NELSON: Cathlamet publisher honored by community

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It went through the tiny town, pausing outside the offices of the Eagle at 77 Main St. where employees past and present, the mayor, David Olson, long-time friends Terry and Carol Kriesel, and other well-wishers greeted the family.

In the throng holding signs were Fred Johnson, the town attorney, who was best man at Nelson’s wedding, with three other members of his Class of 1969.

Support And Respect

Even before Monday’s welcome home, Nelson’s final column, headlined “Onward! Publisher says goodbye,” began an outpouring of support from the Columbia River com- munity and beyond.

“What a phenomenal gift you have given your community all these years, and taking on the family’s dedicated effort in making the local news possible,” posted the Rev. Lisa Aguilar.

The Cathlamet Town Council issued a proclamation designating May 1 as “Rick Nelson Day,” and Mayor Olson added his personal commendation:

“In a tight-knit community of independent minds and strong opinions, Rick Nelson holds a unique place as the long-time, impartial and respected editor of our only newspaper.”

“Under Rick’s leadership, the Wahkiakum Eagle for decades has given word of the essential news, information, people and events that keep our community alive. Rick is equally at home with our county’s history and earliest families, along with newcomers and community projects through which our future will surely shine.”

‘BEAUTIFUL AND HEROIC’

The mayor’s wife, Dayle Olson, said the drive-by applause opportunity was the brainchild of Eagle reporter Diana Zimmerman, who enlisted her and Minette Smith to get the word out.

“People clapped, waved flags, wiped tears from their eyes and called out their greetings as the procession made its way down the short four-block stretch of downtown Cathlamet,” Olson said.

She had her own reasons to thank Nelson. His offer to publish poetry gave her the confidence to pursue her own creativity, which has blossomed since she sent in a poem published in a January 2019 edition of the Eagle “My long-held dream of writing was given a nudge of encouragement,” she said.

“Rick’s personal appreciation of poetry is the only explanation I can come up with to justify him running this annual feature. It certainly didn’t generate ad sales. In my opinion, this simple act of dedicating an entire news page to poetry was a beautiful and heroic act. How might the world change if every newspaper gave space to poetry?”

A Family Enterprise

The Eagle has been family owned since 1963. Nelson’s parents, Bob and Lois Nelson, bought the paper in 1966. Rick started working there as a seventh grader, cleaning up.

Nelson graduated from Wahkiakum High School in 1969 and attended Western Washington University where he studied French and journalism — and met his wife, MaryAnn. They have two sons, Jacob and Jamie.

Appreciate Readers

Nelson took over as publisher when his father died in 2006; his mother died of COVID-19 in 2021. His last column, in which he thanked his staff, and lamented both the decline in civility and the drying up of hyper-local news.

“I feel the decline in local papers is a horrible blow for society and is part of the rancor riling the nation. We have, dear readers, thanks to you, carved out a niche trying hard to serve our Wahkiakum County and Naselle populations. We appreciate you so much.”

Facebook lit up with heartfelt posts when Nelson’s diagnosis was revealed. Desiree East Craven said: “You have given so much to this community through a lifetime of beautiful writing, photographs and more,” she wrote. “Indeed, you’ve tended to and grown community in Cathlamet, and that is felt and valued by many here.”