KITTITAS VALLEY
From the Cascades to the Columbia | Q2 2019
INSIDE: n Mountain bikers getting ready n Ellensburg Community Radio n How the Daily Record got its name S P R I N G 2 019
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Mountain bikers getting ready for upcoming season pg
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TABLE of
Ellensburg Community Radio growing
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Thrall and Dodge putting Kittitas County on the wine map pg
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How the Daily Record got its name
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AROUND THE
County
Bares and Broncs An event that started in 2006, Bares and Broncs gives rodeo fans a chance to watch the future of the sport at the Ellensburg Rodeo Arena. This year’s event is at 6:30 p.m. May 17 and 18, and advanced tickets are just $10. Tickets also will be sold at the gate for $15. Concessions will be provided by Cascade Mountain Grilling and the Behind the Chutes beer garden is sponsored by Iron Horse Brewery. While you’re back there, don’t forget to catch live music with Massy Ferguson.
Western Art Show The 47th annual Western Art show runs may 15-19 at the Kittitas Valley Event Center in Ellensburg. This free event offers patrons to wander nearly 14,000 square feet displaying the artwork of almost 70 artists. The event usually includes quick draws, demonstrations, artist booths and a student art exhibit. There are also auctions, so you can take home a piece of the action. 6
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LETTER FROM the
S
Editor
pring is here. That’s a relief. Last I wrote you, I was in a deep hibernation, waiting for February (which they say is the shortest month of the year, but I don’t believe them) to end. Thankfully, it eventually did, leading me stepping outside voluntarily for the first time since I can remember. It turns out other, more adventurous people are doing the same. Samira George caught up with some of those people, who are tuning up their mountain bikes to get ready for their season. Mountain bikers are always looking for a place to play, and it looks like new trails are well on their way to developing around the county. I always assumed newspapers chose their name by some sort of ancient ceremony I will never be privy to, but Daily Record volunteer and history buff
KITTITAS VALLEY
Monica Mersinger dug into the history of our paper’s name, and the different iterations throughout the years. Karl Holappa spent time out in Kittitas talking with the owners of Thrall and Dodge, who have been some of the people figuring out how to grow grapes for wine in Kittitas County. Since “Game of Thrones” is back on the air, my wine consumption has gone up considerably, so that’s good news for me. Finally, I caught up with Ellensburg Community Radio, which is in its fifth year of operation, and has grown considerably since I last checked in. Up to 17 local programs, the enthusiastic board members are always looking for people with passions to come tell their story on the air. So if you have something you’d really like to share, reach out. They’re eager to hear it. Happy reading,
Q2 | 2019
Editor: Michael Gallagher Writers: Matt Carstens, Samira George, Karl Holappa Photos by: Jake Green, Matt Carstens Designer: Matt Carstens Publication of the Daily Record 401 N. Main St. Ellensburg WA 98926 509-925-1414 To submit a story idea or upcoming event, email newsroom@kvnews.com. For information about advertising, email: advertising@kvnews.com. www.dailyrecordnews.com
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Mountain mayhem
Colton Beutel gets some airtime off a roller at the bike park located at Ellensburg Rotary Park.
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Mountain bikers are gearing up for the coming season By Samira George staff writer
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othing compares to wind whipping in the face of a rider as he or she peddles through tight groves of blurry trees and dip and dives through berms while spinning wheels kick up spattered dirt. Mountain bikers are itching for the last of the winter snow to melt to carve on trails and kick off the new riding season. Andrea Crawford, a prominent member of the Kittitas County Evergreen Mountain Biking Alliance, is one these people. The EMBA was established in 2012 in hopes of having a more vocal opinion in future decisions in the use of public land. “There’s not a lot of trails
Photos by Jake Green
that are built specifically for mountain bikes, a lot of the trails that are legal for us to ride on in Kittitas County are motorcycle trails. Some of them are too steep or too rough for us to ride up,” Crawford said. So far, their voices have been heard and this summer EMBA is hoping to start building a trail between Cook and Coleman Canyon. According to Crawford, the process of building a mountain bike trail can take a long time, not just the physical process, but the bureaucracy of paperwork, getting approval and making sure trails meet certain ecological standards all can halt the process. Continued on page 11
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Colton Beutel, left, and Adam Scott Bentz, right, ride through a series of rollers at the bike park located at Ellensburg Rotary Park.
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“They approved area for us to use and now we’ve planned out trails and got those approved,” Crawford, said. “Hopefully, we’ll be building on that this summer and it’s kind of designed to be an area where you can camp and ride your bike, there’s also going to be a family zone with easier features. If everything goes well, there will be a trail that connects our side of the mountains over to Wenatchee.” According to Crawford, not anyone can build trails and if not done properly the hard work will erode by the next season. Continued on page 12
Adam Scott Bentz goes airborne off a roller at the bike park located at Ellensburg Rotary Park. The Kittitas Evergreen MTB Alliance is working to maintain and improve the park with potential plans being made for a pump track.
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Crawford said that there’s a science and almost art-form that goes into making trails last and be sustainable long into the future. “We look a lot at slopes and how the water will turn off the trail effectively and we do a lot of hand building with tools,” Crawford said. Another method EMBA is looking towards is “burning a trail in,” which is a concept that doesn’t require the manpower of 20 or more volunteers to spend hours meticulously digging away at a trail, but rather riders form the trail by sheer force. “Evergreen is starting to look at a new technique, where you kind of mark the trail, push away bigger debris like logs out of the way and then you let people start riding it, and they start wearing in the trail,” Crawford said. While mountain biking trails are designed for bikers the trails can be multi-use for other sports like hiking. Outside of building trails, Crawford said the EMBA is really focused on maintaining and improving the local bike park in Ellensburg to help encourage up and coming riders. Continued on page 15 12
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Adam Scott Bentz does a foot plant off a roller at the bike park located at Ellensburg Rotary Park.
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Four years ago when the city of Ellensburg was trying to think of a good place to build a bike park the town was considering the backside of Craigs Hill, but ultimately decided against it. “It was interesting because people were kind of almost married to that site, like they felt like it had to go there. It would have been really cool, but there’s a lot of elevation and it’s not really beginner appropriate,” said EMBA project coordinator, Kevin Dwight. Dwight said a lot of thought went into figuring out how to make a park that would progress in levels such as beginner, intermediate and advance so someday a rider could move toward taking their mastered skills to a more adventurous setting.
Dwight said part of his visualization process came together while riding and experiencing other parks in the hopes to create the perfect bike park for Ellensburg. “I actually went on a road trip that was about two and a half weeks long and I drove around from place to place and found bike parks on maps and road them for a day… I walked around them for hours and took pictures and took my tape measure out and literally stole designs,” Dwight said. EMBA has a range of events through the month of April and June, which focus on things like foundation skills and trail building opportunities. The most recent event will be April 13 to help get the Rotary bike park in ready condition. n
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Adam Scott Bentz goes airborne off a roller at the bike park located at Ellensburg Rotary Park.
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Taking a leap Ellensburg Community Radio growing, looking for more passionate hosts
Ellensburg Community Radio members record promos at Velvetone Studios in Ellensburg. (Matt Carstens)
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By Matt Carstens staff writer
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hen Judy Sanders moved to Ellensburg a little over four years ago, she was already a bit familiar with the area. Her son had gone to Central Washington University for a masters in music composition, while her daughter had recently started teaching at CWU. What she didn’t realize, was how interesting everyone was going to be. Sanders hosts “Meet Your Neighbors” on Ellensburg Community Radio, which airs at noon on Wednesdays. “I had no idea what I’d do,” Sanders said with a laugh from her home, which doubles as
her recording studio. “Then I thought about it — I’d been here several months and everybody I met had a story to tell. Everybody was so interesting. So I thought I bet I’d really like to talk with people, since that’s what I most like to do. I’m nosy by nature.” Sanders has been hosting the show ever since, hardly ever missing a week. She’s interviewed everyone from Hollywood horse trainer Bill Lawrence to city council members to even her own children. Continued on page 20
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Judy Sanders reacts during an interview at Sanders’ home in Ellensburg. Sanders is host of “Meet Your Neighbors” on Ellensburg Community Radio. (Jake Green)
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Some weeks when she’s short on an interviewee (like the day after Christmas) she’ll just do a fun topic, like the history of Boxing Day. “It’s a safe place to try out something new,” Sanders said about ECR. “And the people are very helpful... I really enjoy meeting people of all different aspects.” Sanders, who had never hosted a radio show before, said she’s definitely learned some things along the way, like the importance of doing some research before hand. Continued on page 22 Judy Sanders checks over a script before starting an interview at Sanders home in Ellensburg. (Jake Green)
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Dale Brubaker, the host of “Old-Time Zone” at the controls at the Ellensburg Community Radio station, with board member Kathy Hopkins. (Matt Carstens)
The other thing she’s learned, is it’s important to get uncomfortable, no matter what stage of life you happen to be at. “It’s good to take a leap,” she said. “And this is a safe really enjoyable place to take a leap.” The ECR station is located in the first room to the left as you enter the 420 Building in downtown Ellensburg. Equipped with a sound board and a couple of microphones, some people like Dale Brubaker produce their show live on the air, while others like Sanders record it at home, edit it, then send it in to run 22
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during its time slot. “I think I would encourage people, if they have any ideas for what might make an interesting program, to do it,” Sanders said. “Or if they want to suggest someone to me, I’d be happy to take suggestions.”
Old-Time Zone
Brubaker hosts his show at 8 p.m. Wednesdays, which focuses on American old-time music, with fiddles, banjos, string bands and more. He started off four years ago doing it once a month, but then moved up to once a S P R I N G 2 019
week. Decades ago, Brubaker hosted a similar show at a community radio station in Pittsburgh, and when he heard a similar concept was starting in Ellensburg, he was immediately interested. Brubaker spends several hours preparing for his show each Wednesday night, and says prepping is almost as fun as hosting. “I buy new music a lot more than I used to,” Brubaker said. Continued on page 24
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Judy Sanders reacts during an interview at Sanders’ home in Ellensburg. (Jake Green)
Brubaker’s show often has a theme, for instance music of Missouri, and tries to keep it as fresh as possible. “It’s basically just 24
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my collection, so something will get repeated,” he said with a smile.
Station growth
The internet-only station is up to 17
local programs these days, and ECR board member and “Official Listener” Kathy Hopkins has been getting the word out anyway she can.
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“I started by standing at the market with a sign and just asking to people and showing them how to get online,” Hopkins said. “At my age, when
Gear sits on the rack in at the Ellensburg Community Radio Station in Ellensburg. (Matt Carstens)
people think that I can do it, they think they can do it.” Hopkins said the board members are always mulling around new ideas, whether it be more sports content, a book club, or a gardening show, and encourages anyone to come knock on the door if that or any other ideas appeal to them. The station recently received a grant to put on a radio drama, something the station has done a few times before. This time, the production is one written by Sanders, based on a short story she’d previously written. “We record it upstairs in the loft with sound effects and all this stuff,” Sanders said. n S P R I N G 2 019
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What’s in a name? How the Daily Record got its masthead 26
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By Monica Mersinger
From the Daily Record archives and the Kittitas County History Museum. The Daily Record is celebrating its 110th anniversary as a continuing daily publication since 1883, six years before Washington would become the 42nd state in the union. The evolution of the newspaper's name is the result of boom and bust times reflected in the community over the years. In 110 years, the Daily Record has had six different names. The earliest newspaper in 1880 as a amateur publication called the Kittitass (sp) Wau Wau, a sly publication of one issue to demonstrate Kittitas was a "separate place" from the enlarged Yakima County which encompassed the Kittitas area at the time. There was a movement afoot to separate from Yakima County, which was accomplished when Kittitas County was established by the Washington territorial government in 1883. Also in 1883, two competing news publications began in June. The Standard was owned by Richard V. Chadd. The first edition of the Kittitas Localizer was published July 12, 1883 by publisher David Schnebly and was the first published professional newspaper in Ellensburg. The Kittitas Localizer is the great-grandad to the current Daily Record,
Names and dates Ellensburg newspapers
on Saturday called the Kittitas Localizer n 1907 The Ellensburg Localizer is renamed The Evening Localizer n 1909 J.C. (Cliff ) Kaynor and W.S. Zimmerman purchase The Evening Localizer n 1912 The Evening Localizer is renamed to The Evening n 1880 Kittitass (sp) Wau Wau, Record, Kaynor buys out W.S. amateur publication, 1 issue only Zimmerman's ownership and n 1883 June 16, The Standard, becomes sole publisher begins publication under Richard n 1918 The weekly Kittitas Chadd Localizer is discontinued due to a n 1883 June 12, Kittitas paper shortage during WWI Localizer publishes before n 1938 The Evening Record the Standard, July 12 with a is renamed the Ellensburg Daily four page paper under David Record Schnebly using Yakima's press n 1959 J.C. (Cliff ) Kaynor n 1885 The Standard ends retires as publisher of the publication with the sudden Ellensburg Daily Record after 50 death of Richard Chadd who died years as publisher at his newspaper desk n 1979 The Ellensburg Daily n 1903 The Standard is sold Record is renamed the Daily to Amasa Randall and U.M. (Roy) Record and it remains the Randall. They rename the daily newspaper's name since that paper the Ellensburg Localizer time and also publish a weekly paper
the first daily newspaper for the town. The Standard was a true competitor to the Kittitas Localizer, but for the demise of its owner, Richard Chadd, who literally died at his news desk on September 15, 1885 due to a weak heart. The Kittitas Localizer was renamed the Ellensburg Localizer in 1907. In 1912, the Ellensburg Localizer became the Evening Record, the first time "evening" appeared in the masthead. It was followed by a change of ownership in 1938 from S P R I N G 2 019
The Evening Record to the Ellensburg Daily Record. The last change to its name came in 1979 from the Ellensburg Daily Record to The Daily Record, which is how it remains to this day as the title of our local daily newspaper. Monica Mersinger is a historic preservationist documenting Northwest history, photography and is a local history columnist for the Daily Record. K V LI V ING
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Wine in the valley A variety of grapes grow well in Kittitas County
Troy Goodreau and Kimberly Goodreau pose for a photograph at Thrall and Dodge Winery in Kittitas. The winery is part of a collection of wineries that have found success throughout the Kittitas Valley. 28
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By Karl Holappa staff writer Photos by Jake Green
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hen one thinks of Washington wine, he or she often thinks of locales like Walla Walla, the Yakima Valley or Red Mountain. A handful of entrepreneurial Kittitas County residents are working hard to get our area included on that list. Although the primary agricultural crop in the valley is timothy hay and alfalfa, the southern edge of the valley is dotted with orchards. Grapes have been found to grow well in this part of the valley, as well as within the Yakima River canyon. Although the growing season is slightly different and the soil is unique to the area, growers have found that certain varietals of grapes do quite well within the county. Husband-and-wife team Troy and Kimberly Goodreau started Thrall and Dodge Winery in 2005. Troy, who has a background in construction, heads up the growing and winemaking operations, while Kimberly, a retired social worker runs day-to-day operations in the winery’s tasting room in downtown Kittitas. Troy has been making wine since he was 12, producing small amounts as gifts for family while growing up in the Tacoma area. Until the 1970s, he said there were several vineyards in the Southern Puget Sound region, and his exposure to them helped fuel his interest in viticulture. “I became very fascinated with making wine,” he said. “It was one of my goals to become an enologist.” Troy’s roots within the valley go back to his childhood, where his family came frequently to recreate.
Award ribbons sit on bottles of wine at Thrall and Dodge Winery in Kittitas.
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“The Kittitas Valley has been part of my life since I was a kid,” he said. “Hunting, fishing, Labor Day weekends were all spent in the valley.” When his parents retired, they purchased a property on Thrall Road and built a cabin that Troy and Kimberly live in to this day. A portion of the grapes used by the winery are grown on their three-acre vineyard block situated on their property. Troy planted the block in 2008 and has found that French hybrids are well-suited for the shorter growing season found in the valley. “We are able to bud past the frost here and ripen before the frost,” he said. Troy has also found that some varietals such as Riesling can be vulnerable to the growing conditions, in which he uses the French hybrids to augment his blends from vintage to vintage. “Sometimes it ripens well, and sometimes it does not,” he said. Troy also purchases grapes from growers in the Yakima River canyon and from north of Pasco. Although it is necessary to purchase hot-climate grapes from farther east, such as Syrah and 30
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Merlot, he tries to use as much locallygrown product as possible. “We try to all stick together,” he said. Troy and Kimberly handle all the winemaking and bottling on their own and produce approximately 400 cases a year. They moved into their tasting room in Kittitas three years ago and traffic has been good. Although they originally distributed their wines amongst a dozen accounts, the couple decided that they could sell directly to the consumer at their tasting room. “We love it here in Kittitas,” Kimberly said. “During the tourist season, it’s really busy, but the locals have helped keep our lights on all year round.” Kimberly said she loves the reaction she gets from tourists that stumble across the tasting room and realize that quality wine is being made in Kittitas County. “The two biggest words I hear are hidden gem,” she said. The tasting room hosts live music events and what they call sit and spin, an event where patrons can choose vintage records from the couple’s collection to listen to while they drink wine. An outdoor tasting area is also utilized during the warmer months. Kimberly said she enjoys patrons finding wines the couple grows that they end up falling in love with. “You almost live for that feedback,” she said. “I never thought I would become a farmer, but that’s kind of where it ended up for me. I really enjoy growing the business.” The couple said their favorite part of running the winery is the interaction they have with their guests. “To be able to sit here and talk with people,” Troy said. “Watch their expressions while they drink wine form Ellensburg and Kittitas County. Just enjoying their company.” n
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