Almanac
Saucy Story Shhh. Their recipe contains more than 20 ingredients, and it’s a secret. An Italian vegetable sauce called Mama Nano’s Caponata made its debut in 2001 at the Kelso Farmer’s Market, and it is produced these days in Longview. A woman known affectionately as Mama Nano invented the recipe decades ago in Idaho, and the family eventually brought the spicy sauce to Washington. Some of the ingredients are tomatoes, celery, cauliflower, mushrooms, green beans, carrots, onions, garlic, cucumbers and jalapeno peppers. The product is available through the company’s Web site as well as several retail stores throughout Washington, Oregon, Montana and Alaska.
See It To Believe It There are plenty of oohs and aahs uttered by the more than 500,000 tourists who visit Mount St. Helens each year. Several visitor centers are perched along roadways leading to the renowned volcano, and tourists can hike, bike, fish and camp in the rugged landscape surrounding the mountain. Some of the best roadways leading to Mount St. Helens are in Cowlitz County, including the Spirit Lake Memorial Highway (State Route 504). Cowlitz County is also home to the Lewis River Highway (State Route 503), which allows views of three lakes and access to Ape Cave and Lava Canyon, which are situated along the south side of the mountain.
COWLITZ CO U NT Y
The Merk Perks Up A landmark of the Roaring ’20s is alive and well in the 21st century. In 1923, the Long-Bell Lumber Co. constructed The Columbia River Mercantile Building, and its current owners have restored the structure to its original appearance. Nowadays the 70,000-square-foot downtown building at the corner of Commerce and Broadway is home to several retail shops and a café, and its architecture still garners much attention. The design of the building that is affectionately known as “The Merk” includes white terra cotta and mezzanine windows, plus interior wall murals and historic photos that offer a peek into the 1920s process of constructing the planned city of Longview.
I M AG E S C O W L I T Z C O U N T Y. C O M
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