October 2011 - Walla Walla Lifestyles

Wa l l a Wa l l a t h e va l l e y ’ s p e o pl e , w i n e & f o o d

October 2011

$3.95

The

Good Earth

Of Ramon Walters

Supplement of the Walla Walla Union-Bulletin

W A L L A

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Wall a Wall a Lifest yles 5

table of contents

October 2011

More Lifest yles Pl e a se lik e us

6 Wall a Wall a Lifest yles

pl e a se Fol low us

Photo by Greg Lehman

24

The

Good Earth of Ramon Walters

Chef’s Table 10 Just in time for Halloween, a visit with Walla Walla’s

premiere candy maker.

34 Entertainment Sunny Thompson in “Marilyn: Forever Blonde.”

Brix & mortar

36 Soundworthy Feeling explosive? Check out the Volcanic Ten.

What’s new in W2

38 People The inspiring life of Charles Stanger.

14 Veni, Vici, Vino: The motto of The Wine Century Club.

18 Corvus Cellars, Blue Valley Meats, and Frosted.

28 Understanding Day of the Dead celebrations.

Art at large

32 Fashion Cool Halloween looks and how to get ‘em.

Digs 42 New An historic home with a secret garden.

47 where in walla walla?

Wall a Wall a Lifest yles 7

A Tasting Room and More Taste Wine Daily 1-4 Live Music Every Weekend

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E di tor’s C ommen ts

/ by Rick Doyle October 2011

While wine may be what people recognize most about the Walla Walla Valley, wheat still reigns as king.

That’s good news to Ramon Walters, who spent 80 years nurturing wheat crops and making sure every last stalk was harvested from the treacherous slopes. While he didn’t mind the hard work, he hated working with mules, so he and his father pioneered the use of mechanized combines. Even so, the old machinery was a far cry from today’s automated marvels.

Lifestyles takes you into the fields with Walters as he and his family recall the changes over nearly a century with the Valley’s biggest crop.

Harvesting wheat may be a lot of things, but sexy is definitely not one of them. We get our sexy back with a profile of actress Sunny Thompson, who bravely plays the woman who defined sexy for generations: Marilyn Monroe. Local theatergoers will have the opportunity to get to know the ultimate sex symbol through Thompson’s portrayal in “Marilyn: Forever Blonde, The Marilyn Monroe Story In Her Own Words And Music” at the Power House Theatre this month.

Music is a big part of Charles Stanger’s life. So are bicycles and parties. See what makes Stanger tick in our piece on the man, his music and his

motivation to organize bike rides and throw raucous events at his Sapolil Road barn.

What would Halloween be without costumes? Lifestyles gives you four do-it-yourself disguises for the holiday. And in the spirit of the season, check out the Day of the Dead traditions.

What would Halloween be without candy?

(OK, all you dentists quit cheering because it isn’t going to happen.) If you have a sweet tooth, you’ll savor the interview with Paul Jenes of Bright’s candies. He even offers a recipe for one of his treats.

Besides candy, games can be a big part of Halloween. The Wine Century Club, which was formed in New York in 2005, offers a tasty game for adults, and one that will take quite awhile to win. It challenges you to taste at least 100 different grape varieties. If you accomplish the task, you are qualified to become of member of the club.

Maybe there should be a Candy Century Club. I would probably be an instant member.

Pub l i s h e r

Rob C. Blethen E di tor

Rick Doyle A dv e rt i si ng Di r ec tor

Jay Brodt M a nagi ng e di tor

Robin Hamilton Pr o d uc t i o n m a n a g e r

Vera Hammill de sign er

Steve Lenz C o n t r i bu t i n g w r i t e r s

Janna Dotolo, Andrew Holt, Margaret Jamison, Elliot LaPlante, Karlene Ponti, Catie McIntyre Walker Photogr a ph er s

Colby Kuschatka, Greg Lehman, Margaret Jamison, Elliot LaPlante soci a l medi a a nd w ebsit e

Jennifer Henry p r o d uc t i o n s t a f f

Ralph Hendrix, Chris Lee, Steve Lenz, Sherry Burrows Sa l e s Sta f f

Masood Gorashi, Jeff Sasser, Donna Schenk, Colleen Streeter, Mike Waltman Copy E di tor

Chetna Chopra Fa s h ion / Be au t y E di tor

Elliot LaPlante E di tor i a l A ssis ta n t

Karlene Ponti A dm i n is t r at i v e A s sis ta n t

Kandi Suckow

Peace of mind…

Cover: Photo by Greg Lehman F o r e d i t o r i a l i n f o rm a t i o n

Rick Doyle rickdoyle@wwub.com

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Bank IRAs (FDIC insured) are available through Baker Boyer Bank. Other investment products: Are Not FDIC Insured • Are Not Bank Guaranteed • May Lose Value Wall a Wall a Lifest yles 9

food

by Andrew Holt / photos by Greg Lehman

Bright’s Candies Paul Jenes, owner

Traditionally one of the most popular seats in a restaurant, the Chef’s Table offers the diner an opportunity to talk to the chef one-on-one — ­ to discover his or her favorite local hangouts, predilections and food philosophies — while enjoying a specially prepared dish.

10 Wall a Wall a Lifest yles

Jenes making one of his more popular items, caramel-coated apples.

Bright’s sells an assortment of candy-related items, as well as whimsical toy animals, cards and other gifts.

We follow our sweet tooth to the Chef’s Table this month and spend some time with confectioner extraordinaire, Paul Jenes of Bright’s Candies. Jenes has owned and operated Walla Walla’s hallmark candy shop for the past 15 years. In 2005, he moved Bright’s from its cramped quarters on First Avenue to its current home, which resembles an old-fashioned candy store with a full view of the chocolate operation, on Main. Children press their noses to the glass, entranced by the spinning chocolate wheels.

Bright’s offers a full array of candy, from chocolates, truffles and cordials made by hand to large, round jaw breakers, popcorn, fudge, ice cream, licorice and an assortment of candyrelated giftware. In addition to serving walkin customers, Bright’s fills a variety of special orders from private parties, businesses and the three local colleges. The candy store also provided cotton candy and caramel apples for the Sweets baseball games this past season.

Jenes took time out from his never-ending pursuit of keeping up with the chocolate demand to discuss the wonders of candy, the charm of his shop and how he stays thin.

LIFESTYLES: Is this one of

LIFESTYLES: What’s your favorite candy to eat these days?

JENES: I really like the lavender truffles. I also really enjoy the marshmallow-caramel bars, and I’m a big fan of straight dark chocolate.

LIFESTYLES: What’s the most chal-

LIFESTYLES: How do you keep so thin?

JENES: The Earl Grey truffles can be tricky,

JENES: I work a lot. (He chuckles.)

and it also can be molds that we do for Easter where they tend to break at certain points, especially Easter bunnies. We do at least 25 styles. They may be a solid or hollow bunny, and, depending on the style, the arms may be sticking out or the ears are turned down or the basket may be made out of chocolate and has a tendency to break at a certain point.

Everything we make is about techniques.

I work a lot of it off. This is a laborintensive job. There’s a lot of standing and walking and moving around.

LIFESTYLES: Do you eat a lot of candy every day?

JENES: Oh yeah. (A Cheshire Cat smile.)

the best jobs in the world?

LIFESTYLES: What do you enjoy

JENES: I like it. It’s a lot of fun. We’re

most about being a candy maker?

always trying to come up with new products to keep things new and fresh.

LIFESTYLES: What are some of your latest creations?

JENES: One of our most popular is the Walla Walla wine cordials that are filled with local wine, because they are so versatile with all the different wineries. Also, one of our latest creations is our lavender truffle, using lavender from the Lavender Farm in Lowden. Then, we made this marshmallowcaramel bar. We make the caramel and the marshmallow from scratch. Of course, salted caramel truffles are huge now.

the turtles that people have been coming to buy for 70 years. It’s a challenge to keep up with present production and then work on new offerings at the same time.

JENES: I enjoy the process of making the candy, but the best thing is seeing people enjoying it. You have people who’ve been coming here for generations. Grandparents bring their kids and they, then, bring their kids in.

It’s nice being a part of people’s traditions.

LIFESTYLES: Yes, I suppose it is fun to be the person who provides the treats in people’s lives.

JENES: It’s nice to provide it, but there is also the challenge of coming up with new products and also the challenge of being able to produce the chocolates that have been made through the years here, like

lenging type of candy to make?

LIFESTYLES: Where do you get your bunny molds?

JENES: Many are historical ones that have been handed down through the years at Bright’s, and others we order, if we like them.

LIFESTYLES: Since you have control over the molds, it might be a good idea to just not have any that have rabbit arms sticking out or ears down.

JENES: (Chuckles.) That’s a good idea.

We have retired some that have become too problematic. (Another chuckle.)

Continued on pg. 12 >

Wall a Wall a Lifest yles 11

food Sueno hecho en realidad “A dream made into reality”

<continued from pg. 11

LIFESTYLES: Talk about the design of the store.

JENES: It’s a classic style. The idea was to create a kitchen where everyone could see you making the product. The one thing that makes this store special is that the chocolate is made in-house. We wanted to bring that up front so that people could be a part of that.

LIFESTYLES: When you made the

Special thanks to our valued guests and friends for sharing our first year of business with us. We have many new ideas in store and we look forward to sharing them with you soon!

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move to Main Street, you decided to expand your ice cream selection. What was the reason behind that decision?

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JENES: One nice addition when we made the move was the seating out on the front porch. All summer long, people are sitting out there enjoying their ice cream cones, and we stay open until 10 in the summer, and folks enjoy the nice evenings. So, it provided a nice addition to the experience. Plus, it’s hard to beat the smell of a waffle cone.

LIFESTYLES: So, how many times have you seen the movie “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory?

JENES: Often. (He smiles.)

LIFESTYLES: Do you relate to Willie Wonka?

JENES: Oh yes. He was trying to cre-

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Item #164 ©2007 Northstar Winery, Walla Walla, WA 99362

ate that “wonder” for the kids, and that’s what we’re trying to do here. People are amazed when they walk in and see the spinning chocolate wheels. They have a hard time breaking away from looking at it.

LIFESTYLES: Did you know at a certain age that you wanted to own a candy shop and make your own candy?

JENES: No, not really. I liked helping my mom make desserts when I was a kid, but I went to college — the University of Washington — and got a degree in oceanography. I guess the chocolate fish is about as close as I get to using that degree. (Jenes gives a big smile.)

Andrew Holt is a freelance writer who lives in Walla Walla. He can be reached at bruindrew86@yahoo.com.

RECIPE

ROLLED TRUFFLES

These truffles are “rustic-style,” with their outsides dusted with cocoa powder. If the liquor is left out of the truffles, they are a good compliment to red wine. With the liquor, these chocolates make a pleasant dessert, with nice depth of flavor. Any liquor would work with the recipe, but Paul’s favorite is Grand Marnier.

Ingredients

TASTING ROOM

7 ounces heavy cream 2 ounces corn syrup 15 ounces 61 percent semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped 1 tablespoon salted butter 1 ½ ounces liquor 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

18 North Second Avenue Walla Walla, WA 99362 Hours: Thursday, Friday, Saturday

Directions

& Monday 10am to 4pm

Sifted cocoa powder (1 pound is plenty and can be stored for next time)

Sunday 11am to 4pm

Bring cream and corn syrup to a boil for 60 seconds. Pour over chocolate and let set for 1 to 2 minutes to melt the chocolate, stirring once to prevent clumps.

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Stir until chocolate and cream are combined and smooth. When smooth, add butter and stir until combined.

Add liquor, stir, pour on to shallow tray and set aside.

When the filling is at room temperature, transfer to a bowl and stir briefly. Put into a pastry bag and pipe small mounds onto parchment paper. Let them set for about 15 minutes.

WINeRy ANd VINeyARd

Roll truffles and set aside. Dip in tempered chocolate and roll in cocoa powder.

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Wall a Wall a Lifest yles 13

wine Brix & Mortar / by Catie McIntyre Walker

The Wine Century Club Now that school is back in session, it’s time to work on your vocabulary and learn new words like: Centesimino, Plavac Mali and Touriga Nacional.

Whether you are a wine newbie or a wine geek, learning about different grape varieties is not only stimulating, but tasty, too! There is more to tasting new varieties of wine grapes than just repeating the traditional ABC’s — “Anything But Cabernet or Chardonnay.”

Zweigelt, Blaufrankisch and Picpoul.

You don’t have to be a wine lover to enjoy the task. Gaining knowledge about grapes from various regions around the world, many with histories and stories dating back centuries, can be enjoyed if you are solely into history, botany or gardening. So, how do you organize such a task? Will there be homework?

There is going to be a lot of homework — probably the best homework you will ever have.

Glera, Monastrell and Pedro Ximénez.

The Wine Century Club was formed in New York City in 2005. If you have tasted at least 100 different grape varieties, you are qualified to become a member. Members come from all areas of the wine community and include wine educators, wine writers and even just lovers of the grape. They are all “grape nuts,” if you will. Many members are from the United States, but many hail from all over the globe.

Bonarda, Kerner and Madeleine Angevine.

It is important to understand that members of the Wine Century Club are not wine snobs. They are not advocates for single-varietal wines, nor do they favor single-varietals over blended wines. They are also not anti-chardonnay or antimerlot. They are people who enjoy wine and are excited about tasting and learning about uncommon wine-grape varieties.

14 Wall a Wall a Lifest yles

Assyrtiko, Tannat and Schioppettino.

Godello, Saperavi and Rkatsiteli.

So, how do you start? First of all you check out the Wine Century Club website (www. winecenturyclub.com) and download the list of grapes. It sounds easy, but it’s very challenging in a fun way. Look at it like collecting Scout merit badges.

Every time you taste a wine produced with a new and different grape, you check it off on your list, adding any wine notes you may want, such as vintage, winery, country of origin, history and tasting notes.

And while you are in search of the exotic, don’t forget to add the more everyday varieties — merlot, cabernet sauvignon and, of course, chardonnay – to your list.

Once you have finally completed tasting your 100 grapes, you are ready to send a copy of your completed homework to the Wine Century Club (don’t forget to save a copy for future reference). You are even welcome to go over the count of 100 grapes, but don’t expect to be the teacher’s pet and get any extra credit.

However, you can “roll those grapes over” and use them for the next level, if you dare. In addition to regular membership, the Wine Century Club also recognizes serious oenophiles who have tried at least 200 (Doppel), 300 (Treble) or 400 (Quattro) varieties.

After your first 100 grapes are submitted, you will receive a certificate, suitable for framing and bragging about, along with privileges to attend various Wine Century Club functions and even local charter functions around the United States.

But beware! Be very afraid! Though application into the Wine Century Club works on the honor system, the fine print notes: “Should you lie, may the wrath of Bacchus curse your palate.”

Negroamaro, Xarello and Tinto Cão.

Don’t be thinking that you are going to cinch this up in a day or two by walking into your local supermarket and grabbing all of these wines. It ain’t going to happen. It can take time, some research, opportunities and shopping to find many of these exotic wines.

I will say I found the first 50 fairly easily, and, after that, it became a slower process. The good news is you can count each grape that is used in blended wines.

You are also welcome to use the obscure grapes that one might find in fortified wines such as sherries, ports and cognacs. Even the Concord grapes in your jelly count.

Catie McIntyre Walker blogs at wildwallawallawinewoman.blogspot. com. She reports it took her over two years to leisurely drink her way through 125 different grapes and obtain membership in the Wine Century Club.

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Amavi Cellars 3796 Peppers Bridge Road (509) 525-3541 www.amavicellars.com 2. Basel Cellars Estate Winery 2901 Old Milton Hwy. (509) 522-0200 www.baselcellars.com 3. Bergevin Lane Vineyards 1215 W. Poplar St. (509) 526-4300 bergevinlane.com 4. Bunchgrass Winery 151 Bunchgrass Lane (509) 540-8963 www.bunchgrasswinery.com 5. Castillo de Feliciana 85728 Telephone Pole Road Milton-Freewater (541) 558-3656 www.castillodefeliciana.com 6. Don Carlo Vineyard 6 W. Rose St. (509) 540-5784 www.doncarlovineyard.com 7. Dunham Cellars 150 E. Boeing Ave. (509) 529-4685 www.dunhamcellars.com 8. Five Star Cellars 840 C St. (509) 527-8400 www.fivestarcellars.com 9. Forgeron Cellars 33 W. Birch St. (509) 522-9463 www.forgeroncellars.com 10. Foundry Vineyards 13th Ave. and Abadie St. (509) 529-0736 www.wallawallafoundry.com/ vineyards 11. Fort Walla Walla Cellars 127 E. Main St. (509) 520-1095 www.fortwallawallacellars.com

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12. Glencorrie 8052 Old Highway 12 (509) 525-2585 www.glencorrie.com 13. Grantwood Winery 2428 Heritage Road (509) 301-0719 (509) 301-9546 14. L’Ecole No 41 Winery 41 Lowden School Road and U.S. Hwy. 12 (509) 525-0940 www.lecole.com 15. Long Shadows 1604 Frenchtown Road (Formerly Ireland Road) (509) 526-0905 www.longshadows.com By invitation only. Requests accepted on a limited basis. Please call to inquire.

16. Lowden Hills Winery 1401 W. Pine St. (509) 527-1040 www.lowdenhillswinery.com 17. Northstar Winery 1736 J.B. George Road (509) 524-4883 www.northstarmerlot.com 18. Pepper Bridge Winery 1704 J.B. George Road (509) 525-6502 www.pepperbridge.com 19. Robison Ranch Cellars 2839 Robison Ranch Road (509) 301-3480 robisonranchcellars.com 20. Sapolil Cellars 15 E. Main St. (509) 520-5258 www.sapolilcellars.com 21. Seven Hills Winery 212 N. Third Ave. (509) 529-7198 www.sevenhillswinery.com 22. Sinclair Estate Vineyards 109 E. Main., Ste 100 (509) 876-4300 www.sinclairestatevineyards.com

9 24

23. Spring Valley Vineyard 18 N. Second Ave. (509) 525-1506 www.springvalleyvineyard.com 24. SuLei Cellars 355 S. Second Ave. (503) 529-0840 www. suleicellars.com 25. SYZYGY 405 E. Boeing Ave. (509) 522-0484 www.syzygywines.com 26. Three Rivers Winery 5641 Old Highway 12 (509) 526-9463 info@ThreeRiversWinery.com 27. Tertulia Cellars 1564 Whiteley Road (509) 525-5700 www.tertuliacellars.com 28. Trust Cellars 202 A St. (509) 529-4511 www.trustcellars.com

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29. Va Piano Vineyards 1793 J.B. George Road (509) 529-0900 www.vapianovineyards.com 30. Walla Walla Vintners Vineyard Lane off Mill Creek Road (509) 525-4724 www.wallawallavintners.com 31. Walla Walla Wineworks 31 E. Main St. (509) 522-1261 www.wallawallawineworks.com 32. Woodward Canyon Winery 11920 W. Hwy. 12, Lowden (509) 525-4129 www.woodwardcanyon.com 33. JLC Winery 425 B. St. (509) 301-5148 34. Saviah Cellars 1979 J.B. George Rd. 35. Le Chateau 175 E. Aeronca Ave. 36. Reininger Winery 5858 Old Highway 12 509-522-1994

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37. Plumb Cellar 9 S. First Ave. (509) 876-4488 www.plumbcellars.com 38. Mansion Creek Cellars 9 S. First Ave. (253) 370-6107 www.mansioncreekcellars.com 39. Watermill Winery 235 E. Broadway, Milton-Freewater (541) 938-5575 www.drinkcider.com 40. blue mountain cider 235 E. Broadway, Milton-Freewater (541) 938-5575 watermillwinery.com 41. Walla faces 216 E. Main St. 877-301-1181, ext. 2 www.wallafaces.com

Wall a Wall a Lifest yles 17

places

by Diane Reed

/ photos by Diane Reed

What’s New in

2 W

Corvus Cellars is the newest addition to Walla Walla’s wine incubator.

There’s always something new happening in Walla Walla if you know where to look …

A Rare Bird Flies into W² Corvus Cellars may be the newest addition to the Walla Walla wine incubator, but its founders are hardly newcomers to the Valley and to Washington wine.

Founded by Randall Hopkins and Stephen Lessard, Corvus brings together tradition and experience in a focused effort to develop a select group of wines with extraordinary balance.

Lessard has been in the wine business for 25 years, developing his craft as winemaker at Hedges Family Estate before moving to Whitman Cellars in 2001. Hopkins has an eclectic background, which includes work with law enforcement and human resources for a Fortune 100 corporation. Wine aficionado Hopkins met Lessard in the mid-1990s, and years later, they said they decided to “get our ducks in a row and do our own thing.”

In 2004 they formed Corvus Cellars (named for the god Apollo’s sacred raven that, according to legend, suffers from eternal thirst and is remembered by a small constellation in the Southern sky) in Benton City, where Hopkins established Corvus Vineyard.

When Trio Vintners “graduated” from the Walla Walla wine incubator, Corvus vied for the opportunity to be part of the vibrant Walla Walla wine community. Lessard was already in town, and Randall’s wife, Jennifer, knew Walla Walla through her parents, both Whitman College alumni, so the stars seemed in alignment for Corvus to take off in Walla Walla.

Corvus currently produces four wines, and Hopkins and Lessard don’t have plans to expand much more than that. Although they have grown from an initial production of about 80 cases to around 1,200, they believe there is something to be said for focusing on doing a few things ... and doing them well.

18 Wall a Wall a Lifest yles

Corvus Cellars Co-owners Randall Hopkins and Steve Lessard welcome you to the tasting room.

Cabernet Sauvignon Syrah • Sémillon Bruno’s Blend Red

102415

– and now offering –

106190

Bruno’s Blend White Tasting Room open daily 11am - 5pm and by appointment.

1793 J.B. George Rd. Walla Walla 509.529.0900

go to vapianovineyards.com for more information

It seems to be paying off. Their Red Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon won a double gold at the 2010 Seattle Wine Awards and was mentioned in Wine and Spirits magazine’s 2009 list of top cabernets.

They also produce a Red Mountain Syrah-Petite Sirah, Corvus Viognier, and a red blend cuvée.

Hopkins and Lessard are believers in terroirdriven wines and the sense of place they represent.

They use grapes from a small portfolio of established vineyards in addition to the Red Mountain estate fruit from Corvus Vineyard in Benton City.

Hopkins says he and Lessard are “very approachable and enjoy the complete process and art from growing grapes to making wine to selling it.” He adds, “Simply put, we tend to focus on the wine more than the hype.”

Continued on pg. 20 >

Corvus Cellars 596 Piper Ave. Walla Walla Airport, Walla Walla 509-241-0318 Open Saturday and Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Friday, open by appointment and for special-event weekends www.corvuscellars.com Follow them on Facebook at Corvus Cellars

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Wall a Wall a Lifest yles 19

places

<continued from pg. 19

Splendor in the Grass Blue Valley Meats was “founded on the belief that what we eat should taste great, be healthy for us and come from local farms where people, animals and the environment are treated with respect.”

Blue Valley’s suppliers are farms where the animals are fed a natural diet, are humanely treated and are raised free of antibiotics and hormones. Not only is it better for the animals, it’s also better for consumers.

If some of the folks at Blue Valley look familiar, it’s because they’re former employees of Thundering Hooves, which closed its doors earlier this year. The core group at Blue Valley Meats, which describes itself as “an old-world butcher shop,” includes Keith and Clarice Swanson, Geoff and Carol Forcum, and Christopher and Kimi Galasso.

The Swansons, who live on a 10-acre farm, bring their backgrounds in education to marketing and to educating the public about Blue Valley Meats. Kimi Galasso will focus on local restaurant sales and promotions. General Manager Geoff Forcum oversees the entire operation — including livestock procurement.

At the new butcher shop in Walla Walla, Christopher Galasso and his crew approach butchering as an art. Christopher (trained as a professional chef in San Francisco and Seattle) is dedicated to working with customers — answering questions, making suggestions and providing culinary advice. Choose from the wide variety of selections in the shop or ask him for the perfect cut of meat for your needs — a cut he will prepare for you on the spot with precision and élan.

Blue Valley Meats features 100 percent grassfed beef and lamb. It also offers a delicious variety of handmade pork sausages (including its “Pine Street Sausage”), smoked hams and bacon, and hand-made patties. Naturally raised pork, freerange poultry, organic dairy and locally-raised eggs are regular offerings at the shop.

The Value Packs, featuring beef quarters or halves, as well as half and whole hogs, offer an economical option for loading up your freezer.

Keep checking its website or on Facebook for special offerings, including seasonal fish and featured products. Like its predecessor, Blue Valley Meats offers neighborhood delivery in the Tri-Cities and in Seattle, Everett, Olympia and Portland — visit its website for times and locations.

Blue Valley Meats 1162 W. Pine St. Walla Walla 509-876-4700 Open Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Saturday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. www.bluevalleymeats.com Follow them on Facebook at Blue Valley Meats

Butcher Christopher Galasso prepares a custom cut at Blue Valley Meats.

216 East Main St Downtown Walla Walla

Open every day at 1pm

Continued on pg. 22 > 106800

20 Wall a Wall a Lifest yles

www.wallafaces.com 877.301.1181

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106302

223 N Bellevue, WW – Best of the best In Walla Walla wine country.

Imagine... Distinctive elegance in an extraordinary 4 bd/2.5ba home in the heart of downtown; nestled amongst historic homes and mature tree-lined streets. Exceptional detailing throughout 4180sf of well appointed living space. Upscale and custom finishes include beautiful hardwoods, built-ins, French doors, milled moldings, granite, stainless gourmet kitchen and a spectacular stairway leading to the bedroom wing and media room on lower level. Private and peaceful outdoor living space overlooks manicured yard. This is truly an amazing home in a perfect location! MLS109188 $615,000

Wall a Wall a Lifest yles 21

places

<continued from pg. 20

Let Them Eat (Cup)cakes!

Frosted — The Cupcake Shop is the latest addition to bustling South First Avenue. This enticing shop is a tasty collaboration between cake designer Kim Wheeler (Cakes by Kim) and her daughter Chelsea Wheeler, who manages the shop.

The Wheelers saw the increasing popularity of cupcakes and their infinite variety as just the kind of offering that folks in Walla Walla would welcome.

All their baking is done on-site, with only the freshest ingredients — buttercream, made with real butter; the finest chocolate, Madagascar vanilla and real fruit.

The selection is more than enough to please the most demanding cupcake buff. Every day, the Wheelers offer over a dozen varieties, which may include flavors like s’mores, chocolate raspberry and “Double Trouble,” German chocolate, maple bacon (that’s right, a cupcake with bacon sprinkles). Several days a week, they also offer vegan and gluten-free cupcakes.

Frosted’s inviting shop, with its black-andwhite-tile floors and soda-fountain-style tables, invites you to choose a cupcake or mini-cupcake and sit right down to enjoy it with a coffee, milk or soda. Then take a six- or 12-pack home and please everyone with a selection of these yummy confections.

For special occasions, the Wheelers can prepare cupcake towers — popular for weddings and birthdays — along with Kim’s cakes. They expect their offerings to be ever-evolving, so check for their latest flavors and specials on their Facebook page. When they say the best things come in small packages, we’re sure they were talking about cupcakes!

Diane Reed is a freelance writer, photographer and observer of life. If you know about something new in W², e-mail her at ladybook@earthlink.net. Between columns and when the spirit moves her she blogs at www.ponderingsbydianereed.blogspot.com.

Right: Shauna Farris, one of the fine staff at Frosted where you can choose a six pack of scrumptious cupcakes.

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Frosted – The Cupcake Shop 7 S. First Ave., Walla Walla 509-525-2434 Monday to Saturday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. www.mycakesbykim.com Follow Frosted – The Cupcake Shop on Facebook

14 YEARS

and Still Brewing Perfection

Troy Robinson, MillCreek Brewmeister – testing his latest brew

Continuously Brewing Hand-Crafted Beers for the Past 14 Years

106062

• Famous Local Wines and Cocktails CuRREntlY SERving • Full Menu to Please Every Palate Octoberfest • Irish Red Apple • IPA • Patio Dining Copper Ale • Walla Walla Wheat • Minors Welcome All Hours

Walla Walla’s Only BreW PuB and restaurant 11 s. Palouse • Walla Walla • 522-2440 • millcreek-brewpub.com Monday-saturday 11am-Midnight • sunday 11am-9pm

Winery of the Year 9 consecutive years —Wine & Spirits Magazine

Est. 1983

• A Washington State pioneering winery • Estate grown wines certified sustainable & Salmon Safe Named Best Tasting Room “The tasting staff walks visitors through L’Ecole’s prize-winning lineup without pretense, a modest approach that’s refreshing.”

—Seattle Magazine

Open Daily 10am – 5pm 41 Lowden School Road, Lowden, WA

www.lecole.com

Reserve Tasting & Tour Friday 2pm, Space limited.

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Wall a Wall a Lifest yles 23

People

by Andrew Holt / photos by Greg Lehman and courtesy of the Walters Family

No man’s life more accurately depicts the journey of a wheat farmer than that of Ramon Walters.

“My father was born to farm,” says his son Rick, whose early years were spent by his father’s side reigning in the 2,400 acres of wheat the family has farmed ever since “Curly” Walters (Ramon’s father) took over the land in the early 1930s. Through his 80 years of farming — Ramon got on his first combine at the age of 5 — he has seen all and created most of the changes in an industry that has been the lifeblood of the Valley for generations.

Ramon Walters began farming when mules were pulling the combines. By his final harvest in 2010, gigantic, self-propelled combines with 40-foot bulkheads combed the fields, eating up $300 of diesel fuel per day.

In those early days, his father, Curly, went down to the local bar, rustled up some men, put them in the fields, let them sleep in a bunkhouse and didn’t put a penny in their hands until harvest was done.

During Ramon’s last harvest, the only folks needed were drivers of the machines. An operation of 30 to 40 men had been reduced to a handful of individuals.

And all for the good, says Ramon. He thinks technical advances in farming have mostly been an asset, although he will inform you the new $400,000 combines leave too much grain in the field, especially if you drive them too fast. Leaving grain in the field is like cursing the farming gods to Ramon Walters — you just don’t do it.

By and large, though, Walters never met an innovation he didn’t like. One reason: He invented many of them.

As Rick Walters says, “I always told Dad that if he’d gotten patents for all of his farm equipment inventions, he would have been able to retire at the age of 40.”

Rick remembers his father sitting on the tractor during rest periods, stewing over ideas to make things more efficient.

Ramon’s daughter-in-law, Cyndi Walters, recalls, “Some of his neighboring farmers maybe thought, ‘I’m not sure Ramon’s got this (idea) right, but his ideas always bore out to be true.’”

A prime example of Ramon’s innovative thinking is a drill he created that preserved the ground’s moisture while seeding and cultivating at the same time — revolutionary for the early 1960s.

Ramon’s pursuit of innovation was not just born out of his curiosity, however; it was also driven by a more visceral reason. “He hated mules,” says Rick Walters. “My father hated horses. In fact, he said, ‘Nothing that has to be fed should ever be in a field.’”

The strength of that conviction was never more apparent than when Ramon Walters finished his tour of duty in World War II. The young farmer was seriously considering a career as a naval officer; his father implored him to come home and resume his work on the farm.

Photo Column – 1st: After Ramon’s final harvest he takes time to share memories with fellow wheat warrior Ed Burlingame.

2nd: The Walters Family from left to right; Rick, Ryan, Jessi, Ramona, Cyndi, Ramon, and Debi. 3rd: Ramon and his father, Curly, take time out during harvest, circa 1960. 4th: Neighborhood farmers coming together to help out an injured farmer. Far Right: Ramon and Coco with the homestead in the background Continued on pg. 26 > 24 Wall a Wall a Lifest yles

The Good Earth of Ramon Walters

A man, his land, his legacy and the rich heritage of wheat farming in the Walla Walla Valley.

Wall a Wall a Lifest yles 25

People

<continued from pg. 24

Ramon stated he would return to the farm under one condition: His father would get rid of the mules and buy the new motorized equipment that was now available. His father acquiesced.

Folks like Ramon Walters have been wheat farming in the rolling hills of the Walla Walla Valley for the last 150 years. A love for the land and the farming life has been passed down from generation to generation. As combines have rolled over the steep embankments, slicing down the golden crop, every family member has been part of the operation, especially when it came to harvest, whether it was the brawny sons who worked the fields with their fathers, cousins and family friends or the women who worked day and night, churning out massive amounts of food to feed the legion of hungry men.

“There was nothing like harvest dinners,” recalls Rick Walters.

Rick’s first recollection of farming is of harvest. He remembers all the men arriving at the farm and the excitement it created when he was a youngster. It was a time to come together, to work toward a common goal. Cyndi says everyone’s social life was put on hold. You’d focus on only one thing: harvest. “Communication just stopped ... everything about life just slowed down during harvest. It would be like, today,

taking off your watch and turning off your phone.

I loved it. I’ve always loved being out in the field.”

Harvest was also a great employer for kids.

Rick Walters recalls having enough cash to buy a new Mustang after working pea and wheat harvest during a high school summer.

“Everyone worked harvest,” he says. “Now, those jobs are gone. Kids who were 15 years old used to work harvest, but now, unless you are related to the farming family, you can’t drive a piece of equipment unless you’re 18. There’s no manual labor left.”

Until the complete dominance of technology, wheat harvest used to provide summer jobs for all the youth, from knee-high youngsters to college students home for the summer.

“Harvest was the culmination of everything,” reminisces Cyndi Walters. When harvest ended, it was time for the fair, and time for the children to return to school or go back to college. The football season began and social life resumed.

In addition to the celebrations at the fair, each area would hold a party at their grange.

It was a meaningful time, say Rick Walters.

Everyone reconnected with one another, catching up on each other’s lives, inquiring on what farm they harvested, how harvest went and what their plans for the fall were.

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Ramon looking out over his land.

“It provided such a great sense of community that, for the most part, has been lost,” says Rick.

No one relished harvest more than Ramon Walters. “Why would you work so hard all year long and spend all that money, only to rush through harvest?” he asks.

For Ramon, harvest was not only a time to enjoy the fruits of his labor, but it also presented the ultimate challenge — not leaving one ounce of grain in those daunting, undulating hills, even if it meant driving the combine precariously on the crest of a ravine. The wheat was more important than his safety.

Ramon Walters painstakingly mapped out his plan of attack for harvesting each section of field. He figured out the order of the sections and how each section would be combed so he’d always finish at the top of the hill — a wheat farmer’s maxim: Never finish your cutting on the side of a hill. Steep hills that other farmers deemed too difficult, Ramon took in with relish.

Even during Ramon’s last harvest, Rick Walters recalls his father going up a steep embankment and then driving along the high crest, ascending farther toward the heavens.

Rick thought to himself, “My father’s 85, and, to the very end, he knows no fear in his attempt to get every last shaft of wheat, so help him God.” He applied the same fastidiousness toward his equipment. Ramon never left a tractor or any piece of equipment out in the fields. At the end of every day, all equipment was indoors.

“Why buy a tractor and let it rust?” he would ask.

Similarly, after harvest, he would over-

see a fierce operation to retune and repair all equipment.

“Why buy a piece of equipment and not take care of it?” he would ask.

Ramon was so renowned for his treatment of his equipment that “when word got out that Ramon Walters was selling a piece of his equipment,” says Rick, “everyone wanted it because they knew it would be in great shape.”

With his farming days over now, Ramon Walters leaves behind a tremendous legacy that knows no equal. His innovation was not just limited to machinery or crop management; it also found its way into breaking social stigmas.

Ramon was the first area farmer to hire a woman as a full-time farmhand when he brought Sandy Scott, who would become an integral part of his operation, onto his crew.

Under his and Rick’s tutelage, his granddaughter, Jessica, became so adroit at farming that she operated the Walla Walla Grain Growers grain elevator, solo, making a few farmers’ jaws drop.

Ramon had a tremendous influence on his children. “He taught me to have a good work ethic,” says Rick.

Although he says he deplored the endless summer days of pulling rye and hoeing weeds, he also says with a certain pride, “It was a job. Back then, kids learned a work ethic. Today, because there are no (farming) jobs for them, they don’t know how to work.”

Most of farming has changed: no more crews of 30 men working mules, the grange parties have all but disappeared, and most of the wheat

is taken to river barges instead of the neighborhood grain elevator. And with the passage of time, the economics of wheat farming have drastically changed. When Ramon Walters started at the age of 5, the price of wheat ranged between $1 to $2 dollars per bushel; now, it’s $7. A good harvest would reap 30 bushels per acre; in 2010, many farmers gathered nearly 90 bushels an acre, and the 2011 yield was even higher. Then, a combine was priced at $10,000 to $15,000; now, combines cost upward of $500,000 Ramon Walters and his family were independent farmers with a relatively small plot. Today, no one could start such a farm, says Rick. “It’s too expensive to get into farming now. The only way you can do it is if the land is handed down to you. The land’s too expensive. The machinery is too expensive. It’s just not possible.” Rick pauses.

“My father was the last of a breed.”

During Ramon’s final harvest in 2010, the family made it a celebration for him — sort of an extended retirement party. When it was over, Ramon Walters stood over the land he had taken care of and that had taken care of him for some 80 years, and knew he had left no wheat on those fields. And, with that, he said, “Hasta la vista” and headed back to the homestead to crack open a can of his favorite beer, just as he had done all of his life.

Andrew Holt is a freelance writer who lives in Walla Walla. He can be reached at bruindrew86@yahoo.com.

Even with the advent of motorized tractors in the 1940’s, it still took three combines and a crew of men to carry the grain in sacks, unlike today where a half-million dollar combine (pictured above) collects and processes the wheat with a single driver.

Wall a Wall a Lifest yles 27

Art at Large

by Margaret Jamison / Photos by Margaret Jamison

Nothing Creepy About the Day of the Dead My European ancestry is so diluted, I hardly relate to any of it. And so I have become a cultural scavenger, borrowing shamelessly from the rest of the world to make up for my own lack of traditions.

For 20 years I lived as a faux Swede, blissfully adopting my mother-in-law’s Scandinavian Christmas customs. I decorated with straw goats and Tomten elves and made potato sausage and braided breads for the family smörgåsbord (while remaining grateful no one was a lutefisk enthusiast).

I have made Santa Lucia costumes and French Bûches de Noël. I have celebrated New Year’s Eve with Venezuelans by running around the house with an empty suitcase; I have made Ukrainian Easter eggs and attended Celtic solstice parties.

And, although I couldn’t be less Hispanic, my prime pilfering these days is from Mexico, particularly around the first of November, when the Days of the Dead begin.

In distinct contrast to the crass commercial extravaganza of American Halloween, in Mexico,

the Days of the Dead are set aside to honor deceased family members of both recent memory and ancestral remove.

It took me a while to understand this custom; after all, its key feature is the head-on look at the one inevitable aspect of life from which we Americans shy away. At first I thought it was morbid and creepy.

Imagine — eating skull-shaped bread, or picnicking all night in the cemetery. Imagine — setting up a display for dead relatives in your home and cooking their favorite foods. And all those skeleton figures, dressed up and doing every mundane activity imaginable – what were those about? They made me laugh; was that appropriate when thinking of death?

American Halloween décor relies on paper skeletons and ghosts and tumbledown graves

in front yards, but this is just theatrics — temporary scenes to scare the neighbor kids.

The Mexican tradition is a real welcoming of departed souls back to Earth for a yearly visit and is firmly grounded in an almost cheerful acceptance of death as the organic part of life it is. The sugar skulls and skeleton figurines that cram the market stalls this time of year are not meant to be spooky; they serve more as humorous reminders of family connections continuing through the ages.

Customs vary from region to region, but the basics remain the same: On Oct. 31 commemorative altars are constructed in homes, and graves are cleaned and elaborately decorated in cemeteries. Millions of marigolds are used each year to guide the dead back home with their bright color: intricate, lacey designs are created Continued on pg. 30 >

Jose Guadalupe Posada’s cyclists.

28 Wall a Wall a Lifest yles

Catrina in green cuts an elegant figure.

66160

Clay skeleton figurines amuse with their depiction of everyday activities.

Wall a Wall a Lifest yles 29

Art at Large

<continued from pg. 28

on tombs from the petals, which are also used to form paths from the graves to the family house, if it’s nearby.

It is believed that the souls of children who have died — los angelitos — come to visit their families on Nov. 1, while the adults come on Nov. 2. Families hold all-night vigils at the graves, singing, eating, telling stories about their departed loved ones, and providing food and drink — and cigarettes and liquor, if that’s what they liked — for the otherworldly guests as well.

Although ostensibly a religious holiday, displays are put up everywhere — in government buildings, museums, public plazas and schools.

Left: Molded and painted heads are baked into Day of the Dead breads, shaped like figures.

Middle: An incense burner for a home Day of the Dead altar. Right: Monarch butterflies migrate The largest Day of the Dead altar in the world is to Mexico near the time of the Days of the Dead. These butterflies are believed to be the souls of created at the Mexico City airport where, in an the departed and are considered a blessing, not to be harmed. urban twist, tribute is paid to some celebrity who has died during the year.

Skulls and skeletons are ancient motifs in Mexico, and also figure in much Christian art. But their prevalence in popular Mexican culture originated in the 19th century, when Jose Guadalupe Posada published his famous engravings that used skeletons to comment on the corrupt dictatorship of Porfirio Diaz. “La Calavera Catrina” (The Elegant Skull) is the skull of a rich lady with a large plumed hat, and is one of the best known of these commentaries on My family altar - or “ofrende”. This is my dad’s side. “the eternal leveler.”

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Local sculptor Victor Trejo fabricates large Day of the Dead skulls; this still-unfinished piece is being painted with ancient Mexican symbols for life and continuity.

102430

Pearls and a feather boa complete Catrina’s fashionable ensemble.

Posada’s satiric engravings were often accompanied by rhyming epitaphs, a custom that is continued today as people tease friends and the famous alike with mocking poems about their lives and eventual deaths.

We don’t see much public display of the Days of the Dead in Walla Walla, despite our town’s substantial Hispanic population. For one thing, many from this community are immigrants and have left their homeland and the places their ancestors come back to visit.

But people do have private altars in their homes, one of my purloined practices. I keep my altar up for the entire month of October, and I know my parents, now both deceased, enjoy the extra attention and the humor of it all.

I’m glad my rootlessness allows me to borrow whatever customs I like, a practice I highly recommend to others who may be traditionally challenged.

Fair warning: I think I may start composing epitaphs this year, as well.

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Margaret Jamison is an artist and writer living in Walla Walla. Contact her at art.jamison@gmail.com.

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fashion

by Elliot LaPlante / photos by Elliot LaPlante

Four Halloween “Looks” and How to Get Them With Halloween on the horizon, many of us are thinking about costumes. What shall we “be” this year?

To spark our imaginations, Lifestyles teamed up with makeup artist Amanda Evans to create fun and easy ideas for Halloween.Whether heading into the salon or creating your own look, be creative and, most of all, have fun.

If you are looking for a bold, dramatic look that stays put all night, consider professional airbrushing. Amanda breaks down her airbrushed looks and outlines how to achieve a similar look at home.

Kitten Step 1: To create a “kitten” mouth, dust the mouth with white eye shadow in the shape of a heart. Second, make whiskers — start at the top of the lip and work down to the chin. Next, add dots below the nose. Finally, blacken the lips.

Step 2: To create a “kitten” nose, draw a black heart shape around the nostrils and fill it in with a black eyeliner pencil.

Step 3: To create the eyes, draw a thick black line starting at the bridge of the nose, up to the eyebrows and extending to the temples. Next, add whiskers to the corners of the eyes and mascara or a set of fake eyelashes.

Green Lantern Step 1: Apply heavy eyeliner all around the eyes. Start with the eyelid and continue out to the ridge of the eye. This can be done with a black eyeliner pencil.

Step 2: Outline the mask. The “Green Lantern” mask stretches from the top of the eyes, out to the ears, and down to the tip of the nose.

Step 3: Fill in the mask. Amanda recommends using a green eye shadow applied with an eye shadow brush to make the shadow go on more evenly.

32 Wall a Wall a Lifest yles

Cheetah Step 1: Use black eye shadow to create “cheetah” spots. These spots should be irregular in shape and can frame the face anyway you like.

Step 2: To create “cat eyes,” apply heavy eyeliner all around the eye, extending the top eyeliner out past the eyelid. Finally, add gold eye shadow.

Joshua Wallace (Green Lantern); Cameron Mark (Kitty); Emilee Hendrickson (Cheetah); Rikki Mark (Smurf).

Contact Amanda Evans • 509-876-2834

Smurf Step 1: Dust the face blue. It’s difficult to achieve a vibrant blue color without airbrush make-up — but try a vivid blue eye shadow applied heavily all over the face and blended down the neck.

Step 2: To do the eyes, add white eye shadow all around the eye. Next, apply eyeliner to the top and bottom eyelids. Finally, draw high, arching eyebrows with a black eyeliner pencil.

Step 3: Add the signature Smurf hat. This is a great costume for a girl or boy.

Wall a Wall a Lifest yles 33

entertainment

by Janna Dotolo / photo by Howard Petrella

An Actress Gives Herself Over Sunny Thompson is Marilyn Monroe in “Marilyn: Forever Blonde” In the one-woman play “Marilyn: Forever Blonde, The Marilyn Monroe Story In Her Own Words And Music,” actress Sunny Thompson portrays a 36-year-old, thrice-divorced Marilyn Monroe who, on what could be the last day of her life, “wonders what it would be like to do it all over again.” The opening scene finds Marilyn posed on a bed, loosely wrapped in white satin sheets, illuminated by the flashbulbs of an invisible photographer, and singing the lyrics to “Kiss,” a song from the 1953 film “Niagara.”

For Greg Thompson, the writer and producer of the play and husband to its leading lady, “Marilyn: Forever Blonde” is an attempt to separate the 20th Century Fox bombshell and Hollywood-goddess persona with her dazzling smile and ditzy personality from the childlike, vulnerable woman who eventually became tormented by a life spent in blinding limelight. The play is meant to humanize the actress and give her a chance to tell her side of the story.

Though Sunny Thompson loved the play when she first read it, she immediately made up her mind that it was a lot of work — for someone else. Happy in her successful performing career, it took several years of convincing from her husband before she would take on the demanding role of Marilyn Monroe.

Thompson: “He nagged and nagged and nagged.

And I just said, ‘I’m not doing that part. I’m just not!’

No woman should be compared to Marilyn Monroe.

I said to him, ‘I’ll try to help you find somebody and God help her, but I’m not doing it.’ Well, I guess I lost that battle.”

After Thompson read a scene from the play for her husband, his reply was simply, “Brilliant, I’ve gotta find you a director.” Following a thorough search, the Thompsons interviewed Stephanie Shine who was, at the time, the artistic director for the Seattle Shakespeare Company.

Because she had conducted so much research in preparation for her own role as Marilyn in Arthur Miller’s “After the Fall,” a play that never opened, Shine brought a wealth of knowledge to the project that other directors simply couldn’t compete with and that ultimately made her the perfect choice. In 2005, Shine and Thompson entered 14 months of intense rehearsal and additional research and became close friends and artistic partners in the process.

On Shine’s contribution to “Marilyn: Forever Blonde,” Thompson says, “It is what it is because she directed it, believe me. I feel tremendously indebted to Steph for the time and dedication and for everything 34 Wall a Wall a Lifest yles

she has invested in our piece. The great thing about her being a Shakespearian director is that she doesn’t walk away from the sex or the grit or the humor. It’s Marilyn’s story — you wouldn’t want it to be sanitized, because then it wouldn’t be real.”

At one of their first meetings, Shine asked Thompson why in heaven’s name the singer, dancer and actress would even want to take on this project. She replied, “To do her justice.”

In her portrayal of Marilyn, Thompson brings to the stage the tremendous insecurity and uncertainty that lingered beneath the polished and powdered façade of the movie star and was only visible when the cameras stopped rolling.

Thompson says, “She was alone in the world; different than lonely — alone. It’s different for most of us: we have families who accept us on our worst days, warts and all. But Marilyn didn’t have that. She had a big career, huge pressures, studio bosses, lawyers, accountants and an expectation from her public that was, I’m sure, beyond her wildest dreams.

to Playing an Icon She was mobbed wherever she went, but she had no place to really go for support — where they’d accept her without her makeup and with all her flaws. And I believe that was really her demise.”

In addition to the sadness and isolation she suffered off-camera, Thompson must also portray the wit and sweet sexuality Monroe projected on-screen, as well as the inner-strength that helped her endure for as long as she did.

But just because Marilyn’s real life was, at times, less entertaining than her films doesn’t mean the play is any less of a good time. Thompson sings portions of 17 songs from Marilyn’s movies, not only for the audience’s delight and enjoyment, but to propel the story.

She also converses with photographers and pivotal characters the audience can hear but can’t see. And because the play operates on a series of flashbacks, one minute she’s Norma Jean, and the next minute she’s Marilyn again.

As Thompson puts it, “There’s a lot of fun to be had on a bumpy road — on this bumpy road.”

Enchanting, captivating, heartbreaking, com-

pelling, humorous and entertaining, “Marilyn: Forever Blonde” is also accessible to all audiences. Thompson attributes the play’s accessibility to the fact that Marilyn didn’t have a demographic: she didn’t care what race or age her audience was.

According to Thompson, “Marilyn was never too good for anybody. I love that about her. She developed her whole character and her whole mystique on what the average guy would like. The play is appealing to first-time theatergoers; it’s very unique in that. But it’s witty enough for seasoned theatergoers, too: it has enough drama, and it has enough highs and lows so they’re satisfied, as well. It really just appeals to everybody.”

Since opening in February 2007 at the Stella Adler Theatre in Hollywood, “Marilyn: Forever Blonde” has toured theaters throughout the Unites States, Canada, New Zealand and England, and has won over a dozen regional theater awards.

Thanks to the “tremendous friendship” shared by Shine and Thompson, Walla Walla gets to experience “Marilyn: Forever Blonde” this month at the Power House Theatre before it travels to New York City for its off-Broadway debut.

Thompson says she has two goals to accomplish while she’s in town: the first is to play Marilyn, and the second is to visit the community and its organizations, educating everybody about the Power House Theatre. She says, “I don’t think there’ll be too much trouble. People seem to be really open and really embracing this.”

Janna Dotolo is a freelance writer who lives in College Place. She can be reached at janna1187@yahoo.com

If you go See “Marilyn: Forever Blonde” at the Power House Theatre, Oct. 15 to Oct. 30.

For tickets, got to www.ShakespeareWallaWalla.com, www.PowerHouseWallaWalla.com or by calling the Power House Theatre box office at (509) 742-0739.

Wall a Wall a Lifest yles 35

Soundworthy

by Janna Dotolo / photos by Greg Lehman

Joe Keown (guitar and lead vocals) Braedyn Bruner (bass guitar and backing vocals) Chris Bigley (guitar); Zach Winterton (drums)

The Volcanic Ten They’re a countrified punk rock power-quartet with vigorous, shuffling licks and riffs; twanged and infectious bass lines; tight, rhythm-mastering percussions; and arresting, manically energetic vocals. They’re the soundtrack to the juke-joint dance, the peanut shell-covered, after-hours pub crawl, the back alley shoot ’em up, the bandana-masked train robbery. They’re a dusty-spurs-and-pistols rock’n’ roll band. They are the Volcanic Ten. They may have the hyperactive, rambunctious stage presence and up-tempo pace of a bunch of anarchistic teenagers, but their spit-shined precision and unrelenting demand for synchronization tattles on their nearly 50 years of combined experience. The Volcanic Ten’s members were all playing music in the Walla Walla Valley and its surrounding areas in their formative years before they converged to create the full-fledged band they make up today.

Joe Keown (guitar and lead vocals): “We were all in different bands that would play shows together. The Underground used to be the only place to play – and we were the only bands that were playing.”

Years later, Keown and Zach Winterton (drums), would play together in a band called 36 Wall a Wall a Lifest yles

The Blast before eventually collaborating on Keown’s solo project, which is where his country and power-pop influences, as well as his unique songwriting style, first developed and matured.

When Winterton and Keown started talking about forming what would eventually become the Volcanic Ten, it was really just a matter of taking the material Keown had already written and turning it into a band.

On his current writing style, Keown says, “It’s fun. It’s raucous, yet sensitive. There’s a lot of cynicism involved, I find. And a lot of sarcasm.

Generally, I write about love.”

“Love lost or new-found love. Or love that’ll never work,” Winterton elaborates.

Braedyn Bruner (bass guitar) adds, “It tells a story. A lot of the songs tell stories.”

“The songs don’t necessarily have to be about something personal,” Keown says. “You can take anything from what you see around you and relate it to this classic country-music style of writing.”

Whether autobiographical or not, it isn’t hard to interpret the meaning behind the lyrics of this Keown original: “Well, I’ll be glad when you don’t live here anymore. Pack your bags. Start walking through that door!”

Though observant, emotionally sincere and unaffected, the lyrics are only one aspect of the Volcanic Ten’s dynamic. The band as a whole relies heavily on the rock-solid foundation of Winterton’s impeccable, human metronome-like drumming; the vibrating, reinforcement bar that is Bruner’s never-a-finger-out-of-place bass

playing; the masonry layering of Chris Bigley and Keown’s shared lead, harmony and rhythm guitar parts; and Keown’s unmatched vigor, charisma and commanding, yet instantly likeable, vocals, which are the mortar between the bricks.

Unlike during their scrappy teenage years, when they were limited to the one under-21 venue in town and had to pound the pavement with fliers to even get people to come to their shows, their longstanding presence in the community and the reputation they’ve earned means word-of-mouth is now enough to get fans out in droves. Even people who haven’t heard the Volcanic Ten perform before will show up at their gigs and say, “Someone told me I had to go and see Joe’s band.”

When the band recently performed a gig at Laht Neppur Ale House – their third time ever playing together as an official band – a couple who was there just to eat dinner and drink some beer ended up staying until the very end of the show.

Keown attributes the local success of the band’s alt-country music to the fact that it’s accessible and spans generations, unlike when they were younger and were playing to a specific audience.

“It’s easier to listen to than the stuff we grew up playing. People are more likely to come watch us now that we’re not a bunch of kids yelling and play-

ing as fast as we possibly can,” Keown says. “I think adults like us more now that we’re getting older.”

Even with the maturity of sound and skill that their combined experience has lent, there’s still a hunger about this band. A vital, compelling hunger that’s been around since each of them first started playing music. When they aren’t performing live, they’re eating, sleeping and breathing music — whether it’s working in a record store, running a recording studio, managing a label, teaching drum lessons to 6-year-olds or jamming and performing with other local bands. They’ve already cut their teeth as performing musicians; now they’re giving back to the Walla Walla community. Other local bands know their names, and the younger generations aspire to reach their level.

“Joe was in the older bands when I was first getting into music; he sort of grandfathered the rest of us, Bruner says. And now, I feel like the scene is trying to revive itself. There are a lot more bands in town. It’s cool to be veterans of the Walla Walla music scene.”

Janna Dotolo is a freelance writer and livemusic aficionado who lives in College Place.

She can be reached at janna1187@yahoo.com.

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people

by Margaret Jamison / photos by Margaret Jamison

The Free Wheelin’ Charles Stanger Wandering around Charles Stanger’s rambling property on Sapolil Road, it is hard to imagine it thronged by hundreds of partygoers, as it is two nights a year.

Photo courtesy of Charles Stanger.

The Blue Mountains provide the backdrop for Stanger’s property on Sapolil Road.

38 Wall a Wall a Lifest yles

The barns are quiet and dark and filled with a jumble of unrelated objects. The converted oildrum corn roaster sits like a discarded piece of junk among the weeds. The expanse of lawn is unoccupied by people or cars, providing an unobstructed view of the Blue Mountains, the fire pit is black with the remains of last year’s bonfire, and the sound effects are provided by the sprinkler system.

And yet, word has it that in late August and October people come in droves to party with food and music, and even costume.

“One day, a man came down the road with his dogs, wondering if he could hunt on my land,” says Stanger. “I said, ‘Sure, and, by the way, we’re having a Halloween party here tonight if you’d like to come.’ The guy said, thanks, but he’d come down from Spokane to attend a big barn party his friends had told him about. Turns out, it was my party.”

In addition to his Halloween gala — a costume affair with no guest list — Stanger started throwing a corn roast in late August nine years ago. On hiatus this year because of a conflicting event, it drew people

to enjoy the last summer Saturday before Labor Day with a potluck dinner and live music. Last year he cooked 1,500 ears of corn.

“Cadillac Smith happened to bring his guitar the first year, and we stayed up late jamming.

Now we have four or five bands, and the last jam can go on for hours. One year, a guy’s hands were bleeding by the end, he’d played for so long.”

If his property is unprepossessing between parties, Stanger himself is another surprise. The thrower of these celebrated get-togethers was not the expected aging hippie; quite the contrary.

Trim, handsome and neat as a pin, he might have just exchanged an Ermenegildo Zegna pinstripe suit for his bike shirt and shorts in a corporate fitness center.

And he’s much more than a legendary party host.

Longtime vice president of the Walla Walla Blues Society, Stanger says blues is the only music that’s been played extensively in this area “besides tired, old rock.” He started going to blues festivals around the region and became involved in the Blues Society with the first open-mic nights at the long-gone The Turf in downtown Walla Walla.

“Interest in open-mic nights goes through phases,” he says. “Crowd size varies, and some nights I was the only one in the audience. I made a commitment always to be there for the musicians, always to encourage, always to be a positive force.”

He adds, “I’m not a musician, just a professional

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Wall a Wall a Lifest yles 39

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Halloween can be chilly but guests who feel the cold can cozy up to one of the fire pits.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Popeyeâ&#x20AC;? shuttles supplies between house and barn at the Halloween costume party.

40 Wall a Wall a Lifest yles

His bicycle-building enterprise requires precision design and fabrication.

people

<continued from pg. 39

listener, and what I like about listening to the blues is that it allows you to drift, to relax your mind.

And when you relax, you can think; you can go places with nothing holding you back.”

It is Stanger’s passion for bicycling, however, that perhaps has the most profound effect on the Walla Walla community. A veteran bike racer, he has begun to build bicycles in his shop and includes a cyclo-cross race on his property as part of his Halloween festivities. He organizes the Ann Wetherill Cycling Classic and, this year, also put together the bicycle event of the YMCA’s Senior Games on Memorial Day weekend.

Stanger is also club manager of the Wheatland Wheelers Cycling Club and now organizes the club’s Ice Cream Social Rides, one of his own ideas.

“I wanted the club to sponsor something fun for cyclists of all ability levels. We have a route for beginners and families, a longer ride for more experienced bikers, and a training ride for serious athletes. We ride twice a month from May through August and can have up to 100 people in a day.

When we’re done, we all meet back at Pioneer Park for ice cream from Klicker’s. It really brings people out of their shells.”

For his dedication, the Wheelers have dubbed him a Wheatland Wheeler Warrior and presented him with a T-shirt that says, “If you can read the back of this shirt, you’ve just been passed by a Stanger.” It was presented in a custom package with a label that reads, in part: “Ingredients for a Wheatland Wheeler Warrior — a big heart, enthusiasm about encouraging, mentoring and inspiring people to ride bikes and be healthy, truckloads of patience, a killer sense of humor, more strength and determination than the law should allow, swagger, style and last, but not least, always a big smile and friendly ‘Hello!’”

Seems like a fitting tribute to a man who says, “If you’re not making someone else’s life better, what’s the point?”

Bikes are the main decor motif inside the barn and out.

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Margaret Jamison is an artist and writer living in Walla Walla. Contact her at art.jamison@gmail.com.

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new digs

by Karlene Ponti

/ photos by Greg Lehman

Looking Forward: From 1955 In the fall of 2005, John and Dione Youtz of 1236 Forrest Lane took a drive through their old neighborhood and noticed a “For Sale” sign in front of a home they had always admired. They knew it was right the moment they saw the sign. Right neighborhood, right time to move back home and definitely the right house.

“We’d always loved this house,” Dione says.

The structure is sturdy, practical and avant garde, with innovative lighting, lots of storage and magnificent large windows.

The home was built in 1955 for Ray and Violet Forrest by architectural designer Vernon McFall. The contractor was George Frank.

John and Dione made some updates but kept the 5,000-square-foot, three-bedroom home much the same.

In the kitchen they loved the birch cupboards made by Whitehouse-Crawford, so “we just built everything around them,” she says. She loves the artistry it took to match the wood grain in the cupboards and in other woodwork throughout the home.

All the updates coordinate with the lightcolored cupboards, new tile, appliances and formica countertops — she didn’t want granite.

They even pulled up the existing carpet to put in light-colored floors.

A cordial sign over the stove proclaims, “Many

have eaten here, few have died.” The room is light and cheery, a nice atmosphere for family and guests sitting down to dinner.

John and Dione love the overall design of the home, very innovative in 1955. “Designer Vernon McFall was wonderful,” she says.

The large home consists of two floors, the main floor and full basement. It has no attic, the ceiling is the roof. The huge pitch to the structure gives the main floor impressive spaciousness, with exposed beams and cathedral ceiling.

Adding to the spectacular open space in the great room are two walls of windows that join at the corner, giving a view of the lawn and garden.

A glance through the large windows shows the expanse of lawn, trees and garden sanctuary.

The great room and their more casual living room — “our crash room” — share a wall and a fireplace. All the rooms are spacious and have plenty of light everywhere. Longer eves on the home help shade and shelter it from weather.

Dione marvels at the woodwork, birch in the

kitchen and mahogany in the entryway.

“Lots of fun, neat things built into this house,” she says.

The woodwork includes clever types of storage, an assortment of built-ins, shelves and cabinets as well as a hiding place for storing a card table. It has interesting things you don’t usually find, such as a sink in the bedroom. There is also colorful glass tile in the bathrooms and many ultra-modern features.

“It was very innovative for 1955, you open up the door to a storage room and automatically the light goes on,” she says.

There’s also a large stairway into the basement, with wide stairs for safety and comfort.

The basement opens up into a large rec room and office space. There is also a spare bedroom and lots more storage.

The home was designed with a basement cold room for storing canned goods. The basement still has the door to the former greenhouse they’ve converted into the hot tub area.

Continued on pg. 44 >

42 Wall a Wall a Lifest yles

Top: The house is nestled into the large garden at 1236 Forrest Lane. Left: The patio provides a nice place to relax. Right: The living room has huge windows, providing natural light and a sweeping view of the lawn and garden. Bottom: A pond adds to the beauty of the garden.

Wall a Wall a Lifest yles 43

new digs

<continued from pg. 42

From there you can Step into the Secret Garden The home sits on nearly an acre so there’s plenty of room to grow flowers, vegetables and to entertain guests.

The lawn flows gracefully toward the different focal points, pathways to natural privacy areas. Trees here and there provide shade, color spots are formed by mounds of flowers, large rocks and there are even his and her vegetable gardens.

The lawn slopes down into two distinct levels. It’s difficult to tell, but the garden has been simplified.

“I haven’t put in nearly the amount of flowers this year,” she says. It’s a combination of the prolonged cold weather and just wanting to scale back a bit. However, many varieties of flowers still brighten the area.

Top: The patio was expanded to provide more room for socializing and outdoor living. Right: Petunias provide bright color spots in the garden. Far Right: The garden is reflected in the expanse of windows. Bottom: In the garden on Forrest Lane you can stop for a moment, sit and relax while you collect your thoughts.

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october

Oct. 1 Oct. 2 Historic Dayton shines with a tour of some The AAUW Walla Walla Valley Kitchen Tour of its many historic buildings. Details: shows off some of the area’s most beautiful kitchens. The self‑guided tour showcases 800‑882‑6299. kitchens in remodeled homes. Kitchens are The Blue Mountain Artists Guild in Dayton sets open for touring from noon to 5 p.m., particiup a new exhibit of work at the Dayton Public pants begin the tour by picking up tour maps Library. Details: 509‑382‑1964. and booklets at Jacobi’s Cafe, 416 N. Second DeSales Catholic High School’s annual Sau- Ave. The $20 tickets are available at Earthlight Books and Bright’s Candies. Details: sage Fest. Details: 509‑525‑3030.

509‑525‑1104 or 805‑459‑7324.

Oct. 1 The Wildfire Sports Bar hosts Dance Maxx. Every Sunday through Oct. 31, Wildhorse Resort & Casino, Pendleton. Details: Living History Interpreters portray a variety of characters from Walla Walla’s past. 2 p.m., Fort 800-654-9453.

Walla Walla Museum. Details: 509‑525‑7703.

Oct. 1‑2, 7‑8 The Little Theatre of Walla Walla presents the Oct. 5 Neil Simon comedy “God’s Favorite.” This There’s a wine tasting the first Wednesday play is set in a Long Island mansion where a of each month, Plateau Restaurant at Wildmessenger from God makes a visit. Details: horse Resort & Casino, Pendleton. Details: 800‑654‑9453.

509‑529‑3683.

Oct. 2‑3 Walla Walla Drag Strip hosts more the Season Championship on Oct. 2 and King of the Track on Oct. 3. Details: 509‑200‑6287 or visit wwDragStrip.com.

Enjoy music every Wednesday at Walla Walla Wine Works. 7‑9 p.m. Details: 509‑522‑1261.

Through Oct. 9 New exhibit: American Cowgirls! Learn about the women of the West, the women who ranched, farmed and starred in the rodeos.

Támastslikt Cultural Institute, Pendleton. Call 541‑966‑9748.

Oct. 6 Every Thursday you can taste wine at Walla Walla’s Harvest Foods. 3:30‑6:30 p.m., 905 S. Second Ave. Details: 509‑525‑7900.

Each weekend, through Oct. 30, shop the Walla Walla Farmers Market.

Free concerts and fresh local produce.

9 a.m.‑1 p.m., Crawford Park. Details: 509‑520‑3647.

Oct. 8 Antiques are on display at the 2011 Fall Antiques Show & Sale, in the Historic Pavilion at the Walla Walla County Fairgrounds. Details: 509‑585‑2301.

Walla Walla Symphony Saturday Soiree with Haroutune Bedelain, violinist, and Lorna Griffitt, pianist. St. Paul’s Episcopal Church. Details: 509‑529‑8020.

Oct. 6 The First Thursday Concert features Ann Renee Joseph, soprano. 12:15 p.m., St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 323 Catherine St. Details: 509-529-1083.

Oct. 8‑9 The Italian Heritage Days Festa, sponsored by the Italian Heritage Association, includes historic exhibits, music, costumes, great food, contests and famous grape stomp. Walla Walla County Fairgrounds. Details: 509‑529‑9418.

Oct. 11 The Walla Walla Symphony presents “Brahms Festival.” The evening includes “Academic Festival Overture,” “Symphony No 2 in D Major, Op 73” and more. 7:30 p.m., Cordiner Hall, Whitman College. Details: 509‑529‑8020.

Oct. 13 Every Wednesday there’s an open mic Mon- The Book & Game Company hosts Judy Bentkey Jam at the Red Monkey Lounge. Details: ley, author of “Hiking Washington’s History.”

509‑522‑3865.

7-8:30 p.m. Details: 509-529-9963.

Oct. 14 Every second Friday, check out the acoustic jam session at Skye Book & Brew. 7 p.m., 148 E. Main St., Dayton. Details: 509‑382‑4677.

Open Mic every Thursday at Walla Walla Vil- Whitman College Department of Music preslage Winery. Details: 509‑525‑9463. ents the Fall Composers Concert. The evening Through Oct. 31 features new works by current Whitman comVenture into the Corn Maze and find your way. Oct. 7 position students.

Performances by students Thursday‑Sunday, 853 Five Mile Road. Details: Join the First Friday ArtWalk, a self‑guided and faculty.

7:30 p.m., Chism, Whitman Coltour of local galleries. Go for a walk and 509‑525‑4798. lege.

Details: 509‑527‑5232. visit with the artists. 5 ‑ 8 p.m. Details: Oct. 1 artwalkwallawalla.com.

Oct. 14‑15 Walla Walla University presents an organ recitThe Sweet Adelines Annual Show. 7:30 p.m., First Free Friday, free admission every first Frial by Kraig Scott, 6 p.m., Walla Walla University Performing Arts Center, Walla Walla CommuniChurch, College Place. Details: 509‑527‑2656. day at Tamastslikt Cultural Institute, Pendleton. ty College. “They Write the Songs” ... a tribute Details: 541‑966‑9748.

Oct. 1 to the composers of the songs we love to sing!

The annual tour of some of Dayton’s historic Sapolil Cellars hosts live music every weekend. Gershwin, Lennon and McCartney, Rodgers & 15 E. Main St. Details: 509‑520‑5258. buildings. Details: 509‑382‑2026.

Hammerstein, Kander & Ebb, Leonard Cohen, Taylor Swift. Details: 509‑526‑0499.

Every weekend there’s music at the Backstage Oct. 1 to end of the year Bistro. Details: 509‑526‑0690.

The Dayton Historic Depot hosts the “ColumOct.15-30 bia County Art Show,” through the end of the Enjoy music Friday and Saturday nights at Shakespeare Walla Walla hosts “Marilyn: Foryear. The exhibit features the work of many the Wildfire Sports Bar, Wildhorse Resort & ever Blonde.” Powerhouse Theater. Details: area artists. Details: 509‑382‑2026.

Casino. Pendleton. Details: 1‑800‑654‑9453. 509-742-0739.

46 Wall a Wall a Lifest yles

Oct. 16 Walla Walla University Faculty Piano Recital with Leonard Richter. 7:30 p.m., Fine Arts Auditorium, Walla Walla University. Details: 509‑527‑2561.

where in walla walla?

Oct. 21 Whitman College Music Department presents the Sampler Concert. 7 p.m., Cordiner Hall. Details: 509‑527‑5232.

Oct. 20‑23 “The Skin of Our Teeth” entertains at Harper Joy Theatre, Whitman College. Details: 509‑527‑5180.

Oct. 20‑Jan. 31 Honoring Our Veterans. A nearly full‑size replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial opens the exhibit Oct. 20‑23. The exhibit continues with photos, memorabilia and events. Tamastslikt Cultural Institute. Details: 541‑966‑9748.

Oct. 22 The Fall Furr Ball, annual fundraiser for the Blue Mountain Humane Society. This fundraiser includes dinner, a live and silent auction and dancing. 6 p.m., social hour, Walla Walla County Fairgrounds, Historic Pavilion. Details: 509‑529‑5188.

Oct. 23 The Walla Walla Choral Society performs “Bon Voyage,” a musical tour of international folk songs. 3 p.m., Walla Walla University, Fine Arts Center Auditorium. Details: 509‑386‑2445.

Oct. 28‑30 Walla Walla University Family Weekend. Students’ families and friends are invited to campus. Details: 509‑527‑2656.

Oct. 29 The annual Whispered Memories Psychic Tea. Kirkman House Museum. Details: 509‑529‑4373.

Oct. 30 A special Halloween family event, 1‑4 p.m., Kirkman House Museum. Details: 509‑529‑4373.

Walla Walla Bands Concert Spooktacular, 3 p.m., Walla Walla Community College Performing Arts Center. Details: wwvalleybands.org.

Oct. 31 Little costumed trick‑or‑treaters visit merchants during the Downtown Walla Walla Trick or Treat.

3‑5 p.m. Details: 509‑529‑8755.

The YMCA Spooktacular offers plenty of games and treats. Free. Details: 509‑525‑8863.

Clue This sign marks the site of the eponymous local music festival. Woodstick is now defunct, unfortunately, but it did have 12 good years. Name the location of the festival and just for the heck of it, name the man who started it.

Last month’s clue On the way to Camp Kiwaniis, one may spot this old barn adrift in a field of readyto-harvest wheat. Name the road.

Answer Mill Creek Road

Last month’s winners Beflo Sapp Shawna Morgan Alice Goulet Mary Jensen Catherine Fullen

Hannah Bach Marty Nyman Steve Doak Michael Ruble Claudia Ford

Contest rules If you have the answer, e-mail it to rickdoyle@wwub.com, or send it to: Where in Walla Walla?, 112 S. First Ave., P.O. Box 1358, Walla Walla, WA 99362. The names of 10 people with correct answers will be randomly selected, and they will receive this great-looking mug as proof of their local knowledge and good taste.

Wall a Wall a Lifest yles 47

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