Okanogan Living - March 2023 (Sample)

In

With the snow (mostly) gone and birds returning, it must mean one thing: Spring is in the air.

March is another one of those strange months as we transition from winter to spring, (which begins March 20). We also spring clocks forward on March 12.

Brock

Hires

But perhaps the greatest symbol that spring is here, is the amount of upcoming events this month.

From fundraiser dinners to variety shows, Okanogan Valley is full of family-friendly events this month.

And who could forget to wear green on March 17?

In this edition of Okanogan Living, we highlight Tim and Dianna Naillon, who are the owners of the Pastime Brewery in Oroville.

The history of the bar dates back nearly a century, but the craft brews inside are new and unique, including a Red Irish Ale, which will be ready just in time for St. Patrick's Day.

The Naillons are proof that even in a small town such as Oroville, one can still find unique and diverse entrepreneurship.

Did you know March is also "National Peanut Month?"

To celebrate this underrated holiday, we did some research and discovered a man once had moderate success in farming peanuts in Loomis. Who knew?

This month we also shine a light on the annual Wintrhop

Balloon Roundup, the history of railroads in the Okanogan Highlands, the allure of rainbows and more.

And for the green thumb, we also include our annual garden planting schedule in this issue (see Page 21).

As always, we thank our

readers, contributing writers, photographers, and advertisers for making this magazine possible. ♦

— Brock Hires is the owner/ publisher of Okanogan Living. He can be reached at 509-4868080 or via email at editor@ oklivingmagazine.com.

A gaggle of Canada geese spread their wings.

The original Pastime bar was built in 1925. Today, patrons can sit at the fully-restored bar which dates back to 1908.

Oroville Couple Brews Success

By Brock Hires Okanogan Living

Beer is one of the oldest beverages humans have produced. In fact, barley beer was recorded in ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia writings.

Regardless, the art of finding a unique signature, flavor and aroma continues to be perfected in breweries big and small across the world. Oroville residents Tim and Dianna Naillon are proof that the sky is the limit when creating specialty brews.

“We have 16 on tap,” Tim Naillon said, pointing to a chalkboard menu inside the couple’s Main Street establishment, the Pastime Brewery.

The original Pastime Bar and Grill was built in 1925 and underwent major renovations in 2012. The couple took over the business in 2015, operating it as a traditional bar and grill.

Leaving their high-pressure jobs in Yakima to get into the bar industry was a stretch for the couple, but when they made the decision to do it, they committed whole-heartedly.

“We both got burned out,” Tim said noting he was a manager and Dianna was an office manager. “We decided to leave our current job and seek out something different.”

Initially the couple considered moving to the East Coast, but fate led them to the brewery. They met with the establishment’s then-owners in May 2015 and took over operations two months later. However, their new endeavor is not what you see today, it started out more like a restaurant, but they soon realized a turn of the tables was in order.

A nitrogen-infused beer (right) creates a foamy texture compared to a tradition brew (left).

Rainbows

Bring feelings of wonder, joy

By Adeena Hires Okanogan Living

With spring comes some incredible storms, and along with it — rainbows. No matter your age, when one spots a rainbow, it elicits feelings of wonder, beauty, joy and happiness.

“A rainbow is a multicolored arc made by light striking water droplets," according to National Geographic. "The most familiar type rainbow is produced when sunlight strikes raindrops in front of a viewer at a precise angle (42 degrees).”

Rainbows are symbolic and offer an interpretation that can differ from one person to another, but they are often a sign of promise, hope, equality or good fortune.

In Christianity, a promise was the first attribute of the rainbow as shown in Genesis. God destroyed the earth with a flood because of his disappointment in humans, but promised never to do it again.

Genesis 9:12–17: “And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and

Kathryn Fewkes

every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life. Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth.”

In some cultures, the rainbow represent a bridge. In Greek mythology, Iris, the goddess of rainbows, traveled the rainbow to carry messages to earth. In ancient Japan the rainbow was a celestial bridge. In Norse mythology the rainbow connected Asgard and Midgard.

St. Patrick, a fifth-century Christian missionary, went to Ireland to preach God's word in a country shifting from paganism to Christianity. Consequently, Irish myths and legends of rainbows and pots of gold merged with Christian beliefs. Therefore, celebrating St. Patrick’s Day is really about a transition

from paganism to Christianity.

In Irish folklore, the leprechaun hides their gold in a pot at the end of a rainbow. Unfortunately, the end of the rainbow is ever-elusive, making the pot of gold unattainable (unless you catch the leprechaun).

According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, an Irish saying dating back to the 17th century states a person “was as likely to find a pot of gold, as to find the end of a rainbow.” The idiom of this saying being that your end goal (pot of gold) may be very alluring, but one will probably never achieve it.

Yet, the rainbow represents hope, dreams, and the journey to that “pot of gold”. Finding a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow is certainly nice, but it is often more indicative of pursuing a dream and striving to reach it. Just like Judy Garland sang in the Wizard of Oz, “Somewhere over the rainbow skies are blue, and the dreams that you dare to dream really do come true”. However, since the end of the rainbow is an optical illusion, you find this magical place is unreachable as she sings “Birds fly over the rainbow – why then, oh, why, can’t I?”

It is the rainbow that reminds us of our dreams- of possibility, hope, and ambition. They are certainly one of God’s miracleshis promise. Enjoy these spring storms in their entirety and look out for the colorful phenomenons that come along with them. And bear in mind that although it is often difficult to spot rainbows amid life's storms, it is meaningful to remember that they only appear after a storm. ♦

Katie Wheat

Adeena Hires |

Okanogan Living

FROM THE PAST]

It might be interesting to know a little of the history of the Spokane Falls and Northern, as this railroad was acquired by the Great Northern, and the branch serving Molson and Chesaw was often spoken and written of as the S. F. and N., which will be used in this story.

D. C. Corbin, financier of Spokane Falls, built the S. F. and N. to Colville in 1889, and in the following three years, extended the road to Northport. In 1893 he started construction from the boundary to Nelson, B.C. In spite of the 1893 panic, which put nearly all Western R.R. (including the N. P.R.R.) in the hands of receivers, a railroad strike, which Corbin’s employees refused to join, and the great Columbia River flood of

1894, which washed out much of the road bed; in spite of all these reverses, he still finished this road. An employee, Mr. Emmet Holmes, writes of the years in the nineties. During the terrible panic of 1893 and subsequent years when nearly every railroad company of any consequence went into the hands of a receiver, Mr. D. C. Corbin weathered the storm, and despite the falling off of business and the stringency in the money market, by his great business abilities and farsightedness and the confidence that the employees possessed in him, came through with flying colors, and though he got far behind in our salaries, paid us every dollar that he owed us. He lived to see the recovery of business, which he predicted

and the confidence which he had in his country verified, and to see business so great on the S. F, and N. that we did not have equipment to handle the large volume of business offered. We had to use boxcars on our passenger equipment to haul the people.

The N. P. Railway bought the S. F. and N. in 1898 and it was sold again to the Great Northern. about 1900. In 1903­04 the railroad was extended to Curlew and Republic. In 1905­06 to Myncaster and Molson, and in 1907 it was completed to Oroville. The road from Myncaster to Oroville, with its high trestles, rock cuts and tunnels, was one of the most expensive pieces of railroad ever built. There was an S. track on the Bridesville Hill and another four miles west of

Molson just above the Nine Mile siding. Two miles west of Molson, just the opposite of the high quarter­mile trestle at Myncaster to keep the track in Canada, a 1,300foot rock cut had to be blasted through a hill to keep the track in the US, barely leaving width for a county road between the railroad and the boundary.

From Nine Mile the railroad circled back and forth from near the boundary to about four miles south until it reached Oroville. Circle siding half way down the hill, thus derived its name. The 27­mile distance by rail from Molson to Oroville was more than twice that of the wagon road.

The elevation at Molson is 3,700 feet, highest depot in Washington. Oroville is 920 feet. Molson and

The first locomotive engine arrives in Okanogan on April 13, 1913.

Frank Matsura

|

Okanogan County Historical Society

Planting guide

SPRING PLANTING DATES FALL PLANTING DATES

The days of Yesteryear

Big Joe Williams

Benny Goodman

Fred Astaire

Franklin D. Roosevelt

US President

WHAT'S GOING ON

shown at noon at the Mirage Theater, 101 S. Main St., Omak. The event is part of the Free Winter Kids' Matinee Series. Free admission for all ages with donation for Omak Food Bank. Information: 509-826-0860.

Swing dance lessons will be offered at 4:30 p.m. at Twisp Grange, 344 W. Second Ave. Information: methowathome.clubexpress.com.

"Croods: A New Age" will be shown at noon at the Mirage Theater, 101 S. Main St., Omak. The event is part of the Free Winter Kids' Matinee Series. Free admission for all ages with donation for Omak Food Bank. Information: 509-826-0860.

MARCH 6

MARCH 1

Storytime is planned at 11 a.m. at Curlew Public Library, 11 River St. Information: ncwlibraries.org.

The Tonasket Food Bank will have its annual meeting at 5:30 p.m. in the food bank building, 101 N. Highway 97, Tonasket. Information: 509-4861219.

MARCH 2

Taking Off Pounds Sensibly (TOPS) weight loss group meets at 5:30 p.m. at the Omak Senior Center, 214 N. Juniper St.

The American Legion Columbia Post 97 (Brewster American Legion), 102 E. Main St., will host bingo. Card sales start at 5 p.m.

The Okanogan County Fair Advisory Committee will meet at 6 p.m. in the Okanogan County Commissioner’ hearing room, 123 N. Fifth Ave. The meeting will also be available via Zoom. Information: okanogancounty.org.

MARCH 3

The Winthrop Balloon Roundup will begin at 7 a.m. behind the Winthrop Inn, 960 Highway 20, Winthrop. A balloon glow is set at 6 p.m. Information: winthropwashington.com.

A presentation on the Northern Lights is planned at 6 p.m. at the Methow Valley Community Center, 201 S. Methow Valley Highway, Twisp. Information: 509-997-4681.

Java Live is planned at 6:30 p.m. at the Oroville Grange, 622 Fir St. Performers include Cheat Grass and Harvey Swanson.

MARCH 4

The Winthrop Balloon Roundup will begin at 7 a.m. behind the Winthrop Inn, 960 Highway 20, Winthrop. A balloon glow is set at 6 p.m. Information: winthropwashington.com.

"Croods: A New Age" will be

The North Cascades Chapter of the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation will host a banquet from 4 to 10 p.m. at the Okanogan County Fairgrounds Agriplex, 175 Rodeo Trail, Okanogan. Information: 509-531-0524.

A talent show is planned at the Community Cultural Center, 411 S. Western Ave., Tonasket. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. with carnival games. The show begins at 6:30 p.m. Admission charged. Information: communityculturalcenter.org.

A fundraiser for Miss Omak Stampede Mackenzie Scott is planned at the Okanogan Eagles, 1820 N. Second Ave. Doors open at 5 p.m. The event include dinner, live and silent auctions, and live music by The Night Riders. Admission charged. Information: 509-322-0762

MARCH 5

The Winthrop Balloon Roundup will begin at 7 a.m. behind the Winthrop Inn, 960 Highway 20, Winthrop. Information: winthropwashington.com.

Storytime is planned at 10:30 a.m. Storytime is planned at 10:30 a.m. at Brewster Public Library, 108 S. Third St. Information: ncwlibraries.org.

Omak City Council will meet at 7 p.m. at in City Hall, 2 N. Ash St. Information: omakcity.com

MARCH 7

Storytime is planned at 10:30 a.m. at Pateros Public Library, 174 Pateros Mall. Information: ncwlibraries.org.

Adventures in Reading is planned at 11 a.m. at the Methow Valley Community Center, 201 S. Methow Valley Highway, Twisp. Information: 509-997-4681.

Okanogan City Council will meet at 7 p.m. in City Hall, 120 N. Third Ave. Information: okanogancity.com

Oroville City Council will meet at 7 p.m. in Council Chamber, 1308 Ironwood St. Information: Orovillewa.com.

MARCH 8

Storytime is planned at 11 a.m. at Curlew Public Library, 11 River St.

The Winthrop Balloon Roundup returns March 3-5.

Mia Dominguez, Luis Flores-Nava, Seniors — Reyan Burton, Jessica Ray and Elizabeth Sanchez. Tonasket. ♦