Columbia River Reader September 2023

COLUMBIA RIVER READER COLLECTORS CLUB

LEWIS AND CLARK REVOLUTIONIZED

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.

IN FULL VIEW

Rex Ziak

$29.95

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.

EYEWITNESS

TO ASTORIA

Gabriel Franchére $21.95

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.

THE TIDEWATER REACH Field Guide to the Lower Columbia River in Poems and Pictures

By Robert Michael Pyle and Judy VanderMaten.

three editions:

• Boxed Signature Edition, Color with color $50

• Collectors Edition,Trade paperback, with c $35

• Trade paperback B/W $25

ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION

11 issues $55 SUBSCRIPTIONS MAKE THOUGHTFUL GIFTS... FOR YOURSELF OR FOR A FRIEND!

DISPATCHES FROM THE DISCOVERY TRAIL

A Layman’s Lewis & Clark by Michael O. Perry.

•Collectors Edition, Trade paperback. Color and B/W $35

Our year of centennial journalism is almost concluded, and we’re thrilled with the resulting book, Empire of Trees: America’s Planned City and the Last Frontier, and gala celebration and book launch, “From Page to Stage.”

That said, like most journalists, we’re impatient and mercurial and are also looking forward to moving on to other things. Here’s a quick preview of what you can expect from the Reader, and from CRRPress, in the months to come.

Getting out and about

Hal’s feature on Maryhill Museum of Art this month shows us stretching our legs and broadening our horizons. Of course, we’ve loved our deep dive into Longview’s history, then and now, but we all know it’s fun to get out of town.

Part Two with Karl

Interest in the paper and our books is growing up and down the river, and we’ve recently restocked museum gift shops in Stevenson and The Dalles. Our August feature on Karl Marlantes took us to Cannon Beach and we’ll revisit Karl in the Nov. 25 holiday issue to celebrate publication of his new book, Cold Victory , and share with CRR readers an excerpt from it.

Looking

Kalama drama

Next month we’re featuring the little boomtown up river, Kalama. They claimed more than 450,000 visitors last year, with an inspired marketing and development

campaign. They’re about to open the doors on visionary Mountain Timber Market, a constellation of upscale shops and services, and will be breaking ground on a user-friendly pedestrian overpass to get people across the tracks safely and in style.

Blue highways

We sense that with the pandemic ebbing, people are itching to day trip or overnight up and down the river, and we’ll be one step ahead of, or behind you, in your travels. Our region teems with cool things to see and warm things to eat. Our Tracy Beard will double down on her excursions and tasty recipes.

The art of the woodcut

Expect a new book coming soon from CRR Press and our longtime friend and collaborator Debby Neely. Debby has a talent for haiku, another of CRR’s own passions, and she’s putting her poetic muse to work along with her

etching knives and ink pot. Debby promises her book in time for holiday enjoyment and giving.

And of course we’ll not be stinting on our featured contributors — Alan, Alice, Marc, Greg, Andre, Marc, Joseph, and Ned are all revved up and revitalized, looking forward to bringing you their favorite insights and enjoyments. And don’t worry, Miss Manners, Lewis and Clark, and Bob Pyle and Judy VanderMaten are also solidly on board the CRR ship as we sail onward over the holidays and into 2024.

Thanks again to everyone who reads, advertises and participates in, or otherwise supports Columbia River Reader and cheers us on. After 20 years, it’s still fun and rewarding to present a kaleidoscope of favorite ideas and activities to help us all enjoy the good life here!

Publisher/Editor: Susan P. Piper

Columnists and contributors:

Tracy Beard

Hal Calbom

Tiffany Dickinson

Alice Dietz

Joseph Govednik

Michael Perry

Ned Piper

Perry Piper

Robert Michael Pyle

Marc Roland

Alan Rose

Alice Slusher

Greg Smith

LaDonna Stacey

Andre Stepankowsky

Debra Stewart

Debra Tweedy

Judy VanderMaten

Editorial/Proofreading Assistants:

Merrilee Bauman, Michael Perry, Marilyn Perry, Tiffany Dickinson, Debra Tweedy

Advertising Manager: Ned Piper, 360-749-2632 Columbia River Reader, llc 1333 14th Ave, Longview, WA 98632

P.O. Box 1643 • Rainier, OR 97048 Office Hours: M-W-F • 11–3* *Other times by chance or appointment

E-mail: publisher@crreader.com Phone:

Columbia River Reader is published monthly, with 14,000 copies distributed in the Lower Columbia region. Entire contents copyrighted; No reproduction of any kind allowed without express written permission of Columbia River Reader, LLC. Opinions expressed herein, whether in editorial content or paid ad space, belong to the writers and advertisers and are not necessarily shared or endorsed by the Reader.

Submission guidelines: page 32.

General Ad info: page 6. Ad Manager: Ned Piper 360-749-2632. CRREADER.COM

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

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 (Ocean Beach Hwy)

Grocery Outlet

The Gifted Kitchen (711 Vandercook Way)

Fibre Fed’l CU - Commerce Ave

Monticello Hotel (front entrance)

Kaiser Permanente

St. John Medical Center (rack, Park Lake Café)

LCC Student Center

Indy Way Diner

Columbia River Reader Office

1333 14th Ave. (box at door)

Omelettes & More (entry rack)

Stuffy’s II (entry rack)

KELSO

Visitors’ Center / Kelso-Longview Chamber of Commerce

KALAMA

Fibre Fed’l CU

Kalama Shopping Center corner of First & Fir

McMenamin’s Harbor Lodge (rack)

WOODLAND

The Oak Tree

Visitors’ Center

Grocery Outlet

Luckman Coffee

CASTLE ROCK

Lacie Rha’s Cafe (32 Cowlitz W.)

Parker’s Restaurant (box, entry)

Visitors’ Ctr 890 Huntington Ave.

N., Exit 49, west side of I-5

Cascade Select Market

VADER

Little Crane Café

RYDERWOOD

Café porch

TOUTLE

Drew’s Grocery & Service

CLATSKANIE

Post Office

Mobil / Mini-Mart

Fultano’s Pizza

WESTPORT

Berry Patch (entry rack)

RAINIER

Post Office

Cornerstone Café

Rainier Hardware (rack, entry)

Earth ‘n’ Sun (on Hwy 30)

El Tapatio (entry rack)

Grocery Outlet

Senior Center (rack at front door)

DEER ISLAND

Deer Island Store

COLUMBIA CITY Post Office

WARREN

Warren Country Inn

ST HELENS

Chamber of Commerce

Sunshine Pizza St. Helens Market Fresh

Olde Town: Wild Currant, Tap into Wine

Safeway

SCAPPOOSE

Post Office

Road Runner

Fultano’s

Ace Hardware

WARRENTON, OR

Fred Meyer

CATHLAMET

Cathlamet Pharmacy

Tsuga Gallery

Realty West

Puget Island Ferry Landing

SKAMOKAWA

Skamokawa General Store

NASELLE

Appelo Archives & Café

Johnson’s One-Stop

Gary Meyers, CRR Haifufest Founder, laid to rest Gary Meyers, Lt. Col. Ret. had the most fitting funeral I’ve ever attended. It started with the setting, National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (Punchbowl). This setting was perfect for my father. Very serene and crisp as one would expect within a memorial cemetery (not unlike Arlington National Cemetery).

The day was perfect, though hot. The eclectic mix of funeral goers included his wife, Sue, his two sons (Larry and I), friends, and military funeral guards in full regalia. They delivered rifle fire off to our right, which shook us all a bit and, shortly after a brief service, folded the flag up tight. In that flag are a small cache of my dad’s ashes and the shells from the earlier rifle salute.

As if on command, a light shower greeted us in our walk to the columbarium to inter dad’s ashes. As requested, he wished for these ashes to be in his canteen. This was a solemn nod, I’m sure, to the Blackened Canteen Ceremony of which he held very dear in his life. I’d encourage everyone reading this to look it up and learn of its significance. Also, go to YouTube and type in “Blackened Canteen Ceremony,” and you’re sure

to see my father speaking at one of these on board the USS Arizona Memorial!

Anyway, as the brief shower let up, his canteen was placed very carefully and quite ceremoniously into the niche for his final earthly resting place. At the Celebration of Life following the funeral (held at the restaurant overlooking his long favorite golf course in Pearl Harbor, Mangiamo’s), we were told by his long time friend and former Head of the National Park Service, Daniel Martinez, that his flag will be given the high honor of flying over the USS Arizona Memorial!! This is truly a high honor, and I’m sure my dad is beaming with pride that he’d be honored in this way!

Gary Meyers was a friend of CRR from its early days. He founded the HaikuFest and remained its Chief Judge until his death in May 2023. He will be dearly missed and remembered fondly. Rest in peace, Gary.

Erratum

I enjoyed reading "Quips & Quotes" in your July 15 issue. One minor correction: E.B. White was born in 1899, not 1889.

Greg Donges Castle Rock,Wash.

Philip Meyers York, Penn.

EPISODE 28

The

Expedition Returned ... then What?

By Michael O. Perry

In 2002, David Plotz wrote an article about the Lewis and Clark Expedition titled “Stop Celebrating – They Don’t Matter” (viewable on the Internet). While Plotz wrote that the Lewis & Clark Expedition was irrelevant and insignificant, most historians believe they opened the door to American settlement of the West. Without the Corps of Discovery, the U.S. would have had a weaker claim to the land that eventually became Washington and Oregon. It is even possible we might have ended up as part of Canada. However, Plotz makes some very good points in his article.

My wife and I have enjoyed a couple of vacations in Scotland. One of my favorite spots is the Isle of Lewis (no relation to Meriwether Lewis) and the Isle of Harris. Progress has bypassed these Outer Hebrides Islands to a large degree – only one town of any size, and no fast food restaurants. The people mostly fish and raise sheep; the wool is made into the famous Harris Tweed on treadle looms in private homes. Listening to the old women tell about how long it took to create

the fabric using the old techniques made me realize how easy it is to take progress for granted.

While half the members of the Corps of Discovery were born before the United States became a country in 1776, most of those men would have been too young to remember America’s War of Independence. Captain Lewis was born in 1774, Captain Clark in 1770, and Sergeant Gass in 1771. All the men had seen the United States grow in its first 30 years, and many would live long enough to see even greater change, and I was intrigued to learn one member of the Lewis & Clark Expedition lived to be almost 100. Oh, what he saw in his lifetime!

A lot can happen in a century

Think about it: Someone born a hundred years ago would have witnessed the beginnings of flight that led to today’s commercial airlines – and to the space program that put men on the moon just 66 years after the Wright brothers flew their first airplane at Kitty Hawk in 1903.

In AprIl 2021 we Introduced A revIsed versIon of Michael Perry’s popular series which was expanded In the new book, Dispatches from the Discovery Trail, edited by Hal Calbom and published by CRRPress. It includes an in-depth author interview and new illustrations and commentary.

… who had the strongest? …

We knew we had the weaker claim. The question was who had the strongest? And we’re used to assuming that Britain and France and Russia, to a certain degree, were the ones that did all the expeditions. The truth is that Spain was here long before and they actually had maps of all this coast, but they didn’t share them with anybody. They took it all back and locked it up.”

They would have experienced the rapid development of the automobile and a network of highways that ties our country together. They watched silent, black and white movies develop into talkies and then into color. They experienced the transition from radio to television, they listened to music on Edison phonographs and saw the development of stereo phonographs, reel-to-reel tape recorders, 4-track and 8-track tapes, cassette tapes, CDs, and then digital music on computers and iPods. They gave up their slide rules for hand-held calculators – and watched as computers and smart phones took over the world.

While many of the 33 people who went to the Pacific Ocean and back died early deaths, Patrick Gass was 99 when he died in 1870. He must have been amazed at how fast the West was settled. So, for this column, I thought it would be fun to list some of the important developments that took place during the lives of the members of the Corps of Discovery, after their return in 1806.

Running bare

Several men joined trapping parties to return to the western lands they had explored. The first man to die was Joseph Field, just a year after the Expedition ended. A year later, John Potts was killed by some Blackfeet Indians while John Colter, who discovered the geyser basins at Yellowstone, was stripped of all his clothing and managed to escape the Indians, running naked for five days before reaching Fort Raymond in Montana.

In 1809, the year James Madison became our fourth president, Captain Lewis and three others died; Lewis probably committed suicide (more on that in upcoming episodes). In 1810, George Drouillard was killed by Blackfeet Indians near Three Forks, Montana. One might wonder if this was a revenge killing, since he had been with Lewis when at least one Blackfeet Indian was killed there in 1806.

Astoria, the first American settlement on the Pacific coast, was founded in

The Series 1901 United States $10 Note. Nicknamed the “Buffalo Bill,” it was issued to stimulate interest in the Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition held in Portland, Oregon, in 1905. The left portrait shows Meriwether Lewis, while the right portrait shows William Clark.

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, 39.

Lewis & Clark from page 5

1811. Two Corpsmen were in New Madrid, Missouri, when two of the most powerful earthquakes ever to strike North America (both magnitude ~7.5) occurred in December 1811 and February 1812. Several members of the Expedition participated in the War of 1812. Most historians think Sacajawea died in 1812, but some people believe she lived to be about 100, dying in 1884 (more in an upcoming episode).

By 1817, when James Monroe became our fifth president, at least a dozen Corpsmen were dead. In 1825, when John Quincy Adams became our sixth president, the Hudson Bay Company established Fort Vancouver. Andrew Jackson became our seventh president in 1829 and Nathaniel Pryor died two years later, a year before the siege of the Alamo. At least 25 of the 33 men were dead when Captain Clark died in 1838.

Westward, Ho!

In 1840 there were just three states west of the Mississippi River (Louisiana, Missouri and Arkansas). A group of 100 emigrants headed west by wagon train in 1841; a thousand people made the trip in 1843, followed by 2,000 in 1844 and 5,000 in 1845. By 1866, a half million people had left their homes in the east to travel to new homes in the west — a third of those came to Oregon and Washington. Towns were springing up all over the place as the flood of people arrived.

In 1844, Skamokawa and Oregon City were founded. St. Helens was founded in 1845 (originally called Plymouth), and Cathlamet was started in 1846. Peter Crawford filed a land claim in 1847 for what would become Kelso (it was not platted until 1884). The Oregon Territory was created in 1848. Monticello (located near the mouth of the Cowlitz River) was established in 1850, the same year California became a state. Rainier (originally called Eminence) was founded in 1851, and Woodland was settled a year later. The Washington Territory was created in 1853, and Oregon became a state in 1859.

… the first American settlement … I feel that the most important thing the expedition did was simply strengthen our territorial claim. Some people cite Astoria, but that’s pretty fickle. John Jacob Astor’s people come out in 1811 and build Astoria. A year later, the War of 1812 breaks out. And so the North West Company, the British Trading Company, goes to Astoria and tells the guy in charge, ‘either you sell your fort to us — the war ship’s coming around — or when it gets here, we’re going to take it.’ So they sold it to them. It became Fort George.”

Only three members of the Expedition were still alive when Abraham Lincoln was elected our sixteenth president in 1860. The Civil War began the following year and ended in 1865 when Robert E. Lee surrendered. A week later, Lincoln was assassinated; Alexander Willard had died a month earlier at age 86. Sacajawea’s son, Pomp, died in 1866 and is buried in southeastern Oregon (his story will be told next episode).

And then there was just one

In 1868, Colonel George Custer made his last stand against the Cheyenne Indians. In 1869, the transcontinental railroad was completed at Promontory Point, Utah; by then, twenty states had been admitted to the union since the Corps returned to St. Louis in 1806. Patrick Gass died in 1870 at age 99, the same year Kalama was established. While he was the last member of the Expedition to die, he had married a 20-year old woman in 1831 (when he was 60) and had fathered seven children — some lived into the twentieth century. I’ve always wondered why nobody in his family wrote a book about their father’s stories.

Now, we will wrap up by examining what happened to Sacajawea and her son Pomp. We will look at why nobody did anything with the maps that William Clark had worked so hard to create during the trip. And, we will learn more about what Captains Lewis and Clark did after they returned to St. Louis in 1806. You might think the journey is over, but is it, really? •••

The next episode will cover the Expedition’s return to St. Louis.

Mt. St. Helens Gifts

IT

Ad Manager: Ned Piper 360-749-2632 All areas

Sue Lane 360-261-0658 Downtown Longview & all areas

AD DEADLINES.

Oct 15 issue: Sept. 25

Nov 25 issue: Nov. 1

Submission Guidelines, page 32.

The most common reminders of the Expedition’s routes are familiar to western travelers.

By Judith Martin, Nicholas Ivor Martin and Jacobina Martin

DEAR MISS MANNERS: I work at a convenience store near my home. I see the store’s regulars every day, and of course we become friendly. Some I like more than others.

Occasionally, a customer will ask me for my phone number, claiming we should get together. This request comes from both male and female customers, some interested in friendship and some in romance. Since I am not interested in pursuing any friendships or relationships with customers, how do I gracefully deny the request for my number?

GENTLE READER: “Sorry, I never give out my personal phone number, but you can usually find me here. Right by the sundries aisle.” (Miss Manners does so love sundries.)

DEAR MISS MANNERS: A couple of old friends and I had planned a dinner at their house. When I got there, they both greeted me and the husband explained that his wife was sick with a bad cold (not COVID, thankfully).

I immediately said that I would go and we could reschedule it when she was better. Both of them insisted I stay. It seemed awkward no matter what I did, leaving or staying.

My sick friend went back to bed, and I wound up sticking around and actually making dinner. I considered suggesting that the husband and I go out to a restaurant, but abandoning his wife when she was sick seemed like the worst option.

Since then, I have thought I should have just left, but they were so insistent in the moment, it just seemed gauche. What should I have done?

GENTLE READER: Not what you did, which led to having your protests rebuffed and your exposure to sickness increased, all while making the dinner that was promised to you.

You should have left, covering their protests with good wishes for a quick recovery and a postponed dinner.

DEAR MISS MANNERS: I belong to a community group that plays mahjongg once a week. We are a friendly bunch that welcomes inexperienced players.

Most newcomers tend to play very slowly and are aware they are holding up the game. Different newbies

handle the situation in various ways. For example, one person might sit out every other game, while another might play only one game each session. Gradually, everyone who likes the game and sticks with it learns to play and joins in more and more.

Winter Magic

No-dig, lawn-to-garden bed transformations

Acouple of months ago, I promised I’d share a way to very quickly (with no digging) convert a section of your lawn into a new garden bed using common, sustainable materials — completely avoiding the use of chemicals. The technique involves covering the existing lawn and unwanted vegetation with layers of cardboard (optional) and mulch.

I got a jump start in my landscape this summer. I’m converting an area where nothing grows, into a new, droughttolerant, pollinator- and beneficial insect-friendly bed. I started it in late June, and I plan to get some perennials and shrubs in it before the rain begins in autumn. With the methods below, start now, and you’ll be ready to plant next spring.

There are as many ways to create no-dig garden beds as there are recipes for chocolate chip cookies. I’ll give you the easy method and a more involved approach.

An easy way and a “lasagna” method

Both start with deciding where you want the new bed. I used a garden hose to outline the shape and contours. Next, cut the grass or weeds as close to the ground as possible. Use a pitchfork to loosen the soil (don’t dig). This aids airflow and water

Story by Alice Slusher

movement — especially useful for compacted clay soils — then water slowly and thoroughly with a sprinkler for a couple of hours.

The following (and final) step is for those who want the easy way. This technique improves the soil, inhibits weeds and weed seed germination, and is the optimum way to prepare permanent landscaping beds for trees,

Programs & Events

OSU Extension Columbia County 503-397-3462

Sat., Sept 19, 6:30 Chat with Chip Zoom. Call for connection info

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

WSU Extension Cowlitz County 360-577-3014

304 Cowlitz Way, Kelso, Wash. For connection info or registration for in-person classes: cowlitzcomg.com/publicevents)

In-person Workshop

Oct. 14, 6pm Harvesting and Evaluating Mason Bees

Online Workshops. Tues., noon:

Sept 19 Composting

Sept 26 Dividing Perennials

Oct. 3 Putting your Garden to Bed

Oct. 10 Planting Spring Bulbs, Corms & More!

Oct. 17 Winter Magic: No-Dig Lawn-toGarden Bed Transformation

shrubs, and perennial flowers. Simply add a 12–18-inch layer of free arborist wood chips. Take your truck and fill it up at the east end of Roy Morse Park on Mt. Solo Rd. in Longview. That’s it. You’re done! You can add a layer of cardboard under the chips, but it really isn’t necessary.

The “lasagna” recipe method

This adds extra steps and ingredients to ensure great soil. It’s perfect for veggies or annual flower beds.

Scalp, aerate, and wet the soil as described above. Completely cover the entire designated area with overlapping cardboard pieces (non-coated, tape removed) or several layers of newspaper to block the sunlight from reaching the underlying grass or weeds. I poke small holes in the cardboard with the pitchfork to hasten decomposition. Moisten the entire area, then spread a two-inch nitrogen layer, such as compost, well-rotted manure, or green grass clippings. Next, add a twoinch carbon layer of straw (not hay), wood chips, dry leaves, or sawdust. Repeat these two steps until it’s piled 12–24 inches thick. Moisten well after every carbon layer. Top it all off with arborist wood chips or mulch, and wet it down again. Your mound will compost over the winter, shrink down, and be ready to plant in spring. For either method, take care to keep it moist until the fall rains begin.

To plant next spring, rake back the mulch where you want to plant. If you laid down cardboard that hasn’t decomposed, cut an X in it and, make a hole and circle wide enough to accommodate your plant. Refill the hole, keep the mulch about 6 inches away from your plant, and water it in well. Rinse and repeat! Enjoy your new garden bed, trees, and shrubs.  Stay ready, stay safe!

•••

An expanse of lawn can be made more interesting, visually, by transforming part(s) of it for garden beds of flowers and shrubs.

What’s Happening Around the River

Longview Orthopedic Associates has announced that Jason Kinney, MD, will be joining its staff and begin seeing patients in October.

Dr. Kinney earned a Bachelor of Science degree in psychology, as well as minor degrees in biology, geography, and Spanish, at the University of Georgia. He went on to complete his medical degree at the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University/ University of Georgia (AU/UGA) Medical Partnership, where he graduated with honors and was a member of the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society (AOA). He completed his orthopedic surgery residency at the University of West Virginia and his adult reconstruction fellowship at Johns Hopkins. He currently specializes in adult reconstructive surgery.

“I was attracted to Longview Orthopedic Associates because of the high quality of the surgeons there,” Dr. Kinney said. “Also, the small town atmosphere and outdoor activities just seemed like a good fit for my wife and me.”

Dr. Kinney has been involved in a number of research projects, including investigating the outcomes of total knee arthroplasty and the impact of

COVID-19 infection on postoperative results in elective primary total hip arthroplasty. His work has been published in numerous medical journals, including the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons Now and the Journal of Arthroplasty.

In addition to his medical pursuits, Dr. Kinney is committed to community service. He is a member of Operation Walk, a surgical team that provides total joint replacements in underserved areas globally. While in medical school, he worked at free clinics that provided healthcare to uninsured and underprivileged populations. He has also provided instruction to military medics, including how to apply external fixators and perform emergent fasciotomies. An avid basketball fan and passionate student of history, he also enjoys hiking, kayaking, whitewater rafting, building computers, and spending time with his wife and two dogs.

LOG reaches its “23 by 23” goal

Longview Outdoor Gallery, a sub-entity of the Longview Public Service Group, recently disbanded after concluding its project begun in 2010 to beautify Downtown Longview with a collection of sculptures. LOG’s goal was to donate 23 sculptures by 2023, in time for the City’s Centennial. They exceeded that goal and gave a total of 29 sculptures. “Each sculpture is a tribute to the generosity of the community,” said Laurel Murphy, a member of the group. The $199,820 value of the collection was the result of generous donations of major donors and the community at large.

News tidbits and reliable rumors

Longview’s Triangle Center may soon house a Marshall’s department store. The former Pizza Hut now sports a Papa Pete’s sign, the former Elks building in downtown Longview is being renovated for proposed residential and commercial uses. The concrete panels on the exterior have been removed, revealing storefront windows not visible for 50 years.

Lelooska Totem Pole Moved Into Mountain Timber Market

Decades-old Lelooska totem journeys to its new home after yearlong restoration process

By Dan Polacek

Last spring, a small army of contract workers (with FORMA Construction and NessCampbell Crane) carefully lifted the restored Lelooska totem pole onto a custom platform base, drove it across the park on a trailer and hung it from the ceiling of the Port’s new Mountain Timber Market.

The totem, believed to be the largest ever carved from a single cedar tree, underwent a year-long restoration process by contractors and the family of original carver, Chief Lelooska. The process involved drying out the decaying pole for months before it was filled with epoxy. Members at the Lelooska Foundation in Ariel, Washington, then spent months making small repairs and applying fresh paint to the 140’ long monument.

“The Lelooska totem pole has become synonymous with the Port’s waterfront, and we’re thrilled to have preserved it for future generations,“ said Port Commissioner Patrick Harbison.

The fully restored totem will receive a proper dedication ceremony when the Mountain Timber Market opens later this year, giving the public its first up close look at the finished product.

The park’s four remaining totems are slated to receive similar makeovers, ensuring they will be around for decades to come.

Dr. Jason Kinney

Where do you read THE READER?

Mexico! Kory Kramer, Longview, Wash., In the background is Puerto Vallarta, Mexico and the Catholic church “Parish Of Our Lady

Butterflies in their stomachs! Bob Pyle, of Grays River, Wash., and Florence Sage, of Astoria, Ore. in Geneva, Switzerland, where Dr. Pyle was a featured speaker at an international conference honoring Vladimir Nabokov, novelist and distinguished lepidopterist.

WHERE DO YOU READ THE READER?

Send your photo reading the Reader (high-resolution JPEG) to publisher@crreader.com.For cell phone photos, choose the largest file size up to 2 MB. Include names and cities of residence. Thank you for your participation and patience, as we usually have a small backlog!

Oh,

North to Alaska! David Silvesan from Longview, Wash., and his daughter Malorie Dobyns with Brandon Wright of Troutlake, Wash., and Mary Mitchell from Rainier, Ore., at Mendenhall Glacier, Juneau, Alaska.

Game of Thrones Rose Rendler of Cathlamet reads her Reader on the Old Town Wall, Dubrovnik, Croatia, a filming location for the movie, “Game of Thrones.”

FROM PAGE TO STAGE! TAPESTRY NW AT LCC ROSE CENTER JUNE 30 Back row, left to right: Miriam Luh, Darlene Crow, Eileen Bergeson, Patsy Harbaugh, Kathy Dickey, Deb Stout (holding the Reader), Michelle Carr, Marsha Haas, BJ Swarick, Jackie Kelly Evans, and Carleen Olsen. Front: Cheryl Spencer, Cindy Vanhoosen, and PJ Peterson.

Of Guadalupe”.

Canada! Dennis and Kris McElroy Weber at Canada’s Parliament Hill in Ottawa.

THE TIDEWATER REACH

Bretz’s Flood

It starts in the furnace of the core, rises through the mantle’s crush. Makes the crust, then breaks on through in plutons, vents, volcanoes. Dike swarms leak across the land like Vaseline on hot skin. Congeal in lava flows called Roza, Elephant Gap and Rattlesnake Ridge, Umatilla, Pomona, and Selah. Flow, then freeze in lichen-daubed entablature and colonnade, all the way to the sea.

After Pangaea, continents surfed the crusted waves, broke their backs against far shores, forging the shapes we know. Plates of the shelf shoulder plates of the land, bunch them up in the middle, raise the Rockies from nothing more than force and dust. Where mountains crumple upward, before crumbling down again, a moment comes when, high enough, they tempt the snows that crown the years. Then press, and press, and press some more, till glaciers start to move.

As cold goes south, the ice sheets grow, till half the continent goes under. Polish, scour, lathe, and grind — leave sign of ice on granite domes, the scream of ice on unforgetting stone. Rivers drain the glaciers, but Clark Fork is plugged: two thousand feet of ancient ice, two hundred miles of inland sea. Then warming, and melting, time after time for a thousand years, till the dam breaks through!

Then Glacial Lake Missoula is loosed upon the land. Down pours deluge, downhill, down-grade, down-map — ten times the flow of all the rivers of the world.

Cut the coulees, channel scablands, carve basalt like old black butter; even gouge that great green slot that we will call the Gorge.

A DIFFERENT KIND OF FLOW

To motorists, sportsmen and tourists, they are impressive, monolithic structures that add a colossal dimension to the river flowing among them. And to academics, geologists and historians, they are equally impressive: The Columbia River Flood Basalts are one of the youngest and best preserved continental flood basalt provinces on earth. These monumental rock formations are one of at least three flows that have formed the region: extensive eruptions and lava flows; crushing flows of ice and dammed ice water suddenly loose over the land; and, of course, the more benevolent flows of water that still sculpt and shape the land to this day.

Slash Grand Coulee! Swamp Dry Falls! Shoot Wallula Gap, whack Beacon Rock, shatter the very Bridge of the Gods, before they’re even named. Never so much water, sluicing to the sea, with such a force of will — sloshing from wall to black rock wall, from rimrock to rimrock, four hundred feet deep — until, the ice all gone, the river finds its level, never looking back at the havoc it’s left behind — where all that remains is geology.

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 color and black and white editions of The Tidewater Reach in 2020, and a third, hybrid edition in 2021, all presenting “a different way of seeing” our beloved Columbia River. For information on ordering, see page 2, 39.

Poem by Robert Michael Pyle • Photograph by Judy VanderMaten

Field Note by Hal Calbom

A. Kirkpatrick M.D., FACP

Roylance BS, MPAP, PA-C

Dr. Toddrick Tookes DPM, Podiatrist

Bogin M.D., FACP

Hendrickson, PA-C Nicholas Austin MSPAS, PA-C

by LaDonna Stacey

As we drift further into the year, the season seems to wander between summer and fall, and being a lover of summer, I chose a warm day to wander around downtown Longview. On previous cool summer mornings, my kettle had become no stranger to the majesty of hot tea steeped into my morning routine. On this day, I had a definite destination, Let’s Be Holistic, located in The Merc, where Shannon has curated an outstanding selection of anecdotes about her tea library. As a bonus, she also greets every customer with an authentic smile that tends to have as much of a healing effect as the products that grace her shelves.

Fortunately, now that I belong to the “regular client” crowd, which didn’t take long, Shannon also uses my name and knows who I am referencing as we float around her shop, chit-chatting and smelling herbs. I was searching for a tea tasting good enough that my son would drink it, helping calm his busy brain and body before bed. Shannon expertly guided me away from pre-made blends consisting of herbs and spices that would have effects unappealing to my 11-year-old son’s needs. Shannon also carries a line of vitamins, essential oils, and sustainable home products from reputable sources. I left with an entire bag of teas, eagerly waiting for the moment I could brew a cup, and thankful that I didn’t need to leave town for the little things that I need in my life.

I wandered back onto the sunny sidewalks and headed for my favorite clothing boutique, Posh On Commerce

The always-fun, bubbly owner, Michelle, is known for stocking high-end women’s fashion. She and her employees give an honest opinion about the outfit you try on. It was the beautiful long sweater in the window that had drawn me in. Not seeing my size on the rack, I asked what size the mannequin was wearing. The Window Woman was relieved of her sweater, and I was off to the dressing room with my treasures. When I stepped out for an opinion, we agreed it was not the right sweater for me. The woman helping me returned moments later with a similar shirt more petite than the previous brand.

We joked about a few things and I left without any new clothes to hang in my closet, but happy about my experience. She didn’t say it out loud, but as I left, I think the Window Woman was the only one happy to see me go, as her clothes were returned to her, to restore her tempting display.

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Downtown Longview is more than arguments about parking and the occasional car in the flower bed. It was for me a day of adventure, connection, and under-dressed mannequins.

•••

LaDonna Stacey is a Kelso City Council member who supports downtowns everywhere.This article is powered by the Longview Downtowners. The Downtowners is a business association focused on a vibrant downtown. This article is a recurring segment meant to highlight how great the downtown truly is. For more info, visit downtownlongview.com

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DOWNTOWN

Details, Dining Guide, page 26

The Carriage Restaurant & Lounge

MUSEUM MAGIC Experience many cultures under one roof

Lelooska Museum extends fall hours

Story

by Joseph Govednik, Cowlitz County Historical Museum Director

The Lelooska Museum is excited to announce an extension of hours this fall. The museum is open on Fridays from 1-5pm and will remain open through November 24th before closing for the winter.

A beautiful 20-minute drive up Highway 503 takes visitors to this gem in the forest. The museum, operating under the Lelooska Foundation, houses an immense collection of artifacts from many regions. Areas

represented include ethnographic collections from the Northwest, Midwest, Northeast, Southeast, Southwest, and Arctic regions. Chief Lelooska bequeathed a treasure of artifacts through his will, which created the Lelooska Foundation and Museum, hoping to provide a significant cultural resource to enrich the lives of people for generations to come.

Visiting the museum is an opportunity to see under one roof cultural material from many geographic regions. It offers the experience of learning about the diversity of Native Peoples from North America, and makes a great learning opportunity for youth, families, and school groups.

Items on display include practical and ceremonial clothing, beadwork, kachina dolls, and hunting implements, to name a few. The helpful staff at the museum are knowledgeable about the artifacts on display, should further interpretation be required.

At the end of the display cases is an impressive reproduction of a Hudson’s Bay Company store. The Lelooska Foundation also has a long house for performances sharing traditional storytelling using hand-carved cedar masks. Many of the masks may be seen on the walls in the Gathering Hall, which also contains a beautiful carved canoe, and the museum gift shop. The grounds also host an extensive collection of native plants.

The museum is located at 165 Merwin Village Road in Ariel, Wash. You may contact the museum at 360-225-9522, email to info@lelooska.org, or visit www.Lelooska.org for more information. Admission is free and 2023 hours are 1-5pm Fridays, through November.

•••

and photos

Miss Manners

from page 8

There’s never been a problem until now. A recent addition to the group insists on playing every game. She takes an enormous length of time to decide what tile to discard, checking and rechecking the card for a possible winning hand.

The result is that the rest of the people at her table spend most of the two hours we have to play sitting and

waiting. We have tried starting a lowvolume conversation while we wait, but she joins in, which only makes matters worse. We have tried in a friendly way (as we have done with others) to give her some tips that are helpful for beginners. So far, she hasn’t followed our advice. How would Miss Manners handle the situation?

GENTLE READER: You would, Miss Manners hopes, consider it unsporting

if you hid the rules of the game from new players. So why make them guess at the etiquette?

Agree upon a system and tell the newcomers what is expected. Almost any system will do: that newcomers are assigned a partner, are instructed to sit out every other game, or are given the duty of replenishing the snacks. Any of these would give the more experienced players some relief.

subscription, so I feel that I may use the magazine as I want before passing it on. Or does the recipient have a right to receive a whole magazine?

GENTLE READER: Rights are something to which a person is intrinsically entitled -- or, if Miss Manners may be permitted to move from constitutional law to etiquette, something you are not required to say “thank you” for (though you still may).

In honor of two movies filmed in St. Helens “Halloweentown,” and “Twilight,” event organizers and businesses have arranged special decor and activities every weekend Sept. 16 to Oct. 31, vendors, free photo opportunities, a haunted house, ghost town walk, costume contest, and more. For schedule and ticket info, visit spiritofhalloweentown.com

DEAR MISS MANNERS: I am a woman who works in a male-dominated industry, where I have earned a leadership role. I regularly attend industry events where spouses are included, and I love meeting my co-workers’ spouses. However, I am frequently asked who in the room I am married to, or whether I am married to my (male) boss. Sometimes other people in the industry will even ask these questions. I usually say something along the lines of, “I work for Company X,” but it doesn’t feel like enough. I’ve worked hard for my position, and it is frustrating for people to assume I’m a guest. Do you have any suggestions for how I might respond?

GENTLE READER: Include your title when introducing yourself. Miss Manners trusts that that will be shaming enough, and can therefore be done subtly: “I’m the vice president of Company X,” rather than “I’m your boss.

DEAR MISS MANNERS: I am an avid magazine subscriber and reader. When I am done with my magazines, I pass them on to several people, depending on their interests. If I want to keep an article or a recipe from one of them, I have been making copies of those pages, but I would prefer to just tear them out (as the recipes often have side notes, etc.). When one passes along a magazine, should it be whole? If I tear out recipes or articles, should I just recycle the rest of it? I am the one paying for the

All your beneficiaries should expect is a friendly warning that you retained the dessert recipe. Better that than a whole magazine covered with chocolate stains

DEAR MISS MANNERS: I work in a customer service role. I often have people thank me, and I know the appropriate response is “You’re welcome.”

However, I often have clients express gratitude without actually saying the words “thank you.” For example: “I appreciate your assistance with this.”

It seems that their gratitude deserves a response, but “you’re welcome” feels awkward. Is that the appropriate response? Am I just overthinking this?

GENTLE READER : Yes, you are. But as you are paying attention to the wording, rather than simply completing a rote exchange, you can vary your response. For example: “I was happy to be of assistance.”

Of course, you could reply to all such remarks with “No problem,” but that annoys many people. And “My pleasure” annoys Miss Manners. •••

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.

Building Bridges

Sister city squirrels to romp above traffic

By Hal Calbom

Wako, Japan, a city of 80,000 souls 30 minutes from Tokyo, has the distinction of being Sister City to Longview, Washington.

Sister Cities are often merely symbolic connections, fruits of international relations and diplomacy. Ideally they create openings to trade, cultural exchange, and student swaps. But more often than not they’re relegated to the domain of backslapping good feeling and public relations.

Then comes the Sister Cities Squirrel Bridge, a potential breakthrough in international diplomacy. Eileen Bergeson remembers when two ideas — sister cities and a squirrel bridge — began catching on. “The idea of a sister city squirrel bridge stuck in my head,” said Bergeson, “And when I was lucky enough to travel with a delegation to Wako in 2015, I was determined to see if I could locate a bridge in Wako that could potentially be used as a model for a squirrel bridge in Longview.”

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LCC welding students had created a sculpture as part of Longview’s Outdoor Gallery.” She contacted the LCC welding department, which expressed interest, and asked for some specifications.

Hosted by the Wako Superintendent of Schools, Keniichi Tobe, and his wife, Masako, Bergerson toured the city identifying potential bridges. “Then one day Masako, understanding what I was looking for, took me to see a small old bridge over the Shirako (White) River,” Bergerson recalled. “The design on the 12 squares across the bridge represented azalea blossoms, one of the symbols of Wako. ‘Aha!’ I thought.”

When Bergeson returned to Longview she approached local squirrel bridge boosters about her vsion, but they were in no position to build a bridge, and her idea gestated. “Almost five years later I read in The Daily News how the

And from tiny acorns….Thanks to the talented LCC welders, aluminum provided by Topper Industries, and preparatory help at the site by Goodyear and Waites Specialty Machine Works, the Sister Cities Bridge is completed and ready for installation during a visit from the Citizen Delegation from Wako October 18th to 23rd (tentatively set for 1pm, Oct. 19. Check Oct CRR for confirmation).

“The result is a beautiful design, inspired by the azalea pattern of the Shirako Bridge,” said Bergerson, “with end posts inscribed with logos from LCC and Atomi University, which sends students from our sister city area in increasing numbers.”

“It will be worthy of the international attention it will receive and worthy to be part of Longview’s centennial celebration, expressing the idea that ‘sister cities bridge cultures.’”

Alex Tinsley Lower Columbia College Volleyball

LCC welding students work on panels for the new squirrel bridge.

Photo by lcc wEldiNg Nstructor Natasha allEN

Hal Calbom

Production notes

New Finds, Old Friends

people+place

World of Wonders The fine art of maintaining Maryhill

Time present and time past Are both perhaps present in time future, And time future contained in time past.

T.S. Eliot, Four Quartets

MuseuMs serve us well but often we don’t return the favor.

Our “been there, done that” mentality turns rich experiences into one-offs. We check them off our bucket lists and leave them behind.

This defies the value of museums — renewal and ritual — and their magic. Favorite museums should be regular stops on life’s grand tour, not one-daywonders preserved on postcards.

Museums began as temples. Places of worship and convening spaces radical and reverent at once. We visit museums both to seek new revelations and to greet old friends. Their magic lies in their ability both to surprise us and to reassure us. Museums foster the power of the new and offer the comfort of the familiar.

It doesn’t take a scholar of ancient Greek to make the reverential connections. When we “muse” over something we contemplate it. Looking for inspiration we “call upon our muse.”

And when we wish simply to show off, echoing the Greeks themselves, we invoke one of the nine classical Muses, from Erato (love poetry) to Urania (astronomy) to Clio (history).

Keats famously assured us that “a thing of beauty is a joy forever.” But what sets great art — and a great museum — apart is their ability to refresh us, too. Like poetry, like prayer, like song — the familiar can be made new again, the new can be made familiar.

Museums preserve and perfect our perception. They stretch our senses. They help us sort inputs and thoughts. They give context to the now and to the forever. They individuate us and integrate us.

The well-curated museum is still a temple. It offers both the essential qualities of connection and worship: reverence and revelation.

For Maryhill Museum of Art, that ochre palace set spectacularly above the blue Columbia River and its bronzed banks, these might be the very best of times.

The pandemic has ebbed, visitor numbers are improving, and the buzz in the museum biz suggests that rural museums, as destinations, may be the next big thing.

“Today, having a remote destination museum — especially with online social media to keep people aware of it — that’s kind of a desirable quality,” said Maryhill’s Amy Behrens. When we visited with her the Museum’s new executive director was in her fourth day on the job. “In fact, Frieze London, one of the world’s most influential art fairs, just published a series of articles on rural art museums, and why the future of experimentation and innovation is truly in these museums, and not in the big urban areas. And I find that thrilling.”

The Power of Destination

This spring Maryhill bid a fond adieu to its caretaker of 35 years, Colleen Shafroth, and welcomed new Executive Director Behrens. Despite her California pedigree and sleek cont page 20

A monthly feature written and photographed by Southwest Washington native and Emmy Award-winning journalist

Amy Behrens

“Brushing,” 2009, by Mike Suri

Top photo: Théatre de la Mode

“I THINK THERE’S ROOM FOR CHANGE THAT’S NOT ACTIVISM, BUT IT’S RELEVANCE”

SAM’S HILL

There are a host of Hills in Northwest history. The railroad tycoon James B. Hill — he of the Great Northern — was at one time the defendant in a series of lawsuits prosecuted by a youthful attorney named Sam Hill. Impressed with the young barrister, J.B. Hill hired him to run his own companies and later gave his daughter Mary to him in marriage.

The Hills separated in 1902, she absconding to Minneapolis, he to Seattle. For the remainder of his life he traveled the globe, ran businesses and philanthropies, and socialized — fathering three children with women he did not marry.

Hill became the champion of road building, noting that 93 percent of roads in the United States were ungraded and unsurfaced. With automobile use exploding, Hill’s Good Roads movement gained traction almost immediately. He built ten miles of demonstration highway, using seven different construction techniques, near Maryhill in 1909, the first paved roads in the State of Washington.

Ever ambitious and restless, he had begun to explore more business opportunities in Klickitat County, beginning construction of the massive house that would become Maryhill. Proceeding by fits and starts, Maryhill was eventually declared a museum, and dedicated as such in 1926.

Hill died in 1931 and did not live to see the completion of his museum, finished and formally dedicated, open to the public in 1940. His ashes are interred near another of his monuments, the Stonehenge replica near Maryhill, honoring the fallen in World War I.

•••

professionalism, Behrens offers as many surprises as Sam Hill’s magical monument in Klickitat County.

“I grew up in San Diego County, but not the San Diego people think of. No beach, no palm trees, no permanent suntan,” she said during our recent visit. “I grew up in a small town driven by agriculture, mainly oranges and avocados and dairy farms.”

A rural child of artistic parents who visited museums often, Behrens is clearly smitten by the brilliant gorge landscape itself, the “getting there” that’s integral to a successful destination attraction, and has long enchanted visitors to Maryhill.

“When you come here you feel such a sense of respite — one of the most stunning places to be. And most everyone feels 10 pounds lifted off their shoulders. It’s a very serene place,” she said. “I can imagine what I would see as a child. I would see so many visually affecting things. From the landscape to the galleries. It would simply feel good. I wouldn’t necessarily to able to articulate it.”

Behrens, her husband and two young children have responded personally to the power of place and its open spaces. “We’ve settled in Dufur, Oregon, population 800 or so,” she said. “I love this area so much. When we looked at the future we wanted to give our children, our family, I didn’t want to seek a position in the heart of any major metropolis. Having this kind of lifestyle is more meaningful for our children than growing up in Orange County.”

Rural and Relevant

It seems to be a great combination: Behrens brings marketing smarts and big-city credentials to her new job, while settling comfortably into the heart of the country, and appreciating it.

“I had most recently been managing a cultural center, Casa Romantica, in Orange County, California. It is a coastal cultural center, listed on the National Register. I really loved it,” she said. “But I really wanted to advance as a museum leader. At Casa Romantica I had to be a crisis manager at times. Where would be some place where I could truly dig in? I wanted an organization that was truly prepared for growth.”

The challenge for the new director is preserving and embellishing the essential Maryhill, especially with movements afoot to re-write the very history they’re founded on.

“I think there’s room for change that’s not activism, but it’s relevance,” said Behrens. “And that’s a divide I see in urbanized museums; there is a real distinct emphasis on activism, resistance,

“YOU’RE EXPANDING APPRECIATION OF THE WORLD AROUND YOU”

Above: Executive Director Amy Behrens greets a patron and visits Maryhill’s renowned gift shop. Below: Among the Museum’s highlights is its collection of ornate chess sets. The sun-drenched “Oregon side” of the Gorge is an essential part of the Maryhill experience.

from page

re-writing. I think there are a lot of voices in this gorge, but I don’t think that approach is really valuable for them.”

She owns up that Maryhill can be perceived as a “castle on a hill” and that there will be pressures from a host of constituencies. “What I hope is that narratives are added, but not cancelled.”

The permanent collections themselves also change. “This is a collecting museum. We will take things from permanent displays down and add new pieces to highlight.”

A Cultural Entry Point

For the uninitiated, Maryhill is literally a garden of delights. The generous grounds host picnickers and day visitors, strollers amongst the statuary, families. The imposing Sam Hill home is complemented with a new wing tucked discretely by its side, and there is always an overlay of time and place: the sundrenched and sculpted hills change with the seasons and the time of day, distant wind towers adorn the ridge tops, nearby wineries and attractions complement the day’s tripping.

“I think Maryhill Museum of Art really ignites potential in people,” Behrens said as we visited two popular rooms, dozens of magnificent chess sets and a gallery of Rodin sculptures. “By seeing art, history, inspiring them to make use of it in their daily lives, I think when you visit here you’re expanding your critical thinking skills, you’re expanding appreciation of the world around you. It’s a really approachable way to learn about things.”

There will be emphasis on bringing young people to visit and revisit, and persistent outreach to schools, teachers, civic groups and member - supporters.

“I really value being in a place where there’s a museum destination where thousands and thousands of rural school

cont page 22

Dolled Up The brilliant Théatre de la Mode

Among the favorite collections within the collection at Maryhill Museum of Art is Théatre de la Mode, the “Theater of Fashion” created in post-World War II France and popularly known simply as “the dolls.”

They occupy an ethereal world of their own in Maryhill’s upper reaches, seemingly plucked off the boulevards of Paris and set down in perfect miniature and the highest of style. Draped on one-third scale metal armatures, French designs exude sophistication and flair while advertising craftsmanship and impeccable tailoring.

Théatre was conceived as a touring exhibit with two stated purposes: raise money for war survivors and raise awareness that French

couturiers were still the best in the world. Its economy in ruins, post-war France especially wished to re-establish its profitable and very visible fashion industry, a source not only of income but also a fount of national pride and sensibility.

French designers, milliners, seamstresses and stage painters created a total of 237 miniature mannequins posed in 15 available stage settings. Hairstylists gave them individual coiffures, and jewelers such as Van Cleef and Arpels and Cartier contributed small necklaces and accessories. Historian Lorraine McConaghy marveled at the level of realism: “The meticulous attention to details is so striking ... The buttons really button. The zippers really zip. The handbags have little stuff — little wallets, little compacts — inside them.”

After a stunning debut at the Louvre the exhibition toured Europe and — with an entirely new wardrobe of the coming year’s styles — the United States

in 1946. Maryhill Museum of Art acquired the entire collection in 1952 through a donor gift, and continues to rotate scenes and scene sets to feature the entire collection.

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kids can have that place to go to and that can be their cultural entry point,” she said.

Behrens sees thoughtful, targeted social media as a distinct advantage for a rural museum, where out of sight is not necessarily out of mind. “I want people both to visit and get on the web site and see what’s changing and ever present. I’m millennial, after all,” she said. “We want to remind people that the museum never goes dark. When it’s closed, it’s only physically closed.”

The Eyes of a Child Behrens has a sure vision of Maryhill’s mission, and its competition. “For museums in general, zoos, aquariums, the couch is the big competitor right now.”

Competing with the couch means offering engagement, not passivity. “If you’re going to pay a visit to Maryhill, why is it relevant? And that’s really what I see it as,” she told us. “You really can’t learn about using critical thinking skills and handling the problems of today without having the context of the past. And the more information you have, the better opinion you can have of your own.”

Maryhill’s development goals embrace this holistic view and mission. They’re working on expansion plans for the sculpture garden. Visiting exhibits feature hands-on art labs for kids. A cafe offers gourmet sack lunches to go out on the grounds. “I also want to work with the land as it is,” said Behrens. “This is really stunning land. I can’t believe it when I get out of my car and smell the buckwheat. What does dry agriculture look like? The nature of Maryhill is part of the art, part of the magic.”

Longview native Hal Calbom has produced CRR’s “People+Place” series since April 2018, and is the author of Empire of Trees: America’s Planned City and the Last Frontier, published this spring to coincide with Longview’s Centennial. He lives in Seattle.

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If the vision of Behrens and her membership bears fruit, the very isolation and splendid solitude of Maryhill may become its strongest selling point: a place one must travel to, where getting there isn’t just half the fun, it’s the point of the entire exercise.

“You’re traveling through time. You’re traveling across continents. There is real value in a community art center,” she said. And at a museum like Maryhill, where you can do that traveling, you don’t have to purchase the plane ticket and go through the whole logistical challenge, you just see the art here.”

For Amy Behrens, recent settler in Dufur, Oregon, and mother of a two and five year-old — who said most of her own creativity right now is limited to folding laundry at 11 o’ clock at night — she sees that as a worthy goal.

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“...THE COUCH IS THE BIG COMPETITOR RIGHT NOW”

Sam Hill built a Stonehenge “replica” on a bluff below the museum honoring Klickitat County soldiers killed in World War I. Hill’s ashed are interred nearby.

NOTES FROM MY LIVES

by Andre Stepankowsky

They’re nature’s way of decorating Southwest Washington highways in mid to late summer — and a lesson on wheels for us about beauty and “weedy” people.

The white, fleecy flowers of Queen Anne’s Lace have proliferated along Southwest Washington highways over the past several years.

Millions of them grow in long ribbons of white that ripple in the wind and whoosh of passing vehicles. They line Interstate 5 for miles on end.

I’m not sure what gave rise to the recent proliferation of this attractive biannual, which spreads rapidly from seed. Perhaps state highway crews are mowing and spraying the medians less, giving the plant opportunity to do its thing.

Whatever the reason, be happy for it. For nearly two summer months, a profusion of lacy blooms decorates the drab margins of the highway like a bridal path.

The plant’s airy, 2- to 4-inch blooms are “compound” flowers. Up to a thousand tiny white flowers appear in lacy, flat-topped clusters called umbels with a dark, purplish center.

Its delicate appearance belies an iron constitution. Queen Anne’s Lace thrives in dry places for months without rain. And it has an important ecological role as a host plant for butterflies and adult bees. Beneficial insects draw nectar from the flowers

Queen Anne’s Lace is a native of Europe that naturalized all over North America centuries ago, brought here as a medicinal plant.

The origins of its common name relate to its resemblance to the intricate lace that was fashionable in 18th century Britain and popularized by Queen Anne. Its other common name — wild carrot — derives from the fact that cultivated carrots were developed from it.

Be careful, though. QAL attracts chiggers, an insect whose larvae bite and cause blisters. The foliage closely resembles poison hemlock, which is highly toxic. Finally, the plant itself can irritate the skin of sensitive people.

These troubling traits, along with QAL’s ability to proliferate, has prompted 35 states to declare it an invasive weed. Washington isn’t one of them. So despite some undesirable characteristics, the plant thrives and brings beauty to our travels.

Perhaps this is a good place to ask — just what is a weed, anyway?

Gardeners would tell you a weed is any plant that is out of place, too fecund or grows out of control.

To nature, though, there’s really no such thing as a weed. A plant usually becomes a nuisance through carelessness or good-intentioned human meddling. In the 1880s, for example, California botanist Luther Burbank introduced the Himalayan Blackberry to the Pacific Northwest as means of erosion control. Today it is a colossal nuisance that consumes millions of acres of bogs, fields and other open space.

In reality, any plant serves an ecological role. QAL is a plant worth appreciating despite its foibles. While you admire it, take a moment to appreciate its virtues and those of the people who sometimes are ignorantly considered “weeds” among the human family: The elderly, minorities, the gay and transgendered, immigrants, the mentally and physically disabled, to name a few such groups. They, too, have gifts that contribute grace, enterprise and intelligence to human culture and civilization.

Are there “weeds” among them? Certainly, but the vast majority are like everyone else, trying to find happiness and success. Encouraging hate leads to prejudice, marginalization and, in the extreme, to violence and atrocities, such as the Holocaust. Under God and natural law, there are no groups of people who are weeds.

Think of that the next time you motor past those swaying and dancing bands of white Queen Anne’s Lace along the freeway. •••

SKY REPORT

Looking UP

Sept 18 – Oct. 18, 2023

The Evening Sky (a clear open low Eastern horizon is needed.)

Jupiter is low on the Eastern horizon in late September, while Saturn will be to the right of the near 3rd quarter Moon on the 27th. The galaxy M32 in Andromeda will be straight above by about 35 degrees.

M45 the Pleiades will be just north of Jupiter.

The Morning Sky ( A cloudless Eastern horizon sky required )

Venus is up and in the Eastern sky by about 5am. And will be rising earlier and earlier the rest of Autumn.

Night Sky Spectacle ( A cloudfree morning is a must.)

This time it is not the nighttime spectacle but a daytime spectacle. It is an eclipse of the Sun, an annular eclipse. This is when the Moon is further from the Earth than it is on average. This further makes the size of the moon look smaller than normal and thus it will not cover the full size of the sun, leaving the sun to make a ring of fire around the Moon. On Saturday October 14th at about 8am in the morning the moon will be encircled by the sun. Here in SW Washington the sun will not encircle the moon but will be off center and way too much (15percent) of the sun will shine over the top of the moon to make it DANGEROUS to look at the sun without proper shielding. Get out those eclipse glasses you had from the 2017 eclipse. Then you can see the 85 percent covered sun safely. The Moons crossing of the sun starts earlier than 8am. To truly

By Greg Smith

All times are Daylight Savings Time

Moon Phases:

New: Thurs., Sept. 14

1st Quarter: Friday, Sept 22

Full: Fri., Sept 29

Last Quarter: Fri., Oct 6th

End of twilight - when the brightest stars start to come out. It takes about another hour to see a lot of stars.:

Mon., Sept. 18, 7:47pm

Sat., Sept 30th, 7:24pm

Sun.m Oct. 8, 7:08pm

Wed., Oct. 18, 6:50pm

see an annular eclipse you will need to go to Florence, Oregon. Other cities in Oregon include Eugene, Corvallis (being northernmost place of annularity) , Roseburg and Medford and Klamath Falls, Oregon. Crater Lake National Park will be a great place to view, as well. The shadow travels in a southeasterly direction through Southern Oregon on into Nevada on towards Texas. If you do get to one of those Oregon cities, the moon still only covers 91% of the sun, still way to bright. Your eclipse glasses are still required to see the ring of fire around the moon.

Longview resident Greg Smith is past president of Friends of Galileo. Meet him and other club members at monthly meetings in Longview. For more info about FOG, visit friendsofgalileo.com.

Prolific wayside plant bears lessons about “weedy” people

Award winning journalist Andre Stepankowsky is a former reporter and editor for The Daily News. His CRR columns spring from his many interests, including hiking, rose gardening, music, and woodworking. More of his writing is available through his online newsletter on substack.com by searching for “Lower Columbia Currents.”

Astronomy

BIG local astronomy news!

Grab your glasses; What? You’ve LOST them?!

There will be what is known as an annular eclipse on October 14th starting in the morning hours around 8am. Luckily it’s a Saturday. Start before 8am and watch the moon progress across the sun .

During an annular eclipse, the moon crosses the sun but when the moon is closest to the Earth and its viewing dimension is smaller than the viewing dimension of the sun, the sun creates

a bright ring around the moon. We are just enough off center that the sun is off center and only about 85 percent of the sun is covered. So, find your eclipse glasses and have a peek at the sun.

REMEMBER never look at the sun without the proper eye protection. Even with 85 percent of the sun covered IT WILL STILL BE TOO BRIGHT to look at without those eclipse glasses.

It you want to see the full ring effect, go south to Florence, or Corvallis, (northern limit of annularity), Roseburg or Eugene, with Medford (being the southern limit of annularity), Oregon to see it. If you want to take a long weekend vacation, Crater Lake National Park is another great spot on the center line of the annular eclipse. Plus you can learn about the creation of the deepest lake in the U.S.

WE’RE HERE TO

HELP! CRR has a limited supply of eclipse glasses available for $2 per pair. 1333 14th Ave., M-W-F, 11-3. We don’t want anyone going blind! How would you be able to read CRR then??!

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

COLUMBIA RIVER dining

Eclipse Coffee & Tea

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.

Freddy’s Just for the Halibut

1110 Commerce Ave.

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.

102 East “A” Street

Microbrews, wines & spirits 7am–8pm Daily. Inside dining.

Interstate Tavern 119 E. “B” St., (Hwy 30)

Crab Louie/Crab cocktails, crab-stuffed avocados. 17 hot and cold sandwiches. Amazing crab sandwiches. Full bar service. Catering for groups. 503-556-5023. interstatetavern@yahoo.com 503-556-5023

El Tapatio

117 W. ‘A’ Street Mexican Family Restaurant. Open Fri-Sat 11am-11pm, rest of week 11am-10pm. Full bar. Karaoke Fri-Sat 8-11pm. Patio seating. 503556-8323.

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 39. Follow us on Untappd.

Bruno’s Pizza 1108 Washington Way. Pizza, breadsticks, wings, salads, fish & chips. WE DELIVER. Four beers on tap. 360-636-4970 or 360-425-5220,

The Carriage

Restaurant & Lounge

The Carriage Restaurant & Lounge 1334 12th Ave. Open 8am–9pm (sometimes later, call to check). Breakfast, lunch and dinner. Full bar, banquet room available for groups, special events. Happy hours daily 9–11am, 5–7pm. 360-425-8545.

The Corner Cafe 796 Commerce Ave.

Breakfast & Lunch. Daily Soup & Sandwich, breakfast specials. Tues-Sat 7am3pm. Closed Sun-Mon. 360-353-5420. Email: sndcoffeeshop@comcast.net

Cod, Alaskan halibut fish and chips, awardwinning clam chowder. Burgers, steaks, pasta. Beer and wine. M-Sat 10am–8pm, Sunday 11am–8pm. Inside dining, Drive-thru, outdoor seating. 360-414-3288. See ad, page 7

The Gifted Kitchen

711 Vandercook Way, Longview

“Celebrate, create, inspire.” Soups, salads, sandwiches, wraps, entrees, sides, pot pies, quiche, grazing boxes & more. M-F 11–6; Sat special events only; Sun closed. 360-261-7697.

Hop N Grape

924 15th Ave., Longview

Tues–Thurs 11am–7pm; Fri & Sat 11am–8pm. BBQ meat slowcooked on site. Pulled pork, chicken, brisket, ribs, turkey, salmon. World-famous mac & cheese. 360-577-1541.

Kyoto Sushi Steakhouse

760 Ocean Beach Hwy, Suite J 360-425-9696.

Japanese food, i.e. hibachi, Bento boxes, Teppanyaki; Sushi (half-price Wednesdays); Kids Meal 50% Off Sundays.

Mon-Th 11-2:30, 4:30-9:30. Fri-Sat 11am10pm. Sun 11am-9pm.

Lynn’s Deli & Catering

1133 14th Ave.

Soups & sandwiches, specializing in paninis, box lunches, deli sandwiches and party platters.

Mon-Fri 8-3, Saturday 10-2. 360-577-5656

Roland Wines

1106 Florida St., Longview. Authentic Italian wood-fired pizza, wine, and beer. Casual ambience. 5–9pm Wed-Fri, Sat. 1–9. 360-846-7304 See ad, page 28.

Scythe Brewing Company

1217 3rd Avenue #150

360-353-3851

Sun-Thurs 11:30am -8pm; Fri-Sat 11:30am -10pm. Family-friendly brewery/ restaurant with upscale, casual dining, lunch and dinner.

Stuffy’s 804 Ocean Beach Hwy

360-423-6356

8am–8pm. Breakfast, lunch, dinner. American style food. Free giant cinnamon roll with meal purchase on your birthday with proof of ID. Facebook: Stuffy’s II Restaurant, or Instagram @ stuffys2.

guide

Castle Rock, Wash

Luckman’s Coffee Company 239 Huntington Ave. North, Drive-thru. Pastries, sandwiches, salads, quiche. See ad, page 39.

Parker’s Steak House & Brewery

1300 Mt. St. Helens Way. I-5 Exit 49.

Lunch, Dinner. Burgers, hand-cut steak; seafood and pasta. Restaurant open 1-8pm Tue-Th, 1-9pm, F-Sat. Lounge Happy Hours 4pm. 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 35..

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.

St. Helens, Ore.

Sunshine Pizza & Catering 2124 Columbia Blvd. Hot pizza, cool salad bar. Beer & wine. Limited inside seating, curbside pickup and delivery.

503-397-3211 See ad, page 17.

Big River Tap Room

313 Strand Street on the Riverfront.

Lunch/Dinner Tue-Thurs 12–8pm; Fri-Sat 12–9pm. Chicago-style hot dogs, Italian beef, pastrami. Weekend Burrito Breakfast, Sat 8-11, Sun 8am-3pm.

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

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. 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 mi. fr Exit 49) 24-hour fueling (gas & diesel, card at pump, cash at Jule’s Snack Shack (when open). Red Leaf Organic Coffee. See ad, page 32. Fire Mountain Grill 9440 Spirit Lake Hwy 360-957-0813. Call for days and hours.

See ad, page 8.

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 39.

Luckman 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 39.

THE OAK TREE

1020 Atlantic Ave.

Breakfast served all day. Famous Bankruptcy Stew, Oak Tree Salad, desserts baked in-house. Full bar. Happy Hours 1-3, 7-9pm. Live music. 360--841-5292. See ad, page 25.

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

Pacific Imaging Center Offers Outstanding Imaging Services

Pacific Imaging Center offers the best of all worlds - excellent MRI technology, welltrained techs, affordable pricing, extended hours, and superior customer service.

PIC’s 1.5 Tesla 16-channel high-definition scanner produces incredibly sharp images. MRI’s completed at PIC are read by radiologists at NOIA (National Orthopedic Imaging Associates), one of the nation’s foremost radiology groups. NOIA provides rapid return of results to your primary care physician.

NOIA involvement also ensures that patients will have their scans read by radiologists who specialize in the area of focus. For example, if you have a brain MRI done, it will be read by a radiologist with advanced training in assessing such scans.

PIC accepts a wide range of insurance carriers, including Kaiser.

Patrick Burns, Director of Imaging Services at PIC

By Tracy Beard

PROVISIONS

ALONG THE TRAIL

Explore Local Surroundings on the Westport Ferry Loop

Story and photos by Tracy Beard

Summer Steak and Peach Salad

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 ½ sprigs rosemary

1 6-ounce New York Strip

Steak

Dressing

4 ounces blue cheese

3 Tbl sour cream

1/2 Tbl lemon juice

1/2 Tbl red wine vinegar

1 tsp minced fresh chives

Salt and pepper to taste

Salad

1 peach peeled and halved

2 cups of salad greens

1 Tbl chopped fresh chives

1-1/2 Tbl thinly sliced fresh basil

Heat the olive oil and rosemary in a small pan over low heat for 8 minutes. Let cool. Place steak in a plastic bag and pour in the oil. Marinate in the refrigerator overnight.

Place all dressing ingredients into a food processor and blend until smooth. Grill the steak to your liking. Tent with foil and set aside for 10 minutes. Drizzle the peach halves with olive oil on both sides. Place on a hot grill for one or two minutes on each side to generate grill marks. Remove from heat. Place greens in two bowls or on two plates. Dress the greens, then slice steak and peach and divide between the plates.

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

1/2 ounce sweet and sour mix

1 ¾ ounces Tuaca

1 ounce Cointreau

¾ ounce fresh lemon juice

1 lemon wedge

Rub the lemon wedge along the rim of a martini glass. Place sugar on a plate. Dip the wet rim in the sugar and set it aside. Put ice in a cocktail shaker. Add sweet and sour, Tuaca, Cointreau, and lemon juice. Shake 25 times. Pour liquid, not the ice, into the sugar-rimmed glass.

Are you looking for something different to do on a Sunday drive? Check out my version of the Westport Ferry Loop. This loop drive, approximately 56.5 miles long, with the short ferry ride from Puget Island, Cathlamet, Washington, to Westport, Oregon, is filled with interesting stops, tasty eats, and a bit of history.

My husband Steve, and I set out on a Sunday afternoon to see what we could find. We began our journey in Longview, Washington, taking Ocean Beach Highway west to Hwy 4 toward Cathlamet. We packed water and a few snacks for the road. Our first stop was County Line Park, about 16.3 miles from town.

The people that own this David have recently given it a new bronze coat of paint. I discovered that the owners have two driveways, one with a smaller version of David and a statue of an eagle and the more familiar David standing tall alongside the highway. After a few photos, we went to the Cathlamet-Westport Ferry on Puget Island. Steve and I had never been on the island before; it was picturesque, with quaint farms dotting the landscape.

The Cathlamet-Westport Ferry

County Line Park 2076 WA-4, Cathlamet, Wash.

The park, located between Hwy 4 and the Columbia River, makes a fantastic stop for fishing, a picnic, a place to watch the boats and barges traverse the river, or an ideal place to wade in the river. The 19 RV and three camping sites make this an easy overnight getaway from town.

Michelangelo’s David?

Currently, the ferry runs every hour on the hour on the Cathlamet side and 15 minutes after the hour on the Westport side. The ferry runs from 5:00 am to 10:15 pm, costing $6 per car, $3 per

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

John Edmunds

711 Vandercook Way, Suite 122, Longview

Tuesday - Fri 9:30–5:00 • Sat 9:30–3

thejewelersbenchinc377@gmail.com

Back on the road, we continued the 13.7 miles west toward the ferry, but we stopped along the way to see Cathlamet’s version of the statue of David. Most people taking Hwy 4 to the beach have passed by “the naked statue.” Steve and I planned to stop and take a closer look, so we pulled into the driveway just before the statue, and I got out to take a photo.

Tuaca Lemon Drop my favorite summer cocktail

bicycle, or $2 per pedestrian each way. Steve and I arrived a few minutes before departure, so I had a chance to speak with Steve, the ferry captain of the day.

Steve shared that he has been working for the ferry system since 2017. Many commuters take the ferry to work in the Westport mill or to go further down to Astoria. He said, “It cuts about 30 miles from the commute to Astoria, and the road is much straighter.”

I asked Steve how he learned to drive the ferry, “Is there a ferry school?” He said, “I began working as a deckhand part-time, then went to full-time, and then they trained me how to drive it, and from that point, I had to go get a license.” Steve shared that the river is beautiful, but it can get nasty. He also told us that a few eagles were nesting on the Westport side; however, we did not see them during our voyage.

Brian was the deckhand that day. He told us that the ferry was built in late 2015 and configured to carry a chip truck weighing up to 90,000 pounds; therefore, there was no need for a weight limit for regular cars or trucks hauling trailers. Once on the Westport side, we began our .4-mile trek on US 30 East.

The Berry Patch Restaurant - 49289 US-30, Westport, OR.

Another well-known and even iconic stop is The Berry Patch Restaurant. My parents have stopped here on the way home from the beach for years, but this was a first for Steve and me. Stan Egaas, the original owner,

began making wild blackberry jam in his commercial kitchen in 1987. He purchased the current building, which seated 56 people in 1993. The Berry Patch Restaurant now seats 100 people and is owned by longtime employee Mylene White.

Upon our arrival, I perused the little shop offering cookbooks, jams, syrups, and other sundries while Steve got us a table. We had already had lunch, but the menu was inviting. Steve ordered a slice of strawberry rhubarb crisp with a cup of coffee. He described it as tangy-sweet with a tasty crust. After our quick snack, we continued 9.9 miles down US 30 East.

The Castle (Thomas J. Flippin House) – 620 SW Tichenor Street, Clatskanie, OR. Reservations are required to visit The Castle. Contact Debbie at 503-338-8268 or email dshazen13@gmail.com. We met Debbie, who was dressed in period attire, at the front door of The Castle or The Flippin House, which is what it is called on the National Register of Historic Places. Debbie told us that The Flippin House had been written up in at least four books about Victorian architecture due to its unique and eclectic features.

One of the features is the fancy shingle work, including a comet, a star, and a man walking on the moon.

Thomas Flippin’s brother Will, a master hand-hewn-shake maker, did the job. Aggregate glass made from recycled glass that is melted down and re-formed decorates some of the upper floor windows.

The architecture combines Queen Anne and Colonial Revival or Classic Revival styles. Tom Flippin’s was a rags-toriches story. He was a poor kid who grew up on his parent’s homestead in Cedar Mill near Beaverton, Oregon. In 1881 at age 17, he walked to Clatskanie, where the logging industry was booming. Thomas wanted to make his mark in the industry.

He began by greasing the skids so the oxen teams could maneuver the logs. He learned the lumber business at the

Westport lumber mill, and at age 23, he married one of his boss’s daughters, Florence Elliott. They took out 320 acres of timberland in donation land claims because, at the time, a married woman could take out 160 acres, and a married man could take another 160 acres. They worked alongside each other until Thomas was 30. Thomas dreamed of a glorious house, but Florence preferred living at the lumber camps. The couple began constructing their home in 1898, moved into it in 1900, divorced, and sold the property to the Hempel family by 1905.

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

The Hempels turned it into a boarding house, and later the Holman family prolonged the property’s use as a rooming house. In the 1960s, George and Anne Salmi moved into the house and began renovations. The house was filled with antiques and was open for tours in 1975. The Clatskanie Senior Citizens purchased The Castle in 1979, and in 2017 the Clatskanie Historical Society joined the Senior Citizens in a $550,000 project to bring the top two floors to a glorious 1900-era restoration. After touring the house, Steve and I made one final stop before heading home.

The Clatskanie Food Hub - 80 NE Art Steele St, Clatskanie, OR.

Open Thursdays, Fridays, and Sundays 2:00 pm – 6:00 pm and Saturdays 10:00 am – 3:00 pm

The Clatskanie Food Hub is an extension of the Clatskanie Farmers Market (CFM). The market began in 2014 and shortly afterward became a 501(c)3. It serves as a community venue for artisans and farmers to offer various fresh food products and to provide local food education. It is a gathering place for gardeners, homesteaders, farmers, and local artisans to sell their wares directly to consumers.

The Food Hub is a food marketplace offering meats, cheeses, produce, and sundries made within a 100-mile radius of Clatskanie. 80 percent of each dollar goes back to local producers, and 20 percent assists and supports the local producers in getting to market. I was amazed at the local meats, honey, and organic produce.

Pick up some local products at the Clatskanie Food Hub and drive the remaining 15.7 miles on US 30 East and over the Rainier Bridge to complete the loop back to Longview, or points beyond.

Debbie Hazen welcoms visitors to The Castle. Photo by JosEPh govEdNik

Mosaic Lady

“They all contributed to who I am,” said Rose Janke. “Each button commemorates a person I’ve known. Some I met only once; some were close to me.”

On a quilted centennial banner sewn by friend Laurie Larsen, Rose has arranged buttons for some 100 upstanding citizens of Longview in order of the year they arrived. The first is Dr. J.L. Norris, who came to Longview in 1923. He was Rose’s family’s personal physician, as well as the doctor for the residents of the boarding house run by her grandmother and parents. The last button commemorates Dr. Richard Kinberg, who arrived in Longview in 1972.

Rose wrote a short bio for each of the 100 residents represented on the banner which will be displayed at the ‘23 Club annual meeting on Oct. 2 (see story, page 31). Her personal friendships provided basic information, and she gathered more through obituaries in The Daily News over the years.

The Fabric of Longview

Story and photo by Tiffany Dickinson

“R.A. Long planned the city and made the framework… (but) each button on the wall-hanging represents an individual who brought their skills to Longview.” Rose explained. “They also represent all the others who have come and made up the fabric that is Longview.”

Besides the buttons, various colors of beads dot the banner. Blue beads are for those citizens who were in the ‘23 Club. Red beads commemorate military members from World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam Conflict. Purple beads note volunteers. Postal workers are identified with blue beads. Long-Bell workers all have green buttons.

Born in 1927, Rose has spent almost her entire life in Longview or Kelso. Her grandmother, Emma, came from Indiana with Rose’s parents, Hazel Felix Albertson and Emmit Joshua Albertson. Emma opened The American Hotel, at 1226 11th Avenue in Longview. The building later became

the Green Gable Hotel, and over the years has had various owners and functions.

Few of the noted residents were rich, famous, or prominent. Rose showcased people who were the backbone of Longview, who laid the streets, built the structures, and provided services. Many of the buttons illustrate details about the citizen. For example, Rose placed a rolling pin button for her grandmother, Emma Felix, who arrived in 1924. Fruit buttons represent produce workers, and apples represent teachers. A maple leaf button marks the spot for Ray Green, a forester with International Paper. The founder of a local outdoor store is remembered with a sporting cap.

Rose embroidered “Robert A. :Long” across the top, “1923” and “2023” on the sides, and “Planned City” across the bottom. She sewed every button on herself, and Laurie appliqued the Lake Sacajawea arch in the center, as well as quilting the banner.

“I am not just me; I’m all these people. A little part of each of them is in me, and a little part of me is with them. I’m a mosaic,” Rose said. Rose’s creative project is a fitting mosaic of Longview’s history, as well.

“Mr. Long Timber Baron” radio play now available as podcast at kedoam.com

The radio recreation of “Mr. Long Timber Baron,” written by the late Dr. Travis Cavens and originally produced in June 2004, will be presented by Phyllis Cavens and Bicoastal Media.

The show was featured Sept. 11–14 as an old time evening radio show on Bicoastal Media in installments on 1270am or 99.9fm radio, and available subsequently online at kedoam.com in podcast format.

Follow the genesis of Longview, the Planned City, as the Long family and the Long-Bell company discover the natural beauty and rich natural resources in this region.

The Planned City included measures to provide recreation, healthy life, entertainment and education within the community. The plan comes together, but not without family and company strain and great personal cost to make the beautiful city the community enjoys today. Join other listeners as the genesis of Longview is shared!

Tiffany Dickinson lives in Longview. She is a proofreader for CRR and author of Kaleidoscope, and A Mink’s Tale, novels for young adult readers.

Rose Janke with her handcrafted Centennial banner

‘23 Club celebrates Centennial at Oct. 2 annual dinner

By Bob Gaston

The Longview ’23 Club is inviting all people who love Longview and its history to attend its annual dinner on Monday, Oct. 2, at the Monticello Hotel. The social hour begins at 5pm, with 1920s-era background music by the Lower Columbia Clarinet Guild. Dinner is at 6:30pm. The cost is $40. Advance registration is required. Download a form at the club’s website (longview23club.org) or contact club president Bob Gaston (rbgaston@ icloud.com; call or text 360-562-7836).

A choreographed fashion show follows dinner. Ten young women and men, each wearing clothing from a past decade, will perform a one-minute dance as Ariel Largé narrates. She and Mikie Steiner, a choreographer, are staging the fashion show

as members of the Broad Strokes Project, a nonprofit promoting artwork in downtown Longview.

Winding up the program will be a discussion of Longview’s past, present and future, featuring Hal Calbom, author of the new Centennial book, Empire of Trees: America’s Planned City and the Last Frontier; R. A. Long, played by Peter Ouellette; and Abe Ott, who wrote a master’s thesis on Longview’s history.

People attending the event will receive a magazine-sized booklet that includes a “microbio” on each of the club’s 81 presidents, an interview of three R.A. Long descendants who attended the city’s Centennial celebration in September, feature stories, a history of the 90-year-old organization and historic photos.

NEW CENTENNIAL BOOK

Empire of Trees: America’s Planned City and the Last Frontier by Hal Calbom $50 plus tax Readings/Book Sales/Signing — Meet the Author

Get your gift book inscribed!

Wed,Oct. 4 • 10am-1pm

Columbia River Reader office 1333 14th Ave., Longview (next to Antidote Tap House)

Enjoy complimentary cake, beverages

Book also available at Kelso Visitor Center, Cowlitz County Museum, Broadway Gallery, and Homer Bread booth at Cowlitz Farmer’s Market

BOOK CHAT - Listen to Alan Rose’s conversation with Hal Calbom on KLTV (Channel 11) Tuesdays, 8am and Thursdays, 10am and 12 midnight, through September. Also available at alan-rose.com under “Book Chat” tab.

Interview with Hal Calbom, Sue PIper, and Library staff Becky and Angela, Empire of Trees and the Columbia River Reader on “Your Shelf or Mine” podcast, longviewlibrary.org

COMMUNITY READ book discussion Oct 2, 6pm

NEW

“1923: The Year that Changed Cowlitz County”

405 Allen St., Kelso • Hours Tues-Sat, 10–4 VISIT WWW.COWLITZCOUNTYHISTORY.ORG

Discuss Library-generated questions related to Empire of Trees, the City of Longview, and your role in the shaping of Longview for the next 100 years. Everyone welcome. Longview Public Library, 1600 Louisiana St., on the historic Civic Circle, Longview, Wash.

The Longview Public Library’s Podcast Your Shelf or Mine is celebrating the Centennial with historical episodes, including:

• Longview’s ‘23 Club, with Cal Fowler and Abe Ott

• Empire of Trees: America’s Planned City and the Last Frontier, with Hal Calbom and Sue Piper

• Joseph Govednik, Cowlitz County Historical Museum, World War II

To listen, visit longview100.org, click on “Events” and then the Your Shelf or Mine button

Historic Walking Tour

Pick up your FREE Passport at the Longview Library and enjoy exploring nearby places, with information about each inside the Passport. Great family activity, fun for all ages. Limited supplies.

COMMUNITY READ book discussion Oct 2, 6pm

Discuss Library-generated questions related to Empire of Trees, the City of Longview, and your role in the shaping of Longview for the next 100 years. Everyone welcome.

PublishEd by columbia rivEr rEadEr PrEss

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

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 20 by Sept 25 for Oct 15 issue Nov 25 - Jan 20 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 at left.

Outings & Events

Community Read Discussion Kickoff Mon., Oct. 2, 6pm. Longview Public Library, 1600 Louisiana St., on Longview’shistoric Civic Circle. Everyone welcome.

Columbian Artists Association Annual Fall Show at Longview Public Library, 1600 Louisiana St., Longview, Wash.. Oct 1–31. Artwork by members of the association. Open to the public; exhibits for members only.

Got Eco-Anxiety? (Chronic fear of environmental doom). “Climate Grief: Strategies for Hope and Resilience,” program by Kim Smith, Ph.D, Sociology Dept., Portland Community College, 2–4pm, Sun., Oct 22, St. Stephen’s Church, 22nd and Louisiana St., Longview, Wash. Public welcome.

Author presentation/book signing Tues., Oct. 17, 7pm. Presented by Kalama Library. Guest author Michael Perry, Dispatches from the Discovery Trail: A Layman’s Lewis & Clark,with Hal Calbom, author of Empire of Trees. 312 N. 1st Street, Kalama, Wash. Info 360-673-4568.

Sister Cities Squirrel Bridge Dedication Tentative: Oct 19, 1pm (during the Waco, Japan visiting delegation, Oct 18-23, location to be announced, check Oct. 15 CRR.) See story, page 18.

CLATSKANIE ARTS COMMISSION

2023-2024

See Schedule & Ticket Info page 23

Longview-Kelso 2023-2024

Community Concert Association

Northwest Jazz Orchestra

Sunday, Sept. 24 - 3:00 pm

This 17-piece jazz band of professional musicians, local music teachers, and advanced amateur musicians perform your favorites of the jazz era. Single tickets $25 Adults, $10 Students.

The Rice Brothers

Sunday, Nov. 12, 2023 - 3:00 pm

A piano and cello duo who weave classical, gospel, jazz, ragtime and boogie woogie together with anecdotes and humor that bring performances to life.

Vox Fortura

Friday, Feb. 23, 2024 - 7:30 pm

Performing vocals from nearly every era and genre, Vox Fortura adds an exciting twist to classical crossover and pop music.

Ireland’s Greatest Showman

Tuesday, April 23, 2024 - 7:30 pm

David Shannon’s powerful vocals are mix with violin, Irish bodhran and multi-media in classic Irish songs and selections from his starring roles on Broadway and London’s West End.

Performances at The Columbia Theatre for the Performing Arts

Early Bird pricing still available for new subscribers: Adults $110 • Students $45

Subscriber Renewal: Adults $125 • Students $55

Tickets Available Online or at the Door

For Information: Susie Kirkpatrick 360-636-2211

www.lkcca.org

Outings & Events

COWLITZ COUNTY MUSEUM EXHIBIT

1923: The Year that Changed Cowlitz County History

214 Allen St., Kelso • Museum hours Tues-Sat 10–4

BROADWAY GALLERY

Join Us for First Thursday

Oct. 5• 5:30–7pm

THE MINTHORN COLLECTION OF CHINESE ART

Longview Centennial Events see page 30-31

HIKES see page 37

watErcolorizEd skEtch by thE latE dEENa martiNsEN,

1418 Commerce Avenue, Longview Mon thru Sat, 11–4. Visit the Gallery to see new work. For event updates check our website: the-broadwaygallery.com, at Broadway Gallery on Facebook, and broadway gallery longview on Instagram.

FEATURED ARTISTS

Sept: Laurie Michaels (sculpture); guest artist Barbara Matkowski (mixed media)

Oct: Gallery Artist Scott McRae, paintings; Guest Artist Ina Wagenman, mosaics

Nibbles & Bites! Live Music!

HOURS Tues - Sat 11–4

We are a great place to buy gifts and take classes!

Check our website or come into the Gallery.

Free Gift Wrap on request. Gift Cards

Find a unique gift! We have beautiful artisan cards, jewelry, books by local authors, wearable art, original paintings, pottery, sculpture, photographs and so much more.

A gift from Dr. and Mrs. H. Minthorn to the community via Lower Columbia College Foundation, The Minthorn Collection of Chinese Art encompasses a wide range of styles and is displayed in the upper level of the art gallery in LCC’s Rose Center, open M-Th 10–3 during current Forsberg Exhibition only. Free.

I hope I don’t break anything when I land in the Minthorn Collection! of Chinese Art!

BOOK

REVIEW

What are you reading?

coordinated by Alan Rose

By Debra Stewart

Beautiful Ruins

by Jess Walters

Pasquale spends time every day constructing a beach to attract tourists to his pensione in the small village of Porto Vergogna — Porto in the hope that one day bigger boats may find their way into the little inlet, and Vergogna translated as “Shame” from the main livelihood of the women who provided certain services there to passing sailors in the 1600s. Pasquale

is a man who lives in his dreams, always scheming to bring fame and perhaps even some fortune to his tiny village.

“Life is a blatant act of Imagination,” Pasquale utters as he watches the beautiful woman enter his hotel. He can’t believe that there is an American actress in Porto Vergogna. Little could he know that almost everything about her visit, and indeed about herself is not as it appears: her illness, her small part in the movie “Cleopatra” being filmed in Rome, her affair with Richard Burton.

Thus begins a tale so entwined it might as well be a ball of string. How the dying actress isn’t really sick. How the

handsome actor never comes. How the future for both the actress and Pasquale changes as they come to hold each other in a special place in their hearts. This is a tale for romantics, so enter with your heart on your sleeve. And don’t forget to allow time, because you might not be able to put this book down until you have finished the last line.

•••

Debra Stewart is a reader and a writer who raised her eight children on a farm on the banks of the Upper Naselle River, a spawning tributary to Willapa Bay. She received her MFA in Creative Writing in 2018. Her love of reading is the main driving force behind her writing. (“They are like favorite twins.”)

LOWER COLUMBIA CURRENTS

Commentary by Andre Stepankowsky

Former longterm reporter and editor for The Daily News invites you to explore the issues of the day through his free online newsletter.

Find it on substack.com

Search for “Lower Columbia Currents”

By Alan Rose

The Past: What it Felt Like

The Grand Promise

by Rebekah Anderson Empty Bowl Press

$18

The late great novelist E. L. Doctorow (Ragtime, Billy Bathgate) once observed that the historian tells you what happened; the novelist tells you what it felt like.

Seattle writer Rebekah Anderson, who studied with Doctorow for her MFA, took his statement to heart. In The Grand Promise, a novel about the construction of Grand Coulee Dam in the 1930s, she describes what it was like for the families affected by this epic engineering marvel.

Loosely based on her own family’s history, the book records the impact on the community of Kettle Rapids, one of a number of small towns destined to be flooded as the Columbia River was dammed up. Their forebears had obtained this land through the Homestead Act, worked it, raised their children on it, and were now buried on it.

Along with the loss of the town would be the ancestral fishing grounds that provided rich salmon harvests for the indigenous peoples who had lived there centuries before the coming of David Thompson and Lewis and Clark. It would also be an event that would divide families, for along with such losses, it meant thousands of jobs during the hungry Depression years,

Despite the loss of land for the tribes and community of Kettle Rapids, the construction of the dam provided thousands of jobs during the Great Depression. Hundreds of small businesses formed around the construction site to support the workers. The massive reservoir behind the dam will provide widespread reliable irrigation to farmers for miles around the Columbia Plateau. The electricity will power industrial growth throughout the state. In the end, we all have to look within and ask ourselves, was it worth it?

– from The Grand Promise

hundreds of thousands of acres of arable farm land through channeled irrigation, and electricity to power industries and homes throughout the state.

The story focuses primarily on one family: stubborn, proud father Ozzie Price will lose the ferry that is his livelihood along with his land; his 28-year old son Carter, out of work, marriage on the rocks, sees the dam as a fresh start for himself; 15-year old Ona, bright and entrepreneurial, will see new possibilities for their town as well.

next page

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

1. A Court of Thorns and Roses

Sarah J. Maas, Bloomsbury Publishing, $19

2. Babel R. F. Kuang, Harper Voyager, $20

3. A Court of Mist and Fury Sarah J. Maas, Bloomsbury Publishing, $19

4. Trust Hernan Diaz, Riverhead Books, $17

5. A Court of Wings and Ruin Sarah J. Maas, Bloomsbury Publishing, $19

6. Red, White & Royal Blue Casey McQuiston, St. Martin’s Griffin, $16.99

7. The Midnight Library Matt Haig, Penguin, $18

8. Legends & Lattes Travis Baldree, Tor, $17.99

9. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo Taylor Jenkins Reid, Washington Square Press, $17

10. Our Missing Hearts Celeste Ng, Penguin, $18

from page 34

Top 10 Bestsellers

1. Killers of the Flower Moon

David Grann, Vintage, $17

2. Braiding Sweetgrass Robin Wall Kimmerer, Milkweed Editions, $20

3. American Prometheus Kai Bird, Martin J. Sherwin, Vintage, $25

4. The Body Keeps the Score Bessel van der Kolk, M.D., Penguin, $19

5. Crying in H Mart: A Memoir Michelle Zauner, Vintage, $17

6. An Immense World Ed Yong, Random House, $20

7. All About Love: New Visions bell hooks, Morrow, $16.99

8. Solito: A Memoir Javier Zamora, Hogarth, $18

9. Dopamine Nation Dr. Anna Lembke, Dutton, $18

10. Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals Oliver Burkeman, Picador, $18

The book creates a vivid tension by offering multiple points of view: M. J. Starks whose company will build the dam trumpets human progress; local reporter Harold Burnes brings the journalist-historian’s long view; strong, independent widow Charlotte Powell is determined to once again adapt to life’s changing flows and eddies. Even President Roosevelt makes a cameo appearance in the small community (“We are members of one another”) promoting the effort and celebrating the people’s resilience, not that they had much choice.

The story becomes more focused on Carter as he departs to work on the dam, losing some of its energy that came from the tension of multiple points of view, but giving us more intimate glimpses of the lives of the workers who toiled on the monumental human construction that rivaled the pyramids.

History is a record of trade-offs, of what was gained and what was lost, of the winners and the losers. Historical fiction like The Grand Promise tells us what it felt like.

1. Tom Lake Ann Patchett, Harper, $30

2. The Covenant of Water Abraham Verghese, Grove Press, $32

3. Lessons in Chemistry Bonnie Garmus, Doubleday, $29

4. Demon Copperhead Barbara Kingsolver, Harper, $32.50

5. The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store James McBride, Riverhead Books, $28

6. Remarkably Bright Creatures Shelby Van Pelt, Ecco, $29.99

7. Fourth Wing Rebecca Yarros, Entangled: Red Tower Books, $29.99

8. Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow Gabrielle Zevin, Knopf, $28

9. Sun House David James Duncan, Little, Brown, $35

10. Masters of Death Olivie Blake, Tor Books, $26.99

1. The Wager David Grann, Doubleday, $30

2. The Creative Act: A Way of Being Rick Rubin, Penguin Press, $32

3. What an Owl Knows Jennifer Ackerman, Penguin Press, $30,

4. I’m Glad My Mom Died Jennette McCurdy, Simon & Schuster, $27.99,

5. A Fever in the Heartland Timothy Egan, Viking, $30

6. Poverty, by America Matthew Desmond, Crown, $28

7. Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity Peter Attia, M.D., Bill Gifford, Harmony, $32

8. Atomic Habits James Clear, Avery, $27

9. Baking Yesteryear

B. Dylan Hollis, DK, $32

10. The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse Charlie Mackesy, HarperOne, $22.99

QUIPS & QUOTES

Selected by Debra Tweedy

Bear in mind that the wonderful things you learn in your schools are the work of many generations. All this is put in your hands as your inheritance in order that you may receive it, honor it, add to it, and one day faithfully hand it on to your children. --Albert Einstein, German-born theoretical physicist, 1879-1955

When I get lonely these days, I think: So BE lonely, Liz. Learn your way around loneliness. Make a map of it. Sit with it, for once in your life. Welcome to the human experience. --Elizabeth Gilbert, American journalist and author, 1969We do not have to become heroes overnight. Just a step at a time, meeting each thing that comes up, seeing it as not as dreadful as it appears, discovering that we have the strength to stare it down.

--Eleanor Roosevelt, American political figure, diplomat, activist, and writer, 1884-1962

Life is all about sharing. If we are good at something, pass it on. That is the pleasure I get from teaching—whether it is television or books. We should all share.

--Mary Berry, English food writer, chef, baker, television presenter, 1935-

1. Bluey: Barky Boats Penguin Young Readers, $5.99

2. Goodnight Moon Margaret Wise Brown, Clement Hurd (Illus.), Harper, $8.99

3. Bluey: The Pool Penguin Young Readers, $4.99

4. Taylor Swift: A Little Golden Book Biography Wendy Loggia, Elisa Chavarri (Illus.), Golden Books, $5.99

5. Bluey: Camping Penguin Young Readers, $5.99

6. Bluey: The Beach Penguin Young Readers, $4.99

7. Boo! Bluey’s Halloween: A Magnet Book Penguin Young Readers Licenses, $14.99

8. Bluey: The Creek Penguin Young Readers, $4.99

9. The Very Hungry Caterpillar Eric Carle, World of Eric Carle, $10.99

10. Jamberry Bruce Degen, HarperFestival, $8.99

Our doubts are traitors, and make us lose the good we oft might win, by fearing to attempt. --William Shakespeare, English playwright, poet, and actor, 1564-1616 There’s power in looking silly and not caring that you do. --Amy Poehler, American actress, comedian, writer, producer, and director, 1971Well-run libraries are filled with people because what a good library offers cannot be easily found elsewhere: an indoor public space in which you do not have to buy anything in order to stay. --Zadie Smith, English writer and professor, 1975Physical work, physical exercise for your body, is a necessary condition of life. A man can force others to do things for him, but he cannot free himself from the necessity of his own physical work. And if a man does not work at necessary and good things, then he will work at unnecessary and stupid things.

--Leo Tolstoy, Russian writer and religious thinker, 1828-1910.

1. The Skull: A Tyrolean Folktale Jon Klassen, Candlewick, $19.99

2. From the World of Percy Jackson: The Sun and the Star Rick Riordan, Mark Oshiro, Disney Hyperion, $19.99

3. The Lost Library Rebecca Stead, Wendy Mass, Feiwel & Friends, $17.99

4. Mexikid Pedro Martín, Dial Books, $14.99

5. A Horse Named Sky Rosanne Parry, Kirbi Fagan (Illus.), Greenwillow Books, $18.99

6. Swim Team: A Graphic Novel Johnnie Christmas, HarperAlley, $15.99

7. When You Trap a Tiger Tae Keller, Yearling, $8.99

8. The One and Only Ruby Katherine Applegate, Harper, $19.99

9. Squished: A Graphic Novel Megan Wagner Lloyd, Michelle Mee Nutter (Illus.), Graphix, $12.99

10. Allergic: A Graphic Novel Megan Wagner Lloyd, Michelle Mee Nutter (Illus.), Graphix, $12.99

Harvest 2023

Excitement abounds as they prepare to hit the road to grape country!

2023 will be our 15th grape harvest at the winery which means we are celebrating our 15th year in the wine business. I never thought we would get this far—really! But I’m eternally grateful for the opportunity to participate in the Washington wine story. I write often about the beauty of being in sync with the seasons and the joy of connecting with the rich heritage of agriculture

here. I never take for granted the hard work of those who grow our food and grapes.

The 2023 harvest is in full swing and all I can say now is it is a very condensed grape crush. The weather has created the most ideal situation for wine grapes, with warm days and cool nights, as fall kicks in. We will be crushing syrah grapes soon—without a doubt one of the best varieties to grow throughout our state—and it appears we will get through fermentation free of rain and cold.

On August 16th, the first grapes of the season were picked in the Columbia Valley-Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier. They are picked early for sparkling wine, in order to get the crisp acidity and lower sugar content.

have done in a decade; and if all goes well weather- wise, we could have a near perfect vintage.

Let me digress a minute and say a few words about one thing that is changing rapidly in our state, and one thing that will be important to you as a wine consumer—Sustainable Washington certification. In the next year over one third of Washington Vineyards will qualify to use a new logo on their wines, letting you know that the vineyard uses sustainable practices. Our winery will be making wines this year from one of the pioneers in sustainability, Dineen Vineyards. Why is this important to you?

By Marc Roland

cause the leaf roll virus that keep the grapes from ripening. Water metering equipment including drones to help to cut down on over-watering or look for signs of stress in the vines. Earning the certification is rigorous including thirdparty audits to assure the standards are being met. We are proud to work with folks who take the environment seriously. But we are not the only ones. Many wineries are concerned with where their grapes come from and how it affects their customers.

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.

Mount St. Helens Hiking Club

Call leader to join outing or for more info. Nonmembers welcome.

(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.)

Sept 16 - Saturday

Elk Meadows and Gnarl Ridge (S)

Drive 230 miles RT.  Hike 10.5 miles out and back with 2400’ e.g. to a large meadow and on to Gnarl Ridge with cliff edge vistas.

Leader: Pat R. 360 225-7232 or 360 560-9554

Sept 20 - Wednesday    Crown Zellerbach Trail (E/M) (B)

Drive 75 miles RT.  Bike 10 miles out and back on gently rolling rails to trails path turning around at Bonnie Falls (aka Scapp oose Falls).  If there is not enough interest in a bike ride, it can be a 5 to 7 mile hike with 580’ e.g.  Leader: Barbara R. 360-431-1131

Sept 27 - Wednesday     Willow Grove (E) (B)

Drive 10 miles RT.  Bike 12 scenic miles along a rural county road with 0’ e.g. through the new Altair Park neighborhood to Willow Grove County Park and back.  Leader: Bruce 360-4250256

Sept 30 - Saturday     Indian Heaven (S)

Drive 184 miles RT.  Hike 11.5 miles with 1,500’ e.g. from Cultus Creek CG to Lemei Rock.  Flaming fall colors through subalpine meadows, lakes, and mountain views. Leader: Pat R. 360225-7232 or 360-560-9554

This year has been a bit strange with bud break beginning around the end of April, then accelerating at record speed with bloom a month later. The grapes turned color earlier thanthey

Quality is the simple answer. It means grapes handled with care, hand picked, honest business practices and risk management, water management, soil management, pest management, materials handling, whole farm ecosystem and community, and human resources, all with sustainability in mind. At Dineen, the vineyard has focused on nurturing its ecosystem. For example, they manage pests naturally by releasing lacewings. Lacewings are insects that are considered beneficial because they eat aphids and other pests. So the larva will eat mealybugs that can

Low-impact

watErcolorizEd skEtch by thE latE dEENa martiNsoN

Sept 30 - Saturday    Julia Butler Hansen Wildlife Refuge (E) (B)   Drive 60 miles RT.  Bike ride 12 miles on refuge roads, including Brooks Slough Rd.  Very scenic views of Columbia River and fall colors. Leader:

Bruce: 360-425-0256

Oct 4 - Wednesday   Naches Peak Loop Trail (E/M) Drive 240 miles RT.  Hike a 3.5 mile loop with 660’ e.g.  Enjoy beautiful autumn colors, alpine lakes and incredible views of the Mt Rainier summit.  **NORTHWEST FOREST OR AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL ANNUAL OR SENIOR PASS REQUIRED FOR EACH VEHICLE.** Leader: Dory N. (213) 820-1014

Oct 7 - Saturday   Quartz Creek - Lewis River Valley (M/S) Drive 200 mi RT.  Hike 8-10 miles RT with 1200’ e.g. Head up Quartz Creek Valley on an old mining road.  After fording two creeks and passing Straight Creek Falls, we’ll continue on through an ancient forest. Leader: MJ R. (360) 355-5220

Oct 11 - Wednesday   Pacific Way Dike (E)    Hike 5 miles on level gravel path with no e.g. Leader: John R. (360) 431-1122

Exercise Classes

Oct/Nov/Dec

Tai Chi for Beginners

Tues and Thurs – 10 AM

Register through

NASM Certified Senior Fitness

Longview Parks & Rec 360 442-5400

Instructor

LaNay Eastman

Tai Chi for Health and Senior Fitness Instructor

TCHI Certified Tai Chi for Arthritis and Fall Prevention (Standing/Seated)

Tai Chi & Qigong for Health and Wellness (Standing/Seated)

The Administration on Aging (AoA) has rated the TCHI Tai Chi for Arthritis and Fall Prevent (TCA) program as the highest evidence-based program for older adults and wellness. More information at www. taichiforhealthinstitute.org.

In the winery, having quality grapes provides us opportunities to use less intervention in the winemaking process, such as using additives and chemicals to correct poor vineyard practices. At our winery, we are using fewer sulfites because the grapes that are coming in are free of rot and bacteria that have plagued us in the past. By next year at this time, you will be able to recognize some of the wines, through a new label designation. Ask your favorite wineries if they will be purchasing grapes from sustainable vineyards. You, the consumer, can play a part by buying these wines, thus making future harvests in Washington better and available for years to come. In the meantime, excitement abounds as we prepare to hit the road to grape country.

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 360-846-7304.

I wonder how many bottles of wine will fit into my briefcase

the spectator by ned piper

Off the path

Iwant to let you in on a little secret. You may have already discovered it, but if not…it’s a tiny island in Longview’s beautiful Lake Sacajawea. It is located on the north end of the lake, a block and a half from the Louisiana Street Bridge. Formerly covered with blackberry vines and a plethora of weeds, the island was transformed by Weyerhaeuser Company in May 2003 into a charming Japanese Island. The grounds are studded with tall trees, hedges large and small, rhododendrons and other flowering plants. Graveled paths weave through the island, bordered by low flat rocks. A few of these rocks are layered high enough to sit on and rest for a spell.

The entrance, guarded by a stone Buddha statue, is just off Kessler Boulevard. The attractive Japanese-style bridge Weyerhaeuser built is called the Centennial Bridge. It connects the entrance area to the actual island and is symbolic of Longview, Washington’s tie to her sister city of Wako, Japan.

When I stopped by the island to refresh my memory of its layout, nine people were on the island. Three were draped over the bridge’s railing, perhaps looking for fish swimming beneath them. By the way, fishing is not allowed from anywhere on the island. No smoking, either, which is appreciated. Neither food nor alcohol are allowed. Apparently not a good spot for a family picnic.

A young couple, hand in hand, were strolling through on the path. They didn’t seem to be searching for anything in particular. They may have just wanted to experience the tranquil quality of the place. Four additional individuals were standing beneath and admiring one of the magnificent trees shading the grounds.

In the little Google research I did, I noticed that the City of Longview website stated that Lake Sacajawea, a man-made lake, was once called Cowlitz Slough. also once known as Fowler’s Slough. Lake Sacajawea, one of Longview’s crown jewels, boasts a walking/jogging path roughly 3.5 miles long.. Day and night, no matter the weather, you will find health enthusiasts getting their steps, walking their dogs or connecting with a friend on their way around part or all of the lake. I would wager that a fairly high percentage of these dedicated hoofers have no idea that the Japanese Island exists. If you are one of them, take a few minutes to enter the peacefulness of the island. Or make a special trip to visit the island. It’s open Monday through Thursday 7am to 3:30pm.

•••

PLUGGED IN TO COWLITZ PUD

By Alice Dietz, Cowlitz PUD Communications/ Public Relations Manager

Experiencing an outage?

Whenever we experience a large outage I begin receiving texts and calls from folks wanting the inside scoop. Receiving those questions is one of my favorite parts about the job. I enjoy helping people and providing as much information as I can.

The problem is that not all of Cowlitz County has my cell phone number (and I’m not going to give it to everyone either). So what do most people do to find out more information on an outage?

They call our Outage Hotline. While our outage hotline is a reliable option, we have more resources to discover even more information on an outage that may be affecting your neighborhood.

On our cowlitzpud.org/outages website, we have an up-to-theminute, interactive outage map that provides the location of the outage, number of customers affected, cause (if available), status of the crew, and an estimated time of restoration. This map is accessible through any electronic device.

New this year, you can now report an outage via our SmartHub app! Check it out, as it will provide you with up-to-date information and the status of the outage.

As storm season approaches, communicating with our customers is our top priority. We are continuously working to improve the resources we provide our customers. I encourage you to look into our outage map, follow us on social media, and always know you can give us a call at 360423-2210.

Alice Dietz is Cowlitz PUD’s Communications/ Public Relations Manager. Reach her at adietz@ cowlitzpud.org, or 360501-9146.

The Havens is a group of 11 premier, independently owned and operated homes. Drop in for a tour any time!

360-442-0758

Longview resident Ned Piper coordinates advertising and distribution of CRR, and enjoys the opportunities to meet and greet friends, both old and new.

By Robert Michael Pyle and Judy VanderMaten

“Tidewater Reach is a pleasure to hold; it provokes delights, both intellectual and emotional. I commend all who were involved in bringing us this treasure. It deserves a place on your bookshelf and in your heart.” -- Cate Gable, “Coast Chronicles,” Chinook Observer, Long Beach, Wash.

By Michael O. Perry

Mail Order Form, page 2

By Hal Calbom

Also available at:

• Columbia Gorge Interpretive Museum Stevenson

• Broadway Gallery Longview

• Cowlitz County Historical Museum Shop Kelso

• Kelso-Longview Visitor Center

• Vault Books & Brew Castle Rock

• Morgan Arts Center Toledo

• Tsuga Gallery Cathlamet

• Redmen Hall Skamokawa

• Skamokawa Store Skamokawa

• Appelo Archives Naselle

• Time Enough Books Ilwaco

• Godfathers Books Astoria, Ore.

• RiverSea Gallery Astoria,Ore.

• Columbia River Maritime Museum Store Astoria, Ore.

• Columbia Gorge Discovery Center & Museum The Dalles, Ore.

Please support our local booksellers & galleries