CRR September 2021

CRREADER.COM Vol. XVIII, No. 193 • September 15, 2021 • COMPLIMENTARY Helping you discover and enjoy the good life in the Columbia River region at home and on the road

ROBERT MICHAEL PYLE

“The Book Boat” JOHN KEATS

“To Autumn” page 26

COLUMBIA RIVER

dining guide

People+ Place

BACK WAY TO THE COAST

Lest we forget ...

LONGVIEW HOSTS THE WALL THAT HEALS page 17

COLUMBIA RIVER READER COLLECTORS CLUB

LEWIS AND CLARK REVOLUTIONIZED

• 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

COLUMBIA RIVER

dining guide

ESCAPE TO BARCELONA • “FEATURED

IN FULL VIEW Rex Ziak

$29.95

CHEF” RETURNS

ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION 11 issues $55.

SUBSCRIPTIONS MAKE THOUGHTFUL GIFTS...

FOR YOURSELF OR FOR A FRIEND!

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.

We’ll send your recipient a printed gift notification card.

THE TIDEWATER REACH

EYEWITNESS TO ASTORIA Gabriel Franchére

Field Guide to the Lower Columbia River in Poems and Pictures

By Robert Michael Pyle and Judy VanderMaten.

Boxed Signature Edition, Color and BW $50 / Trade paperback $25 “It’s a different way of seeing.” A one-of-a-kind Field Guide to the lower Columbia, in poems and pictures.

Now available from Columbia River Reader Press in two editions.

The

$21.95

Tidewater Reach Field Guide to the

Lower Columbia River

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.

in

Poems and Pictures

Field Guide to the

Lower Columbia River in

Poems and Pictures

Robert Michael Pyle Judy VanderMaten

Robert Michael Pyle Judy VanderMaten

DISPATCHES FROM THE DISCOVERY TRAIL

DOWN AND UP Rex Ziak $18.95 A unique fold-out guide mapping dayby-day Lewis and Clark’s journey from the Rockies to the Pacific Ocean and back.

COLLECTORS CLUB / BOOK ORDER FORM ALSO AVAILABLE FOR PICK-UP at 1333 14th, Longview

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

Or Call 360-749-1021

For FREE Local Delivery

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

dispatches from the

Discovery Trail with

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

dispatches from the

Signature Edition

HAL CALBOM

woodcut art by

DEBBY NEELY

A LAYMAN’S LEWIS & CLARK

Discovery Trail with

HAL CALBOM

woodcut art by

A Layman’s Lewis & Clark

By Michael O. Perry Boxed Signature Edition, Color and BW $50 / Trade paperback $25 Compiled from the popular CRR series, with new notes and commentary, this book adds a gifted amateur historian’s insights, quirks and observations to the lore and legacy of the Lewis & Clark Expedition.

DEBBY NEELY

A LAYMAN’S LEWIS & CLARK

All book orders to include shipping and handling charge. All book and subscription orders to include, if applicable, Washington State sales tax.

___@ $29.95 = ______________

Eyewitness to Astoria

___@ $21.95 = ______________

Down and Up

___ @ $18.95 = _____________

In Full View

CURL UP WITH A BOOK

CRRPress 1333 14th Ave. Longview, WA 98632 Name_____________________________________________ Street_____________________________________________ City/State/Zip______________________________________ email_____________________________________________ Phone ____________________________________________ *Gift Subscription for _______________________________ Mailing Address _______________________________________ _________________________________________________

The Tidewater Reach Color/BW Boxed Signature Edition

The Tidewater Reach BW Edition

___ @ $50.00 = ______________ ___ @ $25.00 = ______________

Dispatches from the Discovery Trail Color/BW Boxed Signature Edition

___ @ $50.00 = ______________

Dispatches from the Discovery Trail BW Edition ___ @ $25.00 = ______________ 11-issue Subscription ________ @ $55 = _________________ Start with next issue; For gift Subscription* enter info at left.

ORDER SUB-TOTAL ____________________________ Washington residents add sales tax 8.1%________________ For Books: Add Shipping & Handling

TOTAL __________________________ Please make check payable to CRR Press.

To use credit card, visit www.crreader.com/crrpress or call 360-749-1021

2 / Columbia River Reader / September 15, 2021

$3.90

Sue’s Views Fall, glorious fall!

R

ick Little’s telling about falling in love with musical theatre at a young age (see “People+Place,” page 17) got me thinking about musicals I’ve enjoyed over the years.

Hello, Dolly! starring Carol Channing, was, like Rick’s, also my first Broadway show. Another favorite, Oliver!, features “Food, Glorious Food,” sung by the workhouse boys as they line up for their gruel. The tune stuck with me and I found myself humming it at the Cowlitz Community Farmers Market Saturday morning, just before this issue went to press.

In my mind, however, I substituted the words “Fall, glorious fall!” as I made the rounds, feasting my eyes on Nature’s bounty. All these luscious, ripe fruits and vegetables ... then add in the crisp mornings, soft dusky evenings, walking through crunchy leaves, cross country students running around Lake Sacajawea, lighting spice-scented candles indoors, pumpkins popping

Publisher/Editor: Susan P. Piper Columnists and contributors: Tracy Beard Hal Calbom Alice Dietz Joseph Govednik Dayle Olson Michael Perry Ned Piper Robert Michael Pyle Marc Roland Alan Rose Alice Slusher Greg Smith Debra Tweedy Judy VanderMaten Technical Advisor: Perry E. Piper Editorial/Proofreading Assistants: Merrilee Bauman, Michael Perry, Marilyn Perry, Tiffany Dickinson, Debra Tweedy Advertising Manager: Ned Piper, 360-749-2632

up on porches ... and many of us are reminded why we feel (and think) this is the best time of year. Here’s to Fall!

John Keats’s beloved poem captures the essence, and I include it here (again) for everyone’s enjoyment.

Masking and social distancing protocols persist, so not much gathering is taking place. Fort Clatsop’s “In Their Footsteps” series, however, continues ... albeit virtually. Still, the programs are very captivating. The new season kicks off Sunday, September 19, at 1pm, with Jane Kirkpatrick’s “Something Worth Doing.”

Light a candle, grab a mug of hot cider, and join this award-winning author online as she shares stories about some “wonderfully unruly women,” including Abigail Scott Duniway, an early

Oregon suffragist. Duniway is the lead character in Kirkpatrick’s 2020 historical fiction book, Something Worth Doing.

To Autumn by John Keats

Jane Kirkpatrick has written 40 books, most based on the lives of historical women and men and speaking of timeless themes of hardiness, faith, commitment, hope, and love. She has spoken around the world about the power of stories in our lives. Some 20 years ago, she gave a talk in the Lewis and Clark National Historical Park (Fort Clatsop) that inspired the popular “In Their Footsteps” guest speaker series, ongoing all these years and currently as a virtual event. See page 29 for details and other upcoming programs.

Conspiring with him how to load and bless

Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness, Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun; With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eves run; To bend with apples the moss’d cottage-trees, And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core; To swell the gourd, and plump the hazel shells With a sweet kernel; to set budding more, And still more, later flowers for the bees, Until they think warm days will never cease, For summer has o’er-brimm’d their clammy cells.

Who hath not seen thee oft amid thy store?

Sometimes whoever seeks abroad may find Thee sitting careless on a granary floor, Thy hair soft-lifted by the winnowing wind;

I hope you’ll be able to visit The Wall That Heals, Sept 23–26 (schedule, page 20) at Longview Memorial Park. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for most people. The experience may stir feelings of melancholy, gratitude, or a mood and meaning words can’t fully express.

Or on a half-reap’d furrow sound asleep, Drows’d with the fume of poppies, while thy hook Spares the next swath and all its twined flowers: And sometimes like a gleaner thou dost keep Steady thy laden head across a brook; Or by a cyder-press, with patient look, Thou watchest the last oozings hours by hours.

Best wishes for rich, autumn enjoyment...there’s lots to celebrate, savor, appreciate, and remember.

Thank you for reading the Reader.

Where are the songs of spring? Ay, Where are they?

Think not of them, thou hast thy music too,— While barred clouds bloom the soft-dying day, And touch the stubble-plains with rosy hue;

Sue Piper

Then in a wailful choir the small gnats mourn Among the river sallows, borne aloft Or sinking as the light wind lives or dies;

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

Hedge-crickets sing; and now with treble soft The red-breast whistles from a garden-croft; and gathering swallows twitter in the skies.

In this Issue

ON THE COVER Rick Little at Longview Memorial Park Photo by Hal Calbom

And full-grown lambs loud bleat from hilly bourn;

2

CRR Collectors Club

Bill McGee during the Vietnam War. Courtesy photo

4

Biz Buzz Tidbit

5

Civilized Living: Miss Manners

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.

7

Dispatches from the Discovery Trail ~ Episode 6

11

A Different Way of Seeing ~ The Tidewater Reach

12

Provisions along the Trail: Goni’s Stromboli, Finnish Pannukakku

13

Out & About: It’s Tailgate Time!

15

Museum Magic: A Museum of Memories

16 Quips & Quotes 17–20 People + Place ~ Lest We Forget: Rick Little 20

A Vietnam Veteran: Binging it Back Home ~ Bill McGee

Submission guidelines: page 28.

General Ad info: page 28.

23

Where Do You Read the Reader?

24

Besides CRR, What Are You Reading?

Ned Piper 360-749-2632.

25

Cover to Cover ~ Book Review / Bestsellers List

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

26

Lower Columbia Dining Guide

27

Marc Roland on Wine: Looking Forward to Fall

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

30

Northwest Gardening: If You Can’t Beat ‘em...

31

Farmers Market Listings

32

Astronomy / Looking Up / The Sky Report: Sept 20 -Oct 19

34

The Spectator: Loss, Vietnam, and The Wall

34

Plugged In to Cowlitz PUD: 4th Annual Eat to Heat

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

28-29 Submissions Guidelines / Outings & Events / Hikes

CRREADER.COM

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

Columbia River Reader / September 15, 2021 / 3

Biz Buzz The Dog Zone recently moved to 12 International Way, (the former Schwan’s distribution center), Longview. Services include overnight boarding, doggie daycare, baths, training, nail trims, self-wash, and retail. They’ll still be open 365 days a year. The Dog Zone will no longer be giving haircuts, but otherwise, the location is different, but the services

7 am - 9 pm 7 pm

are the same. “The Dog Zone is still your dog’s home away from home,” said owner Doug Kahlberg in a press release.

The play yard will be bigger and better than ever, eventually with an online video stream of the play yard at www. thedogzone.net.

For more info, contact 360-425-7297 or paws@thedogzone.net.

Your Columbia River Reader Read it • Enjoy it Share it • Recycle it Columbia River Reader is printed with environmentally-sensitive soy-based inks on paper manufactured in the Pacific Northwest utilizing the highest percentage of “post-consumer waste” recycled content available on the market.

Reminder:

Please do not place your recyclables in plastic bags Place directly into your BROWN recycling container

Recycling Rule of Thumb: Reuse or donate if possible, but...

When in doubt — throw it out!

Tin & Aluminum Acceptable Aluminum, steel and tin cans (including drink, food, even pet food) and clean aluminum foil.

Empty contents and rinse lightly. Labels may stay on.

Place the lids inside the cans - this is a safety feature for the crews sor ting your recyclables.

Unacceptable • Propane cylinders • Beach or lawn chairs • Pots, pans or other scrap metal • Contaminated foil • Motor oil or other automotive fluid cans

- Check out the new and improved -

www.longviewrecycles.com

NMLS# 186805

Committed to helping you find

THE RIGHT MORTGAGE.

Programs available to qualified borrowers. Rates and programs subject to change without notice. Underwriting terms and conditions apply.

4 / Columbia River Reader / September 15, 2021

Carrie Lynn Medack Sr. Loan Officer 360.431.0998 NMLS#190268

1541 11th Ave., Suite A Longview, WA NMLS#1164433

Civilized Living

Mt. St. Helens Gifts Doing good versus feeling good;

Jewelry • Souvenirs • T-Shirts Ash Glass & Pottery

Social occasions are not Noah’s Ark;

By Judith Martin, Nicholas Ivor Martin and Jacobina Martin

Bigfoot HQ Castle Rock • I-5 Exit 49

1254-B Mt. St. Helens Way

360-274-7011

DEAR MISS MANNERS: Our preacher’s wife offered to contribute money to our household grocery budget.

We live fairly comfortably on our combined Social Security checks, plus a nice little pension. I thanked her and told her truthfully that we have everything we need.

In this morning’s mail, we received a check for $500.

She wrote in a note that another friend had given her the money to pass on to us, just for the fun of doing an anonymous good deed.

Original • Local • Organic

What to ask your helpful guests to bring Of course, we will immediately send a thank-you note back to the intermediary. Is there anything else we can do? This is just shrimp instead of mac and cheese, but it is a lot of money.

GENTLE READER: You can enclose the unendorsed check with your letter of thanks, asking that the money be given to someone truly in need. Why shouldn’t you, too, have the fun of doing a good deed?

That charity is noble does not mean that it should be pressed on those who have declined it. Doing so makes Miss Manners suspicious that the purpose was not to do good, but only to be able to feel good.

DEAR MISS MANNERS: Is there a correct way to respond to an invitation to a group dinner where all the parties are couples, and my husband is out of town or has a prior commitment?

All about the good life here Only good news

Examples: being invited out to dinner with two other couples, being invited by a couple we don’t know well, being invited to friends’ home with another couple present.

Does it matter who is paying, whether it’s at a restaurant or someone’s house, or how casual it is?

Gives off a nice crinkle Covers suitable for framing Pops up around town like monthly mushrooms

Please assume for the examples that there is either no seating chart, or that my RSVP has been given in advance so that the hosts know to expect only one. cont page 6

Experience the Best.

Experience Cascade Title.

“Together, for Longview!”

Housing Affordability

Address the chronic shortage of housing through incentives for private development, such as tax incentives and changes to the municipal code.

Alison Peters Escrow Officer / LPO

1425 Maple Street Longview, WA 98632 360.425.2950 www.cascade-title.com

Celinda Northrup Escrow Officer / LPO

Diane Keeneway Escrow Closer / Assistant

Consistent, Courteous and Complete Title and Escrow Services

Compassionate but Practical Solutions

For homelessness/the unhoused.

Infrastructure Updates Utilizing unprecedented federal dollars to build our community.

Economic Growth

Tom champions small business, and wants to focus City resources on attracting small to mediumsized businesses to our community.

Longview has a vibrant deep-water Port, essential transportation infrastructure and, most importantly, the will to succeed.

Learn more at

tomleeforlongview.com

Up & running with lessons online...

Music lasts a lifetime.

Remember, we’re all in this together!

Piano Lessons A great investment in yourself or as a gift

Martin E. Kauble Longview, WA

360-423-3072

(www.kaublepianostudio.com)

technique • theory • performance

Joanna & Tom Lee and their dog, Wilbur.

Paid for by Tom Lee for Longview • 1603 Larch Street #2490, Longview WA 98632 Columbia River Reader / September 15, 2021 / 5

Miss Manners

from page 5

When it’s good friends of ours, we know the invite is open with one or both of us. We enjoy seeing our friends who are couples together, but separate is OK, too, if one is unavailable.

This comes up more often than I would like. I want to spend time with people, but don’t want to feel like I’m an extra wheel.

GENTLE READER: Oh, dear. Miss Manners would have thought that the era of counting the boy-girl ratio at social events, with all the damage it does to partnerless people, had ended.

Do we not know that with the exception of square dancing, few respectable social activities require such pairs?

That individuals should be valued for themselves?

DEAR MISS MANNERS: If you are invited to someone’s home for drinks and appetizers, how do you know when it is time for you to leave?

GENTLE READER: When the hosts stop offering drinks, speak of their heavy schedules for the next day, announce that it was lovely to see you, or stand by the door. Miss Manners strongly advises leaving before receiving any such signal.

DEAR MISS MANNERS: I have a friend who hooked up with a woman he met at a local club. Come to find out, this woman knows his mother on a professional level. Is it OK to have a relationship with this person? Just wondering.

GENTLE READER: If your friend has no objection to his girlfriend’s being in business with his mother, Miss Manners sees no reason to protest. Whether his mother will is another question.

in the community, is being given a surprise retirement party by his students, colleagues and friends. The hush-hush invitations read sternly, “PLEASE, NO GIFTS! A money tree will be provided!”

DEAR MISS MANNERS: What is the proper response to my invited guests who ask me what they should bring to my table?

The rationale is that given his modest salary, he will need the money to help him retire, rather than the “clutter” of presents.

GENTLE READER: “The pleasure of your company.”

I very much want to attend and honor this man; however, I am bothered by a dictate that shuns individual gifts for a crass financial payout. Also, I

DEAR MISS MANNERS: A former teacher of mine, a beloved figure

cont page 28

HOT PIZZA FRESH COOL

That a couple does not necessarily consist of a boy and a girl?

For a guest to propose adding a guest would, in most cases, be rude. But to subtract one is not. However, if you suspect that this would dismay your host, you can reply by saying, “I’m afraid Harvey will be out of town then” — and then pausing for the host to reply, “But I hope you will come.”

SALAD BAR THE BEST AROUND! IN ST HELENS • 2124 Columbia Blvd

223 NE 1st Street, Kalama 9–8 M-Sat, 10–7 Sun • 360-673-2200

503-397-3211

Day Trippers!

SUMMER-FALL SPECIALS Oil Change

$

39

95

COMP MULTI-POINT INSPECTION INCLUDED WITH OIL CHANGE

We’re your convenient last stop on the way to ING R the Mountain!

O L P • EX G N I K I •H R I A H FRES • S C I Full Grocery PICN Full Deli

Present coupon before repairs. Good thru 10/14/21.

PRICES MAY VARY DEPENDING ON MAKE & MODEL. For an appointment call us at 360-423-3350.

Brake Special

PER AXLE PARTS & LABOR $249 INCLUDING MACHINING ROTORS Present coupon before repairs. Good thru 10/14/21.

360-423-3350

1111 Washington Way, Longview WWW.STIRLINGHONDA.COM 6 / Columbia River Reader / September 15, 2021

Serving the local community for more than 80 Years!

Fresh-Cut Meat Case Local Produce Wines & Spirits Chowder, Fish, Shrimp Handmade Burgers Crazy-Good Chicken!

WI-FI • ATM Gas/Diesel

Grab & Go or enjoy our picnic tables!

DREW’S GROCERY & SERVICE, INC Just 10 miles from I-5 Exit 49

5304 Spirit Lake Hwy • Toutle, WA

360-274-8920

Lewis & Clark

DISPATCHES FROM THE DISCOVERY TRAIL EPISODE 6

In April we introduced a revised and expanded version of Michael

Bluffs and Bluster and Winter Weather Worries

N

ot all members of the Corp of Discovery were great hunters.

George Shannon came close to starving to death when he got lost at the end of August in 1804 while hunting for missing horses. In his attempt to return to the boats, Shannon followed an Indian trail; he thought he was behind the party, but he was actually ahead of them. After two weeks, he decided he was never going to catch up with the Expedition and stopped.

On Sept. 11th, his crewmates found him sitting on the riverbank, hoping to catch a ride back to St. Louis with a French trapper. Shannon must have been a poor marksman, for Clark wrote “thus a man had the like to have Starved to death in a land of Plenty for the want of Bullitts.” Shannon had gone “12 days without any thing to eate but Grapes & one Rabit, which he Killed by shooting a piece of hard Stick in place of a ball.”

Lewis and Clark had no way of knowing what lay ahead when the Expedition traveled through what is now South Dakota. But, worries about the approaching winter weather and interactions with the Indians were undoubtedly on their mind. Some of you may have driven across the Dakotas and feared being caught by a winter storm. Today, with reliable weather forecasts and motels along the way, few people actually get stranded.

But, for Lewis and Clark, it was a real possibility.

On September 15, 1804, Clark wrote “this evening is verry Cold… the wind is

Perry’s popular series. In the new book, Dispatches from the Discovery Trail, edited by Hal Calbom and excerpted below, CRRPress includes an in-depth author interview and new illustrations and commentary.

hard from the N W.” Three days later, Lewis wrote “this day saw the first brandt on their return from the north.” Birds flying south was not a welcome sight since they were hoping to get to the Mandan Indian villages in present day North Dakota before winter snows set in.

The weather was changing. On September 23rd Clark wrote “aire remarkably dry – in 36 hours two Spoonfuls of water aveporated in a sauser.” On September 19th, they began recording temperatures each morning and again at 4pm each day. Over the next month, morning temperatures ranged from 38 to 58 degrees, and the afternoon highs ranged between 40 and 86. By midOctober, Clark wrote “the leaves of all the trees as ash, elm &c except the cottonwood is now fallen.” The men awoke to frost on the ground several times in early October. Clearly, winter was near.

Meanwhile, Lewis and Clark were worried about the Teton Sioux Indians.

They knew a Teton war party had recently raided the Omahas, killing more than 70 people and capturing dozens more as slaves.

The Teton Sioux were a large and aggressive tribe who controlled the land on both sides of the river and had prevented small groups of traders from passing without paying tribute.

Lewis and Clark knew they had to deal with them since the Omaha survivors reported the Teton Sioux intended to prevent the Expedition from continuing up the river. President

Michael Perry enjoys local history and travel. His popular 33-installment Lewis & Clark 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 cut art by

wood

A LAYMAN’S

K

LEWIS & CLAR

Jefferson had specifically instructed Lewis to make friends with the Teton Sioux; however, if Lewis recalled that order, he ignored it.

September 24th was the first of several tense days. First, the Teton Sioux stole the Expedition’s last horse. Efforts to get the horse back failed when three chiefs met with Lewis and Clark to hear the standard speech promoting peace and trading. Unimpressed by the medals and presents they received, the chiefs were invited aboard the keelboat for some whiskey. The chiefs were “exceedingly fond of it, they took up an empty bottle, Smelted it, and made many Simple jestures and Soon began to be troublesome.”

“

dance was performed (the scalps were from a recent raid against the neighboring Omaha Indians). Clark described it as “A large fire made in the Center, about 10 misitions playing on tamberins made of hoops & skin stretched, long sticks with Deer & Goats Hoofs tied So as to make a gingling noise and many others of a similar kind, those men began to Sing & Beet on the Tamboren, the women Came forward highly Deckerated in their way, with the Scalps an Trofies of war of ther father Husbands Brothers or near Connection & proceeded to Dance the war Dance.”

While returning from the pageant, Clark’s pirogue crashed into the keelboat and broke its anchor line.

Clark ordered “all hands up & at

... the weather was changing ...

The going had been slow, but they’d been in what Clark called The Garden of Eden, rich American grasslands full of game and forage.

Suddenly, as the fall approached, the members began to worry about three things: the Indians — chiefly the fierce Teton Sioux they’d heard warnings about — the weather, and the availability of game for food.”

The chiefs resisted efforts to be put ashore; when a warrior grabbed the line holding the pirogue and one of the chiefs demanded a canoe load of presents before allowing the expedition to go on, Clark drew his sword and Lewis called all the men to arms. The swivel cannon was aimed at shore and the men loaded their rifles.

The Indians strung their bows and took arrows from their quivers. Lewis held a lighted taper over the cannon and refused to back down. Disaster was averted when the warriors began to back off. Clark offered to shake hands with the few who remained, but they refused. Two of the three chiefs stepped forward and offered to stay on the keelboat that night to insure peace. The next morning, they asked Lewis to stay another night.

That evening, the Teton Sioux put on a grand pageant and feast. A scalp

their ores” to keep the loose boat from slipping into the swift current.

The Indians became alarmed by the commotion and thought they were being attacked.

In no time, there were 200 warriors lined up on the bank, while the men on board had their guns loaded and aimed. Interestingly, as was the case the previous day, the Indians did not notch their arrows – doing so might have been enough to cause the crew to begin shooting. The confusion was soon resolved. Clark wrote “All prepared on board for any thing which might happen, we kept a Strong guard all night in the boat. No sleep.”

When the crew attempted to leave the next morning, the Indians once again created a tense showdown. They demanded some more tobacco before cont. page 9

Columbia River Reader / September 15, 2021 / 7

Downtown Longview

Enjoy Downtown Longview! Explore, shop, dine and relax ... Thank you for buying local and supporting small business!

DOWNTOWN FUELING STATIONS Subject to COVID restrictions

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

M-W 12 Noon–9pm, Th–Sat 12 Noon– 11pm. Sun 12 Noon–8pm.

360-232-8283.

Dropping in downtown to see what’s going on!

EXPLORE

See ad, page 12

Creekside Café 1323 Commerce Ave. Soups, Salads, Burgers, Wraps.

Pick-up and Delivery. 11am–7pm.

360-425-7296. Closed temporarily for expansion. Re-opening soon.

Longview Outdoor Gallery Unique sculptures along the sidewalks of Downtown Longview, both sides of Commerce Ave. Podcast audio tour showcases

Traditional Toys, Games & Books, Backpacks & Lunchboxes

SHOP LOCAL!

1339 Commerce #112

Downtown art. Available on six platforms, incl Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Each episode matches specific sculptures with artist and piece details.

Viewers may proceed in any sequence at any time.

IN THE MERK • 360-425-5042 Mon – Sat • 10:30– 5:30

The Broadway Gallery See ad, page 15

We’re family owned, locally owned & here to stay

The Freshest Seafood in Town

Now Serving Beer, Wine, Spirits, Cocktails

OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK

M-Sat 10am–8pm • Sun 11am–8pm Dine-In, Drive Thru, or Delivery with Door Dash

Alaskan Halibut or Cod Fish ‘N’ Chips Award-Winning Clam Chowder Seafood, Burgers, Steaks & Pasta

Authorized Lazboy Dealer

1413 Commerce Ave. Longview 360-575-9804 M-F: 9:30–5:30 • Sat 10 - 5

Eclipse Café

In the Merk (1339 Commerce, #113) 360-431-5552. Mon-Fri 8am–4pm.

Specialty coffees, teas, bubble teas and pastries....drinks with a smile.

Takeout and on-site.

Jay’s Jukebox Burgers, 1232 Commerce Ave.. 1950s Soda shop. Take-out.

Open Tues–Sun, 11–7.

Phone 360-261-7879

The Carriage Restaurant & Lounge

The Carriage Restaurant & Lounge 1334 12th Ave. Open from 6am. Breakfast, lunch and dinner. Full bar, banquet room for groups, parties, family reunions, etc. in lounge.

Three happy hours daily (8–10am, 12–2pm, 5–7pm). Group meeting room, free use with $150 food/drink purchases.

www.elamshf.com

Beer, Wine, Spirits & Cocktails

Columbia River Reader

Call ahead

360-414-3288 360-431-6286

BOOK BOUTIQUE 1110 Commerce Ave. Longview

Gift Books Lewis & Clark,

Call before you go !

You’ve worked.

You’ve saved.

You have something.

Now, Protect It!

Astoria, Columbia River ... poetry, history, 5 titles, see pg 2

Gift Subscriptions for yourself or a friend!

“I make house calls”

THE LAW OFFICE OF

Vincent L. (Vince) Penta, P.S. 1561 11th Ave. Longview

360-423-7175

8 / Columbia River Reader / September 15, 2021

M-W-F, 11–3; 1333 14th Ave, Longview Curbside pick-up and free local delivery of books

360-749-1021

Dispatches

from page 7

allowing the expedition to proceed.

Lewis lost his temper and refused.

As they tried to cast off, a warrior grabbed the rope. Clark was not ready to repeat the previous standoffs, so he threw some tobacco to the chief while lighting the cannon’s firing taper to show he was prepared to shoot if necessary. A few more pieces of tobacco and the confrontation was over and they were once again moving up river.

Although the Indians vastly outnumbered the expeditionary force, many would have been killed if fighting had occurred. Such a loss was too big a price to pay even for control of trade and travel on the river. Indians would not attack a well-armed and determined force. The French and Spanish traders who had preceded Lewis and Clark had been willing to pay whatever price the Indians demanded and were thus deemed to be weak.

... fearless and prepared to fight ...

•••

The Teton Sioux occupied two villages near present-day Pierre, South Dakota. Among French and Canadian traders, as well as among other neighboring and competing tribes, the Tetons were known for their fighting spirit and aggressiveness. They often demanded gifts or tribute for passage up or down the river.

At the first council with the leaders of the Teton tribe, the Expedition’s leaders went through their regular routine used when meeting Indians, dressing in their parade uniforms and demonstrating their weapons. The Tetons were notably

“

... make friends with the Teton Sioux ...

These were the most aggressive Indians they’d run into yet.

But they’d been warned ‚ both parties. Everywhere the Expedition went, the Indians knew they were coming because other Indians passed the word. The fur trappers had told the Expedition members they should anticipate trouble getting by and might have to pay the Indians.”

Sioux Chief Running Antelope is the only American Indian ever depicted on U.S. paper currency. Unfortunately, the Chief is pictured — to the distress of many historians and tribal leaders — wearing a Pawnee headdress, as his traditional Sioux headdress was too tall for the engraving.

unimpressed. They saw the Americans as potential trade rivals and grew fractious as their council meetings went on.

During the Corps’ stay, Clark made detailed notes on Teton culture. In his journal, the Tetons are described as thin, small and generally ill-looking. The Teton men wore hawk feathers about their heads and robes over their bodies, while women dressed in buffalo skins and robes. During the Expedition’s stay, the Tetons held a number of celebrations — scalp dances — of a recent war victory over the rival Omahas.

Knowing the Corps clearly was fearless and prepared to fight, the Teton Sioux were not willing to fight when their bluffs and bluster failed.

Lewis and Clark were fortunate since the entire crew would almost certainly have been killed if fighting had broken out. Such a victory would have made the Teton Sioux even more feared and would undoubtedly have changed history.

The United States could not have sent trading parties up the river for years afterwards, and the westward expansion would have been slowed.

On October 8th, the expedition reached the Arikara Nation in

present-day South Dakota. Word of the Corp’s near-disasterous encounter with the Teton Sioux had already reached the Arikaras.

Things went much better when the two sides met, and Lewis gave them gifts. As usual, the keelboat cannon was fired to impress the Indians, and Lewis “astonished them much” when he fired his air rifle. But, the Indians were even more amazed by one of the men in the Expedition.

••• Next episode we will learn about the only Black man in the Corps of Discovery, and encounter the first snow as the Corps travels to the Mandan village in North Dakota where the group will spend the winter.

Columbia River Reader / September 15, 2021 / 9

Outstanding MRI Services Available at Pacific Imaging Center

P

atrick Burns and the staff at Pacific Imaging Center pride themselves on providing quality MRI services. PIC features experienced techs, state-of-the-art imaging equipment, and rapid return of results to your primary care physician.

Patrick Burns, Director of Imaging Services

PIC also offers some of the region’s shortest wait-times. At imaging facilities in the Portland-Vancouver area, it can take weeks to get an appointment. At PIC, wait-times are typically just a few days.

Additionally, PIC partners with the renowned radiologists at National Orthopedic Imaging Associates. This means if you have a knee scan, it will be analyzed by a radiologist who specializes in knees.

Call 360.501.3444 for more information.

Pacific Imaging Center 625 9th Avenue • Longview, WA 98632 360.501.3444 www.longviewpsi.com/pic

Pacific Imaging Services is located at Pacific Surgical Institute, where orthopedic and physical therapy services are available on-site for your convenience.

10 / Columbia River Reader / September 15, 2021

A Different Way of Seeing

THE TIDEWATER REACH

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

‘But even now the Columbia remembers...’

The Book Boat He bought a good old tub named Lorraine off an old salt gone to shore on Sauvie Island.

Barely knew navigation, let alone diesel, so come spring and still afloat, he found a mate — a worse-off soak, never dried out, in a tavern off lower Burnside on Water Street — to caulk decks, pump bilge, romance the fickle engine into life.

When it began to look like Lorraine might not sink, he built shelves in the hold, and started buying books wherever he could: Goodwills and thrifts in The Dalles and St. Helens, library sales in Rainier and White Salmon, the remainder tables at Powell’s.

Then, recalling bookmobiles from his boyhood on the plains, he hung his shingle on the bridge, and took The Book Boat on the road — on the river.

BOAT CRADLE And so it went, up and down the tidal reach, Bonneville to Baker Bay and back again.

Sometimes through the locks, all the way to Lewiston. Laying his wares before the boaters, the fishers, the workers, the loafers, all of them

Located on the waterfront near the Astoria-Megler Bridge, this decaying boat cradle is among the last in the region. Designed to ramp a boat up and down into the river, it’s a variation on a device ubiquitous among mariners — usually employed to either lift, travel with, or store a boat. Just as it sounds, rather than en-folding the boat the cradle simply provides a form-fitting resting place, with or without lifts, wheels or locomotion.

hungry for good books, though they might not know it.

He sold them cheap, gave them away, or — his favorite — bartered, for fish, fruit, or laundry.

Swapped a late Brian Doyle for a sturgeon, Middlemarch for Maryhill wine. Made enough for ground beef, beer, and diesel. Even the cat got fed and the mate paid enough for drunken leave ashore.

Lorraine became a legend, up and down the river.

Marinas vied for her, gave free moorage for a night or three. Until he started to wonder about the islands,

e

Field Guid to the

ver lumbia Ri Lower Co in s d Picture Poems an

Robert M

ichael P

yle

erMate

Judy Vand

n

the Inside Passage, and beyond. So he took Lorraine across the bar, and didn’t die. Put in at LaPush, where he sold all of his Pushkin to a Russian emigré, and a set of Twilight to a wannabe werewolf. Then east up the Straits: Neah Bay, Sekiu, P.A., P.T., and Points North. Last rumors came from Kodiak.

But even now the Columbia remembers. And there’s always a slip open, just in case.

Robert Michael Pyle and Judy VanderMaten

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. The two dreamed for years of a collaborative project, finally realized when Columbia River Reader Press published The Tidewater Reach in 2020, presenting “a different way of seeing” our beloved Columbia River. For information on ordering specific editions, as well as our partner bookshops and galleries, see pages 2 and 35.

Columbia River Reader / September 15, 2021 / 11

By Tracy Beard

PROVISIONS ALONG THE TRAIL, AT THE PARK & ON YOUR PATIO! Goni’s Stromboli

Make your favorite dough or purchase Rhodes frozen bread dough and thaw.

Roll out the dough and place the filling lengthwise in the middle leaving 1/3 of the dough free on both sides. Choose from a variety of ingredients or repurpose some leftovers. Use approximately 3 cups of filling; anything you would put on a pizza is excellent, minus the sauce.

Transform your space with lamps, and color, and design FINE FURNITURE • ART • ACCESSORIES IN-HOME CONSULTATION AVAILABLE WO

RKSHOP

S

1309 Hudson Street

360.636.0712

M-F 10–5:30 • Sat 10–3 www.teaguesinteriors.com

Here are a few ideas: 1 cup mozzarella ½ cup cooked sausage ½ cup cooked hamburger ¼ cup pepperoni 2 Tbl. chopped sundried tomatoes ¼ cup chopped olives ¼ cup very thinly sliced or sauteed mushrooms Pull sides over toward the middle to make it 1/3 in width, fold over the ends. Pinch all ends and flip over onto a greased baking sheet. Score the top with three or four slits. Let rise in a warm area for 30 minutes.

Bake at 350-375 degrees for 20 to

25 minutes. Put onto a cooling rack and let it sit for 10 minutes. Slice into approximately 15 pieces. Serve warm or at room temperature, with or without your favorite marinara sauce.

Try out this delicious brunch or breakfast dish before heading out, or pack it up warm and covered with foil. Serve it at the park upon arrival.

Finnish Pannukakku

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 COMING SOON TO CASTLE ROCK! Inside Seating Breakfast & Lu nch Coffee roasted batches in-hou in small se!

4 tablespoons butter 6 eggs ¼ cup sugar 2 tsp. vanilla 1 ½ cups flour 1 tsp. salt 2 cups milk

Melt butter. Beat the eggs and add them to the butter. Add all the remaining ingredients. Mix well. Pour into a greased 9 x 13-inch pan and bake at 375 degrees for 24 minutes.

Serve with bacon or sausage and pancake toppers like syrup, fresh fruit, jam or peanut butter.

Financial Network TERRY BARNES GRAMBO Investment Adviser Representative

Making sure the winds of time and change will take you where you want to go.

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!

12 / Columbia River Reader / September 15, 2021

1339 Commerce Ave • Suite 207 Longview WA

Direct: 360.423.1962 Fax: 360.423.8022 grambot@financialnetwork.com www.terrybarnesgrambo.com Securities and advisory services offered through Cetera Advisor Networks llc, member FINRA/SIPC. Cetera is under separate ownership from any other named entity.

Services include: • Life Insurance • IRA Rollovers • Estate Planning • Asset Protections • Annuities • Retirement Strategies

OUT•AND•ABOUT

AUTUMN ENJOYMENTS, RIVER VIEWS

It’s Time to Tailgate!

L

Story & photos by Tracy Beard

et the games begin. Whether you are preparing to tailgate before a game or are heading out for a picnic, I’ve got some great recipes to tantalize your tastebuds and fun ideas for where to go to enjoy them. Dust off your lawn chairs, clean the back of your truck and check out Vista Point, Bradley State Park and Riverside Park.

Vista Park, Skomakawa, Washington Vista Park has options. You can play for the day or camp overnight in the RV park that offers 15 hookup sites, 27 partial hookup sites, 27 tent sites and 5 yurts. Daytime use is free although donations are always welcome. Pack your gear, get a license from the Skamokawa store and go fishing. Bring your bikes, as it’s easy to ride on the relatively flat campground roads or venture out on a hike in the woods along the quarter-mile nature trail. Outdoor recreation includes basketball, tennis, hiking, picnicking and wildlife viewing. The park is located on the Columbia River, offering many water activities like canoeing, boating, fishing and other watersports. There is plenty to do here for a day, long weekend or even a summer vacation.

Bradley State Park near Clatskanie, Oregon Enjoy the drive along US 30 heading west from Rainier, Oregon. Bradley State Park boasts a grassy picnic area with Douglas fir trees that provide shade on the grassy knoll. This park has a magnificent viewpoint from which to photograph the river and watch the ships and barges traverse the waterways. Pack your lunch and enjoy the quiet serenity of this little park.

Nathan Bradley’s heirs gave the park to Clatsop County in 1921, and

it became a state park in 1922.

Originally the area served as a concession stand for travelers, and a caretaker’s house once stood on the property. The designated parkland was one of the first donated to the Oregon Highway Commission in 1922. The cement bench monument reads: This park donated to Clatsop County by Fred W. Bradley and the heirs of Elemar E. Bradley of Bay City, Michigan, July MCMXXI (1921). The park is a fun place to take photos, and the permanent restrooms make it a comfortable place to spend the day.

Riverside Park, Kelso, Washington Riverside Park is an incredible place for all kinds of gatherings. The 58-acre park is just off of I-5 alongside the Cowlitz River.

A sports complex with soccer and baseball fields, tennis, bocce ball and basketball courts is at the front of the grounds. Driving further into the park, old-growth maple trees, 125 picnic tables, covered pavilions with sinks, electricity and charcoal grills, and large grassy spaces are all available for public use. Playground structures are specially designed for kids ages two to five, while others in the park are perfect

for older children. Four bathrooms with flush toilets are located on the property.

Workout stations with information boards and numerous walking trails, with access to the dike along the river, help make this park a local favorite for weddings, reunions, birthday parties and picnics.

••• 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 CRR’s “Out & About” columnist, now in her sixth year.

Columbia River Reader / September 15, 2021 / 13

“23 BY 23” Longview Outdoor Gallery has set a goal to purchase 23 sculptures by Longview’s Centennial year 2023 LOG currently has 20 permanent sculptures lining Commerce Avenue.

ONLY 3 TO GO! Please help us reach this significant landmark.

DONATE during the Give More 24 campaign Sept. 23rd.

Givemore24.org

“A Soothing Melody” by Leon White One of 8 new, temporary sculptures installed in downtown Longview on September 11, 2021.

If you prefer to donate with a check: Mail to LOG, PO Box 2804, Longview, WA 98632

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

Sept. 23,10am–5:30pm Stop by Teague’s Interior’s 1309 Hudson St., Longview to donate and enjoy tea and scones. Free gift with any donation, hourly drawings.

WWW.COWLITZART.ORG

Please donate online to Art Renaissance Team givemore24.com

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

14 / Columbia River Reader / September 15, 2021

Local Culture

MUSEUM MAGIC

Longview Memorial Park’s Mausoleum: a museum of memories Story and photos by Joseph Govednik Cowlitz County Historical Museum Director

T

These items may be used for a future exhibit memorializing those who lost their lives in the Vietnam War. People often leave personal effects, notes, and other items at memorial sites, graves, and even buried with deceased loved ones as a way of coping with loss.

he traveling Vietnam War Memorial, The Wall That Heals, comes to Longview Memorial Park September 23-26. Traditionally, items left at The Wall That Heals are collected by the local museum or historical society and incorporated into their collections.

“I make each artwork with tiny glass beads.”

Gallery Member

cont page 16

Market swings making you uneasy?

Let’s talk.

“Hummingbird”

Greg Moore

Longview Memorial Park in many ways serves as a museum of those who have gone before us, particularly when walking through the mausoleum.

In Historic Downtown Longview

the-broadway-gallery.com

Nick Lemiere CFP®

OPEN Tues-Sat 11-4 360-577-0544 1418 Commerce Longview, WA

Your Local SW Washington Artist Co-op since 1982

The black box has been recovered!

Member SIPC

To: Centralia, Olympia Mt. Rainier Yakima (north, then east) Tacoma/Seattle

Raymond/ South Bend

Oysterville •

Chinook

•

Grays River

Cathlamet 4

Astoria Birkenfeld

Mount St. Helens

Skamokawa

WestportPuget Island FERRYk

101

101

Pacific Ocean

• Woodland Tourist Center I-5 Exit 21 Park & Ride lot, 900 Goerig St., 360-225-9552

Castle Rock

• Naselle

Warrenton •

Seaside

• Kelso-Longview Chamber of Commerce Kelso Visitor Center I-5 Exit 39 105 Minor Road, Kelso • 360-577-8058

504

Long Beach

Columbia River

Washington

Vader

Ocean Park •

Ilwaco

VISITOR CENTERS

FREE Maps • Brochures Directions • Information

Vernonia

Longview

Ape Cave •

Kelso

Clatskanie Rainier

Woodland

rnelius NW Co ad o R s s a P

To: Salem Silverton Eugene Ashland

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

Local in

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

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

503

Columbia City

Maryhill Museum

• Ridgefield

Scappoose•

Oregon

Cougar •

Kalama

• 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.

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 / September 15, 2021 / 15

Museum Magic

from page 15

Photos of the deceased and personal effects such as eyeglasses, rings, patches from club membership, and shoes, were commonly displayed. A more complete story was told, beyond name and dates of birth and death found on tombstones, the pictures and personal belongings added a greater sense of connection.

This magnificent building contains above-ground burials for caskets and urns, but also glass-encased cubbies to display urns and memorabilia. These visible displays are, in a sense, an exhibition of lives gone by. Walking through the urn cubbies reminded me much of a museum — ­ it told stories and preserved the past. Pausing to look over the urns, most of which are unique and aesthetically attractive, I also noted many other elements adding personal stories to the space.

I visit the mausoleum once or twice a year. Although I have no family members inurned there, it provides a moment of reflection about life, family, and purpose. Longview Memorial Park is located at 5050 Mt. Solo Road in Longview. The mausoleum is open every day, 9am until dusk.

•••

people+ place 2021 P+P Sponsor Partners THANK YOU to these community leaders for supporting excellent journalism while spotlighting worthy organizations and programs.

The Evans Kelly Family • Country Financial Weatherguard, Inc. • Paul W. Thompson • Clatskanie PUD Fibre Federal Credit Union • Cathlamet Realty West All-Out Sewer & Drain Services • Joe Fischer

Q

For information about joining the P+P Partners Circle, Ned Piper, 360-749-2632 or Sue Piper, 360-749-1021.

call

UIPS & QUOTES

Selected by Debra Tweedy

At no other time (than Autumn) does the earth let itself be inhaled in one smell, the ripe earth; in a smell that is in no way inferior to the smell of the sea, bitter where it borders on taste, and more honeysweet where you feel it touching the first sounds.

Containing depth within itself, darkness, something of the grave almost. ~ Rilke, Austrian poet and novelist, 1875-1926

Autumn leaves don’t fall, they fly. They take their time and wander on this, their only chance to soar. ~ Delia Owens, American author and zoologist, 1949-

“

I am intentional about building strong relationships with athletes, so they feel valued and seen. I encourage them to put in work off the court in all 3 dimensions so it will translate to success in all areas of their lives. ”

The leaves fall, the wind blows, and the farm country slowly changes from the summer cottons into its winter wools. ~ Henry Beston, American writer and naturalist, 1888-1968 Designers want me to dress like Spring, in billowing things. I don’t feel like Spring. I feel like a warm red Autumn. ~ Marilyn Monroe, American actress, 19261962 Don’t you love New York in the fall? It makes me want to buy school supplies.

I would send you a bouquet of newly sharpened pencils if I knew your name and address. ~ Nora Ephron, American writer and filmmaker, 1941-2012

That old September feeling, left over from school days, of summer passing, vacation nearly done, obligations gathering, books and It’s the first day of Autumn! A time of football in the air...Another fall, hot chocolatey mornings, and toasty another turned page: there was marshmallow evenings, and, best something of jubilee in that annual of all, leaping into leaves! ~ A. A. autumnal beginning, as if last Milne,English author, 1882-1956 year’s mistakes had been wiped clean by summer. ~Wallace Stegner, American writer, 1909-1993 Longview native Debra Tweedy has lived on four continents. She and The wind is rising, and the air is her husband decided to wild with leaves. return to her hometown and We have had our summer bought a house facing Lake evenings; now for October eves!

Sacajawea.“We came back ~ Humbert Wolfe, Italian-born because of the Lake and the British poet, 1885-1940 Longview Public Library,” she says.

16 / Columbia River Reader / September 15, 2021

Carmen Hewitt

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

Volleyball Coach Mark Morris High School

Proud sponsor of People+Place

360-577-7200

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

A monthly feature written and photographed

by Southwest Washington native and Emmy Award-winning journalist

Hal Calbom

Production Notes The Power of a Name

people+ place

Lest we forget: Rick Little In a few days Longview Memorial Park hosts The Wall That Heals.

The Vietnam War and divides us.

still confounds

Since we never formally declared it a proper war, we’re not even sure how long it lasted. As we watched Americans fleeing for their lives from Saigon’s US Embassy roof in helicopters, it imprinted a bitter image at odds with our history of victory parades and war stories.

We misunderstood and mistreated the kids that fought the war. We deferred to the old white men who perpetuated it. We re-wrote versions of what we’d seen on TV but never really understood.

Then we got one thing right. In a competition that drew more than 1,400 entries, conducted anonymously to ensure lack of bias, we awarded the design of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial to a 21-yearold Yale architectural student named Maya Lin. Her design, decried as a “trench,” a “scar,” and “a monument to shame, degradation and sorrow,” was simple and unpretentious. Lin recalled as an 18-yearold walking through Yale’s Memorial Rotunda, seeing the names of those alumni who’d died in the service of their country.

Every few months during her freshman and sophomore years, stonemasons would add to the list engraved etchings the names of those killed in this new war in a place called Vietnam.

“I think it left a lasting impression on me,” Lin wrote, ”the sense of the power of a name.”

When The Wall was dedicated in 1982, the pilgrimages began — rituals of healing, reconciliation, acceptance, cleansing. The design’s simplicity and accessibility highlighted the individuals themselves and their collective sacrifice.

Visitors made charcoal rubbings of names from the etched stone and held them to their hearts.

Today it remains among Washington’s most visited sites, internationally renowned, and is rated among the 10 favorite and most revered pieces of American architecture.

•••

More than a simple replica, the Wall is an effort by the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund to bring the war and its legacy home — to communities, families, patriots and protesters alike.

“Healing can be an educational process, too,” according to Rick Little, who has led the effort to bring the Wall to Longview,” and the exhibits include an entire trailer-full of artifacts, explanatory videos, photos, and commentary.

It’s an amazing thing just to be immersed in.”

From its volunteer-led assembly to its three-day, round-the-clock presence in host communities, the Wall draws the curious, the bereaved, the worshipful.

I asked Rick Little how he’s preparing for this monumental event.

HC: I understand you’ve made a scouting trip to see the Wall in advance?

RL: Earlier this summer my wife and I went to Michigan, to see how they’d set it up, how they ran it, do our homework.

HC: And this is a faithful model of the memorial in Washington, D.C.?

RL: Yes, it’s a three-fourths scale replica, with all the nearly 58,000 names engraved, just as they are in the nation’s capital.

HC:What were your impressions on your trip, just as a regular person visiting?

RL: We were blown away.

It was….breathtaking.

Amazing.

HC: And it confirmed your commitment to bring the Wall here?

RL: We’re the only place in the state of Washington where The Wall That Heals is going to be.

There is this extraordinary educational piece to it that we really wanted for this area and this community.

NICE TO MEET YOU Rick Little resides

Longview, Washington occupation

Funeral Director/Embalmer from

Lynden, Washington

known for Being a local thespian, preparing Thanksgiving feasts recommended reading The Notebook and anything else by Nicholas Sparks; The Outlander series and other historical fiction; cookbooks and baking books

Performing in and attending community theatre performances.

Enjoys Laphroaig Single Malt Scotch in the winter, Highland Scotches in the summer, and any time, Dalmore Cigar Malt Scotch

for fun

Going to the beach, finding a favorite book to read while listening to the crashing waves and seagulls at a distance.

recommends

HC: Was there competition to get it here?

RL: Oh yes. I did a lot of research and talked to a few colleagues of mine that have done it. And they said, yeah, if you’re able to do it, that’s great, but you have to go through quite a bit of an application process. They were very, very thorough with what they go through, they did a lot of mapping to see where we’re located and find out about our community.

HC: Is this a government-run thing?

RL: No, this is the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund. And their mission is built around education. They salute the veterans and those who lost their lives, but they also have special programs for children. About the impact of the war. So, for instance, they love the fact that we’re close to Mount Solo Middle School. Once the Wall is assembled, the whole trailer opens up — the sides open up and they have all these exhibits and displays and it’s really impressive. cont page 18 Columbia River Reader / September 15, 2021 / 17

People + from page 19

RL: I think it’s different for everybody, every family. I mean, I was born in 1965, so I only know it from the history books. And there aren’t a lot of “war stories” like you hear about in past times.

of boxes for me: It involved religious faith, working with all kinds of different people. It’s sociology, psychology. And I don’t pretend to be a psychologist.

I’m not anybody, I’m just a counselor. What I’m here for is to provide a service. I just love the fact that we can come in, people can come in here during one of the worst times in their lives, and we are able to start them on a bridge, on that journey through their grieving process.

HC: Why do you think it remains so emotional?

HC: How did you change your education path?

RL: I’m no historian. But it was the first war that was televised, that people saw on their own TVs, some people with black and white screens, some people color. And it was the first war to come into your home like that, and a lot of people say it was just horrific to experience.

RL: You have to do an internship, that at that time was called an apprenticeship, for two years and then you go to mortuary college. And that allows you to become licensed in the state, the state of Washington for me.

Rick Little easily fits the role of genial giant. A towering man with a ready smile and crinkly eyes, he’s been a fixture in local theater productions over the years, and still serves on the board of Stageworks Northwest. Adding in more than 20 years playing Santa Claus in Longview’s annual Christmas parade, his taste for fine Scotch and good cigars, and you have a figure probably as unlike our stereotype of a funeral director — that dour undertaker — as one could imagine.

RL: Yes. I’d had an interview here, and I just fell in love with this community — this is a pretty sophisticated place compared to sleepy Lynden where I’m from. And I didn’t hear back immediately. So I checked a couple of other places, then they called me up on Father’s Day in 1988 and said, ‘When can you start?’

HC: Is the war still political? A hot button? Or are we largely past that?

HC: So you started with an apprenticeship here in Kelso-Longview?

HC: So you supplemented the education piece, too?

HC: What led you here, this profession and this place?

RL: I’d already had a twoyear degree and all I needed to do was beef up my science a little bit and I did that locally here through Lower Columbia College, just took a couple of classes. That way I only had to spend an additional year.

And then I finished up with the one-year mortuary science program that was at Mount Hood Community College.

RL: I went to Skagit Valley Community College for a couple of years. And I had been going to transfer to Central and get my teaching degree and major in music. Then my sister was killed in a car accident down in California.

HC: Obvious question, I guess, but how do you keep this work from depressing you? It would seem to many people like the ultimate downer.

RL: I never thought when I was growing up that I was going to be a funeral director, that’s for sure.

HC: I can’t imagine a lot of people would?

RL: Well, no. I come from a family of school teachers and ministers. Up near the border, in Lynden, Washington. And those were the two big things, teaching or the ministry.

“ I grieve right along with th

HC: What a shock for you and your family!

RL: Well, it just got me thinking about all these processes going on. And it just checked a lot

People+ Place: The Wall that Heals.

Fibre Federal Credit Union staff volunteers are proud to assist with The Wall That Heals.

The Deer Hunter painting 16x20 inches acrylic on canvas

by Joe Fischer

September 23-26 Longview Memorial Park See schedule, page 20.

Proud Sponsor of People+Place 18 / Columbia River Reader / September 15, 2021

Honoring the Successful Lives and Legacy of Alona & Carl Forsberg

JOE FISCHER Proud Sponsor of People+Place

+ Place

he families.”

~ Rick Little

RL: For one thing I don’t take my work home with me at all. My wife and I both are the same way — she’s an occupational therapist in the school district. And there’s a lot of very personal details that are confidential on both sides, so we leave the work at work. But I’m not immune to grief. If I were I wouldn’t do this job well. I grieve right along with the families. They could be friends, neighbors, or people I’ve only recently met. So I can’t turn it off instantly, turn it on and off. I don’t necessarily try to do that.

HC:: But you must have strategies or outlets to keep your spirits up?

RL: I compartmentalize what I do, for sure.

There’s what I do for work and what I do for

Rick Little (third from left) performs in” Forever Plaid,” Jan. 2013. Photo courtesy of Stageworks Northwest

home. There’s what I do for the theatre. I try to keep all different things separate. Sometimes they intermingle, and that’s okay. That’s life.

HC: You’re passionate about the theatre?

RL: Theatre is amazing. I don’t have enough time to be as much a part of it as I’d like to. But when I am able to do theatre, you become your character and you’re totally different. When people see me at the funeral hall it’s like a dirge, you know, then they turn around and I’m on the stage doing Gilbert and Sullivan.

RL: I tried out for a show and the director sized me up and he said, ‘I want you to play the title role in The Mikado.’ That’s a pretty big deal. And I said, ‘Well, I’ve never acted on stage. I’ve never done anything like that.’ He says, ‘Let me tell you something. I can always train a singer to act. But I can never train an actor to sing.’ That’s when the theater had me. cont page 20

HC: Did you catch the bug when you were young?

RL: My mother — instead of going on trips — she’d take us to the Fifth Avenue Theatre in Seattle. My very first show, in the early 1970s, I saw Carol Channing doing Hello, Dolly and that was my first musical. I fell in love. It was breathtaking. And I almost cried when Carol Channing died this last year. She was my first love of the theatre, seeing Carol Channing on stage. I just fell in love with musical theatre.

HC: What was your first big part?

Tips for Avoiding Hot-Car Deaths 1. Be extra alert if your routine changes.

That’s when the risk of leaving your child in your car increases.

2. Put something of your child's, like a toy, on the front seat. Even if you can't see your child in the backseat the toy should trigger a reminder that he's there.

3. Leave an item you'll need at your next destination in the backseat, such as your cell phone, purse, or briefcase.

4. Place the car seat in the middle of the backseat rather than behind the driver.

It's easier to see your child in your rearview mirror.

If you see any child in a car seat alone in a car, call 911.

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

5. Set up a system with your child-care provider.

Call if you don't plan to drop off your child that day. If the child doesn't arrive as expected, have the caregiver call you.

6. Discuss the topic of hot-car deaths with every person who drives your child anywhere. This includes partners, grandparents, babysitters, and friends.

7. Always "look before you lock." Get in the habit of checking the backseat every time you get out of the car.

Richelle Gall

Proud Sponsor of People+Place

The Mark Morris Foundation was created in 2008 in honor of the

school’s 50th anniversary. The independent, nonprofit organization welcomes tax-deductible donations for the benefit of Mark Morris students for scholarship programs and projects at the school.

For more information or to donate, visit mmhsfoundation.org

Join us in supporting the Foundation, and at the Auction and Annual Scholarship Golf Tournament, both in Spring 2022 (dates to be announced)!

The Evans Kelly Family One of Longview’s pioneer

families

Proud supporter of People+Place Columbia River Reader / September 15, 2021 / 19

People + Place

from page 19

BRINGING IT BACK HOME: BILL McGEE

HC: So what would be your ideal role?

RL: I would love to play Daddy Warbucks in Annie. I would just love to do that.

H C : What’s the ideal role of a good funeral director? If he or she is doing the job well?

By Hal Calbom

A

decorated Viet Nam veteran, Bill McGee was born and raised in Kelso and lives there still. In a few days he’ll visit The Wall That Heals, bringing with him profoundly mixed feelings.

“Believe it or not, the worst thing that happened to me in the Vietnam saga was not getting blown up,” he told me in a conversation a few weeks ago. “It was coming back home to all the hatred that was thrown at us. There was so much misinformation, exaggeration.

RL: It’s so important that families know the final wishes of their loved ones, o f e a c h o t h e r. I emphasize all the time that if people will simply bite the bullet, come in and see us, they will save so much stress and conflict and even financial strain later on.

cont next page

H C : We’re here surrounded by merchandise, from casket types to memory books to urns. Do you ever feel conflicted by the business side of the business?

RL: I never do, especially if we have made prearrangements with the family and they’re doing exactly what they’ve planned to do. So often a family, stunned by shock and grief, comes in fighting with each other, and actually spends more money than they might need to.

HC: Are people still opting more for cremations than ever before?

RL: It’s pretty balanced. And we encourage everyone to do anything they might wish, have a picnic, scatter ashes, whatever. It’s just crucial that they have final wishes in mind, and keep some kind of tradition in place with their families and their futures. I just value traditions and what people have done, sometimes for centuries.

If we don’t have ceremonies, the traditions can be lost. We need to embrace our history and our traditions and the way we deal with death and dying is part of that. Understanding what our families have done in the past and embracing it is part of continuity and community.

HC: Speaking of continuity, what happens here, after The Wall That Heals?

RL: We’re opening an entire new section of the park — we’ve finally outgrown our original plot from the 1920s and had been planning this expansion for years — and we’re going to have a special section devoted to veterans and their families.

•••

Editor’s note: Interviews are edited for length and clarity 20 / Columbia River Reader / September 15, 2021

Schedule of Events September 21-26 Tues, Sept. 21, 2pm Wed, Sept. 22, morning Wed, Sept. 22, 6pm Thurs, Sept. 23, 9am Thurs., Sept. 23, 6pm Fri, Sept. 24 Sat, Sept. 25 Sun, Sept. 26, 1pm Sun, Sept. 25, 2pm

Motorcycle Procession into the City Assembling The Wall That Heals Volunteer training The Wall That Heals opens (24 hours) Welcome Ceremonies Open 24 hours Open 24 hours Closing Ceremonies Dismantle

People + Place

“And that hit me like a ton of bricks. Because it was completely the opposite of the way we were treated when we came home. ”

~Bill McGee

“For instance, after My Lai,” McGee continued, “which was horrible, we were all painted with the same broad brush. The people I was with there were just regular guys, middle America, trying to do the best job they could and serve their country and survive. That was it.”

Bill McGee went to Viet Nam in 1968 and eventually ended up driver of an Armored Personnel Carrier, known as an APC. After setting up a defensive position near an abandoned Special Forces camp, McGee’s mechanized company was ambushed “We were in battle, for sure, taking heavy fire at the time,” he said.’”The 50 Caliber was up to my right, and the gunner was hard at it. We’d been in contact for maybe 20 minutes, and the barrel was starting to overheat. You tried to fire that thing in bursts, to keep it cool, but it still tended to heat up.”

McGee scrambled out of his driver’s seat to retrieve a spare barrel and help change it out. Jumping over the side, he landed on a mine which blew off his right foot and badly fractured his left leg. His Platoon Sergeant, John Thompson, helped the medics stem blood loss and covered McGee with his own body — he had a flak jacket and Bill didn’t — until the Medevac arrived. “He’s a great leader,” McGee recalls today. “It was his courage and his quick thinking that day that probably saved my life.”

McGee came back from Viet Nam with three Purple Hearts and a reluctance to share his story. He had spent eleven months in the hospital, and was twenty years old. “I pretty much avoided all that stuff, he said. “I just walked away. I didn’t want to…I didn’t want to deal with it. I didn’t want to deal with people coming at me.”

Finally, years later he was invited by a great-niece to a gathering in honor of veterans. “This celebration thing.

And I figured I didn’t want to go. I told my wife. I do not want to do this. But how do you say no to your own niece? And so I went and I figured that we’d be out in minutes. Shoot…”

Photos: Bill McGee on the APC, late 1968; Bill McGee today; reviewing photos with friend and photo archivist Lloyd Smith.

Bill McGee’s Vietnam photos, curated by Lloyd Smith, are available to view at http://bit.ly/McGeeVN.

We pause while Bill fights back emotion. “An hour later, at the end of the presentation, they had a video screen up and different kids were coming on to say thank you — to a brother or a father who whoever had been in the service.” He pauses again and collects himself. “And then she popped up. She said thank you Uncle Bill for your service and your sacrifice. And that hit me like a ton of bricks. Because it was completely the opposite of the way we were treated when we came home.”

McGee’s story has two other significant turns.

The first was meeting Lloyd Smith, a friend with an interest in photography who convinced McGee to share his story and a remarkable trove of unseen photographs. Smith and McGee made them available online and sent the story to the Vietnam Veterans of America who publicized it in their magazine.

Some months later Bill McGee got a phone call from a particularly interested reader of that

magazine. To his astonishment, it was his heroic Platoon Sergeant, John Thompson, who he had not seen since January 17th, 1969, when he covered Bill’s body for protection, shot him full of morphine, and carried him to the helicopter for evacuation. Later, Thompson wrote Bill’s folks commending his bravery and good attitude, hoping to ease their pain, too.

Today, Bill McGee says he’ll encourage people to see and experience The Wall That Heals on its visit to Longview. “Maybe just to honor those who have served,” he said, “those who tried to defend our freedom, the best way they knew how.”

He’ll honor especially the platoon sergeant who was awarded a Bronze Star for the action and most certainly saved his life.

In their phone conversation, Sgt. Thompson told McGee that more than his two combat decorations, he’s proudest that in two tours of duty, and four platoons, every one of his men ­­— even the wounded, like Bill McGee himself — survived and came home.

•••

Hal Calbom, now in his fourth year producing CRR’s People+Place feature series, is also editor of The Tidewater Reach and Dispatches from the Discovery Trail, published by CRRPress, and author of Resourceful: Leadership and Communication in a Relationship Age. Hal grew up in Longview, now lives in Seattle, and may be reached at hal@halcalbom.com.

Columbia River Reader / September 15, 2021 / 21

Internal Medicine & Preventative Care Open Every Day for Your Convenience Holidays & Weekends Included

INTRODUCING

KYLE WICKS BS, MSPA, PA-C

Richard A. Kirkpatrick, M.D., FACP

Kyle Wicks BS, MSPA, PA-C

Brooke Wethington, Rachel Roylance, BS, MPAS, PA-C BS, MPAP, PA-C

Nicholas Austin MSPAS, PA-C

Karen L. Joiner, RN, MSN, ARNP

Melanie Hughes, BS, MPAS, PA-C

Dr. Toddrick Tookes, DPM, Podiatrist

Vlad Bogin, M.D., FACP

Angela Escobar, MSN, APRN, FNP-BC

We Accept Most Insurance Plans Telemedicine Visits Available Temporary clinic hours: Mon-Fri, 8am to 6pm • Sat, 9am to 1pm Sun, Noon to 4pm

360-423-9580

1706 Washington Way, Longview

ON THE CIVIC CENTER www.kirkpatrickfamilycare.com

Kirkpatrick Foot & Ankle

Dr. Toddrick Tookes, DPM, Podiatrist

• American Board of Podiatric Surgery • Diabetic Foot Care • Ingrown Toenails • Heel & Arch Pain • Foot Surgery • Fungal Conditions • Wound Care • U.S. Navy Veteran

360-575-9161

783 Commerce Ave. Suite 120 BOTH BUSINESSES UNDER SAME OWNERSHIP 22 / Columbia River Reader / September 15, 2021

Where do you read

THE READER?

No better way to wait for a bite in Petersburg, Alaska Left to right: Pat Murphy of Meridian, Idaho; Mike Murphy of Coloma, California; Joe Murphy of Longview, Erin Murphy of Eugene, Oregon;

Another dog who can read!

WHERE DO YOU READ THE READER?

Raindance

Acupuncture & Bodywork, Inc.

Healing in a time-honored and holistic way Acupuncture & Chinese Herbal Medicine Most Insurances Accepted

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 re-send. For cell phone photo, choose the largest file size up to 2 MB.

In sunny California Bill Perry reading the Reader in his backyard in Rescue, Calif.

Amy L. Schwartz, L.Ac, LMP 208 Church Street Kelso, WA

CATERING Be a guest at your next event!

Amy and Craig Alexander, of Mukilteo, Wash. and their dog, Milo,while visiting in Longview in August.

360.751.0411 Clatskanie Mini-Storage Temperature conditioned units -15 sizes!

RV Storage • Boat Moorage Quality since 1976

Serving the Columbia River region, including Longview-Kelso.

Resident Manager

503-728-2051 503-369-6503

503-366-9099 800-330-9099 201 S. 1st Street St. Helens OR wildcurrantcatering.com Columbia River Reader / September 15, 2021 / 23

BESIDES COLUMBIA RIVER READER...

What are you reading?

ATTENTION, READERS

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@alanrose.com or the publisher/editor at publisher@ crreader.com.

WordFest resumes on Zoom!

2nd Tuesdays, 7–8pm. No need for a Zoom account, but register at www. alan-rose.com to receive invitation link via email.

Achieving Excellence

in Property Management, Residential and Commercial Sales, and Leasing

Fall is a great time to house hunt...Call Rodman Realty to help you find your dream house!

Monthly feature coordinated by Alan Rose

Good movie, gem of a book

I

By Dayle Olson

n Paulette Jiles’s novel, News of the World, the reader is introduced to the tumultuous, lawless landscape of postCivil War Texas, peopled by anarchists, opportunists, the displaced, the lost, and the traumatized. In short, it’s no place for a 10-year-old girl without a home or family.

This spare, brilliantly told story unfolds from the perspective of Captain Jefferson Kidd. At 72, he is uninterested in gunfights with outlaws or forming an attachment to the girl he is charged with delivering to her relatives. A former newspaper printer, he now makes a living riding from town to town, reading items from reputable publications to the illiterate and under-informed, careful to avoid stories which might get him shot.

The girl Johanna, captured by the Kiowa tribe after her parents were killed, must now be returned to her kin, German farmers. She grieves the loss of her Kiowa family and nomadic lifestyle, and detests her new, restrictive clothing and refuses to wear shoes. The silverware set out at meals is patently ignored.

O m i n o u s l y, h e r fair looks attract the attention of a craven individual who desires her for his prostitution ring.

The only thing standing between Johanna and a cruel fate is Kidd.

As this truth dawns on her, their relationship evolves from one of mutual resignation, to trust and affection. Jiles writes respectfully of Kiowa ways and incorporates their language into the story as the girl learns to speak English. The movie was good, but the book is a gem.

Dayle Olson’s 2019 Columbia River poem, “ Wa t e r H i g h w a y / SR 4 at Stella,” was selected for inclusion in Washington State Poet Laureate Claudia Castro Luna’s Washington Poetic Routes, sponsored by Humanities Washington. Her short story, “What Sets Us Free,” was chosen in 2019

by Seaside Libraries for publication in their annual anthology. Dayle lives with husband David and an opinionated cat in Cathlamet.

•••

360-425-3700

www.rodmanrealty.com

We’ve got you covered.

WATER. FIRE. SMOKE. MOLD

Call 360-425-3331

ServiceMaster by JTS–Longview, WA • www.servicemasterjts.com 24 / Columbia River Reader / September 15, 2021

Cover to Cover

Top 10 Bestsellers PAPERBACK FICTION 1. The Song of Achilles Madeline Miller, Ecco, $16.99 2. The House in the Cerulean Sea TJ Klune, Tor, $18.99 3. Circe Madeline Miller, Back Bay, $16.99 4. Where the Crawdads Sing Delia Owens, Putnam, $18 5. The Night Watchman Louise Erdrich, Harper Perennial, $18 6. Hamnet Maggie O’Farrell, Vintage, $16.95 7. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo Taylor Jenkins Reid, Washington Square Press, $17 8. People We Meet on Vacation Emily Henry, Berkley, $16 9. The Guest List Lucy Foley, Morrow, $16.99 10. The Overstory Richard Powers, Norton, $18.95

PAPERBACK NON-FICTION

MASS MARKET 1. Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous 1. The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and 1. Dune 1. The Madness of Frank Herbert, Ace, $10.99 Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Horse Crowds 2. 1984 the Teachings of Plants Robin Wall Charlie Mackesy, HarperOne, $22.99 Louise Penny, Minotaur, George Orwell, Signet, $9.99 Kimmerer, Milkweed Editions, $18 2. Finding the Mother Tree: $28.99 3. Dune Messiah 2. Entangled Life: How Fungi Make 2. The Midnight Library Discovering the Wisdom of the Our Worlds, Change Our Minds & Forest Suzanne Simard, Knopf, $28.95 Frank Herbert, Ace, $9.99 Matt Haig, Viking, $26 4. Mistborn: The Final Shape Our Futures Merlin Sheldrake, 3. The Afghanistan Papers: A 3. A Slow Fire Burning Empire Random House, $18 Secret History of the War Paula Hawkins, Riverhead 3. The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Craig Whitlock, The Washington Post, Brandon Sanderson, Tor, Books, $28 $9.99 Mind, and Body in the Healing of S&S, $30 4. Poison for Breakfast 5. Bridgerton: The Duke Trauma 4. Crying in H Mart: A Memoir Lemony Snicket, Liveright, and I Bessel van der Kolk, M.D., Penguin, $19 Michelle Zauner, Knopf, $26.95 $17.95 Julia Quinn, Avon, $9.99 4. Born a Crime: Stories from a South 5. Project Hail Mary 5. This Is Your Mind on Plants 6. Mocha, She Wrote African Childhood Michael Pollan, Penguin Press, $28 Andy Weir, Ballantine, Ellie Alexander, St. Martin’s, Trevor Noah, One World, $18 6. Facing the Mountain: A True $28.99 $8.99 5. The Four Agreements: A Practical 6. The Paper Palace Story of Japanese American 7. The Name of the Guide to Personal Freedom Don Miguel Miranda Cowley Heller, Heroes in World War II Wind Ruiz, Amber-Allen, $12.95 Daniel James Brown, Viking, $30 Riverhead Books, $27 Patrick Rothfuss, DAW, 6. How to Change Your Mind 7. Untamed 7. The Invisible Life of $10.99 Michael Pollan, Penguin, $18 Glennon Doyle, The Dial Press, $28 Addie LaRue 8. The Wise Man’s Fear 7. Agent Sonya: The Spy Next Door 8. The Comfort Book V.E. Schwab, Tor, $26.99 Patrick Rothfuss, DAW, Ben Macintyre, Crown, $18 Matt Haig, Penguin Life, $22 8. Billy Summers $9.99 8. How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Stephen King, Scribner, $30 9. The Reckoning: Our Nation’s Attention Economy Trauma and Finding a Way to Heal 9. The Eye of the World 9. Klara and the Sun Robert Jordan, Tor, $10.99 Jenny Odell, Melville House, $17.99 Kazuo Ishiguro, Knopf, $28 Mary L. Trump, St. Martin’s, $28.99 10. Hyperion 9. Cascadia Revealed: A Guide to the 10. Velvet Was the Night 10. The Weekday Vegetarians: Dan Simmons, Spectra, Plants, Animals & Geology of the 100 Recipes and a Real-Life Silvia Moreno-Garcia, Del $8.99 Pacific Northwest Mountains Plan for Eating Less Meat Jenny Rey, $28 Daniel Mathews, Timber Press, $27.95 Rosenstrach, Clarkson Potter, $32.5, 10. One Long River of Song: Notes on Wonder Brian Doyle, Back Bay, $17.99

BOOK REVIEW

By Alan Rose

The Sweetness of Water Nathan Harris Little, Brown and Co. $28

D

uring times of great upheaval, old norms and traditions are swept away and people must often find new ways of relating to others, even within their own families.

At the end of the civil war and the early days of Reconstruction. Union soldiers patrol the streets of Old Ox, Georgia, an occupying army to maintain order and enforce the Emancipation Proclamation that

HARDCOVER FICTION

Brought to you by Book Sense and Pacific Northwest Booksellers Assn, for week ending Sept. 5, 2021, 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 EARLY & MIDDLE GRADE READERS 1. Friends Forever Shannon Hale, LeUyen Pham (Illus.), First Second, $12.99 2. Cat Kid Comic Club Dav Pilkey, Graphix, $12.99 3. A Whale of the Wild Rosanne Parry, Lindsay Moore (Illus.), Greenwillow Books, $7.99 4. Super Extra Deluxe Essential Handbook (Pokémon) Scholastic, $14.99 5. Stay Bobbie Pyron, Katherine Tegen Books, $6.99 6. Brown Girl Dreaming Jacqueline Woodson, Puffin, $10.99 7. The Phantom Tollbooth Norton Juster, Jules Feiffer (Illus.), Yearling, $7.99 8. Rowley Jefferson’s Awesome Friendly Spooky Stories Jeff Kinney, Abrams, $14.99 9. Where the Mountain Meets the Moon Grace Lin, Little Brown, $10.99 10. One Crazy Summer Rita Williams-Garcia, Quill Tree Books, $7.99

When the times are a-changin’ and people don’t freed the enslaved peoples of the South.

It is a time of bitterness, disorientation, and uncertainty.

Added to all this, George Walker and his wife Isabelle are grief stricken at the news that their only son Caleb was killed in the waning days of the war.

Living alone on their farm outside town, George and Isabelle are quiet, solitary types “who would rather leave a moment naked than tar it with wasted words.” Now, unable to turn to each other, either to give or receive emotional support, they each hibernate within their souls — “No matter how unbearable (George) found it to wallow in his wife’s misery, he knew that it was the better option than making contact with his own grief.”

Into George and Isabelle’s lives come two Freedmen from a neighboring farm: Prentiss, sharp-witted, observant, and socially astute, and his large, powerful brother, Landry, introspective and made Alan’s haunting novel of the AIDS mute by a broken jaw he suffered as a epidemic, As If Death child. The brothers are on their way Summoned, won the north, seeking a new life for themselves Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Award and hoping to find their mother who was ( LGBT category.) He sold years before. can be reached at www. alan-rose.com.

HARDCOVER NON-FICTION

Prentiss retreated into himself. He knew how to live in his head. He’d made a similar journey every day in the fields, wandering in his mind’s eye to a place he’d never been, a place that was equal parts destination and idea. Elsewhere was the only name it carried. The barn beside George’s cabin was elsewhere; a patch of free ground up north was elsewhere; his mother was elsewhere; salvation was elsewhere […] and a fate, any fate, other than the one that lay before him would be a perfectly fine road to elsewhere. The map, with all its many variations, was in his head, yet he knew quite well he would never make the journey.

But old ways die hard—or often, as we still witness 150 years after the war, they don’t die at all—and the townspeople of Old Ox become threatened by the way the four have reframed their lives, not least George’s paying former slaves the same wages as a white man.

Amid the ongoing grief, turmoil and cultural disruption, people’s better and worst natures are revealed in this lyrical, beautifully written novel of the old South trying to find its way to a new identity.

•••

~ from The Sweetness of Water George offers them work, clearing land and helping him put in a crop of peanuts, paying them fair wages to earn money for their trip north.

Now freed of the cultural roles of the antebellum South, the two Whites and two Blacks must invent new ways of relating to each other, along with re-inventing themselves and reconfiguring their lives to survive.

Drink Good Coffee, Read Good Books Located in the historic Castle Rock Bank Building 20 Cowlitz Street West Mon-Sat • 9–4 360-967-2299

Columbia River Reader / September 15, 2021 / 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

Rainier. Ore. Alston Pub & Grub

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.

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 27. Follow us on Untappd.

The Carriage Restaurant & Lounge

The Carriage Restaurant & Lounge 1334 12th Ave. Open 9am–11pm. Breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Full bar, banquet room available for groups, parties, family reunions, etc. in lounge, open 6am. Three happy hours daily (8–10am, 12–2pm, 5–7pm). Group meeting room, free use with $150 food/drink purchases.

360-425-8545.

0-442-8234.

Creekside Café 1323 Commerce Ave. Soups, Salads, Burgers, Wraps.

Closed temporarily for renovations.

Re-opening late-Sept.

360-425-7296. www.creeksidecafe.restaurant

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 6.

Jay’s Jukebox Burgers, 1232 Commerce Ave.. 1950s Soda shop. Take-out and limited dine-in.

Open Tues–Sat, 11–7.

Phone 360-261-7879

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.

Evergreen Pub & Café

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

11–11 Daily. Inside dining.

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.

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

Porky’s Public House 561 Industrial Way, Longview 38 draft beers. Full bar. Family-friendly.

Dining room open. Take-out. Curbside delivery; partner with Delivery King for deliveries. Live music suspended due to Covid. 360-636-1616.

Roland Wines

Eclipse Café

St. Helens, Ore.

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

Casual ambience. 5–9pm Wed-Fri, Sat. 11–3. See ad, page 30. Call for status.

Castle Rock, Wash.

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.

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 8.

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

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 / September 15, 2021

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 25.

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.

Fire Mountain Grill

Mile 19, 9440 Spirit Lake Highway. Newly remodeled. Burgers, steaks, seafood, homemade cobblers. Riverside dining. 360-2745217. Open Mon-Thurs 11:30–5; Fri-Sat 11:30–7; Sun 11:30–5.

Woodland, Wash.

“SoCo” 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 27.

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 12.

Roland on Wine

Looking forward to Fall

COLUMBIA RIVER DINING GUIDE

Another opportunity to get wine right

W

As Covid-19 restrictions change, restaurants’ operations may still fluctuate. Mask guidelines and indoor/outdoor, seating/ occupancy limits may vary. Call first if in doubt. Please support local restaurants — they are vital in the economic and social life of our community!

hy do I get excited when the grape harvest is imminent?

Maybe the same reason I start to look forward to the arrival of fall.

Change is in the air. It usually happens prematurely way before summer is over.

It’s a feeling. A good feeling, but also a feeling of loss. Some things are coming to an end. The end of bloom, the end of watering, the end to long evenings on the deck, the end of outdoor concerts, and the end to that happy-go-lucky attitude that accompanies our walks in the park, and our attendance at car shows, community celebrations, and summer weddings.

But I start to look forward to putting things away. Harvesting the garden and putting away the bounty for winter. I start to think about winter holidays with the family. My wife Nancy is way more aware of the changing season, and she slowly begins the transition process, subtle, not all at once, but little things,

Tree tasting room which we have never visited because when you have three tons of grapes behind you, you can never be too sober.

By Marc Roland

like when I come home from work and see a new welcome mat that says, ‘Hey, pumpkin’, procured from the downtown Longview store, Niche. I love it. Not too fast as to steal from the remaining days of sunshine, but enough so as not to create too much of a shock when the rains fall and the temperature dips.

For a winemaker, the fall has special meaning because it marks the one opportunity you have each year to make wine and make it right. This is my 14th official vintage, not including the days before we started the winery.

You would think I had it down by now.

Not true. You never have it down.

So it is exhilarating and full of tradition. On the way to pick up grapes we always stop to get other fresh fruit and pumpkins. The fruit stand on the banks of the Columbia River as you cross the bridge near Maryhill and Stonehenge, is a must stop for us. There is also the Waving

Attention landowners

WE BUY CEDAR AND NOBLE BRANCHES

The season is on! We do all the work. Minimum of 10 trees.

Call now for appointments

On our safe return, the adrenalin kicks in, as I realize our friends and customers will be waiting to pitch in with the work, like they have done for more than a decade. Some things never change. Our wine community makes it worth it.

Every year is a challenge. Your mind starts the race. How will I get the grapes home from Yakima Valley? Will I hit a deer crossing the pass? What kind of yeast will I use? As the days get shorter and cooler, time seems to be compacted into a short period when everything can go wrong. Will the new barrels get here on time? What happens if the press breaks down?

The only positive thought is we will once again survive this and settle down to a good Seahawks game with copious amounts of little smokies and guacamole. But I love it.

I know what it takes to make a bottle of wine. But I always question whether it is worth it, lying in bed contemplating the beginning of another opportunity to get it right.

What if we pick too soon or too late?

We will find out in due time, and then and only then will the fruit of our labors be known. It’s worth it.

••• 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 360-8467304.

Jaime Tovar

360-751-0120 or 360-430-8510 FREE ESTIMATES/ REFERENCES

Lawn Maintenance, Tree Planting, Cutting & Disposal, Blackberry Removal, Fence Repairs, Painting, Moving, Cleaning & Pressure Washing & MORE!

Auto, Home, Flood, Boat, RV, ATV Business & Commercial Insurance & Bonding

360-274-6991

25 A. ST. SW • CASTLE ROCK 866-514-3356 LIFE • DISABILITY • LTCI BUSINESS CONTINUATION FUNDING INDIVIDUAL AND GROUP MEDICAL

FAST FRIENDLY SERVICE!

Columbia River Reader / September 15, 2021 / 27

Miss Manners

from page 6

can hardly believe that he would sanction this, particularly as he taught us that money should never be a motivating factor in our lives.

Would it be rude of me to forgo the request for a financial contribution and bring an actual gift to the party, along with my sincerest wishes for a happy and healthy retirement? Incidentally, his contributions to my life have been priceless.

GENTLE READER: It perplexes Miss Manners when hosts neglect core duties ­— providing the food and drink is a common one — only to assume others: in this case, bullying the guests about a gesture that should be both personal and optional. Just stop it.

When it happens anyway, you are free to thank your host and say that you have already taken care of getting him a present. But better to put the gift in the mail than to draw attention by bringing it with you to the party.

DEAR MISS MANNERS: When my significant other of almost 20 years and I married — my second marriage, his third — we did not want any big celebrations.

Therefore, we eloped alone while we were on vacation. We were very happy with the small ceremony and telling our families and friends when we returned, and everyone was very happy for us.

Now we have received a monetary gift from a dear relative congratulating us on our nuptials. While I am extremely grateful, I do not feel it was necessary, especially since we did not provide a party or celebration for others to receive dinner and drinks. The sender of the gift is not in a good financial situation, whereas we are doing OK. How do I return the gift without insulting the giver? We very much appreciate the kindness, but feel awkward accepting it. Do I just keep it and send a thank-you note for fear of insulting the gift-giver, or is it OK to return it? And if I return it, how do I do so with tact?

GENTLE READER: Returning it would be insulting. Presumably, the giver is aware of their own financial circumstances — and of yours, at least roughly — and would not have sent it if they could not afford it. (Miss Manners will spare readers yet another lecture about giving money as a present, but ... case in point).

Write a profuse letter of thanks with a future invitation for a meal at your house.

Wedding presents should not be given for services rendered, but at least you may quiet your own mind, knowing that this person got a private reception in return.

••• 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.

IT PAYS TO ADVERTISE!

Call an ad rep: Ad Manager: Ned Piper, 360-749-2632: All areas.

Sue Lane 360-261-0658 Downtown Longview Ron Baldwin 503-791-7985: Wahkiakum, Pacific, Clatsop

Counties, Mouth of the Columbia.

AD DEADLINES. Oct 15 issue: Sept 25 Nov 25 Holiday issue: Nov 10 Submission Guidelines, below.

Where to find the new Reader

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:

LONGVIEW U.S. Bank Post Office Bob’s (rack, main check-out) In front of 1232 Commerce Ave In front of 1323 Commerce Ave YMCA Fred Meyer (rack, service desk) Teri’s Grocery Outlet Omelettes and More (rack, entry) Fibre Fed’l CU - Commerce Ave Monticello Hotel (front entrance) Kaiser Permanente St. John Medical Center (rack, Park Lake Café) LCC Student Center Indie Way Diner Columbia River Reader Office 1333 14th Ave. Omelettes & More (entry rack) KELSO Heritage Bank Visitors’ Center / Kelso-Longview Chamber of Commerce KALAMA Fibre Fed’l CU Kalama Shopping Center

corner of First & Fir McMenamin’s Harbor Lodge WOODLAND Visitors’ Center Grocery Outlet Luckman Coffee Antidote (rack) CASTLE ROCK Lacie Rha’s Cafe (32 Cowlitz W.) Parker’s Restaurant (box, entry) Visitors’ Center 890 Huntington Ave. N., Exit 49, west side of I-5

RYDERWOOD Café porch TOUTLE Drew’s Grocery & Service

28 / Columbia River Reader / September 15, 2021

CLATSKANIE Post Office Chevron / MiniMart Fultano’s Pizza WESTPORT Berry Patch Wauna mill (parking lot) RAINIER Post Office Cornerstone Rainier Hardware (rack, entry) Earth ‘n’ Sun (on Hwy 30) El Tapatio (entry rack) Grocery Outlet DEER ISLAND Deer Island Store COLUMBIA CITY - Post Office WARREN Warren Country Inn ST HELENS Chamber of Commerce Sunshine Pizza St. Helens Market Fresh Olde Town: Wild Currant, Tap into Wine Safeway SCAPPOOSE To find the 24/7 Post Office pick-up point Road Runner nearest you, Fultano’s visit crreader.com and click “Find the Ace Hardware Magazine” tab.

WARRENTON, OR Fred Meyer CATHLAMET Cathlamet Pharmacy Tsuga Gallery Cathlamet Realty West Puget Island Ferry Landing SKAMOKAWA Skamokawa General Store NASELLE Appelo Archives & Café Johnson’s One-Stop

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: Oct 15 – Nov 30:

by Sept 25 for Oct 15 issue.

Nov 25 – Jan 15:

by Nov 10 for Nov 25 Holiday issue Calendar submissions are considered for inclusion, subject to lead time, relevance to readers, and space limitations. See Submission Guidelines,below.

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.

Outings & Events Ryderwood’s Arts & Crafts Fair, Oct 22 & 23, 10-4. “Christmas in October” annual event since 2004. Vendors, bake sale, lunch.

Come on out for a good time.

Producers of fine handcrafts: for vendor applications email Ryderwoodevents@yahoo.com or call Maria, 360-214-0455. $35 for each 6-ft space for two days, incl one table. The Fair includes “Grandma’s Kitchen,” RWCS Bake Sale in the kitchen of Community Hall and Lunch served at the Cafe across the street. Ryderwood, the “Village in the Wood,” is located 9 scenic miles west of I-5 Exit #59, at the end of SR 506.

See ad, page 9

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 1418 Commerce Avenue , Longview, Wash • Tu-Sat 11–4 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: September: Gallery member Kandyse Whitney, new jewelry, fused glass & paper art; and guest artist Kaye Barnett, pen & ink drawings and acrylic paintings October: Guest Artists Marie Wise, painting; and Steve Jones, wood-turning

First Thursdays and Classes returning soon.

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

Voted one of top 3 Galleries in Southwest Washington. Free Gift wrapping plus Layaway!

Youth Family Link Christmas Sale Fri-Sat, Oct 22-23, 9am– 2pm. Youth and Family Link gymnasium. 907 Douglas St., Longview,Wash. Shop for Christmas! Ornaments, Décor, wreaths, table decorations, holiday clothing, jewelry, vintage items. $5 donation at the door. All proceeds support Youth and Family Link programs and projects.

Upcoming Shows GET YOUR TICKETS! CLATSKANIE ARTS COMMISSION Fernhill Bluegrass Band with the Bloomer Family Sun, Sept 19, 3pm. www.fernhillbluegrass.com Bluegrass music in the style of the classic bands of the 1950s, resulting an instantly identifiable rhythmic sound that both devotees and newcomers to the music will love.

Violinist Aaron Meyers Sat, Oct 2, 7:30pm. www. aaronmeyer.com Audiences are mesmerized by Aaron’s unique stage presence blended with awe-inspiring virtuosic performances displaying an affinity for the violin in a seemingly effortless mastery of the instrument.

Men of Worth Celtic Christmas Sun, Dec 12, 3pm. www.menofworth.com Scotsman Donnie Macdonald and Irishman James Keigher perform Irish and Scottish folk music, combining traditional and contemporary styles. Joined

by Kevin Carr on fiddle/pipes and Maureen Brennan on harp. Kelsey Wilson O’Brien, dancer.

Info: clatskaniearts.org

COLUMBIA THEATRE FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS Pink Martini - Season Opener Sept. 17, 7:30pm Ann Sweeten Oct 2, 7:30pm Catapult Oct 21, 7:30pm Seattle Comedy Competition Nov 19, 7:30pm Uh-Oh Here Comes Christmas Two performances: Dec 3, 7:30pm and Dec 4, 2pm Winter Song Dec 18, 7:30pm For more information contact the Columbia Theatre Box Office at 360-575-8499. Or online at www.columbiatheatre. com. See ad, page 17.

Shop Local Saturday (4th Saturday each month)

to receive a free gift!

“In Their Footsteps” monthly Sunday 1pm forums sponsored by the Lewis & Clark National Park Association and the park. This season is a virtual version. https://www. facebook.com/LewisandClarkNationalHistoricalPark Sun, Sept. 19 “Something Worth Doing,” by Jane Kirkpatrick Sun, Oct 17 “Captain Cook, Lewis & Clark, and the Evolution of The Northwest Passage,” by David Nicandri.

Sun, Nov 21 “Captain George Flavel” by Jon Drury For more information, call the park at 503-861-4414, visit www.nps.gov/lewi, or lewisandclarknps on Instagram, or Lewis and Clark National Historical Park on Facebook.

TAKE A

with

HIKE

Mt. St. Helens Club This friendly club welcomes newcomers.

For more info please call the hike leader or visit mtsthelensclub.org.

RT(round trip) distances are from Longview. e.g.=elevation gain.

E= easier. usually on relatively flat ground (up to 5 miles and/or less than 500 ft. e.g., M=moderate, longer and more elevation gain (over 5 miles and/or over 500 ft. e.g.)

S= strenuous—long hikes and/or elevation gain (over 8 miles and/or over 1200 ft. e.g.)

(SS) – Snow Shoe (XC) – Cross Country Ski Due to the uncertainty of the pandemic, Please note the following: 1) All hikes will only take place if the hike leader feels it is safe to do so on that date.

2) Hiking groups may be limited at the discretion of the hike leader.

3) Make sure to call the hike leader for any further information or instruction.

4) Always be safe and protect yourself and be considerate of others during this pandemic.

Sept 22 - Wednesday, 9am-4pm Millersylvania State Park Drive 100 miles RT. Hike 4+ miles around perimeter trail, little e.g. Discovery Pass required for each vehicle.

Leader: John R. 360-431-1122.

Sept 25 - Saturday, 8am-6pm Gales Creek Park (M) Drive 140 miles RT. Park at the Gales Creek Campground. Hike 8 miles / 1,000 ft. e.g. loop at the Tillamook Burn Forest.

Leader: Bruce M. 360-425-0256.

SAVE THE DATE Kelso Garden Club Cordially invites you to join us for a Blue Star Memorial By-Way Marker Dedication Thursday, November 11, 2021 1:30 p.m.

Tam O’Shanter Park Tam O’Shanter Park Way, Kelso, WA Light Refreshments to follow Please RSVP Sarah Koss 360 431-5168 sarahkoss@comcast.net Public Invited

Sept 29 - Wednesday, 9am–3pm Burnt Bridge Creek Trail (E) Drive 78 miles RT. Hike 5+ miles up and back. We’ll start at the Ellen Davis Trail (dirt and gravel), 200 ft. e.g. for a short distance, then on to Burnt Bridge Creek Trail with similar e.g. but mostly flat with some slight gradual hill rise. Wetland valley and creekside views.

Leader: Art M. 360-270-9991 Oct 6 - Wednesday, 9am–3pm Julia Butler Hansen Refuge (E) Drive 78 miles RT. Hike 6 , no e.g. on Center Road Trail and the road along Steamboat Slough and the Col River. Leader: Dory 213820-1014.

Leader: Pat 360- 225-7232 Oct 9 - Saturday • Mount St. Helens Monument Mystery Hike (E/M Drive 100 miles RT. Hike 5 miles/ 500 ft. e.g. through remote section of Monument to a secret spot.

Leader: Bruce M. 360-425-0256.

Oct 16 - Saturday Lemei Rock (M/S) Drive 210 miles RT. Hike 10 miles/ 2,300 ft. e.g. through Indian Heaven’s exquisite meadows and lakes.

Leader: Pat. 360-225-7232.

Columbia River Reader / September 15, 2021 / 29

Northwest Gardening

Can’t beat ‘em? Join em!

Re-thinking what’s in your garden

By Alice Slusher

D

id our extremely dry summer make you rethink what’s growing in your landscape?

I’m going to replace some of my water-guzzling plants with some sippers that can tolerate sun and heat. I set out on a quest for easycare, low water perennials that can be planted now and enjoyed until they’re done flowering this fall. I went to several area nurseries, as well as the big box stores, and came up with a short list of seven gorgeous droughtresistant flowers that you can grab now and plant.

Check out the list below. There are many different colors and sizes available with each flower group, so be sure to do your homework — find ones that suit your needs. All of these plants will flower best in full sun, and most bloom all summer long. All are deer resistant and attract butterflies and other pollinators. For attention

grabbing impact in your garden, purchase and plant them in groups of three, with the taller flowers toward the back of the bed. Make sure you leave enough space around them for their mature size.

In our area, these plants can be planted in September while it’s still warm and before the soil is saturated by our seasonal rain. It’s critical to transplant your perennials into well-draining soil so the roots won’t rot over the winter.

If necessary, build mounds of soil and plant in those. You can also amend the soil with compost (NO fertilizer!).

When you un-pot your plant, gently tease apart the roots and wash off most of the potting mix. If you find dense roots on the bottom or sides of the root mass, take a knife and cut off about a half-inch all around. Dig a hole only as deep as your plant, but twice as wide. Water the hole, and gently arrange the roots and replace

Gaillardia

the soil, tamping and watering as you go. You’ll need to water them until it starts raining—if the top 2-3 inches of soil is dry, water thoroughly. As the blooms and foliage fade in October, cut them back to about 6 inches. This will allow the roots to become established over the winter without having to sustain a growing plant.

You can find these in nurseries now!

•Echinacea (cone-flower)—Oh my!

Their flowers are very large and showy with daisy-like ray petals surrounding a cone or puffball-shaped center. There are so many to choose from—pinks, reds, purples, yellows, green, and everything in between! Most cultivars are 2-3 feet tall and spread up to 2 feet, so place them toward the back so you can plant shorter plants in front.

1106 Florida St. Longview, WA 360-846-7304

TRUSTED

FOR OVER 38 YEARS Service is the difference!

• Accurate • Reliable • Timely • Locally Owned

THE MOST IN-DEPTH TITLE PLANT IN THE COUNTY Glenda Beam Escrow Officer

Amy Hoyer

Escrow Officer

Leah White

Escrow Assistant

Carrie Staggs

Escrow Assistant

Title Insurance • Escrow Services • Residential & Commercial • 1031 Exchange

1159 14th Ave, Longview • 360.423.5330 • www.cowlitztitle.com 30 / Columbia River Reader / September 15, 2021

•Penstemon (beardstongue) is one of my favorites, especially the ‘Red’ or ‘Hot Pink Riding Hood’ cultivars, whose tubular flowers are hummingbird magnets! They bloom from early summer to fall, and can be cut back to encourage reblooming. They prefer full sun. In my garden, the deer leave them alone. They grow to about 2 feet and can spread up to 2 feet.

•Red Hot Poker (Kinophofia) display masses of flamboyant, brightly colored red-orange-yellow flower spikes that can last from early summer to late fall. This is another hummingbird favorite, and you’ll enjoy watching them sip from flower to tiny flower on the spike.

They add a great vertical garden

accent and can grow up to 6 feet tall and will eventually spread to over 3 feet wide.

•Achillea (yarrow) is a great flower that lasts all summer long, and can be cut back to encourage reblooming.

The ferny foliage, often a gray green, adds contrast and texture to your perennial bed. Traditional yarrow sports a flattened yellow flower head, but other colors are available. My favorite is the deep orange “Paprika,” but the bright red “Pomegranate” cultivar may be finding a place in my garden. It grows up to 2 feet tall and wide.

•Blanket Flower (Gaillardia) is another daisy-like flower in vibrant reds and yellows that grows in mounding clumps. Depending on the cultivar you choose, the height and spread are about 12-18 inches. For a new flush of flowers, cut these back when the blooms are spent.

•Coreopsis (tickseed) is an easy-care perennial that blooms all through the summer and into fall. The traditional coreopsis is a daisy-like yellow flower cont page 31

Kalama resident Alice Slusher volunteers with WSU Extension Service Plant & Insect Clinic. Call 360577-3014, ext. 8, or send question via cowlitzmastergardener@ gmail.com.

Extension Programs

OSU – Columbia County 503-397-3462

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

Old publishers never die, they just get de-pressed

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

Free online Workshops

Echinacea

Penstemon

from page 34

Gaillardia

with toothed petals, but you can find cultivars that are pale yellow, pink, magenta, and various flashy combinations of those colors. You can find plants that only grow 6 inches tall for borders, as well as cultivars up to 4 feet tall for the background. Some of them reseed themselves, so get to know what the leaves look like so you can transplant volunteers.

•Lavender is one of the best plants — actually a small shrub — in any perennial bed. The gray-green

foliage is lovely year round, and their delicately scented purple spiked flowers bloom all season long. All they require (after established) are dry conditions and an annual haircut—take off about one-third of the non-woody sections of the stems each spring. There are different varieties of lavenders, with different sizes, so be sure to check the label to make sure it will fit your needs.

360-577-3014 X3, for connection info.

Details: cowlitzcomg.com/events Sept. 14 Noon • Planting in Shady

Areas Sept 15 6pm • Extending the Garden

Season Sept 21 Noon • How to Compost

Successfully Sept 22 6pm • The Truth about Spiders Sept 28 Noon • How to Run a

Successful Meeting Sept 29 6pm • Putting your Garden to

Bed Oct 5 Noon • How to Plant a Tree (and

Shrubs) Oct 6 6pm • Sharpening Tools /Winter

Storage Oct 12 Noon • Planting Spring Bulbs Oct 13 6pm • Vermiculture

Jo’s

OPEN D A ILY

Country Market

What’s Good in Season Apples, Watermelons, Cantaloupe, Tomatoes, Canning Peaches, Pickles, Pumpkins Local Jams & Jellies, Raw Honey

w& Longvie Also atria Markets o w st A gs, belo see listin

Chips & Salsa,Kettlecorn too!

360-957-3098

Hwy 30 • Clatskanie

The best thing about perennials is that they will come back each year with no work on your part. You can count on easy care, drought-resistant plants that will bring a riot of color and beauty to your landscape! Next month we’ll talk about how to divide the plants that have outgrown their space in your landscape. More plants—woo-hoo!

••• Columbia-Pacific Farmers Market Fridays •12–5pm, June to Sept Downtown Long Beach, Wash. www.longbeachwa.gov info: cpfmmallory@gmail.com; 360-224-3921

Cowlitz Community Farmers Market

COMMUNITY/ FARMERS MARKETS Astoria Sunday Market Thru Oct. 23. Sundays • 10–3 Downtown on 12th, just off Hwy 30, Astoria, Ore. • 503-3251010 www.astoriasundaymarket.com Mgr: Shelby, 503-440-7168 shelby@astoriadowntown.com

Clatskanie Farmers’ Market Saturdays • 10–2, June to Sept.

Copes Park. From Hwy 30, turn north on Nehalem, east on Lillich. New vendors welcome; find application at clatskaniefarmersmarket.com Info: 971-506-7432 Darro Breshears-Routon clatskaniefmvendorcoordinator@gmail.com

Open 9–2, Sat thru Oct 1900 7th Ave, Cowlitz Expo Center, Longview, Wash. www.cowlitzfarmersmarkets.com Info: Laurie Kochis, 360-957-7023 lauriekochis@msn.com

Ilwaco Saturday Market Saturdays • 10–4 Thru Sept 25 Arts/crafts, housewares, cut flowers, foods. Port of Ilwaco, Ilwaco, Wash. www.portofilwaco.com Info: marketmanager.ilwaco@gmail.com or phone 360-670-0120

Scappoose Community Club Farmers Market Saturday, 9–2 • Thru Sept 25 Behind City Hall next to Heritage Park, 2nd St., Scappoose, Ore. www.scappoosefarmermarket.com Info: Bill Blank 503-730-7429 email: scappoosefm@gmail.com

Columbia River Reader / September 15, 2021 / 31

Astronomy

SKY REPORT

Looking UP SEPT 20 – OCT 19

to your eyes. 10x50 binoculars will reveal the four major moons of Jupiter as a great sight. Again, a small telescope will bring these moons into great view. If you keep watching the moons over a period of time, you will notice their movement as they orbit the banded planet. If we get a couple of clear nights in a row, you will see them change places and disappear from view as they cross in front of Jupiter or go behind it. Check the Internet for the placement of the moons on various days. Have fun keeping track of the moons as they swing through their orbits.

By Greg Smith

F

rom late September through the middle of October, the weather can start changing to full autumn mode. If it is clear, the evening can be cool to downright chilly. Now is the time when jackets and coats will start to be needed. So, what’s up this time of the year?

Night Sky Spectacle: If you like the double star in the middle of the handle of the Big Dipper, you will love the double stars around the bright star Vega in Lyra, that sits overhead. This a good area to watch as you lean back in your lawn chair with a pair of binoculars.

Just to the left of Vega is a visual star (Epsilon Lyrae), but with binoculars, it is a double star (Epsilon1 and Epsilon2), known as the doubledouble. That is because these two stars are in fact double stars, as well. A 4” scope will bring out the extra stars.

The Evening Sky The very bright star Vega is basically straight overhead at the end of twilight and is headed west. The summer triangle is still the dominant asterism in the evening sky, with three bright stars in three constellations: Vega in Lyra, Deneb, the tail in Cygnus the Swan, and Altair in Aquila.

In late September, the constellation Pegasus, the flying upside-down horse, begins its command of the eastern sky. It brings along the rescued princess Andromeda. In the eastern sky they carry our closest large galactic neighbor.

To see this, look for two lines of stars on the northeastern end of the large square that marks the body of Pegasus. They look like the hind legs of Pegasus but are actually the body of Andromeda. At its middle, follow three stars up and at the third star you will find the fuzzy smudge of light.

This is the Andromeda Galaxy (M31), visible by naked eye in a very dark sky, or by binoculars in town. All we can see is the bright center of the galaxy, but with a telescope you can see more of the outlying arms. Of course, the bigger the scope, the more you will see. If you know how to attach a camera to your scope and get a long shutter opening of about 20 seconds, you will see even more in the photo you just took.

In late September, Venus disappears just after sunset, and Jupiter and Saturn take control of the southern sky. They are at their best viewing, since they are already visible in the southern evening sky just as the other stars come out. You can view them in binoculars, but the rings of Saturn will need a telescope.

A small one will bring the rings visible

Also, at the point of the little triangle there is another double star (Delta Lyrae) as seen in the diagram. Now for a treat. At least a 4”telescope is a must to see the Ring Nebula (M57) as marked in the chart. This will be a very faint circle. You will be seeing the remains of a star that blew up a long time ago, located 2,000 light years away.

Moon Phases Full: Sept. 20th, Mon 3rd Qtr. : Sept. 20th, Mon New : Oct. 6th, Wed 1st Qtr. : Oct. 12th, Tue End of twilight - when the stars start to come out.

Sat Sept. 20th , 7:42 pm Mon, Oct 4th, 7:15 pm Tue, Oct 19th, 6:48 pm

Get the best care for your loved one.

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.

32 / Columbia River Reader / September 15, 2021

Openings NOW!

Adult Family Home Advantages

360-703-5830

P In Home Doctor Visits P Home Cooked Meals P Locally Owned P 6 to 1 Caregiver Ratio P Small Homelike Setting P 24-Hour Registered Nurses Support P Memory Care Experts P Therapies in Home P Licensed facilities that exceed state standards

www.thehavenslongview.com

The Havens are now hiring Licensed Caregivers 360-442-0758

Welcoming new residents during Covid crisis!

PREMIE

R SENIO

R CARE

The Havens is a group of 11 premier, independently owned and operated homes.

Drop in for a tour any time!

Cattermole Funeral Home invites you to visit us at our cozy historic home.

HEAT PUMP SALE

L We offer at-need services as well as preplanning assistance.

L Burial and cremation services

Have You Heard Of Green Funeral Options?

Green Burial • Natural Organic Reduction • Aqua Cremation

Wondering What Those Are?

Contact Us. . . We will be happy to explain these choices.

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

We’re Here For You

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

Columbia River Reader / September 15, 2021 / 33

PLUGGED IN TO

the spectator by ned piper

COWLITZ PUD

Loss, Vietnam, and The Wall

T

In a twist of fate, one of the pilots in the search and rescue mission, Mel Hinton, also graduated with us from R.A. Long in 1958. He later became a major airline commercial pilot.

hinking about the special event featured in this issue, The Wall That Heals, brings to mind the one person I knew who lost his life during the Vietnam War.

Everybody liked Wayne. He was smart, athletic and greeted everyone with a ready smile and a kind word. His older brother, Don Armstrong, is the same kind of guy.

Wayne Armstrong and I both graduated in 1958 from R.A.Long High School.

Thanks to his outstanding career as an R.A. The two of us were friends.

Long football player, Don signed to play Wayne’s “best pal” was Dean football for the University of Washington.

Nordstrom, one of my high He was a star with the Huskies, as well. school and college buddies. Lieutenant JG Wayne Armstrong, After college, Don settled back in Longview So I guess you could say Navy pilot/air traffic controller where he worked for the Longview Fibre Wayne and I were close Company. He was a foreman when I worked friends — once removed. Years later, for the Fibre one summer earning money for college. I Dean told me that he never really got called it my Fibre Scholarship Fund. over the loss of Wayne.

I now see Don and his wife Charlotte walking through On the final day of Wayne’s deployment our neighborhood, or dining out, often at Roland in Vietnam, one of his friends, a jet pilot, Wines. Don is one of the nicest men you’d ever want asked him if he’d had the opportunity to meet. It’s sad to think that all these years, he’s done to take a ride in a fighter plane. He without his “little brother.” hadn’t, so they took off. Somewhere I am looking forward to the replica of the The Wall over the ocean, the plane encountered coming to Longview. Its arrival is a very big deal, given mechanical difficulties. Wayne was that Longview is the only Washington stop on this last seen, his parachute open, entering year’s tour. I visited the Vietnam Veterans Memorial the South China Sea off the coast of in Washington, DC., a few years ago. It was a cold, Vietnam. His body was never found. blustery January day and yet, The Wall had attracted hundreds of visitors. It’s a meaningful memorial to the 58,000 service members who lost their lives in Vietnam.

RV - BOAT -TRAILER? For end-of-summer and ALL your storage needs!

24-Hr Access • Fully Fenced • On-site Manager

Kudos to Rick Little and Longview Memorial Park for sponsoring and caring enough to bring The Wall That Heals to Longview, and to the many other organizations and volunteers helping with this special event. See Schedule, page 20.

•••

256 E. SR-4 • Cathlamet, WA

360-795-8651 https://bit.ly/256CRSS

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

C

By Alice Dietz

4th Annual Eat for Heat

owlitz PUD’s 4th Annual Eat for Heat was our most successful event yet, with 100 percent of the proceeds benefiting the Warm Neighbor Fund!

Our locally-procured meal kits for two expanded this year, bringing new vendors along. A special thanks to the Backstage Café, River Mile 38 Brewery, Forget Me Not Boards and Catering, Matt Custom Meats, Roland Wines, Grants at the Monticello, Chef Jim Nunes, Watershed Garden Works, The Beautiful Pig, Sugar Pearl Dessert Co. and Hubbard Farms. If you have not had a chance to check out these local establishments, you’re missing out!

Eat for Heat was established to support and market local purveyors of food and beverage, with all proceeds benefiting our Warm Neighbor Fund, assisting families in need of help with their utility bills. Since COVID hit our food and beverage industry so hard, the mission and vision for this event have been especially significant in the goal of supporting local, for the benefit of our neighbors in need.

The Warm Neighbor Fund is an awesome program administered

by Cowlitz PUD. As a publicly-owned utility, we are limited on how we can assist customers in need and this fund allows us to help on a case-by-case basis.

Cowlitz and Wahkiakum United Way’s ‘Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed’ (ALICE) study is a way of defining and understanding the struggles of households earning above the Federal Poverty Level, but not enough to afford a bare-bones household budget.

The Warm Neighbor Fund is one of the only funds that can assist families who do not qualify for the Federal programs. Now more than ever, supporting programs like these is important as we head into cold weather season. Columbia River Reader is one of our strongest platforms for advertising the Eat for Heat event and I imagine a lot of you reading this were among our supporters.

Thank you for helping make this event successful and we hope to see you again next year, on the second Friday of September!

If you are interested in donating to Warm Neighbor, give us a call at 360.423.2210.

•••

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

Fashion Jewelry • Diamonds • Wedding Sets • Swarovski Optics

Nice Selection of Diamond Jewelry!

OPEN

SATURDAY 3-6PM

THIRSTY THURSDAY

4:30-6:30PM DURING COVID

For ‘TO GO’ Bottle Fills

37 years experience, including 17 as goldsmith for Gallery of Diamonds, Longview.

John Edmunds 711 Vandercook Way, Suite 122 Longview Tuesday - Saturday • 9:30–5:30

Bring ad in for 10% Off first purchase or repair.

34 / Columbia River Reader / September 15, 2021

OUR BOOK PARTNERS

T

SUGA exhibits works by artists of Wahkiakum County and those near the county borders, including oil, acrylic paintings, watercolors, photographs, ceramics, pottery, jewelry, woodwork, mixed media, stained glass, fused glass, music CDs and books by local authors.

R-O-C-K-!

W

e are excited to announce our 4th Annual Eat for Heat! On September 30th, the Utility Moratorium will be CRRPress Partner Profile lifted and we will see an increase in the need for Warm Neighbor GALLERY funds to assist impacted TSUGA families. Our Warm Neighbor program 100% Washington assists Cathlamet, low-income families with their PUD bills.

The cool thing about this program is that it

CRRPress helps familiesBooks: without their having to qualify

“Because their quality and subject matter, for federal of assistance.

Recipients of federal the bookscurrently pretty much themselves! assistance must sell qualify at the federal

povertyGallery level —iswhich a threshold ofBob’s $26,000 Tsuga proudisof Judy and for a family of four, meaning if you make work, especially since they’re ‘locals.’even a

dollar over that amount, you are not qualified

With the marina in town, we get a lot of for assistance. boaters coming in, and we sell many of One in three families in Cowlitz County are the books to them. The books are very struggling to pay their bills and 85 percent of professionally printed and people love single mothers are unable to afford their bill. reading something about thethose local families. area.

Warm Neighbor is able to help Dispatches from the Discovery Trail Please join us for our largest annual fundraiser, covers much of the time Lewis Eat for Heat.

A direct link is available a .” and Clark spent here on the coastthrough

Tsuga Gallery 70 Main Street Cathlamet, Washington 360-795-0725 tsugagallery.org

QR code in this month’s PUD advertisement (see

D an37) Wand estlind Tsuga Gallery president page may, also be found at cowlitzpud.org

TEMPORARY HOURS: Wed–Sat 10–4.

•••

In the spotlight at Tsuga Gallery ~ CRRPress books!

Readers are raving about these books...

THE TIDEWATER REACH Field Guide

to the Lower Columbia in Poems and Pictures

By Robert Michael Pyle and Judy VanderMaten

Field Guide to the

Lower Columbia River in

O. P E R R Y

dispatches MICHAEL

from the

Discovery Trail with

HAL CALBOM DEBBY NEELY

by woodcut art

Poems and Pictures

DISPATCHES FROM THE DISCOVERY TRAIL A Layman’s Lewis & Clark

Robert Michael Pyle Judy VanderMaten

By Michael O. Perry

ARnK IS & di CLtio eE at’SurLEW A LA gnAN SiYM

Get Yours Now!

With original woodcut art

by Debby Neely

see page 2

At 1333 14th AVE, LONGVIEW, Wash. or locations throughout the region Both titles available in • Boxed Signature Edition Color / BW $50 • Trade Paperback in BW $25 Online: CRREADER.COM/CRRPRESS INFO: 360-749-1021

A Different Way of Seeing...

Both books Include Hal Calbom’s author Interviews

Also available at: • Columbia Gorge Interpretive Museum, Stevenson • North Bank Books, Stevenson • Vintage Books 6613 E. Mill Plain, Vancouver • Broadway Gallery, Longview • Cowlitz County Historical Museum Shop, Kelso • Vault Books & Brew, Castle Rock • Mount St. Helens Gift Shop, Castle Rock, Exit 49 • Tsuga Gallery, Cathlamet • Wahkiakum Eagle, Cathlamet • Redmen Hall, Skamokawa • Skamokawa Store, Skamokawa • Appelo Archives, Naselle • Time Enough Books, Ilwaco • Godfathers Books, Astoria • RiverSea Gallery, Astoria • Columbia River Maritime Museum Store, Astoria • Columbia Gorge Discovery Center & Museum, The Dalles, Ore.

Please support our local booksellers & galleries Columbia River Reader / September 15, 2021 / 35

36 / Columbia River Reader / September October 15,15, 2020 2021