CRREADER.COM Vol. XVII, No. 187 • March15, 2021 • COMPLIMENTARY Helping you discover and enjoy the good life in the Columbia River region at home and on the road
HYGGE-LIGHT UP YOUR LIFE!
EASTER & THE EGG
People+ Place
Super-Woman! Erin Hart’s Magic School Bus
page 26
COLUMBIA RIVER
dining guide
COLUMBIA RIVER READER COLLECTORS CLUB
LEWIS AND CLARK REVOLUTIONIZED
• COMPLIMENTARY 176 • March 15 – April 15, 2020 CRREADER.COM • Vol. XVI, No. road River region at home and on the the good life in the Columbia
Helping you discover and enjoy
What really — truly — happened during those final wind-blown, rain-soaked thirty days of the Lewis and Clark Expedition’s trek to the Pacific? Southwest Washington author and explorer Rex Ziak revolutionized historical scholarship by providing the answers: day by day and week by week. We’re delighted to offer In Full View, and Rex’s other two books, one with an extraordinary fold-out map, as our inaugural offerings from CRR Collectors Club.
MOSS IN YOUR LAWN? What to do page 15
ONE RIVER, MANY VOICES WASHINGTON’S POET LAUREATE COMES TO WAHKIAKUM COUNTY page 14
People+Place
Cutting Edge The art of the woodcut
page 19
page 28
COLUMBIA RIVER
dining guide
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IN FULL VIEW Rex Ziak
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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.
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Field Guide to the Lower Columbia River in Poems and Pictures By Robert Michael Pyle and Judy VanderMaten. Boxed Signature Edition, Color and BW $50 / Trade paperback $25 “It’s a different way of seeing.” A one-of-a-kind Field Guide to the lower Columbia, in poems and pictures. Now available from Columbia River Reader Press in two editions.
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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.
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DOWN AND UP Rex Ziak $18.95 A unique fold-out guide mapping dayby-day Lewis and Clark’s journey from the Rockies to the Pacific Ocean and back.
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n the day after my second Covid dose — oh dear, t h e r e ’s a d e m o g r a p h i c giveaway — I stayed home in bed. I’d been forewarned I might feel more pronounced side effects than with the first shot, and it wasn’t all THAT bad. But I cashed in anyway on the rare opportunity to cozy up and reflect on the season.
Sue’s Views
With vaccinations available, are you noticing a lightening up of mood? Can the gloom and doom dogging us for these last, long months actually be lifting? Or perhaps it’s simply lengthening days, brave daffodils pushing up, and more light. In short: Spring. But not just yet. We’re conditioned also, as Northwesterners, for our seasonally-adjusted false hopes and early calls on all the seasons which finally, in their own time, arrive. Since it’s still winter, officially, Melanie Evans encourages us to keep cultivating coziness indoors in “How to Hygge-light up your Life” (page 11). Making the most of my lounge day (the self-employed wistfully said good-bye to “sick days” eons ago) I enjoyed watching one of my all-time favorite movies, “Julie and Julia,” a woman taking a year to whisk her way through Julia Child’s Mastering the Art Publisher/Editor: Susan P. Piper Columnists and contributors: Tracy Beard Hal Calbom Alice Dietz Melanee Evans Joseph Govednik Rena Langille Jim LeMonds Michael Perry Ned Piper Robert Michael Pyle Alan Rose Alice Slusher Greg Smith Paul Thompson Debra Tweedy Technical Advisor: Perry E. Piper Editorial/Proofreading Assistants: Merrilee Bauman, Michael Perry, Marilyn Perry, Tiffany Dickinson,
The waning winter, comfort food, and good books of French Cooking. I recollected Boeuf Bourguignon, and tantalized, resolved to prepare it — the ultimate comfort food — soon, while chilly conditions still allow us to call it comfort food. A similar psychological effect — but faster to assemble — results from
Potatoes Melva, an original recipe from Hump’s Restaurant in Clatskanie which Paul Thompson divulges in his Man in the Kitchen Classics column (page 27). And, musing further, thanks to all who have shown interest in, purchased, or helped sell CRRPress books which emerged despite the pandemic shutdown, namely The Tidewater Reach: Field Guide to the Lower Columbia River in Poems and Pictures, by Robert Michael Pyle and Judy VanderMaten; and Dispatches from the Discovery Trail: A Layman’s Lewis and Clark, by Michael Perry. We continue to be grateful and amazed at the wonderful reception and rave publicity the books are receiving — from regional newspapers …The Wahkiakum Eagle, The (Longview) Daily News, Hipfish Monthly, The Columbian (Vancouver) — which triggered a big sales bonanza at Vintage Books), and recently The Astorian (too soon to gauge resulting sales, but our books are in four locations at the Mouth of the Columbia, listed
Photo by Hal Calbom. Columbia River Reader is published monthly, with 15,000 copies distributed in the Lower Columbia region. Entire contents copyrighted by Columbia River Reader. No reproduction of any kind allowed without express written permission of the publisher. Opinions expressed herein, whether in editorial content or paid ad space, belong to the writers and advertisers, are not necessarily shared or endorsed by the Reader.
This is all very good news, but the larger message to me is that people DO still read newspapers, they ARE interested in local authors and Pacific Northwest topics, and they DO still like to hold a book in their hands. Lovers of ink on paper, take heart! Best wishes for an enjoyable final few weeks of winter, and let’s all join in looking forward to a bright spring, and soon being able to satisfy our collective, pent-up desire for social interaction, friendly gatherings, and dining out! Meanwhile, curl up with a good book (hint: see page 2), and continue to cook at home. Call it a Lounge Day.
Bon appetit!
Sue Piper
Columbia River Reader . . . helping you discover and enjoy the good life in the Columbia River region at home and on the road.
In this Issue
ON THE COVER Erin Hart, Superintndent of Three Rivers Christian School at the elementary campus, Pacific Way and Ocean Beach Highway, Longview.
with our other book partners, page 35). Virtual reading events hosted by Northwest Voices (presented by the Longview Public Library) and WordFest have boosted online sales, too. And soon, the ultimate pandemic relief, we may trot out our wonderful authors LIVE in real “events” — remember those?
2
CRR Collectors Club
4
Letters to the Editor
5
Civilized Living: Miss Manners
7
Dispatch from the Discovery Trail ~ Politics and Destiny
11
My Slant/Lifestyles: Cozy at Home; Hygge-light up your Life
12
Provisions along the Bunny Trail
13
Out & About with Tracy Beard: Easter and the Egg!
14
Biz Buzz
15
Museum Magic: Road Trip to Skamokawa
16
Quips & Quotes
17-20 People + Place ~ Super-Intendent-Woman: Erin Hart
Submission guidelines: page 31.
21
Northwest Gardening ~ Arborist Wood Chips
General Ad info: page 14
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The Natural World ~ In the Eyes of ...
26
Lower Columbia Dining Guide
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Man in the Kitchen Classics: Potatoes Melva
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Besides CRR, What Are You Reading?
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Cover to Cover ~ Book Review / Bestsellers List
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Columbia River Reader / March 15, 2021 / 3
Letters to the Editor: A Haiku LoveFest! A HaikuFest Keepsake Shrine? The lovely certificate and Gary Meyers’s thoughtful note arrived yesterday. What a kind and creative thing to do! I appreciate your keeping this HaikuFest going each year, and for the keepsakes you send to the winners. I have a place where I display mine, and they make me smile. May all be well with you. Tami Tack Rainier, Ore
Appreciates HaikuFest Just picked up our copy of the Columbia River Reader and oh, how thrilled I was to see my Haiku mentioned. Thanks for the second chance when I didn’t get the theme correct the first time. Thank you to all who took the time to honor each submission. Subsequent message: Such an unexpected but delightful surprise was found in our mailbox today. You folks know how to celebrate. I’ll treasure my certificate. Gail Hicks Clatskanie, Ore.
His mom will be proud! I got a copy of the Reader and received the certificate in the mail yesterday. So funny! Thanks so much — my mom will be proud! Dan D’Amario Scappoose, Ore.
Kelso, Wash. resident Alicia Shepard’s haiku contained a typo as published last month, with “Makes” instead of “Masks.” We regret the error. The corrected version: Rhinestone, leopard, plaid, Camo, cartoon, basic black Masks now high fashion
Nice surprise Well, that was certainly a nice surprise to come home to, thank you! (I have been diving in Mexico with the whales and sea lions!) What a great job with all the certificates and all. So nice of you to brighten our day with this. Thank you, Gary Meyers! Your
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Entering your contest reminded me to pay attention to the subtle, but very important flow of life around me. Writing poetry and songs focuses my attention on these things, and increases the effect of them on my awareness.
Gail Hicks with her “delightful surprise” from Gary Meyers, CRR’s HaikuFest Founder and Chief Judge.
HaikuFest CORRECTION
Columbia River Reader is printed with environmentally-sensitive soybased inks on paper manufactured in the Pacific Northwest utilizing the highest percentage of “post-consumer waste” recycled content available on the market.
1) All Plastics accepted ONLY through LONGVIEW’S Curbside Program
Reminders
Kathryn Kelly Scappoose, Ore
Lightning-swift certificate Just a quick word from our sunbathed Rodez to let you know that I received a beautifully-crafted certificate in honour of my piece on the pandemic. I love it! It came swifter than lightning! Thanks again for the tremendous job Gary and the CRR team continue to do to promote the spread of this great genre! I’ll take immense pleasure in exhibiting it on Facebook! Until next year again, hopefully under better conditions. Take good care of you and yours and stay safe! Aloha! Keith Simmonds Rodez, France
2) Glass containers DIRECTLY to Waste Control Recycling
A Haiku that I wrote about the writing of a Haiku: Words fly through my head A Kaleidoscope image Letters on the page. Again, thanks for the recognition, and helping to supply the inspiration to continue to express myself with poetry. Jim Tejcka Woodland, Wash. Editor’s note: HaikuFest founder and chief judge Gary Meyers takes great care handling submissions every year, graciously advising entrants when their syllable count or other details are not just right. The HaikuFest was his brainchild and he has lovingly shepherded its development over the years. We appreciate Gary and the creative spirit, organizational skill and FUN he adds to CRR.
Unacceptable Soiled items such as pizza boxes and paper towels, Styrofoam or milk car tons (with a wax-type coating)
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My inspiration to write Haiku poetry started with a little book I found titled Japanese Haiku, published by Peter Pauper Press, copyright 1955-1956, $1.25. It contains 220 Haiku poems by Basho, Buson, Issa, Shiki, Sokan, Kikaku, and others, translated by Peter Beilenson. It is usually on my coffee table, and I often pick it up and see what poem(s) apply to today’s feelings.
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Paying attention to the subtle I want to say thank you to Gary Meyers for choosing my words and thoughts for HaikuFest. Being chosen for the Judges’ Favorite adds another level of appreciation that I am enjoying. Storm seas are definitively tossing our boat, and not just because of this virus.... not having a positive outlook and living with fear is not conducive to the welfare of the human spirit. Let us hope that change and healing is indeed on the way, and that the shore will soon be in view.
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Civilized Living
Whatever to do? By Judith Martin, Nicholas Ivor Martin and Jacobina Martin
DEAR MISS MANNERS: When a couple got married, she decided to hyphenate her maiden name and her husband’s last name. Is it proper for the husband also to hyphenate his last name by taking
Fake news, exhausting birthday rituals, kids in a condo, accidental starkers sighting
her maiden name, i.e. her maiden/ his last? Would this be legal on important papers? People are doing some strange things these days, and I can’t keep up.
GENTLE READER: Don’t even try. Recognizing the limitations of the 19th-century terms, “Mr. and Mrs.,” and delighted to see the return of the 16th-century term Ms., etiquette recklessly decreed that every lady could decide for herself; and, although it less often comes up, every gentlemen can decide his own name. That makes work for others, memorizing each individual’s preference, but Miss Manners thought people would be happy having the choice. No such luck. They want to enforce their choices on others, and they take insult when someone fails to remember their particular choice. DEAR MISS MANNERS: Why do you call your readers “gentle”? GENTLE READER: In the hope that they will become so. DEAR MISS MANNERS: My mom has succumbed to fake news. She frequently shares outlandish information with me that she is passing off as fact. Sure enough, when I look it up, it is usually related to some sort of internet hoax or misinformation. I think she’s spending way too much time on social media, and I feel concerned for her.
AGENT SPOTLIGHT ~
M
How can I politely handle this? I have tried letting some pieces of “data” pass by, and actually challenging only a fraction of the claims she makes, or by selecting only the most serious or concerning (e.g., those related to inaccurate reasons not to get the coronavirus vaccine). In these instances, I will verbally note confusion about the statement she made, then send her a link to a reliable website that debunks the theory. But I also imagine that could get annoying for her. Any recommendations? GENTLE READER: Good-naturedly strike a deal: “I’ll stop sending you corrections when you stop sending me inaccuracies.” DEAR MISS MANNERS: How should an immediate family celebrate birthdays as spouses and grandchildren enter the picture? We have a history of scheduling a celebration for every single birthday, moving it from the day-of to weekends or to whenever everyone can come. With parents, six adult kids, spouses and now grandchildren, this has become exhausting. How does one gracefully change the tempo? And what (if anything) should it be changed to? cont page 10
Meet Jake Johnson!
oving to Cowlitz County in 2014, Jake immediately knew that this would be his home. He began working in the service industry and realized that he loves serving the people here in Cowlitz County. Jake was looking for a career that would allow him to continue serving his neighbors every day. Real estate is his calling! Jake is all smiles now, knowing that the impact of his services are helping families get into the homes of their
dreams, as well as assisting residents with reaching their property goals. We asked Jake what is the #1 reason he chose to become a real estate agent. “It has become increasingly important to live where you love and to love where you live.” he said. “I know that my value is best displayed when I am assisting the community find their love, their home.” We are excited for Jake to grow into his new position, because we believe he will be one of the best assets to Cowlitz County residents. If you are looking to buy or sell, connect with Jake Johnson!
360-644-7505 • jjohnson@windermere.com Kelso/Longview • 360-636-4663 209 W. Main St, Suite 200 • Kelso, WA
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Lewis & Clark
Politics and Destiny
M
any CRR readers are frustrated with today’s political gridlock and the “do-nothing” Congress in Washington D.C. It seems like it has been impossible to get politicians to work together for America’s future over the last couple of decades. So it was illuminating to me as I read the history books to realize modern America’s impression of our early Presidents and Congressional leaders might best be described as looking through rose colored glasses! Our “heroes,” like George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, etc., weren’t always viewed as favorably as they are today. America’s first two political parties were beginning to take shape by the 1800 Presidential election. America’s second President, John Adams, was a Federalist who narrowly defeated Thomas Jefferson (the DemocraticRepublican candidate) in the 1796 election — resulting in Jefferson being Adams’s vice president. Prior to 1804, the Presidential candidate who received the second-most Electoral College votes became vice president. For the 1800 election, Jefferson and Aaron Burr each received 73 electoral votes, so the House of Representatives had to decide which man would become President. After 35 ballots, the vote was still tied. Finally, Alexander Hamilton, America’s first Secretary of the Treasury and a well respected
Michael Perry enjoys local history and travel. His popular 33-installment Lewis & Clark series appeared in CRR’s early years and began its second “encore” appearance in April 2018. It has been expanded and published as a book: Dispatches from the Discovery Trail: A Layman’s Lewis & Clark.
Lewis & Clark Encore We are pleased to present
Installment #33 of Michael Federalist party Perry’s popular 33-month leader who hated series which began with CRR’s Aaron Burr April 15, 2004 inaugural issue. more than he “Dispatch from the Discovery despised Thomas Trail” helped define and Jefferson, shape Columbia River Reader convinced a few in its early years during the Federalists to Bicentennial Commemoration switch their vote of the Lewis and Clark and Jefferson Expedition. Each installment became President covered their travels during the corresponding month 200 and Burr became years prior. We are repeating vice president. the series for the enjoyment of If Hamilton both longtime and more recent Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826), by Charles Willson Peale hadn’t done readers. that, it is quite possible Aaron Burr would have been President, and Jefferson’s dream of expanding the United … Jefferson believed … States might never have come to be. For that reason, we should probably consider Without the vision and curiosity of the third President, Thomas Alexander Hamilton to be just as Jefferson, Lewis, Clark and the Expedition would not exist. important as Thomas Jefferson in the Jefferson had been interested in the lands west of the Corps of Discovery.
Like Father, Like Son
Burr was furious at what Hamilton had done, and in 1804, while still vice president, Burr shot and killed Hamilton in a duel! Surprisingly, Burr was not charged for the illegal duel, but he was charged with treason in 1807. Interestingly, Hamilton’s 19-year-old son had been killed in the same manner in 1801.
Appalachians and Mississippi since the 1780s, having spent time in Europe as U.S. Ambassador to France. Many historians think Jefferson was profoundly influenced by Captain James Cook’s “A Voyage to the Pacific Ocean,” published in London in 1784.
A hidden agenda?
Thomas Jefferson was able to fulfill his vision of expanding the United States. The 1803 Louisiana Purchase actually occurred a year after Jefferson created the Corps of Discovery. I always assumed Jefferson and Congress were extraordinary visionaries to be willing to explore the western lands and expand the country just 25 years after the Declaration of Independence was signed. But after reading countless books, I now realize it was a miracle any of this happened.
As I read the dozens of books I bought during the Bicentennial of the Corps of Discovery’s epic journey, I was fascinated to learn more about how
Surrounded by bitter political dissension in 1801, Jefferson needed a private secretary he could trust. He remembered Meriwether Lewis who
The bitter 1800 election campaign had been characterized by personal attacks and slander. Federalists were convinced the Democrat-Republicans would destroy the country; even George Washington had nothing good to say about the Democrat-Republicans. Much of what has gone on in our recent elections appears tame compared to the dirty dealings of 220 years ago.
had grown up a few miles from the Jefferson estate at Monticello. But most people found it hard to know what Jefferson saw in the young man known to be moody, serious and awkward. Letters Lewis wrote show that, despite a good education, his grammar was dubious and it was evident he was never going to be a good speller (his journals prove that!). None of these deficiencies bothered Jefferson; he saw in Lewis a man capable of carrying out some very special duties. cont. page 8
Columbia River Reader / March 15, 2021 / 7
A Stretch of the Imagination
In the late 1700s most of the people of the newly-formed United States lived within 50 miles of the Atlantic Ocean. Their idea of the wild west, the frontier, was the relatively unimposing Appalachian Mountains, and the boundary of their imaginations the Mississippi River. Few instances in history offer such proof of the power of curiosity and scientific study as the self-education of Thomas Jefferson and the empowering of his fertile mind by his own readings and musings.
Jefferson Memorial, Washington, D.C.
Dispatch from page 7
the uncharted west; that scheme, like several before, was abandoned due to lack of governmental interest.
Jefferson had not reached the point of publicly admitting his plans in 1801, but he had been dreaming for 20 years of exploring the vast lands west of the Mississippi River. Jefferson, who never traveled more than 50 miles from his Monticello estate (except for five years in Paris as Minister to France), wanted to take the fur trade from the British, and expand America all the way to the Pacific Ocean.
However, when Jefferson became President, he had the power to send out the explorers if he could get Congress to appropriate some money. He knew Congress wouldn’t willingly fund such an expedition, so he had to keep the true intent secret. Jefferson immediately wrote to Lewis and offered him the job as his secretary. The letter was written so it was plain enough to Lewis what Jefferson really wanted, but nobody else would understand. Lewis immediately accepted, and the rest is history. Four years later, Captain Lewis would fulfill Jefferson’s dream, and forever lock in America’s claim to the land west of the Mississippi River. •••
Jefferson had been trying to get support from the government to explore the western part of North America since at least 1780, but his position as Secretary of State was not enough to win Congressional or party support. At age 18, Lewis had begged Jefferson to let him join a proposed 1792 expedition to explore
For 20 years he pondered the reports of traders, explorers, governments and diplomats. Yet the stretch of the imagination was primarily his, and it stretched the boundaries of our frontiers, and our country, immeasurably.
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Columbia River Reader / March 15, 2021 / 9
Miss Manners
from page 5
GENTLE READER: As these gatherings have presumably been suspended during the pandemic, you have an excellent chance to redesign them. The key is not to say that you are exhausted, but that you are afraid that others must be. Some might protest, so Miss Manners suggests jumping in with the idea that you have monthly parties to celebrate all of that month’s birthdays. DEAR MISS MANNERS: I live in a condo, and the upstairs tenants have three children. I understand that kids generate a lot of laundry, but on some occasions, they run their washing machine late at night and it interrupts my sleep. I was going to write a note asking that they please refrain from using their washer after 10 p.m. because it is noisy and prevents me from sleeping. Is there a better way to say this? GENTLE READER: With three children living above you, Miss Manners considers you lucky that only the latenight laundry is costing you sleep. You might point that out in your note, thereby making it all the more gracious: “You and your children are so thoughtful and light-footed that it pains me to ask you, but would it be possible to run the washing machine during earlier, waking hours?” Then quietly rest up for the children’s adolescence. DEAR MISS MANNERS: A few years ago, I was riding my motorcycle and pulled into a parking lot. I noticed a woman coming out of a coffee shop and pausing to look at me. Yes, I looked at her for a brief second as I parked. I then pulled out my phone and looked up my destination, still sitting on my bike.
This woman came up to me and said hi. I said hi back, and then she proceeded to ask me if I could take off my helmet — she said she wanted to see how old I was because the helmet always throws her off. I thought, “You have some nerve!” I wonder what you would think, Miss Manners, if I walked up to your car window and knocked and said, “Hi, could you roll down your window so I can see if you’re pretty or young enough for me?” I bet that would go very well. This isn’t the only incident that I have experienced with brazen women, but it is the most egregious. Dating in the U.S. is one-sided. The average woman has 100 messages in her dating apps and the average guy has seven. It truly is a woman’s world and us average guys are left feeling like we are on display, or like we are back in elementary school, hoping someone will pick us in a game of Red Rover, but never getting picked.
DEAR MISS MANNERS: What is the etiquette if you accidentally see someone naked — say, in the house that you share? I went to brush my teeth quite late at night, later than I am normally up, and my housemate threw open his door — stark bollock naked — to find the cat. We each managed to stammer out a “sorry” as we went to different rooms, and I also let out a “No worries.” I did have a chuckle. But I am curious, what would the etiquette be in this situation? GENTLE READER: Did he find the cat? Why was it missing? That is the only subject in which you should show an interest. But as long as you kept the chuckle out of his hearing, Miss Manners assures you that you handled it well. ••• 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.
Please advise me where I can find a woman who values the content of my character more than the beauty that I have, which is only skin-deep. GENTLE READER: The argument that this is a woman’s world — and that men are only regarded for their looks — is not going to gain much traction, Miss Manners is afraid. Nor make you any more popular. However, it is true that no human, of any gender, should be treated as you describe. In your situation, you might have said, “I beg your pardon? My helmet is on for my own protection” and left the impertinent woman to ponder from what — or whom— you were actually being protected.
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10 / Columbia River Reader / March 15, 2021
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My Slant/Lifestyles
Cozy at Home
Story and original art by Melanee Evans
How to hygge-light up your life
“
What is the Danish word that evokes the feeling of cozy, connection, homespun or charming?” I asked a small local circle of friends over tea. To my surprise, their faces went blank. After all, the term Hygge” made Oxford Dictionary’s shortlist for “word of the year” in 2016 for its voguish charm. We also live nestled on the corridor between Portland and Seattle, noted by Best Places as the top hygge region in America, probably due to our similarities with the Scnadinavian climate. “It’s spelled H-Y-G-G-E,” I say, “ and it’s pronounced hoo-gah or hue-guh, depending on who you ask.” I pucker my lips to blend the two for perfect effect, and we set a date for hygge tea the next month. Hygge (or to be “hyggeligt,” pronounced hue-guh-lit) is said to come from the Old Norwegian word “hugga” which means to comfort and console, and also relates to the English word “hug.” It is used to describe a feeling or moment with others or alone, indoors or out, simple or grand, and always special. It is, as Meik Wiking writes in his bestselling book The Little Book of Hygge, “the art of creating intimacy, coziness of the soul, the absence of annoyance, …and cocoa by candlelight.”
Despite the ubiquity of the word stamped on earthy-toned objects in bougie shops for wannabe hipsters, hygge is more about an atmosphere, vibe, or an inner state of slowing down to savor simple accessible pleasures. It’s a drawing out of the deliciousness of everyday life with purpose and an unrushed presence, most often with a small group of easy friends over a shared meal with candles and prepared with equality.
Simple Hygge Rituals I Love Sip on Something Warm: Fill a cherished teacup or mug with orange spiced tea, hot cider with a cinnamon stick, rich cocoa with cream, homemade vegetable or bone broth, toffee nut latte, or warm milk with a dollop of honey and a pinch of lavender. Share with friends and family. Mood Lighting: Between October and March, Danes are intimate friends with the cold and darkness, and have mastered the art of lighting for warmth and joy. Instead of harsh overhead lights, use several smaller lamps around the room, light candles for a meal, burn logs on the fireplace, or put twinkle lights in a large glass vase. Turn off Technology: Put your phones away in a basket and connect with family, friends, and pets instead. Connect with each person in the room with a smile, a hand on the shoulder, a quiet well-wish from
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the heart, or a simple hug. Watch the glow of a candle, the melting wax, the swirl of cream in your cup, the loyal love of your pet, resting at your feet. Make a Meal Together: Hygge food is slow food – the kneading, rising, and baking of the bread, the chopping of potatoes and leeks with love, the many hands of friends and family helping, leaning into joy. Notice the meal on the table and notice the scents, spices, and sweetness of each food and drink, before taking a sip or bite. Go Outside: No matter the weather outside, bundle up in a cable knit sweater and cuffed beanie, pull on your favorite wool socks, and head out for a walk and some fresh gulps of air. Clearing your head in nature by allowing your mind to settle with every step, calms your nerves and increases your sense of hygge.
Ross together, crochet a cashmere scarf, play a round of charades, or swap stories about the old days. Sweets and Cake: Danes are crazy about sweets, and in particular, cake and pastries. After all, says Wiking, “a pastry that is typically Danish, is well… a danish.” Bake your own cake from scratch, or find a local bakery with a selection of gooey, buttery, sweet treats and indulge in moderation. Peace Talks: In our world of stormy exchanges, hygge invites us to set aside our squabbles, and melt into convivial conversation. Create a safe emotional environment for everyone in the room by slowing down your spinning mind, Pause to notice if your words and presence bring peace, harmony, and calm. Dip into the wisdom of gratitude, good humor, and cheer. Happy Hygge-ling! •••
Simple Pastimes: Scrabble, card games, or a movie-a-thon with a bowlful of popcorn to share are all perfectly hyggeligt. Paint with Bob
Melanee Evans enjoys a hyggeligt life in Kelso, Wash., where she wears wool socks from her aunt’s alpaca farm, and savors slow meals over candlelight with her daughters, husband, and new son-in-law. She teaches mindfulness to children, teens, and adults and can be reached at melanee@helloquiet.com.
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Columbia River Reader / March 15, 2021 / 11
By Tracy Beard
PROVISIONS ALONG THE BUNNY TRAIL
Devilish Eggs! Basic Deviled Egg Recipe 6 hard-boiled eggs, peeled 3 Tbl mayonnaise (substitute sour cream or plain yogurt for a lighter version) 1-½ tsp mustard 1-½ tsp dill pickle juice or white vinegar ½ tsp sugar (optional) 1 /8-tsp salt Dash of white pepper Sprinkle paprika for garnish Freely adjust the quantities of mustard, vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper to your taste preferences. Place six eggs in a medium saucepan and fill the pan with water to cover the eggs by one inch. Heat to a rolling boil and cook for 5 minutes. Turn off the stove and let eggs sit in hot water for 15 minutes. Drain and fill the pan with cold water until eggs are cooled. Peel eggs and set them aside.
12 / Columbia River Reader / March 15, 2021
Cut the eggs in half lengthwise. Put yolks in a bowl and set whites on a decorative dish. Mash the yolks and mix in the other ingredients minus the paprika. Use two teaspoons or a pastry bag to fill each egg white with about one teaspoon of mashed yolk mix. Sprinkle with paprika. Delicious Egg Toppings and Options • Bacon, bacon and more bacon • Smoked salmon and capers – substitute lemon juice for the dill pickle juice or vinegar • Boursin cheese mixed into yolks – one of my favorites • Sliced radishes and chives • Blue cheese crumbles, bacon and chives • Kalamata olives, sundried tomatoes and Italian parsley delicious • Feta cheese, lemon and oregano • Sliced green olives with lemon zest and black pepper • Proscuitto, Parmesan and chives
Colorful Cotton Candy Margaritas 2 ounces silver tequila 1-¼ ounces Cointreau ¾ ounce fresh lime juice ¾ ounce sweet and sour mix Kosher salt Food coloring to match cotton candy Colored cotton candy – roll into balls and stick one on the end of a wooden or metal toothpick or a swizzle stick. Wet the rim of the glass with lime juice, applied by rubbing with the cut edge of a lime, and dip into kosher salt or sugar. Place all other ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice and shake. Pour liquid into the glass filled with ice. Skewer a puff of cotton candy on a swizzle stick and into the glass for garnish.
OUT•AND•ABOUT
Easter and the Egg
Spring festivities fun for adults and kids alike
Story & photos by Tracy Beard
E
aster is the most critical holiday of the year for Christians; it c e l e b r a t e s J e s u s C h r i s t ’s resurrection from the dead. But like many religious holidays, non-religious traditions are observed on the same day. Easter is recognized in many countries for colorful eggs, woven baskets filled with candy, and Easter egg hunts. And then there is the big question of what to do with all those hard-boiled eggs. What is with the Egg? In many religions, the egg is an ancient symbol of new life. Some Christian resources state that the empty eggshells at Easter are a metaphor for the empty tomb. Long ago, eating eggs during Lent was prohibited. People decorated the eggs to celebrate the end of penance and fasting, and then they ate the eggs on Easter to celebrate. Egg decorating dates back to the 13th century. According to Dr. Andrew Hann at English Heritage magazine, “Eggs were given to the church as Good Friday offerings, and villagers often gave eggs as gifts to the lord of the manor at Easter. Royals got involved with this tradition too – in 1290, Edward I purchased 450 eggs to be decorated with colours or gold leaf and then distributed them to his household.” Vancouver, Wash. resident Tracy Beard writes about luxury and adventure travel, traditional and trendy fine dining and libations for regional, national and international magazines. She is the “Out & About” columnist, now in her sixth year contributing to CRR.
History of the Hunt Every Easter millions of children around the world arise early in the morning to search for Easter baskets brimming w i t h c a n d y. O n c e found, the hunt for eggs ensues. One of the oldest recorded Easter egg hunts originated in Germany. These quests began in the late 16th century when Martin Luther organized them for his church members. Traditionally, the men would hide the eggs for the women and children to find.
AD, hard-boiled eggs were paired with spicy sauces and served as the first course in Rome.
Queen Victoria also promoted the tradition of Easter egg hunting. When she was a child, her Germanborn mother, the Duchess of Kent, orchestrated many egg hunts at Kensington Palace. At the age of fourteen, Princess Victoria wrote in her diary, “Mama did some pretty painted and ornamented eggs, and we looked for them.” Queen Victoria and her husband Albert continued this German tradition with their children. Albert concealed the eggs in little moss baskets and hid them around the house. Victoria wrote about the egg hunting pursuits in her journals. In 1869 she penned, “After breakfast, the children, as usual on this day, looked for Easter eggs.” By the late 19th and early 20th centuries, middle-class Victorian families joined in the festivities as they had more disposable income. Parents worked to keep old traditions alive, and the Easter holiday became less about religion and more about a celebration of family, home and fun for the children.
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Eggs and More Easter egg hunts continue to excite children. Confectionery companies got in on the action years ago when they seized the opportunity to promote their products on this holiday. Children today enjoy a sugar high along with traditional egg hunts.
By the 1400s stuffed eggs with all kinds of toppings and sauces were famous from one end of Europe to the other. Early cookbooks had numerous recipes using a variety of ingredients to embellish the boiled egg. The humble egg was made more appealing with the addition of sauces, cheeses, various toppings and even powdered sugar. The practice of mashing up the yolk, combining it with other ingredients and stuffing it all back into the egg white dates back to the 13th century in Spain. The term “deviled” came about in the 18th or 19th century when foods were made spicier. A few years ago, I got a first-hand look at candy egg pro duction when I visited Enstrom Toffee and Confectionery in Grand Junction, Colorado. Marshmallow, cream and fruit confections rolled down the conveyor belt to be dipped into different chocolate varieties and handdecorated before being wrapped and shipped worldwide. Egg Trivia The world’s largest chocolate Easter Egg was displayed in Cortenuova, Italy, in April 2011. It had a circumference of over 64 feet at the widest point and weighed in at 15,873 pounds. What To Do with the Egg One of the easiest and most common recipes using hard-boiled eggs is the deviled egg. During the first century
The spicy deviled egg showed up in American cookbooks in the mid1800s. The idea of using mayonnaise in deviled eggs first appeared in the Boston Cooking School Cookbook written in 1896. Still, this version did not become popular in the American home until the 1940s. Today restaurants and homemakers are once again sprucing up the simple egg. Some are using ingredients like wasabi, bacon, cheeses and caviar to elevate this classic dish. Whatever your preference, the deviled egg is a fantastic way to use up and enjoy those colorful Easter eggs. If you are serving them at a brunch or cocktail party, consider pairing them with a festive Easter margarita garnished with cotton candy on a swizzle stick. •••
Columbia River Reader / March 15, 2021 / 13
Biz Buzz What’s Happening Around the River Biz Buzz notes news in local business and professional circles. As space allows, we will include news of innovations, improvements, new ventures and significant employee milestones of interest to readers. Please email publisher@crreader.com to share the local buzz.
Congratulations to Mike Phillips of Kalama, Washington, winner of the Valentine’s basket drawing supporting the Longview Chihuly art. The Art Renaissance Team would like to thank everyone who participated in the drawing and to our basket sponsors Teague’s Interiors, Sue Lane, Gerrie Booth, Dianna K Annin, Storyboard Delights and Columbia River Reader. If you would like to be a part of bringing this historically significant Chihuly art collection to our community for all to enjoy at the Longview Public Library, you can contribute online at www.cowlitzart.org or mail your contribution to ART, PO Box 1065, Longview, WA 98632. ART is a committee of the Longview Public Service Group, a nonprofit 501(c)(3).
MEDICAL MATTERS
Diabetes increase results in more ‘Charcot foot’ cases By Jim LeMonds The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reports that cases of diabetes are increasing at an alarming rate in the U.S., with an estimated 34.2 million Americans affected by the disease. While genetics plays a role in causing diabetes, the most common reasons for contracting it are lack of physical activity, obesity, and poor diet. Jake McLeod, DPM, of Longview Orthopedic Associates reports that local cases are mirroring the national trend, with the increase in diabetes causing a similar increase in a condition known as Charcot foot. “Profound peripheral neuropathy, which is a requisite to developing Charcot deformity of the foot, is most frequently attributed to diabetes,” Dr. Jake McLeod McLeod said, “particularly for patients who have had diabetes for an extended period of time.” Symptoms include swelling, pain, numbness, and weakness. The focus of initial treatment for patients with acute Charcot is to stabilize the foot in either a cast or a removable CAM (controlled ankle motion) boot to minimize weight-bearing. This typically lasts four to six weeks. Compression wraps may also be used to help reduce swelling.
Be sure to stop by Teague’s Interiors to see the renderings of what is proposed. See info, page 9.
PARTNERS INVITED We have NEW SIDEWALK BOXES and inside racks available and invite additional distribution outlets. If you manage a high-traffic, commercial location, feel an affinity with CRR and wish to partner with us by hosting a CRR box to provide your customers free copies every month ... call Ned Piper: 360-749-2632. See current box locations, page 31
“If the deformity is stable and there is no significant soft tissue breakdown, patients can then be treated conservatively with a CROW (Charcot restraint orthotic walker) boot.” McLeod said. “However, if the situation involves certain joints or is grossly unstable, or if there is an infected wound that will not heal because of the deformity, surgery is often warranted.” He cautioned that surgery has risks for these patients. “If complications arise, such as a bone infection, patients are likely to lose their leg, Former R.A. which is why it is so important to Long High recognize the condition as early as School English possible so that it can be treated teacher Jim appropriately.” LeMonds is a writer, editor, Dr. McLeod is double board and marketer certified in foot surgery and who rides his reconstructive ankle surgery. For mountain bike more information call Longview whenever he Orthopedic Associates at can. He lives in Castle Rock, Wash. 360-501-3400. and has two published book: South of Seattle and Deadfall. •••
NEW READER PICK-UP LOCATION IT PAYS TO ADVERTISE! Call an ad rep:
Ad Manager: Ned Piper, 360-749-2632: All areas. Sue Lane 360-261-0658 Downtown Longview Ron Baldwin 503-791-7985: Wahkiakum, Pacific, Clatsop
Counties, Mouth of the Columbia.
CRR’s Sidewalk Box at the St. Helens Post Office has been moved to
St. Helens Market Fresh (Red Apple), 1111 Columbia Blvd.
Pick up 24/7 • Never miss an issue!
14 / Columbia River Reader / March 15, 2021
AD DEADLINES. April 15 issue: Mar 25 May15 issue: April 25 Submission Guidelines, p. 31.
Local Culture
MUSEUM MAGIC
Road trip to Skamokawa! River Life Interpretive Center Story and photos by Joseph Govednik Cowlitz County Historical Museum Director
F
or a change of pace consider a short road-trip down (or up) Washington SR-4 to the town of Skamokawa just west of Cathlamet. Skamokawa is a small town with charm and strong ties to the Columbia River as a natural resource. The name is derived from the Chinook term “smoke on the water” in reference to the fog often seen over the Columbia. The River Life Interpretive Center at Redmen Hall is a prominent 1894 construction two-story Central School building which was saved by the residents of Skamokawa in 1985 and now serves as an interpretive center, archival facility, and home to an amazing gift shop with locally-sourced
Redmen Hall was originally a school. At left: Cathlamet resident and retired teacher Pam Emery, president of the Friends of Skamokawa, feels right at home in the replica of an old classroom. Below: a map shows river towns which once were the sites of fish canneries.
arts, crafts, books, and treats. The main floor has historical displays and professionally produced interpretive panels sharing the history of this quaint town. Greeting visitors is a replica of the old classroom, complete with desks and blackboard. Being located on a hill above the highway, Redmen Hall boasts impressive views of the town and river.
IF YOU GO: River Life Interpretive Center at Redmen Hall 1394 W. State Route 4 Skamokawa, Wash. Re-opening April 13 Saturday and Sunday 12–4pm. Driving directions: Drive west on SR-4 approximately 27 miles from Longview. Very steep driveway to the parking area, watch for signs as you approach and prepare for a quick right turn.
“We are excited to open our Interpretive Center at Redmen Hall/ Central School, says Pam Emery, president of the Board of Trustees for Redman Hall. “Come visit us!” Tours are available and guests may ring the old school bell during their visit.
Info: fos1894@gmail.com 360-795-3007
cont page 16 To: Centralia, Olympia Mt. Rainier Yakima (north, then east) Tacoma/Seattle
Raymond/ South Bend
Oysterville •
Chinook
•
Grays River
Cathlamet 4
Astoria Birkenfeld
Mount St. Helens
Skamokawa
WestportPuget Island FERRYk
101
101
Pacific Ocean
• Woodland Tourist Center I-5 Exit 21 Park & Ride lot, 900 Goerig St., 360-225-9552
Castle Rock
• Naselle
Warrenton •
Seaside
• Kelso-Longview Chamber of Commerce Kelso Visitor Center I-5 Exit 39 105 Minor Road, Kelso • 360-577-8058
504
Long Beach
Columbia River
Washington
FREE Maps • Brochures Directions • Information
Vader
Ocean Park •
Ilwaco
VISITOR CENTERS
Vernonia
Longview
Ape Cave •
Kelso
Clatskanie Rainier
Woodland
503
Columbia City St Helens
• Ridgefield
rnelius NW Co ad Pass Ro
To: Salem Silverton Eugene Ashland
Sauvie Island
Vancouver 12
Portland
• Naselle, WA Appelo Archives Center 1056 SR 4, Naselle, WA. 360-484-7103.
Local in
for
Points o mation f In Recre terest Special ation Dinin Events Arts & Eg ~ Lodging ntertain ment
• Pacific County Museum & Visitor Center Hwy 101, South Bend, WA 360-875-5224 • Long Beach Peninsula Visitors Bureau 3914 Pacific Way (corner Hwy 101/Hwy 103) Long Beach, WA. 360-642-2400 • 800-451-2542 • South Columbia County Chamber Columbia Blvd/Hwy 30, St. Helens, OR • 503-397-0685 • Astoria-Warrenton Chamber/Ore Welcome Ctr 111 W. Marine Dr., Astoria 503-325-6311 or 800-875-6807
Col Gorge Interp Ctr Skamania Lodge Bonneville Dam
Troutdale Crown Point
97
Goldendale
• Seaside, OR 989 Broadway, 503-738-3097; 888-306-2326
•Yacolt
Scappoose•
Oregon
Cougar •
Kalama
• Wahkiakum Chamber 102 Main St, Cathlamet • 360-795-9996 • Castle Rock Visitor Center Exit 49, west side of I-5, 890 Huntington Ave. N. Open M-F 11–3.
Maryhill Museum
Stevenson Hood River Cascade Locks Bridge of the Gods
The Dalles
To: Walla Walla Kennewick, WA Lewiston, ID
Map suggests only approximate positions and relative distances. Consult a real map for more precise details. We are not cartographers.
Columbia River Reader / March 15, 2021 / 15
Redmen Hall
Editor’s note: The Vernonia Pioneer Museum was pictured in last month’s People+Place Blue Highways feature, but not identified or detailed. Volunteers there inform us they hope to re-open in March. The museum will be featured in next month’s Museum Magic.
from page 15
Redman Hall is located at 1394 W. State Route 4 with nearby options for dining such as the renovated Duck Inn to make a pleasant a f t e r n o o n g e t a w a y. There is a steep narrow driveway that leads to parking, so be watchful once you see the signs indicating the Hall/Fairgrounds are approaching. Beginning
Thank You! P+P Sponsor Partners Leaders in our community supporting excellent journalism and spotlighting worthy organizations and programs.
people+ place April 3, hours are Saturdays and Sundays, 1-4pm. Suggested donations for admission are $2 for adults and $1 for children. For more information see www.redmenhall. blogspot.com or call 360-795-3007. •••
Q
UIPS & QUOTES
Selected by Debra Tweedy
The first defense against a culture that hates you is a person who loves you. ~ Melinda Gates, American philanthropist, 1964- Well, any love makes us vulnerable. Whatever we love will give the gift of pain somewhere along the road. But who would live sealed in spiritual cellophane just to keep from ever being hurt? There are a few people like that. I’m sorry for them. I think they are as good as dead. ~ Gladys Taber, American writer, 1899-1980 We look forward to the time when the power to love will replace the love of power. Then will our world know the blessing of peace. ~ William Gladstone, British statesman, 1809-1898
No one is useless in this world who lightens the burdens of another. ~ Charles Dickens, English writer, 18121870 Everyone can master a grief but he that has it. ~ William Shakespeare, “Much Ado About Nothing,” English writer, 1564-1616 So long as you have food in your mouth, you have solved all questions for the time being. ~ Franz Kafka, Bohemian (Czech) writer, 1883-1924
• The Evans Kelly Family
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For information about joining the P+P Partners Circle, call
Ned Piper, 360-749-2632 or Sue Piper, 360-749-1021.
Community House on Broadway is Cowlitz County’s clean and sober homeless recovery center. Thanks to community support, individuals and families are transforming their lives here! Also providing transitional housing and services at CORE Health Extended Support Services, 910 16th Ave., Longview.
People wish to be settled; only so far as they are unsettled is there any hope for them. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson, American writer and philosopher, 1803-1882
Learning never exhausts the mind. ~ Leonardo da Vinci, Italian artist and polymath, 1452-1519 Jump, and you will find out how to unfold your wings as you fall. ~ Ray Bradbury, American author, 1920-2012 16 / Columbia River Reader / March 15, 2021
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The Toughest Stories I’d been on-air at Seattle’s KING TV less than a year when they announced a change in assignments. “We put our best writers on our toughest stories. We’re giving you the education beat. ” I recognized a backhanded compliment immediately. But it took me longer to find out that educational success was hard to describe and dramatize. News photogs soon ran out of creative shots: 1. Cute kids in class. 2. Exterior of school. 3. School Board Meeting. 4. More cute kids in class. 5. Kids on playground. 6. School Board Meeting adjourns. People seemed to care about education but nobody did much about it except complain — teachers were overpaid, curricula politically correct, bureaucrats demanding more money. And, guess what? It’s still a tough story. We pay lip service to education and our systems of education. It’s always up there among our most important values — right there with Mom and Apple Pie — yet it’s often taken for granted, scorned and ridiculed. “The teacher is always right” has morphed into “Let’s sue the teacher.” We try out our sociological experiments via the classroom, often with mixed results. We’re beset with behavioral problems that obstruct traditional learning. We forsake our public systems for the private, simply to exercise a greater sense of control and demand more accountability. I received a wonderful K-12 education in Longview, Washington. Since this was more than a couple of decades ago, I decided it might be useful to revisit today’s classroom and this toughest story. I’d also test some of my own preconceptions and prejudices, which develop inevitably over the years. And especially, despite the rigors of the pandemic, I’d look for any rays of hope — the enlightenment, the optimism, and the idealism that have always fueled educational curiosity and sparked student success. I’d take one more crack at this toughest story. And be encouraged by what I found. •••
people+ place Super – Intendent – Woman: Erin Hart She started in kindergarten at this self-same private school, back in the early 80s. Precocious, she began at age four. At five, she already knew how to read, and skipped second grade. More than two decades later she sent her own first-born to the school, still private, open enrollment, and nondenominational, soon to be known as Three Rivers Christian School. Her children flourished, the school struggled. She participated as an active parent. One day, the Head of School, Jim Chenoweth, approached her and proposed a cup of coffee. Soon to retire and concerned about a crashing economy, he popped the question to Erin Hart — alumna, mom, businesswoman. “Do you ever do any development work? Fundraising?”
Erin Hart
NICE TO MEET YOU Erin Hart resides
EH: And man, was it a hot mess! The economy was tanking and the school was suffering. And the school was so great and I so much wanted it to still be there for our daughters.
Longview, Washington occupation
Superintendent, Three Rivers Christian School from
Longview, Washington
HC: So you made the logical decision?
known for
EH: Of course not! They offered me the job of Development Director at a salary that was a fraction of what I was making at the title company. HC: So you talked to your husband? EH: And he said, ‘Take a year. You love education. You’ve always loved education.’ So, I quit my job at the title company and started here. And the first few weeks were like, ‘Why did I do this?” The school was grappling with its website and computers — they were all cobbled together like Frankensteins from donated parts — and the IT guy was heroically holding it all together. Then, I went to my very first board meeting. HC: As the new Development Director… EH: Yep. And I said to the Board, ‘So tell me what you want to develop?’ And they handed me the budget. There was a line item there for fundraising. And it was a half a million dollars. And I said, ‘So, okay, how much did you fundraise last year?’ And they said about $40 thousand. HC: Did it help or hurt you to have relatively little background in education?
Nattering on about changing the education paradigm and wearing bright-colored dresses reading
Just finished The Luckiest Man by Mark Salter, and just started Room of Marvels by James Bryan Smith for fun
Always happiest with a book in my hand, baking, taking walks with my family, traveling recommends Reading books that challenge your cultural view
EH: I think it helped — a lot — to have a diverse background in business. I’d had a lot of jobs, everything from a pastry chef to a whole ton of marketing positions. I originally wanted to be an architect. I loved my own time in school. I’m a perpetual student to this day. HC: And I understand from your bio you picked a traditional Bible Belt school for college? EH: That’s right. The Evergreen State College! A proud graduate in writing and communications. HC: About as far from Bob Jones University as one could wander? EH: Yep. And I loved it. Still do. My Evergreen experience hugely informs what we do here as a school. I had so many moments there when I said, ‘This is what education could be like.’ cont page 18
Columbia River Reader / March 15, 2021 / 17
People +
from page 17
education: Okay, we’re already doing this, let’s begin to think of our program in terms of infancy through high school graduation.
Five years after her decisive jump Erin Hart made another. The Search Committee looking for a new Head of School — with Erin a contributing member — doubled back on her and insisted she take the job herself. Today she presides over three school campuses, an enrollment over 600 and a staff of 110. Hart flourishes as a networker, bridgebuilder, and innovator. She and Three Rivers Christian manage to balance contemporary learning technologies with grounded spiritual teaching and values. And they’re thought leaders, recognized even nationally, thanks to their charismatic superintendent, as pioneers in Early Learning.
“ We truly are a caring family ... ea
HC: By now doesn’t the world at large “get” the importance of early learning? I see government grants and programs and a lot of emphasis? EH: It does. But like a lot of things in education it’s been really slow to implement. And implement effectively. It’s one of the things I’ve been really active about, up in Olympia. I’ve been on lobbying trips to DC to help push it, it’s that important. But the fact is, despite the attention of the public and the government, the majority of early learning is provided by faith-based nonprofits and by Montessori. It is not yet a really publiclydriven service.
EH: In the beginning it was the childcare issue. Simple as that. Dual income families. HC:: Was the school ahead of its time? EH: Oh yes, and still is. The school was started in 1965 by Dr. Jim and Barbara Conrod. They saw a huge number of women joining the ‘working world,’ and a young mother came to them asking if the church could help with childcare. They started with a small preschool and within a year they had 100 students. The local public schools started to complain that the preschool program was teaching their future Kindergarteners to read too early, so Barbara decided they should keep adding grade levels a little at a time.
Courtesy photo
HC: But you’re under state regulation. Is that a burden, or conflict with your mission? EH: It could have been. But we embraced it. Everybody that provides more than a half day of child care a day has to be licensed through the state.
HC: So Early Learning is part of your DNA, your founding story? EH: It’s a part of who we are. And it helped us evolve this holistic approach to a child’s
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ach child is our child.”
differences galore, and we’re getting more and more of those students, cries for help, kids and parents that had those issues.
~ Erin Hart
And there was a requirement to participate in a program called Early Achievers, which based its metrics on standards developed by the University of Washington.
HC: And early learning helps you spot them? EH: Yes, before they get to fourth grade, faking their way through, and admit that they can’t read. We now offer educational coaching for these students. And we’ve got probably 20 kids between both campuses that our educational coaches meet with. My own daughter’s one of them, who in the midst of this, I discovered was dyslexic. And it’s been transformative for her reading and writing.
HC: That sounds like the mandate from Hell for the stereotypical private, especially Christian, school? EH: Oh yeah. Especially for faith-based childcare centers. People were up in arms, because ‘they’re going to force us to do all these things.’ But we decided, hey, we’ll be all in. We’ll learn what we need to learn, and we’ll participate, and we’ll bring coaches in to train us; there was some grant money available for that.
HC: You obviously do a great job with the “front end.” What about those troublesome high school years? cont page 20
HC: And you knew these people, the public ‘experts,’ from your PR and politicking and activism? EH: Yes, many of them. Most people in education — public, private, secular, Christian — simply want the best for their kids. And the big blessing was that they wanted every single lead childcare teacher to have at least an AA degree or beyond, and they would pay for it. So our staff, our early learning staff, and some of these ladies have been here for 25–30 years, all got to go back to school for free. HC: There is much more awareness of learning challenges these days. Not everybody is “born to read?” EH: No, of course not, and it’s one of the blind spots of traditional education. What do you do when you encounter special needs, behavioral issues, learning challenges, especially so early. HC: What do you do? EH: Again an advantage of being networked, not isolated. We have a lot of ties with public agencies that will help get those kids services, and bring them here. This is a huge issue. There are so many kids that require services — there are upticks everywhere across the spectrum — from autism to dyslexia, dysgraphia, learning
Erin Hart with Brice Richards, Three Rivers Christian High School principal. On the wall are paintings by TRCS art teacher Keri McHattie, her visions of staff “alter egos.”
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HC: How do you hope to maintain this balance going forward?
Our state loses something like three in ten kids who never complete high school?
EH: Well, we still have rules. Expected behaviors. One advantage of a private school is you’re responsible to your students and your parents and your Board, but you can set expectations. On the innovative side, we’re doing something extraordinary. We’re blowing up our whole curriculum to make it more relevant, using a program called Understanding by Design.
EH: We know these kids. Every one of them. And help them find their place — be it in a college classroom, a tech firm, or a factory floor. In that respect we truly are a caring family. And each child is our child. Hart admits the most difficult challenge she, her parents and her Board face is financial. The breadth of school services, the state-of-the-art computer classrooms, the one-on-one attention, all cost money. TRCS tuition is $7,500 a year, with more than $350,000 awarded yearly in scholarships and financial aid. But Hart abhors the notion that education must be cheap — “that’s a race to the bottom.” She also points out that the extensive Early Learning Program — beginning as early as four weeks and accounting for half the student body — supplants childcare expenses for families where both parents work outside the home. HC: I confess you defy my stereotype of a Christian school. Dare I say there is some “liberality” in your approach and your embrace of change?
HC: Yes, I’ve heard of it — sometimes known as ‘backwards design?’ EH: You start off with what you want your kids to know. With those enduring understandings. The big, big ideas. And then you tailor a curriculum to those. Not, ‘how can I best get them through this 300-page textbook and pass the test?’ HC: So, what’s your ultimate goal? EH: We owe our students a contemporary education that prepares them for the world and service to Christ. Those aren’t contradictory ideas. We are still relentlessly open enrollment and nondenominational. Roughly a third of our families have no faith background; another third say they are Christian but don’t attend church; and the final third attend church and represent 46 different denominations.
EH: Understanding. We want to create kids that are discerning thinkers, capable communicators, perseverant servant leaders and relational. All of those qualities point kids toward leadership and citizenship and impacting the world for Christ. And if we’re doing that then we’re fulfilling our mission. •••
HC: So, and sorry to play devil’s advocate here, but do you get criticism then from the other side, the more conservative Christian? Hal Calbom is editor of The Tidewater Reach, Field Guide to the Lower Columbia River in Poems and Pictures, recently published
by Columbia River Reader Press, and the new Dispatches from the Discovery Trail, by Michael O. Perry, now available from CRRPress. Reach Hal at hal@ halcalbom.com
people+ place Erin Hart’s Top 5 Books The Marvelous Pigness of Pigs by Joel Salatin. The theological underpinning for our school’s agriculture program and a treatise on environmental responsibility. 20 / Columbia River Reader / March 15, 2021
EH: We’re educators. We get criticism from everybody! When the mask thing came up last year, I had parents who came in and said, ‘You are a draconian Nazi. How dare you force my child to cover her face?’ And I just said, ‘You know, it’s the science. And we teach science here.’
Editor’s Note: Interviews are edited for length and condensed for clarity.
Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation by Kristin Kolbes DuMez. Made me think deeply about how our sin nature infects our actions as a church, and the dangers of nationalism as a religion. (Editor’s note: See reference in ‘Nice to Meet You, on page 17 to challenging one’s cultural view).
Thirteen Moons by Charles Frazier. One of the few books I’ve re-read multiple times just for the joy of it. Beautifully written.
The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis One of my all-time favorite books that I use in our school’s C.S. Lewis Scholars group, a voluntary club for high school students who want to read Lewis’s work.
Moving Learning Forward in Christian Schools: A Practical Guide for Mission Focused Curriculum by Steven Butler - Available April 2021. Erin has a blurb on the back cover.
Northwest Gardening
Arborist wood chips
By Alice Slusher
The green goddess’s gift to your garden
I
f I told of an amazing product you can use in your home landscape that’s locally sustainable, helps hold in soil moisture and control weeds, keeps the soil from getting too hot or too cold, doesn’t mat down, is slow to break down and doesn’t need to be replaced frequently, and enriches the soil by supporting a broad community of soil organisms — helping to create healthier, more resilient plant...would you run out and buy some? Well, here’s the good news: The price is definitely right — absolutely free and available locally! Let me introduce you to arborist woodchips — the chipped and ground up remains of pruned tree limbs or trees that have been removed. It’s a mixture of the leaves and the woody parts of the tree. They are a fantastic mulch in your landscape around trees and shrubs, with all the benefits listed above.
Wood chips are so much better than bark chips or bark dust that you pay an arm and a leg for. Why? First of all, the bark mulch or dust you buy is made only from bark. Because bark is covered with a waxy substance, it repels water—not a good thing if you want water to reach your plants’ roots. Wood chips, on the other hand, allow water to reach the soil and also absorb it to maintain soil moisture longer. Have you ever had dreaded thistle, bindweed, or horsetail appear in your bark mulched beds? Because the bark is stored in piles in large lots which are home to many opportunistic weeds, they are often transported along with the mulch. This doesn’t happen with arborist wood chips, which are best used while they are fresh. Another problem you can run into with bark products is the possibility of plant damage from high salt content if the bark was stored in areas
Kalama resident Alice Slusher volunteers with WSU Extension Service Plant & Insect Clinic. Call 360-577-3014, ext. 8, or send question via cowlitzmastergardener@gmail.com.
where salt water is present—like the large lumber yards in Puget Sound. Another problem I find with bark mulch products are the little splinters that get into your hands and socks, and other uncomfortable places if you sit on the ground like I do — really Landscape-friendly arborist wood chips are available for free at inconvenient to Roy Morse Park, Longview. work with. Even Use it as a bedding mulch around your after washing, those little splinters trees and shrubs, again, 4-6 inches of wood remain invisibly embedded thick. If you like, you can first spread in my socks, torturing me until I take a thin layer of compost, then cover them off and target the source. it with the wood mulch. However, as the wood chips break down, they How do you use it? Thick layers, at become a great organic compost layer least 4– 6 inches, work best. If you’re themselves. And remember to reapply trying to control weeds, apply it early the chips as they break down and thin in the spring before the weeds take out. Don’t pile any woody mulch hold. If you want to control weeds in against the trunks of trees or shrubs, an area that’s already infested, mow and it shouldn’t be used with newly them down as short as possible and planted perennial plants or annual cover with a 10–12-inch thick layer-of flowers like marigolds and petunias. wood chips. cont page 22
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Gardening
from page 22
I put it in the walkways between my raised beds and my raspberry plants. I’ve had no weeds at all since I started using wood chips, and it never gets muddy, either. The only downside is that the chickens think it’s a great place dig nests!
I hope to land in that big pile of arborist cushy wood chips!
I think it looks great as a mulch. My hubby, however, isn’t a fan of the appearance—coarse chips mixed with leaves. His solution is to run the top layer through a shredder to get a finer, more aesthetically pleasing appearance. cont page 23
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Gardening
from page 22
Arborist wood chips FAQs •Will this bring ants or termites into my home? No, but always keep any kind of woody mulch about 6 inches away from the foundation of your house to prevent a “bridge” for insect pests into your home. •Will it acidify my soil? No. •Is it a fire hazard? Much less so than bark dust because wood chips retain moisture. •Will the wood chips bring disease to my plants? No. •Will wood chips tie up nitrogen? No, not from your plants’ roots. However, they do cause a nitrogen deficiency in the top couple centimeters of soil—which is why they stop weed seed germination.
OSU/WSU Extension Opportunities OSU Seed to Supper Columbia County 2021. Info: 503-397-3462
WSU Extension Online Workshops
Call 360-577-3014 Ext.3, for connection info. Details: cowlitzcomg.com/events Moving to 304 Cowlitz Way, Kelso, WA 98626 Mar 16, Noon • Strawberries Mar 17, 6pm • Right Plant, Right Place Mar 23, Noon • Who Gets Grandma’s Yellow Plate? Mar 24, 6pm • Choosing Fruit Varieties for Western Washington Mar 30, Noon • Composting Mar 31, 6pm • Worm Composting April 6, Noon • April Garden Tasks April 7, 6pm • Advanced Composting April 13, Noon • Beneficial Insects April 14, 6pm • Lawns
Where you can get it Bring your truck, bags, or buckets, and a garden fork to Roy Morse Park (Drive west on Ocean Beach Highway from Fred Meyer 2.8 miles, turn left onto Mt. Solo Rd., left on Branch Creek Dr., continue on Reg Smith Dr. into the park). Help FROM THE PET DEPT. yourself to large pile(s) of self-serve wood chips. Your trees and shrubs will thank you — the weeds will not!
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The Natural World
In the Eyes of ... Darwin: the tangled bank is clothed with ‘endless forms, most beautiful and most wonderful’ Essay by Dr. Robert Michael Pyle
Y
esterday, at the old brickbound pond that now serves as the compost pit, I met two slugs. One, a big, splotchy banana, was suitably arrayed on a banana peel. The other, a European brown, browsed a corncob. While the two imposing animals made an impressive molluskan tableau, I had to admit that I took more pleasure in the Ariolimax columbiana than I did in Arion ater. The olive banana slug is the more attractive of the two, and an important native species; while the brown slug, stubby and dull, is an alien species that represents a serious challenge to maritime gardens like ours. That night, when I spotted a six-inch leopard slug at the cat’s dish, my easy distinction between “good slugs” and “bad slugs” became conflicted: Limax maximus is another introduced slug, a serious competitor for pansies or lettuce, potted plants and potatoes. But it is also wonderfully handsome, long, sleek, slate-on-gray spotted and striped like our silver tabby, Virga. Too, this species exhibits a fabulous pairing: the hermaphroditic creatures dangle from a slime strand sometimes ten or twelve feet long to copulate and trade sperms. Once I begged Thea to let me watch an enamored pair copulate to completion before being frozen for the compost along with the gallons of browns and pints of little milkies. But then I decided to rescue them to watch their post-coital behavior, and they later escaped from the terrarium. Their kind has been much more numerous ever since. My mercy — or curiosity — had an unpopular outcome, despite the undeniable comeliness of the leopard slug. So where lies beauty in nature? Clearly, in a place both focused and refracted by our own biases. Most of us would admire an alpine meadow rife with wildflowers or a resplendent quetzal. But do we all see what George Orwell saw in the common toad, or what I see in a slug? I know very well otherwise, just as I don’t find each slug
as appealing as the next. We all know the “Eew, gross!” emitted by teenagers who can’t grasp their teacher’s delight in a particular insect or slime mold. It seems we discriminate wildly in our attraction to the natural world and its elements. Two experiences abroad underlined with permanent ink just how relative human fascination can be. Both incidents arose from field trips during meetings of IUCN (the International Union for Conservation of Nature). The first was a general assembly held in Ashkhabad, the colorful capital of Turkmenia. I was confronted in the hotel lobby by General Abrahim Joffe, a major figure in the Six-Day War and head of the Israeli Nature Reserves Authority. A large, gruff man, the general had just come back from a cruise on the Kara Kum Canal, a desert aqueduct that flows toward the Caspian Sea. “How was it?” I asked. “All shit and frustration!” the general fumed. “Bad Russian beer, stuffy boat, and nothing to see but camels and endless reeds!” I told him about my trip to the Repetek Desert Reserve. We were to have sought the great gerbil on camel-back, but plied the dunes in Soviet half-tracks instead, and never glimpsed the rare endemic rodent. “And tomorrow?” he asked. The Kara Kum Canal, I told him. “Ah!” he burst out, “It is a wonderful trip! You will love it.” And in fact, I did. General Joffe was right about the beer. But squeezed onto the bow with a Scot and an Egyptian, I found the Asian air off the water refreshing; the camels, coming down to drink between mountains of cotton, completely novel. The tall reeds indeed blocked much of the view, but they also supported a constant cross-channel traffic of brilliant blue-cheeked beeeaters. And at lunch, in a native stand of tamarisk (a thirsty exotic in the American Southwest), I enjoyed my first face-to-face Asian monarch butterfly, Danaus chrysippus. What was “all shit and frustration” to the general had been a marvelous day out for me.
Robert Michael Pyle is a naturalist and writer who has resided along Gray’s River in Wahkiakum County for many years. His 24 books include the Northwest classics Wintergreen, Sky Time in Gray’s River, and Where Bigfoot Walks (which inspired the feature film based on Pyle’s life, ‘The Dark Divide’). His newest book titles are The Tidewater Reach: Field Guide to the Lower Columbia River in Poems and Pictures (with Judy VanderMaten, published by CRRPress, see page 2) and Nature Matrix: New and Selected Essays. Photo by David Lee Myers
This is the 31st in a series of selected essays to appear in Columbia River Reader. These were originally published in Orion Afield or Orion Magazine in the author’s column, “The Tangled Bank” and, subsequently, in the book of the same name published by Oregon State University Press in 2012.
The other eye opener took place in Kenya, following a meeting at Tsavo National Park. Touring parks and reserves afterward, our vanload called at Samburu National Park to try to see leopards, reticulated giraffes, and Grevy’s zebras. As well as the great naturalists Sir Peter Scott and Kai Curry-Lindahl, our contingent included two British wildlife officials who had been largely responsible for the inclusion of the rare, slender-striped zebra on CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species). Naturally, Jane and John wanted to see “their” zebra in the wild. The leopard and the giraffe obliged, along with bustards, rollers, and gerenooks. But the much-sought equid remained aloof. Finally, in a tropical rain like an overturned bath, there stood our quarry—a single Grevy’s zebra, abject in the deluge. A few days later, passing back south through the Great Rift Valley, we stopped for gas. The Pope had been to Nairobi. People from all over Kenya had flocked to see him and were returning home. John Rudge, one of the Brits, was pumping petrol when he was descended upon by a large flapping nun in an excited state. “Oh!” she cried, hoping to share her rapture with a fellow European. “Have you been to see the Holy Father too?”
“Why, no,” said John, equally excited by his recent audience. “We’ve been to see Grevy’s zebra!” The sister’s mouth dropped in absolute incomprehension. Around here, a rabies scare has sent the populace scurrying for shots if they so much as spot a bat in their bedroom. As I netted a pretty little pipistrelle in my study today and turned it back out, I smiled wryly: how quickly caution becomes paranoia, and ignorance, revulsion. Of course, the consequences for bats have not been funny. As members of the community of life, perhaps it should be our goal to find nothing in nature ugly; to revere the basic beauty of each living thing; to erect no hierarchies in our appreciation. But we are not made like that. When it comes to landscapes, plants, and animals, and certainly one another, we are creatures of strong preference. We are the beholders, and our eyes are ever crossed by our personal aesthetic, prejudice, fears, and ideals. It is good to recognize this. And perhaps it is enough always to try to expand our range of tolerance for the “ugly,” even unto admiration; to seek the elegance of fitness in all things; and to realize finally, as Darwin said, that the tangled bank is clothed with “endless forms, most beautiful and most wonderful.” •••
Columbia River Reader / March 15, 2021 / 25
COLUMBIA RIVER
Clatskanie, Ore. Fultano’s Pizza 770 E. Columbia River Hwy Family style with unique pizza offerings, hot grill items & more! Dine-in,Take-out and Home Delivery. Visit Fultanos.com for streamlined menu. 503-728-2922
dining guide
Kelso, Wash. Hop N Grape
El Ranchero Kelso
Ixtapa Fine Mexican Restaurant 640 E. Columbia River Hwy Fine Mexican cuisine. Daily specials. The best margarita in town. Daily drink specials. Dine-in, curbside pickup. M-Th 11am–9:30pm; Fri & Sat 11am–11:30pm; Sun 11am–9pm. 503-728-3344
Rainier. Ore. Alston Pub & Grub
25196 Alston Rd., Rainier 503-556-9753 11 beers on tap, cocktails. Open daily 11–11. Inside dining. Conestoga Pub Cornerstone Café 102 East “A” Street Microbrews, wines & spirits 7am–8pm Daily. Inside dining.
Evergreen Pub & Café
115-117 East 1st Street 503-556-9935 Burgers, halibut, appetizers, full bar. 11–11 Daily. Inside dining.
Goble Tavern
70255 Columbia River Hwy. (Milepost 31, Hwy. 30) Food, beer & wine + full bar, Live entertainment 11–11 Daily. Inside dining. 503-556-4090
1626 West Side Hwy Family Mexican restaurant. Full menu. Daily specials. Liquor, beer & wine. Mention this listing for $5 off purchase of $30 or more. Open Mon–Sat 11am–9pm. 360-423-3704. Take-out from Drive-up window
Longview, Wash.
Pizza, spaghetti, burgers, beer & wine. 11–9, Mon-Thurs, Sun; 11–10 Fri-Sat
Restaurant operators: To advertise in Columbia River Dining Guide, call 360-749-2632
Grant’s at the Monticel-
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The Carriage Restaurant & Lounge
The Carriage Restaurant & Lounge 1334 12th Ave. Open 9am–11pm. Breakfast, lunch and dinner. Full bar, banquet room available for groups, parties, family reunions, etc. in lounge, open 6am. Three happy hours daily (8–10am, 12–2pm, 5–7pm). Group meeting room, free use with $150 food/drink purchases.
Circle. Casual upscale inside dining. Seafood, steaks, pasta, burgers. Happy Hour specials 3pm. Lunch & dinner. M-Th 11-9, Fri-Sat 11-10.
Jay’s Jukebox Burgers, 1232 Commerce Ave.. 1950s Soda shop. Take-out and limited dine-in. Open Tues–Sat, 11–7. Phone 360-261-7879
The Original Pietrio’s Pizzeria
614 Commerce Ave., Longview. 18 varieties of pizza, prepared salads. Beer & wine. Open 11am every day. Inside seating by reservation only. 360-353-3512. Inside dining, Take-out, some local delivery.
360-425-8545.
0-442-8234. Creekside Café 1323 Commerce Ave. Soups, Salads, Burgers, Wraps. Pick-up and Delivery, 9am–3pm. In-house dining, 8–3 Tues, Wed, Th; 8–4 Fri-Sat. . 360-425-7296. www.creeksidecafe.restaurant
Eclipse Café
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 delivery.
Freddy’s Just for the Halibut. Cod, Alaskan halibut a fish and chips, award-winning clam chowder. Burgers, steaks, pasta. Beer and wine. M-Sat 10am–8pm, Sunday 11am–8pm. Inside dining, Drive-thru, outdoor seating. 1110 Commerce 360-414-3288. See ad, page 8.
26 / Columbia River Reader / March 15, 2021
Parker’s Steak House& Brewery 1300 Mt. St. Helens Way. I-5 Exit 49. Lunch, Dinner. Burgers, hand-cut steak; seafood and pasta. Restaurant opens 11am, Lounge 12 Noon. Closed Monday. 360967-2333. Call for status/options.
Vault Books & Brew 20 Cowlitz Street West, Castle Rock Coffee and specialty drinks, quick eats & sweet treats. See ad, page 29.
Kalama, Wash.
lo Hotel on Longview’s historic Civic
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 34.
Luigi’s Pizza
117 East 1st Street, Rainier 503-556-4213 Inside dining, Take-out & Delivery
924 15th Ave., Longview Tues–Thurs 11am–7pm; Fri & Sat 11am–8pm. BBQ meat slow-cooked on site. Pulled pork, chicken, brisket, ribs, turkey, salmon. World-famous mac & cheese. 360-577-1541.
Castle Rock, Wash.
Porky’s Public House 561 Industrial Way, Longview 38 draft beers. Full bar. Family-friendly. Dining room open. Take-out. Curbside delivery; partner with Delivery King for deliveries. Live music suspended due to Covid. 360-636-1616.
Roland Wines
1106 Florida St., Longview. Authentic Italian wood-fired pizza, wine, and beer. Casual ambience. 5–9pm Wed-Fri, Sat. 11–3. See ad, page 30. Call for status.
Teri’s, 3225 Ocean Beach Hwy, Longview. Lunch and dinner. Burgers, steak, seafood, pasta, specials, fresh NW cuisine. Happy Hour. Full bar. 360-577-0717. Mon 4–8pm; Tues–Fri 11:30–8:30; Sat 2–9pm. Live music Sat 5:30–8:30pm. Covered outdoor seating. Curbside pickup. Inside dining.
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 33.
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. Curbside pickup and home delivery. 503-543-3017
Warren, Ore. Warren Country Inn 56575 Columbia River Hwy. Fine family dining. Breakfast, lunch & dinner. Full bar. Call for hours.503-410-5479. Check Facebook for updates. Dine-in.
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 34.
Northwest Foods
COLUMBIA RIVER DINING GUIDE
MAN IN THE KITCHEN CLASSICS
2-Die-4 potato dish always a hit
O
Story & photos by Paul Thompson
ver the years, I’ve occasionally been assigned a recipe to test and then write about. One particular assignment brought back memories of the real home cookin’ many of us grew up with. It all started with a CRR writers’ party at the since-closed Hump’s Restaurant in Clatskanie, Oregon. Potatoes Melva was served, part of a home-style buffet. We all went back for seconds. You will, too.
As Covid-19 restrictions ease, restaurants’ operations may still fluctuate. Expect mask requirements and indoor/outdoor, seating/ occupancy limits in accordance with State guidelines. Call first if in doubt. Please support local restaurants — they are vital in the economic and social life of our community!
Pam and Eric Sellix, Hump’s owners, later shared with us the recipe for Potatoes Melva, originated by her Aunt Melva Clarke. Most restaurants won’t do this. You’ll be pleased Hump’s did. Like many casserole recipes from many readers’ youth, cream of chicken or cream of mushroom soup is the basis for this one. What would a church potluck be without casseroles made from those reliable condensed soups as a base? Potatoes Melva is several notches above scalloped potatoes and much easier to make. The recipe included here is cut to one-fourth the quantity Humps makes. Potatoes Melva (serves 6-8) 1 /2 C. diced yellow onions
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4 Tbl. butter 1-1/2 lbs diced hash brown potatoes 1-14.5 oz can cream of chicken or cream of mushroom soup 1-1/4 C. cheddar cheese, grated 1/2 C. sour cream Salt and black pepper to taste Corn flakes (or bread crumbs, or crushed potato chips) Chopped parsley Saute the onions in butter until softened, about 5 minutes. Add all the ingredients except the corn flakes and mix well. Humps makes their own hash browns. I used diced, frozen hash browns.
Spray a casserole dish with non-stick spray (I used a 6” x 10” x 2” dish); fill with potato mixture and cover with crushed corn flakes. Cover and place in a 350-degree oven for 45 minutes. Remove the cover and continue cooking another 25 minutes. The crunchy, browned top covers tender morsels of cheesy potatoes. The addition of chives, frozen peas or a dash of hot sauce might be fun to try. When I prepare it next time, I may substitute potato chips for the corn flakes. It won’t stay as crispy for leftovers, but I’ll like the salty taste. Thank again for sharing, Humps. For many, many years, you were a favorite stop, going to and from the beach. •••
Paul Thompson grew up in Longview, and following a teaching and stage carpentry career in Oak Park, Illinois, retired to Sequim, Wash., and later returned to his home town. He wrote his popular Man in the Kitchen column since CRR’s beginnings, and still enjoys the occasional “encore” appearance, revisiting old favorites.
PLAN YOUR VISIT! Admission is free at AMERICA’S NATIONAL PARKS on these days April 17 — National Park Week kicks off Aug 4 — 1st anniversary of the Great American Outdoors Act Aug 25 — 105 years since the inception of the National Park Service Sept 25 — National Public Lands Day Nov 11 — Veterans Day Columbia River Reader / March 15, 2021 / 27
Wahkiakum County Fairgrounds to host first “Farm to Fiber Festival”
BESIDES COLUMBIA RIVER READER...
What are you reading?
Organizers are looking forward to a new annual event at the fairgrounds this year. The Farm to Fiber Festival will bring fiber enthusiasts, youth and fiber animal breeders together for education, demonstrations, sales and competitions. Those interested in helping to coordinate this event or donate their time during the event, participating as volunteers, educators, committee members or demonstrators: Please contact Lori Cagle, lrcagle@gmail.com, or Sue Zabel at the Jabbershack in Cathlamet, 360-904-6065, TheJabberShack@gmail.com What: “Farm to Fiber “ Festival When: September 9-12, 2021 Where: Wahkiakum County Fairgrounds, Skamokawa Wash. Phone: 360-904-6065 or 360-703-7291 Email: lrcagle@gmail.com, TheJabberShack@gmail.com
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Monthly feature coordinated by Alan Rose
Selected Short Stories of Bret Harte By Rena Langille
D
uring this time of staying in, I decided to sort through my bookcase to see if there were any tomes of forgotten lore I could part with. The top shelf are all keepers: 17 volumes of short stories written by Bret Harte. I have read and re-read the set four times. Harte was a prolific writer telling stories of the people inhabiting the towns and gold fields of California from 1848 when gold was discovered, to 1855 when the gold ran out. He wrote of ordinary people who worked claims, drove a stagecoach, worked in a post office, taught school, tended bar, and those who stole horses. The opening for “The Postmistress of Laurel Run” is typical of a Bret Harte story that draws the reader in. “The mail stage had just passed Laurel Run — so rapidly that the whirling cloud of dust dragged with it down the steep grade from the summit, hung over the level long after the stage had vanished, and then drifting away, slowly sifted a red precipitate over the hot platform of the Laurel Run post office.” Tightly woven, these tales of hard scrabble mining and primitive communities are a delight to read, and often just when things couldn’t get worse, his final sentence twists the narrative into a conclusion you never saw coming, frequently with comedic effect. Some of these stories make me laugh, some make me wonder at how resilient people are in harsh conditions, and one or two of them just make me cry. •••
WATER. FIRE. SMOKE. MOLD
Rene Langille is a CRR subscriber and occasional contributor, and lifelong Seattle resident. Her husband, Pat Trotter, originally from Longview, is a fisheries biologist who works for Weyerhaeuser in research and development. After retiring, Rena began painting in oils and also enjoys cooking and baking, gardening, reading, and writing travelogues of their travels.
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28 / Columbia River Reader / March 15, 2021
Read a good book lately? To be mini-interviewed by CRR Book Reviewer Alan Rose for a future “What Are You Reading?” spotlight, please contact him at alan@alan-rose. com or the publisher/editor at publisher@crreader.com.
WordFest resumes on Zoom!
2nd Tuesdays, 7–8pm. No need for a Zoom account, but register at www. alan-rose.com to receive invitation link via email.
Cover to Cover
Top 10 Bestsellers PAPERBACK FICTION
PAPERBACK NON-FICTION
1. Circe Madeline Miller, Back Bay, $16.99 2. The Dutch House Ann Patchett, Harper Perennial, $17 3. The Overstory Richard Powers, Norton, $18.95 4. The House in the Cerulean Sea TJ Klune, Tor, $18.99 5. The Glass Hotel Emily St. John Mandel, Vintage, $16.95 6. Deacon King Kong James McBride, Riverhead Books, $17 7. Parable of the Sower Octavia E. Butler, Grand Central, $16.99 8. Interior Chinatown Charles Yu, Vintage, $16 9. Home Body Rupi Kaur, Andrews McMeel, $16.99 10. The Song of Achilles Madeline Miller, Ecco, $16.99
1. Braiding Sweetgrass Robin Wall Kimmerer, Milkweed Editions, $18 2. Nomadland Jessica Bruder, Norton, $16.95 3. The Body Bill Bryson, Anchor Books, $17 4. The Body Keeps the Score Bessel van der Kolk, Penguin, $19 5. My Grandmother’s Hands Resmaa Menakem, Central Recovery Press, $17.95 6. One Long River of Song Brian Doyle, Back Bay, $17.99 7. All About Love bell hooks, Morrow, $15.99 8. All That the Rain Promises and More David Arora, Ten Speed Press, $17.99 9. The Body Is Not an Apology Sonya Renee Taylor, BerrettKoehler, $18.95 10. How to Do Nothing Jenny Odell, Melville House, $17.99
BOOK REVIEW By Alan Rose
Mexican Gothic By Silvia Moreno-Garcia Del Ray $27
O
nce asked his opinion of a book, Abe Lincoln diplomatically responded that people who like this kind of book will probably enjoy it. I recalled this anecdote when reading Mexican Gothic. (Full disclosure: I want my money back.) Having dipped into the gothic and paranormal myself (See: The Legacy of Emily Hargraves) I was intrigued to read a gothic mystery with a particular
Alan Rose’s new novel, As If Death Summoned, was released in December. Sign up for his monthly WordFest newsletter at www.alan-rose.com
HARDCOVER FICTION 1. The Midnight Library Matt Haig, Viking, $26 2. The Four Winds Kristin Hannah, St. Martin’s, $28.99 3. The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue V.E. Schwab, Tor, $26.99 4. The Vanishing Half Brit Bennett, Riverhead Books, $27 5. A Court of Silver Flames Sarah J. Maas, Bloomsbury Publishing, $28 6. Hamnet Maggie O’Farrell, Knopf, $26.95 7. Mexican Gothic Silvia Moreno-Garcia, Del Rey, $27 8. The Cold Millions Jess Walter, Harper, $28.99 9. Where the Crawdads Sing Delia Owens, Putnam, $26 10. Ready Player Two Ernest Cline, Ballantine, $28.99
HARDCOVER NON-FICTION 1. The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse Charlie Mackesy, HarperOne, $22.99 2. How to Avoid a Climate Disaster Bill Gates, Knopf, $26.95 3. Caste Isabel Wilkerson, Random House, $32 4. Four Hundred Souls Ibram X. Kendi, Keisha N. Blain (Eds.), One World, $32 5. Untamed Glennon Doyle, The Dial Press, $28 6. A Swim in a Pond in the Rain George Saunders, Random House, $28 7. The Sum of Us Heather McGhee, One World, $28 8. Wintering Katherine May, Riverhead Books, $24 9. Keep Sharp Sanjay Gupta, M.D., S&S, $28 10. Think Again Adam Grant, Viking, $28
Brought to you by Book Sense and Pacific Northwest Booksellers Assn, for week ending Feb. 28, 2021, based on reporting from the independent bookstores of Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana. For the Book Sense store nearest you, visit www.booksense.com MASS MARKET
EARLY & MIDDLE GRADE READERS
1. Dune Frank Herbert, Ace, $10.99 2. 1984 George Orwell, Signet, $9.99 3. Bridgerton: The Duke and I Julia Quinn, Avon, $9.99 4. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy Douglas Adams, Del Rey, $7.99 5. Dune Messiah Frank Herbert, Ace, $9.99 6. Bridgerton: The Viscount Who Loved Me Julia Quinn, Avon, $8.99 7. Calculated Risks Seanan McGuire, DAW, $7.99 8. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings Maya Angelou, Ballantine 9. Bridgerton: An Offer From a Gentleman Julia Quinn, Avon, $8.99 10. The Way of Kings Brandon Sanderson, Tor, $9.99
1. Cat Kid Comic Club Dav Pilkey, Graphix, $12.99 2. When You Trap a Tiger Tae Keller, Random House Books for Young Readers, $16.99 3. A Wolf Called Wander Rosanne Parry, Greenwillow Books, $7.99 4. Class Act Jerry Craft, Quill Tree Books, $12.99 5. When Stars Are Scattered Victoria Jamieson, Omar Mohamed, Dial Books, $12.99 6. Guts Raina Telgemeier, Graphix, $12.99 7. A Whale of the Wild Rosanne Parry, Greenwillow Books, $17.99 8. A Wolf Called Wander Rosanne Parry, Monica Armino (Illus.), Greenwillow Books, $16.99 9. The Girl Who Drank the Moon Kelly Barnhill, Algonquin Young Readers, $9.95 10. The Ickabog J.K. Rowling, Scholastic, $26.99
Are You Sure We’re in Mexico? Mexican flavor, expecting some tale of a family’s generational curse in the vein of Isabel Allende or Gabriel Garcia Marquez. But in spite of its title, it offers little of the rich, colorful and vibrant cultural heritage of Mexico. This tale is dismally and depressingly English gothic. The set-up is promising. Noemí Taboada, a young socialite in Mexico City, is sent to an isolated region by her father to check on her cousin Catalina, who married Virgil Doyle, a tall, handsome Englishman. Now Catalina has sent a letter from the Doyle mansion, High Place, saying she is being poisoned. Is Catalina delusional? Hysterical? Or is she just revolted by English cooking? Noemí travels to the Doyle mansion to find her once lovely, vivacious cousin now looking wan and listless. And no wonder: High Place is wrapped in the perpetual fog, chilly mists and incessant rain for which Mexico is so well known. With no electricity, they have only oil lamps making everything suitably creepy and gothically gloomy. The people who live there are as cold and moldy as the house. Howard Doyle is the decrepit and dying patriarch. His son, Virgil, is tall and handsome
His hands were steady on her wrists now. “Do you think I’m mad like those hatters?” she asked… “Dear God, no. I think you’re sane and clever. Much too clever, perhaps. Why won’t you listen to me? Really listen. Leave today. Leave right this instant. This is no place for you.” “What do you know that you aren’t telling me?” (Francis) stared at her, his hands still gripping her own. “Noemí, just because there are no ghosts it doesn’t mean you can’t be haunted…”.
Are you sure we’re in Mexico? The setting sounds more like British Columbia where the author resides. We increasingly get the impression that this isn’t the trip we were sold. The gothic is there, but one must search for the Mexican. Much of the prose is written in fifty shades of purple — “The heart pumped blood and groaned and shivered, and it beat so loudly Noemí thought she’d go deaf.” (Now that’s loud.) When all is considered, I think Lincoln would agree that people who like this kind of book will probably enjoy it. •••
~ from Mexican Gothic
(we are reminded that Virgil is tall and handsome each time he makes an appearance) There is also Virgil’s younger cousin Francis, who we are frequently reminded is not handsome, but nice, and then there’s Francis’s mother, Florence, who makes Mrs. Danvers seem warm and chummy in comparison. The story goes that they were once a wealthy family who operated a mine in this region, you see, but then came the Revolution, and then the mine flooded due to the incessant rains, and…oh, never mind.
Drink Good Coffee, Read Good Books Located in the historic Castle Rock Bank Building 20 Cowlitz Street West Mon-Sat • 9–4 360-967-2299
Columbia River Reader / March 15, 2021 / 29
the Lower Columbia
Kids’ Fish-In at Lake Sacajawea
Informer
April 24, Martins Dock, Lake Sacajawea, Longview, Wash. Pre-register at Longview Parks and Recreation, 2920 Douglas St., $10 per participant, ages 5–14. Ten 45-minute sessions, first at 8:00am, last session 5pm. Please arrive 15 minutes before scheduled time.
by Perry Piper
Perry’s column returns next month
The number of participants per session will be limited to 40 and only one adult may be with the youth inside the fenced area; both must wear masks until after they leave the Pioneer Lions food wagon. Volunteers must also wear masks until they leave the area. No personal equipment allowed inside the fenced area. Combos, terminal tackle and bait will be provided and participants may keep the combos and terminal tackle or donate them for future events. Sponsored by Longview Early Edition Rotary. Donations appreciated. Mail to Longview Parks & Recreation Foundation. c/o Gerry Bosh, 2609 NW Nichols Blvd., Longview, WA 98632. For donation pick-up, email gbosh@comcast.net.
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IN THEIR FOOTSTEPS - Virtual
Pacific Slope Prologues to Lewis & Clark
L
ewis and Clark National Historical Park, Fort Clatsop, is pleased to announce the next virtual “In Their Footsteps” free speaker series event. “Pacific Slopes Prologues to Lewis & Clark,” by David L. Nicandri will be on www.youtube.com/user/Lewisandclarknhp at 1pm Pacific Time, Sunday, March 21. Students of the Lewis and Clark Expedition continue to ponder many puzzles. One of particular interest along the lower Columbia is why the story seems strangely anti-climactic. After all, reaching the target of the mission — the Pacific Ocean — one would think the captains’ narratives would be reaching a crescendo. Lewis, however, is mute, and we are left with the relatively limited literary skills of William Clark and some of the enlisted men to carry the story. In “Pacific Slope Prologues to Lewis & Clark,” David Nicandri sheds light on this strange turn of events. Drawing on the lessons contained in his new book, “Lewis & Clark Reframed: Examining Ties to Cook, Vancouver, and Mackenzie,” Nicandri explains how the exploits of these British explorers shaped and at times confused Lewis & Clark’s western end of their voyage experience. David L. Nicandri has been studying and writing about Captain Cook as well as the Lewis and Clark Expedition for nearly two decades. Former director of the Washington State Historical Society, Nicandri is an expert in the history of the Pacific Northwest’s exploration phase. He is also the author of Captain Cook Rediscovered: Voyaging to the Icy Latitudes and River of Promise: Lewis and Clark on the Columbia. This monthly Sunday on-line event is made possible by the Lewis & Clark National Park Association (LCNPA), the park’s non-profit partner. Since 1963, the LCNPA has supported education, interpretation, research, and community involvement. Purchases at the LCNPA’s Fort Clatsop Bookstore support programs such as “In Their Footsteps.” For more LCNPA information, visit fortclatsopbookstore.com . For more information, call (503) 861-4414; or check out www.nps.gov/lewi, or lewisandclarknps on Instagram, or Lewis and Clark National Historical Park on Facebook.
30 / Columbia River Reader / March 15, 2021
Outings & Events See ad, page 9
BROADWAY GALLERY 1418 Commerce Avenue , Longview, Wash • Tues-Sat 11–4 Social Distancing will be observed, Gallery Members will wear masks & cleaning procedures followed according to state mandates. We will require our customers to wear masks. Keep updated on our website. See new work on our FaceBook and Instagram Page: the-broadway-gallery.com , Broadway Gallery on Facebook, and broadway_gallery_longview on Instagram.
We have Artisan Masks $7
Submission Guidelines Letters to the Editor (up to 200 words) relevant to the publication’s purpose — helping readers discover and enjoy the good life in the Columbia River region, at home and on the road — are welcome. Longer pieces, or excerpts thereof, in response to previously-published articles, may be printed at the discretion of the publisher and subject to editing and space limitations. Items sent to CRR will be considered for publication unless the writer specifies otherwise. Writer’s name and phone number must be included; anonymous submissions will not be considered. Political Endorsements CRR is a monthly publication serving readers in several towns, three counties, two states and beyond and does not publish Letters to the Editor that are endorsements or criticisms of political candidates or controversial issues. (Paid ad space is available.) Unsolicited submissions may be considered, provided they are consistent with the publication’s purpose. Advance contact with the editor is recommended. Information of general interest submitted by readers may be used as background or incorporated in future articles. Outings & Events calendar (free listing): Events must be open to the public. Non-profit organizations and the arts, entertainment, educational and recreational opportunities and community cultural events will receive listing priority. Fundraisers must be sanctioned/sponsored by the benefiting non-profit organization. Businesses and organizations wishing to promote their particular products or services are invited to purchase advertising..
Featured artists: March: Guest artist Rosemary Powelson, drawings, paintings and clay. April: Gallery member Sharon Ballard, paintings and pet portraits; Guest artist Linda Blue, wearable art and jewelry. First Thursdays and classes are canceled until further notice, due to Pandemic. Find a unique gift! We have beautiful artisan cards, masks, jewelry, books by local authors, pottery, sculpture, photographs and so much more at your local Co-operative Fine Arts & Crafts Gallery. Be sure to shop the fourth Local Saturday of each month to receive a free gift! Voted one of top 3 Galleries in SW Washington! Free Gift wrapping plus Layaway!
CRR’s sidewalk box formerly located outside the St. Helens Post Office has been re-located to the nearby St. Helens Market Fresh (Red Apple). Never miss an issue!
HOW TO PUBLICIZE YOUR NON-PROFIT EVENT IN CRR
Send your non-commercial community event basic 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: April 15 – May 20: by Mar 25 for April 15 issue. May 15 – June 20: by April 25 for May 15 issue Calendar submissions are considered for inclusion, subject to lead time, general relevance to readers, and space limitations. See Submission Guidelines, at left.
“In Their Footsteps: Women to Reckon With” March 21, 1 pm. “Pacific Slope Prologues to Lewis & Clark,” free lecture by author David L. Nicandri. Series sponsored by the Lewis and Clark National Park Association and Fort Clatsop. Fort Clatsop, Netul Room, Visitor Center, Astoria, Ore. Info: 503-861-2471. See article, page 30. Multi-Family Outside Sale April 10, 9am., Rainier Senior Center, 48 W. 7th, Rainier, Ore. Table/space rent $10, refundable clean-up fee $20. Call 503-369-6382.
DO YOU HAVE A SPARE ROOM AND ENJOY COLLEGE “KIDS” AND BASEBALL? COWLITZ BLACK BEARS is looking for Host Families this summer. The program is vital to the success of the season and Host Families enjoy special “perks” and build bonds with the players which can last a lifetime. Call Kerri Guitteau, 360-703-3195, or email kguittear@cowlitzblackbears.com for more info.
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, regularlyrefilled sidewalk box and rack locations where you can pick up a copy any time of day and even in your bathrobe ... WESTPORT LONGVIEW Berry Patch U.S. Bank Wauna mill Post Office parking lot Bob’s (rack, main check-out) In front of 1232 Commerce Ave RAINIER In front of 1323 Commerce Ave Post Office YMCA Cornerstone Fred Meyer (rack, service desk area) Rainier Hardware Teri’s (rack, entry) Grocery Outlet Earth ‘n’ Sun (on Hwy 30) Fibre Fed’l CU - Commerce Ave El Tapatio (entry rack) Monticello Hotel (front entrance) Grocery Outlet Kaiser Permanente DEER ISLAND St. John Medical Center Deer Island Store (rack, Park Lake Café) LCC Student Center COLUMBIA CITY - Post Office Indie Way Diner WARREN Columbia River Reader Office Warren Country Inn 1333 14th Ave. ST HELENS KELSO Chamber of Commerce Heritage Bank Sunshine Pizza Visitors’ Center / Kelso-Longview St. Helens Market Fresh Chamber of Commerce Olde Town (Wild Currant) KALAMA Safeway Fibre Fed’l CU SCAPPOOSE To find the 24/7 Kalama Shopping Center Post Office pick-up point corner of First & Fir Road Runner nearest you, McMenamin’s Harbor Lodge Fultano’s visit crreader.com and click “Find the WOODLAND Ace Hardware Magazine” tab. Visitors’ Center WARRENTON, OR CASTLE ROCK Fred Meyer Lacie Rha’s Cafe (32 Cowlitz W.) CATHLAMET Parker’s Restaurant (box, entry) Cathlamet Pharmacy Visitors’ Center Tsuga Gallery 890 Huntington Ave. N. Cathlamet Realty West Exit 49, west side of I-5 Puget Island Ferry Landing RYDERWOOD Café porch SKAMOKAWA CLATSKANIE Skamokawa General Store Post Office Chevron / Mini-Mart NASELLE Fultano’s Pizza Appelo Archives & Café Johnson’s One-Stop Columbia River Reader / March 15, 2021 / 31
SKY REPORT
Astronomy
Looking UP MAR 15 – APRIL 15
Evening Sky Mars is still a bright planet in the southwest sky. It is not to be confused with the bright star Aldebaran which is below Mars. Mars will be due north of Aldebaran March 22nd as it moves slightly east as it passes by. The Moon will be sliding by Mars and Aldebaran as it makes it way to the star cluster (M44) in the constellation Cancer. These should be great watching through binoculars. Morning Sky March 15-30 Jupiter and Saturn are visible in the morning sky just before dawn. Jupiter will be the brightest and Saturn will follow low in the southeastern sky. They will be easier to see as March progresses as the Earth begins catching up to them again. Mercury is being swallowed by the rising sun as it heads to the other side of the sun in its fast-paced orbit. Venus, on March 25th it will be directly opposite from us behind the sun in what is known as a superior conjunction. By mid April, Venus will be rising just after sunset and continue to rise as the bright evening star.
Longview resident Greg Smith is past president of Friends of Galileo. Meet him and other club members at monthly meetings in Longview. For more info about FOG, visit friendsofgalileo. com.
32 / Columbia River Reader / March 15, 2021
Night Sky Spectacle: For the ambitious, the Asteroid 4 Vesta will be passing through the hind legs of Leo the Lion in the constellation of the same name. It will be arching above the three galaxies of M96, M95, and M106 headed toward the bright star Regulus from March 15th through the end of the month and early April. Motion will be apparent if you do multiple sightings over hours and several days. Large binoculars or a small telescope are needed. Clear dark skies will be absolutely necessary to pull this off. It is one of the top ten brightest objects in Leo’s hindquarters. 4 Vesta is the only main-belt asteroid that can, on occasion, be visible to the naked eye. It is the second largest asteroid, but fourth discovered, after Asteroid 1 Ceres. The total mass of all the asteroids in the Asteroid Belt, sitting between Mars and Jupiter, is only 4 percent of the mass of the Moon. On average, the distance between asteroids is more than 500,000 miles, though some of them do orbit each other. Moon Phases 1st Quarter: March 21st Sun. Full: Mar 28th Sun 3rd Quarter: April 4 Sun New: April 11 Sun End of twilight - when the stars start to come out. Mar 15th 7:48pm April 1st 8:12 pm April 15 8:30 pm •••
Where do you read
ROTARY CLUB OF LONGVIEW
Help needed for good quality used book drive
THE READER?
Have you cleaned out closets, cupboards and storage areas while spending so much time at home during this pandemic? How about bookshelves?
Who says dogs can’t read?
Boz Kovak, housemate of Natalie Kovak of Corvallis, Ore., settling down for a good read: CRR’s holiday issue.
WHERE DO YOU READ THE READER? Send your photo reading the Reader (high-resolution JPEG) to Publisher@CRReader.com. Include names and cities of residence. We make it a practice to acknowledge photos received; if you don’t hear from us within 5 days, please re-send. If sending a cell phone photo, choose the largest file size up to 2 MB.
The Rotary Club of Longview is seeking good-quality children’s books to help refill the eleven Little Free Libraries the club has placed at eight public elementary schools and two preschools, as well as the entrance to the Northlake Lower Columbia School Garden. Books appropriate for ages from preschool through elementary school are especially needed. Please drop off your book donations at Columbia Bank, 1225 Washington Way, Longview, between 9am and 5pm, Monday through Friday. Longview Rotary believes one of the greatest gifts we can all give children is the ability to read. Good quality books are needed so kids can read, read, read! Longview Rotary thanks the community for helping provide this gift to children and a better future for all.
HOT PIZZA FRESH COOL
SALAD BAR THE BEST AROUND! IN ST HELENS • 2124 Columbia Blvd
503-397-3211
Columbia River Reader / March 15, 2021 / 33
the spectator
PLUGGED IN TO
by ned piper
COWLITZ PUD
Wandering tot narrowly escapes death
L
egend has it that I saved Erin Hart’s life. I’ve always thought that was a bit of an overstatement, but in truth, I’ve liked the sound of it.
she gave us a litter of pups. I have a photo in a box somewhere in the attic of my dad sporting a broken leg, me with a broken arm and Mrs. Coal also with a broken leg — from crossing the infamous Pacific Way — all three of us wearing casts.
It was a cloudless summer day, probably a Saturday, or I wouldn’t have been out mowing the lawn. From my front yard, I had an excellent view of the quarter mile up Pacific Way, heading west, away from town.
I shut down the mower and made a beeline to intercept the little girl in front of our house. I asked if she was lost. Looking back, I don’t think she thought she was. She knew her name and said she knew where she lived. She seemed comfortable with me wanting to take her home. I was at a disadvantage not knowing where she lived, however, but we got into my car and drove down Pacific Way, back toward town.
As I made the turn with the mower, something caught my eye. A little girl two or three years old was walking down the sidewalk. She was way too young to be walking alone down a busy street like Pacific Way. And this was a very dangerous stretch of the road. Growing up in the same house I was then living in with my own family, I recalled that nearly every pet we’d owned met its death crossing that road. The exception was our dog King Coal, so named because it was solid black. We had to change its name to Mrs. Coal when
When we passed John Null Park and Corman Road — a stone’s throw from the present-day site of Three Rivers Christian School where she would later go to school and, eventually, work — Erin pointed at a house on the left side of the road. This was 40-some years ago and I never learned what little Erin was doing so far from home. I handed her off to her parents and went back to finish mowing my lawn. It was probably 20 years later at a social event when Erin’s mother, Blair Wilson, introduced me to her friends as the man who had saved her daughter’s life. It took a minute to recall what she was talking about. After all, I merely took little Erin home. But if, as her mother feels — even if slightly tongue-in-cheek — I’m glad I did. All lives are precious, of course, but Erin is now a woman certainly making a difference in the world. Be sure to read this month’s People+Place feature and meet the smart, spunky, skilled Erin Hart. The writer, Hal Calbom, told me that of the hundreds of interviews he’s conducted in his career, Erin’s has been one of the most enjoyable. We are lucky to have Erin in our community, ensuring, enriching and enlivening the education of many of our children. ••• Longview native Ned Piper assists with CRR and still finds time to read, write, walk the neighborhood and putz in the yard. But he doesn’t personally mow the lawn.
TWO LOCATIONS TO SERVE YOU: LONGVIEW & WOODLAND
Check us out on Facebook or our website AntidoteTapHouse.com
34 / Columbia River Reader / March 15, 2021
By Alice Dietz
Sixth Season of Cowlitz PUD Osprey Cam to begin in April
I
n partnership with WAVE and Brian Magnuson, Cowlitz PUD’s live-feed osprey camera is now in its sixth season. The camera focuses on a platform Cowlitz PUD built 20 years ago near a utility pole to provide a safe nesting alternative from our energized power lines. The osprey will migrate from their winter home and arrive in Cowlitz County lateMarch to early-April. The female osprey typically lays three eggs in late April and the eggs will hatch in early June. Join us in watching nature unfold on our live-streaming platform at: https://www. cowlitzpud.org/about/osprey-cam/. This year Cowlitz PUD is excited to present our “Survival for Osprey and You” children’s activity posters. These posters illustrate how to stay safe near power lines, while sharing how our osprey have adapted for survival. We welcome you to bring the Osprey Cam into your home and introduce our educational posters to the children in your life. ••• Alice Dietz is Communications/Public Relations Manager at Cowlitz PUD. Reach her at adietz@cowlitzpud.org, or 360-501-9146.
f o i r l e P r e n t Par WHO BROADWAY GALLERY
1418 Commerce Ave., Longview 360-577-0544
WHAT Artists’ Co-op Gallery presenting
Originally located on Broadway in 1982, the Gallery soon outgrew its space and moved to Commerce Ave.
diverse works in multiple media.
WHY Commitment to community arts,
encouraging new talent, offering classes, events and a sales platform.
Gallery members are enthusiastic about CRRPress books. Left: Janet McGregor, Jane Gerdon; Right: Gallery president Susan Supola.
WOW Gallery artists Judy VanderMaten and Debby Neely are featured prominently in CRRPress books displayed beside their original work.
HOW Visual and narrative blend
harmoniously, offering a “different way of seeing” the Lower Columbia.
“The perfect gift for people... you don’t know what to get for them. Everyone local is going to love this!”
B
roadway Gallery is an artists’ co-op in the heart of historic downtown Longview, Washington, featuring original artwork and crafts by 31 Southwest Washington and Oregon artists. The Gallery also features local authors and poets, and spotlights new releases.
“It’s a thoughtful purchase.” “People love the photographs!”
In the spotlight at Broadway Gallery ~ CRR Press books ... proven top sellers!
“When I suggest people look at it, they end up buying it.”
Readers are raving about these books...
THE TIDEWATER REACH Field Guide to the Lower Columbia in Poems and Pictures
By Robert Michael Pyle and Judy VanderMaten Field Guide to the
Lower Columbia River in
O. P E R R Y
dispatches MICHAEL
from the
Discovery Trail with
HAL CALBOM DEBBY NEELY
by woodcut art
A LAYMAN’S
Poems and Pictures
DISPATCHES FROM THE DISCOVERY TRAIL A Layman’s Lewis & Clark By Michael O. Perry
Robert Michael Pyle Judy VanderMaten
K
LEWIS & CLAR
n Signature Editio
Get Yours Now!
With original woodcut art by Debby Neely
see page 2
At 1333 14th AVE, LONGVIEW, Wash. or locations throughout the region Both titles available in • Boxed Signature Edition Color / BW $50 • Trade Paperback in BW $25 Online: CRREADER.COM/CRRPRESS INFO: 360-749-1021
A Different Way of Seeing...
Both books Include Hal Calbom’s author Interviews
Also available at: • Vintage Books 6613 E. Mill Plain, Vancouver • Broadway Gallery, Longview • Cowlitz County Historical Museum Shop, Kelso • Vault Books & Brew, Castle Rock • Mt. St. Helens Gift Shop, Castle Rock, Exit 49 • Tsuga Gallery, Cathlamet • Wahkiakum Eagle, Cathlamet • Redmen Hall, Skamokawa • Skamokawa Store, Skamokawa • Appelo Archives, Naselle • Time Enough Books, Ilwaco * Godfathers Books, Astoria • RiverSea Gallery, Astoria • Columbia River Maritime Museum Store, Astoria
Please support our local booksellers & galleries Columbia River Reader / March 15, 2021 / 35
36 / Columbia River Reader / February October 15, 2020 2021