbial a tailgate picnic.
And don’t forget the bubbly. What’s a celebration without some fizz? Just follow Marc’s wise advice (page 13) and drink what you like!
Cheers — and Happy Spring!
Sue Piper
CORNISH GAME HENS
4 large Cornish hens
Salt and fresh-ground pepper to taste
4 large oranges
1 (1-lb) can purple plums
1/4 C. butter
1/4 C. minced onion
1 tsp ginger
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1-1/2 tsp prepared mustard
1/3 C. chili sauce
1/4 C. soy sauce
1 (6-oz) can frozen lemonade concentrate
Cut hens in half lengthwise, sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Slice unpeeled oranges, remove seeds. Place in shallow, oblong baking pan(s). Place hen halves, skin-side up, in pan atop oranges. Bake in preheated 350º oven 45 minutes. cont page 4
Ruthie Simmons of The Berry Patch in Westport, Oregon, preparing to make a batch of biscuits. Story, page 19.
photo by hal calbom
Lee Rocker, courtesy photo Story, page 37.
WITH PLUM SAUCE
Drain plums, remove seeds. Process in blender or food-processor until pureed. Melt butter in medium saucepan, add onion. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until onion is golden. Add ginger, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, chili sauce, soy sauce, lemonade, and plums; bring to boil. Stir until lemonade is thawed; reduce heat. Simmer 15 minutes; stir occasionally.
Spoon sauce over hens. Bake additional 30-45 min, until hens are tender, basting frequently with plum sauce.
Remove hens (with orange slices intact underneath) to serving platter. Serve remaining sauce with hens.
Yields 4-6 servings.
Found CRR a joy to read!
I picked up your newspaper at the Warrenton Fred Meyer and read it for the first time.
The newspaper was a joy to read as I’ve been to more than 10 Pink Martini concerts, and have visited the Knappton Cover heritage site a few times. Nancy and Heather are so much fun to talk to and I was surprised to read in the article that Nancy is 86 years old. She looks fabulous and should be declared a national treasure.
Keep up the good work and I hope you have a Gran Partita day.
Debbie (no last name given) City of residence unknown
Editor’s note: We don’t normally run letters from submitters without knowing their full name an city of residence (for confirmation purposes), but made an exception for Debbie who was lavishly dealing out such nice compliments! Wishing me a Gran Partita day was a reference to my writing about recently hearing the Vancouver Symphony’s Chamber group perform Mozart’s “Serenade No. 10” (aka Gran Partita).
Letters to the Editor
CRR is a jewel
How lucky we are in this community to have the Columbia River Reader. This little newspaper is so full of wonderful articles and photographs. We learn about what is current in the community, articles about the past, where people are enjoying their vacations and taking their Reader with them. Miss Manners lets us know what is correct and what isn’t, and how to grow our gardens.
I love this paper. It is so well written and I just can’t believe it’s free. Thank you so much for this jewel that we can all enjoy.
Linda Curry Kelso, Wash. Editor’s note: CRR can be offered for free, thanks to the generosity of advertisers, sponsors, and the many who help with the enterprise. Please support advertisers, and mention to them that you saw their ad and appreciate their support of CRR.
Owls, they are the kings of the deep, dark, nightime sky goodbye, small rodents -- Jamie Maurer, age 11
Stick, stick, mud, stick, log that is all to make a dam in a pond, my dam -- Hazel Barnick, age 9
DISPATCHES FROM THE DISCOVERY TRAIL
OOn the Road Again after a Winter at Fort Mandan
By Michael O. Perry Lewis & Clark
n April 7 of 1805, the Corps of Discovery resumed their westward trek after wintering at Fort Mandan. During the winter of 1804, Lewis and Clark had pulled together all available information about what might lie ahead. Besides the maps they brought from St. Louis and obtained from several explorers, they recorded information from Indians. They had great hopes the maps they would be relying on were accurate. As they made their way across present-day North Dakota and Montana, they were pleased to find rivers where the Indians had told them they would be. Progress up the Missouri River after leaving Fort Mandan was better than expected. The Corps reached the present-day border between North Dakota and Montana on April 26th.
Don’t Rock the Boat!
“Handsome Falls,” renamed Rainbow Falls by a railroad surveyor in 1872, had a 47-foot drop. It was one of the five major waterfalls encountered by the Lewis and Clark Expedition at present-day Great Falls, Montana. Dams have diverted the water to generate electricity, but it is possible to see where some of the falls used to be. The railroad bridge shown in this picture was built in 1901, and the dam was completed in 1910.
On May 14, 1805, disaster struck the white pirogue. In it were Sacajawea and Pomp, along with her husband Charbonneau, and five other men. Clark wrote, “a Squawl of wind Struck our Sale broad Side and turned the perogue nearly over, and… She nearly filed with water – the articles which floated out was nearly all caught by the Squar who was in the rear. This accident had like to have cost us deerly; for in this perogue were embarked, our papers, Instruments, books, medicine, a great proportion of our merchandize, and in short almost every article indispensably necessary to… insure the success of the enterprise.”
... covered with herds
The Corps of Discovery hunted for their livelihood. In his book titled ‘The Natural History of the Lewis and Clark Expedition,’ Raymond Darwin Burroughs tallied the game consumed during the course of the Expedition:
Deer 1,001; Elk 375; Bison 227; Antelope 62; Big Horn Sheep 35; Grizzly Bears 43; Black Bears 23; Beaver (shot or trapped) 113; Otter 16; Geese and Brant 104; Grouse 46; Turkeys 9; Plovers 48; Wolves (only one eaten) 18; Indian Dogs (purchased and consumed) 190; Horses, 12.
Lewis tells us, “Charbono was at the helm of this Perogue… Charbono cannot swim and is perhaps the most timid waterman in the world… Capt. C. and myself were both on shore… spectators of her fate.”
Charbonneau panicked as the wind “turned her… topsaturva. Capt. C. and myself both fired our guns to attract the attention…, but they did not hear us… they suffered the perogue to lye on her side for half a minute before they took the sail in, the perogue then wrighted but had filled within an inch of the gunwales; Charbono still crying to his god for mercy, had not yet recollected the rudder, nor could the repeated orders of the Bowsman, Cruzat, bring him to his recollection until he threatened to shoot him instantly if he did not take hold of the rudder and do his
duty.” Two men bailed out the water with kettles as the other three rowed to shore. A very close call, but it wasn’t the first time; just a month earlier, Charbonneau had almost overturned the same boat under similar conditions.
Capt. Clark: Romance on his mind?
On May 29th, while traveling through the Missouri River Breaks section now designated a National Wild and Scenic River, Clark named the “Judith River” in honor of Julia (Judy) Hancock, a 13-year old girl in Virginia he would marry three years later. Captain Lewis mentioned it in his journal and while he probably didn’t approve of naming the river after a young girl, two weeks later he did a similar thing.
Is this the way to the Great Falls?
On June 2nd, near present-day Loma, Montana, they came upon a fork in the river not shown on their maps. The Captains had been told there was only one major northern river between the Mandan villages and the Great Falls of the Missouri; the Indians called it “the river which scolds at all others.” The Corps had passed such a river three weeks earlier and named it the Milk River due to its white color. So, what was this “extra” river doing here?
Five years ago, we introduced a revised version oF Michael Perry’s popular series which began with CRR’s April 15, 2004 inaugural issue and was reprised three times and then expanded In the new book, Dispatches from the Discovery Trail, edited by Hal Calbom and published by CRRPress. It includes an in-depth author interview and new illustrations and commentary.
Lewis wondered which river the Indians “had discribed to us as approaching very near to the Columbia river. To mistake the stream… and to ascend such stream to the rocky Mountain or perhaps much further before we could inform ourselves whether it did approach the Columbia or not, and then be obliged to return and take the other stream would not only loose us the whole of this season but would probably so dishearten the party that it might defeat the expedition altogether.”
If the Missouri went north, then why hadn’t the Indians told them of the river coming in from the south? Both rivers were about the same size since it was peak runoff. The north fork was muddy while the south fork was clear. The north fork was deeper, but was a little narrower and slowerflowing. The Indians had told them “that the water of the Missouri was nearly transparent at the great falls” so Lewis and Clark were sure the south fork was the true Missouri. However, everyone else felt the Missouri was actually the north fork. What to do?
Management/Labor Negotiations
A small party was sent up each fork in an effort to determine which was the major stream, but they returned the same day with no conclusive information. Lewis and Clark could have simply ordered the men to proceed up the south fork, but they decided to each take a small party to “ascend these rivers until we could perfectly satisfy ourselves of the one, which it would be most expedient for us to take on our main journey to the Pacific.”
By June 8th, after both parties had returned, there still was no definitive answer. Lewis wrote that the men , “said very cheerfully that they were ready
to follow us anywhere we thought proper to direct, but that they still thought that the other was the river and that they were afraid the South fork would soon terminate in the mountains and leave us a great distance from the Columbia.”As it would turn out,
... what to do?
Lewis and Clark’s trailblazing and orientation continue to amaze students of the Expedition, and so does their most notable conundrum: what to do and where to go at the confluence of what is now the Marias and Missouri Rivers. Today, the spot is memorialized as Decision Point, a significant stop on the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail.
both groups would be right – the south fork was the true Missouri, but taking it would still leave the Corps with a very difficult overland passage across the Rocky Mountains. After spending a week deliberating about which route to take, the Captains decided to proceed up the south fork.
Party Time!
Lewis wrote, “wishing that if we were in error to be able to detect it and rectify it as soon as possible it was agreed…” that Lewis “should set out with a small party by land up the South fork and continue our rout up it until we found the falls or reached the snowy mountains.” Lewis named the north fork “Marias River” in honor
cont page 8
Alex Nielson MD, ABFM
Richard A. Kirkpatrick MD, FACP
Rachel Roylance BS, MPAP, PA-C
Dr. Toddrick Tookes DPM, Podiatrist
Vlad Bogin MD, FACP
Gordon Hendrickson, PA-C
Nicholas Austin MSPAS, PA-C
SCOTT B. KIRKPATRICK, md, abim
Dr. Toddrick Tookes DPM, Podiatrist
CHRISTIE KIRKPATRICK SCHMUTZ , md, abim
Shannon Smith MPAS, PA-C
Contemporary photo of the confluence of Marias and Missouri Rivers.
This isn’t your usual charity bash. The gifted amateurs staging this year’s Cabaret Follies are giving more than their time and energy.
“This is both so fun and so worthwhile, there’s nothing like it,” said Crystal Garrison, one of this year’s featured dancers at the biennial event. “It’s really the best of both worlds, both for the audience and for the performers.”
Those performers are a special breed. They earn their regular livings as executives, homemakers, managers, tradespeople, moms and dads. They earn their moments in the spotlight, bathed in the appreciation of a live audience, to this inspired piece of community entertainment and philanthropy now more than 75 years old.
A Rich Tradition of Giving
The Cabaret Follies is staged every other year and this year will present three shows the weekend of April 25th and 26th at Columbia Theatre for the Performing Arts in Longview..
Art from the Heart
Popular Cabaret Follies return this spring
And the entirety of it all, as always, benefits a worthy community organization — in this year’s event Youth and Family Link.
“I was not prepared for what a rush it is to perform in front of a great crowd,” said dancer Kim O’Neill, a retired oncology nurse. “I was surprised how wonderful it felt. I love music so much, but never got to take dance when I was growing up. Now, getting to actually move to music is just wonderful.”
O’Neill and Garrison are two of more than a hundred performers and support people who volunteer for roles both in front of and behind the spotlight.
Come One, Come All
This year’s show, formally titled ‘The Time of My Life” sports a cast and crew of volunteers under the guidance of a veteran director, Jaime Donegan. “We’re so fortunate to have a marvelous friend and mentor like Jaime,” said dancer and volunteer Vivien Basom. Donegan spends a solid month with the troupe, provides costumes, auditions the players, and lays out the show.
All auditoners and volunteers are welcomed — no one is turned away. “This gets pretty intense, with basically four weeks to prepare,” said Basom, “Lots of work, lots of practice. I find myself doing the choreography in bed, imprinting it!”
“I got so much out of the show!” said Kyler Rahnn who was a first-time participant last year. “I couldn’t have asked for a better group to work with.” Despite not knowing how to read sheet music or the official terms, he said, “They were patient and helped me every step of the way. I made some great friends, and the camaraderie was truly amazing.”
Volunteer work also includes building props, fitting costumes, providing organization and continuity. Participants remain ever conscious of their larger mission, and pitch in with fundraising and promotion, too. cont page 16
columbia RiveR ReadeR
The Cabaret Follies has a long history of local fun and fundraising. The project in 2023 netted $20,000 for local programs benefiting children and families. Far right: vintage scene, early Cabaret participants ready to rehearse their dance routine.
... the agreeable sound of a fall of water ... They could hear it. So it must have been amazing to see Great Falls before it was dammed up and for the Expedition to cross the prairie and see this big cloud of water vapor and hear the roar. It makes you appreciate how things were before we came along and changed it. They heard the roar long before they saw this and the same is true when they came to the mouth of the Columbia. They heard the roar of the ocean at Skamokawa.”
from page 5
of a cousin. Later they found out the reason the Indians had failed to tell the Corps about the Marias river was because they always cut across the plains on horses and never saw where it joins the Missouri.
A dram of whiskey was passed out and the men danced around the campfire as Pierre Cruzatte played his fiddle. The supply of whiskey was running low so only half a gill (2 ounces) was dispersed.
Do You Hear What I Hear?
Three days later, Lewis wrote, “I had proceded on… whin my ears were saluted with the agreeable sound of a fall of water and advancing a little further I saw the spray arise
Administration on Aging (AoA) has rated the TCHI Tai Chi for Arthritis and Fall Prevent (TCA) program as the highest evidence-based program for older adults and wellness. More information at www.taichiforhealthinstitute.org. TCHI Certified Tai Chi for Arthritis and Fall Prevention (Standing/Seated) Tai Chi & Qigong for Health and Wellness (Standing/Seated)
beheld thus far on their journey.
above the plain like a column of smoke… which soon began to make a roaring too tremendous to be mistaken for any cause short of the great falls of the Missouri… I hurried down… to gaze on this sublimely grand specticle.”
Lewis sent a man back to tell Clark they were on the right river. And, he
decided to explore upstream to find out where the best route around the falls might be. To his dismay, he found there were actually five major waterfalls, and many sets of rapids — dropping more than 600 feet in 10 miles — that would require an 18-mile overland portage. More on that next episode.
Missouri River known collectively as Great Falls, which
miles. Meriwether Lewis said they were the grandest sight he had
Lewis & Clark
By Judith Martin, Nicholas Ivor Martin and Jacobina Martin
Don’t upstage host’s Easter dessert; host’s duty to manipulate
DEAR MISS MANNERS: I have been taking time off work to help care for my father, who has incurable cancer. To clients I don’t know well, I’ve said, “I’ll be out of town to help my dad, who is sick.”
They almost invariably reply, “I hope he feels better soon.” I know they mean well, and I usually manage to take it that way. But that doesn’t stop it from feeling like a gut punch, because I know he is only going to feel worse over the few months he has left. The first time this happened, I was so gobsmacked that I said, “Thanks, but this isn’t a getting-better situation,” which felt graceless and stopped the conversation.
Telling people “I’ll be out of town to help my dad, who has stage 4 cancer” sometimes (not always!) avoids the “feel better” comments, but can feel like oversharing.
I’d love advice on navigating this, and perhaps also a reminder to readers that when you don’t know the nature of an illness, “I hope they feel better soon” isn’t necessarily the kind comment you think it is.
GENTLE READER: What would you suggest? That your clients probe you until they find out enough about the situation to show the appropriate amount of sympathy?
Miss Manners considers it more helpful for her to remind anyone in your sad situation to refrain from confidences that require a sympathetic response. You could have excused yourself to your clients by merely stating that you would be absent on family business -- replying, if there were questions, that it was a personal matter.
DEAR MISS MANNERS: My son and I have a gentle disagreement about the host’s responsibility at a dinner party or holiday table. As a host, I look for opportunities to foster conversations that might involve everyone around the table.
Otherwise, couples or friends will begin their own discussions. This makes it less fun for all, especially for the quiet individuals who don’t engage in conversation with their neighbors.
At one such dinner, my son whispered to me, “You’re being manipulative!” I said yes, I am doing my host duties. Help us settle this, please!
GENTLE READER: You win.
The late, great sociologist, David Riesman, once told Miss Manners that he had preceded her in the etiquette business, citing his observation of the manners of fellow academics when acting as hosts.
They apparently shared your son’s fear of being manipulative. Therefore, they performed no introductions, provided no seating plan and certainly did not attempt to check that everyone was included in conversations.
DEAR MISS MANNERS: Would you consider it rude to bring an additional dish to a dinner, even if it wasn’t requested?
This is for an Easter dinner, so it is a meal in which the dishes are meant to be special. When I asked what I could contribute, I was asked to bring a side. I’m more than happy to do this, but I’m also inspired to make a yummy dessert!
I really enjoy baking, and I know that the dessert the host is making is much more about presentation than flavor (think an Easter item-shaped dessert using prepackaged ingredients). It’s fine, it’s cute, and I don’t want to take away from it. My kid will love it. But it won’t be particularly enjoyable for the adults to eat.
Would it be OK to show up with an extra homemade dessert and just say I had the time and wanted an excuse to make something special? It never hurts to have an extra for a holiday meal, right?
GENTLE READER: No. Because you are right to suspect that the benevolence of giving does not protect you from other transgressions. And usurping the menu plan would be one.
Miss Manners might have suggested you ask the host whether another dessert would be welcome -- if you hadn’t given yourself away. But you made it clear that you want to show up your host by providing the adult guests with something you deem superior. That is not generous. Please respect your host’s attempts to please guests, no matter how much better you think you would have done.
DEAR MISS MANNERS: I have a friend who, when she gets a haircut and I don’t acknowledge it, brings that to my attention. It’s never attractive, and I know she’s not going to keep up with it.
I don’t know the polite way of saying, hey, you had a haircut, without saying it looks nice. By the way, she never compliments me on anything.
GENTLE READER: The deep moral iniquity of raising a friend’s spirits by telling her the haircut was a success eludes Miss Manners, but she will take your word for it. Could you at least smile and say, “You look terrific; did you get a new haircut?” This will, of course, be for naught if your friend is foolish enough to then ask, “Do you like it?” and you feel compelled to answer, “I’m no judge of such things.”
DEAR MISS MANNERS: My husband got a new job, and as a way to get to know his new co-workers, we decided to host a holiday party at our house. We invited the people he works closest with, his immediate boss, and everyone’s spouses. It was about 10 people in all.
The result, Riesman said, was perfectly terrible parties, where people talked only with those in their own departments, whom they had seen all day -- or those with whom they had arrived, and would see all night. cont page 25
caRtoon by Joe FischeR
Your ROSES want to eat!
Planted, pruned...ready to perform!
Story and photos by Nancy Chennault
Roses that are well fed and watered, enjoy plenty of sun, have breezes to rustle their leaves after a rain, are rooted into soil which is rich in organic matter that it drains quickly after spring rains . . . these roses flourish. Good health results in abundant blossoms all summer long, but the real bonus of healthy roses is minimal insect and disease problems. You often hear people say that they would love to grow roses, but they are “so much work!” With a little care when selecting varieties, as well as providing for nutritional needs, your roses will thrive.
Fertilizer Basics
Rose fertilizers come in many formulations, and they will have a higher percentage of nitrogen than some other types of shrub fertilizers. Nitrogen is the first number you see when you look at the largest numbers on a fertilizer package label. (See photo). For roses, which need ample nitrogen to grow vigorous new canes to support bud and bloom, the number should be equal to or larger than the other two. The photo of an organic fertilizer label shows a low amount (4%) of nitrogen. Some chemical
rose fertilizers will often show a higher amount of nitrogen which may appear to be the better selection. However, the fertilizer made with natural ingredients, even though it is lower in nitrogen, is better suited to sustain your rose. It will support healthy soil structure and therefore be more beneficial over the life of your roses.
The middle number represents phosphorus which promotes root growth. A healthy rose is only as vigorous as the roots that anchor it. It also helps with photosynthesis (energy production) and most significantly, flower production. You will often see this middle number disproportionately high in synthetic fertilizers that endorse maximum bloom production.
The last number is potassium. This equally important essential nutrient strengthens canes, improves vigor and increases winter hardiness.
All three building blocks of plant nutrition (N-P-K) should be accompanied by a multitude of micronutrients that are inherent ingredients of natural based organic fertilizers. Carefully read the label as you would food purchased for your own table. The list of nutrients should not be “enriched” chemical additives, but those that occur naturally.
cont page 15
Nancy Chennault and her husband, Jim, operated a landscaping business and independent nursery/garden center for 20+ years. She wrote CRR’s Northwest Gardener in CRR’s early years. After a hiatus, she re-joined CRR to reconnect us with some of her favorite gardening topics. Nancy is founder of “Castle Rock Blooms” community of volunteers.
Roses leaf out vigorously from stored starches as the weather warms. The lush leaves of this rugosa rose will burn if a high nitrogen liquid chemical fertilizer is used.
Outdoor Enjoyment
Small Steps...Giant Leaps
“To The Moon, Alice,” said Jackie Gleason
Idon’t know if you have kept up on the plans for the return to the Moon, but here is the latest information I have found. Sometime late this year (November) NASA plans to launch its Artemas 2 flight with a crew of four to the Moon. It will consist of orbits around the Moon and a return flight.
By Greg Smith
The Artemis 3 flight sometime around 2027-29 is set to land at the south pole of the Moon, and will include the first woman on the Moon. The crew is to spend five Earth days exploring and doing experiments in the bottom of a crater. Some of the experiments will deal with locating water ice. Water can be used to create hydrogen to make fuel for rockets.
Mount St. Helens Club
HIKES
(E) - Easier: Usually on relatively flat ground (up to 5 miles and/or less than 500 ft. e.g.)
(M) - Moderate: Longer and more elevation gain (over 5 miles and/or over 500 ft. e.g.)
(S) - Strenuous: Long hikes and/or elevation gain (over 8 miles and/or over 1200 ft. e.g.)
Call leader to join outing or for more info. Non-members welcome. Driving distances are from Longview, Wash.
(SS) – Snow Shoe (XC) – Cross Country Ski (K) – Kayak (B) – Bicycle RT - round trip e.g. - elevation gain
April 16 - Wed
Burntbridge Greenway Trail (E)
Drive 80 miles RT Hike approx. 6 miles on paved walkway with 350’ e.g. on a forested, urban and greenway trail. Leader: John R. 360-431-1122
April 19 - Sat Peterman Hill (M) Drive 120 miles RT Hike 7.9 miles RT with 1095’ e.g. This is a well maintained trail that provides forest scenery and many wildflowers. Mary Jane M. 360-430-7905
April 23 - Wed
Lake Sacajawea (E)
Walk a 4 mile loop around the lake on flat gravel path with little e.g. Leader: Julie L. 360-747-1415
April 26 - Sat
Silver Falls Waterfall Loop (M)
Hike 7.4 miles with 870’ e.g. on the Trail of 10 Falls Loop. A shorter 4.8 mile loop is also available. The scenery is impossible to describe! Leader: Bruce M. 360-425-0256
April 30 - Wed
Lucia/Moulton Falls (E)
Drive 100 miles RT Hike a leisurely 5.5 miles on a mostly level and well maintained trail with views of the Lewis River and waterfalls. Leader: Barbara R. 360-431-1131
May 3 - Sat Lake Sacajawea (E)
Walk 4 miles on flat ground around the whole lake or any portion for a shorter walk. **This walk is designed for super seniors and/or people with physical limitations at a slow pace.** Leader: Susan S. 360-430-9914
May 3 - Sat Lake to Lake Trail Loop via Lacamas Creek (M)
Drive 100 miles RT Hike 6 miles with 700’ e.g. up through fields of Camas lilies in full bloom, circle Round Lake and hike along Lacamas Creek. Leader: Dory N. 213-820-1014
May 7 - Wed
Camassia Natural Area & Willamette Falls (E)
Drive 125 miles RT Walk about 2 miles through Wilderness Park to view the spectacular wildflowers at the nature preserve. Afterwards, walk about 2.5 miles along the promenade in Oregon City to view Willamette Falls. About 500’ e.g. Leaders: Linda J. 360-431-3321,Leslie P. 360-5204592
May 9 – Fri
Lyle Cherry Orchard (M)
Drive 230 miles RT (1 mile past Lyle). Hike 5 miles RT with 1213’ e.g. This is a superb wildflower hike with outstanding bluff views of the Columbia Gorge. There is poison oak along trail edge, so long pants are advised. Leader: John M. 360-508-0878
May 14 - Wed
Lewis and Clark National Park in Astoria (E/M)
Drive 110 miles RT to Fort Clatsop
Visitor Center. Hike 5.4 miles with 440’ e.g. A wiggly loop was created that incorporates a portion of most of the park trails. We will go along the slough, over creeks, and through the coastal forest. The trails are up and down and there is one short challenging hill. America the Beautiful pass is required per vehicle. Leaders: Chere J. 360-200-3715, Leslie P. 360-520-4592
May 17 - Sat
Storey Burn Loop (M)
Drive 150 miles RT Hike a 7.6 mile loop with 1100’ e.g. inside the Tillamook Burn State Forest up and over Wilson River Summit. Leader: Bruce M. 360-425-0256
The landing crew will be working in the shadow of a crater’s walls with temperatures nearing –200° Farenheit. Totally new space suits have been designed to handle these temperatures. To keep the astronauts’ feet from freezing, new boots are being designed. They will be flexible to allow walking freely, instead of the hopping around flat-footed like our first Moon walkers had to do.
There are plans, by Artemis 5 to send, in a separate unmanned mission, equipment like a large rover that looks like a cargo truck with a pressurized driving cab. Toyota, in collaboration with JAXA (Japan’s Space Agency) and NASA, is building this
Looking UP
SKY REPORT
By Greg Smith
April 17th – May 17
The Evening Sky
A clear sky is needed. We are quickly approaching the summer solstice and it is staying light longer into the evening and it does not get dark ‘til late. The constellations of Boötes and Hercules are rising in the east around 9:00pm, along with the constellation of Corona Borealis, the constellation with the upcoming super nova. The Constellation Hercules is famous for it’s globular clusters. One is M13 which can be seen in binoculars. It lies on the upper side or western-facing edge. It is a very beautiful sight, not to forget the globular cluster M92 which lies at the top or “head” of Hercules; it, too, is a beautiful sight to see.
As for Planets, Mars sits high in the south southwest near the constellation of Gemini Nat foom M44 the beehive open cluster of stars. Jupiter in the west is still between the horns of Tarus the bull.
The Pleiades cluster (M45) is low in the west. If you have some powerful binocular you may find the blue planet Uranus about two binocular field of views below the Pleiades
cab for Moon and Mars exploration. It will be far bigger than the Moon buggy the Apollo astronauts used when we last were on the Moon.
Supposedly, this is all about learning how to land and explore for long-term missions to Mars. Though we have the technology to go to Mars right now, testing the methods at the Moon is a cautious way to prepare for Mars. Remember, safety first. Test, test, and test again. Not everything works the first time you try it. NASA and Space X have learned this the hard way.
Keep your ears perked up for the upcoming Artemis launch. This will be quite exciting and interesting, especially for those of us who witnessed the first time some 56 years ago. With any luck, within about five years, many of us will see Earthlings’ return to the surface of the Moon.
Longview resident Greg Smith is past president of Friends of Galileo. Meet him and other club members at monthly meetings in Longview. For more info about FOG, visit friendsofgalileo.com.
MOON PHASES:
Full Moon, Sat., April 12th
3rd Quarter, Sun., April 20th
New Moon: Sun., April 27th 1st Quarter, Sun., May 4th Full, Moon., May 12th
3rd Quarter, Tues., May 20th
END OF TWILIGHT: When the brightest stars start to come out. Allow about an hour more to see a lot of stars.
Wed., April 16th, 8:32pm
Wed., April 23, 8:42pm Wed., April 30th, 8:52pm Wed., May 7th, 9:02pm Wed., May 14th, 9:11pm
SUNSET
Wed., April 16th • 8:02pm Wed., April 23 • 8:11pm Wed., April 30th 8:20pm Wed., May 7th • 8:29pm Wed., May 14th • 8:38pm
The Morning Sky
A cloudless eastern horizon sky is required. At around 5:30am on May 1st we will find Venus very low on the eastern horizon, with a dim Saturn just below it. Both planets will rise higher in the morning sky as the days progress.
Night Sky Spectacle
A clear dark sky is a must. The night of May the 4th Mars will be in the Beehive cluster in the very dim constellation of Cancer. So be looking for the red planet among the stars of the cluster.
sketch by the late deena maRtinson
by Marc Roland
Warning to my friends who are more than causal wine drinkers — enthusiasts and the like: I’m not trying to dumb wine down, but, let’s cut through the baloney. Wine is fermented grape juice. That’s it. But somehow, folks have managed to convince us all that it’s the most sophisticated thing we can put in a glass. And, well, maybe it is. But the most important thing you need to know about wine isn’t about swirling, sniffing, or saying pretentious things like “notes of chocolate and wet gravel.”
Marc is giving you permission to believe the most important thing about wine: Drink what you like.
Somewhere along the way, we were tricked into thinking that enjoying wine is some kind of SAT test. You order a Chardonnay, and someone scoffs, “Oh, you still drink oaked Chard?” (as if you just confessed to still having a hotmail account). You pour yourself a glass of Merlot, and suddenly, everyone turns into a snob, and thinks you’re a lightweight wine drinker. Here’s a secret: Those people are wrong. The best wine is the one that makes you happy, not the one that impresses the gal at the fancy tasting room. But if this article is resonating with you, you probably don’t visit fancy tasting rooms.
Now, if you read wine labels you are buying in to the myth that it will help you decide if you will like it. So if it says something like, “Hints of blackberry, pepper, and a whisper of violet, with a lingering finish of cedar and cinnamon” – ? You’re getting marketed. If you buy it and it indeed tastes like cedar and cinnamon, you might be drinking cedar and cinnamon, not wine.
The truth is, unless you have been taught the language of wine or set out to explore the nuances of wine, you’re probably
WINE PICK OF THE MONTH
Joel Gott Rosé
Central Coast California
The Joel Gott Rosé, with its aromas of strawberries, melon and cherries with citrus notes, is bright, crisp, and refreshing. Slightly sweet with a beautiful light pink color. Available almost everywhere
tasting red, white, dry, or sweet. And that’s fine. Wine should be enjoyed, first and foremost.
The tasting shows that often happen at wineries, wine bars, and some food and wine gatherings include the basics: seeing, swirling, and smelling. The fact is aerating wine by swirling and giving it a good sniff will in fact increase your enjoyment of any wine. And if it doesn’t smell good, it may not taste good. But let’s be honest. If the best part of sniffing and smelling is to look cool like those in the movies, you’re missing the point. The key is confidence. Swirl with purpose, give a dramatic sniff, and smile as if you’ve just uncovered the secrets of the divine. Even if all you’re thinking is, “Yep, it’s wine.”
A $100 bottle might be incredible. But it might taste like regret. Studies have shown that people often prefer cheaper wines when they don’t know the price. So if your favorite bottle is the $12 Malbec from the grocery store, own it. You’re saving money and enjoying yourself.
Lastly, certain wines go well with certain foods. But don’t overthink it. The best pairing is wine with whatever you feel like eating. Red wine with fish? Unfathomable ! But if you love it, who cares?
Drink what makes you happy. Life is short, and wine is delicious. Now go pour yourself a glass.
Bon appetit!
Our World in Words
Gby Bob Park
The Gun
The story of a father, a daughter, her boyfriend, and a shotgun
oing to church was always part of my life growing up. When we moved back to the Longview area to the farm and until I left home we attended the Longview Community Church.
At a very early age at church I met Elese. Her grandparents had moved to Longview early in its development, just like mine. Del and Elese Sr. and my parents attended R.A.Long High School together, so everyone was well acquainted.The church had many activities for young folks, so Elese and I became friends, and our parents took turns hauling us to church activities.
When we were both in junior high school, at some point we became more than friends. In due time I went to the local jewelry store an bought a silver necklace and small medallion. On the medallion I had “Elese” engraved on one side and “Bob” on the other.
The next Sunday, after attending the weekly evening youth group and before her parents picked her up, I asked her to “go steady.” She said yes, and I put the necklace with its medallion around her neck and kissed her for the first time.
In those days, going steady was common, but in our world at that time it was a big deal. Most couples went steady for a few weeks or months, but some, like Elese and I, carried on for years.
So I became a fixture at Elese’s house and got on really well with her parents. Her Dad gave me the nickname “Loverboy,” and only referred to me by that name for the rest of his life.
So in due time I was telling her Dad, Del, that the shotgun I was using, my Grandfather Park’s double gun of some age and well used, peppered my forehead with powder when I shot it. He immediately offered to lend me his little-if-ever-used Ithaca Model 37 Pump 16-gauge shotgun. Well, I was excited and loved that gun! It had a bottom ejection system and was of high quality and very lightweight. I could really shoot it well, as compared to the heavy, leaky double. As the years went by, in my mind I forgot it was Del’s. So after three or four years Elese and I broke up for reasons I can’t remember. So a couple more years went by and Del called and said, “Loverboy, Elese has a new boyfriend, and he is a hunter and needs a shotgun.” Well now, this was serious, but I had no choice and returned the gun to Del.
Breaking up with Elese was a piece of cake compared to losing the 16-gauge Ithaca Model 37 shotgun. Both Elese and I married soon after. Even with the surrender of the gun, we and our spouses have remained good friends over the last 60 years, but I still lust after that gun.
Park enjoys “big fun,”
Bob
and the good life in his hometown of Longview, and elsewhere..
Recommended sources of nutrients for your rose pantry
1. All purpose organic fertilizer with the nutrient ratio in the single digits, such as “4-4-4.”
2. Bone meal or rock phosphate for additional phosphorus
3. Fish/kelp liquid fertilizer for a nitrogen and trace mineral boost
4. Alfalfa meal or pellets to promote plant growth and condition the soil
5. Epsom Salts (magnesium sulphate) for green leaves and increased enzyme activity in the soil
6. Compost to feed the soil. Healthy soil grows healthy plants.
When to Fertilize
For the first time in the spring: April 1-15. The initial leaf and bud growth you see in early spring comes from starches stored over winter. These ensure the plant gets a good start once winter is over. But eventually those nutrients are depleted. Pull back the mulch layer and gently work 2 cups all-purpose fertilizer into the soil around the base of the plant. You can also add one-fourth cup epsom salts, one-half cup bone meal, 2 cups alfalfa meal or pellets and a generous shovelful or two of compost. This one application will take care of your rose’s basic nutritional needs for a year!
In addition to the annual feeding, apply one gallon per rose of natural fish/kelp liquid fertilizer, (diluted according to the label directions), once a month. If you have a “worm condo” that produces compost tea, you can use that nutritionally- rich liquid in place of the commercial fertilizer. September 15th would be your last date for liquid feeding.
Roses will then have a chance to slow down and toughen up before they go dormant for the winter.
Minimal time and effort can result in armloads of spectacular rose blossoms to create dramatic landscapes or bouquets to grace your dining room table. By using sound nutritional practices and making a conscientious investment in your soil, you will soon be saying, “I love to grow roses! They are not much work at all!”
NOTES FROM MY LIVES
Fby Andre Stepankowsky
Classroom Exposure
Dad’s oil painting instructs, earns him a bit of immortality
or a day earlier this month, my late father’s spirit and talent as a painter were resurrected in a classroom at St. Rose Catholic School in Longview.
My wife, Paula, teaches once-a month art appreciation at St. Rose, where she taught language arts for 14 years before retiring two years ago. In the March art class, she brought one of Dad’s oil paintings to class to illustrate a brush technique called impasto.
Impasto is the thick layering of oil paint, often in short brush strokes, so it stands out from the surface. It creates motion, mood, depth and texture. It is a technique used especially by the impressionists, most notably Van Gogh and Monet.
The painting Paula brought to class is the favorite among my collection of Dad’s work. It’s a 24- by18-inch seascape call “Boothbay,” no doubt inspired by Dad’s cruise on a schooner in the Maine harbor by that name.
It’s a depiction looking through the rigging of a sailing ship at a choppy harbor and other sailing ships. Bold brush strokes of deep blue, white and black create a strong sense of movement in water and the sky, which blend together on the horizon.
Simple
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Paula reports that the painting was a hit and led to flashes of understanding among the students from kindergarten through 8th grade.
“NOW I see what you’re talking about,” some students said.
Others learned that what looks like a blob of paint in close-up will blend with other brushstrokes to create a coherent image. Younger students especially were thrilled at seeing their first live painting.
I’m thrilled Dad’s painting sparked the light of understanding for Paula’s students.
My father, Igor Stepankowsky, was an amateur, mostly self-taught painter. He never sold a canvas and was not particularly original. He secretly craved recognition and lamented — and sometimes resented — the violent times and
poverty of his youth that kept him from developing his talent. Still, here and there his paintings have beauty and potency.
His painting of poppies in the English Cotswolds appeared in the Audubon Society national show in New York one year.
One of the rainy Manhattan night scene — “The Big Apple at Night” — captures the peaceful, soaked repose of the city at the end of a summer evening thunderstorm.
Then there’s canvas in gray, green and black of railroad tracks and telephone wires stretching into the endless distance called “Johnny Went to War.” It’s a bleak reminder of the costs of war for the young people who fight them. Copies should hang in the Oval Office, the Kremlin and every war cabinet room on earth.
Perhaps one some of Paula’s students will remember “Boothbay” and become artists themselves. At the very least, they’ll think of my dad and his painting any time they see the impasto technique of a Van Gogh or Monet painting. So in a small way his work will stand besides those of giants. That classroom exposure earned him a bit of immortality. He’d like that.
Award-winning journalist Andre Stepankowsky is a former reporter and editor for The Daily News in Longview. His Columbia River Reader columns spring from his many interests, including hiking, rose gardening, music, and woodworking. More of his writing can be found under “Lower Columbia Currents,” on substack.com.
“boothbay” by igoR stepankowsky
TAKING ACTION • SAVING LIVES
Longview Rotary Club offers lifesaving training to public
When Keith Larson visited an Early Edition Rotary Club meeting two years ago, the guest speaker’s topic gripped him.
“It hit the nerve of something we need to do,” Larson recalled. The speaker explained a groundbreaking new national-level program being launched in response to the escalating opioid crisis seizing communities across the United States.
The initiative, named “Rotary Action Group - Addiction Prevention North America,” plans to educate the public on the use of Naloxone, a safe medication that rapidly reverses opioid overdoses. The project will equip individuals with the knowledge and tools needed to act as first responders in critical situations, potentially saving countless lives.
“Overdose deaths are continuing to rise,” Larson said, citing statistics and news reported recently. “It’s recognized that our communities have a problem.”
Bust nets nearly 5 pounds of meth
Cowlitz County saw a rise in overdose deaths from 2022 –2024. Fetanyl-related deaths doubled from 18 to 42.
– The Daily News (Longview), 8/14/24
Cowlitz County Coroner Dana Tucker reports
“Cowlitz County sees 10 overdose deaths in first month of 2025, including a 15 year-old Longview resident who overdosed on morphine on Jan. 25.” Tucker said more overdose deaths have occurred since Feb 4 but could not give an exact number.”
– The Daily News (Longview), 2/21/25
Westward Wave
Overdose deaths are down in some eastern states that were hard hit earlier in the opioid epidemic. But they have risen in parts of the western U.S. Improvements in some eastern states have been helped by greatly boosted distribution of the overdose reversing drug naloxone.
– Wall Street Journal, 3/21/25
Cabaret from page7
Return to the Community
“I just think it’s so special to be able to combine this kind of personal experience with a great benefit to the community,” said Garrison, who in her “real” job helps coordinate giving for Fibre Federal Credit Union. “There are people here that are having all kinds of experiences at every level, not just in the spotlight.”
This year’s community beneficiary, Youth and Family Link, helps children and families link to resources that increase their success in school, building positive friendships and a healthy home life.
“It just gives you more intention and purpose,” said Garrison, “Sure it’s great on the personal level — I’ve loved to dance my whole life — but doing something really worthwhile for a deserving organization is just so great, and so much fun!”
Larson is an active member of Rotary Club of Longview, which is joining with other Rotary clubs in Washington and nationwide to launch the first and only multi-disciplinary project geared to address addiction.
Decades of failed policies have torn apart families and devastated communities, Larson noted. Rotary’s efforts not only address the immediate need for overdose prevention, but also aim to reduce the stigma surrounding drug addiction, fostering a more compassionate and proactive approach to the crisis.
HELP SAVE LIVES!
Training Classes Now Available
“We want responsible people to know how to use the kit,” Larson said. The training can be completed in one hour or less. “Rotary’s goal is to get 20 percent of our population trained in order to make a significant impact. It’s a challenge.”
“It’s going to take some work,” added fellow Rotarian Jim Hennig. “This will be an ongoing effort to make our community aware of — and able to deal with — opioid overdose.”
“We’re just starting to gain momentum,” Larson said about implementing the program. “We hope people will request the training. We have a list of organizations and businesses to reach out to,” he said. Planning, logistical coordination and community support will be important.
In collaboration with Hikma Pharmaceuticals, Rotary is taking the lead to train local community members for FREE on the administration of Naloxone, a safe medication that reverses opioid overdoses and is considered a life-saving drug.
Attendees pre-registered at least 10 days prior will each receive a FREE Naloxone kit ($49 value). The training is open to adults, as well as high school and college students. Several Naloxone classes have already taken place locally and two more will be available to the public at: Lower Columbia College 5:30pm, May 15 • 5:30pm, June 19 Future dates and times will be announced.
GROUP TRAINING Rotary trainers are also available to present the same class for clubs, churches and/or organizations.
For more information or to request a FREE class and FREE Naloxone kits, contact the Rotary Club of Longview at longviewrotary.com Click “Upcoming Events” tab.
Rotary’s commitment to combating the opioid crisis exemplifies the organization’s dedication to creating lasting change. By empowering individuals to take action, Rotary is transforming ordinary citizens into lifesaving heroes, one training session at a time.
“I
THE LAW OFFICE OF Vincent L.
Biz Buzz
What’s Happening Around the River
Biz Buzz notes news in local business and professional circles. As space allows, we include news of innovations, improvements, new ventures and significant employee milestones of interest to readers. Please email to publisher@crreader.com
City of Longview launches Transparency Center for public access to budget data
The City of Longview has launched a new online platform that allows residents to easily access and explore city financial data. This initiative is part of the city’s ongoing commitment to transparency and community engagement.
The Transparency Center provides budget and actual financial data from 2018-2024, as well as budgeted information for 2025 and 2026. Beginning with the 2025 fiscal year, actual expenditures and revenues will be updated monthly. Budgeted amounts will be updated only when officially amended by ordinance.
“We want residents to see how their tax dollars are being used,” said Finance Director Lisa Wolff in a press release. “The Transparency Center gives our community access to financial data in an
easy-to-use and understandable format, helping build trust and inform decisionmaking.”
The city notes that the 2024 fiscal year-end reporting is still in progress. The actuals currently displayed in the Transparency Center reflect data as of February 20, 2025, and will be finalized once year-end reporting is complete.
The City of Longview encourages residents to explore the Transparency Center and stay informed about city finances. To access it, visit mylongview. com . Click “Departments,” then “Finance,” then “Transparency Center.”
Diane Kenneway Escrow Closer / Assistant
Celinda Northrup Escrow Officer / LPO
Alison Peters Escrow Officer / LPO
Lisa Wolff
Ibecame interested in Carver and his work when I learned that he had been born in Clatskanie, Oregon. An annual event, the Raymond Carver Writing Festival showcases scholars and writers who tout the genius of Carver, who over the years achieved the reputation of being a consummate practitioner of the contemporary short story.
This is a wonderful gift to a community of readers and writers. The Pacific Northwest seems especially attractive to those breeds, who deny themselves the temptations of sunshine and beaches and hunker down on gray rainy days over a littered desk or a sodden tavern table.
Carver didn’t spend a lot of time in Clatskanie, but he seems to fit this Northwest persona well. I highly recommend the Carver Writing Festival, whether you are a reader or a writer. Maybe I’ll see you there. -- Ned Piper
2025 Festival Theme
“Call it a Polestar”
Raymond Carver once described a signal moment in his development when a stranger offered him a lens to a broader world and, “as if reading my heart,” an invitation to pursue his dreams. Carver wrote of this experience, “I was just a pup then but nothing can explain, or explain away, such a moment: the moment when the very thing I needed most in my life — call it a polestar — was casually, generously given to me.”
In chaotic and unstable times, what unexpected forms of navigation do we encounter, seek, or create to guide us through?
More info/Registration: clatskaniearts.org
MUSEUM MAGIC
Story & photos by Joseph Govednik,
ISSUE
SCHEDULE
Opening Reception/Welcome
10-11:30am at the Clatskanie Cultural Center, Ballroom
Guest presenter: Laura Moulton (Portland, Ore.)
Featured presenter: Martha Gies (Portland, Ore.)
Publishers & Writers Fair
10am-1pm at the Clatskanie Cultural Center, Ballroom Vendor tables by local authors, regional writing organizations and presenters. A select assortment of Raymond Carver books for sale, along with Raymond Carver Writing Festival commemorative posters, stickers, postcards and badges. Maybe even a few tee-shirts in random sizes! Presented by Astoria’s The Writer’s Guild.
CALL IT A POLESTAR
Steal Time to Write
12-5:30pm at various locations in Clatskanie. Self-guided. Pop in to sponsoring sites, pick up a keepsake print and spend a few minutes writing to short prompts from festival writers. A different printed prompt will be offered at each location, so plan on stealing time for all of them!
Use prompts suggested by two or—time permitting—three of Carver’s poems. A fun exercise for writers of prose and poetry alike. No public sharing required. Bring your notebook and a pen. Pre-registration appreciated Prose and Poetry Reading
5:30-6pm at the Clatskanie Cultural Center, Birkenfeld Theater
Award presentation and readings from the winners of the 2025 Poetry Contest in both youth and adult (over 18) categories.
Festival Finale!
6:15pm Dinner (reservations required) at the Clatskanie Food Hub. Whimsical and seasonal Farm-to-table food featuring a menagerie of locally grown savory delights handcrafted by Bluebell Bakeshop. Non-alcoholic beverages supplied by The Wild Locals, beer and wine available for purchase. Reservations are required, $20 per person.
7:15-8:30pm Open Mic Poetry Jam (free and open to all) at the Clatskanie Food Hub. An opportunity for festival participants to share their words in a supportive and fun atmosphere, sign-ups will be available all day and on site in case of last minute inspiration.
VISITOR CENTERS
•
Raymond Carver
Production notes
Going for a Ride
A m A jor memory of mine growing up is going for A ride.
In a car. Somewhat aimlessly. New roads. Old landmarks. Ritual ice cream. Captain Dad.
Tracing the Three-Waterfall Loop this month brought to mind dozens of other rides, family rides, destinations somewhere... or nowhere.
Is there a child in the world alive today who even remembers, let alone relishes, simply going for a ride? It’s almost come to mean being conned or fooled — he’s takin’ you for a ride, watch out!
Not the 50s bliss of just being out in a moving car with the windows down.
I almost feel sorry for kids today. With computers and phones and big screens and malls and sports and cineplexes, and commuting and cars as simply transport machines, carting you from practice to lessons to school, who in the heck wants to just go for a ride? I mean if you don’t have to.
Maybe it was our lack of a lot of other things to do, pre-television. The rides, after all, were pretty basic. Down to the station to watch the train come in. Yes, I kid you not.
Up to Cascade Way where they are building a new house. To 24 Flavors for an ice cream cone, of course. Out to the freeway, and back, for no intelligible reason.
I suppose it was a Dad and Mom thing, basically. These cars and those roads and even ice cream stores hadn’t even been around when they were growing up, so getting out in and on them represented a kind of progress, a treat, a sign of civilization on the march. It was movement. Simple pleasure. What should we do this afternoon? How ‘bout we go for ride.
people+place American Pie
Berry Patch Highlights Three-Waterfall Loop
There’s just something about a loop.
Whether you’re on foot, on two wheels or four, there’s nothing like going full circle. Loops beat simple coming and going all hollow, with fresh attractions awaiting you around every corner. With loops there are no re-runs; it’s all original programming.
Consider the spiritual satisfaction in making and completing a round trip, not just gunning out and back. Isn’t this surely the best of both worlds — the anticipation and comfort of your eventual homecoming, and the novelty and adventure of a different path getting there?
Much ado about looping? Is this too lofty an hypothesis for something we used to call simply a Sunday Drive? Let’s put it to the test. Spring is here, buds are on the trees, roads are dry and beckoning, for now.
It’s time to take some of our favorite riverine roads. Here we go loop de loop!
We promised it would not be just about pie.
But even the most whimsical Looper needs a stop or two along the way, and Westport’s Berry Patch Restaurant offers a seductive wayside. And delectable pies.
“We do so much more than serve pie,” said venerable baker and cook Ruthie Simmons. “But we are kind of known for it, I guess.”
More than just pies
The Berry Patch is the perfect mid-loop stop in our half-day excursion (Longview, Cathlamet, Puget Island, Westport, Clatskanie, or vice versa — see route, following pages). And whether you’ve come from Oregon or Washington, you’ll encounter in Westport this legendary shrine to the marionberry, the hybrid that’s launched a thousand pies.
HERE WE GO LOOP DE LOOP
Award-winning journalist
Hal Calbom
Ruthie Simmons
cont page 22
Ruthie Simmons has worked at the Berry Patch more than 30 years.
– Walt Whitman “Song of the Open Road”
5–8pm, Sat., May 3rd • Cowlitz Expo Center 1900 7th Ave., Longview Dinner at 6pm. Auctions, paddle raise, mystery houses, mocktails, uplifting stories & more! Tickets $60, Table for 8 • $400 Info: chobinfo@choblv.org Reservations: www,choblv,org or 360-560-1694
unable to attend but you wish to contribute, visit www,choblv,org to donate
Join us in supporting this important
Three-Waterfall Loop
Sample itinerary
colulmbia river Quarantine station personnel, circa 1906.
couRtesy image DRIVING DIRECTIONS
11:30am From Rainier Bridge, drive west on Hwy 30
12 Noon Drive along Beaver Creek, view falls
12:40pm Pass through Clatskanie
12:55pm Arrive in Westport (consider stopping for pie)
1:15pm Board Oscar B Ferry (or 2:15 if you stopped for pie). Note: Public rest room at landing and on ferry; take hand sanitizer.
1:30pm Exit ferry. Explore Puget Island. Suggestion: Sample dairy treats at Little Island Creamery, named producer of “North America’s Best Brie.”
2:15pm-ish Stella Falls (watch for traffic)
3:00pm Arrive in Longview
The Oscar B ferry operates daily 5am–10:15pm, departing Puget Island on the hour, returning from Westport 15 min. after the hour. Cars $6. The “Oscar B” is set to be closed for maintenance ‘til April 25. To confirm its operating status, call 360-795-7867.
•From Lewis & Clark Bridge drive west on Hwy 30 about 4.7 miles. Turn off at Delena. Continue 1.8 miles to a wide pullout offering view of Upper Beaver Creek Falls. Continue 2 miles to the large pullout past the end of the chain-link fence and walk back about .1 mile for a great view.
•Drive 6 miles, following signs to Clatskanie.
•Drive 10 miles to Westport to catch ferry (departs 15 minutes past each hour) and cross the Columbia River. Drive across Puget Island and through Cathlamet and turn right on Washington SR-4, head east toward Longview. About 1/4-mile past Stella, watch for Stella Falls 200 feet north (left side) of the road. Be very cautious if you park along the road or if you park at Stella and walk back. Better yet, if traffic allows slowing down, don’t stop, but view from your car
Providing
Northwest hydropower produces no carbon emissions, thereby significantly reducing the total carbon footprint of the region’s
from page 19
Those interested in history and local color will appreciate the restaurant’s historical displays (the Portland Bensons were major developers of this part of the river and its banks), including the genesis of the hybrid berry itself.
“Marionberries were developed right near here,” said Ruthie Simmons, “and named for Marion County.”
The berry was developed at Oregon State University in the fifties, in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Ask any baker — you don’t want a sour berry — and the researchers wanted a sweeter hybrid with higher yields. The result was a cross between the “Chehalem” and “Olallie” strains of blackberry, a small flavorful berry and a robust, productive breed.
PEOPLE COME HERE BECAUSE THEY WANT A HOMESTYLE MEAL
The Berry Patch began life as Oregon Wild Berries, started by owner Stan Egaas in the late 1980s to make Little Wild Blackberry jam. Stan expanded and started the Berry Patch Restaurant in 1993. He sold the restaurant to long-time employee Mylene White in 2020. Today The Berry Patch seats more than 100 people, offers 26 types of jams, jellies, syrups and soups. In one pre-pandemic year alone, the Berry Patch made more than 8,000 pies.
Oregon now produces bumper crops of the sweet cross-breed, accounting for 90 percent of the marionberry acreage planted world-wide.
“It’s as if Oregon’s Willamette Valley — a fertile slice that runs between Eugene and Portland, about 70 miles inland — was created to grow berries,” proclaim web foodies Serious Eats. “The cool, mild winters and warm-butcomfortable summers create the perfect microclimate.”
The proof is in the testing and tasting, of course, and there are preserves, jams and jellies galore to tempt both sweet teeth and historical researchers.
We thank Ruthie and Mylene and prepare to head down the road (various marionberry confections and a few jars of jam stashed in the back seat, of course) and they in turn thank us for our interest.
“Just don’t say it’s all about the pie,” Mylene reminds me as I shuffle away with my blackberry booty. “We just make all kinds of great food,” she says, even while refilling the by-theslice offerings in what has to be the only 24 hour pie dispenser west of the Mississippi.
“We want them to come in for more than pie.”
Good luck!
••• Photos, from top right: Equipment supply rep Mike Faischetti, of Tigard, Ore., often gifts pies to favorite customers. Alicia Silka, Warrenton,Ore., picking up treats for a family reunion, including a new grandbaby. Owner Mylene White restocking the Berry Patch pie dispenser. Server Jessica Reeves helps a customer make a difficult decision in the gift shop.
“Flowers
a third-generation Longview native and author of Empire of Trees: America’s Planned City and the Last Frontier, produces CRR’s People+Place monthly feature, and is CRRPress associate publisher. See his “In the Spotlight” column, page 37.
Joe Fischer
Hal Calbom,
The experienced staff at Longview Orthopedic Associates has been providing sports medicine care to local prep, club, college, and recreational athletes since 1983. Sprains, strains, fractures, dislocations, tendinitis, concussions, and more, we treat it all. Because we understand athletes and know how important it is to be involved, our goal is always to get you back in the action as quickly as possible. LOA features rapid appointment scheduling and offers MRI and physical therapy services onsite. Call today to schedule an appointment.
We welcome Kaiser patients with a referral!
Dr. Kung, MD Dr. Lauder, MD
Dr. Turner, MD
Dr. Lin, MD
Dr. McLeod, DPM
Dr. Liu, MD
Dr. Mao, DO
Miss Manners from page 9
I am not used to being a hostess, but put a great deal of effort, time and money into the food and decorations. We had turkey, ham and many sides and desserts. The spread was impressive and beautiful.
When the guests arrived, it turned out they had all ridden with the boss and his wife in their large van instead of driving their own cars. About 15 minutes after their arrival, and before hardly any food had been served, the boss’s wife got a phone call and said she and her husband needed to help a friend move some furniture — right
now! She then proceeded to round up all of my guests, load them into their van and drive away, leaving no one for the party.
A fortune in food was left on my table. I remember standing there, looking at it and crying. I was so humiliated and angry. I honestly never want to host a gathering of any kind ever again.
My question: Was there any way to have prevented this rude woman from stealing away all of my guests?
GENTLE READER: Counter-questions: Did the boss and his wife drop the guests off before the emergency furniture move? Were they left on the street? Coerced into helping?
Back to yours: Perhaps you could have told the other guests that you and your husband would help arrange transportation for them — either taking them home yourselves or facilitating ride-shares or taxis.
More importantly, Miss Manners hopes that with time, you will realize that this rudeness was extreme and rare, and that you will try your hand at entertaining again. It sounds as if you are good at it.
She also hopes that your husband’s new job is not similarly fraught with chaos — or that his boss is sufficiently contrite that he gets something out of the dreadful experience.
Please send your questions to Miss Manners at her website, www.missmanners.com; to her email, dearmissmanners@gmail.com; or through postal mail to Miss Manners, Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.
“Against Your Departure” Poetry Reading and Broadside Launch
T he C.C. s T ern T ype f oundry is launching a new letterpress broadside, “Against Your Departure,” the sixth print in their Pacific Northwest Poets Laureate Broadside series. The broadside is illustrated and printed by Jessica Spring (Springtide Press) and features a new poem by Washington Poet Laureate Emerita Elizabeth Austen. The event will take place at the Longview Public Library on April 19 from 4:00–5:30pm, and is free and open to the public.
Former Washington State Poet Laureate Elizabeth Austen is the author of Every Dress a Decision (Blue Begonia Press), and the chapbooks The Girl Who Goes Alone and Where Currents Meet. She’s performed her work in venues ranging from UNESCO in Paris to Holden Village in central Washington state. Her poems are featured in Cascadia: A Field Guide Through Art, Ecology and Poetry, the New England Review and Spirited Stone: Lessons from Kubota’s Garden, among other journals and anthologies. Elizabeth earned an MFA at Antioch University-LA, and interviewed poets for NPRaffiliate KUOW for nearly 20 years. She leads workshops in poetry and reflective writing for
staff at Seattle Children’s Hospital and other Pacific Northwest healthcare organizations, and also offers a free, weekly Zoom workshop called “Gather In.”
Jessica Spring began her interest in typesetting and printing as a phototypesetter in the 1980s. Her introduction to letterpress printing paralleled the birth
cont page 32
Elizabeth Austen
Jessica Spring
Clatskanie, Ore.
Fultano’s Pizza
770 E. Columbia River Hwy
Family style with unique pizza offerings, hot grill items & more!
Dine-in,Take-out and Home Delivery. Visit Fultanos.com for streamlined menu. 503-728-2922
Ixtapa Fine Mexican Restaurant
640 E. Columbia River Hwy
Fine Mexican cuisine. Daily specials. The best margarita in town. Daily drink specials. Dine-in, curbside pickup. M-Th 11am–9:30pm; Fri & Sat 11am–10:30pm; Sun 11am–9pm. 503-728-3344
119 E. “B” St., (Hwy 30) Crab Louie/Crab cocktails, crab-stuffed avocados. 17 hot and cold sandwiches. Amazing crab sandwiches. Full bar service. Catering for groups. 503-556-9950. interstatetavern@yahoo.com
El Tapatio
117 W. ‘A’ Street
Mexican Family Restaurant. Open Fri-Sat 11am-11pm, rest of week 11am-10pm. Full bar. 8-11pm. Patio seating. 503-556-8323.
Longview, Wash.
1335 14th Avenue
18 rotating craft brews, pub fare. M-Th 11am–9pm. Fri-Sat 11am–10pm. Local music coming soon. 360-232-8283. Wine Wednesdays: $5 pours.
Bruno’s Pizza 1108 Washington Way. Pizza, breadsticks, wings, salads, fish & chips. WE DELIVER. Four beers on tap. 360-636-4970 or 360-425-5220.
Formerly The Carriage Restaurant & Lounge located on 14th Ave.
3353 Washington Way. Chinese & American cuisine. Full bar, banquet room stage room with balcony; available for groups, special events. Restaurant: 11am–9pm, Lounge 11am–1:00am. 360-425-8680.
20 Cowlitz Street West, Castle Rock. Coffee and specialty drinks, quick eats & sweets. See ad, pg 30
(Parker’s former location), 1300 Mt. St. Helens Way. 360--967-2333. Open daily, 11am–10pm. Steaks, pasta, calamari, salads, sandwiches, fondue, desserts. Happy Hour, full bar. See ad, menu QR code, page 4.
Kalama, Wash.
LUCKMAN’S COFFEE Mountain Timber Market, Port of Kalama. Open 8am–7pm. 360-673-4586.
Scappoose, Ore.
Fultano’s Pizza 51511 SE 2nd. Family style with unique pizza offerings, hot grill items & more! “Best pizza around!”
Warren,
Toutle, Wash.
Roland Wines 1106 Florida St., Longview. Authentic Italian wood-fired pizza, wine, beer, specialty cocktails. Casual ambience. 5–9pm Wed-Sat, 360-846-7304 See ad, page 25.
Scythe Brewing Company 1217 3rd Avenue #150
360-353-3851
Mon-Thurs 11:30am -8pm; FriSat 11:30am -10pm. Sun 12-8pm. Family-friendly brewery/ restaurant with upscale, casual dining, lunch and dinner.
Stuffy’s
804 Ocean Beach Hwy 360-423-6356 8am–8pm. Breakfast, lunch, dinner. American style food. Free giant cinnamon roll with meal purchase on your birthday with proof of ID. Facebook: Stuffy’s II Restaurant, or Instagram @stuffys2.
Teri’s Café
on Broadway
1133 Broadway. Lunch and Dinner, full bar. Mon12–8pm. Tues-Thurs 11am–8pm, Fri 11am–9pm; Sat 12–9pm. 360577-0717
215 N. Hendrickson Dr., Port of Kalama. A Northwest pub and unique bars serving breakfast, lunch & dinner daily. Info & reservations, bar hours at mcmenamins.com. 8am–midnight daily. 360673-9210. Indoor dining, covered outdoor seating.
Antique Deli 413N. First. M-F, 10–3. Call for daily sandwich special. 360-673- 3310.
FIRESIDE CAFE 5055 Meeker Dr., Kalama. Open Wed-Sun, 9–4. 360-673-3473.
St. Helens, Ore.
Sunshine Pizza & Catering 2124 Columbia Blvd. Hot pizza, cool salad bar. Beer & wine. Limited inside seating, curbside pickup and delivery. 503-397-3211 See ad, page 32.
Big River Tap Room 313 Strand Street on the Riverfront. Lunch/Dinner TueThurs 12–8pm; Fri-Sat 12–9pm. Chicagostyle hot dogs, Italian beef, pastrami. Weekend Burrito Breakfast, Sat 8-11, Sun 8am-3pm.
A Different Way of Seeing
THE TIDEWATER REACH
Poem by Robert Michael Pyle • Photograph by Judy VanderMaten • Field Note by Hal Calbom
River Pubs: At the Duck
The nocturnal people of Skamokawa, they’re good eaters, occupy their chairs and bar stools with authority. They drink, they laugh, they go out onto the riverside porch to smoke. Their dreams may be diminished, but they dance for all that, drink beneath the plastic Christmas lights, and their karaoke is much better than you ever thought.
TV in every corner plays Animal Planet, Fox News, sports, and weather. The waitress sets up pool balls as a Jimmy Buffett with a belly and a voice sings out from four lonely days in a brown L.A. haze, and the DJ, who sings every other song, is the Walrus. Such is night life along the river, on the other side of K-M Mountain, and the halibut is good.
WORDS AND WOOD
PACIFIC NORTHWEST WOODCUTS AND
A Different Way of Seeing This page and pg. 5 feature excerpts from CRRPress books.
DARK RIVER
Thanks to the isolation of the North Pacific Coast of North America, the Columbia was among the last major rivers to be mapped and explored. Its headwaters, high in Canada, confused explorers for decades, flowing in a different direction seemingly opposite to its eventual course. Two-fifths of the river is in Canada, and relatively isolated. Early explorers in the late 1700s and mariners forever after were daunted by the fearsome Columbia Bar and the area’s reputation as “graveyard of the Pacific,” where hundreds of ships and their crews have perished over the years.
CRRPRESS was founded in 2020, with the first printing of Tidewater Reach, followed by Dispatches from the Discovery Trail (see current episode, page 5), Empire of Trees, Words and Wood, and A Lifetime of Art. Purchase info, see page 2, 35.
EMPIRE OF TREES
AMERICA’S PLANNED CITY AND THE LAST FRONTIER by Hal Calbom
The Crossroads
The Columbia River, now officially a federal highway, teems with local, national and international commerce, served by Longview’s deepwater port and prized waterfront. It sits adjacent to the major interstate highway linking Canada and Mexico, 45 miles from one commercial airport and 115 miles from another. Longview is much more than on the beaten track: It owns a good share of it, and thrives as a modern crossroads for trade and transportation.
UIPS & QUOTES Q
Selected by Debra Tweedy
The first day of Spring is one thing, and the first Spring day is another. The difference between them is sometimes as great as a month.
--Henry Van Dyke, American author and diplomat, 1852-1933
Spring won’t let me stay in this house any longer! I must get out and breathe the air deeply again.
Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less.
--Marie Curie, Polish-French Physicist and chemist, 1867-1934
A failure is not always a mistake; it may simply be the best one can do under the circumstances. The real mistake is to stop trying.
–B.F. Skinner, American psychologist, 1904-1990
A man’s character may be learned from the adjectives which he habitually uses in conversation.
--Mark Twain, American writer and humorist, 1835-1910
If two men agree on everything, you may be sure that one of them is doing the thinking.
--Lyndon B. Johnson, 36th president of the United States, 1908-1973
Like a welcome summer rain, humor may suddenly cleanse and cool the earth, the air and you.
--Langston Hughes, American poet, writer and activist, 1901-1967
A man may be a fool and not know it, but not if he is married.
--H.L. Mencken, American journalist and writer, 1880-1956
Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves.
--Carl Jung, Swiss psychiatrist, 1875-1961
Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said.
--Voltaire, French writer and philosopher, 1694-1778
Longview native Debra Tweedy has lived on four continents. She and her husband decided to return to her hometown and bought a house facing Lake Sacajawea.“We came back because of the Lake and the Longview Public Library,” she says.
BWhat are you reading?
Black Wing
David Campiche
Review by Dayle Olson
ordered by the Pacific Ocean, Columbia River, and Cascade Mountains, Southwest Washington is blessed not only with astounding natural beauty, but with astoundingly creative people. David Campiche of the Long Beach peninsula is one such person. Not content to simply be an accomplished potter, poet, and culinary whiz, Campiche recently added novelist to the list.
His 2023 novel, Black Wing, is a literary feast. The story takes place in the wilds of British Columbia as settlers exploit natural resources and Native peoples are forced from their villages, lose children to Indian boarding schools, and face an assault on their culture.
Tom LaCross (White Bear) is a respected Native tracker and outdoorsman.
Dan Skinner, Tom’s protégée, is a young settler, or a “Boston,” with a knack for survival. The story opens with the two on opposite sides of the law. Dan is running from Canadian Mounties, led by tracker Tom, as they scale a sheer granite mountain in a deadly game of cat and mouse. Talk about a cliffhanger!
teetering on the brink. A second storyline set in modern times is woven throughout. As the book progresses, it becomes clear how the two stories are connected, but the mystery is not resolved until the final page. David Campiche tells a compelling story, re-creating a vibrant past world which the lucky reader is briefly allowed to step into.
•••
Campiche uses his wordsmith talents to bring an unspoiled Pacific Northwest to life. His depiction of First Peoples’ traditions and wisdom adds a thoughtful account of a culture
Dayle Olson has been a Northwest Voices guest writer at Lower Columbia College and occasionally reads at WordFest. Her work has appeared in Cathexis Northwest Press, North Coast Squid, and The Salal Review. Her prose poem won first prize in the 2024 Oregon Poetry Association contest. She hosts a quarterly poetry open mic in Cathlamet at RiverMile 38 brewpub. ATTENTION READERS
•
City Council Chambers
Read a good book lately? Share your impressions and thoughts with other CRR readers. Email alan@alan-rose. com or publisher@crreader. com for info. Writers and non-writers welcome, editing services provided, and can be based on phone mini-interview if preferred.
Located in the historic Castle Rock Bank Building 20 Cowlitz Street West Mon-Sat 8:30–5 • Sun 10–4 360-916-1377
1. The Frozen River
Ariel Lawhon, Vintage, $18
2. The Handmaid’s Tale
Margaret Atwood, Anchor, $18
3. Demon Copperhead
Barbara Kingsolver, Harper Perennial, $21.99
4. Orbital
Samantha Harvey, Grove Press, $17
5. Fourth Wing
Rebecca Yarros, Entangled: Red Tower Books,$20.99
6. Martyr!
Kaveh Akbar, Vintage, $18
7. Funny Story
Emily Henry, Berkley, $19
8. North Woods
Daniel Mason,Random House Trade Paperbacks,$18
9. Parable of the Sower
Octavia E. Butler, Grand Central, $19.99,
10. Never Whistle at Night
Shane Hawk (Ed.), Theodore C. Van Alst Jr. (Ed.), Vintage, $17
Brought to you by Book Sense and Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association, for week ending March 30, 2025, based on reporting from the independent bookstores of Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana. For the Book Sense store nearest you, visit www.booksense.com
PAPERBACK NON-FICTION
1. On Tyranny
Timothy Snyder, Crown, $12
2. Braiding Sweetgrass
Robin Wall Kimmerer, Milkweed Editions, $20
3. The Wager
David Grann, Vintage, $21
4. Eve
Cat Bohannon, Vintage, $20
5. The Backyard Bird Chronicles
Amy Tan, Knopf, $36
6. The Body Keeps the Score
Bessel van der Kolk, M.D., Penguin, $19
7. Solito
Javier Zamora, Hogarth, $18,
8. A Dumb Birds Field Guide to the Worst Birds Ever
Matt Kracht, Chronicle Books, $15.95, 9. On Tyranny Graphic Edition
Timothy Snyder, Nora Krug (Illus.), Ten Speed Graphic, $16.99
10. The Art Thief
Michael Finkel, Vintage, $18
1. Onyx Storm (Standard Edition)
Rebecca Yarros, Entangled: Red Tower Books,$29.99
2. James Percival Everett, Doubleday, $28
3. Tilt
Emma Pattee, S&S/ Marysue Rucci Books, $27.99
4. Iron Flame
Rebecca Yarros, Entangled: Red Tower Books,$29.99
5. Dream Count
Chimamanda Ngozi
Adichie, Knopf, $32
6. The Buffalo Hunter
Hunter
Stephen Graham Jones, S&S/Saga Press, $29.99
7. Wild Dark Shore
Charlotte McConaghy, Flatiron Books, $28.99
8. The Antidote
Karen Russell, Knopf, $30
9. Dungeon Crawler
Carl
Matt Dinniman, Ace, $30
10. All Fours
Miranda July, Riverhead Books, $29
1. Everything Is Tuberculosis (Signed Edition) John Green, Crash Course Books, $28,
2. The Serviceberry
Robin Wall Kimmerer, John Burgoyne (Illus.), Scribner, $20
3. The Let Them Theory
Mel Robbins, Sawyer Robbins, Hay House LLC, $29.99
4. Careless People
Sarah Wynn-Williams, Flatiron Books, $32.99, 5. Abundance
6. One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This
Omar El Akkad, Knopf, $28
7. The Creative Act
Rick Rubin, Penguin Press, $32
8. How to Love Better Yung Pueblo, Harmony, $27
9. Close to Home Thor Hanson, Basic Books, $30
10. Who Is Government?
Michael Lewis (Ed.), Riverhead Books, $30
Top 10 Bestsellers
1. Little Blue Truck and Racer Red Alice Schertle, Jill McElmurry (Illus.), Clarion Books, $19.99
2. The Very Hungry Caterpillar Eric Carle, World of Eric Carle, $10.99,
3. Goodnight Moon
Margaret Wise Brown, Clement Hurd (Illus.), Harper, $10.99
4. Papilio Ben Clanton, Corey R. Tabor, Andy Chou Muss- er, Viking Books for Young Readers, $19.99
5. The Bakery Dragon
Devin Elle Kurtz, Knopf Books for Young Readers, $18.99
6. Shark Girl
Kate Beaton, Roaring Brook Press, $18.99
7. The Itsy Bitsy Spider
Maddie Frost, Workman, $5.99
8. Little Blue Truck
Alice Schertle, Jill McElmurry (Illus.), Clarion Books,$10.99
9. The Easter Bunny Hunt (Peter Rabbit)
Beatrix Potter, Warne, $9.99
10. Dragons Love Tacos
Adam Rubin, Daniel Salmieri (Illus.), Dial Books, $18.99
BOOK REVIEW Poetics of the profound
By Alan Rose
ACosmic Connections Poetry in the Age of Disenchantment
Charles Taylor
Belknap Press
$28.99
t the beginning of the 19th century and well into the Industrial Revolution, William Wordsworth wrote: “The world is too much with us; late and soon,/ Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers;/ Little we see in Nature that is ours;/ We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon!”
Alan’s haunting novel of the AIDS epidemic, As If Death Summoned, won the Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Award (LGBT category.) He organizes the monthly Word Fest gathering (info at left). Reach him at www.alan-rose.com.
Wordsworth’s sonnet was both a lament and a warning: With the benefits of science has come “disenchantment.” We have outgrown the old mythologies with their gods and spirits. But we have lost a sense of the sacred and our connection to it. This is the theme of Cosmic Connections by esteemed Canadian philosopher Charles Taylor.
For Taylor, poetry is much more than pretty words. It can point to a profoundly different way of perceiving the universe and our place in it (“What does poetry do? It begins to transform our experience.”)
Ancient cultures viewed the cosmos as a meaningful and interconnected whole. However, with Newton and the Scientific Revolution, there came a perceptual shift. The universe was now understood as a machine governed by natural laws. This mechanistic view understood the cosmos as a vast, impersonal system of forces, waves and particles, and eliminated the kind of spiritual connection that once gave meaning and purpose to human lives. “God is dead,” claimed the German philosopher Nietzsche.
The book is about (what I see as) the human need for cosmic connection; by “connection” I mean not just awareness of the surrounding world, but one shot through with joy, significance, inspiration. My hypothesis is that the desire for this connection is a human constant, felt by (at least some) people in all ages and phases of human history, but that the forms this desire takes have been very different in the succeeding phases and stages of this history.
– from Cosmic Connections
Over the past 500 years, human life has become radically redefined through the advance of science, especially with our understanding of time (“late and soon”) and the rise in material acquisition (“Getting and spending”). But, he argues, it has also diminished people’s lives (“We have given our hearts away.”)
10. A Horse Named Sky Rosanne Parry, Kirbi Fagan (Illus.), Greenwillow Books, $9.99
Nature, which we once felt ourselves part of, has become “natural resources,” objects and things to be exploited, extracted, used. Our material benefit has also been our spiritual loss (“A sordid boon!”)
Primarily focusing on the Romantic poets Hölderlin and Novalis in Germany, Wordsworth and Keats in England, and post-Romantic poets such as Rilke, Baudelaire, Hopkins, Mallarmè, and Eliot, Taylor attempts to show how their poetry stretched the limits of language, suggesting a different quality of consciousness that enables us to see the world in new and profound ways.
This is not an easy book to read. Charles Taylor is an esteemed academic, so, not surprising, he writes in academese. Which is a shame because his thoughts and ideas are insightful, even transformative, calling for a new sense of cosmic connection, one that combines the insights of science with a more holistic, spiritual perspective that can restore a sense of wonder, meaning and purpose to our lives.
LONGVIEW
U.S. Bank
Post Office
Forever Fit - 1211 18th Ave
Bob’s (rack, main check-out)
In front of 1232 Commerce Ave
In front of 1323 Commerce Ave
Where to find the new Reader
It’s delivered all around the River by the 15th of each month. Here’s the handy, regularly-refilled sidewalk box and rack locations, where you can pick up a copy any time of day and even in your bathrobe:
WOODLAND
The Oak Tree
Visitors’ Center
Grocery Outlet
Luckman Coffee
CASTLE ROCK
In front of CR Blooms Center
Cowlitz St. W., near Vault Books & Brew
Visitors’ Ctr, 890 Huntington Ave N., Exit 49, west side of I-5
Cascade Select Market
Amaro’s Table (former location of Parker’s) inside rack
VADER
Little Crane Café
In front of Elam’s 1413 Commerce
Teri’s on Broadway (side entry)
In front of Freddy’s 1110 Commerce
YMCA
Fred Meyer (rack, service desk)
Grocery Outlet, OB Hwy
Fibre Fed’l CU - Commerce Ave
Monticello Hotel (front entrance)
Kaiser Permanente
St. John Medical Center (rack, Park Lake Café)
LCC Student Center
Columbia River Reader Office 1333 14th Ave. (box at door)
Omelettes & More (entry rack)
Stuffy’s II (entry rack)
KELSO
Visitors’ Center / Kelso-Longview Chamber of Commerce
KALAMA
Etc Mercantile
Fibre Fed’l CU
Kalama Shopping Center corner of First & Fir
Columbia Inn
McMenamin’s Harbor Lodge (rack)
Luckmans Coffee, Mountain Timber Market, Port of Kalama
RYDERWOOD
Café porch
TOUTLE
Drew’s Grocery & Service
CLATSKANIE, ORE
Post Office
Mobil / Mini-Mart
Fultano’s Pizza
WESTPORT
Berry Patch (entry rack)
RAINIER
Post Office Cornerstone Café
Rainier Hardware (rack, entry)
Earth ‘n’ Sun (on Hwy 30)
El Tapatio (entry rack)
Grocery Outlet
Senior Center (rack at front door)
DEER ISLAND
Deer Island Store
COLUMBIA CITY
Post Office
ST HELENS
Chamber of Commerce
Sunshine Pizza
St. Helens Market Fresh
Olde Town (near 2-Cs Vendor Mall)
Big River Tap Room
Safeway
WARREN
Warren Country Inn
SCAPPOOSE
Post Office
Road Runner
Fultano’s
Ace Hardware
WARRENTON
Fred Meyer
CATHLAMET
Cathlamet Pharmacy
Tsuga Gallery
Realty West/Computer Link NW
Puget Island Ferry Landing
SKAMOKAWA
Skamokawa General Store
NASELLE
Appelo Archives & Café
Johnson’s One-Stop
ILWACO
Time Enough Books (entry table)
LONG BEACH
Long Beach Merchants Assn
212 Pacific Ave S.
OCEAN PARK
Ocean Park Area Chamber of Commerce
RAYMOND
NW Carriage Museum
Timberland Library
SOUTH BEND
Pacific County Historical
Society & Museum
Pacific County Courthouse Tourism Info
TOKELAND
Georgetown Gas Station
Launch from page 27
of desktop publishing: an exciting time to explore graphic arts. She has been a letterpress printer ever since, researching historic type composition and inventing Daredevil Furniture to help other printers set type in circles, curves and angles. Her work at Springtide Press in Tacoma entails artist books, broadsides and ephemera, and can be found in collections around the country and abroad. Collaborations and teaching are a vital part of her work, including many years co-producing the Dead Feminists series.
The C.C. sTern Type foundry is an Oregon-based, all-volunteer nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving the cultural heritage of the metal type casting industry, cultivating the craft of printing with metal type, and creating new artwork using traditional type casting and letterpress printing practices. Based in Clatskanie, Oregon, the organization provides public access to the largest collection of type casting equipment, tools and technical manuals in the Pacific Northwest. Volunteer artists, writers, printers, and type casters work to share knowledge and preserve cultural heritage in community with other craftspeople. Programs include skill sharing events, artist residencies, collaborative art making, Type Foundry tours, and a Type Casting and Letterpress Printing Reference Library that is available for special events and by appointment.
The C.C. Stern Type Foundry’s Pacific Northwest Poets Laureate Broadside Project is a five-year effort to create limited edition, letterpress printed poetry broadsides in collaboration with regional print artists and the past poets laureate from Oregon and Washington. The project helps preserve metal type matrices, creates exciting new literary and visual work using traditional techniques, and opens community conversation by presenting poems in broadside form. Two broadside editions per year are launched at events that are free and open to the public. Individual broadsides are available for sale, with proceeds used to fund future broadsides. At the culmination of the project, artist portfolios of the complete set of ten broadsides will be available for collectors.
Where do you read THE READER?
BUTTERFLY MAN BOB PYLE AT POTRILLO PASS
in the Andes, Chile. Researching local butterflies for his next novel, the sequel to Magdalena Mountain.
WHERE DO YOU READ THE READER?
Send your photo reading the Reader (high-resolution JPEG) to publisher@ crreader.com. For cell phone photos, choose the largest file size up to 2 MB. Include names and cities of residence. Expect an acknowledgment within 5 days of submission; otherwise, please re-send. Thank you for your participation and patience, as we usually have a small backlog!
on
Three sisters
camelback Three sisters, Barbara Lee of Eugene, Oregon, and Cathy Peacock of Newport, Rhode Island, and Patty Williams of Longview, Wash. read the Reader on camels in front of the pyramids in Cairo, Egypt
Longview piano teacher Karla Dudley, left, with former student Cardin Chung (center), now a junior at USC (hometown Longview), and current student Liam Nesbitt (right), of Longview, a senior at R.A.Long High School.
Over the horizon Ken and Linda Thomas near Reykjavik, Iceland.
New relationship blooming
By Jim Tejcka
My latest dive into learning a new musical instrument involves an instrument much smaller than a piano… smaller even than a guitar, and with fewer strings! My relationship with the ukulele is just beginning to bloom.
This instrument, whose Hawaiian name means “jumping flea,” was introduced into Hawaiian culture by the Portuguese in the late 1800s. The Hawaiians modified it to their liking, and it soon became a fixture in their music and dance. In 1915 it was adopted by American jazz bands and others, and has been evolving ever since.
I have been a guitar player for more than 50 years, but now that I am 70plus, it is becoming difficult physically for me to play my beloved — but jumbo sized — Guild D-55 guitar I’ve had for 40 of those years. This led to my becoming frustrated musically, and depressed when I found that I could not play it for very long at a time anymore.
It was while I was in this state of mind that I visited my friend Bob, who is involved with Artichoke Music in Portland. He is an autoharp player with an interest in ukuleles, and he offered to lend me one of his to try out.
I found the sound intriguing and the size easier on my shoulders. Most ukuleles have only four strings to play, but the finger formations and locations on the neck are completely different from the guitar, and the distance between frets smaller…the more so the further up the neck you go.
Because of these differences you have to teach your brain to switch between these chord formations, depending upon which instrument you are playing. Although this is an excellent way to exercise your brain, it can make you produce unpleasant sounds if you use guitar formations on the ukulele, as well as the other way around. I have found that the most difficult exercise to do is
to play a song on the guitar, and then immediately play the same song on the ukulele. This is definitely a mind twister! To my surprise, I’ve found that you can teach an old brain some new tricks. I have learned about a dozen songs on the ukulele, and now have the enthusiasm to continue to develop my skills.
But it’s time to return Bob’s ukulele. That means that I must get one to replace it. I have my eye on an eight-string Tenor size mahogany ukulele…beautiful sound and appearance.
As George Harrison commented in 1999, “Everyone I know who is into the ukulele is ‘Crackers.’” He also said that “it’s one instrument you can’t play and not laugh.”
Keep on playing.
the story of your relationship with a musical instrument in 500 words or less and mail to CRR, 1333 14th Ave., Longview, WA 98632, or email to publisher@crreader.com. If possible attach/include a current mugshot and/or a photo of you with your instrument, then or now. Don’t worry about perfect spelling or syntax. If your story is chosen, we will provide editing services and contact you for additional details or embellishments as needed.
Woodland resident Jim Tejcka with his “new” ukulele
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Letters to the Editor (up to 200 words) relevant to the publication’s purpose — helping readers discover and enjoy the good life in the Columbia River region, at home and on the road — are welcome. Longer pieces, or excerpts thereof, in response to previously-published articles, may be printed at the discretion of the publisher and subject to editing and space limitations.
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Outings & Events calendar (free listing): Events must be open to the public. Non-profit organizations and the arts, entertainment, educational and recreational opportunities and community cultural events will receive listing priority. Fundraisers must be sanctioned/sponsored by the benefiting non-profit organization. Commercial projects, businesses and organizations wishing to promote their particular products or services are invited to purchase advertising.
Send your non-commercial community event info (incl name of event, beneficiary, sponsor, date & time, location, brief description and contact info) to publisher@crreader.com
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Submission Deadlines
Events occurring: May 15 – June 20 by April. 25 for May 15 issue. June 15 – July 20 by May 26 for the June15 issue
Calendar submissions are considered for inclusion, subject to lead time, relevance to readers, and space limitations.
See Submission Guidelines above.
Planting the Earth exhibit through April 24. Reception April 21. Featuring work by new artists, oils, acrylics, watercolor paintings and mixed media. Most exhibited artworks are for sale. CAP Community Art Workshop Alcove Gallery, 1526 Commerce Ave., Longview, Wash. Mon–Thurs, 9am–4pm, free.
Earth Day in the Garden Sat., April 26, 11am–2pm, Northlake School Garden, 2210 Olympia Way, Longview, Wash. Info, page 23.
Outings & Events
Kelso Garden Club Plant Sale Saturday, May 3rd, 9am–3pm, 2715 Northlake Ave., Longview, Wash. A variety of houseplants, perennials, herbs, some annuals, and small shrubs and trees. CASH ONLY. Proceeds fund KGC projects, including maintaining the Blue and Gold Star Markers at Tam O’Shanter Park, Kelso, Wash., and supporting Lower Columbia School Gardens.
THE MINTHORN COLLECTION OF CHINESE ART
A gift from Dr. and Mrs. H. Minthorn to the community via Lower Columbia College Foundation, The Minthorn Collection of Chinese Art encompasses a wide range of styles and is displayed in the upper level of the art gallery in LCC’s Rose Center, open M-Th 10–3 during current Forsberg Exhibition only. Free.
After You’re Gone: Future-proofing your Genealogy by Thomas MacEntee. Lower Columbia. Genealogy Society May 8 Zoom meeting. Virtual doors open 6:30pm, speaker’s program 7pm. Public invited. For a link to join the meeting (request 24 hrs prior) or the Society, email lcgsgen@ yahoo.com min.
Plant Sale by Lower Columbia School Gardens. Sat., May 10, Northlake School, Longview, Wash.. Info, page 23.
2025 Columbia River Author Fest Sat., May 17, 10am–4pm. Longview Public Library, Longview, Wash. More than 60 local adult, young adult, and children’s authors at open house-style event. Sales, signings, readings. Free, public welcome. Authors: register at longviewlibrary.org.
55th Coin Show 10am–4pm, April 27, AWPPW Hall, 724 15th Avenue, Longview, Wash. Presented by Cowlitz Coin Club of Longview-Kelso. FREE admission, parking and dealer appraisals.
At the show, the public can buy, sell and trade coins, currency, tokens and medals from numerous Pacific Northwest dealers. Drawings, raffle for a Liberty Head gold Half Eagle coin and five one-ounce American Silver Eagle coins. Need to be present to win the raffle coins.
The Cowlitz Coin Club is a member of the American Numismatic Association, a non-profit educational organization dedicated to promoting, extending and protecting the interests of numismatics and its activities throughout the Pacific Northwest. Its goal is to foster and encourage the study of numismatics.
The Club meets at 7pm, third Saturday each month, Catlin Center, 106 NW 8th Ave.,Kelso, Wash. (adjacent to the Kelso Spray Park) . More info: cowlitzcoinclublongview@gmail.com
She takes me terribly for granted...thinks she can recruit me at the last minute. I never know what my role or place will be until she yanks me from one page to another. I wonder if I might be mere filler.?!
Umbrella Man Since 2004
Outings & Events
FUN AFTER 50! Kelso Senior Center, 106 NW 8th Ave., Kelso, Wash. presents various events and activities, i.e. book club, genealogy introductory class, crafts, bingo, pinochle, mahjong, bridge, dancing, and more. Info: 360232-8522 or seniors98626@gmail.com
Dementia Support Group Fridays, 1–3 pm, Catlin Center (Kelso Senior Center), 106 NE 8th Ave, Kelso, Wash. Sponsored by HOPE, offering support, education, and advocacy for care partners and individuals living with dementia. For more info, visit:hopedementiasupport.org or contact Debbie Docksteader: 360353-8253.
BROADWAY GALLERY
1418 Commerce Avenue, Longview
Tues thru Sat, 11–4. Visit the Gallery to see new work. For event updates check our website: the-broadway-gallery. com, at Broadway Gallery on Facebook, and broadway gallery longview on Instagram.
FEATURED ARTISTS
April Guest Artist Ruth Doumit (ceramics & mosaics); Gallery Artist Adrienne Stacey (painting)
May Guest artist Gregory Gorham (painting & prints); Gallery Artist Molly Butson (jewelry)
Kimball Upright, 49” tall. Located in East Kelso home U-HAUL 360-355-5898
FREE PIANO
FIRST THURSDAY May 1st
5:30–7pm. Join us for Live Music by John S. Crocker and Refreshments
Classes & workshops available on our website or in store.
Linda McCord’S Free Friday workshops & demos: Acrylic Pouring 10-11am. Fashion Fridays: Bring any garment in for assistance with accessories to make a fashion statement.
OPEN Tues - Sat 11–4
Free Gift Wrap on request.
by Hal Calbom
in the spotlight
He’s stoked the engine driving roots of rock and roll. Taken a teen-aged band of brothers around the world and to the pinnacles. Played with the greats. He’s Lee Rocker, and this month he’s IN THE SPOTLIGHT.
Lee Rocker: Stray Cat with a Boss
Doghouse
Voted one of top 3 Galleries in SW Washington.
Unique gifts!..beautiful artisan cards, jewelry, books by local authors, wearable art, original paintings, pottery, sculpture, photographs and MORE!
Lee Rocker made his mark singing, playing, standing on, spinning and rocking his giant upright bass as a founding member of the Grammy-nominated music group, the STRAY CATS. From appearing on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine to headlining the world’s biggest festivals and touring with the Rolling Stones...Lee Rocker has seen and done it all!
BASS MASTER
Lee Rocker is unabashedly a bassman, and among its most revered players.
“It’s the engine that moves it all,” he said, as we previewed his upcoming Columbia Theatre show in a phone call last week, “I started out playing the cello at age 6 or 7, but about age 13, I just fell in love with the bass.”
The formidable double bass is not the most glamorous of instruments. It’s usually standing stolidly at the very back of the orchestra pit, or in its electric incarnation tucked behind a rock band’s lead singer, bland and unobtrusive (think of Bill Wyman, formerly of the Stones).
“My style is sometimes called ‘slap bass,’” he said, “and I don’t claim to have invented it but I’m known for it.” His playing style, evolved with the legendary Stray Cats, could be described as sweet caresses meet assault and battery.
Rocker is the polar opposite of those bland stage statues. He’s made a
Hal Calbom is associate publisher with CRRPress, and produces CRR’s monthly “People+Place” feature, see page 19.
remarkable career out of treating his beloved instrument with a kind of manic tough love.
“We all grew up within a couple of blocks of each other, on Long Island,” he said. “We formed our band together when we were about ten.” With neighborhood pals Brian Setzer, guitar, and “Slim Jim” Phantom (a stage name like Rocker’s own) on drums, Rocker built the ‘Cats on a missing link in the genesis of rock and roll — rockabilly.
“Stray Cats was a three-piece, and we all shared the stage together, front and center,” he said. Rockabilly is notoriously driven by its boogeying bass lines, and Rocker made the most of it, twirling, whirling, dancing to his own infectious back beats. Much of the formative sound of fifties rock and roll was rockabilly artists — from Carl Perkins to Jerry Lee Lewis to Buddy Holly and, yes, Elvis Presley himself — cutting their chops on the energetic, propulsive fusion of rock and roll and its “hillbilly” heritage.
A gifted performer, Rocker has mastered virtually every stage acrobatic possible —- over, under sideways, down, even standing atop the beast — while maintaining perfect rhythm.
couRtesy photo
Spotlight: Lee Rocker
from page 37
“In our new show I’m going to cherrypick all the best stuff I’ve come across in the last forty years,” he told me, “and tell some stories, too.”
Besides selling millions of albums, Rocker has played with virtually every great name in the business, and will share some of those experiences, as well.
“We have film clips as part of the show,” he said, “and we’ll have some surprises in store, for sure.”
I had to ask him about another curious bit of bass lore — why this instrument with so many names is often known simply as a “doghouse.” Rocker could only reckon it’s to do with the sheer size of the thing, and the difficulty putting it on your back and carrying it around from one place to another.
Or maybe it’s the kidding by other musicians that if you’re ever marooned on the road, you can crawl inside the commodious instrument and sleep overnight.
Call it by any of its names — contrabass, upright bass, bass viol, bull fiddle, or simply the doghouse — the big bass will take center stage next month in the hands of the brilliant Lee Rocker.
IF YOU GO Lee Rocker
Saturday, May 10, 7:30pm
Columbia Theatre for the Performing Arts, 1231 Vandercook Way, Longview, Wash.
Tickets: Adults $50-55
Age 18 and under $22.50
ColumbiA TheATre box offiCe 1231 vAnderCook wAy, longview, wASh m-f 11:30–5:30 or online ColumbiATheATre.Com
PLUGGED IN TO COWLITZ PUD
By Alice Dietz, Cowlitz PUD Communications/Public Relations Manager
Cowlitz PUD earns recognition as Tree Line USA Utility six years running
Cowlitz PUD was named a 2025 Tree Line USA by the Arbor Day Foundation to recognize our dedication of delivering safe and reliable electricity while maintaining healthy community forests. We will continue to strive to maintain our title by meeting the following program standards:
•Quality Tree Care Practices.
•Annual employee training.
•Educating the public about planting trees for energy conservation and helping homeowners’ plant appropriate trees near utility lines, which provides beautiful trees for the future and yields long-term savings for our customers.
•Participate in an Arbor Day celebration. In celebration of Arbor Day Cowlitz PUD is giving away 20 powerlinesafe trees with a mature height of less than 25 feet. In partnership with Tsugawa’s Nursery, the 20 winners will go to the nursery to select their tree. Enter at cowlitzpud.org by 5pm April 30, 2025.
•Plant your new tree in the right place to conserve energy and reduce your energy bills.
•Properly placed trees save energy by providing summer shade, winter warmth and winter windbreaks. For
more information visit https://www. cowlitzpud.org/outages/vegetationmanagement/.
SPRING PROJECTS? PLAN AHEAD!
If you are planning to do some landscaping, or even plant a tree, we ask that you keep some things in mind.
•Call 811 before you dig
•Trees and shrubs can be a problem for overhead and underground facilities.
•Look up to see if there are overhead lines above or near your planting site.
•Trees planted directly under or within 20 feet of the power lines should have a mature height less than 25 feet
•Trees that mature to 25 to 45 feet should be planted 20 to 50 feet away.
•Trees greater than 45 feet at maturity should be planted more than 50 feet away
• Look around to see if there are green metal or fiberglass boxes that should not be planted near due to underground facilities.
Next step and questions?
You may submit an online tree trimming form at https://www.cowlitzpud.org/ outages/tree-trimming-request/ or call 360-501-9367.
Alice Dietz may be reached at adietz@cowlitzpud.org, or 360-501-9146.
Dthe spectator by ned piper
High school: What goes around comes around
id you graduate from a local high school? Woodland, Kalama, Mark Morris, R.A. Long, Castle Rock, Toutle Lake, Toledo, Winlock, Cathlamet, Naselle, or Ilwaco in Washington? Or Astoria, Clatskanie, Rainier, Columbia City, St. Helens or Scappoose in Oregon?
If you still live in the area, does your graduating class enjoy periodic gettogethers? I graduated from R.A. Long in 1958. One of our classmates decided that we should renew old friendships at a monthly luncheon. Her name is Donna. She posed the idea at one of our class reunions, and our monthy luncheon was born.
A Different Way of Seeing...
We meet on the third Wednesday of each month at the Kelso Elks. The event attracts 25 individuals. A couple of classmates drive up from Vancouver every month, and one makes the trek from Issaquah.
In my case, I’ve made new friendships with classmates I barely knew in high school, as well as renewing friendships that had slipped away, even though we all live here.
One of the sad jobs that Donna has taken on is informing classmates when one of our friends has passed. Now that we’re in our mid-80s, that’s a more frequent message.
THE TIDEWATER REACH Field Guide to the Lower Columbia in Poems and Pictures
THREE EDITIONS • $25, $35, $50
By Robert Michael Pyle and Judy VanderMaten
“Tidewater Reach is a pleasure to hold; it provokes delights, both intellectual and emotional. I commend all who were involved in bringing us this treasure. It deserves a place on your bookshelf and in your heart.” -- Cate Gable, “Coast Chronicles,” Chinook Observer, Long Beach, Wash.
DISPATCHES FROM THE DISCOVERY TRAIL
A Layman’s Lewis & Clark $35
by Michael O. Perry
One important thing we did at our 40th class reunion was to start a scholarship fund for a worthy R.A. Long senior. Our classmates stepped up and donated enough money to keep a $1,500 scholarship going until all our classmates have met our final reward. If your class hasn’t already decided to “pass it forward” with a scholarship fund, it’s never too late.
Of course, I attend the luncheon with a bundle of Columbia River Readers under my arm. Ever the paperboy.
Longview resident Ned Piper is mostly retired, but assists with CRR ads and distribution — when he is not enjoying TV sports or political talk (wrangling) shows.
Books also available at:
• Columbia Gorge Interpretive Museum Stevenson
• Broadway Gallery Longview
• Cowlitz County Historical Museum Shop Kelso
• Kelso-Longview Visitor Center
• Vault Books & Brew Castle Rock
• Morgan Arts Center Toledo
• Tsuga Gallery Cathlamet
• Redmen Hall Skamokawa
• Skamokawa Store Skamokawa
• Appelo Archives Naselle
• Time Enough Books Ilwaco
• Marie Powell Gallery Ilwaco
• Godfathers Books Astoria, Ore.
• RiverSea Gallery Astoria,Ore.
• Columbia Gorge Discovery Center & Museum The Dalles, Ore.
Please support our local booksellers & galleries
Reach and Dispatches books feature original woodcut art by Debby Neely
In celebration of Arbor Day, we are giving away 20 powerline-safe trees, which have a mature height of less than 25 feet. Enter to win at cowlitzpud.org before April 30th, 2025
