CRR February 2022

CRREADER.COM Vol. XVIII, No. 203 • February 2022 • COMPLIMENTARY Helping you discover and enjoy the good life in the Columbia River region at home and on the road

People+ Place

Bird on the Water FLOAT PLANE PILOT BRIAN FLEMING

page 26

COLUMBIA RIVER

dining guide

HAIKUFEST LAST CALL • POTTED FRUIT TREES • WINTER WARMER SOUPS

COLUMBIA RIVER READER COLLECTORS CLUB

LEWIS AND CLARK REVOLUTIONIZED

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• COMPLIMENTARY 176 • March 15 – April 15, 2020 CRREADER.COM • Vol. XVI, No. road River region at home and on the the good life in the Columbia

Helping you discover and enjoy

What really — truly — happened during those final wind-blown, rain-soaked thirty days of the Lewis and Clark Expedition’s trek to the Pacific? Southwest Washington author and explorer Rex Ziak revolutionized historical scholarship by providing the answers: day by day and week by week. We’re delighted to offer In Full View, and Rex’s other two books, one with an extraordinary fold-out map, as our inaugural offerings from CRR Collectors Club.

MOSS IN YOUR LAWN? What to do page 15

ONE RIVER, MANY VOICES WASHINGTON’S POET LAUREATE COMES TO WAHKIAKUM COUNTY page 14

People+Place

Cutting Edge The art of the woodcut

page 19

page 28

IN FULL VIEW Rex Ziak

COLUMBIA RIVER

dining guide

ESCAPE TO BARCELONA • “FEATURED

CHEF” RETURNS

$29.95

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A true and accurate account of Lewis and Clark’s arrival at the Pacific Ocean, and their search for a winter camp along the lower Columbia River.

THE TIDEWATER REACH

Field Guide to the Lower Columbia River in Poems and Pictures

By Robert Michael Pyle and Judy VanderMaten. In three editions:

The

EYEWITNESS TO ASTORIA Gabriel Franchére

Tidewater Reach

$21.95

Field Guide to the

Lower Columbia River in

Poems and Pictures

The newly edited and annotated by Rex Ziak version of Franchére’s 1820 journal, Narrative of a Voyage to the Northwest Coast of America in the Years 1811, 1812, 1813 and 1814, or The First American Settlement on the Pacific.

to the in

Poems and Pictures Robert Michael Pyle Judy VanderMaten

MIchael o. Perry is a retired environmental technician, avid collector and conservator, and student of Pacific Northwest history. He lives in Kelso, Washington.

“Michael Perry gets it right!

Good storytelling is key to meaningful learning for all ages, and ‘Dispatches’ informs us in a relaxed, enjoyable way, perfect for anyone wishing to explore with the explorers.”

— DANIELLE ROBBINS Education & Public Programs Coordinator, Cowlitz County Historical Museum

M I C H A E L O. P E R R Y

dispatches from the

Discovery Trail with

For FREE Local Delivery

CRRPress 1333 14th Ave. Longview, WA 98632

Featuring the work of

Signature Edition

See page 35

Discovery Trail with

HAL CALBOM

woodcut art by

DEBBY NEELY

A LAYMAN’S LEWIS & CLARK

BOOKS ARE GREAT GIFTS

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“Meadowlark” On the cover: “Whispering”

HAL CALBOM

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COLLECTORS CLUB / BOOK ORDER FORM

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M I C H A E L O. P E R R Y

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11-3 M-W-F or by appt.

“‘Dispatches’ is a great read, well researched and documented, and presented in an appealing format.

The perfect place to start learning more about the Corps of Discovery.” — ALLEN BENNETT President, Lower Columbia Chapter Traditional Small Craft Association

M I C H A E L O. P E R R Y

A unique fold-out guide mapping dayby-day Lewis and Clark’s journey from the Rockies to the Pacific Ocean and back.

In thIs engagIng new book author Michael Perry takes a fresh look at the Lewis and Clark Expedition — what they set out to do, what they experienced, and where they failed and succeeded — from the layman’s point of view. Compiled from a popular monthly magazine series, and adding new notes and commentary, Perry’s Dispatches adds to the lore and legacy of the famous Expedition the insights, quirks, and wry observations of a gifted amateur historian.

DEBBY NEELY

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$35.00 ISBN 978-1-7346725-6-5

www.crreader.com/crrpress

DISPATCHES FROM THE DISCOVERY TRAIL

dispatches from the discovery trail

Michael Perry has a collector’s eye, a scientist’s curiosity, and the Pacific Northwest in his heart.

DOWN AND UP Rex Ziak $18.95

ALSO AVAILABLE FOR PICK-UP at 1333 14th, Longview

• Boxed Signature Edition Color and BW $50; • Collectors Edition,Trade paperback. Color and B/W $35 • Trade paperback B/W $25

Field Guide Lower Columbia River

Robert Michael Pyle Judy VanderMaten

CRR PRESS

Collectors Edition

ISBN 978-1-7346725-4-1

9 781734 672565

A Layman’s Lewis & Clark

By Michael O. Perry.

In three editions: • Boxed Signature Edition, Color and BW with Souvenir Bookmark $50 • Collectors Edition,Trade paperback. Color and B/W $35 • Trade paperback B/W $25

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Sue’s Views Who says girls don’t fly?

T

his month I tagged along with float plane pilot Brian Fleming, subject of our “People+Place” feature by Hal Calbom. Besides dramatically bringing to mind our CRRPress mantra, “A different way of seeing,” the view from above our glorious river brought back some personal memories, too.

I once was a private pilot myself, years ago, and had not been up in a small plane since my own flying days more than 35 years ago. I took up aviation back in the day when very few women were pilots.

In fact, going in for my FAA-mandated flight physical, I still recall the revered, local physician (male) saying, slightly disapprovingly, “Girls aren’t supposed to fly.”

But weeks later, there I was, my shirttail cut off (a traditional aviation ritual celebrating one’s first solo flight), drinking

champagne with my fellow aviators.

A thrill, an accomplishment, and a newfound sense of being adventurous.

Once licensed, I could take friends up for spins. Not everybody wanted to go, however; I guess they thought I might be flighty. Only one of my two brothers would fly with me and my mother was admittedly uneasy, saying she only went along with Dad because she didn’t want to be left a widow. To his credit, my dad was perfectly comfortable going up with me, a vote of confidence I’m grateful for to this day.

One day I flew my parents and two of their good friends to Ocean Shores for lunch — not a very relaxing lunch, at least for me. As a cautious new pilot I kept one eye on the sky, knowing conditions could change quickly, and the other on my watch. Front of mind

ON THE COVER Publisher/Editor: Susan P. Piper Columnists and contributors: Tracy Beard Hal Calbom Alice Dietz Rick George Joseph Govednik Gary Meyers Michael Perry Ned Piper Robert Michael Pyle Marc Roland Alan Rose Leslie Slape Alice Slusher Greg Smith Debra Tweedy Judy VanderMaten

Float plane pilot Brian Fleming at Willow Grove, on the Columbia River west of Longview.

Photo by Hal Calbom Columbia River Reader is published monthly, with 15,000 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.

wasn’t the food or the conversation, but the responsibility of getting us safely back into the air, across the Willapa Hills, and home.

A glass of wine might have helped, but the rule was “24 hours from bottle to throttle. The higher you get, the higher you get.” Brian told me the guideline is now only 8 hours. But still…

I confess I never got any particular thrill, as many seem to, at the moment of “rotation,” when the plane first lifts up, breaking the bonds of earth. On the other hand, I did attempt to amuse my passengers by verbally urging the plane, “Up! Up!” as we accelerated down the runway at the moment of takeoff.

Referring to my landings as “controlled crashes” no doubt amused those not contemplating flying along for the ride.

Despite this bent for levity, I became a competent pilot and especially loved my solo cross-country flights. I enjoyed ultimate autonomy — it was just the plane, the map on my lap, the VOR navigation system (triangulating two different radio beacons to pinpoint the plane’s location), and me. I savored

getting the “bird’s eye view” of the local geography — which reminded me of the well-landscaped model train layout built by my brother growing up (the one who wouldn’t fly with me, of course) — and enjoyed it again, flying with Brian above the Columbia River just the other day. I appreciate the rekindling of my fond memories aloft.

Brian is a true Renaissance Man; don’t miss Hal’s story, “Bird on the Water,” page 17.

HaikuFest Last Call, etcetera Be sure to submit by Feb. 25 your haikus for this years HaikuFest (page 4). Do plan to see Leslie Slape’s “A Harder Courage,” as it makes its Washington debut in Longview March 11 (page 9).

And finally, besides attending to all our other heart-warming features, brace yourself against the cold this winter with Tracy Beard’s delicious, piping hot soups (page 12, 14).

Thanks, as always, for your support, good wishes, and contributions to the Reader.

Sue Piper

Columbia River Reader... helping you discover and enjoy the good life in the Columbia River region at home and on the road.

In this Issue 2

CRR Collectors Club

4

HaikkuFest 2022

5

Civilized Living: Miss Manners

7

Dispatches from the Discovery Trail ~ Episode 10

9

Stageworks Northwest ~ “The Harder Courage,” by Leslie Slape

11

A Different Way of Seeing ~ The Tidewater Reach

12

Out & About ~ Provisions along the Trail / A Winter Stroll with Soup

15

Museum Magic: Clatskanie Historical Museum

16

Quips & Quotes

17–24

People + Place ~ Bird on the Water: Brian Fleming

23

Where Do You Read the Reader?

24

Besides CRR What Else Are You Reading?

25

Cover to Cover ~ Book Review / Bestsellers List

26

Lower Columbia Dining Guide

27

My Slant: The Making of a Play

27

Marc Roland on Wine: You’ve got to start somewhere

Columbia River Reader, llc 1333 14th Ave Longview, WA 98632 P.O. Box 1643 • Rainier, OR 97048

28

Submissions Guidelines / Where to Find the Reader

29

Outings & Events

30

Northwest Gardening: Sweet Spots in Pots

Office Hours: M-W-F • 11–3* *Other times by chance or appointment

32

Astronomy / Looking U p / The Sky Report: Feb. 15 – March 20

34

The Spectator: Reading, Walking, and Chewing Gum

34

Plugged In to Cowlitz PUD: Help from our Friends

Editorial/Proofreading Assistants: Merrilee Bauman, Michael Perry, Marilyn Perry, Tiffany Dickinson, Debra Tweedy Advertising Manager: Ned Piper, 360-749-2632

E-mail: publisher@crreader.com Phone: 360-749-1021

Submission guidelines: page 29.

General Ad info: page 21.

Ned Piper 360-749-2632.

CRREADER.COM

Visit our website for the current issue and archive of past issues from 2013.

Columbia River Reader /February 15, 2022 / 3

CRR’s Annual Literary Event

HaikuFest celebrates the Chinese zodiac!

Supplemental Years to Chinese zodiac chart, at left Tiger

1926, 1938, 1950, 1962

Rabbit

1927, 1939, 1951, 1963

Dragon

1928, 1940, 1952, 1964

Snake

1929, 1941, 1953, 1965

Horse

1930, 1942, 1954, 1966

Sheep

1931, 1943, 1955, 1967

Monkey

1932, 1944, 1956, 1968

Rooster

1933, 1945, 1957, 1969

Dog

1934, 1946, 1958, 1970

Pig

1935, 1947, 1959, 1971

Rat

1936, 1948, 1960, 1972

Oxen

1937, 1949, 1961, 1973

Other themes also welcome HaikuFest 2022 format and rules: • Traditional haiku structure of three lines of five syllables, seven syllables, five syllables. Suggested themes: 2022, the Year of the Tiger, the writer’s own birth year animal, Pacific Northwest nature topics, or fruit basket upset!

• Up to five submissions allowed per entrant; no fees; please include name and city of residence.

•All entries must be original and unpublished; once submitted and accepted by the judges, entries become the property of the Columbia River Reader;

• Chosen selections will be published in the March 15 CRR •Entries are due no later than 10pm PST, February 25th. Email entries are preferred, sent to haikucenter@aol.com. Snail mail entries will be accepted, postmarked by Feb. 20, sent to G. Meyers, 3045 Ala Napuaa Place #1406, Honolulu, HI 96818. Selected haikus will be announced in CRR’s March 2022 edition.

• Everyone is welcome...Try it, you’ll like it!

SUBMISSION DEADLINE FEB 25

We’ve moved.

Come see us at the address below.

Nick Lemiere CFP® 1332 Vandercook Way Longview, WA 98632 360-425-0037

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4 / Columbia River Reader / February 15, 2022

Civilized Living

By Judith Martin, Nicholas Ivor Martin and Jacobina Martin

DEAR MISS MANNERS: My father died earlier this year. He was loving to his immediate family and a few friends, but to many others, he was very abrasive and obnoxious.

Additionally, our extended family is unhealthy and negative.

My father did not want a big to-do when he passed. My sisters and I chose to have a private service for only our spouses and children and my father’s best friend, so that we may mourn our father’s passing without having to deal with any unnecessary issues.

I’m being given the message by others that the decision is selfish, and that we are disrespecting his memory by not allowing an open service.

Are we, his immediate family, within our rights to have a private service? Or are other people correct in casting judgment?

GENTLE READER: Your question is whether outsiders are within their rights to berate the bereaved; no, they are not.

But Miss Manners has noted, when the pandemic contracted or suspended

funerals, the emptiness felt by people who may be beyond that immediate family but nevertheless crave the opportunity to pay their respects. To see someone simply disappear feels even worse than if there is a ceremonial leave-taking, sad as that is.

So the response she would suggest you make to that unwarranted criticism is, “Well, we preferred a private service. But we would be interested to hear what you might have said about him if we had asked you to speak at a public funeral.”

This could provide a small outlet for their feelings, presumably following the rule against speaking evil of the dead. And if not, at least it would deflect them from going after you.

DEAR MISS MANNERS: Is it good manners to send a thank-you note to the family of a good friend who left me money after her death? They were the ones who wrote the check and made sure her wishes were honored for me to receive it. Should I send one?

GENTLE READER: It would be awkward, as thanking them for properly executing the will carries the unpleasant suggestion that they might have done otherwise.

But Miss Manners understands the sentiment of wishing to acknowledge the gift to someone still living. You were going to write a condolence letter anyway. In recounting your late friend’s many kindnesses, you can, in passing, include her last.

DEAR MISS MANNERS: I’ve been working from home. One morning last week I was in the bathroom when my 5-year-old daughter barged in with my phone and yelled, “Phone call, Mommy!” It was my boss.

After a minute of chat, he chuckled and said, “I asked your daughter where you were, and she said, ‘She’s on the toilet.’”

I was so embarrassed! I said I’d call him back, and he said, “Oh, I just have a couple of quick questions.”

But I replied, “This is inappropriate,” and he ended the call brusquely. Twenty minutes later, I called him back and we had a civil conversation. Was I wrong?

GENTLE READER: Not wanting to conduct business while you are ... well ... conducting business is certainly not wrong. But using the word “inappropriate” might have come off a bit brusque to your boss.

If the relationship has returned to being civil, however, Miss Manners would leave it

alone — or make a joke at some point about reinforcing boundaries with your daughter. The insinuation that you also must do so with him will no doubt be implicit.

DEAR MISS MANNERS: A friend of mine from high school, whom I have seen a few times in the intervening 50 years, came to my home with his wife. They suggested they would like a tour of our home, but I deflected this request.

Our home is relatively comfortable and well-kept, but not exceptional.

I am a very private person and do not care to invite acquaintances, strangers or even friends to gawk at my personal space or paw through my belongings.

When we entered our home, my friend’s wife began to wander freely throughout while I talked to her husband. From across an open area I saw her pick up items in my workspace or pull them aside to see what was beneath. I was so stunned by her rudeness that I said nothing at the time.

Can you please offer a polite rejoinder for such occasions? It seems inhospitable to call out, “As I implied earlier, I do not care to give you a tour of our home. Can you please join us, Megan?”

Loading the medicine cabinet with marbles is tempting, but installation and clean up would be very timeconsuming.

Such a request from an acquaintance and a stranger who have arrived for a brief visit seems wildly inappropriate, but perhaps I am missing something here?

Are requests for home tours now considered a polite means to express interest in others?

GENTLE READER: Unwitting guests who have been forcibly taken on such tours may now think so — and suddenly feel required to ask.

A polite response to the inquiry might be, “Oh we don’t want to bore you with that; there’s really not much to see.”

And then Miss Manners suggests that you tell Megan that she will not want to miss appetizers in the living room — and politely decline all requests for help in the kitchen.

DEAR MISS MANNERS: It happened again, and I’m at a loss!

I love hosting — and by that, I mean planning a menu, complete cont page 6

Columbia River Reader /February 15, 2022 / 5

Miss Manners

from page 5

with entree, beverages and desserts.

However, guests insist on bringing something.

I always demur and tell them to bring only their appetite. That is consistently ignored, and I find myself making room for their “contribution,” often putting away some of my own food. This leaves me angry and insulted.

Please help me with a response that will reassure my guests that I truly have planned for their company.

GENTLE READER: “Thank you so much! We look forward to enjoying this,” as you stash it out of sight.

Miss Manners realizes that the pushier guests will insist you share it with your other guests, to which she recommends a tight smile and a firm explanation that everything for tonight’s entertainment has already been provided.

DEAR MISS MANNERS: Is it rude to invite guests to your home without running it by your spouse first?

GENTLE READER: A politician would, before answering, determine whether the Gentle Reader asking the question was the spouse issuing the invitation or the one improvising an unplanned-for meal.

Not having to worry about reelection, Miss Manners can instead answer honestly: yes.

She does, however, recognize an exception

for the unusual couple who can do so without giving offense because they know how the spouse feels — both about these particular surprise guests and about the alternative of a quiet evening.

DEAR MISS MANNERS: In my career, I’ve been told by co-workers that I “must be OCD” because my workspace is organized and uncluttered. In every instance, the commenter has a messy workspace.

Out of politeness, I never go to their area and tell them they “must be a slob or a hoarder.” Shouldn’t they avoid the OCD label for me?

GENTLE READER: And deprive them of the pleasure of justifying their own mess?

Miss Manners would reply, “What a shame we can’t all follow your excellent example,” while gesturing at those overloaded desks and trying very hard not to smirk.

DEAR MISS MANNERS: At giftgiving occasions, I have often been around people who inform others that the gift they purchased was expensive.

For example, as a birthday gift, an adult relative received a hardcover copy of a new book. I heard the giver asking them to please not pass it on to anyone else after reading, because “it was expensive.”

Beyond a “thank you,” what is the appropriate response to being informed that a gift was expensive?

And at a Christmas gathering, my husband and I received a lovely bedding set. The giver has asked, more than once, if we are using the set, because apparently “it was very expensive.” We do like and use it, although we did not have a specific wish for new bedding — nor anything else expensive. It was completely this person’s idea.

GENTLE READER: Assure the givers, with a beaming face, that such gifts are precious to you not because of the cost, but because it came from them. It will drive them crazy.

••• 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.

We also felt awkward because our gift to them seemed insufficient after they informed us of their expense.

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Lewis & Clark

DISPATCHES FROM THE DISCOVERY TRAIL

By Michael O. Perry

EPISODE 10

Baby, It’s Cold Outside

M

any of us have heard weather reports of the extraordinarily low temperatures experienced in the upper Midwest.

When the Lewis & Clark Expedition was camped at Fort Mandan (near present-day Bismark, North Dakota), they recorded temperatures as low as minus 45 degrees on several nights in 1805 (that was as low as their thermometer went!). Does it still get that cold? On January 30, 2019, it got down to minus 27 at today’s reconstructed Fort Mandan – and that same morning, it got down to minus 56 degrees in Cotton, Minnesota. Those are actual temperatures, not the hyped “windchill” factors we often hear about. Nowadays, people live in insulated homes heated by natural gas, oil or electricity… but, that is still cold!

1804. With temperatures down to 45 degrees below zero, it hadn’t taken long for the boats to become trapped in the ice.

On January 22, 1805, the men began trying to chop the boats out, but they soon realized it was not going to be easy. The fluctuating level of the river had resulted in several layers of ice, and as soon as they chopped through one layer the void filled with water. An attempt was made to heat large rocks in the fire and then place them in the boats to melt the ice; however, upon placing the cold rocks in the fire, they exploded. It took over a month of chopping to free the boats, just as the ice was breaking up. If they hadn’t managed to get them out at that time, the boats would almost certainly have been crushed as the ice began breaking up and moving downriver.

The obverse design for the 2005 nickel commemorating the Lewis and Clark bicentennial contained a new likeness of America’s third president, Thomas Jefferson. The “Liberty” inscription on the coin is based upon Jefferson’s own handwriting. The reverse featured the American bison. Expedition journals described the buffalo as an animal of great significance to many American Indian cultures. Nickels minted between 1913 and 1938 also had a buffalo on the reverse, while an Indian was depicted on the front; many people feel it was one of America’s most beautiful coins.

March 5th was the first day the temperature reached 40 degrees in 1805. The boats were put back in the water on After spending five months in present-day North April 1st, 1805, and the next week was spent packing. The Dakota during a bitterly cold winter, the Corps Missouri was too shallow to take the keelboat any further, of Discovery was anxious to continue their so it was loaded with all the mineral and botanical journey to the Pacific Ocean. They had made specimens, animal skeletons and skins (along with a major mistake by leaving their keelboat and some live animals) collected between St. Louis and Fort The Indian depicted on the so-called “buffalo nickel” two smaller pirogues in the Missouri River after Mandan. Many of those items are still on display at is a composite of three Indian chiefs: Two Moons, arriving at the site of Fort Mandan in November, Jefferson’s home at Monticello and in the Smithsonian.

John Big Tree, and Iron Tail, the chief that faced Jefferson planted some Custer at the Little Big Horn. Creators of the coin of the seeds, and many wished to capture a Native American portrait but not of those plants are still to associate the facial features with any specific tribe. ... all iced up ... growing at Monticello.

Clark had spent all They made a mistake and left the boats in the water and they winter drawing a map froze in place and the part that’s also kind of funny is you’ve of the area west of the Mississippi those deservedly famed adventurers ever River, based on his observations and beheld theirs… we were now about to got a boat that’s in the water here when the ice information obtained from Indians penetrate a country at least two thousand comes along, but then the water quits flowing. and fur traders. A copy of that map miles in width, on which the foot of The water drops down, another layer of ice was sent to Jefferson, along with civilized man had never trodden.” a 45,000 word report, when the forms with air between. So they had to chip On April 9th, Clark wrote, “I saw a keelboat headed back to St. Louis Musquetor to day” and the following through multiple layers to get their boats out.” with 15 men of the return party on day he wrote “Misquetors troublesom.”

April 7, 1805.

This is surprising since it had been On the road again so cold all winter; all precipitation On that same day, the 33 members between October 15 and March of the permanent party, including 23 had been snow. After fighting Sacajawea and her 55-day old son, mosquitoes the previous year, this began the journey up the Missouri into was a bad omen! On April 14th, they uncharted territory. Lewis wrote, “Our reached “the highest point to which any vessels consisted of six small canoes, whiteman had ever ascended.” From that and two large pirogues. This little fleet point on, only Sacajawea had firstMichael Perry enjoys local altho’ not quite so rispectable as those hand knowledge of what lay ahead. history and travel. His popular of Columbus or Capt. Cook, were still ••• 33-installment Lewis & Clark viewed by us with as much pleasure as All Iced Up

“

series appeared in Columbia River Reader’s early years and helped shape its identity and zeitgeist. After two encores, the series has been expanded and published in a book. Details, page 2.

O. P E R R Y

dispatches MICHAEL

from the

Discovery Trail with

HAL CALBOM DEBBY NEELY

by woodcut art

LEWIS & A LAYMAN’S

CLARK

In April 2021 we introduced a revised and expanded version of Michael Perry’s popular series which was 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.

Columbia River Reader /February 15, 2022 / 7

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360-749-1021

Tu-Th 11–9• F-Sat 11–10 • Closed Sun-Mon

1333 Broadway • Longview

The Broadway Gallery

www.elamshf.com

360-353-4295

See ad, page 34

See ad, page 31

Houseplants Floral • Gifts Creating artisanal chocolate wth a story to tell

IN THE

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Gifts • Books • Indulgences Fri-Sat 11 - 7 Tues, Wed, Th 11 - 4 Located inside The MERK 1339 Commerce Ave., Suite 103 360-703-6255

In The Merk 1339 Commerce, Suite 110 Tues–Fri 11–5:30 • Sat 11–3

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Located inside

The MERK

Heart-healthy Food

EXPLORE Longview Outdoor Gallery Unique sculptures along the sidewalks of Downtown Longview, both sides of Commerce Ave.

Acai Smoothie Bowls Fresh Salads Rice Bowls Vegan & gluten-free options

MERKANTILE CAFE

In The Merk 1339 Commerce, Suite 111 Open Tues–Fri 10–5 • Sat 10–3

DOWNTOWN EATERIES Details, Dining Guide, page 26

8 / Columbia River Reader / February 15, 2022

,

Boutique offering a large selection of crystals and adornments for both you and your space.

Offering heated and non-heated classes to a variety of levels.

Your first class is free.

Sign up at holosyoga.com In The Merk 1339 Commerce, Suite 304

360-703-7799 Merkantile Cafe

The Carriage

Broadway Barrel Restaurant & Lounge

Room

The Carriage Restaurant & Lounge

Find us on FB/Instagram

Traditional Toys, Games & Books 1339 Commerce #112

IN THE MERK • 360-425-5042

WINTER HOURS M-Wed 10–3 • Th–Sat 10–5 facebook.com/hopscotchtoys instragram: hopscotch_longview

Local Theatre Enjoy driving and being with people? YOU can help!

CAP volunteer drivers provide crucial transportation for individuals to out-of-town medical appointments. Volunteer drivers receive tax-exempt mileage reimbursement, currently $.585 per mile, and paid trainings.

If you’re interested and have a reliable vehicle and clean driving record, please call: 360- 261-6236 or 360-200-4911

Clatskanie Mini-Storage Temperature conditioned units -15 sizes!

RV Storage • Boat Moorage Quality since 1976

Resident Manager

503-728-2051 503-369-6503

‘A Harder Courage’ makes Washington premiere in Longview March 11

O

n March 11, Leslie Slape’s first solo play, “The Harder Courage,” will have its Washington premiere at Stageworks Northwest Theater in Longview. The historical tragedy is set in Cowlitz County in 1891-92, and is based on real events, beginning with the arrest of a man on suspicion of murder. The play chronicles the growth of a friendship between sheriff and prisoner. Although very different in personality, they find a bond in shared experience, and Ben Holmes, Cowlitz ultimately help each other face the worst day of their lives. County sheriff from 1884-1892.

The cast includes Scott Clark as Sheriff Ben Holmes, Michael Cheney as prisoner Robert Day, Scarlett Clark as Susan Holmes, Jennifer Cheney as Lizzie Day, and Adam Wolfer as Judge Nathaniel Bloomfield.

IF YOU GO The play runs March 11-27, with curtain times 7:30pm Fri-Sat, 2pm Sundays. Some performances will be followed by talkbacks with the author and actors. Tickets are $18 general admission; discounts available for seniors, students, veterans, children, and for groups of 10 or more. Visit stageworksnorthwest. com or call 360-636-4488 for more information.

Be kind to yourself

See Leslie Slape’s notes and background of this play, page 27

Lips • Eyeliner • Brows

By Linda Keller

Permanent Makeup

Note: The theater follows Covid protocols. Warning: This play explores mature themes and depicts historical events, including self-harm, that audience members may find disturbing.

Won’t wash off, cry off, or hug off Text 360-749-7465

1311 Hudson Street • Longview

ot! p s e e f f o c local e t i r o v a f ffee o c d e t s a Everyone’s o rt of r a e h t o t d Dedicate OPENING FEB 22 IN CASTLE ROCK!

Robert Day (Michael Cheney) and Ben Holmes (Scott Clark) play checkers in this rehearsal photo taken in January 2022.

239 Huntington Ave. North

Inside Seating Breakfast & Lu nch Coffee roasted batches in-hou in small se!

MENU and online ordering Woodland only

OPEN TO SERVE YOU 5:30am–6pm Mon-Fri 6am–5pm Sat 7am–3pm Sun 1230 Lewis River Road

WOODLAND, WA luckmancoffee.com See us on Facebook!

Columbia River Reader /February 15, 2022 / 9

Patients Praise LOA Surgeons A positive outcome for patients is always the top priority at Longview Orthopedic Associates.

Call today to schedule a consultation with one our excellent surgeons.

Dr. Turner, MD “I broke my foot and shattered my leg to the knee. Dr. Turner repaired it, and I can now walk because of him.”

~ Pam Allen

Dr. Lauder, MD

Dr. Kretzler, MD “I can’t say enough good things about

Dr. Kretzler. He did my husband’s knee replacement and both my hips. He is down-to-earth when he talks to you.”

~ Brenda Janssen

Dr. Kung did rotator cuff surgery on my right shoulder after a fall. In 2018, he did rotator cuff surgery on my left shoulder after another fall. Both surgeries went well, and I’m very pleased with the outcome..”

~ Sean Moretz

Dr. McLeod, DPM

wrists done and would recommend him to anyone.”

“Dr. McLeod operated on my foot. He’s an amazing surgeon and has a great bedside manner.”

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“Dr. Lauder is the best! I had both

Dr. Kung, MD

Dr. Lin, MD “I received the best care from Dr. Lin and his staff. I thank him and Longview Orthopedic Associates.” ~ Lowell Williams

We welcome Kaiser patients with a referral! www.longvieworthopedics.com

360.501.3400

10 / Columbia River Reader / February 15, 2022

A Different Way of Seeing

THE TIDEWATER REACH Poem by Robert Michael Pyle • Photograph by Judy VanderMaten • Field Notes by Hal Calbom

‘Redheads and scaups off the bow, a few swells, and we’re already there ...’

On the Ferry Oscar B. April 12, Westport to Puget Island

It’s forty years ago come August I first rode this ferry.

Or this crossing, anyway — back then, even smaller, it was the Wahkiakum. She charted the rest of my life’s course that day, she did, coming into this county that gave her name.

Now, in the second cold wet late April in a row, thanks to La Niña, the sweet pang of balsam slaps out from the yellow-green cottonwoods all along the islands. The old bald eagle sits tousled atop a dead one.

Redheads and scaups off the bow, a few swells, and we’re already there.

FERRY FOG

The last ferry operating on the Lower Columbia is the Oscar B, which replaced its long-time predecessor, the Wahkiakum. From the Washington side, ferry riders leave Cathlamet and cross a bridge to Puget Island, where they board the ferry for the 15-minute crossing. Oscar B holds 19 vehicles and is owned and operated

by Wahkiakum County. It drops passengers hourly at the Oregon-side town of Westport, just downriver from Clatskanie.

On this page we excerpt poems, pictures and field notes from our own “Field Guide to the Lower Columbia River in Poems and Pictures,” The Tidewater Reach, by Gray’s River resident and renowned naturalist Robert Michael Pyle, and Cathlamet photographer Judy VanderMaten.

Robert Michael Pyle and Judy VanderMaten

The two dreamed for years of a collaborative project, finally realized when Columbia River Reader Press published color and black and white editions of The Tidewater Reach in 2020, and a third, hybrid edition in 2021, all presenting “a different way of seeing” our beloved Columbia River.

For information on ordering, as well as our partner bookshops and galleries, see pages 2 and 35.

Field Guide to the

Lower Columbia River in

Poems and Pictures

Robert Michael Pyle Judy VanderMaten

Columbia River Reader /February 15, 2022 / 11

By Tracy Beard

PROVISIONS ALONG THE TRAIL, IN THE PARK OR AT YOUR TAILGATE! HAM AND CORN CHOWDER 1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil 1 Tablespoon butter 2 Tablespoons flour 8 ounces cubed ham ½ medium onion, chopped 1 clove garlic, chopped 1 large carrot, chopped 2 small potatoes, peeled and diced 1 ½ cups frozen corn 1 teaspoon Italian herbs 1 cup chicken stock 1 cup 2% milk 1 cup heavy cream Place potato and carrot in a saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil until tender and then drain and set aside. In a large saucepan, heat the butter and oil. Add the onions and cook on low until transparent. Add the garlic and cook for one minute.

Add the flour and cook for three or four minutes. Add the Italian herbs.

Whisk in the stock, and then add the milk and heavy cream. Add the ham, corn, potato and carrot. Finish with salt and pepper to taste. Serve in a bowl or a toasted bread bowl.

PORK WONTON SOUP Wontons 1 lb. ground pork 1/2 cup green scallions, chopped 2 tablespoons ginger, grated 4 cloves garlic, crushed 1 Tablespoon soy sauce 1 Tablespoon rice vinegar 1 Tablespoon cornstarch 2 teaspoons sesame oil 1/2 teaspoon sugar 1 teaspoon Kosher salt 48 wonton wrappers Mix all ingredients except wonton wrappers. Place one tablespoon meat mix in the center of each wrapper. Wet the edges with water. Pinch together edges to form a circle with ridges. Repeat. Cover with a damp cloth until finished. Let the wontons sit for 20 minutes before adding to the soup.

Soup 2 quarts pork broth – I like the packet inside the pork ramen noodles (you will need 2) or make your own from scratch.

2 Tablespoons green onion, green part only, thinly sliced 1 cup chopped cabbage ¼ cup grated carrot 1 Tablespoon cilantro 8 oz Chinese BBQ pork 1 tsp toasted sesame oil

223 NE 1st Street, Kalama 9–8 M-Sat, 10–7 Sun • 360-673-2200 12 / Columbia River Reader / February 15, 2022

Bring the broth and sesame oil to a boil. Add the cabbage, green onion, cilantro, BBQ pork and carrot. Cook for 2 minutes and return to a boil. Add the wontons and cook for 5 to 7 minutes.

Bonus Recipe: French Onion Soup page 14

WINTER STROLL

OUT•AND•ABOUT

A

Story & photos by Tracy Beard

with Soup Warm up on a walk in the woods

S

almon-Morgan Creeks Natural Area is a lovely place to visit the woods without driving far from suburbia. It lies hidden within an upscale neighborhood in Hockinson, Washington. Three well-marked Alder, Red Cedar, and Fir Loop Trails make up the 1.5-mile trail system. The paths are a bit muddy this time of year, but there is little to no elevation gain, and you can meander as long as you like.

This 81-acre nature area consists mainly of mature red cedar, hemlock, and fir trees. As you wander amongst the evergreens, you will discover that a light green moss adorns many of the old trunks and branches. English ivy, an invasive villain pervading the Pacific Northwest, starts at ground level and aggressively wraps its way around the base of numerous trees and then works its way upward, reaching for the sun.

Shade-loving dark green Western sword ferns cover the forest floor with an occasional outcropping of dwarf Oregon grape. This perennial evergreen shrub grows up to two feet tall, and between March and June produces yellow flowers that attract pollinators. In the summer, birds and other animals feed on the Oregon grape berries.

Bracket polypores are part of the parasitic fungi family. These shelf-like growths take over woody plants and

trees, digest the moist wood and cause them to rot. These polypores remind me of barnacles that grow on boats, whales, pilings and docks.

The natural area is predominantly forest, but a few meadows exist along with two creeks, Salmon and Morgan, which weave along the outskirts of the trail system. Each path is approximately 0.5 miles long with two trailheads accessing the area, one at the end of NE 183rd Street and the other at NE 161st Avenue. All loops are relatively flat, but the Fir Loop has one easy incline, sports a scenic view of Morgan Creek, and offers two wooden picnic tables ideal for a picnic lunch or a snack.

Red Cedar Loop connects to one of the trailheads and offers a stunning viewpoint of Salmon Creek.

Directions: From I-5, take Exit 11 to Highway 502. Go east on 502, proceed to Highway 503, also known as SW 10th Avenue, and turn right.

Go left on SW Eaton Boulevard, then right on SE Grace, which becomes NE 142nd Avenue. At the “T” turn left.

Continue a short distance and turn left (north) onto NE 152nd Avenue.

Vancouver, Wash. resident Tracy Beard writes about luxury and adventure travel, traditional and trendy fine dining and libations for regional, national and international magazines. She is in her seventh year as CRR’s “Out & About” columnist.

Proceed and then turn right onto NE 181st Street and take another right on 159th Avenue. Turn left onto 183rd Street. Drive to the end and park at the trailhead.

For rejuvenation on your hike, bring a snack or a thermos of warm soup to enjoy in this modest old-growth forest.

On pages 12 and 14 you’ll find three of my favorite soups. Each one is fantastic on its own, or you can pair any one of them with a light mixed green salad and a tasty glass of wine.

I suggest a buttery chardonnay with the chowder, a crisp pinot grigio with the wonton soup and a bold and hearty cabernet sauvignon to go with the onion soup.

•••

Columbia River Reader /February 15, 2022 / 13

Provisions along the Trail

Tracy’s Favorite French Onion Soup 5 lbs. yellow or Walla Walla sweet onions, peeled and sliced 4 Tablespoons butter 10 cups beef broth 1 bouquet garni: 3 thyme sprigs, 3 parsley sprigs, 1 bay leaf 2 cups Swiss gruyère, shredded 8 slices French bread, toasted Salt and Pepper

from page 13

VISIT Historic St. Helens, Oregon!

Through 2022 and 2023 we will be reopening the restaurant, patio, and upstairs hotel.

Join us for our special events along the way!

Scappoose

Melt butter in a large soup pot and add the onions. Stir until the onions soften and begin to brown, about 40 minutes. Add ½ cup broth and scrape all the brown bits. Cook down until the broth is a glaze, then add the remaining broth and the bouquet garni. Simmer for 15 minutes and remove the bouquet garni.

Add salt and pepper to taste.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Ladle the hot soup into 8 deep, oven-proof bowls. Top each bowl with a slice of bread and ¼ cup shredded cheese. Place the bowls on a sheet pan and bake until the cheese melts and turns light brown, approximately 10 minutes.

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14 / Columbia River Reader / February 15, 2022

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Local Culture

MUSEUM MAGIC

Story and photos by Joseph Govednik

Flippin’ Out!

Cowlitz County Historical Museum Director

Clatskanie’s time capsule of architectural beauty

A

remarkable treasure awaits visitors to the Clatskanie Historical Museum, located in the historic Flippin House, in Clatskanie, Oregon. The 1898-constructed mansion housing the museum recently underwent a massive $550,000 renovation and will fully reopen this spring. Plumbing, electrical, flooring, and stunning carpets adorn this remnant of a bygone era.

The mansion, with pointed turret on either end, is sometimes referred to as “The Castle.” A scenic 30-minute drive from my hometown of Longview

was where my lovely hostess, Clatskanie Historical Society President, Deborah Hazen, greeted me at the museum, dressed in vintage attire. The tour included the lower-level basement, which has a commercial kitchen and facilities to serve dozens of people for special events.

The Castle is available for rent for private occasions and is a most exquisite venue for small weddings. The two bed/bath suites in the mansion are available for that special overnight getaway without having to “get away.”

Completed in 1902, the Flippin house was the home of Thomas and Florence Flippin w h o o w n e d We s t Oregon Logging and Lumber Company.

Its architectural style has elements of Queen Anne, French Renaissance Chateauesque, and Classic Revival. The main floor has period

We’ve got you covered.

WATER. FIRE. SMOKE. MOLD

Call 360-425-3331

cont page 16

ServiceMaster by JTS–Longview, WA • www.servicemasterjts.com To: Centralia, Olympia Mt. Rainier Yakima (north, then east) Tacoma/Seattle

Raymond/ South Bend

Oysterville •

101

Chinook

•

Grays River

101

Pacific Ocean

Astoria Birkenfeld

Mount St. Helens

Skamokawa Cathlamet 4

Warrenton •

Seaside

• Kelso-Longview Chamber of Commerce Kelso Visitor Center I-5 Exit 39 105 Minor Road, Kelso • 360-577-8058 • Woodland Tourist Center I-5 Exit 21 Park & Ride lot, 900 Goerig St., 360-225-9552

Castle Rock

• Naselle

WestportPuget Island FERRYk

Columbia River

Washington 504

Long Beach Ilwaco

VISITOR CENTERS

FREE Maps • Brochures Directions • Information

Vader

Ocean Park •

Vernonia

Longview

Ape Cave •

Kelso

Clatskanie Rainier

Woodland

rnelius NW Co ad o R s s a P

To: Salem Silverton Eugene Ashland

Local in

• Naselle, WA Appelo Archives Center 1056 SR 4, Naselle, WA. 360-484-7103.

for

Points o mation f In Recre terest Special ation Dinin Events Arts & Eg ~ Lodging ntertain ment

• Pacific County Museum & Visitor Center Hwy 101, South Bend, WA 360-875-5224 • Long Beach Peninsula Visitors Bureau 3914 Pacific Way (corner Hwy 101/Hwy 103) Long Beach, WA. 360-642-2400 • 800-451-2542

• Astoria-Warrenton Chamber/Ore Welcome Ctr 111 W. Marine Dr., Astoria 503-325-6311 or 800-875-6807

97

Goldendale

• Seaside, OR 989 Broadway, 503-738-3097; 888-306-2326

•Yacolt

St Helens

• Wahkiakum Chamber 102 Main St, Cathlamet • 360-795-9996 • Castle Rock Visitor Center Exit 49, west side of I-5, 890 Huntington Ave. N. Open M-F 11–3.

• South Columbia County Chamber Columbia Blvd/Hwy 30, St. Helens, OR • 503-397-0685

503

Columbia City

Maryhill Museum

• Ridgefield

Scappoose•

Oregon

Cougar •

Kalama

Clatskanie Senior Center and “The Castle” board chairperson Debra Hazen welcomes visitors to the Flippin House.

Sauvie Island

Skamania Lodge

Vancouver Col. Gorge Interp.Ctr as m a C • Bonneville 12

Portland

Dam

Troutdale Crown Point

n Stevenso Cascade Locks Bridge of the Gods

Hood River The Dalles

To: Walla Walla Kennewick, WA Lewiston, ID

Map suggests only approximate positions and relative distances. Consult a real map for more precise details. We are not cartographers.

Columbia River Reader /February 15, 2022 / 15

Museum Magic

from page 15

furniture while the museum is housed on the top floor.

A peek into the spire of one of the turrets reveals a treasure trove of logging history. The other turret has vintage toys. Currently, the museum is open by appointment. Please call Deborah Hazen at 503-338-8268, or email dshazen13@gmail.com to schedule your own private tour of this time capsule of architectural beauty.

STARTING THIS SUMMER!

This stunning residence i s ready t o enjoy !

Admission is $5 for adults, $4 for seniors (65+) and students 6-17. Children 5 and under are free Souvenirs from early days abound in Clatskanie Histortical Museum.

•••

Q

UIPS & QUOTES

Selected by Debra Tweedy

A soulmate is someone who appreciates your level of weird. ~ Bill Murray, American actor and comedian, 1950When “I” is replaced by “We,” even illness becomes wellness. ~ Malcolm X, African-American minister and human rights activist, 1925-1965 Have a heart that never hardens, and a temper that never tires, and a touch that never hurts. ~ Charles Dickens, English writer and social critic, 1812-1870 Beginning today, treat everyone you meet as if they were going to be dead by midnight. Extend to them all the care, kindness and understanding you can muster, and do so with no thought of any reward. Your life will never be the same again. ~ Og Mandino, American author, 1923-1996 To know what you prefer instead of humbly saying Amen to what the world tells you you ought to prefer, is to have kept your soul alive. ~ Robert Louis Stevenson, Scottish writer and poet, 1850-1894

Long View THE

For information about sponsorship opportunities: publisher@crreader.com or Ned Piper, 360-740-2632.

A Century on the Lower Columbia

PEOPLE+PLACE ~ THEN AND NOW

Don’t see the worst in a person and expect them to see the best in you. ~ Najwa Zebian, Canadian-Lebanese activist and author, 1990The object we call a book is not the real book, but its potential, like a musical score or seed. It exists fully only in the act of being read; and its real home is inside the head of the reader, where the symphony resounds, the seed germinates.

A book is a heart that only beats in the chest of another. ~ Rebecca Solnit, American writer, 1961Doubt can motivate you, so don’t be afraid of it. Confidence and doubt are at two ends of the scale, and you need both.

They balance each other out. ~ Barbara Streisand, American singer and actress, 1942– Mankind is challenged, as it has never been challenged before, to prove its maturity and its mastery—not of nature, but of itself. ~ Rachel Carson, American biologist, writer, and conservationist, 19071964 An early morning walk is a blessing for the whole day. --Henry David Thoreau, American naturalist, poet, philosopher, 1817-1862 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.

16 / Columbia River Reader / February 15, 2022

A Year of Journalism in Columbia River Reader • July 2022 through June 2023 The Commemorative Book • Multiple-media Gala Variety Show at Columbia Theatre

Please join us in supporting the important work of the • Pet Adoptions. Be on the lookout for our adoptable pets on Petfinder.com • Spay/ Neuter and Vaccine Clinics Please call to schedule (instead of regular walk-in clinics). Limit of one person per appointment due to Covid-19.

• Donations and Volunteers needed and appreciated!

• cowlitzhumane.com • 360-577-0151

Proud Sponsor of People+Place

HOME SAFETY REMINDER: Change batteries when you change your clocks for daylight savings time.

The US Fire Administration says smoke detectors should be tested monthly and batteries replaced once or twice a year.

717 Vandercook Way • Suite 120 Kelso, WA 98626 • 360-414-3101

Richelle Gall Proud Sponsor of People+Place

People + Place A monthly feature written and photographed

by Southwest Washington native and Emmy Award-winning journalist

Hal Calbom

Production Notes

Aloft and Grounded Pilot Brian Fleming and I both love airplanes. Brian’s a born mechanic.

It’s comfortable to fly with someone who knows what’s under the hood. His contact with the plane is tactile. One reason he flies a 70 year-old classic is his disdain for pushing buttons and computerizing his experience.

As a kid, I built model planes and ships.

I still read military and aviation history avidly, and buy picture books of old “warbirds” just to savor the paintings and re-enactments. I’m a true armchair aviator.

We both believe the airplane is transcendent mechanical design, a dream machine that lifts you off the earth. Yet I have no desire to fly a plane or endure the endless hours of maintenance and prep and care and feeding required, especially for the classic machines. Very happy reading about it, definitely not hands-on.

people+ place

Bird on the Water: Brian Fleming We are greeted by a cheerful wave, rolled up trousers and bare feet. Float planes, it seems, lurk in virtually any watery place and offer a whole host of boarding options. Pilot Brian Fleming stands knee-deep in the Columbia, keeping his bird at bay, bidding us aboard — two dainty steps on a slippery driftwood log, two more on the bobbing float, and a relieved dive into the cabin.

Despite a low ceiling, blustery gusts of wind and rain, and our makeshift aerodrome at Willow Grove Park a few miles downstream from Longview, I’m excited by this chance to fly: the low drum of the radial engine, the water-taxi run out into the current, the gunning engine and thrust of the propeller, the climb up “on the step” where the floats plane like a speedboat, and suddenly…airborne.

“This is my dream plane. I’ve worked all my life for this plane,” says Brian.

Climbing above the majestic, blue-gray Columbia, we can see why.

HC: Were you always interested in aviation?

BF: Oh, yeah. My dream, really. I’ve had 12 different planes before I got this one. And this is my dream plane.

At last.

HC: And you flew all these other planes?

BF: No, I had planes even before I learned to fly. There was this trade-a-plane magazine and I used to check out all these cool planes you could buy or trade, not that expensive. I mean they had these really fast planes from Russia you could buy in a box. And that really is kind of what got me excited.

NICE TO MEET YOU Brian Fleming

FROM Southwest Washington CAREER Industrial problem solver KNOWN FOR Being the dreamer READING You Can Write a Column by Monica McCabe-Cardoza FOR FUN Writing, music, enjoying nature with my children and friends RECOMMENDS Bush Flying: The Romance of the North by Robert S. Grant

cont page 18

Both my uncles flew planes in World War II, B-25s and B-24s. In a visit to an air museum I crawled inside a couple of the few remaining old birds, terribly small, cramped, and seemingly jerryrigged — wires and canvas and struts everywhere. And mechanical — they used to recruit physically imposing lads as B-24 pilots, just to manhandle the controls. People flew these rickety things literally by hand, hurling metal at each other, with catastrophic casualties.

I think a “classic” plane like Brian’s Cessna 195 combines the best of both worlds — my imagined airspace of books and dreams and his tangible physicality of the senses and Newton’s Laws. Flying with him last week was both “hands-on” and transcendent.

Brian inhabits both these worlds — grounded and aloft — and savors every moment of it.

Millions of people love airplanes and we all love them in our own particular way.

•••

Photo by Larry Reinecke

Columbia River Reader /February 15, 2022 / 17

People

Bird on the Water

“It’s magic. It’s a magic carpet. It’s the Volkswagen

cont from page 17

HC: Like a kit, a model?

BF: No. Real jets. You could get a Russian MIG jet delivered to the Port of Tacoma for like $35,000 dollars.

HC: Oh, come on!

We bank sharply in a slow climb and level off around 250 feet, skimming under the clouds. Willow Grove and its patchwork of farms and drainages glides by below. Ships appear immobile in the river, even our modest hundred miles an hour leaving them astern. From this vantage point you realize why people so love living on the water when you see their expansive decks and glorious frontages from the river side, not their back porches and garages facing the county road.

BF: No, really! The aviation world is amazing, constant horse trading, or plane trading, I guess. And open, and relatively free. Planes get obsolete, they go up for sale. And the good ones last.

The 39 year-old Fleming seems to be one with the controls, which he later describes to me as “the dance,” and the leisurely pace and relative lack of altitude feel more like ambling than soaring. “It’s the most amazing way to see the Columbia,” he says, and as a flock of ducks takes wing below us, hundreds of them in perfect unison, I agree.

HC: What is your current plane and why is it your “dream plane?”

What’s the trip you’re dreaming of right now? I ask Brian. “I think I want to fly to Sound Bend, float my way up to the dock, and eat a few dozen oysters at Chester’s.”

BF: It’s a Cessna 195, adapted with floats I bought and attached myself. One of the last Cessnas with a radial engine, built about 70 years ago.

Such is the world viewed from 500 feet up, not five miles.

HC: Did you ever think about military service? Seems to be where a lot of people learn to fly?

HC: Good grief, that’s older than the MIG! BF: These are classics, collectibles, I guess. They stopped making the engine that’s the heart of it, but they made thousands of them during World War II. HC: And you’re an engine guy at heart, are you not?

BF: I suppose so. My family has had a machine shop for three generations. So I know my way around engines, but of course I have help with an aircraft engine like this one. But, yeah, we’re gear heads I guess. I’ve owned three steam locomotives, and rode Harleys growing up.

HC: I’d call that serious motorheading.

Courtesy of Larry Reinecke

BF: Yeah, I suppose so. And now I’ve got what I’ve always wanted.

People+ Place gets its metaphorical feet wet.

“

As a Christian athlete, I glorify God by encouraging my teammates, keeping a positive attitude, and working hard.”

Be My Valentine

Calie & Cooper

painting 16x20 inches acrylic on canvas

by Joe Fischer

Honoring the Successful Lives and Legacy of Alona & Carl Forsberg

JOE FISCHER Proud Sponsor of People+Place

cont page 20 18 / Columbia River Reader / February 15, 2022

Weatherguard supports the FCA vision: To see the world transformed by Jesus Christ through the influence of coaches and athletes.

Cole Hardy

Basketball Player Lower Columbia College

Proud sponsor of People+Place

360-577-7200

+ Place

n micro-bus for the hardcore adventurer. ” ~Brian Fleming BF: No. I guess I never wanted to submit to that kind of authority. I started my first business when I was 19 making parts for Harley Davidsons.

HC: The rugged individualist?

BF: No, just independent. But I think most of the people interested in aviation are “Type A” personalities. There’s rules, and boundaries, but there’s incredible freedom, too.

HC: Why float planes? There aren’t a ton of them around, are there?

BF: I should say not. As far as we know this is one of only six float planes on the entire Lower Columbia and Willamette River systems.

HC: Was this style of plane always a float plane?

BF: No, that was never its primary. This was a utility plane used by the military and built as a wheeled plane that could adapt to floats or skis.

HC: That’s right, you said you bought the floats separate. What kind of money are we talking about here if you don’t mind me asking?

you fly over the rivers, or your lake base or wherever, you’ve got this giant runway all around you. So if you’re away from people and civilization you can fly really low. And that’s appealing to me.

BF: The plane is probably worth around $200,000 and the floats alone cost me $30,000. I’m not independently wealthy so it’s been a sweat equity and pay-as-you-go plan.

HC: Like our flight today, not classic flying conditions…

HC:: So, again, why float planes in particular?

HC: Besides the exhilaration of actually piloting this thing, what else gets your juices flowing?

BF: I wouldn’t have taken you up in a land plane. That was about a 600-foot ceiling and in this plane we had no problems at all.

BF: This river. Where we live. It’s the most amazing way to look at the Columbia River. It’s sensory overload. Always different, always alive. You’re operating this magical machine and you’re wisping through the air. You’ve got these beautiful Stella bluffs and evergreen trees and wildlife. There’s nothing else like it.

BF: Flying in general is pretty neat. But when you’re flying land planes you have to fly higher, you’re more dependent on higher ceilings and better weather.

Because if you have a problem, you need to have more time, and elevation, to find a place to land.

With float flying, if

HC:: How free are you to roam? I assume you don’t file flight plans, per se?

BF: We have up-to-date charts. You need to skirt the dams and power lines, of course, and there are a couple of wildlife refuges on the river that don’t want you below 2,000 feet. But you operate on common sense and a kind of golden rule — you’re courteous to boaters and other people on the river and in the air.

HC: Your hangar is pretty impressive.

BF: I’m lucky to have it, here in Scappoose, but I’d really like to move the whole hangar downstream so I’m closer to Longview cont page 20

In Memory

The Rainy Months Series for Kids provides affordable entertainment and education to families in our area. Fibre is proud to sponsor these shows, as well as the free “Fibre Family Fun” crafts, games, and giveaways before the show from 12:30 – 2pm.

Ticket info can be found on pg. 29.

SHOWS Feb. 20 Mar. 20 April 10

Proud sponsor of People+Place

Longtime businessman and community leader

DAN EVANS passed away Jan. 29, 2022.

Vladimir Goes for the Gold Sunday February 20 2pm

The Merry Tales of Robin Hood Sunday March 20 2pm

Under Mr. Evans’s leadership, JH Kelly grew from a local plumbing shop to a regional contractor with more than 1,000 employees. His generosity and kindness were legendary and he will be greatly missed.

The Evans Kelly Family One of Longview’s pioneer families.

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Columbia River Reader /February 15, 2022 / 19

from page 19

HC: Any place in mind?

BF: The Elochoman Marina in Cathlamet would be perfect, and I’m talking to the port people down there to see if I could relocate.

HC: Just float this big old hangar downstream?

BF: I trust tugboats. Yeah.

HC: What are the hazards, safety concerns, best practices for float planing?

BF You need to watch for logs in the river — usually not bad except after a terrible lot of rain. The biggest flying hazard is taking off and nosing down, digging the floats in. That’s where most accidents happen. The other challenge sometimes is getting gas, especially when you’re more or less out in the wild.

HC: What’s your capacity and where do you get it?

BF: I’ve got an 80-gallon tank and have range of about 500 miles. We use regular boat gas and pull up to the gas dock just like the boats do.

HC: All these motors and machines you’ve had — Harleys and steam engines and what not — and you’ve fallen in love with a “puddle jumper,” as some people call it. Why? BF: It’s just so engaging. It’s a dance. That dance when you’re up on the step and that plane, because it doesn’t have big flaps like modern planes it doesn’t just hop off the water. You have to touch it just right to make it do what you want it to do.

HC: And when you’re up?

BF: It’s magic. It’s a magic carpet. It’s the Volkswagen micro-bus for the hardcore adventurer. It fills a void that I’ve got inside me getting out there. When I go fly I’m able to focus and really get into what I’m doing.

Like a kind of meditation. It’s what I truly think about before I go to bed at night, experiencing the colors of the water and trees, what you see and hear and feel.

HC: I certainly felt some of that today.

BF: More people need to get off their damned phones and their laptops and video games and go out and experience this stuff. Before all these gadgets and

Hal Calbom grew up in Longview and attended R.A.Long High School. He graduated with a degree in government from Harvard College and worked in public affairs television and independent publishing. He is editor for CRRPress and producer of CRR’s “People+Place” feature series, running since April 2018.

stuff take over. You might think you’re entertained holding some device, but it doesn’t replace the real living thing.

HC: Well said. Thank you.

•••

Editor’s note: Interviews are edited for length and clarity.

people+ place Rickenbacker Autobiography of Edward Rickenbacker, who lived an extraordinary life and pulled it off with incredible humility and dedication to doing “it” right.

Brian Fleming’s Top 5 Books

Inside the Third Reich by Albert Speer. A very interesting perspective from a brilliant man wrapped up with the wrong crowd.

20 / Columbia River Reader / February 15, 2022

Quiet by Susan Cain.

Every extrovert should read this book, if anything, to better understand that not everyone is like us!

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WaterFlying Magazine Published every other month by the Seaplane Pilots Association, this is a “must” for anyone with an eye towards water flying.

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Columbia River Reader /February 15, 2022 / 21

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Where do you read

THE READER? Sea breezes DeAnn Marble, St. Helens, Ore., and Rainier travel advisor Becki Bozart wait to disembark Royal Caribbean’s “Freedom of the Seas” at the company’s private island in the Bajamas, “Coco Cay.”

At Gruen Hall Spokane, Wash. newlyweds Chris Verhaeghe and Annette Morin (at left) with Chris’s mom, Sue Lane and her constant companion, Fax Koontz, both of Longview. The four were sightseeing following Chris and Annette’s wedding in San Antonio, Texas.

PACK YOUR BAGS! COVID-SMART TRAVEL TIPS

• Know the protocols for your destination • Always get robust trip protection • Book flexible travel whenever possible • Study the fine print – what you don’t know can cost you • Use a travel advisor and all of the above is handled!

IT’S TIME TO TRAVEL AGAIN!

No slim pickin’s with Little Jimmy Dickens Longview residents Vincent and Susie Lee in Nashville, Tennessee, at the “New Year’s at the Ryman Auditorium” concert featuring the Old Crow Medicine Show. Ryman Auditorium is the former home of the Grand Ole Opry broadcast.

President Bush enjoys cordial meeting with local attorney Longview resident and attorney Tom Lee left a complimentary copy of CRR with Mr. Bush at their meeting at the George H. W. Bush Presidential Library & Museum, College Station,Texas,

WHERE DO YOU READ THE READER? Rainier resident Becki Bozart provides experienced, friendly, customized travel services. Let Becki make sure you’ll have smooth sailing!

Now booking all things land and sea.

Send your photo reading the Reader (high-res JPEG) to Publisher@CRReader. com. Include names and cities of residence. We make it a practice to promptly acknowledge photos received; if you don’t hear from us within 5 days, please resend. For cell phone photo, choose the largest file size up to 2 MB.

BECKI BOZART • 971-340-8660 • www.BriBeckTravel.com Franchise Owner - Travel Advisor - Certified Cruise Counselor Columbia River Reader /February 15, 2022 / 23

BESIDES COLUMBIA RIVER READER...

ATTENTION, READERS

What are you reading?

Read a good book lately? To be mini-interviewed by CRR Book Reviewer Alan Rose for a future “What Are You Reading?”spotlight, please contact him at alan@alan-rose.com or the publisher/editor at publisher@crreader.com.

Monthly feature coordinated by Alan Rose

By Rick George

I

’m a big fan of everything that Australian author Liane Moriarty writes. Most recently, I found myself thoroughly immersed in the characters of Truly Madly Guilty.

Set in Sydney, the novel centers on an ordinary neighborhood barbecue that takes an unexpected and terrible turn, upending the lives of the three families who are present.

For more than half the novel, Moriarty alternates chapters depicting the lead up to the barbecue with chapters portraying the aftermath. It is not until deep into the story that the narrative reveals what actually happened, keeping us flipping pages to find out how a barbecue could turn out so momentous.

Rick E. George is the author of three novels, Vengeance Burns Hot and Cooper’s Loot, both published in 2019, and Sinister Refuge, published in 2021. His short fiction and poetry have been published in various magazines. He has worked as a reporter, wild land firefighter, and an educator. He lives with his wife April in the Cascade Mountains of Washington State.

Raindance

What especially keeps us reading is that Moriarty is so darned good at making us care for her characters. If I were forced to name a single protagonist, it is Clementine, a young mother and a cellist trying to advance her career while worrying about the state of her marriage. But Moriarty plows deeply into the hearts and minds of all the adults as well as a teenage girl at the barbecue. Most authors could never successfully pull off a story with so many points of view, but Moriarty can and does in all her books. Her skill in writing third-person deep point of view (POV) puts me in awe. And, as always with her novels, there is lots of humor.

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Cover to Cover

Top 10 Bestsellers PAPERBACK FICTION 1. The House in the Cerulean Sea TJ Klune, Tor, $18.99 2. The Thursday Murder Club Richard Osman, Penguin, $17 3. Circe Madeline Miller, Back Bay, $16.99 4. The Song of Achilles Madeline Miller, Ecco, $16.99 5. The Sanatorium Sarah Pearse, Penguin, $17 6. Anxious People Fredrik Backman, Washington Square Press, $17 7. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo Taylor Jenkins Reid, Washington Square Press, $17 8. The Night Watchman Louise Erdrich, Harper Perennial, $18 9. A Court of Thorns and Roses Sarah J. Maas, Bloomsbury Publishing, $18 10. Hamnet Maggie O’Farrell, Vintage, $16.95

PAPERBACK NON-FICTION

MASS MARKET EARLY & MIDDLE GRADE READERS 1. Dune 1. Atlas of the Heart: Mapping 1. Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous 1. The Lincoln Highway 1. The Last Cuentista Frank Herbert, Ace, $10.99 Donna Barba Higuera, Levine Meaningful Connection and the Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and Amor Towles, Viking, $30 2. 1984 Language of Human Experience the Teachings of Plants Robin Wall 2. To Paradise Querido, $17.99 George Orwell, Signet, $9.99 2. Friends Forever Brené Brown, Random House, $30 Kimmerer, Milkweed Editions, $20 Hanya Yanagihara, 3. The Left Hand of 2. Unthinkable: Trauma, Truth, and 2. Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Doubleday, $32.50 Shannon Hale, LeUyen Pham Darkness the Trials of American Democracy Our Worlds, Change Our Minds & 3. Violeta (Illus.), First Second, $12.99 Ursula K. Le Guin, Ace, Jamie Raskin, Harper, $27.99 Shape Our Futures Isabel Allende, Ballantine, 3. Rowley Jefferson’s Awesome 3. The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the $9.99 Merlin Sheldrake, Random House, $18 $28 Friendly Spooky Stories Horse Charlie Mackesy, HarperOne, $22.99 4. Women Who Run 3. The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, 4. Cloud Cuckoo Land Jeff Kinney, Abrams, $14.99 With the Wolves Mind, and Body in the Healing of Anthony Doerr, Scribner, $30 4. The 1619 Project: A New Origin 4. Cornbread & Poppy Story Nikole Hannah-Jones, The New York Clarissa Pinkola Estés, Trauma 5. Call Us What We Matthew Cordell, Little, Brown Ballantine, $8.99 Times Magazine, One World, $38 Bessel van der Kolk, M.D., Penguin, $19 Carry: Poems Books for Young Readers, $6.99 5. The Way of Kings 5. Breath: The New Science of a Lost 4. Sapiens: A Brief History of Amanda Gorman, Viking, 5. I Can Make This Promise Brandon Sanderson, Tor, Art James Nestor, Riverhead Books, $28 Humankind Yuval Noah Harari, Harper $24.99 Christine Day, Heartdrum, $7.99 $9.99 6. Crying in H Mart: A Memoir Perennial, $24.99 6. Devil House 6. Save Me a Seat 6. Dune Messiah Michelle Zauner, Knopf, $26.95 5. How to Change Your Mind John Darnielle, MCD, $28 Sarah Weeks, Gita Varadarajan, Frank Herbert, Ace, $9.99 7. Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Michael Pollan, Penguin, $18 7. Project Hail Mary Scholastic, $7.99 7. Animal Farm Way to Build Good Habits & Break 6. Icebound: Shipwrecked at the Edge Andy Weir, Ballantine, 7. Aquicorn Cove George Orwell, Signet, $9.99 K. O’Neill, Oni Press, $9.99 Bad Ones James Clear, Avery, $27 of the World $28.99 8. Mistborn: The Final 8. Stolen Focus: Why You Can’t Pay Andrea Pitzer, Scribner, $18 8. The Sentence 8. Northwind Attention--and How to Think Deeply Empire 7. The Year of Magical Thinking Louise Erdrich, Harper, Gary Paulsen, Farrar, Straus and Brandon Sanderson, Tor, Again Johann Hari, Crown, $28 Joan Didion, Vintage, $17 $28.99 Giroux, $17.99 8. Let Me Tell You What I Mean 9. Under the Whispering 9. South to America: A Journey Below $9.99 9. Ghost Boys 9. Good Omens the Mason-Dixon to Understand the Joan Didion, Vintage, $16 Door Jewell Parker Rhodes, Little, Brown Neil Gaiman, Terry Soul of a Nation 9. On Tyranny Graphic Edition: TJ Klune, Tor, $26.99 Books for Young Readers, $7.99 Pratchett, Morrow, $9.99 Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth 10. An Elderly Lady Is Up Imani Perry, Ecco, $28.99 10. The Girl Who Drank the 10. Where the Deer and the Antelope 10. Bake, Borrow, and Century Timothy Snyder, Nora Krug to No Good Moon Steal (Illus.), Ten Speed Press, $16.99 Helene Tursten, Soho Crime, Play: The Pastoral Observations of Kelly Barnhill, Algonquin Young One Ignorant American Who Loves to Ellie Alexander, St. Martin’s, Readers, $9.95 10. The Four Agreements: A Practical $12.99 $8.99 Walk Outside Guide to Personal Freedom Nick Offerman, Dutton, $28 Don Miguel Ruiz, Amber-Allen, $12.95

BOOK REVIEW The Writer’s Library: The Authors You Love on the Books That Changed Their Lives Nancy Pearl & Jeff Schwager Harper Collins $16.99 (Paperback)

I

magine being able to sit down with a favorite author and chatting with her about her favorite authors, about the books she loves, and those that inspired her to write.

That’s what Nancy Pearl and Jeff Schwager did. The result is a collection of interviews with 22 contemporary writers including Louise Erdrich (Love Medicine), Michael Chabon (The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay), T.C. Boyle (Drop City,) Amor Towles (A Gentleman in Moscow), Viet Thanh Nguyen (The Sympathizer), and Donna Tartt (The Goldfinch).

Alan’s haunting novel of the AIDS epidemic, As If Death Summoned, won the Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Award ( LGBT category.) He can be reached at www. alan-rose.com.

HARDCOVER FICTION

Brought to you by Book Sense and Pacific Northwest Booksellers Assn, for week ending Jan. 30, 2022, 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

HARDCOVER NON-FICTION

Writers on Books and Reading Unsurprising, most have been active readers since childhood. We learn how and why they began reading. “I read all the time,” says Luis Alberto Urrea (The Devil’s Highway). “I was always finding some other world, because the one I was in, I couldn’t deal with.” Son of an AngloAmerican mother from New York and a Mexican father from Sinaloa, Urrea grew up in Tijuana, then in a “scary, ethnically volatile barrio in southeast San Diego.” “I was in this odd position of being, you know, an Irish-looking white boy who spoke Spanish. And nobody quite knew what to make of me, so they figured, ‘Let’s just beat him up.’” (Urrea also admits he read and re-read The Adventures of Tom Sawyer because “I was hot for Becky Thatcher.”)

Many recount how reading opened them to new and vaster worlds. Dave Eggers (A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius) recalls the feeling of finding a book that “rips your head off.” For him, it was as a teenager first reading Dune: “I remember wandering the hallways of my high school, feeling completely apart. It felt that I’d doubled my life, as if I’d lived another full existence.”

By Alan Rose

How-to (write) manuals are preposterous. You learn to write by reading deeply…to read (a favorite book) over and over, and see how it’s put together and what it means.

It’s like a movie that you love. You’re blown away by it. There it is—the music, the sound, the color. But then when you see it the second time, then you see this camera angle or this shot or how this is done—then you see a larger way into it. And I think that’s how you learn to write. By doing that with texts. ~ T.C. Boyle, from The Writer’s Library

We find that they read for the same reasons most of us do. “I want to laugh, I want to cry, and I want to learn something when I read a book,” says Charles Johnson (Middle Passage.) For the poet Jane Hirschfield, books are “the reminder that somebody has thought this, spoken this, lived this before.”

The end of each interview includes a list of books which that author recommends.

As Michael Chabon sums up, “Life is too short for bad books.”

•••

The interviews reflect the authors’ individual, even quirky personalities, and strike an informal, often humorous tone (Asked who among contemporary writers he thinks is underappreciated, T.C. Boyle quickly exclaims, “Me!”) They can be given to extreme opinions.

Boyle maintains that Lucky Jim (by Kingsley Amis) is “the funniest book in the history of bookdom,” while Jennifer Egan (A Visit from the Goon Squad) claims that “Middlemarch may be the best novel written in English.” (!!!)

JOIN US AT BROADWAY BARREL ROOM 1333 Broadway • Longview, WA

MARCH 8

Columbia River Reader /February 15, 2022 / 25

COLUMBIA RIVER

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–11:30pm; Sun 11am–9pm. 503-728-3344

dining guide

Longview, Wash.

1335 14th Avenue 18 rotating craft brews, pub fare.

M-Th 11am–8pm. Fri-Sat 11am–10pm; Sunday 11am–6pm. Local music coming soon.

360-232-8283. Inside dining See ad, page 36. Follow us on Untappd.

Broadway Barrel Room

Rainier. Ore.

1133 Broadway Family friendly tap house and eatery. 18 taps local craft beverages, hand-crafted soups, sandwiches, flatbread and desserts. Live music on Thursdays. Hours: Tues-Thur 11-9; Fri-Sat 11–10. 360-353-4295. See ad, page 8.

Alston Pub & Grub

The Carriage

25196 Alston Rd., Rainier 503-556-9753 11 beers on tap, cocktails.

Open daily 11–11. Inside dining.

Conestoga Pub Cornerstone Café 102 East “A” Street Microbrews, wines & spirits 7am–8pm Daily. Inside dining.

115-117 East 1st Street 503-556-9935 Burgers, halibut, appetizers, full bar.

11–11 Daily. Inside dining.

Restaurant & Lounge

The Carriage Restaurant & Lounge 1334 12th Ave. Open 8am–9pm (sometimes closes later, call to check). Breakfast, lunch and dinner. Full bar, banquet room available for groups, parties, family reunions, etc. no charge with min. $250 food/drink purchases. Happy hours daily (9–11am, 5–7pm). 360-425-8545.

In the Merk (1339 Commerce Ave., #113) 360-998-2139. Mon-Fri 8am–4pm. Specialty coffees, teas, bubble teas and pastries....drinks with a smile. Takeout and on-site.

Goble Tavern

70255 Columbia River Hwy. (Milepost 31, Hwy. 30) Food, beer & wine + full bar, Live entertainment 11–11 Daily. Inside dining.

503-556-4090

Freddy’s Just for the Halibut.

Cod, Alaskan halibut fish and chips, award-winning clam chowder. Burgers, steaks, pasta. Beer and wine. M-Sat 10am–8pm, Sunday 11am–8pm. Inside dining, Drive-thru, outdoor seating.

1110 Commerce 360-414-3288.

See ad, page 31.

Luigi’s Pizza

117 East 1st Street, Rainier 503-556-4213 Inside dining, Take-out & Delivery

Pizza, spaghetti, burgers, beer & wine.

11–9, Mon-Thurs, Sun; 11–10 Fri-Sat

Restaurant operators: To advertise in Columbia River Dining Guide, call 360-749-2632

The Original Pietrio’s Pizzeria

614 Commerce Ave., Longview. 18 varieties of pizza, prepared salads. Beer & wine. Open 11am every day. Inside seating, outdoor dining.

360-353-3512. Inside dining, Take-out, some local delivery.

Roland Wines

Eclipse Coffee & Tea

Evergreen Pub & Café

MERKANTILE CAFE In The Merk (1339 Commerce Ave., #111). Heart-healthy food; Rice bowls, smoothie bowls, soupls, curries, salads.

Open Tues–Fri 10am–5pm, Sat 10am– 3pm. See ad, page 8.

1106 Florida St., Longview. Authentic Italian wood-fired pizza, wine, and beer.

Casual ambience. 5–9pm Wed-Fri, Sat. 11–3. Call for status.360-846-7304.

See ad, page 13.

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 14.

Big River Tap Room 313 Strand Street on the Riverfront, St. Helens. Lunch/Dinner Tu-Thurs 12Noon– 8pm; Fri-Sat 12Noon–9pm. Chicago-style hot dogs, Italian beef, pastrami. Weekend Burrito Breakfast, Sat 8-11, Sun 8am-3pm.

See ad, page14.

Scappoose, Ore. Fultano’s Pizza 51511 SE 2nd. Family style with unique pizza offerings, hot grill items & more!

“Best pizza around!” Sun–Th 11am–9pm; Fri-Sat 11am–10pm. Full bar service ‘til 10pm Fri & Sat. Deliveries in Scappoose.

503-543-5100. Inside Dining.

Ixtapa Fine Mexican Restaurant

Teri’s, 3225 Ocean Beach

Hwy, Longview. Lunch and dinner.

Burgers, steak, seafood, pasta, specials, fresh NW cuisine. Full bar. Tues–Sat 12Noon–8pm. Sat 5:30–8:30pm..

Curbside pickup. Inside dining.

360-577-0717.

Castle Rock, Wash.

Parker’s Steak House & Brewery 1300 Mt. St. Helens Way. I-5 Exit 49.

Lunch, Dinner. Burgers, hand-cut steak; seafood and pasta. Restaurant opens 11am, Lounge 12 Noon. Closed Monday.

360-967-2333. Call for status/options.

Vault Books & Brew 20 Cowlitz Street West, Castle Rock Coffee and specialty drinks, quick eats & sweet treats. See ad, page 24.

33452 Havlik Rd. Fine Mexican cuisine.

Daily specials. The best margarita in town.

Daily drink specials. M-Th 11am–9:30pm; Fri & Sat 11am–11:30pm; Sun 11am–9pm. Curbside pickup and home delivery. 503-543-3017

Warren, Ore. Warren Country Inn 56575 Columbia River Hwy. Fine family dining. Breakfast, lunch & dinner. Full bar. Call for hours.503-410-5479.

Check Facebook for updates. Dine-in.

Toutle, Wash.

DREW’S GROCERY & SERVICE

5304 Spirit Lake Hwy (10 miles from Exit 49) Picnics on site or to go, full deli, fried chicken, Skipper’s chowder, fish, shrimp.

See ad, page 6.

Woodland, Wash.

“SoCo”

Hop N Grape

924 15th Ave., Longview Tues–Thurs 11am–7pm; Fri & Sat 11am– 8pm. BBQ meat slow-cooked on site. Pulled pork, chicken, brisket, ribs, turkey, salmon.

World-famous mac & cheese. 360-577-1541.

Grant’s at the Monticello Hotel on Longview’s

historic Civic Circle. Casual upscale inside dining, patio dining. Seafood, steaks, pasta, burgers. Happy Hour specials 3pm. Lunch & dinner. M-Th 11-9, Fri-Sat 11-10.

26 / Columbia River Reader / February 15, 2022

Kalama, Wash.

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.

360- 673-9210. Indoor dining, covered outdoor seating, curbside take-out.

1350 Atlantic Ave. Rotating craft brews, pub fare. Open M-Th 11am–6pm; Fri–Sat 11am–10pm; Sunday 11am–6pm.

360-841-8941. See ad, page 32.

L

uckman

Coffee Company 1230 Lewis River Rd. Small batch on-site roasted coffee, breakfast, lunch. Inside seating. M-F 5:30am–6pm, Sat 6am–5pm, Sun 7am–3pm.

See ad, page 9..

Roland on Wine

My Slant

“Back in the day...”

In the evolution of wine drinking, everyone starts

By Marc Roland somewhere

I

’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but Annie Green Springs and Thunderbird wines are back! Not that I think you should go out and find a bottle, but many will remember them as a cheap way to consume alcohol back in the day.

A conversation that comes up in our winery tasting room is about the wine that people started drinking first. It usually heralds back to high school when any illegal liquor was better than no liquor, and fortified wine came in familiar flavors. The conversations lead to the local characters who could be found hanging out around mini marts and liquor stores. Where they came from was always a mystery, but it seems like they were older guys who had a hard time giving up high school and becoming adults. Their phone numbers floated around out there like plastic bags waiting to be picked up by those who noticed such things; they were usually someone your mother warned you about.

Some of the brands like Thunderbird, Annie Green Springs, MD 20/20 (Mad Dog), Ripple, Lancers, Carlos Rossi, Boones Farm, and Blue Nun to name just a few mentioned, are familiar to those of my generation.

These were the bum wines made from fruit juice and wine, sugar, artificial color and flavor, and boosted to 13–20 percent alcohol.

In the case of MD 20/20 (Mogen David) it was fortified to 20 percent and sold in 20-ounce bottles. The conversations about these wines always digress into stories of drunkenness, debauchery, and exploits that cannot be mentioned here, which leads me to conclude these drinks corrupted an entire generation.

But let’s think about this for a minute.

Why are we even talking about those times and experiences? It’s because we are sitting around today still enjoying wine. Sure, it is with different friends in a different setting, but we are still drinking wine. Not to get drunk and to party like there is no tomorrow, but to relax, and I guess to confess how stupid we were as young people.

When I started making wine, I had no intention to make a wine that would

appeal to alcohol-crazed teenagers or as a starter wine for those who potentially could grow to appreciate fine wine. I wanted to make wine that I liked—dry and flavorful. I thought sweet wine was for those who drank only for the buzz and release of inhibitions that lubricate the base instincts of human beings.

Of course, people have always used alcohol for this purpose, but I may be missing something important about the evolution of drinking.

Everyone who drinks starts somewhere, and that somewhere is with a beverage that is more like soda than wine. I don’t know any drinkers of any kind who didn’t start out sweet and fruity. I would venture that only a few set out to learn about fine wine at an early age.

So I have changed. I think there is a place for “starter” wine and maybe more than ever, because after 27 consecutive annual gains, the wine industry in the United States is expected to suffer a .5 percent volume decrease this year, according to the recently released 2021 Shanken’s Impact Databank Review & Forecast.

This is due to fierce competition from whiskies, hard seltzer, and other readyto-drink brands.

THE MAKING OF A PLAY

The long journey taking an idea to the stage

By Leslie Slape See related story, page 9

T

aking “The Harder Courage” from idea to complete play has been a long journey that began in May 2009 when I met sheriff ’s deputy Darren Ullmann (now retired as undersheriff). I wrote a story about how his passion for history drove him to compile a history of county law enforcement.

He told me his favorite sheriff was Ben Holmes, the first of three sheriffs to hang prisoners in Cowlitz County, before the state took over that grim task.

“He guarded Robert Day for eight months,” Darren said. “Then he had to hang him. Can you imagine how hard that was to get to know a guy, and then have to kill him?”

“That would make a fascinating play,” I said. In my first story, “Deputy digs for clearer picture of county’s law enforcement history” (May 2009), Darren said he wanted to learn if the jail at the fairgrounds was actually the county’s first jail.

As a result of that story, Darren and I got to actually see the actual first jail, purchased in 1891 for $2,000.

It’s a windowless iron box, and as we stepped into the cold, dark prison, we imagined what it must have been like for Robert Day to be locked inside.

Wine continues to lose market share to spirits and flavored malt beverages. I have grown to love wine over time, so maybe it’s time to realize that drinking wine — any wine — is good for the wine business. Just understand that if you go out to find a bottle of rebranded MD 20/20, it is now only 13percent alcohol and comes in smaller cans and bottles. Bummer.

In 2012 Darren kicked me into action, and we began meeting to brainstorm the play. He shared all his research with me, but there were many holes to fill. Only one history book, Early Castle Rock and North Cowlitz County,

by Leland Jackson, mentions this story at all. Most frustrating to me was that court records of the trial have been lost.

•••

The Kalama Bulletin covered the arrest and sentencing, but my gut told me that other newspapers must have been interested in a murder trial. I wrote to the Washington state librarian, asking if she had copies of the Kelso Courier, a newspaper that existed at the time.

She didn’t, but she did find stories in Seattle and Tacoma newspapers about Robert Day — including his life story in his own words. Eureka!

Longview resident and former Kelso teacher Marc Roland started making wine in 2008 in his garage. He and his wife, Nancy, now operate Roland Wines at 1106 Florida Street in Longview’s new “barrel district.” For wine tasting hours, call 360846-7304.

and countless other sources. I took playwriting courses at Portland Center Stage and Portland State University to hone my craft.

Along the way, I told the story of Ben and Robert in many ways: an oral storytelling performance in March 2013, a one-act staged reading in August 2013, a short story in a college writing course in 2014, and a lecture on my research for a colloquium at Portland State University in 2016.

Actors Scott Clark and Michael Cheney, who have been reading every draft of my play aloud as it has grown, have read aloud individual scenes at a couple of WordFest meetings.

In 2018, “The Harder Courage” — now a full-length, two-character play — was a finalist in the Ashland New Plays Festival. Later that year it was recorded by actors from the Oregon Shakespeare Festival for the Play4Keeps podcast. In August 2019 it was fully staged for a scriptin-hand developmental workshop by Theatre33 at Willamette University in Salem.

Thanks to its wonderful director and dramaturg, Rod Ceballos, the play added the wives, and emerged polished and ready for a Fall 2019 production at Stageworks. Unfortunately, an actor’s grave illness forced me to postpone production.

Then, in 2020, Covid shut down every theater in America. But now theater is back, my actors are healthy, and “The Harder Courage” is ready for you, the audience.

••• Leslie Slape is a professional storyteller and playwright, and is retired from a 34-year career in journalism at The Daily News in Longview.

She lives in Rainier with her husband, Max. They have two grown children and a grandson she describes as “adorable.”

For a decade I have continued to make discoveries through newspapers, genealogy records, military records, Columbia River Reader /February 15, 2022 / 27

Williams / Custer Powell / O’loughlin

F amily Concert Sunday, Feb.27 3:00 p.m.

Masks are required Columbia Theatre 1231 Vandercook Way Longview

Where to find the new Reader

Be a part of acquiring a glass sculpture by world-renowned artist

DALE CHIHULY

to be installed at the Longview Public Library © 2021 Chihuly Studio. All rights reserved

St. Paddy’s Raffle Basket Tickets $5 each

Available through March 15

Proceeds support the Chihuly Project.

Stop by Teague’s Interiors, 1309 Hudson St., Longview, to purchase tickets and view renderings of the proposed Chihuly installation, or purchase online. Good Luck!

WWW.COWLITZART.ORG

Checks may be mailed to ART, PO Box 1065, Longview, WA 98632

28 / Columbia River Reader / February 15, 2022

Summon the Heroes How to Train Your Dragon

Zimmer / Wasson

Gladiator

Djawadi / Moore

Game of Thrones

Tchaikovsky Gregory Smith

March Slav The Orchestra Games

Dr. Robert Davis Conductor FREE admission Donations accepted Find out more at swwasymphony.org or by calling 360-430-0960

It’s delivered all around the River by the 15th of each month. Here’s the list of handy, regularly-refilled sidewalk box and rack locations where you can pick up a copy any time of day and even in your bathrobe: CLATSKANIE LONGVIEW Post Office U.S. Bank Chevron / MiniPost Office Mart Bob’s (rack, main check-out) Fultano’s Pizza In front of 1232 Commerce Ave In front of 1323 Commerce Ave WESTPORT Berry Patch YMCA Wauna mill (parking lot) Fred Meyer (rack, service desk) RAINIER Teri’s Post Office Grocery Outlet Fibre Fed’l CU - Commerce Ave Cornerstone Café Rainier Hardware (rack, entry) Monticello Hotel (front entrance) Earth ‘n’ Sun (on Hwy 30) Kaiser Permanente El Tapatio (entry rack) St. John Medical Center Grocery Outlet (rack, Park Lake Café) LCC Student Center DEER ISLAND Indie Way Diner Deer Island Store Columbia River Reader Office COLUMBIA CITY - Post Office 1333 14th Ave. (box at door) Omelettes & More (entry rack) WARREN Stuffy’s II (entry rack) Warren Country Inn KELSO ST HELENS Heritage Bank Chamber of Commerce Visitors’ Center / Kelso-Longview Sunshine Pizza Chamber of Commerce St. Helens Market Fresh Olde Town: KALAMA Wild Currant, Tap into Wine Fibre Fed’l CU Safeway Kalama Shopping Center corner of First & Fir SCAPPOOSE McMenamin’s Harbor Lodge Post Office Road Runner WOODLAND Fultano’s Visitors’ Center Ace Hardware Grocery Outlet Luckman Coffee WARRENTON, OR Antidote (rack) Fred Meyer CASTLE ROCK CATHLAMET Lacie Rha’s Cafe (32 Cowlitz W.) Cathlamet Pharmacy Parker’s Restaurant (box, entry) Tsuga Gallery Visitors’ Center 890 Huntington Ave. Cathlamet Realty West N., Exit 49, west side of I-5 Puget Island Ferry Landing Cascade Select Market SKAMOKAWA RYDERWOOD Skamokawa General Store Café porch NASELLE TOUTLE Appelo Archives & Café Drew’s Grocery & Service Johnson’s One-Stop

Outings & Events See ad, page 31

Find a unique gift! We have beautiful artisan cards, masks, jewelry, books by local authors, wearable art, original paintings, pottery, sculpture, photographs and so much more at your local Co-operative Fine Arts & Crafts Gallery.

BROADWAY GALLERY HOW TO PUBLICIZE YOUR NON-PROFIT EVENT IN CRR Send your non-commercial community event info (name of event, beneficiary, sponsor, date & time, location, brief description and contact info) to publisher@crreader.com Or mail or hand-deliver (in person or via mail slot) to: Columbia River Reader 1333-14th Ave Longview, WA 98632

Submission Deadlines Events occurring: Mar 15 – April 20:

by Feb 25 for Mar 15 issue.

April 15 – May 20

by Mar 25 for April 15 issue.

Calendar submissions are considered for inclusion, subject to lead time, relevance to readers, and space limitations. See Submission Guidelines,below.

1418 Commerce Avenue, Longview • T-W-F-Sat 11–4, Thurs 11–6 Visit the Gallery to see new work.

For event updates visit our website: the-broadway-gallery. com, at Broadway Gallery on Facebook, and broadway gallery_longview on Instagram.

Featured artists: February: Gallery Member Scott McRae (new paintings and drawings);Guest Artist Tonie Knutz (cement sculpture and jewelry)

First Thursdays temporarily suspended due to pandemic.

Updates on our website: the-broadway-gallery.com

March: Joan Hitchcock (silk and acrylic paintings) Voted one of top 3 Galleries in Southwest Washington. Free Gift wrapping plus Layaway!

Shop Local Saturday (4th Saturday each month)

to receive a free gift!

Upcoming Shows GET YOUR TICKETS! CLATSKANIE ARTS COMMISSION

Submission Guidelines 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.

Items sent to CRR will be considered for publication unless the writer specifies otherwise. Writer’s name and phone number must be included; anonymous submissions will not be considered.

Political Endorsements CRR is a monthly publication serving readers in several towns, three counties, two states and beyond and does not publish Letters to the Editor that are endorsements or criticisms of political candidates or controversial issues. (Paid ad space is available.)

Unsolicited submissions may be considered, provided they are consistent with the publication’s purpose. Advance contact with the editor is recommended.

Information of general interest submitted by readers may be used as background or incorporated in future articles.

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.

Businesses and organizations wishing to promote their particular products or services are invited to purchase advertising.

Sundae and Mr. Goessl Sun, March 20, 3pm. www.sundaeandmrgoessl.com Washington state-based duo that has been storming the country with their delightful brand of countrified jazz, melding the likability of Americana, pop and country music, making a hybrid of jazz rhythms Karen Carpenter Tribute Band Sun, April 3, 3pm.

Sarha Hagen, Pianist Sun, May 22, 3pm.

COLUMBIA THEATRE FOR THE PERFORMING ART HYPROV (Improv under hypnosis) Mar 4, 7:30pm Walk a Mile in Our Shoes (re-scheduled from Feb 5) March 12 Stage Door Concert Series Enter through the stage door. Cafe-style seating on stage. hors d’oeuvres provided and a no host bar. Each concert is an intimate, magical evening!

Kathryn Rose Sat., Feb. 19; Siren Songs, Mar 19 • $70.50 per person RAINY MONTHS SERIES

Vladimir Goes for the Gold First performance in the Fibre Federal Credit Union’s Rainy Month Series. • Sunday, February 20, 2pm–3pm The Merry Tales of Robin Hood • Sunday, March 20, 2pm–3pm

For tickets or more information contact the Columbia Theatre Box Office at 360-575-8499, 1231 Vandercook Way, Longview, Wash. Online, visit www.columbiatheatre.com. See ad, page 12.

The Harder Courage March 11–27

by Leslie Slape

Tickets and info, stageworksnorthwest.com. Box office open W-F, 3-6pm and 1 hour before showtime. 1433 Commerce Ave., Longview. Wash.

360-636-4488

A Call to Artists - Columbian Artists 44th Spring Art Show Mar 22 at the Cowlitz County Historical Museum, Kelso, Wash. Judges to award cash, ribbons, sponsor prizes. Open to artists, age 18+ from Cowlitz, Wahkiakum, Lewis, Pacific, Clatsop and Columbia Counties. Show will be open to the public Mar 26–April 16. More details, entry forms and prospectus at columbiaartists.org.

The Friends of Skamokawa thank members and the community for supporting the River Life Interpretive Center in 2021. Closed until March 4, 2022. Visit friendsofskamokawa.org for info, books and gifts for children and adults by many local writers and artisans FOS seeks and appreciates local volunteer docents or board members.

One monthly meeting, only a few volunteer hours needed, no experience necessary. Please contact Lori Cagle, office manager, with questions, Tues or Thurs 10-2 at the Friends of Skamokawa Interpretive Center. 360-795-3007 or email fos1894@gmail.com

Performances at Birkenfeld Theatre, 75 S Nehalem St, Clatskanie, Ore. Details and Covid-related info: clatskaniearts.org

STAGEWORKS NORTHWEST

Kids’ FishIn at Lake Sacajawea April 30.

Ages 5–14.

Sign up ASAP with Longview Parks & Recreation.

Annual event fills up quickly. Preregistration required, mylongview.com/ recreation or call 360-442-5400. Ten 45-minute sessions of 40 participants each start at 8:00am, last session ends 5:45pm. Registration fee $10 for each participant; masks required for everyone in dock area; only 1 adult allowed with each participant. Please arrive 10–15 minutes before session you are registered to attend. All equipment and bait will be provided; please don’t bring personal equipment to dock area. Sponsored by Longview Early Edition Rotary.

Logo Design: Longview Centennial Committee invites original designs for logo to stand alone and/or appear on banners, souvenirs, apparel, and 1.5inch commemorative coin face. Designs for the coin back also needed. Logo should include the words: Longview, 1923-2023, Planned City, Centennial or 100 Years. May incorporate artwork of historical buildings, parks, arches, etc. Deadline March 15. Mail to PO Box 1035, Llongview, WA 98632, or email to longviewcentury@gmail.com or ahubble1@gmail.com. Submitted designs may be used free of rights or royalties to designers, other than recognition/ appreciation.

Columbia River Reader /February 15, 2022 / 29

Potted sweet spots

Northwest Gardening

Growing fruit trees in containers

A

las, I’ve run out of sunny spots in my yard—no more room for fruit trees! Maybe this is the year I’ll start a mini-orchard on our west and south-facing deck. Just in time, too.

They’ve started construction on a new home in the next lot, and I think I’ll use my orchard as a living screen. Have you heard about columnar apple trees?

They’ll be perfect! These cultivars only grow about 8 feet tall on mini-dwarf rootstock, are only about 15 inches wide, and look like a pole with apples growing on it. They are very well suited for growing in pots.

There are a lot of folks out there who don’t have good soil or adequate sunlight in their gardens, are renting, or don’t have room to grow a fruit tree. I have a friend who grows a couple of gorgeous, productive apple trees on her porch because she only has a spot of sunshine on her heavily wooded property. She chases that patch of sun by rolling her trees around as summer progresses.

Here are some general guidelines for having a little Garden of Eden on your porch, balcony, or other convenient areas.

Do your homework before purchasing your plant. First, make sure you have adequate sunlight—at least 6-8 hours.

Buy it from a reputable nursery, preferably one that grows exclusively for the PNW and has a horticulturist available.

Mini-dwarf rootstock is available for apple and cherry trees, and some peach trees can grow well in large pots. Apple and some cherry trees usually need another cultivar to fruit—check to see which ones might be best. While growing apple trees with several varieties on the same plant may be tempting, I

haven’t seen one on mini-dwarf rootstock, so they are not suitable for growing in containers.

I prefer bare root trees, even though they look like sticks with roots when you first get them. However, they establish roots faster and adapt to new growing conditions.

Growing a tree in a container is like taking care of a new baby—it is utterly dependent on you for its care. Potted trees don’t have access to the natural soil nutrients, moisture, and root-temperature protection that in-ground plants have.

The initial container y o u choose should be large enough for root growth and have several drain holes— try a 7-gallon pot. Don’t add gravel at the bottom—it actually impedes drainage. Keep in mind that Terra cotta, wood, and cloth containers dry out much more quickly metal, plastic, ceramic, or fiberglass. Light colors are better than darker ones—it will help keep the roots cool in the summer.

Over the next ten years, transplant your tree into a progressively larger

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

By Alice Slusher

Extension Programs OSU – Columbia County 503-397-3462

Gardening Spot on KOHI (1600 am) radio: Every Saturday 8:05–8:15am

pot as the roots fill the container.

Eventually, you will need at least a 25-gallon pot.

Think ahead--place the container on wheels or have a plan to make it portable. I’ve used a hand truck to move my huge, wickedly thorned key lime tree after it outgrew its rolling platform.

WSU – Cowlitz County 304 Cowlitz Way, Kelso, WA 98626

Free Workshops. Online (Zoom)

360-577-3014 X3, for connection info.

Details: cowlitzcomg.com/events Feb. 15 Noon Grape Care & Pruning Feb, 22 Noon Rose Care Mar. 1 Noon Greenhouses for Homeowners Mar. 8 Noon Composting

Mar 15 Noon Use a purchased potting Growing Raspberries soil mixed with some compost, unless the mix has slow-release fertilizer in it. Don’t use soil from your yard. You can mix in a cup of lime to a two cubic foot bag of soil mix. Plant your tree in the pot, spreading its roots over a mound of soil. Fill to the very top of the pot, making sure the graft union “bump” is about 2 inches above the soil line. Water in thoroughly—the soil line will sink a couple of inches below the rim. Stake or trellis your new baby tree.

Watering is the most critical aspect of caring for plants in containers. Your finger is a valuable tool: let the soil dry out to about 2 inches (4 inches in larger pots) deep between waterings, then water thoroughly until water begins to drain from cont next page

Kalama resident Alice Slusher volunteers with WSU Extension Service Plant & Insect Clinic.

Call 360-577-3014, ext.

8, or send question via cowlitzmastergardener@ gmail.com.

We’re Here for You

Serving all of Southwest Washington

OUR STAFF • Jeff Dorothy • Rob Painter • Lindsay Letteer • Joan Davis • Rick Reid

203 NW Kerron Street, Winlock, Washington 360-785-3881 cattermolefuneralhome@aol.com • cattermolefh.com

30 / Columbia River Reader / February 15, 2022

from page 30

The Freshest Seafood in Town

the bottom. Drain any excess water from the saucer after an hour. A word to the wise: Overwatering will kill a potted plant faster than underwatering it. Both can cause wilted leaves!

What about fertilizing? You’re looking for a balance, and your tree will tell you what it needs. Too much fertilizer can burn the roots, but it can also create too much leafy growth at the expense of fruit production. For example, if your apple or peach tree grows 8 inches a year and has lovely green leaves, it does not need fertilizer. If yours displays poor growth and has yellowing leaves, you can mix compost or worm castings into the top couple of inches of soil and water it in. There are also fruit tree fertilizers available—follow the package directions. More is not better! Only feed your tree during the growing season, and don’t add fertilizer after early July.

Take the time to learn how to care for your tree—possible diseases or insect problems to watch for and what kind of pruning it needs. And be patient.

Most trees do not bear fruit for 2-4 years. In the meantime, you’ll have a lovely green garden to enjoy in your favorite outdoor space!

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Columbia River Reader /February 15, 2022 / 31

Astronomy

SKY REPORT

Looking UP

Moon Phases

By Greg Smith

Feb 15 – March 20

Evening Sky

At this point in the year there are no more naked-eye planets to be seen. There are the great winter constellations of Orion with bright Rigel and red Betelgeuse, Gemini with the twins Castor and Pollux, Auriga with bright Capella and Taurus, with its companion the Pleiades. The Big Dipper is rising in the far northeast, standing on its handle. One of the brightest stars in our sky is Sirius in Canis Major. It is below to the southeast of the star Rigel. This is the famous Dog Star that the Egyptians used to be on the watch for. The great floods of the Nile came at the appearing of this star.

There are plenty of other jewels to be seen. Get out your planisphere or monthly star chart and go look for them.

Morning Sky Saturn, Mars, Venus, and Mercury are in the morning sky just 30 minutes before sunrise. Venus will be the brightest and highest, with the red planet Mars to the lower right of Venus. Closer to the horizon will be Mercury and Saturn, but they will be somewhat hard to see as they are closer to the brightening horizon.

They will only be 3 degrees above the actual flatland horizon; viewing from an east facing hilltop will aid in seeing them so low. Binoculars will likely be needed to pick them out.

Mercury is heading back towards the sun while Saturn is rising higher in the morning sky. They will pass each other on March 2nd. Venus stays in the morning sky all spring and on through autumn.

Full Feb 16th 3rd Qtr. Feb. 23rd New March 2nd 1st Qtr. March 10th Full March 18th

End of twilight - when the stars start to come out

Tues. Feb. 15th 6:08 pm PST Mon Feb. 28th 6:27pm PST Sat March 19th 7:51pm PDT

the scope. A four-inch wide scope will show a group of four stars. Surrounding them are more stars. Many are very young, only a couple of million years old with dust clouds around them where planets are forming as you read this.

This is similar to the star nursery our sun was born in.

James Webb Space Telescope.

After its launch on Christmas Day, it has now reached its parking spot a million miles from Earth. The telescope is in the process of fine tuning the configuration of its 18 mirrors. The mirrors have to be aligned to the precision of less than the width of a human hair. So it takes a while to do this. We won’t be seeing any pictures till June or July. Looking forward to this summer.

••• 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.

Get the best care for your loved one.

Night Sky Spectacle: M42 The Orion Nebula Here is one of the premier sights and go-to places in the winter sky. It is located in the middle of the “sword” of Orion, which hangs down from the three-star belt. This is a star-forming region “only” 1,500 light years away.

With binoculars you can see that it is a fuzzy patch of light with a star or two in the middle. Even with a small telescope, the fuzzy patch becomes a cloud of light with several more stars visible. In the center of the cloud is a bright spot, depending on the size of

32 / Columbia River Reader / February 15, 2022

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Columbia River Reader /February 15, 2022 / 33

PLUGGED IN TO COWLITZ

the spectator by ned piper

I

Reading and chewing gum while you walk

t warms my heart when members of the next generation decide to support a project that brings value to our community.

S t o r y Wa l k i s such a project.

L o n g v i e w residents Jakob Collins and Joanne Dallas are third-year University of Washington I just students enrolled in a remote learning course known as iSchool and dropped are set to graduate in June 2022. Both are working on their Masters by to degrees in Library and Information Science, simultaneously working read a book! at the Longview Library.

They decided to collaborate on a project called StoryWalk, consisting of pages of picture books blown up and mounted on placards, placed one after another outdoors. More than 300 libraries nationwide have done this for their communities. The idea is to combine literature, exploring the outdoors, and exercise for children and adults to enjoy while taking a walk.

PUD

We Get By with a Little Help from our Friends

A

t the beginning of January, Cowlitz PUD received a call from Klickitat PUD for Mutual Aid to help restoring power outages due to a snow event. Two of our crews responded, working 16-18 hour shifts in waist-deep snow, packing tools and materials on foot The Klickitat line superintendent expressed appreciation for the efforts of our crews and noted that without this assistance, Klickitat’s customers would have remained without power for another week. Cowlitz PUD’s general manager, Gary Huhta, received a call from Klickitat PUD’s General Manager, Jim Smith, thanking Cowlitz PUD crews for the help provided and singing the praises of our hardworking linemen.

The first book, Fatima’s Great Outdoors, by Ambreen Tariq, will be displayed February 20–March 6 at Lake Sacajawea, starting near the Elks playground on Kessler Blvd.

The second book, titled, Oi Frog by Kes Gray and Jim Field, will be mounted near the Longview Library, by the squirrel statue, March 7– 20.

By Alice Dietz

What is Mutual Aid? Mutual Aid is a reciprocal exchange of resources and services. Cowlitz PUD has been on both ends of Mutual Aid, receiving help from neighboring public utilities and even traveling as far as Chelan County in eastern Washington in 2020 to assist in outage restoration due to wildfires.

The utility that calls for the mutual aid reimburses the utility providing the assistance.

Cowlitz PUD prides itself in speedy restorations for customers. It’s always comforting to know that in the case of larger outages — whether here in our community or our neighbors’, public utilities can work together to ensure faster restoration times for everyone.

•••

REDISCOVER RECONNECT GET INSPIRED

Alice Dietz is Cowlitz PUD’s Communications/Public Relations Manager. Reach her at adietz@cowlitzpud.org, or 360-501-9146.

Jakob and Joanne are asking those interested to take a survey to help with the decision to makeStoryWalk a permanent attraction in Longview. Instructions will be in the form of a QR Code on the last page of each book. Or you can respond by emailing Jakob at coljak28@uw.edu.

Make a note of the dates these books are on display and take your children, grandchildren or just yourself to the lake and the library, then send your impressions of the project to Jakob and Joanne, two young people who are doing something to make our community just a little bit more interesting.

••• Longview resident Ned Piper coordinates advertising and distribution of CRR, all the while enjoying meeting and greeting old friends and new.

WO 34 / Columbia River Reader / February 15, 2022

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Please support our local booksellers & galleries Columbia River Reader /February 15, 2022 / 35

36 / Columbia River Reader / February October 15, 2020 2022