CRR April 2021

CRREADER.COM Vol. XVIII, No. 188 • April 15, 2021 • COMPLIMENTARY Helping you discover and enjoy the good life in the Columbia River region at home and on the road

People+ Place

Piano Forté In Tune with David Page

page 26

COLUMBIA RIVER

dining guide

HIKE THE DISCOVERY TRAIL • PLUG IN TO ELECTRIC CARS • BLOSSOM BOWL-OVER

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

ESCAPE TO BARCELONA • “FEATURED

IN FULL VIEW Rex Ziak

$29.95

CHEF” RETURNS

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SUBSCRIPTIONS MAKE THOUGHTFUL GIFTS...

FOR YOURSELF OR FOR A FRIEND!

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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THE TIDEWATER REACH

EYEWITNESS TO ASTORIA Gabriel Franchére

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.

The

$21.95

Tidewater Reach Field Guide to the

Lower Columbia River

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.

in

Poems and Pictures

Field Guide to the

Lower Columbia River in

Poems and Pictures

Robert Michael Pyle Judy VanderMaten

Robert Michael Pyle Judy VanderMaten

DISPATCHES FROM THE DISCOVERY TRAIL

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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M I C H A E L O. P E R R Y

dispatches from the

Discovery Trail with

M I C H A E L O. P E R R Y

dispatches from the

Signature Edition

HAL CALBOM

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DEBBY NEELY

A LAYMAN’S LEWIS & CLARK

Discovery Trail with

HAL CALBOM

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A Layman’s Lewis & Clark

By Michael O. Perry Boxed Signature Edition, Color and BW $50 / Trade paperback $25 Compiled from the popular CRR series, with new notes and commentary, this book adds a gifted amateur historian’s insights, quirks and observations to the lore and legacy of the Lewis & Clark Expedition.

DEBBY NEELY

A LAYMAN’S LEWIS & CLARK

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S

ome call it brain fog. To me, it’s a kind of plague panic. I’m leaving the house or the office, stop suddenly, and begin rummaging through my purse and pockets. “Phone…keys…files….mask… phone…kleenex...keys…”

I’m trying to remember what I forgot.

It will be an enduring “COVID moment.” At least I will continue to blame it on the pandemic and its disruption and disorientation of our everyday lives — not age, stress or TMI. Like my seasonal allergies, I’ve now added patting my pockets and pillaging my purse to sneezing, itchy eyes and a runny nose as a part of my everyday routine, at least this particular spring. How does one sneeze gracefully through a mask?

Sue’s Views

Forgetfulness

Poet Laureate of the United States, 2001-2003

The name of the author is the first to go Followed obediently by the title, the plot, The heartbreaking conclusion, the entire novel Which suddenly becomes one you have never read, Never even heard of, As if, one by one, the memories you used to harbor Decided to retire to the southern hemisphere of the brain, To a little fishing village where there are no phones.

Long ago you kissed the names of the nine Muses goodbye And watched the quadratic equation pack its bag,

I even (nearly) forgot that April is Poetry Month.

This time last year we were planning a glorious celebration launching the new book, The Tidewater Reach: Field Guide to the Lower Columbia River in Poems and Pictures.

Now, we’re all peeking out from behind our papers and books, timidly hoping to re-emerge, trying to remember what life was before, and wondering how life will be after.

I know one of my favorite poets, Billy Collins, would excuse these memory lapses. And the rest of us should offer ourselves an excuse for our addled and forgetful Spring selves. It’s been quite a year.

And this spring especially is full of uncertainty, yes, but also brimming with hope and new life.

Lest we forget…here’s to the promise of Spring!

Sue Piper Publisher/Editor: Susan P. Piper Columnists and contributors: Tracy Beard Hal Calbom Alice Dietz Joseph Govednik Jim LeMonds Cathleen McNelly Michael Perry Ned Piper Perry Piper Robert Michael Pyle Marc Roland Alan Rose Alice Slusher Greg Smith Debra Tweedy Technical Advisor: Perry E. Piper Editorial/Proofreading Assistants: Merrilee Bauman, Michael Perry, Marilyn Perry, Tiffany Dickinson, Debra Tweedy

By Billy Collins

And even now as you memorize the order of the planets, Something else is slipping away, a state flower perhaps, The address of an uncle, the capital of Paraguay.

Whatever it is you are struggling to remember

Remembering What I Forgot

It is not poised on the tip of your tongue, Not even lurking in some obscure corner of your spleen.

It has floated away down a dark mythological river Whose name begins with an L as far as you can recall,

Columbia River Reader... helping you discover and enjoy the good life in the Columbia River region at home and on the road.

Who have even forgotten how to swim and how to ride a bicycle.

No wonder you rise in the middle of the night To look up the date of a famous battle in a book on war.

No wonder the moon in the window seems to have drifted Out of a love poem that you used to know by heart.

In this Issue

ON THE COVER Piano tuner David Page

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 and are not necessarily shared or endorsed by the Reader.

Well on your own way to oblivion where you will join those

2

CRR Collectors Club

4

Letters to the Editor

5

Civilized Living: Miss Manners

7

Dispatches from the Discovery Trail ~ Episode 1

9

Lower Columbia Informer: Electric Cars & Our Self-Driving Future

12

Provisions along the Trail: The Robust Reuben Sandwich

13

Out & About with Tracy Beard: The Discovery Trail

15

Museum Magic: Vernonia Pioneer Museum

16

Quips & Quotes

17-20 People + Place ~ Pianoforte: In Tune with David Page

Submission guidelines: page 31.

21

Northwest Gardening ~ Bountiful Blossom Bowl-over

General Ad info: page 30

23

Farmers Market Listings

23

The Pet Department / Lemonade Eyes

Ned Piper 360-749-2632.

25

The Natural World ~he Toucans of Tikal

Advertising Manager: Ned Piper, 360-749-2632

26

Lower Columbia Dining Guide

Columbia River Reader, llc 1333 14th Ave Longview, WA 98632 P.O. Box 1643 • Rainier, OR 97048

27

Marc Roland on Wine: The Judgement of Paris

28

Besides CRR, What Are You Reading?

29

Cover to Cover ~ Book Review / Bestsellers List

Office Hours: M-W-F • 11–3* *Other times by chance or appointment Website: www.CRReader.com E-mail: publisher@crreader.com Phone: 360-749-1021

30-31 Outings & Events / Submissions Guidelines

CRREADER.COM Visit our website for the current issue and archive of past issues from 2013.

32

Astronomy / The Sky Report

33

Where Do You Read the Reader?

34

The Spectator: An Eruption of Memories

34

Plugged In to Cowlitz PUD

Columbia River Reader / April 15, 2021 / 3

Letters to the Editor Loves Potatoes Melva Nancy and I love the Man in the Kitchen potatoes casserole (recipe published in March 15 CRR). No carbs there!!! Froze half so Nancy’s and my hearts wouldn’t seize up!

Allan Flood Bend, Ore. Editor’s note: This recipe gets an undeserved bad health rap! Each serving contains 225 calories, 15g carbs, 7g saturated fat, 33 mg cholesterol and 300mg sodium (numbers from a usually-reliable source, ha!)

The effortful historian Michael Perry is brilliant! You are lucky to have him write for you. He is a true, effortful historian!

It is nice to have someone that smart locally and to share his findings with our greater community.

FYI Thomas Jefferson is my favorite President. He was phenomenally smart.

Walter Pistor Kalama, Wash.

Editor’s note: Thank you, Walter. We agree.

We have ordered Michael a tri-corn hat and ruffly shirt for his next Colonial America living history party, rumored to be scheduled at Monticello, outside of Charlottesville, Virginia.

March issue feedback I just finished reading the March CRR and want to thank you very much for putting the information about the Longview Outdoor Gallery and the podcast audio tour on the Longview Downtown page.

The board was very pleased with how much we could accomplish with ZOOM meetings because we also updated our website, had a yard sale and participated in GiveMore14!

Very interesting article about the arborist wood chips. I want some and hope that they are not all gone.

I also was fatigued after my second jab (vaccination). I didn’t have a good name for that day like “Lounge Day.” I just called it a Four-nap Day. Thank you for all your support of the Longview Outdoor Gallery.

Peter Cottontail Every Easter season, my wife Linda and I are reminded of the visit we got from the Easter bunny at our Kelso home in the mid1980s. The large bunny brought baskets and our very young kids were thrilled. The secret we kept from them for a while was that the Bunny was really our family friend and future owner/editor of the Columbia River Reader. Thanks for the memory.

Laurel Murphy Kalama, Wash.

Enjoys Quips & Quotes Please pass on my thanks to Debra Tweedy for the great job she does with compiling the quotes each month. I have a book where I keep favorite quotes, and I don’t think there has been a single month where I did not add some of Debra’s treasures.

I hope she has as much fun compiling them as we do enjoying them!

Your Columbia River Reader Read it • Enjoy it Share it • Recycle it

Jim and Linda Frary Puyallup, Wash.

Editor’s note: The bunny suit, which was rented for a 6-foot 3-inch volunteer, upon unpacking was obviously the wrong size, far too small for the person intended. With no time to exchange the suit, and the egg timer ticking before the scheduled event, yours truly was pressed into reluctant service but surprisingly, found the role very rewarding and fun — I was never so well received. Everyone loves the Easter Bunny!

Kathryn Kelly Scappoose, Ore. Editor’s note: She does, and she says “Thanks!”

Old Publishers never die...

They just turn the page on the past.

Columbia River Reader is printed with environmentally-sensitive soy-based inks on paper manufactured in the Pacific Northwest utilizing the highest percentage of “post-consumer waste” recycled content available on the market.

Recycling Rule of Thumb: Reuse or donate if possible, but...

When in doubt — throw it out!

Reminders:

Please do not place your recyclables in plastic bags

1) ONLY Plastics #1 and #2 accepted in LONGVIEW’S L ONGVIEW’S Curbside Program

Place directly into your BROWN recycling container

2) Take Glass containers DIRECTLY to Waste Control Recycling

Cardboard

- 1150 3rd Ave, Longview -

• • • •

Acceptable

Flattened Cardboard Paper Egg Car tons Cereal Boxes (No Liner) Milk Car tons

Unacceptable

• Paper plates, cups & napkins • Styrofoam (Any kind) • Waxed Cardboard

Corrugated Cardboard (used to hold paper, small appliances or boxes from warehouse stores) and smaller boxes, like cookie, gift or soda.

Cardboard Recyclables MUST BE CLEAN. Remove all contents from the box, including food, plastic liners, wax paper, or Styrofoam packaging from inside the boxes.

Flatten ALL boxes to conser ve space.

- Check out the new and improved -

www.longviewrecycles.com 4 / Columbia River Reader / April 15, 2021

Civilized Living

Give it a think:

By Judith Martin, Nicholas Ivor Martin and Jacobina Martin

DEAR MISS MANNERS: We mailed a birthday gift to our granddaughter, and our daughter arranged a video call to let us see her open the present.

To our surprise, our daughter admonished us for not sending a gift to our grandson so he would not feel left out. She stated it was proper gift-giving etiquette to send a gift to our grandson, even though his birthday is in June.

She said this to us in front of her husband and our granddaughter. This was embarrassing to my wife and myself.

We have never heard of this etiquette rule. Was our daughter correct? We love our grandchildren very much, and it was our belief that we did the right thing.

GENTLE READER: Your grandson will be sorely disappointed when his sister receives an Olympic gold medal one day and he is not automatically issued the silver.

Your daughter is subscribing to the idea that no child should be trusted to tolerate another’s milestones, success or good fortune without receiving similar compensation. But how else will they be taught the valuable life skill of knowing that everything is not about them?

Miss Manners assures you that you did the right thing. You may tell your daughter that your grandson’s present

AGENT SPOTLIGHT ~ elp us welcome our H newest agent! Abby was born here in Cowlitz

Treating children identically vs. equitably; Eating with the hands; A sticky-fingered sister-in-law; A young woman’s provocative dressing, tsk tsk!

is certainly forthcoming — in June, when it is his birthday, and not his sister’s.

DEAR MISS MANNERS: Can you share with us the origins of the guidance never to discuss religion and politics at social gatherings? Or the numerous variations of that rule? I’m a wonderful Internet sleuth, but this one eludes me.

And what is your guidance on the topic, especially given the precarious state of our democracy and the rampant spread of mis- and disinformation?

GENTLE READER: Have you tried, lately, talking with someone with whom you disagree?

Had this not been an old rule, designed to free social life from cantankerous strife, Miss Manners would have had to invent it.

Mind you, she would happily abandon the rule if she could hope to welcome an exchange of ideas. That would be a boon to democracy, as well as a muchneeded stimulus to good conversation.

But people no longer exchange ideas; they exchange insults. This is not new, just particularly bad right now.

The rule surely dates to the first time someone countered a statement with, “Then you must be an idiot” instead of, “Why do you think that?”

Meet Abby Davis!

County and she is more than excited to begin serving the public.

Growing up with both parents in the real estate industry, Abby was inundated by the market at an early age. Knowing it was only a matter of time before she followed the family footsteps, Abby has been paying close attention to the housing market for a long time. With a background in customer service as well as her love

for the real estate industry, we knew she would be a perfect fit here at Windermere Kelso/Longview.

We asked Abby about her greatest client offering. “I listen, not just to what is said,” she explained, “but to what you really want out of your transaction. Both buyers and sellers can be sure that together we can have a smooth deal where you get everything you want!”

Give Abby a call — whether you’re buying or selling, she is ready to help you achieve your property goals.

Abby Davis, Broker/Realtor 360-560-0637 •abbydavis@windermere.com Kelso/Longview • 360-636-4663 209 W. Main St, Suite 200 • Kelso, WA

Cathlamet • 360-795-0552

102 Main St, Suite 200 • Cathlamet, WA

DEAR MISS MANNERS: Eating with one’s hands is not bad manners in many cultures. As a matter of fact, there is an elaborate code of manners on how to eat with one’s hands: How much of the fingers can be dipped into the rice or curry? Can the fingers be licked or not? What is the best way to get delicious bites out of the intricate crevices of the lamb shoulder bones without looking like a slob?

GENTLE READER: You are right not to embarrass your sister-in-law, but that does not mean it’s too late to ask for the missing items back — just wait until after dinner.

If good manners forbid eating with one’s hands, how, pray, do we use the phrase “finger-licking good”?

DEAR MISS MANNERS: My 19-yearold daughter is wonderful in many ways. She is attending a university on academic scholarships and getting excellent grades. The problem is that she seemingly always dresses provocatively.

GENTLE READER: Some of us do not.

But you are mistaken in believing that etiquette forbids eating with the hands. There are circumstances in which this is permitted: Fried chicken may be correctly eaten from the hands at picnics, but not at the formal dinner table.

But there are plenty of foods that can be correctly eaten with the hands under any circumstances, including whole artichokes, bread, grapes, sandwiches, nuts, corn on the cob, olives, pickles, celery, anything on crackers, and (really) asparagus. Oh, yes, and frogs’ legs -- although you may attack them with a knife and fork if you like.

As for the propriety of licking one’s fingers, Miss Manners can only pity you if you believe that advertisements are a model of decent behavior.

DEAR MISS MANNERS: My sister-in-law, who is otherwise a lovely person, has a bad habit of borrowing things and not returning them. I’m speaking mostly of kitchen/dining items like serving platters, baking pans, decorative trays, etc.

She will borrow items for a specific use, then months later, I will see her bring them out and use them like they are hers. I didn’t say anything at first, since I didn’t want to embarrass her, but it’s a habit now.

How do I tactfully prevent this in the future? And is there any way I can, at this late date, get my old things back?

Miss Manners imagines a private aside in which you express the hope that she enjoyed the loan of the platter, and you’re happy to take it home now with just a simple rinse and drying.

The most recent was a Sunday afternoon all-female baby shower, held outdoors at a park pavilion. She wore a very short, clingy dress in a pale pink color (looked nude).

I was embarrassed! I am not a prude, and I understand there are times when a young woman wants to look alluring.

I have tried to talk to her about the difference between “classy sexy” and “trampy,” and that there is a time and place for everything. She only gets defensive. What, if anything, can I say or do?

GENTLE READER: It is a teenager’s destiny to spend that time dressed inappropriately.

However, Miss Manners encourages you not to succumb to the distasteful idea that one should dress modestly so as not to give others “the wrong idea.”

That notion is insulting and outdated.

Instead, she suggests that you appeal to your daughter’s sense of professionalism. “You know, soon you will be applying for internships and jobs, and knowing how to dress for the job that you want can be so important. Contacts and connections can be formed anywhere, so you might be wise to start practicing now.”

But if your motherly warnings do not take, rest assured that the phase will not last long. And you will have lots of embarrassing photographs with which to taunt her in the future. cont page 10

Mon- Fri: 8:30–5:00 Columbia River Reader / April 15, 2021 / 5

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Lewis & Clark

DISPATCHES FROM THE DISCOVERY TRAIL EPISODE 1

This month we introduce a revised and expanded version of Michael Perry’s popular series. In the new book, “Dispatches from the Discovery Trail,” edited by Hal Calbom and excerpted below, CRRPress includes an in-depth author interview and new illustrations and commentary.

Why Our Founding Father Thomas Jefferson Lied to Congress

M

of the Atlantic Ocean and its tidewaters. People living beyond the Appalachian Mountains felt isolated and many favored secession from the United States to form a separate country.

odern day presidents aren’t the only ones who conduct covert operations. Thomas Jefferson, author of the Declaration of Independence and our third president, helped define and ensure the American way of life.

From sea to shining sea

… deception of Congress …

H o w e v e r, J e f f e r s o n Jefferson described an expedition confined didn’t see the mountains to the Missouri River basin and purely for as a dividing line. He had long promoted exploring purposes of expanding commerce. the lands west of the Mississippi River, with the idea of eventually making the United States reach from coast to coast.

Yet, if it hadn’t been for his vision and strategy — and his deception of Congress when he sent Lewis and Clark to explore the western lands — those of us living in the Pacific Northwest today might be flying a different flag.

The weakest claim

Jefferson believed the massive Columbia River reached inland to the Rocky Mountains. He thought following the Missouri River to its headwaters and taking a short overland portage across the continental divide might lead to the headwaters of the Columbia River.

Lewis and Clark often get credit for being the first white men to cross North America by land, but Canadians know that Alexander Mackenzie earned the honor. He was a member of the North West Company that competed with the Hudson Bay Company to dominate the fur trade in what is now the Pacific Northwest.

Sending an American expedition along that route would strengthen America’s claim to the western half of North America. Such a trek, however, was not authorized by the Constitution and ... the weakest claim ... could be considered The fact that Gray found the inlet of the river an armed intrusion into foreign lands was a very important thing but he didn’t explore — including the the river. He didn’t go upstream at all. He just Indians’.

Mackenzie followed parts of the Peace and Fraser Rivers to the Pacific Ocean in 1793, publishing a full account of his explorations in 1801. A year later, Thomas Jefferson read Mackenzie’s story.

While he undoubtedly admired Mackenzie’s accomplishment, Jefferson also knew it strengthened Britain’s claim to the Pacific Northwest. In addition to England, the Oregon Territory was also claimed

by Spain, Russia and the

“

United States — which had the weakest claim, based on Robert Gray’s discovery of the mouth of the Columbia River in 1792.

Knowing he must act fast to protect America’s interest, Jefferson aimed to strengthen his country’s claim by launching an expedition to find the most direct water route to the Pacific Ocean.

At the time, two-thirds of the United States’ population lived within 50 miles

“

stayed down there in the estuary. The British came in and went all the way up to Portland, basically, within a couple of years.”

In early 1803, Congress approved the $2,500 Jefferson requested for an expedition promoting commerce, going no farther west than the Misouri basin. However, Jefferson told his private secretary, Meriwether Lewis, that this official explanation “satisfied curiosity” and “masks sufficiently the real destination.”

… Jefferson sent an envoy to Paris …

Their instructions were to buy New Orleans and as much of the land between there and Florida as they could. And when they get there, and Napoleon says, ‘I need some money to fight my war, we’ll sell you everything in North America for a few million…’ it was more than they were authorized to spend, but they knew a good deal.”

Satisfying curiosity

Congress didn’t know it, but Jefferson had already made plans and picked Lewis to lead the expedition.

While the early Americans had been creating a new country along the east coast, France, Russia, England and Spain had laid claim to the western half of the continent. France ceded its claims to Spain in 1762, so Spain ... is now Washington and Oregon ... owned everything west Without the expedition there probably would of the Mississippi River have been a fight over this territory. Looking except the Oregon Territory. back at it, I say Spain had the longest, best

“ Michael Perry enjoys local history and travel. His popular 33-installment Lewis & Clark series appeared in Columbia River Reader’s early years and helped shape its identity and zeitgeist. After two encores, the series has been expanded and published in a book. Details, page 2.

O. P E R R Y

dispatches MICHAEL

from the

Discovery Trail with

claim to it of any of them. France had some fur trappers, and the English had all kinds of outposts and trading activity. Our only claims were Gray at the mouth and Lewis and Clark coming overland.”

HAL CALBOM DEBBY NEELY

by woodcut art

A LAYMAN’S

K

LEWIS & CLAR

In 1800, Napoleon decided he wanted the land back, and Spain relented since it was no longer a world power.

It took two years for word of that transfer cont. page 9

Top photo: Jefferson Memorial, Washington, D.C. Columbia River Reader / April 15, 2021 / 7

Downtown Longview

Enjoy Downtown Longview! Explore, shop, dine and relax ... Thank You for buying local and supporting small business!

APRIL 24

Traditional Toys, Games & Books 1339 Commerce #112

SHOP LOCAL!

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Pick-up and Delivery. 11am–7pm.

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Specialty coffees, teas, bubble teas and pastries....drinks with a smile.

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Columbia River Reader

BOOK BOUTIQUE

Longview Outdoor Gallery Unique sculptures along the sidewalks of Downtown Longview, both sides of Commerce Ave. Podcast audio tour showcases

Gift Books Lewis & Clark,

See ad, page 12

Astoria, Columbia River ... poetry, history, 5 titles, see pg 2

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8 / Columbia River Reader / April 15, 2021

Dispatches

the Lower Columbia

Informer

from page 5

to reach Jefferson and he was not pleased. A few months earlier, he had asked Spain’s permission to travel up the Missouri in an effort to reach the Pacific coast, and they hadn’t mentioned France was the new landlord. Spain did say its explorers had already shown conclusively there was no water route between the Missouri and the Pacific.

Jefferson let Napoleon know the United States would not tolerate French control of land in North America. Before resorting to war, Jefferson sent an envoy to Paris in 1803 to try to negotiate the purchase of New Orleans and as much of Florida as possible.

Meanwhile, Napoleon had his hands full with the resumption of the Anglo-French War, so he decided to cut his losses in America and raise some money to fight his war in Europe.

They knew a good deal

When France offered to sell all its holdings in North America for $15 million, the American envoy accepted although they had only been authorized to spend $10 million. They knew a good deal when they saw one.

The news reached Jefferson on July 4, 1803: America had doubled in size overnight!

Remember the story about a Dutch merchant buying Manhattan Island from the Indians in 1626 for $24 worth of beads? Well, the purchase of half the continent for three cents an acre was an even bigger steal.

The stage was set! Thanks to Jefferson’s behind-the-scenes efforts, America was ready to send the Corps of Discovery westward to reinforce its claim to what would eventually become the western half of the United States. Without that expedition, it is likely England or Russia could have ended up with what is now Washington and Oregon.

What the Lewis and Clark Expedition set out to accomplish was similar in scope and magnitude to America’s space exploration program. And while the actual trip up the Missouri River began on May 14, 1804, the Expedition officially began a year earlier.

•••

by Perry Piper

Electric Cars and our Self-driving Future

W

I pre-ordered the Tesla Model 3, their $35,000 car, before it launched in 2017, but ended up getting a refund because the self driving features were delayed. The main reason for me to own a car would be being able to profit from it, turning normal depreciating assets into appreciating ones — a wise investment.

My next possibility is the Tesla Cybertruck, slated for production at the end of this year, with my specific unit available mid-2022. Will I actually buy this one, though? The pattern with Tesla is that they outdo themselves with their new products. They have already confirmed they will make a van as well as hinting towards both a boat and even an electric VTOL (vertical take off and landing) hypersonic plane! With my travel plans, it might not make sense to own a car at all for many years, perhaps until I start a family.

e’re approaching the crossover point where electric vehicles, or EVs, become less expensive than gas cars. For 2023, Tesla has announced a $25,000 car and Arcimoto, an Oregon-based startup, will also have an $11,500 option! ARK Invest, a kind of futuristic investment house, also Looking back over my older projects $5,000 options CRR articles, I think I soon after. Combine these 2013 Tesla Model S provided by Matthew Little. Photo by Seth Burns’ drone. will be correct with my numbers with the fact that gas cars, even at $10,000 less actually remotely interested schedule a free Tesla prediction of self driving cars by 2025. equal the same cost of ownership test drive. Arcimoto is giving test drives I was hoping it would happen by 2018 because of significantly higher fuel now to those who preorder the older and technically, Google’s Waymo already commercially launched in late 2020, and maintenance expenses, being model or to the general public in July. especially a large contrast for us in the Because Tesla and Elon Musk break every but only in subsections of Phoenix, Pacific Northwest with some of the conceivable norm whenever possible, Arizona. Most people still think this cheapest power rates in the country they’ve dissolved their PR department technology is decades away, but even via hydro power. Electric cars don’t and, sadly, let rampant misinformation top AI researchers were 10 years too even need oil changes or gas station take hold. They say they don’t even need conservative in predicting when the world’s best Go* player would be defeated visits! to advertise because they have created

by AI. The free YouTube documentary on The upcoming entry level Tesla is such strong demand through word of that is fascinating. *‘Go’ is an ancient Chinese likely to have a 300-mile range and mouth. But almost everyone I talk to still board game popular world-wide. five seats, whereas the Arcimoto has thinks Teslas cost $100,000 and proceed two seats and a 150-miles range, the to read off a list of 10 myths from 10 years Tesla recently expanded their Full Self latter option charging much faster ago they still think are true.

Driving Beta program to 2,000 people from a normal electrical plug. Tesla In reality the competition from all cars, and has said a further 10x increase is cars are the safest ever tested by the not just other EVs, is barely catching imminent. While not perfect, you can US government, but EVs in general up with the 2012 Tesla Model S! And watch the newest test videos of its progress have no engine and therefore the especially the more recent Model 3. on YouTube and it’s quite impressive only entire front is a crumple zone. I being around a few months, comparing the highly recommend that anyone even cont page10

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Columbia River Reader / April 15, 2021 / 9

Miss Manners

from page 5

DEAR MISS MANNERS: After dinner one evening, a guest was unable to dislodge a bit of food in his teeth.

He asked me for a toothpick, showing some disappointment when I couldn’t find one.

The next day, he gifted me with a pack of them, hoping that I would keep them on my dinner table for future use. I graciously accepted them, but quietly put them away.

What is the acceptable usage of toothpicks after meals these days? As much as I want to accommodate my guests, I’m really not crazy about them picking their teeth in front of me, or others, after dinner.

I realize that it was routinely done in bygone days, before the dawn of modern dental hygiene, but times have changed. How would Miss Manners tackle the situation now?

GENTLE READER: By keeping the toothpicks in the guest bathroom, where you may then politely direct your guests saying, “I am sure that you would like some privacy.”

••• 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.

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Electric Cars

from page 9

original ones to now. The thing that makes Tesla different in this area is they already have roughly 1.5 million (and growing numbers of) cars capable of self driving. Tesla delivered 500,000 cars in 2020 and expects to get close to 1 million in 2021 and 20 million in 2030. Waymo only has a few hundred cars so far and a similar autonomous taxi company, Zoox, has said in the most optimistic case, they’ll only get to 15,000 per year.

Many cars now have basic driver assistance systems, adding safety and relaxation to long trips, while still requiring a loose grip on the wheel and eyes on the road. The death of car ownership itself is on the horizon

because of how cheap and convenient these new breed of taxis will be, coming in at 25 cents per mile, all the way down to 5 cents per mile with some electric bus units I’ve seen discussed, compared to current rates of 70 cents per mile for privately owned cars.

It’s estimated that by switching to either self driving taxi services on demand or buying and renting out your own, you’ll save $5,000 per year, if not make a profit of $15,000+ per year in the latter case. Further, being able to make sure the kids get to their sports practice, the groceries are picked up, and grandma can get to her doctor’s appointment, without blowing a gasket from the stress and scheduleclogging, will be life changing. That’s why it’s important to buy the car that will be ready for tomorrow or plan to sell your cars and just use the services as they proliferate.

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from page 10

realizes superior cars are available, the price of new and used gas cars could collapse! Just be sure to look at total costs of the car over 10 years, including fuel and maintenance versus profit from renting it out on an app like Turo or if the robotaxi comes to fruition within the next 5 years.

My good friend Matthew Little was kind enough to lend me his 2013 Model S for research on this article. While not having any self-driving mode, the car’s acceleration was unlike anything I’ve driven before: from 0 to 60mph in 4.4 seconds. It has a 250-mile range and I loved charging it in the garage and waking up each day with a full tank, so to speak. Matt has the advanced charger, but it still plugs into a normal outlet.

Even though the charge rate is quite slow at about 6 miles of range added back per hour, the average American daily commute is only about 40 miles.

If you need faster charging, you can either spend $300 – $1,000 to install your own home high speed charger at about 30-45 miles an hour (price range is from generic to the official Tesla charger). For road trips, Tesla cars get 75 miles in 5 minutes, up to 80%, at the automatically mapped Supercharger

locations! Many hotels and similar places have destination chargers for waking up with 100%. Other electric cars mostly use the generic charging companies almost any EV can use.

One of the coolest things about going electric is that not only can you use any power source to create electricity — from coal plants and gasoline generators to solar, wind or hydro — but the use of that power is also much more efficient.

I had the pleasure of interviewing Longview resident and family friend Vince Penta about his joyful ownership of his Nissan Leaf.

Vince said it was love at first sight, hearing about it in 2015 and then getting his own 2018, $30,000 model.

“Once you try it, you can’t go back,” he said. I drove it around the block and it had a very light and quick feeling compared to the speedy tank that was the Tesla Model S. Vince picked up the Leaf because he didn’t like his Tesla test drive in 2015, not to mention the price then. His Leaf’s 120 -mile range is very convenient and actually safe in the winter to preheat inside the garage without worrying about carbon monoxide poisoning, like from gas cars. While electric cars still refuel very slowly

compared to gas cars, they do so while you sleep or sit down for lunch on a road trip, wasting less of your time.

I came to love the regenerative braking on the Tesla, buy Vince and many other drivers can’t stand it. This is when the car will seem to brake on its own when you release the accelerator pedal, thereby gaining back some power instead of wasting it with normal friction based brakes. Vince kept his gas and hybrid cars for longer trips and uses the Leaf as a town car. He likes driving and said he doesn’t need the computer to do it for him, although he dreams of the day when a single EV will replace all his others with about 400-500 miles of range.

I think his wish will come true quickly with the $70,000 cybertruck having a range of 500+.

Other electric cars exist, like the Ford Mustang Mach-E, the Porsche Taycan and the Rivian truck, and in fact they might be very price competitive because of government rebates up to $7,500! But there’s talk of Biden bringing it back for up to $10,000 for all EVs, including Tesla. Tesla employs tens of thousands of Americans, manufacturing cars locally — with another 10,000 workers about to be

hired at the Texas Gigafactory— compared to Ford’s Mach-E skimping by going to Mexico. The Arcimoto looks quite fun and the solar powered Aptera might never even need to be charged, but I will probably always go with Tesla.

Tesla has the best mix of advanced self-driving, charging ease, safety, low cost, performance, efficiency and are the most fun with in-car gaming. And Elon Musk is innovating like there’s no tomorrow!

And what other car company would actually come out with an experimental vehicle like the Cybertruck (above) or put actual SpaceX rocket thrusters onto their top model (the Roadster)?

••• Perry Piper is waiting for Covid restrictions to lift so he can resume his world travels.

Meanwhile, he keeps his finger on the pulse of technology ad the future.

Columbia River Reader / April 15, 2021 / 11

Experience the Best.

Experience Cascade Title.

By Tracy Beard

PROVISIONS ALONG THE TRAIL

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St. Patrick’s Day has come and gone, but leftover corned beef always makes a fantastic Reuben sandwich. My dill pickles will take your lunch over the top. You’ll need to make the pickles and let them rest for two weeks. If they are not ready and you can’t wait, purchase your favorite dill pickle to serve with your Reuben. And subsequently buy more corned beef to go with the “new” pickles!

REUBEN SANDWICH WITH SWISS CHEESE I cook my corned beef, seasoned with the pickling spices, in the crockpot on low for about six hours or until it is juicy and fork tender.

4 ounces thinly sliced corned beef 2 slices Dave’s multigrain bread (or rye if you like it and want the classic Reuben) 1 slice Swiss cheese 2-4 Tbl crunchy sauerkraut 2 Tbl mayonnaise 1 tsp ketchup Salt and pepper Butter

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Mix the mayonnaise and ketchup and season with salt and pepper.

Butter one side of each piece of bread and put one slice butter side down on a griddle. Spread the mayo mixture on the bread in the pan and layer the corned beef, Swiss cheese, and sauerkraut on top. Place the other slice of bread on top with the butter side up. Grill the bread until it is toasty brown and the cheese is melted.

Serve with Tracy’s dill pickles.

TRACY’S YUMMY DILL PICKLES 7 one-quart jars, lids and rings (sterilize all of them before beginning) Brine 1-1/2 cups sugar 1 cup canning salt 2 quarts vinegar 2 quarts water 6 tablespoons pickling spices For the jars 8 lbs gherkin cucumbers (washed) 7 bay leaves 14 cloves garlic (2 per jar) 3-1/2 tsp mustard seeds (1/2 tsp per jar) 14 large heads dill (2 per jar) Combine sugar, salt, vinegar and water in a large pot. Tie the spices in a cheesecloth bag and add to the liquid. Simmer for 15 minutes. Pack the cucumbers and jar ingredients into the 14 jars. Bring the liquid to a boil and fill the jars leaving ¼ inch space. Wipe the top, add the lids and process in a hot water bath for 15 minutes. Store for two weeks before serving.

OUT•AND•ABOUT

Savoring Spring Exploring The Discovery Trail

Story & photos by Tracy Beard

S

pring is here! It’s time to get outside and appreciate the first colors of the season — white and violet crocuses, lemon daffodils, red, maroon and cream tulips, and vibrant pineapple and fuchsia water lilies. These flowers are shortlived, but don’t be dismayed, as the warmer temperatures in April will replace them with purple alliums, pink and white bleeding hearts, and lavender lilacs. A great place to spy these seasonal flowers is in the small communities near the Pacific Ocean in Washington. After you peruse the neighborhoods, look for more spring splendor while hiking the Discovery Trail.

Port of Ilwaco to Long Beach Discovery Trail technically begins at the Port of Ilwaco and ends in Long Beach. Ilwaco is a small fishing village with a marina, restaurants, a bookstore, gift shops and galleries and a popular Saturday market in the summer. My family loves homeThe Discovery Trail runs 8.5 miles canned tuna, and I have often visited along the coast. You can hike through Ilwaco to purchase tuna by the pound Ilwaco, Seaview and Long Beach or at one of the retail seafood outlets. take your time and investigate a smaller You can order a certain amount of segment along with connecting trails fish and then pick up your order on a in Cape Disappointment State Park. designated day. The trail starts at the (You will need a Washington State Port, where you’ll find a brass sculpture Discovery Pass to park in the State of a California condor spreading its Park.) wings. Wander along the Port, checking out the fishing boats and then head Where to begin? Start with a map (at uphill straight to Cape Disappointment right, or online*). There are numerous State Park. access points along the way, so before you go, determine whether your Our Starting Point destination is the beach, the forest Three paths intersect near the parking or Cape Disappointment. lot closest to North Head Lighthouse.

This starting point gives you a few options. My friend Connie and I Vancouver, Wash. resident Tracy Beard began our trek from here. We drove writes about luxury and adventure travel, west to Ilwaco, Washington, looking for flowers, continued straight through traditional and the single light in town, and headed trendy fine dining toward Fort Canby on Loop 100. After and libations for 2.3 miles, we turned right at North regional, national and international Head Lighthouse Road and continued magazines. She is the half-mile trip to the parking lot on CRR’s “Out & the left.

About” columnist, now in her sixth year. This lot features restrooms and a large map to help you get your bearings. We headed east on the paved Discovery

Trail. It was a sunny day; and although many people were out walking, the wide trail made it easy to keep a reasonable distance from others. Parents chatted while pushing babies in strollers, and families kept close together while their small children tried to keep up on little bicycles.

The Trek About a half mile down the trail, we crossed Highway 100 and continued north on the well-maintained Discovery Trail. The pine trees thinned, and alders took over the scenery. Sword ferns lined the trail for the next half mile until we traversed a wooden bridge, continued down the path crossing the Highway again and landed in Beard’s Hollow parking lot. Wetlands surround this area.

Pineapple-colored water lilies peeked out just above the waterline, and white lacy lichen, known as “Old Man’s Beard,” clung to the trees. Instead of heading north on Discovery Trail at the end of the parking lot, we followed a dirt trail due west to the beach and Beard’s Hollow.

The Beach People often drive on this beach, but it was pretty quiet this day. We found a sizable chunk of dry driftwood to sit on, pulled out our lunches and enjoyed the

sea breeze and sunshine. Once finished, we made our way back the same way we came. We dropped off our packs at the car and walked west on the loop trail to North Head Lighthouse.

The Lighthouse We passed a grove of Sitka spruce on the left and the lighthouse keeper’s residence on the right, which is now a vacation rental. When the lighthouse was manually operated, it took three lighthouse keepers, each working an eight-hour shift to provide 24-hour coverage. Their job was to trim the wicks, clean the lens, and carry 30 pounds of kerosene up the stairs to keep the light burning. North Head is the second windiest lighthouse area in the nation, with winds recorded at 120 miles per hour. After taking in the views and reading the placards near the lighthouse, we meandered back up the trail to the car and drove home.

The drive to the beach is lovely whether you take Highway 30 on the Oregon side or Highway 432 on the Washington side. Pack a lunch so you can maximize your time exploring.

•••

*Map from: www.visitlongbeachpeninsula.com/things-to-do/recreation/discovery-trail/

Columbia River Reader / April 15, 2021 / 13

MEDICAL MATTERS

LPST now provides pelvic therapy

By Jim LeMonds Longview Physical & Sports Therapy has become the first locally-owned clinic to provide pelvic floor therapy. Physical therapists Nichole Winiger and Suzanne Gerhart will begin offering the treatment in April.

Pelvic floor dysfunctions include urinary and fecal incontinence, constipation, pelvic organ prolapse, and chronic pain syndromes. “These problems may interfere with daily functions, work, and sexual activities,” Winiger said.

She noted that — while age can increase the likelihood of experiencing pelvic floor issues — the condition is more prevalent in individuals who have experienced one of the following: diabetes, congestive heart failure, childbirth, chronic coug h ing , rep eti ti v e heavy lifting, connective tissue disorders, or obesity.

Many people are familiar with “kegels,” exercises that involve strengthening the pelvic floor by contracting specific muscles. However, Winiger noted, kegels have little benefit if not done correctly.

“Individuals that have a high resting tone in their pelvic floor muscles may produce uncoordinated or incomplete muscle contractions, and those Suzanne Gerhart (left) and Nichole Winiger. with low tone may not be able to activate the muscles at all or can only initiate a slight flicker of a contraction,” she said. “Pelvic health physical therapy aims to educate patients about pelvic girdle anatomy, physiology, and proper mechanics, as well as contributing factors to pelvic floor dysfunctions and how to minimize them.”

Winiger and Gerhart have taken several pelvic health courses offered by the American Physical Therapy Association. They plan to take additional coursework specific to pelvic floor problems among men and children.

PST has equipped a room that will be used for pelvic floor treatment. Winiger and Gephart will ask primary care physicians to refer to them but expect most of their patients to come from urology clinics or OB/GYN practitioners.

Longview Physical & Sports Therapy is located at 625 9th Avenue at Pacific Surgical Institute. Call 360.578.1188 for more information.

•••

Former R.A. Long High School English teacher Jim LeMonds is a writer, editor, and marketer who rides his mountain bike whenever he can. He lives in Castle Rock, Wash. and has two published book: South of Seattle and Deadfall.

14 / Columbia River Reader / April 15, 2021

PARTNERS INVITED We have NEW SIDEWALK BOXES and inside racks available, and welcome 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 sidewalk box to provide your customers the gift of CRR every month ... call Ned Piper: 360-749-2632.

Local Culture

MUSEUM MAGIC

Story and photos by Joseph Govednik

Vernonia Pioneer Museum In the Heart of Logging Country

I

n the heart of Oregon’s logging country is the small town of Vernonia, home of the Vernonia Pioneer Museum housed

Cowlitz County Historical Museum Director

in the old Oregon American Lumber Company office building. This building has been a museum since 1963 and was placed on the National Register of Historic Buildings in 2002.

As more people moved to the area in the 1870s a town name was needed for a post office. The name of the local schoolmaster’s daughter, Vernona, was chosen, however an “i” was inadvertently added to the post office application and the name thereafter became “Vernonia.”

Artifacts and displays highlight the Nehalem Valley, pictures of early pioneers, a rock and fossil

collection, miniature logging display, logging equipment, and much, much more! Within the museum one of the most amazing exhibits encountered is the model of logging operations.

Complete with steam donkeys and blocks mounted on a pole, this diorama illustrates the complexity of logging greater than any static image.

Another favorite exhibit that intrigued my interests was the coprolite collection. Coprolite are fossilized feces that is valuable in studying the diet of prehistoric animals. Near the coprolite are extensive displays of various stones for your “inner rock hound.” Outside of the museum several large logging equipment pieces are on display, 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

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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 / April 15, 2021 / 15

Vernonia Museum

from page 15

Thank You! P+P Sponsor Partners Leaders in our community supporting excellent journalism and spotlighting worthy organizations and programs.

people+ place including a steam donkey. The museum also offers for sale in their gift shop several books on local history.

After visiting the museum, walk around town and visit the restaurants, shops, and antique stores to complete your day trip. The museum is open year-round on Saturdays and Sundays, 1-4pm. Please call 503-429-3713 or email vernoniamuseum@gmail.com for more information.

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•••

Q

UIPS & QUOTES

Selected by Debra Tweedy

A world without tomatoes is like a string quartet without violins. ~ Laurie Colwin, American writer and food columnist 1944-1992 Old friends cannot be created out of hand. Nothing can match the treasure of common memories, of trials endured together, of quarrels and reconciliations and generous emotions. ~ Antoine de Saint-Exupery, French writer and aviator, 1900-1944 The mind is not a vessel that needs filling, but wood that needs igniting. ~Plutarch, Greek writer and biographer, 46 AD-120 If you took some chamomile tea and spent more time rocking on the porch in the evening, listening to the liquid song of the hermit thrush, you might enjoy life more. Joy is there for the taking.

--Tasha Tudor, American illustrator and writer of children’s books, 1915-2008

You can’t change how people treat you or what they say about you. All you can do is change how you react to it. ~ Mahatma Gandhi, Indian lawyer, politician, and activist, 1869-1948 Everything is blooming most recklessly; if it were voices instead of colors, there would be an unbelievable shrieking into the heart of the night. ~ Rainer Maria Rilke, Bohemian-Austrian poet and writer, 1875-1926 A single act of kindness throws out roots in all directions, and the roots spring up and make new trees. ~ Amelia Earhart, American aviation pioneer and writer, 1897-1937 Don’t you know that four-fifths of our troubles in this life would disappear if we would just sit down and keep still? ~ Calvin Coolidge, 30th President of the United States, 1872-1933

Wilderness is not a luxury but a necessity of the human spirit. ~ Edward Abbey, American writer and environmentalist, 1927-1989 16 / Columbia River Reader / April 15, 2021

Longview native Debra Tweedy has lived on four continents. She and her husband decided to return to her hometown and bought a house facing Lake Sacajawea.“We came back because of the Lake and the Longview Public Library,” she says.

“

As a Christian leader in the community, I believe that it’s important to live out my faith daily. My goal is to inspire student athletes and other leaders in the community to embrace a life of service for a higher power, and to be a light in the community for those around them.”

Weatherguard supports the FCA vison: To see the world transformed by Jesus Christ through the influence of coaches and athletes.

Ryan Littlefield

Varsity Baseball Head Coach R.A.Long High School

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by Joe Fischer

Honoring the Successful Lives and Legacy of Alona & Carl Forsberg

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A monthly feature written and photographed

by Southwest Washington native and Emmy Award-winning journalist

Hal Calbom

Production Notes

Tuned In Tuned Out In this month’s conversation with pianist and tuner David Page I learned that my own history with piano and with piano lessons is not that uncommon.

Like those rippling arpeggios I never quite mastered, my relationship to the piano — and to the learning and teaching of it — went up and down and up and down, from high notes to low notes and back again.

The idea of playing well, and the sound of those who did play well, belied the painstaking practice required. That a mastery of technique meant the rote playing of scales and chord combinations seemed an unfortunate and unnecessary burden. And of course the reminders to “practice, practice, practice,” rang like my mother’s insistent “Did you wash your hands?” before every meal.

So, I took five or six years of lessons, quit around the end of my Little League career, opted back in as a junior in high school, left the 88s behind when off to college. Tried a couple of times as an adult to hook up with someone who could keep the instruction alive. And still hammered away on my own — there always seemed to be a piano around, whether well used or not — those same eight songs I’d mastered, and memorized, over the years.

Eventually piano gave way to guitar, as classical music gave way to rock and roll, and the hug of the wood and the jangle of the strings seemed more sensual and spontaneous. And I was playing guitar by ear, not the cerebral sightreading required of the trained pianist.

Yet, ever faithful, the piano has stood its ground all these years. Even blossomed extravagantly, crossed over, in the hands of Billy Joel and Elton John and Bruce Hornsby, let alone jazzmasters Chick Corea and Keith Jarrett and Herbie Hancock.

Even if my playing is occasional and limited, I’m still envied my flowery version of “White Christmas,” and my piano keeps the secret of our on-again, off-again romance.

•••

people+ place Pianoforte: In Tune with David Page This story requires that we shoot first and ask questions later.

Settling down at a piano, David Page sets up a zone of focus, a cone of concentration, that’s perceptible, insulating himself and the strings and hammers, striking the notes and intervals, turning the regimented tuning pins.

He very politely discourages hovering and kibbitzing. Random questions will only hinder, distract and interfere. We will photograph and record his technique and procedures, then conduct a separate conversation. We are as superfluous to this age-old demonstration of aural mastery as the small digital tuner which sits almost unnoticed on the sound board, there only to confirm the dictates of his ear.

David Page

HC: Is the piano an endangered species?

NICE TO MEET YOU

DP: Absolutely not! People keep surmising the death of the acoustic piano but it’s not going to happen. The electronics have not taken over.

David Page resides

Scappoose, Oregon occupation

Piano Tuner • 503-396-1484

HC: Is this just your own experience talking?

from

Yakima, Washington

DP: Yes, but no. I do a lot of business with Portland Piano Company. The owner is a good friend of mine, and they do a really good business. They’re selling pianos all the time. They sell a few digitals but most of what they sell are pianos just like this, acoustic, and their business is great.

HC: That’s encouraging.

known for

Not demanding his students appear in recital for fun

Day trips and going out to lunch with his wife, Susan recommends Spending as much time with family as you can

DP: And I stay really busy. I’ve got lots of customers. So I kind of feel that at least in my lifetime the acoustic piano is not going to go anywhere.

HC: Are there people who view pianos as furniture? Spruce up the room but never get played?

DP: Well, every once in a while you’ll come across somebody who has a nice house, a little extra cash, and they like to entertain and take pride in their piano. But even if they can’t play, and don’t plan on taking lessons, they can install an automated player.

HC: And those are pretty amazing these days?

DP: Yes, it’s a great mix of traditional and digital. It’s all computerized, you can “play” whatever you want. But that’s kind of the rare occasion, I find most people who buy pianos have kids who want to take lessons. Or, there are people — not just eight year olds — who just really enjoy

reading

Purposely reads outside his professional discipline. Books read recently are shown on page 20

music and have always wanted to play piano. People are taking it up in their 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, and beyond.

HC: Can you teach old dogs new tricks?

DP: Lots of times they already know some tricks. When I hear of an adult who wants to play, often they took lessons when they were a kid. And they quit early. And then they’re kind of sorry that they quit. And they want to go back and recapture what they left behind.

HC: You’re a player yourself, still?

DP: It’s part of me. I come home and I try to play every day. After work. I will sit down, I’ll put my headphones on, and I have songs that I’m working on. And I like the process of trying to learn something new, and work on things and go over my repertoire. cont page 18

Columbia River Reader / April 15, 2021 / 17

from page 17

HC: Mostly classical?

“... it’s really slightly out of tune, evenly distributed.”

DP: Oh my, I work at it every day. But you’ve got to do it mainly for yourself.

You can’t play the comparison game.

Like that one Chopin piece that I was trying to play for you. It’s going to take me my whole life to learn that and get that down. It’s just so hard. But you can go on YouTube now, and, literally, you can find five-year-old Chinese kids that can play that, flawlessly! So I had to come to the conclusion that I’m just not going to compare myself with other people.

~ David Page

HC: Did you start off with lessons?

DP: Classical but other styles, too. I love jazz chords. I just think it’s good to have something that you feel good about, that you’re pretty good at.

So in terms of old dogs I have a theory: As long as you’re upright and breathing, you can practice and you can learn and you can enjoy it.

HC: Do you feel like, with your level of skill, that you’ve arrived? Or do you still work at it?

People +

DP: I literally started off at my mother’s knee. My mom played the piano. And from my earliest days, I can remember putting my ear right up to the piano just because I loved the sound when she was playing.

And she played all kinds of stuff. She played “Brahms Lullaby.” I mean, even to this day, when I hear it I think of my mom. I get kind of weepy.

And she played a lot of classical music.

HC: Sounds like you had a “gift.” You certainly had the lineage?

DP: I admit it came pretty easily to me. And when I was 10 years old, she taught me the opening to “Moonlight Sonata,” the whole part by memory. And that was the first song I ever learned.

David Page grew up in Yakima, son of a piano tuner who ranged around the valley and often took young David with him. He recalls his father’s rapt concentration on the beats and resonances, the eyes slightly glazed, his entire focus on the sensory quality of the sound. He later realized he’d learned how to tune a piano early in life, essentially through his own ear and observation, and when he came back to tuning as a career in his thirties had most of the technical gifts he needed. The emotional side of the instrument, the love for the melodies and harmonies, came from his mother.

HC: So much for “Happy Birthday” and “Twinkle Twinkle!”

Yo u m e n t i o n e d headphones, so I assume you also play a digital instrument?

DP: I have a really nice Yamaha digital piano.

And it never goes out of tune, it just sounds very nice. Because of

DP: It was just a little spinet, but the Baldwin Acrosonic was a well made piano. And it was a piano that was made for the home. One of the largest selling pianos in the world. Back then piano lessons were very popular and lots of people played.

cont page 20

People+ Place gets a tune-up.

Reach Out and Help Keep HOPE of Rainier Alive To help support the Rainier community, HOPE offers a variety of services, including monthly food boxes, help with Clatskanie PUD bills, clothing vouchers at the newly-opened HOPE Chest Neighborhood Thrift Store (located at Food Pantry M,W 12–4 107 E. 1st St., Rainier) and MORE! Thrift Store M,W,F 10–4

April is the Month of Hope!

www.hopeofrainier.com WAYS TO DONATE: •Donate online - website or Facebook •In person at 404 E. “A” St., Rainier •Mail check to PO Box 448, Rainier, OR 97048

Local Rotary Clubs served as founding sponsors as United Way championed bringing Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library program to children in Cowlitz and Wahkiakum Counties. From birth to 5 years old, children receive a brand new, age-appropriate book every month, delivered directly to their homes.

• Become a Sponsor • Share info parents/guardians of eligible children • Advocate for early learners

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To donate or learn more, visit cowlitzunitedway.org or call 360-423-5320.

The Evans Kelly Family One of Longview’s pioneer families.

Proud Sponsor of People+Place 18 / Columbia River Reader / April 15, 2021

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+ Place

Grace Notes

S

BY HAL CALBOM

uch a simple idea and such profound results: stretch a string, pluck it or strike it, and it produces sounds. Then songs.

And, eventually, symphonies.

Modern pianos began as pianofortes (literally soft - loud) invented in the early 1700s by Italian Bartolomeo Cristofori. A master builder of harpsichords, one of the two precursors of today’s piano, Cristofori combined part harpsichord, whose keystrokes plucked its strings, and part clavichord, a Renaissance instrument which struck its strings with small metal blades called tangents.

Each predecessor had its limitations.

Because harpsichords pluck their strings they produce a uniform and consistent tone with little dynamic range. Clavichords produce a pure and muted tone but are inadequate for performance or accompaniment. By dreaming up a system of hammers that struck the strings and then fell back into place — what we know today as the “action” of a piano — Cristofori gave range and dynamics to players.

And the rest is music history.

Thanks to its versatility, combining both piano and forte, (as well as innovations such as the sustain pedal — allowing notes to continue to ring) the piano became the great compositional tool of Western Music’s golden age, from Beethoven to Berlioz. And its

machinery — the interplay of metal, wood and wire — became a work of art in itself.

The modern piano can have more than 10,000 different parts. Its architecture echoes its namesake integration of soft and loud — from precisely engineered felt and cloth guaranteeing a perfect kissing of the string, to the steel piano wire and cast iron frames that literally withstand tons of string pressure. Is there any more perfect integration of artistry and engineering, of the perfect balancing and harmonizing of force and fine-tuning than the piano?

And, of course, like most divas, pianos can be temperamental.

They react to their environments, their maintenance and their care.

And as we sat at a magnificent German aristocrat, a Wilhelm Grotian Studio Grand, no less, David Page explained to me the particulars of fine tuning, and especially the delicate matters of unison and temperament.

“When you’re hitting a piano note, you’re hitting three strings.

But they all have to vibrate in the same time. So you’re looking for a good unison. And some pianos seem to achieve a better unison than others.

Temperament, according to Page, is a tougher thing to define. “Equal temperament means that each of your intervals, like your thirds,

Temperament: In music, the accommodation or adjustment of the imperfect sounds by transferring a part of their defects to the more perfect ones. are just slightly out of tune. Because if you have one interval that’s perfectly beatless, then the neighboring third will sound terrible.”

Beats are the number of vibrations or cycles emanating from a specific note.

The standard tuning fork is set to emit a perfect A above middle C, and it vibrates at 440 Hz, or beats per second.

“So you’ve got all kinds of competing notes and beats and you have to even them out. So when a piano is in tune, it’s actually really slightly out of tune, evenly distributed.”

Given this kind of complexity, no wonder I found David so completely absorbed in his tuning, sounding out intervals — playing two notes at a time — as often as individual notes.

“It’s the ultimate of being in the present. You have to be totally present. You can’t be listening to the sound and be thinking about your grocery list or anything else. I mean you have to be right there.”

•••

Some of the Columbia’s brightest stars never appear on stage…

They are Friends of the Columbia Theatre and without them, the show would not go on.

Become a FRIEND OF THE COLUMBIA THEATRE! Your support helps the Theatre continue to bring world-class entertainment and education and outreach programs, and helps ensure that Longview’s historic landmark is preserved and restored.

Arts organizations have been hit hard by the COVID pandemic. Even in a normal year, ticket sales cover less than half of CTPA’s costs. Please consider becoming a Friend of the Theatre with a gift.

Please join me in supporting

columbiatheatre.com • 360.575.8499 1231 Vandercook Way, Longview, WA

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Proud Sponsor of People+Place Columbia River Reader / April 15, 2021 / 19

People + Place HC: I’d never thought of that side of it.

Hoping your students will come through for the crowd, for Mom and Dad? DP: It’s agony. And I think it took away from the fun. So we just don’t do it anymore. It’s kind of like the joy has to be in the process, not the final product.

HC: What about this process? Do you find joy in it as well?

DP: I love the focus it requires of me.

And that’s very profound, you know, you have to approach each piano as if it’s a new clean slate, because each one is different. And what works for one piano you might have to adjust with another.

So even though I have digital help, I still have to rely on my ear.

HC: Did you inherit your dad’s tuning business?

from page 18

course when I get home I don’t want to tune anymore. I’m tired, you know? So I just put on the headphones and play.

DP: No, just the opposite.

He didn’t think I had the concentration for it. And I really didn’t have much focus. It’s amazing that I graduated at all.

HC: Are you a teacher? Do you have students and recitals?

DP: Students, but no recitals. My own teacher would have recitals and I kind of dreaded them, but I did them anyway. And then when I taught I had a few recitals, but I came to the conclusion that it was stressful for me and it was stressful for the students.

I didn’t feel grounded or centered and I didn’t know what to do. So I kind of floundered around, and I worked in retail, I sold men’s clothing, I worked at restaurants.

I hated all of it. Because when I worked for somebody else, I felt like I had a noose around my neck. I’m too independent.

And so everybody started asking me, well, will you teach me how to play the piano?

Because they heard me play. So gradually, I thought, well, yeah, this could develop into something.

HC: So you taught before you tuned?

DP: Yes. I developed a full-time studio and at its height I had, like 55 students. I was doing it five days a week, 11 students a day.

But still, it was hard. It was hard work. And it was a hard way to make money. So my dad said, ‘Well, why don’t you take up tuning?’

HC: It sounds like your time had come.

DP: Yeah, we both realized I was ready, and had grown up a bit I guess. And while growing up, I think I was all over the place.

In the present I was in the past, or I was in the future, but I was never right here, you know, and you have to learn that at some point. Yeah, that it can be good to be right here.

HC: This is getting kind of zen-like.

DP: It is a kind of meditation, or practice, no doubt about it. I just feel like this profession, this art, have let me learn what it means to be in the present and be grounded. So, I love what I do. I never dread going to work.

I used to dread Monday mornings, in some of my jobs. I did. I literally dreaded it. I had anxiety. Now Monday is every bit as good as Friday.

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

•••

Editor’s Note: Interviews are edited for length and condensed for clarity.

people+ place

My-te-fine Merchant: Fred Meyer’s Retail Revolution by Fred Leeson. David Page, who shops at Freddy’s every day and was interested to read the backstory, says, “Fred was hard driving and not a very nice man.

Blunt, but true.”

David Page’s Recent Reads

The Relentless Courage of a Scared Child by Tana Amen.

Page is reading this at the behest of his wife, upon whose health, nutritional and psychological well-being Tana Amen and her husband, psychiatrist Daniel Amen, have had a big influence.

20 / Columbia River Reader / April 15, 2021

Elon Musk by Ashlee Vance

Steve Jobs

by Walter Isaacson

Empty Mansions: The Mysterious Life of Huguette Clark and the Spending of a Great American Fortune by Bill Dedman and Paul Clark Newell, Jr. Fascinating story of the rich and reclusive daughter of the man known as the copper king. He built the anaconda mine in Montana.

Clark County, Nevada, is named after him.and he basically built Las Vegas.

Huegette, his daughter was surrounded by wealth and rarely seen.

Both bios of Jobs and Musk are “must-reads” for anyone interested in how the minds of such visionaries and tech pioneers work. Jobs came across as an A-hole who cared little about what others thought of him. Musk is on a whole different plane than most other humans.

Northwest Gardening

Bountiful Blossom Bowl-over Rhodies everywhere!

W

hen we first moved here from the Midwest nearly 10 years ago, I was simply bowled over by the lush, vibrant shrubs here in the Pacific Northwest. The one that first caught my eye was the Photinia, with its glossy red spring foliage, followed by the rhododendrons with their colorful white, pink, red, and purple blossoms. Then came the indigo flowers of the Ceonothis (California Lilac) with its contrasting rich green foliage, blooming nearly at the same time as the breathtakingly-beautiful deep purple hydrangea — more on those next month. I have to admit to a love affair with hydrangeas!

By Alice Slusher

Prolific rhodies Planting a rhododendron must be a rite of passage marking the milestone of moving into a new home, because nearly every home here has at least one of these beauties. In fact, our state flower is the native Pacific rhododendron: tall, leggy, and scraggly, growing as an understory shrub in the dappled shade of taller trees, always stretching and reaching toward the light. It blooms late AprilMay, and if you’ve never had the chance to see it, take a drive up to the Olympic Peninsula and the Hood Canal area, and hike along the trails.

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.

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Rhododendron in stages of blooming.

Nowadays, there’s something for everyone. Rho do dendrons are available in a rainbow of spectacular colors from yellow, white, pink, red, purple and every color in between, with spring bloom times ranging from very early to late season. The size choices make it very easy for you to join the ranks of proud rhodie owners, with mature heights from 3 to 10 feet.

The American Rhododendron Society has some great choices (online) specifically for the Pacific Northwest.

Look for the “Good Performers” and “ROY Awards” lists.

Where to plant it Is it time for a new rhodie for your landscape, or have you been thinking of planting one? We have the perfect climate and soil pH to grow them, but do your homework first. They like the morning sun, so plant them on the east or north side of your house. You can still plant them on the south or west side as long as they are in partial shade — perhaps in the dappled

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shade of taller trees, because their leaves sunburn easily. They also need protection from the wind, and need to be planted in well-drained soil. If you’ve got heavy clay soil, no problem.

You can create lovely 12-18 inch high landscaping mounds of soil and plant in those. Because rhododendrons have shallow, 12-inch roots, it’s essential to water at least every couple of weeks to keep the soil moist, and possibly more often in hot, dry weather, especially for the first couple summers. And be sure to mulch the root area; I’d suggest 2-4 inches of arborist wood chips to keep the soil moist.

Operator error Most of the problems and questions we see with rhodies in our Plant and Insect Clinic are directly tied to where they are planted and how they are cared for.

Here are the top issues we see. There are plenty more, so if you need help, contact our Plant Clinic (details in tagline by Alice’s photo, this page).

• Sunburned leaves often occur early in the season or with plants that get afternoon sun, appearing as tan, white, or brown areas on the tops of the leaves.

• In southwest Washington, brown leaf tips and edges usually signal either too much or too little water.

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• You’ve seen leaves roll inward during dry or cold periods- they’ll recover when the weather changes.

• The undersides of some rhododendrons’ leaves are covered with a wooley fuzz that protects them from desiccation and helps insulate them from freezing. cont page 22 Columbia River Reader / April 15, 2021 / 21

Gardening

from page 22

• Sometimes the leaves develop purplish spots of varying size and shape; environmental stress may cause this but it doesn’t harm the plant.

• If you’ve accidentally applied lime too close to the rhodie’s roots or it’s planted close to your foundation or new concrete, the leaves may turn a

Market swings making you uneasy?

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lime color because the pH is too low.

Test your soil, and if necessary, adjust the pH. • Our winter rains leach nitrogen from the soil. If your leaves have turned uniformly yellow, it’s time to apply a fertilizer formulated specifically for rhododendrons.

I just yanked out a ratty old shrub on the north side of my house, and the empty space is bothering me… but I received a gift certificate for a local nursery, so guess what I’m going shopping for!

•••

OSU/WSU Extension Opportunities OSU Seed to Supper Columbia County 2021.

Info: 503-397-3462

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COMMUNITY/FARMERS MARKETS Astoria Sunday Market May 9 – Oct. 23. Sundays • 10–3 Downtown on 12th, just off Hwy 30, Astoria, Ore. • 503-325-1010 www.astoriasundaymarket.com Mgr: Shelby, 503-440-7168 shelby@astoriadowntown.com

Saturdays • 10–4 May 1 thru Sept 25 Arts/crafts, housewares, cut flowers, foods. Port of Ilwaco, Ilwaco, Wash. www.portofilwaco.com Info: marketmanager.ilwaco@gmail.com or phone 360-670-0120

Elochoman Marina Farmers Market

Saturdays • 10–2, June to Sept.

Copes Park. From Hwy 30, turn north on Nehalem, east on Lillich. New vendors welcome; find application at clatskaniefarmersmarket.com Info: 971-506-7432 Darro Breshears-Routon clatskaniefmvendorcoordinator@gmail.com

Fridays May 28 to Sept 10 • 3–6pm 500 2nd St,, Cathlamet, Wash. cathlametmarina.org Info: port1j@cni.net, call or text Deb Holland, Mgr: 360-849-9401

Columbia-Pacific Farmers Market Fridays •12–5pm, June to Sept Downtown Long Beach, Wash. www.longbeachwa.gov info: cpfmmallory@gmail.com; 360-224-3921

Cowlitz Community Farmers Market Open 9–2, Sat thru October, Tues thru Sept.

1900 7th Ave, Cowlitz Expo Center, Longview, Wash. www.cowlitzfarmersmarkets.com Info: Laurie Kochis 360-957-7023 lauriekochis@msn.com

Oh, look! She’s bringing in associates!

What does this mean?

Ilwaco Saturday Market

Clatskanie Farmers’ Market

I knew it. I bet we’re going to be put out to pasture soon.

And I don’t like grass.

FROM THE PET DEPT.

~Smokey Man in the Kitchen’s cat

~Ginger Victoria Findlay’s dog, aka Gretchen

Editor’s note: Don’t worry, my pets...your positions are secure.

I just thought you might enjoy the occasional guest.

Lemonade Eyes

Scappoose Community Club Farmers Market Saturda, 9–2 • May 1thru Sept 25 Behind City Hall next to Heritage Park, 2nd St., Scappoose, Ore. www.scappoosefarmermarket.com Info: Bill Blank 503-730-7429 email: scappoosefm@gmail.com

This is Midnight, a feral cat I found and tamed last summer. The cat helped me through many pandemic and family illness problems...I wrote this poem while recovering from knee surgery.

The poem just poured out of me — and I don’t think it was due to the pain pills! It depicts Midnight’s attempts to keep her domain clear of all uninvited guests.

We gladly list local farmers markets.

Please send details and contact info to publisher@crreader. com

Cathleen McNelly Longview, Wash.

CLATSKANIE, OREGON • 4th GENERATION MINT FARM real farmers ... real mint

C

hickadees, finches, juncos hopping on the ground, Sensing trouble near, off they bound.

Still...Midnight tries, with her lemonade eyes, Squirrels busy bringing, climbing, scurrying, Freeze stone-still, cats are for worrying.

Still...Midnight tries, with her lemonade eyes.

artisan-made patties peppermint fondant dark chocolate DELICIOUS!

Neighbor tabby cat, trespassing boldly, Padding forward stealthily, staring coldly.

Still...Midnight tries, with her lemonade eyes.

Raccoons in the garden, foraging for corn.

Not yet ripe, scuttle away forlorn.

Still...Midnight tries, with her lemonade eyes.

Possums hissing, waddle across the lawn, Must make haste, disappear before dawn.

Pictured above: Warren & Mike Seely

Available at Burgerville USA Jim’s Thriftway, Warrenton Astoria Co-op Fred Meyer Clatskanie Liquor Store Rainer Liquor Store McMenamin’s, Kalama High School Pharmacy Skinny’s, St. Helens St. Helens Market Fresh formerly Red Apple

Still...Midnight tries, with her lemonade eyes.

Mice tap little brown scratchy toes, Catching scent of enemy with pointed nose.

Still...Midnight tries, with her lemonade eyes.

Iridescent dragonflies flit in the sun, Like miniature helicopters, life on vertical run.

But now...growing weary, a bit defeated, Midnight curls up, tomorrow to be repeated!

Editor’s note: If you have an interesting pet anecdote, humorous or other sentiment to share, please send to CRR Pet Dept., 1333 14th Ave., Longview WA 98632, or email to publisher@ crreader.com.

200-word max.

Include a photo (non-returnable) or attach digitally as a jpeg at 300 dpi. We will publish selections from time to time as space allows.

Columbia River Reader / April 15, 2021 / 23

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24 / Columbia River Reader / April 15, 2021

The Toucans of Tikal

The Natural World

Banality is a bane of our own creation. It is up to each of us to keep the world fresh.

M

Essay by Dr. Robert Michael Pyle

y friend Jimbo traveled to the wild Petén district of Guatemala to study bird behavior in the early ‘70s, and his description of bat falcons shooting around the ancient Mayan ruins at Tikal has stuck with me ever since. So when Thea and I took a keen troupe of butterfly watchers to Central America recently, I climbed the temples at Tikal and watched for the falcons. Swallows gave false alarms, appearing and disappearing around the gray pyramids, and black vultures perched on top like gargoyles, waiting for us to fall.

From the high terrace of Temple Four, I listened to packs of howler monkeys roaring unbelievably from two directions, as loud as prides of lions in wraparound stereo. Later, in the rainforest below, a dozen coatis—long-snouted, long-tailed relatives of raccoons — rooted at my feet. Overhead, keel-billed toucans presided.

The trails were almost deserted, air travel having shrunk to a trickle in the aftermath of the New York enormity. We too had considered canceling our expedition, but carrying on with this peaceful and reverent journey seemed a respectful response to tragedy. Seeking solace and serenity

in soft bright wings, we had the normally crowded shrine almost to ourselves. So I watched the toucans undisturbed, and found myself asking how this big, colorfully billed bird can be taken seriously, after all those Guinness and Fruit Loops ads? How can any animal or plant retain its dignity, when its image has been co-opted by commerce, stylized, and universally broadcast on billboards, cartoons, and television? This is a serious matter, because proper citizenship requires us to regard other life forms with care and compassion.

It is also a selfish concern: when I meet a new species, I want the experience to be fresh and passionate, not depleted by commercial baggage.

In short, I wondered, can a creature become a cliché?

These questions are particularly pertinent to that famous trio of southwestern pop mythos — roadrunner, coyote, and saguaro — mostly due to those Looney Tunes, with Wile E. Coyote chasing the Roadrunner past the same three or four hands-up saguaros, endlessly.

Coyote is also blazoned in the brain as pastel song-dogs marketed between priapic Kokopellis and Chinese-made Kachina dolls. And saguaros! How many greeting card cacti must we

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 ‘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

Essays in this series published in Columbia River Reader originally appeared 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.

glimpse before a live one ever graces our vision? I worried that I would see saguaro as little more than a bristly silhouette from a comic strip; that a child raised on cartoons and commercials might miss the actual encounter, waiting for the wheelspinning bird to emit its trademark “Meep, meep!”—a skinny, bipedal, snaggletoothed coyote on its tail with mayhem in mind.

But it hasn’t worked out that way for me. Last summer, returning from a rangers’ reunion in Sequoia National Park, I spotted two roadrunners crossing — what else? — the road, then pacing alongside a citrus grove and disappearing within. The big speckled bird, with its wild yellow eye framed by blue and red, its scimitar bill and erectile crest, conveyed the thrilling sense of an organism’s perfect fitness to its place. I thought of the blue, snub-nosed cartoon version no more than I hear Woody Woodpecker’s shrill guffaw in the cry and hammer of a pileated. And when I finally saw saguaros in 1992, thrusting up through yellow composites, pink penstemons, and mimosas, poking the hot air, they failed to evoke the inflatable cacti that live with pink flamingos in novelty stores. And as for coyote, the one that limped across the highway near home, hit, holding its shattered paw like some vole it was taking to its kits, was no Wile E. The ones that tremolo and countertenor in the plum grove on September nights

are no cutout songdogs trivialized by some southwestern chamber of commerce.

So what of those toucans? The magnificent green, red, orange, and blue schnozz briefly brought to mind the old Guinness ad, me being more inclined toward Irish stout than Fruit Loops. But when the big black and yellow bird stretched its massive bill down to preen its belly, so the scarlets of the tip and the undertail coverts met, both backlit by the sun, I knew that no caricature could steal an organism’s singular evolutionary elegance. If anything is to be co-opted, it is our own perception. This we must resist, for when animals and plants are trivialized, so too are the ecosystems they inhabit.

On the other hand, maybe the popcopying of critters can have some redeeming value: millions of people who don’t know a sparrow from a swallow might recognize a roadrunner if they saw one. As long as cultural exploitation of living things does not debase or demonize them, perhaps it actually helps maintain connections with other species in a world where we sever them at every opportunity.

I never did see Jimbo’s little orange falcons knifing over the high stone temples in the jungle. But in their stead, the toucans of Tikal taught me this: banality is a bane of our own creation. It is up to each of us to keep the world fresh.

•••

Original essay written Winter 2001/2002.

Columbia River Reader / April 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.

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.

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.

Grant’s at the Monticello Hotel on Longview’s

historic Civic Circle. Casual upscale inside dining. Seafood, steaks, pasta, burgers. Happy Hour specials 3pm.

Lunch & dinner. M-Th 11-9, Fri-Sat 11-10.

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.

360-425-8545.

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.

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

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.

Luigi’s Pizza

117 East 1st Street, Rainier 503-556-4213 Inside dining, Take-out & Delivery

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

26 / Columbia River Reader / April 15, 2021

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.

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.

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.

Follow us on Untappd.

The Carriage

Castle Rock, Wash.

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.

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 30.

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.

Roland on Wine

COLUMBIA RIVER DINING GUIDE

How American wines got onto the world stage

also introduced the idea of ratings and the role of critics in people’s choice of wine. There was a shift for many wine enthusiasts to a belief that critics know best and a quest to buy wines that are deemed “good” with a highly rated score.

The Judgement of Paris

By Marc Roland On May 24, 1976, a wine tasting was held in Paris at the Intercontinental Hotel. Not just any wine tasting, but a tasting that significantly changed the wine world. Known later as the Judgement of Paris, the organizer, a young Steven Spurrier, had no idea of the reverberations that would follow.

Mr. Spurrier, who died in March at age 79, was an Englishman who owned a wine shop and wine school in Paris.

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!

Longview resident and former Kelso teacher Marc Roland started making wine in 2008 in his garage. He and his wife, Nancy, now operate Roland Wines at 1106 Florida Street in Longview’s new “barrel district.” For wine tasting hours, call 360846-7304.

During a trip to California, Spurrier had become convinced that the wines he tasted were as good or better than those in France, a view that was unimaginable at the time.

He set up a blind tasting of wines from California and France with nine French judges, some of the best in the wine and culinary field. Of the whites, six chardonnays were from Napa and four from Burgundy. The reds, all made entirely from Cabernet Sauvignon, included six from California and four from Bordeaux.

The Judgement of Paris has been memorialized through literature and film for more than 40 years, and during that time sensationalized from the small event it was. The film, “Bottle Shock,” staring Allan Rickman as a young Steven Spurrier, came out a few years ago. It is thoroughly entertaining and inspirational and I recommend it even though it took a lot of creative license and strayed from important facts.

What happened was the California wines outscored the French wines in every category and set the world abuzz, launching the California wine industry, and the view that America could make worldclass wines. What was a huge boost in promoting the quality of wine and increased interest in fine wine

Scores still play an important role for people wanting to experience a fine wine, but there is a refreshing return these days of people seeking out regional and international offerings on their own. These may include unrated wines or rare finds in small boutique wineries. A lesson we could learn from Mr. Spurrier.

Wine ratings themselves are over rated. Don’t be fooled by those who want to sell you wine based on someone else’s taste. Because the only thing that matters is if you like the wine at the price point you pay.

What has really complicated buying decisions and rating is the proliferation of information and online wine retailers. It used to be simple. You went to the liquor store or grocery and picked one of a few wines, either white or red, produced by a handful of familiar brands, mostly from California.

The wines were reasonably good and mass produced and consistently predictable. I suppose this is still the case for many wine consumers. But this column is a result of the growing interest in wine, spurred in part by the wine industry, which has created a thirst for better and better wine.

Like other consumer products, we want to make sure we get the best.

Now you can find that out by going to consumer reports or googling it.

Helpful, but remember who does the ratings— critics and connoisseurs.

Unless you are really into wine or cont page 28

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www.rodmanrealty.com Columbia River Reader / April 15, 2021 / 27

Wine

from page 27

really care about what others think about a particular wine, this can lead you astray. Why? Because the two things that will decide almost every wine decision is price and availability.

No matter what the rating, there are limits of what we are willing to spend. So remember, sellers know this, and will offer you amazing highly rated wine at a price you will be willing to spend, to lure you to buy. How? By creating unverified ratings or by making up rating scales based on the reviews of consumers or the producer themselves. This is a common practice. Availability is also a huge consideration. The chances of you finding an authentically highlyrated wine is rare. In fact, even if you wanted to pay hundreds of dollars on a great bottle of wine, you probably wouldn’t find it, because of scarcity.

“Where Quality Education Meets Adventure!”

I like the new confidenceof wine drinkers are these days, trusting their own palettes and seeking out great wines that are underrated or not rated at all. Wines that are affordable, available, and good.

1428 22nd Avenue Longview, WA 98632 www.bigleafmontessori.com Big Leaf Montessori is an equal opportunity program that does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, gender, religion, national or ethnic origin, disability, marital status, or sexual orientation in administration of its educational, admissions, or hiring policies.

All you have to do is take a chance and try them. I think Steven Spurrier would agree because we would not have had the historic wine tasting if it were not for his journey to America to seek out the best for himself.

Postscript: If you want to use scores, be sure to double-check with wine publications that taste wine ‘blind’ and are not trying to sell you something.

Major publications like Wine Spectator or Wine Enthusiast are safe sources.

They review both value wines and higher-end wines.

•••

BESIDES COLUMBIA RIVER READER...

What are you reading?

Monthly feature coordinated by Alan Rose

Where Bigfoot Walks: Crossing the Dark Divide

By Dayle Olson

I

f you are inquisitive and enjoy expanding your knowledge of the natural world, I imagine you will come away as deeply satisfied as I did after reading this book. However, if you are looking for a pulpy retelling of encounters with the Big Guy (Sasquatch, not the author Robert Michael Pyle), then this book may not be your cup of tea.

In a month-long ramble around Gifford Pinchot National Forest, Pyle, a world-renowned butterfly and moth expert, meticulously notes his observations of the landscape and biology nestled between Mt. St. Helens and Mt. Adams. For an ecologist with irrepressible curiosity and a sharp eye, it is tantalizing to consider how or if this wild place could support a large hominoid ape. The book approaches the question of sustainability, as well as possibility, from several angles: professional Bigfoot hunters, skeptics, eyewitnesses, loggers, First Peoples,

NEWS! Alan Rose’s novel on the AIDS epidemic, As If Death Summoned, has been named a finalist in the 2020 Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Awards, to be announced in June. (The INDIES awards are for independent publishers.)

early settlers, l e g e n d s , biologists, and the timber industry. The backdrop for these intersecting stories is a wilderness treasure in urgent need of protection if the beauty and mystery are to endure, and by extension, if the real (or mythical) giant apelike creature is also to survive.

Pyle is asked the recurring question: Do you believe in Bigfoot? Faith has nothing to do with it. His search for scientific evidence and credible accounts inform the way he thinks about a creature that taxonomists have named but who lack an actual specimen or DNA sample. By the last page, this reader was looking at the question through a different lens as well.

••• Dayle Olson’s 2019 Columbia River poem, “Water Highway/SR4 at Stella,” was selected by Humanities Washington for the Poetic Routes broadsheet project. Her short stories have been published in the annual Seaside Library anthology (2019, 2020). Dayle lives in Cathlamet with husband, David, and one opinionated cat.

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ATTENTION, READERS 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 1. The Song of Achilles Madeline Miller, Ecco, $16.99 2. Where the Crawdads Sing Delia Owens, Putnam, $18 3. The Rose Code Kate Quinn, Morrow, $17.99 4. Circe Madeline Miller, Back Bay, $16.99 5. The House in the Cerulean Sea TJ Klune, Tor, $18.99 6. The Night Watchman Louise Erdrich, Harper Perennial, $18 7. Interior Chinatown Charles Yu, Vintage, $16 8. The Book of Longings Sue Monk Kidd, Penguin, $17 9. Deacon King Kong James McBride, Riverhead Books, $17 10. The Glass Hotel Emily St. John Mandel, Vintage, $16.95

PAPERBACK NON-FICTION

HARDCOVER FICTION

1. Braiding Sweetgrass Robin Wall Kimmerer, Milkweed Editions, $18, 2. The Body Keeps the Score Bessel van der Kolk, Penguin, $19 3. Minor Feelings Cathy Park Hong, One World, $18 4. Nomadland Jessica Bruder, Norton, $16.95 5. My Grandmother’s Hands Resmaa Menakem, Central Recovery Press, $17.95 6. The Body Bill Bryson, Anchor, $17 7. One Long River of Song Brian Doyle, Back Bay, $17.99 8. Hood Feminism Mikki Kendall, Penguin, $16, 9. Hidden Valley Road Robert Kolker, Anchor, $17 10. Becoming Michelle Obama, Crown, $18.99

1. The Hill We Climb: An Inaugural Poem for the Country Amanda Gorman, Viking, $15.99 2. Klara and the Sun Kazuo Ishiguro, Knopf, $28 3. The Midnight Library Matt Haig, Viking, $26 4. The Consequences of Fear Jacqueline Winspear, Harper, $27.99 5. The Four Winds Kristin Hannah, St. Martin’s, $28.99 6. The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue V.E. Schwab, Tor, $26.99 7. The Paris Library Janet Skeslien Charles, Atria, $28 8. Mexican Gothic Silvia Moreno-Garcia, Del Rey, $27 9. The Vanishing Half Brit Bennett, Riverhead Books, $27 10. Hamnet Maggie O’Farrell, Knopf, $26.95

BOOK REVIEW

By Alan Rose Galwey Kinnell Collected Poems Houghton Mifflin Harcort $35

P

oet Charles Bernstein once suggested that National Poetry Month’s motto should be “Poetry’s not so bad, really.”

Not exactly a ringing endorsement, but it’s true that for many of us poetry remains arcane and often inaccessible.

I’m definitely not a poet; not even sure what makes a good poem. Many of the New Yorker poems leave me baffled— but then many of their cartoons leave me baffled as well.

Nonetheless, for National Poetry Month I decided to immerse myself in the poetry of one particular poet

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 NON-FICTION 1. The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse Charlie Mackesy, HarperOne, $22.99 2. The Code Breaker Walter Isaacson, S&S, $35 3. Caste Isabel Wilkerson, Random House, $32 4. The Sum of Us Heather McGhee, One World, $28 5. How to Do the Work: Recognize Your Patterns, Heal from Your Past, and Create Your Self Dr. Nicole LePera, Harper Wave, $27.99 6. Breath James Nestor, Riverhead Books, $28 7. Untamed Glennon Doyle, The Dial Press, $28 8. Wintering Katherine May, Riverhead Books, $24 9. A Little Devil in America: Notes in Praise of Black Performance Hanif Abdurraqib, Random House, $27 10. How to Avoid a Climate Disaster Bill Gates, Knopf, $26.95

Brought to you by Book Sense and Pacific Northwest Booksellers Assn, for week ending April 4, 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 1. Dune Frank Herbert, Ace, $10.99 2. Dune Messiah Frank Herbert, Ace, $9.99 3. 1984 George Orwell, Signet, $9.99 4. Bridgerton: The Duke and I Julia Quinn, Avon, $9.99, 5. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings Maya Angelou, Ballantine, $7.99 6. The Name of the Wind Patrick Rothfuss, DAW, $9.99 7. Bridgerton: An Offer From a Gentleman Julia Quinn, Avon, $8.99 8. The Way of Kings Brandon Sanderson, Tor, $9.99 9. Bridgerton: Romancing Mister Bridgerton Julia Quinn, Avon, $8.99 10. Foundation Isaac Asimov, Spectra, $7.99

EARLY & MIDDLE GRADE READERS 1. Rowley Jefferson’s Awesome Friendly Spooky Stories Jeff Kinney, Abrams, $14.99 2. A Wolf Called Wander Rosanne Parry, Greenwillow Books, $7.99 3. Cat Kid Comic Club Dav Pilkey, Graphix, $12.99 4. Wow in the World: The How and Wow of the Human Body Mindy Thomas, Guy Raz, Jack Teagle (Illus.), HMH Books for Young Readers, $19.99 5. Becoming: Adapted for Young Readers Michelle Obama, Delacorte Books for Young Readers, $18.99 6. Twins Varian Johnson, Shannon Wright (Illus.), Graphix, $12.99 7. Rowley Jefferson’s Awesome Friendly Adventure Jeff Kinney, Amulet, $14.99 8. When You Trap a Tiger Tae Keller, Random House Books for Young Readers, $16.99 9. Sisters Raina Telgemeier, Graphix, $10.99 10. The Phantom Tollbooth Norton Juster, Jules Feiffer (Illus.), Yearling, $7.99

Take a poet to bed during National Poetry Month and picked up the collected poems of Galwey Kinnell (1927-2014), resolving to read one or two each evening before falling asleep.

I was drawn to Kinnell because of his nature poetry, not oohing and aahing over daffodils or sunsets, but his sensing a rough, vestigial identification with the natural world. Kinnell was, like Whitman, “mystically physical.”

My nightly experiment did not get off to a great start. His earlier poems left me cold and unmoved. Poem after poem, I’d shake my head, thinking “Haven’t a clue what he’s about.”

(BUT on the positive side, they helped me fall asleep.) I found his poems deepened with meaning and became more accessible as he aged.

Poets play with language to say what hasn’t been said before, or at least not in this way. They use familiar words to help us see the world in unfamiliar ways: Listening to Pacific breakers—“The suck and inner boom/ As a wave tears free and crashes back/ In overlapping thunders.” Or in describing ice as “silenced water,” or “a woodpecker, double-knocking,” or lying next to one’s lover, “absorbing the astounding quantity of heat a slender body ovens up around itself.”

Sometimes the words are unfamiliar but perfect: “The sea scumbles in/

These later poems reflect a seasoning that only comes with age: “Nobody likes to die/ But an old man/ Can know/ A gratefulness/ Toward time that kills him,/ Everything he loved was made of it.”

Don’t know where to start? Here are some suggestions: Oregon poet William Stafford, or Billy Collins and Dorothy Parker for poetry seasoned with wry humor, Amanda Gorman, who wowed us at the inauguration, Bob Pyle’s The Tidewater Reach, Gwendolyn Brooks (“We real cool.”) Edna St. Vincent Millay (she who burnt her candle at both ends), Adrienne Rich, current US poet laureate Joy Harjo, Lawrence Ferlinghetti’s classic Coney Island of the Mind, Mary Oliver, and (fill in the blank yourself.) Or try a smorgasbord of poets: Norton Anthology of Modern Poetry, or the Columbia Anthology of American Poetry.

He finds himself approaching the end—“sick to stay, longing to come up against the ends of the earth, and climb over”—and finally intuits a strange peace and oneness with the world one has been born into: “Can you bless, or not curse,/ everything that struggles to stay alive/ on this planet of struggles?”

Not so bad, really.

•••

From its own inviolate border under the sky,” “a roof leak whucking into a pail.”

Some poems resemble brief postcards: “Wilmington, Delaware, one of those American cities/ that start falling apart before they ever get finished.”

Through Kinnell’s poems we witness the poet maturing. He takes note of the fact that he is aging—“Here come the joggers./ I am sixty-one. The joggers are approximately very young.” He notes the other “rickety, well wattled old timers,” and that “the arthritic opposable thumb no longer opposes.”

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 / April 15, 2021 / 29

Event features former Poet Laureate

F

ormer Washington Poet Laureate Kathleen Flenniken will be join an online Northwest Voices event on Wednesday, April 21, at 7pm.

Flenniken is the author of three poetry collections, most recently Post Romantic, part of the Pacific Northwest Poetry Series. Plume won the Washington State Book Award and was a finalist for the William Carlos Williams Award from the Poetry Society of America and the Pacific Northwest Book Awards. Her first book, Famous, won the Prairie Schooner Book Prize in Poetry and was named a Notable Book by the American Library Association.

Flenniken’s awards include a Pushcart Prize and fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and Artist Trust. She served as Washington State Poet Laureate from 2012 – 2014.

Press, a nonprofit press dedicated to publishing Washington State poets, and currently serves on the board of Jack Straw, an audio arts studio and cultural center. Kathleen holds a Master of Fine Arts degree in creative writing from Pacific Lutheran University, as well as Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in civil engineering. She lives in Seattle.

The link to this Zoom event can be found on the Library’s website at www.longviewlibrary.org/nwvoices. php. All events are free and open to the public. Northwest Voices is funded by the Longview Public Library, Lower Columbia College, Friends of the Longview Library, Longview Library Foundation, and the LCC Foundation.

Kathleen teaches poetry through arts agencies like Writers in the Schools and Jack Straw. For 13 years, she was an editor at Floating Bridge

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.

AD DEADLINES. May15 issue: April 25 June 15 issue: May 25 Submission Guidelines, p. 31.

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30 / Columbia River Reader / April 15, 2021

Carrie Lynn Medack Sr. Loan Officer 360.431.0998 NMLS#190268

1541 11th Ave., Suite A Longview, WA NMLS#1164433

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:

April: Gallery member Sharon Ballard, paintings and pet portraits; Guest artist Linda Blue, wearable art and jewelry.

May: Gallery member Beth Bailey, metal sculpture, pen/ink, watercolor; 6x6 small paintings

by Columbia Artist Association.

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 at St. Helens Post Office is re-located to St. Helens Market Fresh (Red Apple).

New Box coming soon to

“In Their Footsteps: Unsung Heroes of the Expedition April 18, 1pm by Debbie Kaspar. Lesser known members of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Kaspar has been a student of the Lewis and Clark story from a very young age as she grew up near the Lewis and Clark Trail and the birthplace of Sacagawea. She has shared her love of history by teaching at Clatsop Community College for 41 years, including a class in Lewis and Clark history. She worked as a van driver for History America Tours with historian Gary Moulton, editor of the Lewis and Clark journals and at Lewis and Clark National Historical Park for years, first as a volunteer and later as a National Park Ranger.

Following guidance from the CDC and recommendations from state and local public health authorities in consultation with NPS Public Health Service Officers, all forseeable “In Their Footsteps” talks will be held virtually, live, on YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/ Lewisandclarknhp May 16: “Early Explorers of the Pacific Northwest, A Long Time Coming.” Robert Heacock Series sponsored by the Lewis and Clark National Park Association and Fort Clatsop. (Traditionally held at Fort Clatsop, Netul Room, Visitor Center, Astoria, Ore. Info: 503-861-2471; now virtually on YouTube.)

Tap Into Wine

A Seattle Storytellers Guild StoryFest Earth Tales 2021Appreciation, Inspiration and Restoration. Sat., April 17, 6:30–7:45 pm. Featuring three Northwest storytellers, incl. Leslie Slape, inspiring a renewed commitment to be kind to Mother Earth.

Zoom link will be sent upon your Registration. For more info visit seattlestorytellers.org Register in advance for the Zoom Program: https:// tinyurl.com/1gju0ubd Kids’ Fish-In at Lake Sacajawea 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, 8am–5pm. Please arrive 15 minutes before scheduled time. Participants per session 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 inside the fenced area. Combos, terminal tackle and bait will be provided for participants to keep or donate 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.

Kelso Garden Club Plant Sale Sat., May 8, 9am–5 pm. A variety of houseplants, annuals, perennials, shrubs, herbs, vegetables and seeds; yard art and used pots. Tim-Wa Mobile Home Park, 1965 Westside Highway Space #37, Kelso, Wash. Follow the signs from the entry to the location. All sales CASH ONLY. Priced reduced by half after 2pm. Proceeds support School Gardens, Arbor Day tree planting, Cowlitz County Fair exhibits and special projects such as the Blue Star Marker project to be placed at Tam O’Shanter Park.

St. Helens Old Town

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: May 15 – June 20:

by April 25 for May 15 issue June 15 – July 20:

by May 25 for June 15 issue.

Calendar submissions are considered for inclusion, subject to lead time, general relevance to readers, and space limitations. See Submission Guidelines, at left.

Day Trippers!

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Grab & Go or enjoy our picnic tables!

DREW’S GROCERY & SERVICE, INC Just 10 miles from I-5 Exit 49

5304 Spirit Lake Hwy • Toutle, WA

360-274-8920

Columbia River Reader / April 15, 2021 / 31

Astronomy

SKY REPORT

Looking UP APRIL 15 – MAY 15 Evening Sky Mars is still a bright planet in the low western sky. Mars is located near the feet of the constellation Gemini. The bright star Arcturus, in the constellation Boötes, is in the eastern sky and leads the parade of summer stars and constellations.

In mid May, Venus makes her reappearance in the night sky as the Evening Star as she reappears from being on the far side if the Sun the last few weeks. Venus will be very low on the western horizon just after sunset. The best view will be an unobstructed view of the horizon. Like at the beach on a sunny day. Mercury will be just above Venus so be watching for the tiny planet.

Leo is high in the southern sky, marked by the bright star Regulus and the famous hook shape that delineates the head of Leo. He is followed along by the lazy princess Virgo, who has cast off her diamonds of galaxies that lie between her and the tail of Leo. Leo has his own galaxies as well. He sits on them as though he is cuddling young cubs. These galaxies are known as M95, M96, M105, M65, and M66.

Morning Sky Jupiter and Saturn are rising in the southeast around 4:30 am. The 3rd quarter moon is rising in the south around the 30th of April.

Night Sky Spectacle: M13 The Hercules Cluster is rising in the east at the end of twilight, around 9:30pm, making for its summer dominance. Located on the “upper side” of the trapezoid-shaped body of Hercules about one third the way ‘down’ from the ‘upper’ corner of the trapezoid.

Moon Phases 1st Qtr. : April 20th Wed. Full: April 26th Mon 3rd Qtr. :May 3rd Mon New: May 11 Tue End of twilight - when the stars start to come out Tue, April 20th 8:38pm Fri, April 30th 8:53:21 pm Wed, May 19th 9:19:30 pm •••

Amateur Astronomy: A light hobby or a grand passion

By Greg Smith

B

eing an amateur astronomer ranges from just looking up at the sky or having a pair of binoculars or small telescope up to having a 32-inch diameter mirror reflector loaded with thousands of dollars worth of equipment attached.

Having a small telescope (a spotting scope is a small telescope) is not to be sneezed at. You can easily take it on an overnight camping trip. There, the real fun in keeping it simple is a joy. Remember this is supposed to be fun. Amateur astronomy is a hobby to satisfy an interest, from a light interest on to wondering more about the sky.

I will say again that all you need to do to begin is just look up at the stars and become familiar with the star patterns and learn their names.

Then go on to learn the names of

the bright stars that reside in those star patterns. A $10 star chart known as a planisphere is all you need to start your journey into the heavens.

Getting a book of pictures of the various objects in the sky may be all that you need or want. Then get it and relax and enjoy. If this is all you do, that is wonderful.

Spring is the time of year that more serious amateur astronomers love to go out for a night of hunting and searching.

It is time for the Messier Marathon. This is not a twenty-six mile run in the dark, cont page 33

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ServiceMaster by JTS–Longview, WA • www.servicemasterjts.com 32 / Columbia River Reader / April 15, 2021

Where do you read

from page 32

but a search of the skies for the 110 items a French astronomer named Messier listed as not being comets.

These include nebula, star clusters, and galaxies. At the time of his listing, he did not know what they were, but that they were stationary in the sky and not moving as a comet would be.

Have I done one? No. I have seen a few of these objects. I admit that I’d have to do a marathon on the installment plan.

THE READER?

The desert in bloom

Former executive director of the Columbia Theatre for the Performing Arts, Gian Paul Morelli, roams through the Sonoran Desert Museum (Tucson, Ariz,) with a copy of CRR ... “Looking for ideas to bring into our home garden landscape,” he said in an email.

A Messier Marathon is supposed to be fun, especially when done at a star party with a group of amateurs getting together to try to compete for who can locate and view the most. I have heard of some who have found all 110 in one night. It starts just after sunset — looking in the west to find them just before they go below the horizon, and lasting till just before sunrise, when the morning washes the stars away with the light of the rising sun.

WHERE DO YOU READ THE READER?

Send your photo reading the Reader (high-res JPEG) to Publisher@CRReader.com. Include names and cities of residence. We make it a practice to promptly acknowledge photos received; if you don’t hear from us within 5 days, please resend. For cell phone photo, choose the largest file size up to 2 MB.

The competition is all in fun and the winner gets bragging rights for a year till they all do it again ( maybe a beer is involved, too ). Spring is not the only time a Messier Marathon can be don — autumn is a good time, as well.

But the Spring Marathon is the most talked about.

A star party may involve a show and tell, as well. In the hours before sunset once the scopes have been set up and are acclimatizing to the surrounding air, the owners often get together and share the new “toys” that they have for their scopes. This could range from new eyepieces, to showing off their new cameras attached to their scope, and new guiding scopes attached to a computer so they can follow the stars more closely to take better pictures, or software for processing the pictures they have just taken on their latest night out.

A Messier Marathon is fun for those who have more than a passing interest in the sky. It is a self-rewarding experience. But it’s not a necessity in order to be an amateur astronomer.

••• 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.

People

TOUR DE BLAST

RUBBER DUCK RAFFLE

ROTARY FOOD WAGON

FREEDOM FLAGS

Who we are. People of action. Your local

FUN EVENTS

Freedom Flags • May 31

neighbors and friends. We work on fun projects that have a real, lasting impact on people’s lives.

Tour de Blast • June 19

What we do. Take action on local projects

Have a flag placed at your home

like literacy and childhood poverty — plus global projects like peace, clean water and health.

Ride in Mt. St. Helens blast zone

Go Fourth • July 2-4

Patriotic Celebration Festival

OUR LOCAL CLUBS SUPPORT:

Squirrel Fest • Aug 21 Celebrate our furry friends

Quacker 5000 • Sept 12

Rubber Duck Raffle at The Highlander Festival

Rotary Club of Longview Wednesdays at noon Longview Country Club www.LongviewRotary.com 360.560.3989

LITERACY Rotary Club of Kelso Thursdays at noon Kelso Elks www.KelsoRotary.org 360.747.1394

• Dolly Parton Imagination Library • Children In Need • Catlin Rotary Spray Park • City Parks and Playgrounds • End Polio Now Campaign • Kelso Skate Park • Student Scholarships • AND MANY MORE!

HOW TO GET INVOLVED: • Visit a meeting • Join Rotary • Donate to a project • Attend our events

Service Above Self

Columbia River Reader / April 15, 2021 / 33

the spectator by ned piper An eruption of memories

W

ith the addition of our newest advertiser, Drew’s Grocery in Toutle on the road to Mount Saint Helens, memories of summers spent at the Spirit Lake YMCA Camp flooded back. On the way, we’d always stop at the Kid Valley Store — farther up the road and long gone now — known for their thick, tasty milkshakes. These days, Drew’s provides a similar friendly “pit stop,” offering much more than burgers and fries — with its full deli, fried chicken and fish and chips — handy when you venture

out on a jaunt to the mountain. Which is an appealing thought as things begin to open after this last year of pandemicrelated confinement.

I wish I had a count of the number of kids who spent a week or two at the Spirit Lake “Y” Camp in their youth. It would, I’m sure, be in the thousands. I know I’ve had a steady stream of individuals share their “Y” Camp experiences with me over the years. Some were friends, others were cabin mates, many I didn’t remember specifically but in every case, I fondly recalled the experiences we all shared...

Such as hiking, swimming in an icy lake fed by streams borne from snow melt, fishing for trout and carp, boating, water skiing behind the camp’s Century speedboat, and sneaking into the lodge’s kitchen at night to raid the cook’s chocolate chip cookie supply. The campfire light reflecting off the trees at night and the stories told by our counselors. Stories of Slimy the Slink, Dr. Coffin and the apes at Ape Cave at the base of the mountain. And ah, that glorious mountain, the second most symmetrical mountain in the world, next to Mt. Fujiyama in Japan.

With the eruption of Mount St. Helens in 1980, everything I just mentioned exploded, except in our memories. I bet you, like me, are itching to get out of the house to breathe fresh mountain air and get some exercise. I encourage you to visit the mountain that was the backdrop for so much pleasure in our younger days.

It’s a good time to recall that May 18th eruption 41 years ago, and marvel at how the land has recovered.

And when you stop at Drew’s Grocery for gas or goodies, be sure to say “Hello” to Greg and Carol Drew and their daughter, Julie Cox. Tell them I sent you!

•••

Ned Piper coordinates CRR’s advertising and distribution, enjoying the opportunity to circulate throughout his lifelong stomping grounds, greeting old and new friends.

PLUGGED IN TO COWLITZ PUD

By Alice Dietz

Cowlitz PUD recognized as ‘Tree Line Utility’ two years running

C

owlitz PUD’s dedication to delivering safe and reliable electricity while maintaining healthy community trees has earned us the title of Tree Line Utility in 2020 and 2021.

We will continue to strive to maintain our title by training employees in quality tree-care practices, educating the public about planting trees for energy conservation, and helping homeowners plant appropriate trees near utility lines, which provides beautiful trees for the future and yields long-term savings for our customers.

In celebration of Arbor Day on April 14th and in partnership with Tsugawa’s Nursery, we will give away 10 powerline safe trees— paperbark maples and smoke trees, which have a mature height under 25 feet. Enter at cowlitzpud.org • Plant your new tree in the right place to conserve energy and reduce your energy bills.

• Properly-placed trees save energy by providing summer shade, winter warmth and winter windbreaks. For more information visit cowlitzpud.org/outages/vegetationmanagement/.

Spring projects? Plan ahead!

If you are planning to do any landscaping or tree planting, please keep in mind: • Call 811 before you dig • Trees and shrubs can be a problem for overhead and underground facilities.

• Look up to see if there are overhead lines above or near your planting site.

• Trees planted directly under or within 20 feet of the power lines should have a mature height less than 25 feet; trees that mature to 25–45 feet should be planted 20–50 feet away; trees greater than 45 feet at maturity should be planted more than 50 feet away • Look around for green metal or fiberglass boxes and avoid planting near them, due to underground facilities.

••• Alice Dietz is Communications/Public Relations Manager at Cowlitz PUD. Reach her at adietz@ cowlitzpud.org, or 360501-9146.

34 / Columbia River Reader / April 15, 2021

o f r i l P e r e n t P ar WHO VAULT BOOKS & BREW

Jennifer Engkraf, Owner 20 Cowlitz St. W. Castle Rock, Washington 360-967-2299

WHAT Bookstore and coffee shop WOW “It’s nice to have another

angle. Stephen Ambrose (Undaunted Courage) was wonderful but he didn’t have the local flair and knowledge like Michael Perry’s Dispatches from the Discovery Trail!”

“People love the Lewis and Clark story.”

“Readers feel connected to this history because so much of it happened right here.”

SIGN ON THE WALL “Believe in Your Shelf”

V

ault Books & Brew is a bookstore and coffee shop located in a historic bank building in the heart of Castle Rock, Washington, featuring new and used books, including local authors and poets. Jennifer Engkraf also carries handcrafted literary-themed gifts made by Castle Rock artisans.

~ Jennifer Engkraf Vault Books & Brew owner on Dispatches from the Discovery Trail

In the spotlight at Vault Books & Brew ~ CRR Press books!

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

DISPATCHES FROM THE DISCOVERY TRAIL

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

Poems and Pictures

A Layman’s Lewis & Clark

Robert Michael Pyle Judy VanderMaten

By Michael O. Perry

K LEWIS & CLAR n A LAYMAN’S e Editio

Signatur

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 / April 15, 2021 / 35

36 / Columbia River Reader / April October 15, 2020 15, 2021