CRR Nov-Dec - Holiday 2019

CRREADER.COM • Vol. XVI, No. 173 • November 25, 2019 – January 10, 2020 • COMPLIMENTARY Helping you discover and enjoy the good life in the Columbia River region at home and on the road

Cheers!

It’s that time of year...

page 10

REX ZIAK PART 2 • HOLIDAY OUTINGS • FOOD & GIFT IDEAS WINTER SOLSTICE STROLL • NEIGHBORHOOD COCKTAIL WALKABOUT

CRR COLLECTORS CLUB

lable i a v a s B o ok or at l i a by m office R R C h, Lgv t 4 1 1333 3 • 11– F W M-

EVENTS • BOOKS • SUBSCRIPTIONS

We’ve recently added two wonderful new CRR series and reprised our popular historical chronicle, Michael Perry’s “Dispatch from the Discovery Trail.” Adding writer and filmmaker Hal Calbom, creator of “People+Place,” and renowned naturalist Robert Michael Pyle to our stable of monthly contributors prompted many of you to ask:

“Can we subscribe to the Reader and not miss a single issue?”

We’re listening! We’ve responded to your suggestions and are introducing a bonus: a line of CRR-published and distributed books. Welcome to our latest innovation: the CRR Collectors Club.

We’re not just celebrating the Columbia River lifestyle and good reads — we’re collectible!

LEWIS AND CLARK REVOLUTIONIZED

Annual subscription: 11 issues $55.

Order by mail using the form below or via credit card or PayPal on our website www.crreader.com.

Questions? Call 360-749-1021.

SUBSCRIPTIONS MAKE GREAT GIFTS! What really — truly — happened during those final wind-blown, rain-soaked thirty days of the Lewis and Clark Expedition? 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.

IN FULL VIEW Rex Ziak

YOU’RE INVITED!

CRR’s Office 1333 14th Ave., Longview Friday, Dec. 13 • 1 – 6 pm • FREE Gift Wrap for book purchases and Gift Cards for Subscriptions • Goodies, Bubbly & Holiday Cheer • Meet CRR Writers, Staff & Friends • Old-Time Player Piano Music

$29.95

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.

EYEWITNESS TO ASTORIA Gabriel Franchére

GIFT BOOKS!

$21.95

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.

• History comes to life!

• Happened in our back yard!

• Builds local pride!

Available in CRR’s office • 1333 14th Avenue, Longview

Open M-W-F 11am–3pm ... or by appointment (call 360-749-1021)

DOWN AND UP Rex Ziak

$18.95

UP” “ DOWN & great Makes a G STOCKIN R! STUFFE

A unique fold-out guide mapping day-by-day Lewis and Clark’s journey from the Rockies to the Pacific Ocean and back.

CRR Press 1333 14th Ave. Longview, WA 98632

CRR COLLECTORS CLUB ___@ $29.95 = _______

In Full View

Eyewitness to Astoria ___@ $21.95 = _______

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Down and Up

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Add Book Shipping & Handling

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email_______________________________________

11-issue Subscription ___@ $55 = __________ Start with next issue

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All book orders to include shipping and handling charge.

All book and subscription orders to include, if applicable, Washington State sales tax.

2 / Columbia River Reader / Holiday Edition Nov. 25, 2019 – Jan. 10, 2020

___ @ $18.95 = _______ $3.90

Sub-Total ______________

8.1%__________

TOTAL _________________

(Check payable to CRR Press enclosed)

I

n his column this month (page 7), Marc Roland suggests keeping a “Thankfulness Journal,” entering five specific items each day. For purposes of my own column, I’ve expanded it beyond just one day and would like to share what I’m thankful for these days: Making Magic at the Museum Thanks to everyone who helped with and attended the program, reception and other festivities on this special day, Nov. 3. We’d been working on it and looking forward to it for quite a long time and could not have been more pleased. Rex Ziak captivated the audience, and the entire day was delightful! (photos far right).

Walking the Solar System on the Winter Solstice, Dec. 21 Read more about this wonderful event (page 19) and be sure to stop by CRR’s Comet station located along the path at Lake Sacajawea, halfway between Neptune and Pluto. Bundle up because space travel can get chilly!

Sue’s Views

Launching CRR Press This includes our new Collectors Club subscribers, our status as a distributor of Rex’s three exquisite books (hint: ideal Christmas gifts!),

and our blossoming dreams coming to fruition as we enter the world of book-publishing. Stay tuned for more exciting news about this in early 2020.

Publisher/Editor: Susan P. Piper Columnists and contributors: Tracy Beard Dr. Bob Blackwood Hal Calbom Tiffany Dickinson Alice Dietz Joseph Govednik Tony Indriolo Jim LeMonds Gary Meyers Michael Perry Ned Piper Perry Piper Philip Portwood Robert Michael Pyle Marc Roland Alan Rose Greg Smith Alice Slusher Paul Thompson Debra Tweedy Production/Graphics Manager: Perry E. Piper Editorial/Proofreading Assistants: Merrilee Bauman Tiffany Dickinson Michael & Marilyn Perry Debra Tweedy Advertising Manager: Ned Piper, 360-749-2632 Columbia River Reader, llc 1333 14th Ave Longview, WA 98632 P.O. Box 1643 • Rainier, OR 97048 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

Holiday 2019...

A Thankfulness Journal

Thank You to our advertisers, readers, contributors, suppliers, and friends for a wonderful year.

The publisher/ editor and staff wish you all a

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

ON THE COVER

Holiday Cheer.

Photo by Hal Calbom

Cover Design by

Columbia River Reader is published monthly, with 15,000 copies distributed free 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 belong to the writers, not necessarily to the Reader.

Submission guidelines: page 34.

General Ad info: page 21

Ned Piper 360-749-2632.

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

Opening CRR’s office Here I spend many, many hours month after month and enjoy every moment. Many of you have visited and admired the French café-esque, mini-courtyard entry, the “Barbie Doll” kitchen, and our wall collection of framed CRR covers. Please drop by — again or for the first time — on Friday, Dec. 13, to mix and mingle with CRR’s staff, writers, friends and readers, and share the ambience of our office.

See details, page 2.

Getting by with a little help from our friends Without our readers, People+Place partners, advertisers, writers, contributors and staff, Columbia River Reader would not exist, much less thrive. I often say — and it is absolutely true — CRR continues to

F r o m t o p : C R R ’s People+Place producer Hal Calbom at the Cowlitz County Historical Museum; Museum director Joseph Govednik; Keiko Ziak, and guest speaker Rex Ziak.

be my dream come true. I’m thankful for you all, and wish you the warmest and brightest of holidays. Cheers!

Sue Piper

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

In this Issue

2 CRR Collectors Club

4 Letters to the Editor

4 Miss Manners

7 Roland on Wine: Season-less Toasting

8 Dispatch from the Discovery Trail ~ The Worst is Yet to Come 11 HaikuFest 2020 13 Northwest Gardening: Lasagna Planting 14 Out & About: A Neighborhood Walkabout Cocktail Party 16 Medical Matters 17 Light Up the Season! Lower Columbia Holiday Happenings 17 Hikes 19 Winter Solstice Walk at Lake Sacajawea 21 Museum Magic: Scappoose Pioneer Museum 22 Quips & Quotes 23-26 People + Place ~ Voyage to Discovery: Rex Ziak 27 People+Place Recommended Books 27 Essay by Robert Michael Pyle: Losers Keepers 28 Where Do You Read the Reader?

29 International Peace: Reconciliation 30 WordFest Book Pitch / Besides CRR, What Are You Reading?

31 Cover to Cover ~ Bestsellers List / Book Review 32 Me and My Piano 34-35 Outings & Events Calendar 36 Lower Columbia Informer: Greetings from South America #3 38 Lower Columbia Dining Guide 39 Man in the Kitchen: Risotto and French Zucchini 40-42 Astronomy ~ The Sky Report / Gift Ideas 45 Movies by Dr. Bob Blackwood 46 The Spectator: Millions of autumn leaves 46 Plugged In to Cowlitz PUD: Veterans Honoring Veterans Columbia River Reader / Holiday Edition Nov. 25, 2019 – Jan. 10, 2020 / 3

Letters to the Editor Going down memory lane I can’t begin to tell you how thrilled I was to see that you published the “Me and My Piano” article that I submitted in the July 15/August 15 Columbia River Reader. If you hadn’t asked for submissions from your readers, I would never have chronicled my lifetime love for playing the piano. Thank you so much for printing my story and allowing me to go down memory lane.

I have been a faithful reader of CRR each month and can’t wait to read the next issue! We are fortunate to have a newspaper of this caliber in our community. Keep up the good work!

Judi Fouch Peters Longview, Wash.

Hal Calbom nailed it!

Thank you so much for running the lovely article written by Hal Calbom. I am tearing up a little here reading it — just because he really nailed it!

In nearly 25 years of doing this, we are so often misunderstood in what we are trying to accomplish in our business. This article is the most accurate and positive description of our business profile I have ever seen!

I really can’t express my gratitude. Just thank you.

Lisa Jessen Longview, Wash.

Editor’s note: The Jessens operate Porky’s Public House & Eatery in Longview, and Doug Jessen was featured in a story by Hal Calbom in October’s CRR.

Finds CRR interesting and useful I found the Columbia River Reader at a restaurant in Westport. It really is the finest area newspaper I have ever read!

Thank you for publishing it.

It really has more interesting and useful articles than I’ve ever seen in a free paper like this: The Lewis & Clark story, the deer information story, the local restaurant and museum information, and all of them! The Rex Ziak story was fascinating.

Thanks again and I’ll always pick up your paper.

Steve Hobbs Beaverton, Ore.

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

Civilized Living

By Judith Martin, Nicholas Ivor Martin and Jacobina Martin

DEAR MISS MANNERS: In the “olde days,” I would receive emails in which I was addressed as “Dear Dr. X,” which indicated a level of formality, and the use of “Dear” did not denote any romantic implications. I also used the “Dear” salutation in my emails to other people.

(I’m a college professor, by the way.)

Lately, however, I’m receiving emails addressed as “Hi, (First Name),” which, though it eliminates any romantic implications from the use of the word “dear,” strikes me as inappropriately casual for a business setting.

Is this now the proper, accepted salutation that people use in business emails? Should I be using “Hi, Miss Manners” or “Dear Miss Manners” in the salutations of my business emails and printed letters?

GENTLE READER: Let us remain on dear terms, please. It is true that those who believe in universal informality and can’t stop messing with conventions now use “Hi” as a salutation, even professionally. Miss Manners does not consider that a reason for more dignified people to succumb.

DEAR MISS MANNERS: On my commute this morning, I ran into a co-worker on public transit.

She is perhaps 25 years older than I am. She said that she didn’t realize I lived near her, and I clarified that I don’t, but that I was coming from my boyfriend’s home in the neighborhood.

My co-worker seemed very taken aback, as if I had revealed something scandalous, and said, “You shouldn’t tell people that!” I was wrong-footed.

Is it true that etiquette dictates I should not allude to sleeping at my boyfriend’s home? It feels rather Victorian to avoid even the mention of a premarital sleepover; I certainly didn’t mention any private details! cont page 5

Happy Holidays!

& Thank you for recycling True or False: A half gallon milk container or a TV Dinner box can be recycled.

Plastics Still Accepted Plastics 1 and 2 Only, via curbside program No need to remove paper labels or crush plastic

Reminder

Answer: No. The quart/half-gallon milk cartons, TV Dinner boxes and other similar cartons are not recyclable because they have a waxcoating on them. The wax-coating is what makes them not recyclable.

If you would like to continue recycling your glass, please bring them directly to Waste Control Recycling

- 1150 3rd Ave, Longview -

Please do not place your recyclables in plastic bags Place directly into your BROWN recycling container In an effort to serve you better, the City has compiled common information that residents often request, plus created an easy way for you to communicate with us.

Got a question? Just Ask Longview!

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

4 / Columbia River Reader / Holiday Edition Nov. 25, 2019 – Jan. 10, 2020

Most plastic bags are a solid color, preventing sorters from seeing the contents. Used needles or other hazardous materials are sometimes found; for safety reasons, such bags are not opened up.

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

When in doubt — throw it out!

- Check out the new and improved -

www.longviewrecycles.com

from page 4

My co-worker’s attitude seems out of step with the norms of the day, but I am now nervous that I have been ignorant and embarrassing myself. If Miss Manners corrects me, I will certainly abide by her wisdom in the future and maintain the polite fiction that I was simply having an overnight visit with a friend in the neighborhood.

GENTLE READER: Your co-worker’s attitude was more Victorian than you realize.

The popular notion that Victorians did not widely practice sex would open the question of how we got here. But they also practiced something else: discretion. They had the sense to realize that life is easier when activities are kept secret -- not only from spouses and other interested parties, but from society in general, so as not to violate its expectations.

It is true that social expectations change.

With the apparent exception of your co-worker, no one is actually shocked by nonmarital overnight visits. People may disapprove, which makes it sensible to refrain from flaunting it, but Miss Manners imagines that a mere mention of where you were would not provoke alarm.

about it on social media and then set up an online fundraising page seeking donations to recoup their losses.

This couple travels and dines out frequently, and regularly shares all of their adventures on social media.

Needless to say, I do not feel compelled to donate, as I feel that this fundraising appeal is a tacky money grab, and I would rather give to an entity that I feel is sincerely deserving or in genuine need.

Past experience tells me that these friends are likely to write and inquire if a donation will be forthcoming. What is the best way to respond? I don’t want to be callous or dismissive of their loss, but I cannot in good conscience provide a donation under such circumstances.

GENTLE READER: Your obligation is to commiserate with your friends, not to insure them. So your response should say how sorry you are for their loss, ignoring any pleas for money.

at the approach of anyone else intent on DEAR MISS MANNERS: If an adult picking your pocket — by keeping your child is estranged from parents and one hand over your wallet. parent were to pass, how should that child be acknowledged in an obituary?

DEAR MISS MANNERS: I have been a widow for seven years. While In this case there are three adult children starting a new job search, I was asked but one has “left the fold.” There was a gradual exodus, but it is presently if I was Mrs., Ms., etc. I chose Mrs. a complete estrangement, and I was I am just curious if that is correct. A thinking of other families who might be friend recently remarked, “You still experiencing a similar situation. are married.”

GENTLE READER: The mention of GENTLE READER: Your friend children in obituaries is usually limited to has not paid attention to the marriage a factual list of names. Those facts, Miss service. The state of modern marriage Manners notes, have not changed. And an notwithstanding, it generally specifies obituary hardly seems the time to rehash old “until death do you part.” disagreements.

••• That is not to say that the widowed may Send your questions to Miss Manners at her not consider themselves still emotionally website, www.missmanners.com; to her email, joined, and prefer to use Mrs. socially. But dearmissmanners@gmail.com; or via USPS to that has no place in the business world, Miss Manners, Andrews McMeel Syndication, where Ms. is the best choice because 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106. marital status should be irrelevant.

Should they pursue this, Miss Manners recommends that you react as you would

Call before you go !

DEAR MISS MANNERS: A married couple who I consider friends of mine, and who live in Europe, were the unfortunate victims of a pickpocket on a train. They were heading out to a vacation in a nearby country and lost cash, credit cards, identification, etc. This event forced them to cancel the trip. Apparently some of their reservations were nonrefundable, so now they are out of a tidy sum of money.

Vincent L. (Vince) Penta, P.S.

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I am a wife of 19 years and was blessed to be able to stay home with my boys when they were small, but once they were both in school, I decided to take the plunge into real estate.

In my free time I love being at the beach with my family and friends, camping, hiking and just relaxing at home.

Buying and selling a home is a huge milestone in everyone’s lives. You need someone knowledgeable in your corner to walk you through the process. I have built my business on referrals from past clients and friends/family. It means a lot to me that they have put their trust in me and I don’t take that lightly. I put my clients’ needs first and always provide open and honest communication throughout the process.”

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Roland on Wine

Season-less Toasting

Expressions of thanksgiving and love, all year long By Marc Roland

CHEERS!

A

re you a happy person? If you are like me, you may have a hard time answering the question. My experience is that modern life has sucked out a lot of our happiness and we don’t even have the expectation that we can be happy or we postpone that expectation in order to be happy in the future.

Sorry for the bleak assessment, but it doesn’t have to be the case. The first myth about happiness is that it can be achieved if only _________ (fill in the blank) outside circumstances change. Let’s be honest. We all know that as soon as one problem is solved, another one takes its place.

Let’s not despair, however. The answer to this has been discovered.

Happiness can be achieved if we follow one obvious principle— spending more time being thankful!

I am generally a happy fellow, but I have discovered that my gratitude tends to be for nonspecific things like freedom, health, family, and friends.

But I have been challenged to get more specific and expressive about my gratitude.

You may have heard about the professor who teaches Happiness 101 at Harvard, Dr. Tal Ben-Shahar. One of Harvard’s most popular classes, no less. The course focuses on the

psychological aspects of a fulfilling and flourishing life. Topics include happiness, self-esteem, empathy, friendship, love, achievement, creativity, music, spirituality, and humor.

He suggests that we create a journal in which we make daily entries of what we are thankful for. The assignment is to write down five things we are thankful for and why… and no repeats!

Impossible, right? No, in fact, it is surprising, with time and thought, how long this list can grow. Do it at night, include your partner, and go to sleep with a thankful heart. I have found the more specific I can be, the happier I become because it leaves very little room for unhappiness and negativity.

My externals actually change. Try it!

So by turning our focus to meaningful rituals that make us happy today, like reading a book or listening to music, apart from happiness as a future destination, we become happier. On a related note, you have heard the song, “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day,” a line of which is “peace on earth, goodwill to men.” Do you think the two expressions are related? Could it be that peace may be related to good will? Goodwill is an attitude of thinking about the well-being of others.

During the holiday season, we often share a festive drink as an expression of

honor and goodwill, along with a toast.

We use this ritual to articulate feeling for the person or situation.

Almost all cultures have traditions that utilize a toast of celebration and honor— Cheers, Salut, Ging Ging, Kippis, Proost.

The origin of such a ritual of clinking glasses is sketchy, but I like the one that claims it was a way to assure that no one could be poisoned. When glasses were clinked together the liquid would spill over to everyones’ glass. Pretty bleak!

In Germany, toasting doesn’t need to be accompanied by words, but by simply touching each other’s glass. I propose that we adopt a ritual that, when with friends, no one should drink a sip of alcohol (or their drink) before having toasted all the other people at the table.

While doing this, look in each person’s eye, give a non-verbal message, “you’re important; I’m thankful for you.” Instead 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 360-8467304.

of worrying if we are being poisoned, we solidify our trust and appreciation of each person.

In my experience, toasting is a ritual that is reserved for formal occasions, weddings, retirement parties, New Year’s Day. Let’s change that. Could we say that toasting may be a way we can further express thankfulness, thus becoming happier? My grandchildren, over the years, have taught me a good lesson. Whenever we’ve gotten together for a meal — holiday or not — the toasts commence, initiated by them. It’s hard to stop them. It’s an exercise of thanksgiving and love for people around the table and life in general. Out of the mouth of babes.

May we learn from them.

I recommend using wine or sparkling wine for the toast, but it is perfectly suitable to have water (or any other non-alcoholic drink) as a non-drinker, but it is tacky to not allow the host to pour something into your glass or to turn your glass over. Make sure the children are included. We always have a supply of sparkling juice on hand. Don’t put your glass down until the toast is over, and make sure your glass is full because there may be more than one toast. Always take a sip after each toast.

How happy are you? Let’s make a resolution that we pursue happiness every day.

For further discovery: Happier: Learn the Secrets to Daily Joy and Lasting Fulfillment, by Tal Ben-Sahar.

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Lewis & Clark

“Ocian in View!”

W

hen the Corps of Discovery camped near Cape Horn, east of Cathlamet, on November 6, 1805, they knew they were getting close to the ocean. The next morning the fog was so thick they couldn’t see across the river, but they set out with great hopes of soon arriving at their destination. After they passed an Indian village west of Skamokawa, the fog lifted and they heard the roar of the ocean. That night at Pillar Rock, Clark wrote, “we are in view of the opening of the ocian, which Creates great joy.” In a second notebook, Clark wrote, “Great joy in camp we are in View of the Ocian, this great Pacific Octean which we have So long anxious to See.” So near and yet so far

When Clark wrote “ocian in view” on November 7, 1805, they were still 20 miles from the actual coastline. The Corps thought they would reach the coast the next afternoon since 35mile days had been typical as they traveled down the mighty Columbia the previous three weeks. However, these last 20 miles would prove to be the most miserable part of the entire journey.

The next day, a severe storm halted all progress and Clark wrote, “we are all wet and disagreeable, as we have been for Several days past, and our present Situation a verry disagreeable one in as

much; as we have not leavel land Sufficient for an encampment and for our baggage to lie Cleare of the tide, the High hills jutting in So Close and Steep that we cannot retreat back, and the water of the river too Salt to be used, added to this the waves are increasing to Such a hight that we cannot move from this place, in this Situation we are compelled to form our Camp between the hite of the Ebb and flood tides, and rase our baggage on logs.”

The shoreline was covered with large drift logs. Clark wrote that some were upwards of 200 feet long and 7 feet in diameter.

The waves and high tides tossed the logs, threatening to crush the men and their canoes. In an effort to save their canoes, they used large rocks to submerge them. It was impossible to proceed until the storms let up.

When it rains it pours

Journal entries for the next two weeks reinforced how miserable their situation was. A series of winter storms had them pinned down east of the present-day Astoria-Megler bridge at what Clark called “this dismal nitich.” Every time they tried to round Point Distress (today’s Point Ellice), huge waves turned them back. The men were trapped for six days along the narrow shore as rocks pelted down from the steep bank above. Clark wrote “every man as wet as water could make them.” In 11 days, they experienced no more than two hours in a row without rain.

Their buffalo, elk and deer skin clothing was soaked and rotting away, leaving some men nearly naked. Efforts to find elk or deer failed. They supplemented the few birds they shot with pounded fish purchased at Ceilo Falls and with fresh fish they caught. During one stormy day, a boat of “War-ci-a-cum” Indians stopped by to trade with them. After buying some fish, Clark wrote, “the Indians left us and Crossed the river which is about 5 miles wide through the highest Sees I ever Saw a Small vestle ride… Certain it is they are the best canoe navigators I ever Saw.” The Indians had learned to make exceptional boats, whereas Lewis and Clark’s dugout canoes bobbed around like corks.

Desperate times

Lewis & Clark Encore We are pleased to present

Installment #19 of Michael Perry’s popular 33-month series which began with CRR’s April 15, 2004 inaugural issue.

“Dispatch from the Discovery Trail” helped define and shape Columbia River Reader in its early years during the Bicentennial Commemoration of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Each installment covered their travels during the corresponding month 200 years prior. We are repeating the series for the enjoyment of both longtime and more recent readers.

On November 12th, Clark wrote, “It would be distressing to a feeling person to See our Situation at this time” and, “our Situation is dangerous.” Two days later, in desperation, Lewis decided to set out by land to try to get around Point Distress and see if there were any trading ships there. But the river became calm during a slack tide and he was able to get a canoe around the point. The next day, Clark was able to take the rest of the men around Point Distress where they camped on a sandy beach. They were now in plain view of the ocean and could see the waves and surf crashing across the Columbia bar. Lewis returned two days later and reported there were no ships or white men in the area.

Michael Perry enjoys local history and travel. His popular 33-installment Lewis & Clark series appeared in CRR’s early years and began its second “encore” appearance in April 2018.

8 / Columbia River Reader / Holiday Edition Nov. 25, 2019 – Jan. 10, 2020

This map showing the mouth of the Columbia was created by or for the National Park Service in 2005 as part of an informational display at the Megler rest stop. Photo and annotations by Michael Perry.

Just a little farther

On November 17th, Clark invited “all the men who wished to See more of the main Ocean to… Set out with me.” Only 11 men took him up on his offer. Surprisingly, half the men who had just traveled more than 4,000 miles had no desire to go the last few miles to see the ocean! At Cape Disappointment, Clark wrote they looked “with estonishment the high waves dashing against the rocks & the emence ocian.” Today’s north jetty has allowed sand to accrete in that area, so you will not see what Clark saw when you go there.

During their three-day journey to Cape Disappointment and the 9-mile walk along the beach to present-day Long Beach, the men saw a dolphin, a flounder, and a 10-foot sturgeon washed up on the shore. They also saw whale bones. And, Sgt. Ordway wrote they saw “a verry large turkey buzzard” which was shot in the name of science so Clark could better examine it. That “buzzard” was a California condor – one of many the expedition would see on their journey. It had a 9-foot wing span and was almost 4 feet in length.

It had been two weeks since Clark first saw the ocean.

And while they had made it around Point Distress and established Station Camp near an abandoned Chinook Indian village, the weather was still miserable. On November 22, Clark wrote “waves brakeing with great violence against the Shore throwing the water into our Camp &c. all wet and Confind to our Shelters.” On November 23, 1805, Clark wrote, “I marked my name the Day of the month & year on a Beech [alder] trees… Capt Lewis Branded his and the men all marked their names on trees about the Camp.”

They had seen names of sailors from trading ships carved on other trees.

after he had been to the ocean and back to Pillar Rock, Clark made no corrections – in fact, he affirmed his original statements of November 7th.

Clark’s controversial words

By Michael Perry Nothing written by Lewis and Clark has caused as much controversy as Clark’s famous words, “Ocian in view!

O! the joy.” Virtually all historians believe Clark was mistaken, and that what he actually saw was just Grays Bay and the Columbia River estuary. After all, when he wrote those famous words at Pillar Rock, they were still 20 miles from the ocean. But, how could Clark have made such a big mistake and not correct it later? And, just how did so many people come to doubt what Clark wrote?

It wasn’t until 1904, almost a hundred years after Lewis and Clark completed their journey, that the first complete edition of their journals was edited and published

by Reuben Thwaites. Thwaites, who never visited the mouth of the Columbia, wrote a footnote stating “The ocean could not possibly be seen from this point.” This statement was based on information from a friend who had gone to Pillar Rock and reported back that the view of the ocean was blocked

by Point Adams west of Astoria.

Historians reading that footnote assumed Thwaites was correct, and repeated it in their own books.

from page 8 All in favor say ‘Aye’

On November 24th, each member of the expedition, including Sacajawea and Clark’s slave, York, was asked for their opinion of where to spend the winter. The north shore was out of the question due to the constant storms and lack of elk. A few deer had been shot, but the men needed elk to replenish their clothing. The Clatsop Indians told them there were lots of elk on the south side of the river. So the choice was whether to cross the river or go back upriver to spend the winter near The Dalles.

Wintering near the mouth of the Columbia had advantages — the weather would be milder, there was elk to eat, they could boil seawater to make salt to preserve the elk meat, and if a trading ship arrived

It is doubtful if Thwaites took into consideration the South Jetty at the mouth of the Columbia that was completed in 1895. This four-mile long jetty extended northwest out into the ocean from Point Adams. Sand immediately began to accumulate around the jetty as it was built, and by 1900 there was a forest growing on the hundreds of acres of newly accreted land at the northwest tip of Oregon, blocking the view where the ocean had been just 15 years earlier.

While it was indeed impossible to see the ocean from Pillar Rock in 1904, in 1805 there had been a view of 6 degrees between Point Adams and Cape Disappointment. Thus, it is quite likely Clark saw where the sky met the water – but was it the ocean?

The curvature of the earth is about 8-inches per mile. Thus, the surface of the flat ocean is 13-feet below the horizon when looking west along the surface of Columbia River from Pillar Rock. Surface water elevations at Pillar Rock vary from three to six feet above sea level. If Clark was sitting in his canoe, his eyes would have been another three feet higher. And, if he stood to look at the mouth of the river through his telescope, he would have been six feet above the water. Thus, in theory, Clark could have seen the tops of waves and swells in the ocean. they would be able to replenish their supplies. Everyone except Sacajawea’s husband, Charbonneau, voted, and all but one person voted to cross over to the Oregon shore to spend the winter.

The next day they headed back upriver to cross at Pillar Rock where the river is narrower. Nobody was interested in crossing the five miles of open water at Station Camp! Lewis went ahead, seeking a place to spend the winter. Meanwhile, storms returned and pinned Clark’s party down near Tongue Point. Clark wrote, “O how Tremendious is the day.” The wind “blew with Such violence that I expected every moment to See trees taken up by the roots, maney were blown down. O! how disagreeable is our situation dureing this dreadfull weather.” Clark carved his name on a tree “Capt. William Clark December 3rd 1805. By Land. U. States in 1804 & 1805.”

The Expedition experienced a series of winter storms that November, with storm swells likely upwards of 10 feet high. Also, since the ocean’s waves came further into the mouth of the Columbia before the jetties changed things, it seems likely Clark did see the ocean’s waves from Pillar Rock.

It is interesting to note that none of the Corps’ other journal writers mentioned seeing the ocean on November 7th.

Many historians cite this as evidence that Clark was mistaken. However, Clark had made other mistakes in his journal entries, but he always corrected them at a later date when he realized he’d been wrong. In this case, he had several opportunities to correct the record when they returned to Pillar Rock at a later date. But no such correction was made.

In fact, on December 1st, after going back upstream to Pillar Rock to cross over to Tongue Point on the Oregon side, Clark wrote, “The Sea which is imedeately in front roars like a repeeted roling thunder and have rored in that way ever Since our arrival in its borders which is now 24 Days Since we arrived in Sight of the Great Western Ocian.” Clark had to do some calculating to be able to say it had been 24 days since he had first seen the ocean; 24 days earlier had been November 7th. Thus, even

In 2002, Rex Ziak of Naselle wrote an outstanding book that local history buffs will enjoy. His book, In Full View, focuses on just one month of the Corps’ journey and is the most insightful work about the Lewis and Clark Expedition I have found. It is likely no other living person knows as much as Mr. Ziak about what the Corps of Discovery experienced between November 7 and December 7, 1805.

Ziak was the first writer to challenge the belief that Clark had been wrong about seeing the ocean on November 7. After reading his book, I find it hard to imagine anyone not agreeing with him. Rex grew up in the Naselle area and spent 10 years researching his book, retracing their footsteps during the same nasty weather the Corps experienced.

Ziak used an extremely detailed navigation chart, showing the mouth of the Columbia River 20 years before the south jetty was built, to help the reader understand the daily events.

The map shows that when Captain Clark was at Pillar Rock, he had a clear view of the opening where the Columbia River flows into the Pacific Ocean.

In Full View is available from CRR Press by mail order, online purchase, or at 1333 14th Ave., Longview.

See page 2.

•••

Hunters managed to shoot some elk, the first since crossing the Rocky mountains.

Clark became worried about Lewis and his detachment since they had been gone for five days; Clark feared they’d had an accident. A day later, Lewis returned and said he had found a good place to spend the winter. Two days later, after the storms passed, everyone traveled to the site where Fort Clatsop would be built – Clark wrote it was a “most eligible situation.”

It was located on a bluff above the Netal River, about 7 miles inland from the ocean. Plans were drawn up for a log fort and construction began on December 10. The men moved into their new winter quarters on Christmas Day in 1805 (more about that next month).

••• Member SIPC

Columbia River Reader / Holiday Edition Nov. 25, 2019 – Jan. 10, 2020 / 9

Many shops and galleries in Downtown Longview stay open late every FIRST THURSDAY Refreshments • Surprises • Tastings Join the fun on Dec. 5 We’re fundraising with

A selection of boxed AUXILIARY chocolates, bars & novelties available now.

Columbia River Reader office • M-W-F • 11- 3 1333 - 14th Ave., Longview, Wash. info: 360-425-0430

EXPLORE

1265 14th Ave #130 • Longview

The Broadway Gallery See ad, page 21

From your friends at Commerce Corner Collectibles:

Longview Outdoor Gallery Unique sculptures along the sidewalks of Downtown Longview, both sides of Commerce Ave. Six new Installations recently installed.

See ad, pg 43

HAVE A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS!

See ad, pg 40

Store Hours: Mon-Fri: 11am - 5:30pm Sat: 11am - 4pm 1300 Broadway • Longview, WA

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FINAL DAY: Dec. 15

1140 15th Ave Longview 360-636-6181 Bob and Beverly wish to thank their loyal customers over all these years!

See ad, pg 12 See ad, pg 11

DECEMBER 7 IN DOWNTOWN LONGVIEW 8th Annual Gingerbread Haus Contest

10am–noon Entry drop-off 12:30–7pm Public Viewing at Teague’s, 1267 Commerce.

2pm Judging • 3pm Awards Register by Nov. 30. Forms,rules and award categories available at Teague’s or downtownlongview.com.

STARTING AT 5pm: Downtown Christmas Parade & Civic Circle Tree Lighting with Santa 10 / Columbia River Reader / Holiday Edition Nov. 25, 2019 – Jan. 10, 2020

AFTER THE PARADE: Join the Art Renaissance Team and enjoy handmade crepes (no charge, please make a donation to benefit the Longview Chihuly art collection) at Pretty Please, 1311 Hudson Street.

Call 360-353-5628, for more details.

About The ART: The Art Renaissance Team is committed to developing communityenhancing art and cultural transformation through creative placemaking in Cowlitz County. Learn more at www.cowlitzart.org

They started in the restaurant business in 1982, serving the local community great food in a cheery atmosphere of warm hospitality.

Columbia River Reader congratulates and thanks Bob and Beverly Paul, and wishes them a wonderful retirement.

Thank You for being part of CRR, and of our community.

POETRY & FUN

CRR’s 12 Annual HaikuFest opens th

New Lewis & Clark category added

By Gary Meyers, HaikuFest Founder & Chief Judge

N

ever wanting to disappoint the poets among our faithful reader base, Columbia River Reader proudly announces our 12th Annual Haikufest. The categories will, as usual, be Traditional and Pop. And because of CRR’s continuing interest in Lewis and Clark, we are adding a “Voyage of Discovery” category to this year’s competition.. Any entries related to the famous explorers or the expedition that opened the West will be considered separately. There are no fees. Prizes have yet to be determined but European vacations and Lamborghinis will not be among them! The deadline for submissions is midnight, January 25th, 2020.

Winners will be announced in the February 15th issue of the CRR. Our contest draws a broad audience.

Thanks to the global reach of the Internet, we have received haiku entries from as far away as England,

Germany, Croatia, Bulgaria, and Romania on one side of the world and from Japan, Thailand, Korea, Sri Lanka, and India on the other side. Not bad for an idea that started as a cultural experiment on the local level.

For those unfamiliar with the genre, haiku is a poetry form which originated in Japan during the Edo era (1603-1868).

The Japanese poet considered the father of haiku and arguably the most famous is Matsuo Basho (1644-1694).

in past years. Their call to duty is, as always, “drinks on the house and limitless sushi” to create the proper ambiance and aid them in their onerous duties. My role is simply to control the excitement, maintain proper decorum, and settle ties.

In judging entries, we adhere to the classic haiku 17-syllable rule, i.e., three lines of 5, 7, and 5 syllables each.

Participants are allowed five entries.

Traditional haiku is intended to represent a single moment or event, connected with nature and frequently a season.

Pop haiku is everything else. Our only requirement is that pop entries be in good taste — with our judges being the arbiters. For those who may be confused, we can only say that bad taste is much like porno, hard to define but you know it when you see it in print.

creating a friendly atmosphere where everyone feels at home.

Forest cloaked by night Frogs’ chorus sweetens darkness Snap silences all.

Probably due to his prestigious role of CRR HaikuFest founder, Gary Meyers was asked by Usa, Japan Mayor Korenaga (seated) to assist in acquiring Friendship City status for his city with Honolulu. The effort took two years and was concluded with a signing ceremony on October 1, 2019. Standing, left to right: Gary Meyers, Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell and the Consul General of Japan in Honolulu, Koichi Ito.

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•••

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We wish all poets well and close with a few haiku for inspiration:

I long for the day when great words flow easily Today not that day.

We will draw once again on the wisdom of the same esteemed, tenured panel — composed of over-achiever friends — which has distinguished itself

Continuing the Tradition ...

Each entry must be original and previously unpublished. All entries become the property of CRR. We invite readers to send submissions to haikucenter@aol.com. Please put “Haiku submission” in the subject line and include your contact information somewhere in the text. Readers without email access may mail their entries to Gary Meyers, 3045 Ala Napuaa Place #1406, Honolulu, HI 96818.

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Happy Holidays from the owners and employees of Goble Tavern • Evergreen Pub & Cafe Luigi’s Pizza • Alston Pub & Grub 12 / Columbia River Reader / Holiday Edition Nov. 25, 2019 – Jan. 10, 2020

Northwest Gardening

Lasagna Spring Planter

By Alice Slusher

Here’s the “recipe” for a colorful gift

O

nce our beautiful fall leaves have dropped, it’s time to plant up some hope for spring! It’s easy to whip up a big pot of lasagna-planted spring bulbs for a stunning succession of bright spring color from early spring to early summer! The top layer, the early bulbs, bloom first. When they are finished, the mid-season bulbs poke their green fingers through the soil. The late spring bulbs take over when that layer is done blooming. And you can place your pot wherever its bright splash of color will light up the dreary late winter rain. It makes a great Christmas gift, too!

Lasagna-planting bulbs isn’t hard—it just takes some planning. Here’s what you’ll need:

Ingredients:

• Selection of early, mid, and late season bulbs • Container large enough to accommodate your choice of bulbs • Good quality potting soil • Granulated fertilizer formulated for bulbs • Mulch or shredded leaves Instructions Bulbs: For full-spring color, choose varieties of bulbs that bloom throughout the season. They are usually labeled early, mid, and late spring. Larger late spring bulb choices include tulips, daffodils, alliums, and lilies. Somewhat smaller mid-spring choices might be tulips, narcissus, and hyacinths. The first early bloomers to welcome the

spring include crocus, freesia, multistem tete-a-tete mini daffodils, and anemones. The bulb label is your best reference. Choose varieties of varying height, color, and texture to create an interesting and gorgeous planter. If you’re looking for a wide selection of bulbs locally, try DeGoede Bulb Farm in Mossyrock. Local garden centers typically offer bulbs and you’ll find many online sources, too.

Pot size matters. You’ll have to consider how many bulbs you want to plant. Each layer requires about 5 inches of good quality potting soil. If you want three layers—early, mid, and late spring— you’ll need a pot that’s 15 inches deep.

Pot diameter is another consideration.

Plant bulbs at least an inch from the sides of your container.

Planting: Be sure your pot has drainage holes. Pour the needed amount of potting soil into a large bucket, and thoroughly mix in about 1 ½ tablespoons of granular bulb fertilizer per 12” x 12” pot. Add hot water, a cup at a time, and mix well. Add more water as needed until the soil mix is barely damp--like a wrung-out sponge. Place about 5 inches of soil on the bottom of the planting pot. Contrary to popular belief, adding gravel or pebbles at the bottom will impede good drainage! Place your larger, late-season bulbs where you want them, referring to that variety’s

suggested planting depth—pointy side up—and give them a slight twist to anchor them. If the label indicates different depths than your layers, be sure to move them a bit lower than your layer. Don’t skimp on the depth. Don’t be afraid to crowd them—about an inch between bulbs is about right—because you’re using good potting soil and fertilizer. Then repeat with the soil/fertilizer mix, and the next layer of mid-season bulbs.

Pat down the soil firmly around the bulbs as you go. Finish it off with the small early risers, and cover with a layer of soil and mulch or shredded leaves.

Watering: Slowly water your new planting thoroughly until it begins to drain from the bottom. Add potting soil to fill in, if necessary. During the winter, check to make sure the soil hasn’t dried out. If the soil is dry down to the first two inches, it’s time to water thoroughly again. You may only have to water them once or twice during the winter if you are chilling them under roof. Mark your calendar to remind yourself to check!

Location: Spring blooming bulbs need 8 to 14 weeks of 30-45 degree weather to flower. Place your pot in an unheated garage if you are expecting temps below 30. If your pot will live outdoors during the winter, you should insulate and protect the bulbs by planting in a smaller pot that fits inside a larger pot, with straw or leaves stuffed in between.

Plant your lasagna bulbs today, and you can spend your winter in joyful anticipation of wave after wave of spring color!

Would you like to become a WSU Extension Master Gardener? See below.

•••

WSU/OSU Extension Events Cowlitz County: 360-577-3014, Ext. 0 2020 Master Gardener Training Class. Sixty hours of classroom and hands-on activities, held once a week on Friday morning, January 24th through June 12th. For more information, please call the Extension Office 360-5773014, Ext. 3

Columbia County: 503-397-3462 No event info available at press time. For updates, visit https://extension.oregonstate.edu/county/columbia/events

Kalama resident Alice Slusher volunteers with WSU Extension Service Plant & Insect Clinic. Drop by 9–12 Mon-WedFri. at 1946 3rd Ave., Longview, with your specimen, call 360-577-3014, ext. 8, or send question via cowlitzmastergardener@ gmail.com.

Columbia River Reader / Holiday Edition Nov. 25, 2019 – Jan. 10, 2020 / 13

HOLIDAY ENTERTAINING

THE NEIGHBORHOOD WALKABOUT

Story and photos by Tracy Beard

Planning a Progressive Party

T

he holiday season is upon us, so as you plan your holiday parties, consider this stress-free option: Instead of hosting a labor-intensive dinner party, split up the work and plan a progressive appetizer party with three to five other couples. This type of party seriously cuts down on the cost, planning and cleanup for each participant.

How to Plan Your Party The most important thing is to invite people you enjoy spending time with.

If you plan to include alcohol in your event, you may want to choose friends that live in your neighborhood so that you can all walk. Pick a theme or color for your party to make it cohesive. It is important to have a set number of attendees to ensure that each host has enough food, plates, silverware and glasses for all. Set a strict time schedule so that everyone knows when they need to be ready and choose appetizers and drinks that can be finished within a 10-minute window. (Room-temperature bites and pre-prepared foods that need just a bit of heating are best).

As the main host, you can either set the entire menu, the theme and the drink menu or leave it up to each host to decide for themselves. However, it is a good idea to suggest a few ideas or hold a meeting to collaborate together. You can opt to keep your party exclusively for those who will host or add others free to join the event without any work. Be sure to discuss whether or not the party is for adults only.

My Party Plan I am doing a neighborhood progressive party so that everyone can walk from house to house. I will select three friends to host along with myself.

Each host can invite a “plus one” for a total of eight participants. Most people have eight of the same dish or silverware, but there is nothing wrong with mixing patterns or opting for paper plates and plastic utensils. The theme I am choosing is red and white.

House #1 The event will begin at my house. I am scheduling an adults-only party from 6:30–10:00 pm. We will begin at 6:30 pm and because it is the first stop and people may arrive a bit late, I will schedule my section for one hour. It will be winter so I am using winter flavors in a few of my drinks and dishes. We will start the evening with an Aperol Spritz and mini tarts with Brie, pecans, cranberry sauce and bacon. Two bottles of bubbly should be enough for eight people. I will use real champagne glasses with white ribbons tied at the base and red dessert-size paper plates. At 7:30 pm we will move on to the next house down the street. The hosts for that home should plan to leave about 10 minutes before everyone else to prepare for their arrival.

House #3 The next stop is the heartiest portion of the evening. I’m choosing a few red wines that are less familiar, a Petite Verdot or a Petite Syrah paired with some delectable Chinese short ribs.

The ribs need to be served warm, so they should be kept in a 150-degree oven or in a crockpot on low. Provide plenty of napkins. The next hosts should leave by 9:00 pm followed by the guests at 9:10 pm.

House #4 I am suggesting that the host or hostess prepare mini tarts made with a chocolate crust, vanilla pudding and a brûléed banana or glazed raspberry on top. Two drinks will be available, more bubbly and a toasted almond cocktail.

Remind your guests that the event is scheduled to end at 10:00 pm but allow this host to leave it open for longer if they wish. cont page 15

House #2 After a brisk walk to the neighbor’s house five minutes away, we will be greeted with a stunning table laden with wine glasses and two appetizers. I am suggesting a delicious Sauvignon Blanc like Nobilo from New Zealand or one from Kim Crawford.

I recommend pairing it with herb-stuffed snow peas and a plate of chilled shrimp. If your guests like to experiment, buy one bottle each of two different wines. Each bottle contains approximately five glasses of wine. At 8:20 pm plan to move on to the third house. Forty-five minutes is plenty of time for houses two and three.

Vancouver, Wash. resident Tracy Beard writes about luxury and adventure travel, traditional and trendy fine dining and libations for regional, national and international magazines and is a regular “Out & About” contributor to Columbia River Reader.

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Feel free to change up the drinks and appetizers. The most important thing is that no one person gets stuck doing all the work and that everyone has a great time. Enjoy the holiday season.

Following, you will find a few recipes for my party. If you have big eaters, double the recipes.

RECIPES

HOUSE #2

2 bottles Sauvignon Blanc

Stuffed Snow Peas Prepare 24 (3 per person) 4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature 2 tablespoons fresh parsley 2 tablespoons fresh dill 1 teaspoon fresh thyme ½ clove minced garlic Pinch of black pepper 24 large snap peas – tip and tail

Aperol Spritz

Cranberry Tarts

make 24 (3 per person) 2 packages crescent dough cut into squares 6 ounces Brie cheese – remove crust and cut into ½ inch cubes ½ cup toasted pecans, chopped 4 slices cooked bacon, chopped 1 can whole berry cranberry sauce Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Unroll one tube of crescent dough into one long rectangle; press together to seal.

Cut into 24 pieces; lightly press each piece onto the bottom and up the sides of an ungreased mini-muffin cup. Repeat with remaining crescent dough. Place one Brie cube into each tin. Place ½ teaspoon cranberry sauce on top of brie. Bake at 375 degrees for 10 to 15 minutes. Top with toasted pecans and bacon while hot.

Oriental Ribs Prepare 24 (3 each) 24 baby back pork ribs trimmed of fat 2 cloves minced garlic 1 tablespoon grated ginger 1 1/2 teaspoons chili paste 3 tablespoons brown sugar ¼ cup molasses ½ cup hoisin ½ cup soy sauce ½ cup currant jelly Mix all ingredients except the ribs.

Pour marinade over ribs in a freezer bag and let sit for 8 hours in the refrigerator.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and put ribs on a foil lined baking sheet.

Turn once after 15 minutes. Bake for 30 minutes until golden brown. Place in a warm crockpot or leave in oven at 150 degrees until time to serve.

HOUSE #1

Mix 3 parts Prosecco, 2 parts Aperol and 1 part soda in a pitcher. Pour into each champagne glass and add one large piece of orange zest.

1 bottle Petite Syrah 1 bottle Petite Verdot

HOUSE #4 2 bottles bubbly (Prosecco, Cava, Champagne) Toasted Almond Cocktail 1 ounce kalua 1 ounce amaretto 2 ounces whipping cream Ice

Blanch snow peas in boiling water for 30 seconds. Split rounded side open with a knife. Blend all other ingredients and place into a piping bag. Pipe the herb mixture into each snow pea.

2 bottles Prosecco, cold 1 bottle Aperol, cold 1 bottle club soda, cold 2 oranges - make large strips of zest with a vegetable peeler

HOUSE #3

Dessert Tarts Prepare 32 (4 each) Chocolate pie crust 1 box instant vanilla pudding 2 cups milk 3 bananas 16 ripe raspberries ¼ cup sugar Buy ready-made pie crust or make your own chocolate version. You could also make a graham cracker type crust with chocolate wafer cookies, sugar and butter. Bake the crusts in a minimuffin tin. Prepare instant vanilla pudding. Place one teaspoon prepared pudding into each baked crust, top with a slice of banana or a raspberry.

Sprinkle liberally with sugar. Use a flame torch to brûlée the sugar on each tart.

•••

CHEERS!

Chilled Shrimp Prepare 32 (4 each) 32 large raw shrimp (cleaned, peeled and deveined) 4 tablespoons smoked paprika ¼ teaspoon salt ¼ teaspoon black pepper Place spices in a bowl and mix thoroughly.

Sprinkle mix on both sides of shrimp. Bake shrimp at 350 degrees for approximately 10 minutes. Do not overcook.

Columbia River Reader / Holiday Edition Nov. 25, 2019 – Jan. 10, 2020 / 15

MEDICAL MATTERS

Dr. William Turner describes changing orthopedic landscape By Jim LeMonds When Bill Turner joined Longview Orthopedic Associates in 1988, he had just completed a residency in orthopedic surgery at the University of Oklahoma. At that time, he was the first in the local area to perform arthroscopic shoulder surgery and knee ligament reconstructions.

“Those procedures are routine now,” Turner said, “although they’ve become more refined and expanded. That approach to surgical technique has spilled over into other procedures as well.”

Surgeons can now perform many procedures using smaller incisions and shorter surgery time, resulting in less discomfort and faster recovery for patients. An additional benefit is that an increasing number of procedures can be done on healthy patients without the need for an overnight hospital stay.

,

REAL ESTATE TIPS

by Mike Wallin

aturally, the price of a home is top-of-mind when we talk about negotiating in a real estate deal. And, for some homebuyers, these negotiations are critical. But did you N know that there are other ways to bargain with a home seller other than on price?

The purchase agreement is full of haggling opportunities. Let’s take a look at five of them we deal with most often.

1. REPAIRS Negotiating home repairs is something we are quite familiar with. After the home inspection, when the homebuyer receives the inspector’s report, negotiations often begin anew.

2. CLOSING COSTS With a mortgage comes a requirement to pay a down payment and closing costs. The latter includes all the costs of obtaining the loan, such as lender fees, notary fees and more.

NEGOTIATION: There’s more than the price of the home to consider

4. CLOSING DATE The closing date — the day on which the home becomes yours — is negotiable.

5. HOME WARRANTY Real estate agents have a love-hate relationship with home warranties.

Some consider them useless while others love them for the peace-of-mind they offer homebuyers.

3. PERSONAL PROPERTY Anything that isn’t While the above is just a partial list of permanently affixed to the home or land commonly negotiated items in a home (real property) is considered the personal purchase, these are the ones we see most often. property of the homeowner. Personal property that we commonly negotiate over Feel free to reach out to us if you have for our homebuying clients include: questions on this or any aspect of the Appliances, such as refrigerator, washer, home purchase process. dryer, window coverings, chandeliers, https://mikewallin.com/real-estate-blog/homebuyer-tip-dont-commitportable out-buildings

“Even hip and knee replacement patients can be back home five hours after surgery in many cases,” Turner said. “In fact, we now think of these procedures as outpatient surgeries, although some patients certainly do stay overnight if other medical conditions require observation or treatment. Patients consistently tell us

that they prefer to sleep in their own beds.”

Dr. Turner noted that another area of significant progress has been a focus on getting patients in the best Dr. Bill Turner possible medical condition before surgery. “This has enabled us to reduce complication rates to levels well below the national average and better than many other hospitals in our area,” he said.

In the early years, Dr. Turner’s practice was noted for sports medicine care, but the growing demand for joint restoration, resurfacing, and replacement led him to master the surgeries that arthritic patients require.

In addition to seeing patients at LOA, he also directs the Joint Replacement and Hip Fracture Programs at St. John Medical Center.

For more information, c o n t a c t Longview Orthopedic Associates at 360.501.3400.

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Former R.A. Long High School English teacher Jim LeMonds is a writer, editor, and marketer who rides his mountain bike whenever he gets the chance. He lives in Castle Rock, Wash. His published books are South of Seattle and Deadfall.

Mt. St. Helens Gifts Jewelry • Souvenirs • T-Shirts Ash Glass & Pottery Great stocking stuffers & Mt. St. Helens gifts for friends & family around the country!

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Mike Wallin

Five Star Broker, REALTOR

Highest Rated Locally 360-560-3636 CELL

Drink Good Coffee, Read Good Books

To read the full article visit

www.mikewallin.com

michaelkwallin@gmail.com 1140-11th Ave., Longview, WA By appointment only

Bigfoot HQ Castle Rock • I-5 Exit 49

1254-B Mt. St. Helens Way

360-274-7011

16 / Columbia River Reader / Holiday Edition Nov. 25, 2019 – Jan. 10, 2020

Located in the historic Castle Rock Bank Building 20 Cowlitz Street West

M-Sat 7am–6pm • Sun 10am–4pm

Open 7 Days a Week

Lower Columbia Holiday Happenings

Light up the season...celebrate!

W

e treasure the winter holidays for many reasons, personal, philanthropic, even philatelic (I enjoy stamps with the Madonna and Child, Santa, and even the Grinch).

Regardless of how or what one reveres during the darkest days of the year,

an astonishing number of spiritual traditions focus on light. The reticent sun at Winter Solstice birthed several pagan traditions. Christmas, celebrating Jesus’ birth, spotlights the entry of The Light of the World.

Hanukkah, called the Festival of

Lights, is commemorated with the nine candles of the menorah. Here we present our readers with holiday activities galore, many focusing on light. In this darkest time of year, I wish you light – lightheartedness, lightness of being, and vision to see the light of the future. ~Tiffany Dickinson

LONGVIEW

WARRENTON

See page 10.

Dec. 14, 8am, All you can eat pancakes, plus sausage, eggs, beverages. Gift basket raffles, Santa. Warrenton Community Center, 170 SW 3rd St. Ages 12+ $5, ages 6–11 $3,ages 5 and under $1.

Gingerbread Haus Contest Community Festival of the Nativities Dec. 7–8, 4–9pm. See page 35.

Lighting Spectacular Holiday Parade and Tree Lighting Dec. 7, Starts at 5pm. Begins at Cowlitz PUD at Commerce and Fir. Ends at R.A.Long Park in Civic Circle for tree lighting. See page 10.

Jingle All the Way Family Fun Run

Dec.13, 5:30–7pm, Civic Circle . See page 18.

Winter Solstice Lantern Walk Dec.21. See page 19.

KELSO

City of Kelso Tree Lighting Festival Dec. 6, 6–8 pm City Hall, 203 S. Pacific Santa, refreshments, games, prizes, hayride, children’s crafts, face painting, cookie decorating. Free.

KALAMA

Festival of Lighted Boats

Dec. 14, 5–8pm, Marine Park, 110 W. Marine Drive.

CASTLE ROCK

Castle Rock Festival of Lights

Dec. 13, 4:30pm: Free pictures with Santa.

147 Front Ave. 5:30: Parade from Red Canoe Credit Union through downtown to Post Office. 6pm: Official tree lighting in front of Post Office on Cowlitz St., raffles, caroling.

Complete schedule: visit www.facebook.com/ CastleRockFestivalOfLights

CATHLAMET

Holiday Tree Lighting Ceremony and Vendor Fair Nov. 30, 4:30 –7:00pm.

Vendors, refreshments, caroling, Santa, kids’ crafts, goody bags. Main Street Vendor Fair at Hotel Cathlamet (69 Main St.) and merchants on Main. Call 360-795–9996 for more info.

VERNONIA

The Spirit of Christmas in Vernonia

Dec. 14, 8am–9pm. Downtown. Begins with Ugly Sweater Run and ends with Tree Lighting. Parade, gingerbread haus decorating contest, shopping. www.facebook.com/vernoniaspiritofchristmas

ASTORIA

Christmas Tree Lighting

No. 30, 6–8pm. Selfies with Santa on the Joy Train! Hot cider, music. 1701 Marine Drive. www.members.oldoregon.com

Handel’s Messiah Sing Along & Play along Dec. 1, 4–6pm, see page 19.

Breakfast with Santa

PORTLAND

Christmas Tree Lighting

November 29, 5:30–6:30pm.This 75–foot tree in downtown Portland is a long–time Christmas tradition. Music by Pink Martini and others. Pioneer Courthouse Square, SW Sixth and Broadway. Free.

Christmas Festival of Lights

Nov 29–Dec. 30 (except for Christmas Day) 5–9:30pm. 160 indoor holiday concerts, food, beverages, shopping, petting zoo, carolers. The Grotto, 8840 NE Skidmore. Gen’l admission $12.50, 65+ and military $11.50, 3–12 years $6.50, 2 and under free. www.thegrotto.org

Safeway Winter Wonderland

Nov. 29 – Jan. 4, Sun–Thurs 5:30–9pm; Fri–Sat 5–11pm. Special dates with no cars allowed: Nov. 29 and Dec. 2–3. 250 light displays, plus multiple vehicle arches. Portland International Raceway, 1940 Victory Blvd. $20–$60 per vehicle depending on size, online vs in–person purchasing, and dates. For advance tickets and for more information, visit www.winterwonderlandportland.com

Zoolights and Train Ride

Nov. 29 – Jan. 5 (closed Christmas Day).

5–9pm. Nearly a million lights. Ride the Zoo Train or walk through 200 lighted animated animals and displays. Music programs, puppet shows. Oregon Zoo, 4001 SW Canyon Rd Check www.oregonzoo.org/visit/zoolights for prices, times.

Christmas Ship Parade

Dec. 5–22 . Watch 60 boats decorated and lit from stem to stern from the banks of the Willamette and Columbia Rivers. Free. Visit www.christmasships.org for parade schedule and route, and Meet and Greets.

Victorian Belle Mansion Tour, Lights, and Market (Miracle of a Million Lights) Dec. 8–28, 1441 N

McClellan St. 6–10pm. 5,500 square ft mansion on 2.5 acres with more than two million twinkling lights. Refreshments, gifts, decorations for sale. Adults $10, Seniors and kids $5. https://www.victorianbelle.com

Peacock Lane

Dec. 15–31, 6–11pm. Homeowners decorate their property in thousands of lights, nativity scenes, replicas of Santa and his reindeer, and Frosty too. One block east of SE 39th Ave, between Stark and Belmont. Visit www. peacocklane.org to learn about pedestrian– only nights, rules, and suggestions. Free.

ILWACO

Lighted Boat Display and Crab Pot Christmas Tree Dec. 7, 5pm. Holiday lights reflecting in the water from bedecked boats. Decorating and lighting of the Crab Pot Christmas tree. Shop the Christmas Market at the Port and meet Santa!

Port of Ilwaco, 165 Howerton Avenue http://www.portofilwaco.com/events/

Eugenie Jones Holiday Concert

Dec. 8, Social Hour 1:35 pm. Concert 2:35 pm–4:35 pm. Refreshments, including champagne, in a festively decorated atmosphere with a stunning view!

Christmas 2019 Water Music Society Eagles Nest, 700 North Head Road $10. Buy tickets online at: https:// christmasconcert2019eugeniejones. brownpapertickets.com/

Tuba Christmas

Dec. 14, 2–4pm.Tuba Tunes featuring the Astoria Tuba Quartet. Seasonal selections, jazz arrangements and a polka or two at this family–friendly event. Columbia Pacific Heritage Museum, 115 SE Lake St. Free www.columbiapacificheritagemuseum.org

RAINIER

Tree Lighting Celebration Sat., Dec.

7. Caroling begins 5pm on the steps of City Hall, hot chocolate and cookies served after Santa magically lights up the City tree.

ST. HELENS - SCAPPOOSE Christmas Ship Parade

Passes St. Helens and Columbia City on Dec. 14, approx. 6pm; Scappoose, Dec. 15, approx. 4:30pm. Visit www.christmasships. org for full parade schedule.

CLATSKANIE Tree lighting

Dec. 7, 5pm. ARK Real Estate. Clatskanie High School choir. Coffee and hot chocolate served.

CATERING Be a guest at your next event!

TAKE A

HIKE

with Mt. St. Helens Club This friendly club welcomes newcomers.

For more info please call the hike leader or visit mtsthelensclub.org.

RT(round trip) distances are from Longview.

E=easy, M=moderate, S=strenuous, e.g.=elevation gain.

Wed, Nov 27 Rainier High School (E) Drive to Rainier High School. Hike 3.5mile loop with 100 ft. e.g., including a loop thru Hudson Park.

Leader: John R 360-431-1122 Wed, Dec 4 Frenchman’s Bar – Vancouver (E) Drive 80 mile RT to Vancouver Lake picnic area. Hike 5 miles RT on paved bike path to Frenchman’s Bar picnic area. Great views of the Columbia River. Leader: Bruce 360-425-0256 Sat, Dec 7 Washington Park (E/M) Drive 100 mile RT Hike 7 miles RT with 1,000 ft. e.g. through lovely Washington Park and Hoyt Arboretum.

Leader: George 360-562-0001 Wed, Dec 11 Coweeman Dike (E) Drive 5 mile RT. Hike 3+ miles RT on the dike.

Leader: John R 360-431-1122 Sat,, Dec 14 Fort to Sea Loop (M) Drive 110 mile RT to Lewis & Clark National Historic Park near Warrenton, Ore. Hike 5-mile loop with 370 ft. e.g. on forested path to Clatsop Ridge Overlook. 8.5 mile loop also available.

Leader: Bruce 360-425-0256 Wed, Dec 18 Lake Sacajawea (E) Walk around the whole lake (3+ miles) or walk half the lake (1+ mile) with little e.g.

Leaders: Trudy & Ed 360-414-1160 Sat,, Dec 21 Winter Solstice Lantern Walk at Lake Sacajawea (E) Walk around the Lake 3+ miles. First mile will include stops at community group tables stationed at each solar system marker in Friends of Galileo Astronomy Club’s longest night of the year event.

Leader: Jenny (586) 872-8126 Sat,, Jan 4, 2020 High Hut (Mt. Rainier) Snowshoe (SS) (S) Drive 180 miles RT Snowshoe 8 miles RT with 2,400 ft. e.g.

Great views of Mt. Rainier from a heated lunch spot. Leader: George 360-562-0001 Wed, Jan 8, 2020 Castle Rock Dike (E) Drive 20 miles RT. Hike 3 miles out and back. Optional hike to the top of “The Rock.” Leader: Art 360-270-9991

Serving the Columbia River region, including Longview-Kelso.

503-366-9099 800-330-9099 201 S. 1st Street St. Helens OR wildcurrantcatering.com

Wed, Jan 15, 2020 Lake Sacajawea (E) Walk around the whole lake (3+ miles) or walk half the lake (1+ mile) with little e.g.

Leaders: Trudy & Ed 360-414-1160 Sat,, Jan 18, 2020 Forest Park – Linton Loop (M) Drive 90 miles RT. Hike 6.5 mile-loop with 930 ft. e.g. through Portland’s urban forest on Wildwood Trail.

Leader: Bruce 360-425-0256

Columbia River Reader / Holiday Edition Nov. 25, 2019 – Jan. 10, 2020 / 17

18 / Columbia River Reader / Holiday Edition Nov. 25, 2019 – Jan. 10, 2020

Winter Fun

Help light up the longest night of the year Join the solstice stroll along Lake Sacajawea

At the Sun, you’ll get a Planetary Passport to log your walk past the planets from Mercury, Venus, and Earth, all the way to Pluto on the north (Ocean Beach Highway) end of the Lake, with a few “surprise” celestial attractions en route. Take a return stroll along the path back to the starting point, or use the complimentary “space shuttle” for your return trip.

Along the path, representatives of local service groups and organizations will be stationed at each stop to stamp your passport. Portable toilets will be placed at each end and the centerpoint of the walk. A food truck will be positioned near the Sacajawea statue to fortify travelers during their journey to the outer planets.

Ke ss le rB

LAKE SACAJA WEA PARK Louisiana Street Bridge

Hemlock Street Footbridge

20th Ave. Bridge

START Sun Mercury Venus Earth Mars

Jupiter

Washington Way Bridge

Pluto

(KBO1)

Av e

d.

th

lv

Ocean B each Hw y

T

he Friends of Galileo astronomy club invite you to come and celebrate the returning of longer days and shorter nights at their second annual Solstice Solar Walk on the night of the Winter Solstice, December 21, at 7pm. The walk starts at the south end of Lake Sacajawea Park, near 15th Avenue and Nichols Blvd. (the area near St. John Medical Center, the YMCA and Burger King). This is where the Sun marker is located.

15

Saturn Comet SwiftTuttle

Neptune

Sacajawea statue

Uranus

hols

Nic

.

Blvd

Everyone is welcome at this family-friendly, festive event. Come and join the fun — under clear skies, rain or snow. Bring headlamps, lanterns and flashlights and bundle up for the weather ... and watch for Santa!

For more information, visit friendsofgalileo.com/solstice

About the Solar System Walk at the Lake In 2001, Friends of Galileo Astronomy Club designed and presented — with financial help from Gibbs & Olson engineering firm and other generous donors — a gift to the City of Longview: A model solar system. It includes10 granite markers along 1.64 miles on the west side of Lake Sacajawea.

Solstice Lantern Walk

The markers show the relative sizes and distances of the Sun and planets. It’s a great way for residents and visitors to enjoy Lake Sacajawea Park while experiencing the astonishing scale of our solar system ... they can begin to grasp (and gasp at) its magnitude, walking along and realizing how far apart the planets are, even if our solar system is scaled to length of the Lake.

Y

We are celebrating the annual “shooting stars,” which appear in August when Earth passes through the debris trail laid down by the comet, Swift-Tuttle. The comet has a 133-year orbit and last passed by the vicinity of Earth in 1992. CRR and Friends will be ready to greet you and suggest ways to warm up!

7:00—9:00 PM Lake Sacajawea, Longview WA

CRR to host Comet Swift-Tuttle station at Dec. 21 Solstice Walk ou won’t want to miss the Winter Solstice Lantern Walk at the Lake, the most ingenious and unique event of the year! And it only follows, logically, that you also mustn’t miss a visit to CRR’s Comet Swift-Tuttle and Perseid Meteor Shower Station.

Saturday, December 21

At press time we were still contemplating suitable freebies to give to our fellow solar system travelers, but rest assured we will have something for you to make the trek worthwhile! You can also enter to win a handy Shooting Starwatcher’s Gift Basket full of things you’ll need next Aug. 12 when the Perseid Meteor Showers peak.

You’ll find CRR’s Comet Station located halfway between Neptune and Pluto, next to the path by the lamp post directly in line with the intersection of Maple Street and Nichols Blvd.

Dock up and say Hello!

friendsofgalileo.com/solstice ee!

Fr

Bring light and cheer To the longest night of the year!

Sing, play along with “Messiah” performance in Astoria Dec. 1 North Coast Chorale will present the Annual “Messiah” Sing-Along / PlayAlong at 4pm on Sunday, Dec. 1 at the Performing Arts Center, 16th and Franklin St. in Astoria, Ore. The purpose for this event is to bring an awareness of those who are less fortunate in the community and raise money for the Clatsop Community Action Regional Food Bank. This event is free to the public, the only request – a donation of food or money to help those who are less fortunate in the community and raise money for the Clatsop Community Action Regional Food Bank, which distributes to our local foodbanks.

Audience members can simply listen to the choruses and arias sung by the Chorale and soloists. For those inclined to sing along, scores will be available in the lobby. Strings, horns, and percussionists are also invited to bring an instrument and play along with the accompanist to make it a delightful afternoon for everyone.

Also coming December 13th, 20th, & 22nd, “Amahl and the Night Visitors,” performed by NCC and local soloists. Don’t miss this!

Columbia River Reader / Holiday Edition Nov. 25, 2019 – Jan. 10, 2020 / 19

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The Havens are now hiring Licensed Caregivers 360-442-0758 20 / Columbia River Reader / Holiday Edition Nov. 25, 2019 – Jan. 10, 2020

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3542 Ocean Beach Hwy, Longview

Local Culture

MUSEUM MAGIC

By Joseph Govednik

Cowlitz County Historical Museum Director

Scappoose Pioneer Museum tells a story within its walls

L

ocated in the heart of downtown Scappoose is the Scappoose Pioneer Museum in the historic 1902-built Watts House. The Scappoose Historical Society operates the museum, however it has served several purposes since the Watts family sold the home to the City of Scappoose in 1969, including serving as City Hall.

James Grant Watts was one of the founding fathers of Scappoose and his family story and the story of Scappoose is told within the walls of this historic Victorian home.

The term of the sale deemed the

home would eventually become a museum. This path started in 1997 when the new Scappoose city hall and fire department building was constructed, permitting the realization of this goal.

Today, the historical society offers many programs at the museum, including the Annual Springtime Teas in May, Fall Harvest Luncheon in August, and the upcoming Old Fashioned Christmas Party and Auction this December 7th from 3-7pm. Furthermore, there will be visits with Santa December 14th at lpm and 3pm! Reservations are required; each session is limited

Courtesy photos.

to 12 children. The tickets are $10, and each child is given a gift that exceeds the price of the ticket. Karen Holmberg, President and Curator of the society, says, “This is a great way for families to enjoy a family-oriented small-town Christmas experience.”

Christmas tours begin Friday, December 6, and continue every Friday, Saturday and

Paintings by Sharon Ballard

In Historic Downtown Longview

Tiffany Dickinson 706-284-4008:

Downtown Longview, Castle Rock.

Ad Manager-Ned Piper, 360-749-2632: All areas.

Raymond/ South Bend

Oysterville •

Chinook

•

Grays River

Cathlamet 4

Astoria Birkenfeld

Mount St. Helens

Skamokawa

WestportPuget Island FERRYk

101

101

Pacific Ocean

• Kelso-Longview Chamber of Commerce Kelso Visitor Center I-5 Exit 39 105 Minor Road, Kelso • 360-577-8058 • Woodland Tourist Center I-5 Exit 21 Park & Ride lot, 900 Goerig St., 360-225-9552

Castle Rock

• Naselle

Warrenton •

Seaside

Washington 504

Long Beach

Columbia River

VISITOR CENTERS

FREE Maps • Brochures Directions • Information

Vader

Ocean Park •

Ilwaco

AD DEADLINES Jan 10 issue: Dec. 26 Feb 15 issue: Jan 27

360-577-0544 1418 Commerce Longview, WA Mon - Fri 10 - 5:30, Sat 10-4

To: Centralia, Olympia Mt. Rainier Yakima (north, then east) Tacoma/Seattle

Vernonia

Longview

Ape Cave •

Kelso

Clatskanie Rainier

Woodland

503

Columbia City

• Ridgefield

rnelius NW Co ad o R s s a P

To: Salem Silverton Eugene Ashland

Sauvie Island

Vancouver 12

Portland

• 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.

• Naselle, WA Appelo Archives Center 1056 SR 4, Naselle, WA. 360-484-7103.

Local in

for

Points o mation f In Recre terest Special ation Dinin Events Arts & Eg ~ Lodging ntertain ment

• Pacific County Museum & Visitor Center Hwy 101, South Bend, WA 360-875-5224 • Long Beach Peninsula Visitors Bureau 3914 Pacific Way (corner Hwy 101/Hwy 103) Long Beach, WA. 360-642-2400 • 800-451-2542 • South Columbia County Chamber Columbia Blvd/Hwy 30, St. Helens, OR • 503-397-0685 • Astoria-Warrenton Chamber/Ore Welcome Ctr 111 W. Marine Dr., Astoria 503-325-6311 or 800-875-6807

Col Gorge Interp Ctr Skamania Lodge Bonneville Dam

Troutdale Crown Point

97

Goldendale

• Seaside, OR 989 Broadway, 503-738-3097; 888-306-2326

•Yacolt

Scappoose•

Oregon

Cougar •

Kalama

St Helens

•••

Ron Baldwin 503-791-7985: Wahkiakum, Pacific, Clatsop Counties, Mouth of the Columbia.

Every First Thursday New Art, Music and Nibbles

Your Local SW Washington Artist Co-op since 1982

For more info about these exciting events, please visit scappoose-historicalsociety. org/ or call 503=970-3920.

IT PAYS TO ADVERTISE! Call an ad rep:

Gallery Member, Designer, Painter of Pet Portraits & Landscapes

the-broadway-gallery.com

Sunday through December 29th from 4-8 p.m. with the exception of the OldFashioned Christmas Party fund raiser on the 7th.

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 / Holiday Edition Nov. 25, 2019 – Jan. 10, 2020 / 21

Join us at CJAC’s

10th Annual Holiday Breakfast Fundraiser

Thank You

P+P Partner Circle members for supporting excellent journalism and spotlighting worthy community organizations and programs.

Saturday, Nov. 30th • Cowlitz Expo Center

Catered breakfast • Pictures with Santa • Kids’ Holiday Crafts Christmas Carolers • Raffle Prizes & Giveaways Tickets at the door or online at http://bit.ly/CJACBreakfast.

www.facebook.com/theCJAC/ for event and ticket info.

The mission of the Children’s Justice & Advocacy Center is to serve children and families affected by child abuse and provide a collaborative and compassionate community response. CJAC serves as the hub for child abuse prevention, outreach, and services in our community.

cowlitzcountycjac.com

people+ place For information about joining the Circle, call Ned or Sue Piper

PET DEPARTMENT I wish I lived in Longview and could go on the Solstice Lantern Walk! I’d wear my rhinestone collar.

I live right across the street from halfway between Pluto and Neptune! I’ll be watching the bobbing lights go by!

Proud sponsor of People+Place

“

I have come as light to shine in this dark world, so that all who put their trust in me will no longer remain in the dark.” ~ Jesus, John 12:46 FCA Vision: To lead every coach and athlete into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ and His church.

~Smokey

Weatherguard supports the FCA vision.

Man in the Kitchen’s cat

Madison Mosier

Lower Columbia College women’s basketball

~Ginger

Victoria Findlay’s dog

Q

360-577-7200

UIPS & QUOTES

Selected by Debra Tweedy

As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them. ~John F. Kennedy, 35th President, 1917-1963 Be thankful for what you have; you’ll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you will never, ever, have enough. ~Oprah Winfrey, American media executive, 1954Everywhere in the world there are tensions—economic, political, religious. So we need chocolate. ~Alain Ducasse, French chef, 1956Thanksgiving dinners take eighteen hours to prepare. They are consumed in twelve minutes. Half-times take twelve minutes. This is not coincidence. ~Erma Bombeck, American humorist, 1927-1996 Our hearts grow tender with childhood memories and love of kindred, and we are better throughout the year for having, in spirit, become a child again at Christmastime. ~Laura Ingalls Wilder, American author, 1867-1957

Proud sponsor of People+Place Happy, happy Christmas, that can win us back to the delusions of our childish days, that can recall to the old man the pleasures of his youth; that can transport the sailor and the traveller, thousands of miles away, back to his own fire-side and his quiet home! ~Charles Dickens, English writer, 18121870

Jim and Lori Conrod and Sue Lantz appreciate the

Saturday, Decembe

Help a student’s life be less disrupted when tragedy strikes.

A lovely thing about Christmas is that it’s compulsory, like a thunderstorm, and we all go through it together. ~Garrison Keillor, American author and humorist, 1942One can never have enough socks.

Another Christmas has come and gone, and I didn’t get a single pair.

People will insist on giving me books. ~ Dumbledore (Harry Potter series, J. K. Rowling, British author, 1965-) I am grateful for what I am and have. My thanksgiving is perpetual. ~Henry David Thoreau, American writer and philosopher, 1817-1862

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.

Solstice Lantern

7:00—9:00 PM

Contribute or learn more: 3riversschool.net

360-636-4663 360-751-5157

slantz@windermere.com www.suelantz.com

Sue Lantz donates a portion of every commission to a local non-profit of her clients’ choice

Lake Sacajawea, Longv Proud sponsor of People+Place

Thank you, Friends of Galileo for your gift of the Solar System scale model along Lake Sacajawea, a lovely enhancement to Longview’s favorite park! Residents and visitors alike can enjoy it year-round.

Visit CRR’s Comet Swift-Tuttle & Perseid Meteor Showers station along the path near the Maple/ Nichols intersection, halfway between Neptune and Pluto!

JOIN THE FUN!

details, page 19

CELEBRATE the

WINTER SOLSTICE Dec. 21

Paul W. Thompson CRR’s Man in the Kitchen Emeritus

ProudSponsor sponsorofofPeople+Place People+Place Proud

22 / Columbia River Reader / Holiday Edition Nov. 25, 2019 – Jan. 10, 2020

friendsofgalileo.com/s

A monthly feature written and photographed

by Southwest Washington native and Emmy Award-winning journalist

Hal Calbom

Production Notes The Way We Do the Things We Do

people+ place

Voyage to Discovery: Rex Ziak Rex Ziak faced a dilemma. His discoveries and re-interpretations were bringing him both congratulation and controversy. Lacking traditional academic credentials, he was challenging not only the conventional wisdom but also its scholars, authors, and experts — the ivory tower.

Hal Calbom

W hat a spectacular couple of months! After spending two issues with the remarkable Rex Ziak, I’m tempted to add a third “P” to People + Place. Not just who we are, not just where we are, this third essential “P,” Process, gets to the dynamics, the heart of things. The way we operate.

The way we roll.

I’ve suggested in these pages that ours is a relatively new, and still formative, history. We have, thankfully, very few monuments to stuff that’s done, finished, neatly packaged and frozen in time for 300 years. We are perpetually a work in progress. Or perhaps a Work in Process.

Close observation is the duty and the privilege of the photojournalist.

It reveals and revels in technique, execution, motion and action. It’s these close observations of process that linger with me over the last 18 months: Kevin Moenke notching a cabin log just so; Karla Nelson featuring “Books from %*!&# hole Countries;” Chris Panis dancing with three generations of Hawaiians. That’s what’s so exhilarating about chasing these profiles, and their subjects.

Rex proved this by spending five years literally walking the talk with Lewis and Clark on their trail. He’s just as animated in a lecture hall, spellbinding a hundred guests on Nov. 3 at the Cowlitz County Historical Museum.

We Pacific Northwesterners are people on the move. We’ve often come from someplace else and are headed someplace different. We’re a moving picture, not a still life. Yes, we’re rich with wonderful people and places.

But there’s nothing so instructive, and usually invigorating, as the way we do the things we do.

Welcome to People+Place (+ Process).

Wishing you a joyous holiday, with thanks for your attention, suggestions, and support.

•••

He had the evidence. He’d walked and measured and researched the very footsteps of William Clark, Meriwether Lewis, and their Corps of Discovery.

He’d proven the received wisdom wrong — that the Corps had happily paddled their way from Portland to their eventual winter quarters in Fort Clatsop, Oregon — subject only to mysterious omissions in Lewis’s journals.

In fact, the story — Rex’s story — was grander, more perilous, and more Washington-centric than that glossed over by 200 years of scholarship. The Corps’s 30 days spent at the mouth of the Columbia were among its most dangerous, surprising, frustrating and confusing.

Now, Rex, who’d grown up six miles from the scenes of these struggles, had the answers. Should he content himself with two feature articles in the Daily Astorian, and the appreciation of the Pacific County Commissioners? Or, should he publish and promote his findings to a larger audience, re-write the record for all the world to see, from university libraries to the hallowed precincts of Thomas Jefferson himself?

The logger, amateur historian and renaissance man from Naselle decided to take the plunge. The rest, as they say, is history.

PART TWO: THE CONSEQUENCES RZ: The word leaked out, around 1996, that I knew something about Lewis and Clark in Pacific County, and I was invited to discuss this with members of The Governor’s Lewis and Clark Trail Committee.

HC: Sounds pretty official.

RZ: It was a group of scholars, one from every county that Lewis and Clark passed through, plus some professors and historians. They met four times a year. And I guess they thought I knew what I was talking about because they asked me

formally to join the Committee, and I was officially appointed in 1997 by Governor Gary Locke.

HC: Were they familiar with the 30 days — November 7th to December 7th — that you’d been focusing on?

RZ: No, they weren’t. Historians tend to read other historians. And all that scholarship perpetuates itself.

I would go to those meetings and I would sit with these people and they would say incorrect things about this history down here. And I go, ‘No, no. That didn’t happen. Here’s

NICE TO MEET YOU Rex Ziak resides

Pacific County occupation

President, OBON SOCIETY See story, page 29.

from

Astoria, Oregon known for

Discovering and re-interpreting missing chapter of Lewis & Clark history; saving ancient forests in Pacific County. reading

History! for fun

Gardening, woodworking, metalworking, weather watching recommends

Visit Istanbul, drink a 1986 Vouvray (chenin blanc) and witness a transit of Venus

what Clark says,’ and I would show them, then they’d go, ‘Whoa!’ And I realized they didn’t know what was going on.

HC: Were you challenged directly?

RZ: Of course. Robert Carriker was Dean of History for Gonzaga, over here traveling on a lecture series, and I said, ‘Would you have time to go down by the river and I’ll show you some of these sites?’ And he says, ‘I’ve got two hours. My wife will be with me, but I have two hours on this day.’ So we met, and the two hours turned into eight, and I show him all this. cont page 24

Columbia River Reader / Holiday Edition Nov. 25, 2019 – Jan. 10, 2020 / 23

People

from page 23

HC: Dismal Nitch, Station Camp?

RZ: Yes. All the stuff on the Washington side, all the way down to Cape Disappointment. And he’s a noted Lewis and Clark scholar in his own right. He goes back to Spokane, and he called me up a couple of weeks later. He says, ‘I came back and got out the journals, and I looked at what you told me, and you’re right. You’ve done it.’ He said it was kind of like Galileo explaining the heliocentric universe idea, like once you get the key it all falls into place. ‘You’ve figured it out.

You’ve got to publish this.’

HC: That must have felt pretty good.

RZ: It scared me to death. I got caught up in that typical fear of, ‘I have a high school education. These guys are PhDs, And I know they have absolutely no respect for people who don’t have the letters after their names.’

HC: What decided you?

RZ: Well, I agonized over it. But two things. They’d been publishing and editing the journals in sequence and in one of the prominent editions there’s not even a November 7th. That’s the day Clark sees the ocean! And they put November 8th at a place where they absolutely never set foot, by the mouth of the Grays River. They completely omit Tongue Point. They leave off the 9th. They put everything at Megler. There’s no mention of Station Camp. There are like 20 errors and misunderstandings, all on one map.

HC: And the second thing that convinced you?

RZ: Bob Carriker. He says you have to publish this. You owe it to Lewis and Clark and the process of history itself.

You owe it to Thomas Jefferson!

HC: Very noble.

“ I’d love to produce the movie. The b

the morning of the 12th of November

RZ: Yeah, but what’s funny is he said, ‘You’ve done it. You’ve figured it out.

If you don’t publish this, Stephen Ambrose will steal it from you. And if he doesn’t, Dayton Duncan will. And if he doesn’t, David Nicandri will,’ who was the director of the Washington State Historical Society. And then he says, ‘And if he doesn’t, I will!’

Neither Ambrose, whose “Undaunted Courage: Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson, and the Opening of the American West,” was published in 1996, nor Dayton Duncan, author of the accompaniment to the PBS Ken Burns series on Lewis and Clark which appeared in 1997, took much notice of the iconoclastic logger-scholar from Southwest Washington. Rex began giving lectures on his discoveries, painted a large map which he festooned with post-it notes to dramatize the fits and starts of the expedition, and hit the road doing five years of public outreach before taking the plunge into print.

RZ: Back in 1997 when I first revealed the Lewis and Clark movements and campsites the locals were stunned. And the Astorians were outraged. They contacted the Fort Clatsop rangers who were caught off guard. They didn’t know the history so they asked me, ‘Where did you get the quotes from Lewis?’ I replied, ‘In the journals.’

People + Place goes on the road with Rex. Please join us in supporting where volunteers make a difference.

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24 / Columbia River Reader / Holiday Edition Nov. 25, 2019 – Jan. 10, 2020

+ Place

big scene would be ~ Rex Ziak r.

History is really dry and boring. Or it can be. And if you try to put a little bit of energy or life into it, the scholartypes turn up their noses, saying you’re trying to make it a novel or a movie treatment.

HC: Did you encounter this when you were campaigning for recognition for your own discoveries?

”

HC: But surely everybody in this profession has read the journals at some point, at least the parts that deal with our own territory here?

RZ: They read them but they didn’t really r e a d t h e m . I t ’s a baffling landscape, sky and water with a backdrop of a rugged, steep shoreline. I had learned from T. Rice Holmes to break down every sentence, every word; every mention of tide level, high or low, was noted. The direction of the wind, what meal they are eating, whether or not they make a fire, who they send out hunting. I asked myself, ‘What is Clark saying? Where is he standing when he says this?’ It took me years, literally, to figure it all out. Like a puzzle.

HC: There was also the forcing function of the Bicentennial?

RZ: A big deal. All the historical people, and especially the Chamber of Commerce types, both sides of the river, were pointing toward the 200- year anniversary of the Expedition, which would be celebrated all along the route.

HC: You’ve talked before about the crossriver rivalry and its influence on the way we think about Lewis and Clark.

RZ: It was never much of a rivalry.

Oregon felt it owned the expedition, and wanted nothing to do with any narrative that put people on the Washington side.

And that caused a lot of the warped scholarship and mis-interpretation.

RZ: Are you kidding? Every day.

Southwest Washington was the arctic as far as most of the Oregonians were concerned. They just didn’t want to hear

HC: Some might just call it writer’s block?

RZ: No, I was thinking of the wrong audience. I wanted a story out of this.

And I said, ‘I’m going to write this book for two people only, and that is for Lewis and Clark.’ Because I always felt sure that if Lewis and Clark came back to life, if they picked up Stephen Ambrose’s book and were reading it they would slap him with a wet moccasin they’d be so pissed off at what he says about them. What I wanted them to say was, ‘Yep. That’s where we were. Yeah. That’s what we were thinking.’ I stopped caring about the professors. I wrote it for them.

HC: I keep coming back to the question I’ve asked you before: How could these accomplished and wellmeaning historians and interpreters get this so wrong?

it. That’s one reason I decided to give away my story before writing my book, just a desire to get the history out there and known before the Bicentennial so we could get funding to acquire and develop the necessary sites.

I’ve carried that map around on countless lectures, doing public education.

HC: And precisely what sites are we talking about?

RZ: There are three, mainly, that ended up being part of the eventual Lewis and Clark National Historical Park: Dismal Nitch, about where the bridge is today; Station Camp, downriver a mile or two; and parts of Cape Disappointment.

HC: And meanwhile you’re cooking on your book?

RZ: I’m stuck on my book. I didn’t get into this to be a writer. I was so hung up on what people might think. Probably a dozen drafts, over about three years. And I still remember this moment where I thought, ‘The problem is this.

RZ: Well, we’ve talked about some of the bias, the Oregon-side view of all this. But there’s also the changed landscape. The people who insisted that Clark couldn’t have really seen the ocean on November 7th looked down and saw a land mass in that direction. Guess what, that was the jetty, overgrown with trees, that was built 100 years after Clark was here!

The jetties have changed more than the river and tidal flow. Fortunately for me, I found a map printed by the British government in the 1870s, a survey done by their Coastal Survey, and that is the map that I use in the book. So I could check the points and the views. ‘Yes, there’s Megler there.

That’s still there. That’s still there.’

So I could see what it looked like before any machinery came in here and changed it. cont. page 26

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Columbia River Reader / Holiday Edition Nov. 25, 2019 – Jan. 10, 2020 / 25

People + Place Rex’s campaign, and the truth of his observations and revisions, gained momentum. In 1999 the Washington State Historical Society awarded him its David Douglas Fellowship Award for “revolutionizing the way people see the Lewis and Clark Trail in Washington for all time.” In 2002, as he neared completion of his opus at last, In Full View, he received a coveted invitation to join distinguished scholars for a six-day symposium titled “A Lewis and Clark Exposition” at the hallowed home of his hero Thomas Jefferson, Monticello. And in 2004, he was asked to testify before the US Senate’s Subcommittee on National Parks, which was establishing the boundaries of the new national historical park at the mouth of the Columbia. The local kid from Naselle, marking and measuring the sites just over the hill from where he grew up, would help re-shape and re-write Pacific Northwest history.

HC: You’ve re-drawn the record, re-written history.

RZ:Well, somewhat. Washington has its place in the story, but if this history had been interpreted accurately in the early 1900s this history over here would be the enormous star of the story. They’d never faced conditions like this. For the whole journey up the Missouri and down the upper Columbia, in the evening they just pulled their canoes ashore, three feet into the sand, and they’re there in the morning. They come down here, and here is this floor that’s just constantly moving, and the tide goes in and out and it’s just chaos.

from page 21

HC: Pretty dire situation. But they low-key it in the journals, don’t they? Maybe that’s why it slipped by people for all those years?

RZ: Well, they’re military men. And they have this emotionless sort of tone in their reporting. Even at Dismal Nitch when they move in on the 12th, Clark says, ‘It would be distressing to a feeling person to see our situation at this time, all wet and cold with our bedding also wet in a cover scarcely large enough to contain us.’ And they’d had hail, so the temperature had to be around 36, 37 degrees. The hail is frozen in pockets on the ground. And there they are wearing soaking leather and he says, ‘it would be distressing to a feeling person’ — and if we were there we’d have hypothermia and be calling 9-1-1.

HC: So you’d have done Ken Burns a little differently, too?

HC: Do you feel a sense of satisfaction with your accomplishment?

Are you still building on it? We appreciated your lecture this month, by the way.

RZ: I’d still love to produce the movie. The big scene would be the morning of the 12th of November. Clark says they are in a seriously ‘dangerous’ situation because rocks are rolling down behind them, they’re on a steep bank, and the waves are coming up over the front of them. They’re pinned down, and they have to abandon their camp.

And they can’t use their big canoes, so they fill them with tons of rock, hoping they’ll stay put when the tide rises, and they retreat around into the little creek bottom at Dismal Nitch. They abandon their canoes!

RZ: I feel like I’ve had my say. I still love to tell the story. And it’s gratifying to have been part of the shaping of the Lewis and Clark National Historical Park. But I’ve moved on. My wife Keiko and I are engaged in some really important work, trying to bring peace and reconciliation to Japan and America. Next year is the 75th anniversary of Hiroshima and the end of World War II. HC: So, you’re still fascinated by history?

RZ: Always. The record is never complete. Always a work in progress.

Hal Calbom is an independent film producer, educator, and writer. His new book, Resourceful: Leadership and Communications in a Relationship Age, will be published in December. A third-generation Longview native, he attended RA Long High School and Harvard College and lives in Seattle.

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26 / Columbia River Reader / Holiday Edition Nov. 25, 2019 – Jan. 10, 2020

••• Editor’s note: for more details on Rex and Keiko Ziak’s initiative, the OBON SOCIETY, see page 29.

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people + place REX ZIAK’S Top 5 Books

Turbulent Era, by Joseph C. Grew. The diplomatic record, telegrams and letters between the American Embassy in Toyko and Washington DC, 1933–1941. Eye-opening, jaw-dropping, first-hand eyewitness account of America’s and Japan’s head-on collision.

Seven Pillars of Wisdom, by T.E. Lawrence.

A single sentence from this book can leave an indelible mark on one’s brain for many, many years.

The Voyage of the Beagle,

by Charles Darwin.

A sailing voyage of four years, nine months that turned upside down everything we thought we knew about the earth, animals, time, humans and God. Jefferson Abroad, by Thomas Jefferson.

His diary and letters while Minister to France reveal the meticulous mind and precise observation by the architect of the Lewis and Clark Expedition.

Caesar’s Conquest of Gaul, by T. Rice Holmes.

This is the most perfect book of history I have ever read. It is an inspiration and a template for analytical thought. Sitting in the same room with this book — even unopened, tucked away on the shelf — fills me with calm reassurance of mankind’s future.

Losers Keepers

By Dr. Robert Michael Pyle

Robert Michael Pyle is a naturalist and writer residing along Gray’s River in Wahkiakum County for many years. His twenty-two books include the Northwest classics Wintergreen, Sky Time in Gray’s River, and Where Bigfoot Walks, as well as The Thunder Tree, Chasing Monarchs, and Mariposa Road, a flight of butterfly books, and two collections of poems. His newest titles are Butterflies of the Pacific Northwest and Magdalena Mountain: a novel, released in August 2018 by Counterpoint Press.

I

f my testicles were not firmly tied on with gooseflesh, I would have lost my deep male voice long before it ever cracked. I am a loser of the first degree.

It’s always been this way. When my grandmother Grace took my older brother Tom and me to early Disney films at the Denver Theater—Snow White, Cinderella, Peter Pan—we walked from her house near City Park to the #12 bus stop and waited beside a big mulberry with whose sticky little fruits Tom and I filled our faces. After the “streetcar” brought us back—a bus by then, but to Grammy it was always the streetcar—we walked home in the shady alley behind Detroit Street, tired and way too hot to wear the jackets we were obliged to take on every outing in case one of the famous Denver thunderstorms came up. Good thing skin is waterproof, because invariably Gram had to call the Denver Tramway Company to retrieve the jacket I’d left behind on the bus.

Not long later, my car-less mother and I managed through her tactical skills to reach a close-in Front Range canyon, famous for its butterflies, via varied public transportation.

Once in Deer Creek Canyon, a true Valhalla cut off from my home by many miles of the still-small Mile High City, I went wild over amethyst Colorado hairstreaks on Gambel oaks, silverspots and skippers thronging September-yellow rabbitbrush. But when we transferred buses in front of the state capitol’s golden dome, my box of specimens—my best trove yet as a young lepidopterist—did not.

The Denver Tramway dispatcher got used to us.

You could cover the heads of a small nation with the hats I’ve scattered about the globe. The pebble-gray cap left in a hot college classroom. The purple-heather deerstalker ditched during a summer deluge on a London double-decker near Big Ben on the way to see snakeshead fritillary flowers in a Wiltshire wood. Any number of straw and Panama chapeaus, and one ridiculous Hoss Cartwright ten-gallon cowboy hat that badly needed losing.

And one I truly hated to forfeit: my XXX Beaver Stetson Smokey hat, acquired for and well broken in during a summer as a ranger-naturalist in Sequoia National Park. It lived an unofficial life through the end of the ‘60s, that era of enhanced appreciation

Photo by David Lee Myers for outrageous headdress, then abandoned me at a roadhouse in Toad River, Yukon Territory, along the Alaska Highway. In the years that followed, I refined losership into an art. The summer of ‘76, visiting Estes Park, I managed to misplace my glasses, camera, binoculars, and ultimately the driver’s door of my Volkswagen bus, all in the same week.

But not all of my losses have been for keeps. I have been lucky beyond any sensible expectation in the return of my offerings, and not just the thirty pounds along the waistline that I’ve lost and found time after time. The Black Watch flannel shirt deserted on a Delta airplane in Arkansas and recovered through the zeal of a humane ticket agent who made it her mission to restore the stray garment.

The wallet I’ve carried for twenty-five years, a patchwork of thin leather and duct tape, that liberated itself from the top of our car on a California freeway only to reach me a month later, cards truck-busted but contents otherwise intact. The object that I’ve lost and found the most, and most fear losing for good, is the set of fine, small Leitz binoculars given me by my former wife Sally Hughes when we were living in graduate school penury.

They came with us from New Haven to New Guinea, and accompanied me everywhere I’ve been ever since. They are as much a part of my body as the units with which I began this column, but they are not attached. I have left them on trains, planes, and boats, at security in JFK, and atop a mountain in the Sangre de Cristo Wilderness Area in Colorado just before a storm.

And once in Costa Rica, would-be thieves, seeing me near tears over my missing binoculars, returned them to me, pretending they had found them.

This is the 18th in a series of selected essays to appear in Columbia River Reader.

These were originally published in Orion Afield or Orion Magazine in the author’s column, “The Tangled Bank” and, subsequently, in the book of the same name published by Oregon State University Press in 2012.

The first of many cases that have carried these field glasses was a neat leather bag with Indian-head nickels for clasps. I once recovered that bag through a want ad in a local paper, but finally parted ways with it at a rest stop on the Oregon coast.

The binos were around my neck that day, praise be! These beloved optics— which once got me into a Van Morrison concert, inspired an impromptu haiku by Gary Snyder in Okinawa, and granted me intimate visions of an infinitude of lives and landforms—have (knock, knock, knocking on wood) always come back to me. And so, I dearly hope, it ever shall be. Amen.

Even the gray, marbled Pelikan fountain pen with which I am writing these words has taken its leave and returned over and over, like the cat that came back, or a slow paddle ball. Once it disappeared into a recess of Thea’s truck for six months. Another time I lost it on the Coast Starlight approaching Redding at three a.m., the Amtrak conductor and I on our hands and knees among the legs of slumbering passengers, looking all around with a flashlight. He found it just before I had to detrain. And again just last week: somehow misplaced at a conference in Eugene, almost given up for gone, it arrived in the post yesterday from a friend who had used it to sign a book and later found it in her purse.

Every time such beloved items find their way back home, I feel a disproportionate thrill of joy and redemption, like the simple glee expressed in the words of cont page 28

Columbia River Reader / Holiday Edition Nov. 25, 2019 – Jan. 10, 2020 / 27

Tangled Bank from page 27

that old pop song: “Reunited, and it feels so good.” But don’t misread me. I am not a very materialistic person; my only car just passed a third of a million miles, my only boat has buoyed my bulk in its eighteen feet of wood and fiberglass for decades. Except for the beckon of books, I’m a rotten consumer. Yet I am a materialist., insofar as modest physical objects matter to me. As a biologist, I try to imagine the adaptive value for such behavior—why do we feel such affection for old belongings? Is it merely sentiment, or resistance to change, or is it something atavistic? After all, our pets and their wild ancestors have their favored lairs and playthings. The violet-green swallows return to the same nest-hole in our porch year after year.

Captive chimps, like children, give up their accustomed blankets only under violent protest. Possession seems to have deep evolutionary roots. Artifacts have always mattered to people. Sure, they are only things, and when lost, they reassimilate into the world. But they are the things that recall our histories, and root us to our material existence.

The fact of the matter is we are all losers, even if not as practiced as I. We lose our special childhood places to subdivisions and shopping centers. Our hard-won freedoms, along with the most basic expectations of a civilized society— education, healthcare, and security in old age—are slipping away from us, filched by officials and legislators in service to wealth and power. In large ways and small, we share the certainty of loss, every day and all through our lives—our elders, our hair, our keys, all gone. Yet the losses we suffer deepen our gratitude for the good things still in our keeping, and make us cherish those that come back from the brink: recovered binos, the ivory-billed woodpecker, your lover rescued from the grip of mortal illness.

Where do you read

THE READER? WHERE DO YOU READ THE READER? Send your photo reading the Reader (high-resolution JPEG) to Publisher@CRReader.com. Include names and cities of residence. We make it a practice to acknowledge photos received; if you don’t receive an acknowledgment within 5 days, please re-send. If sending a cell phone photo, choose the largest file size up to 2 MB. For best results and facial recognition, position human subjects 5–8 feet from the camera, with the “landmark” object filling the background of the frame. Thank you for your participation and patience; we usually have a small backlog. Keep those photos coming!

“The Reader brought us luck!”Alyn and Donna Monroe from Longview, Wash., and Evelyn Bean from Kalama, Wash., reading the Reader in Las Vegas.

Georgia’s mountain from God Debra Chase reading the Reader August in Venice, Italy Longview resident Pat Spencer

on a “Making Memories” trip to Italy with her grandson, Derek Betts, of Anacortes, Wash.

We keep nothing, of course, beyond our temporary tenure. And if possession is only a short-term loan, then what we call loss might be seen as an act of early return, like taking a library book back before the due date. I’ll remind myself of that the next time I have to buy new specs, having taken to leaving a trail of trifocals all across the land.

Written Nov/Dec 2005.

••• Note: Many more recent examples appear in Mr. Pyle’s book Mariposa Road: The Fist Butterfly Big Year, including one spectacular recovery told in a chapter titled “Lost and Found.”

28 / Columbia River Reader / Holiday Edition Nov. 25, 2019 – Jan. 10, 2020

on a mesa at Georgia O’Keeffe’s beloved Ghost Ranch in New Mexico.

In the background is Mt. Pedronal, Georgia’s own mountain because she said God would give her the mountain if she painted it enough.

A tip-top view! JoAnne and Greg Booth of Vader, Wash., took the Reader to the top of Mt. Floien, via funicular railway, overlooking Bergen, Norway. The view was great, they said, and the weather good, even though it was April. Goats maintain the landscape and facilities include a tea house and preschool.

International Peace

OBON SOCIETY leads reconciliation efforts Return of WWII battle flags helps families and veterans heal Story and photo Hal Calbom “This is diplomatic work as well, often called simply Peace Management, trying to reconcile the lingering grief of war.”

Rex and Keiko Ziak examine a recovered flag with Mr. Toshiei Mizuochi of the Japan War-Bereaved Family Association during a recent visit in Astoria. “We value above everything the trusted

bond between the United States and Japan today,” he said.

H

e made his name as a reinterpreter of Lewis and Clark’s Voyage of Discovery.

She left her native Kyoto and went to sea as an officer aboard ships cruising around the world. They discovered each other, serendipitously, when he was giving a shipboard lecture on the voyages of Captain James Cook. Or, as Rex Ziak says, “I met Keiko floating on the water, a little north of New Zealand.”

A decade later they are married and embarked on another adventure together, one with profound personal, historical, and cultural significance.

“In my mother’s hometown, when she was a young girl,” said Keiko, “38

young men were drafted and sent to war, and 37 of them did not come back, including her father, my grandfather.

Then, one day, 62 years after the war ended, a personal item was returned to my family from a collector in Canada — 62 years! It meant the world to my family, as if my grandfather’s bones or remains had been recovered.”

Rex and Keiko began researching the fate of other battle flags and personal belongings, often carried into battle

by Japanese soldiers and recovered by the victors as souvenirs. “We feel we’re doing more than humanitarian work,” said Rex, who notes the OBON SOCIETY now has over 600 associates assisting in its work, here and abroad.

have a single mission,” Mr. Mizuochi told me via Keiko’s translation, “to never, ever repeat the same mistakes again, and to extend this message of peace to the next generation around the world.” As part of his commitment to this mission, he has visited Pearl Harbor, Arlington National Cemetery, and other sites in the U.S. and around the world to demonstrate sympathy with every victim of war, and empathy for their survivors.

The shelves in OBON’s Astoria office are filled with meticulously preserved “We value above everything the trusted bond between the artifacts awaiting proof United States and Japan of their provenance. today,” he concluded.

The clues are in the “We have a single “We are forever grateful cloth: Each intricately mission to never, for that.” inscribed flag is a ever repeat the same collection of dozens of Rex and Kieko and mistakes again, and family signatures and their associates have to extend this message well-wishes, traceable returned 300 items to of peace to the next to prefecture, village, families, including 72 even street corner. generation around in 2019. They report the world.” unprecedented interest “My grandfather from veterans and disappeared in Burma ~ Toshiei Mizuochi collectors in America, and his only remains Canada, and the other came to us from Allied countries.

They estimate that as Canada!” added Keiko. “My family assumed it was a miracle. Now we’re many as 20,000 artifacts remain. trying to create more miracles for “The miracle works both ways,” said more families.”

Keiko Ziak. “American veterans show This summer OBON SOCIETY, great generosity and interest in our the only organized effort of its type work, and many of them have traveled to in the world, received a major vote Japan to return these items personally.” of confidence and support. In a rare The timing in all this is significant. overseas visit, Mr. Toshiei Mizuochi, Coinciding with the 75th Anniversary a distinguished Japanese legislator, of the end of World War II, this summer visited Astoria to applaud and Tokyo hosts the Summer Olympic further encourage OBON’s efforts.

Games, which will feature a major He pledged a measure of financial theme of reconciliation and world unity. support from the Japan War-Bereaved Family Association, and further ••• cooperation in the painstaking matching of flags and families.

FOR MORE INFO/HOW TO HELP Both the Japanese and the Ziaks realize the delicate nature of their mission: that even after 75 years, reconciliation between bitter enemies can come grudgingly, if at all. “We

OBON SOCIETY is a gift-dependent charitable initiative and a 501(c) (3) tax-exempt Oregon non-profit organization. To donate, mail check to PO Box 282, Astoria, OR 97103, or visit obonsociety.org

This holiday season ... give the gift of music

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technique • theory • performance Columbia River Reader / Holiday Edition Nov. 25, 2019 – Jan. 10, 2020 / 29

WordFest Book Pitch

CRR salutes local authors

BESIDES COLUMBIA RIVER READER...

What are you reading?

The Lower Columbia region boasts an impressive number of fiction and nonfiction writers and poets, speaking in a variety of voices, telling a variety of stories. On Tuesday, December 3, join Columbia River Reader at WordFest’s Book Pitch, 6–8pm, at Cassava coffee shop, 1333 Broadway Avenue in Longview. Local authors will be talking about their books and selling and signing copies. Do all your holiday shopping in one evening! Among those writers and books featured that night will be: Memoir My Three Friends by Linda Eddleston Paperback, $15, Kindle/ Nook e-Books: $7.99.

A story of endearing and lasting friendships with universal themes of humor, sadness, joy and challenges. (pearls6@comcast.net, 360-423-5008)

Timely Diversion

by J.J. MacLeod. e-book, $2.99.

Best laid plans are blown apart in this Harry & Company Mystery about corruption and grief in America’s gun culture. www.amazon.com/ author/jjmacleod Historical fiction Intrepid Journey: Book OneAn Untamed Frontier by Lilly Robbins Brock. Available on Amazon. Paperback $11.99, Kindle $2.99, KU Free.

Historical fiction from 19th century America. A family’s new start and their journey West on a paddle wheel steamship via South America. www.lillyrobbinsbrock.com, 360-701-2374

Shattered Memories: Addicted by Ray Merrill.

Paperback $13.95, Kindle $6.99.

A child born with a heroin addiction suffers from withdrawals, but somehow holds onto life by the grace of God. Available on Amazon. (www.facebook.com/ PARA1431/) Romance

Literary fiction Holding Woman and Other Stories of Acceptable Madness

by Kelley Jacquez Paperback, $12 — add $2 if mailed.

“Exquisite collection of stories of imperfect people. Written with humor, compassion, unexpected twists and some tears. A must read.”~Book List. holdingwoman@cni.net

Rory’s Christmas Angel

by Laura Baird Kindle e-Book, $3.99.

Rory has no thought of finding love again, but a chance encounter with Frankie has him reluctant to walk away. www. laurambairdauthor.com Sincerely, Mildred

by Ashley Lane Paperback, $13.99.

Set in the 1930s, a quiet cannery girl is taken away by a wealthy pilot and introduced to his gilded world of flowing champagne and parties.

Available on Amazon.

Magdalena Mountain

by Robert Michael Pyle Paperback, $16.95.

The all-black Magdalena Alpine butterfly brings three unforgettable people together in the high country of Colorado, and surprising sparks fly.

Available at Powells.com or order at any bookstore.

Thrillers/Mysteries Ghost Ride

by Fredrick Hudgin Paperback $14.95, e-Book, $7.50.

David Peterson, a Special Forces medic, retires to central Washington to open an urgent-care clinic, but a meth lab has infected his town. www.

Fredrickhudgin.com, 360-901-1520.

Nonfiction

Find more information about WordFest and the Book Pitch at www.alan-rose.com.

Evidence is Lacking.

Yet I Still Hope.

A Primary Source Glimpse into a World War I Soldier’s Life...

Home to Camp Lewis to France

by Joan Enders

Evidence is Lacking. Yet I Still Hope: A Primary Source Glimpse into a World War I Soldier’s Life

by Joan Enders.

Paperback, Holiday special: $15 — usually $22.95.

The reader explores unique original documents, personal journals, and letters to piece together the puzzle of this young doughboy’s life. www.

JoanEnders.com

30 / Columbia River Reader / Holiday Edition Nov. 25, 2019 – Jan. 10, 2020

Monthly feature coordinated by Alan Rose

By Tony Indriolo Doc

by Mary Doria Russell

T

his is a novel but it may also be the most accurate biography written about the infamous John Henry “Doc” Holiday. The story starts with his birth in Georgia in August 1851, where a physical defect should have resulted in his early death. His life was saved by one of his uncles, a skilled surgeon, who performed a groundbreaking procedure he had recently read about in a French medical journal.

Holiday was part of a large, wealthy, and loving family, received a classical education, spoke four languages, and studied dentistry in Philadelphia, where he received his degree. Soon after, he moved out west where friends and patients started calling him “Doc.” You may think you know all about the blood-thirsty killer from dime novels and portrayed in many Western movies, but this well-researched book presents a very different and sympathetic portrayal — a true Southern Gentleman struggling with tuberculosis, a man who treasured his friends, loved deeply, and died tragically young.

This historical novel takes you into the everyday lives of western heroes and villains in surprising and delightful ways. It explains how the false legends about Doc Holiday originated, including tales of the famous Earp brothers and of Mary Katharine “Big Nose Kate” Harony, Doc’s frequent companion and lover — although it doesn’t include Doc’s death nor the famous gunfight at the OK Corral (Read its sequel, Epitaph, for those events.)

Finally, Doc will introduce you to Mary Doria Russell, an amazing author who has written six other books you will be eager to discover.

••• Originally from Cleveland, Ohio, Tony Indriolo moved to the Pacific Northwest in 2016 to be closer to his daughter and granddaughter.

“Retirement means I can read more books,” he says. He read103 books in 2018, only 67 books this year, but he still has a couple of months left.

His only complaint since moving here: “It doesn’t rain enough.”

ATTENTION, READERS Read a good book lately? To be miniinterviewed 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.

Cover to Cover

Top 10 Bestsellers PAPERBACK FICTION 1. The Overstory Richard Powers, Norton, $18.95 2. Unsheltered Barbara Kingsolver, Harper Perennial, $17.99 3. There There Tommy Orange, Vintage, $16 4. The Tattooist of Auschwitz Heather Morris, Harper, $16.99 5. The Handmaid’s Tale Margaret Atwood, Anchor, $15.95 6. The Great Alone Kristin Hannah, St. Martin’s Griffin, $17.99 7. A Gentleman in Moscow Amor Towles, Penguin, $17 8. The Best American Short Stories 2019 Anthony Doerr, Heidi Pitlor (Eds.), Mariner, $15.99 9. Killing Commendatore Haruki Murakami, Vintage, $17 10. Girl, Woman, Other Bernardine Evaristo, Grove Press/Black Cat, $17

PAPERBACK NON-FICTION 1. Upstream: Selected Essays Mary Oliver, Penguin, $17 2. Classic Krakauer: Essays on Wilderness and Risk Jon Krakauer, Anchor, $15 3. The Body Keeps the Score Bessel van der Kolk, Penguin, $19 4. The Library Book Susan Orlean, S&S, $16.99 5. Born a Crime Trevor Noah, Spiegel & Grau, $18 6. Braiding Sweetgrass Robin Wall Kimmerer, Milkweed Editions, $18 7. Killers of the Flower Moon David Grann, Vintage, $16.95 8. The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee: Native America from 1890 to the Present David Treuer, Riverhead Books, $17 9. All You Can Ever Know: A Memoir Nicole Chung, Catapult, $16.95 10. Making Comics Lynda Barry, Drawn and Quarterly, $22.95

BOOK REVIEW

HARDCOVER FICTION 1. The Starless Sea Erin Morgenstern, Doubleday, $28.95 2. Where the Crawdads Sing Delia Owens, Putnam, $26 3. Olive, Again Elizabeth Strout, Random House, $27 4. The Testaments Margaret Atwood, Nan A. Talese, $28.95 5. The Dutch House Ann Patchett, Harper, $27.99 6. The Water Dancer Ta-Nehisi Coates, One Worl 7. Blue Moon Lee Child, Delacorte Press, $28.99 8. Agent Running in the Field John le Carré, Viking, $29 9. The Giver of Stars Jojo Moyes, Pamela Dorman Books, $28 10. Find Me André Aciman, FSG, $27

HARDCOVER NON-FICTION 1. Blowout Rachel Maddow, Crown, $30 2. A Pilgrimage to Eternity: From Canterbury to Rome in Search of a Faith Timothy Egan, Viking, $28 3. The Body Bill Bryson, Doubleday, $30 4. Talking to Strangers Malcolm Gladwell, Little Brown, $30 5. Educated Tara Westover, Random House, $28 6. Catch and Kill Ronan Farrow, Little Brown, $30 7. We Are Indivisible: A Blueprint for Democracy After Trump Leah Greenberg, Ezra Levin, Atria/One Signal Publishers, $27 8. The Witches Are Coming Lindy West, Hachette Books, $27, 9. Finding Chika: A Little Girl, an Earthquake, and the Making of a Family Mitch Albom, Harper, $24.99 10. Letters from an Astrophysicist Neil DeGrasse Tyson, Norton, $19.95

Brought to you by Book Sense and Pacific Northwest Booksellers Assn, for week ending Nov. 10, 2019, based on reporting from the independent bookstores of Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana.

For the Book Sense store nearest you, visit www.booksense.com MASS MARKET EARLY & MIDDLE GRADE READERS 1. Guts 1. The Shining Raina Telgemeier, Graphix, $12.99 Stephen King, Anchor, $8.99 2. Best Friends Shannon Hale, LeUyen 2. The Name of the Wind Pham (Illus.), First Second, $12.99 Patrick Rothfuss, DAW, $9.99 3. Smile 3. The Goldfinch Raina Telgemeier, Graphix, $10.99 Donna Tartt, Little Brown, 4. A Tale of Magic... $10.99 Chris Colfer, Little, Brown Books for Young 4. Dune Readers, $18.99 Frank Herbert, Ace, $10.99 5. A Wolf Called Wander 5. Good Omens Rosanne Parry, Monica Armino (Illus.), Neil Gaiman, Terry Pratchett, Greenwillow Books, $16.99 Morrow, $9.99 6. Stef Soto, Taco Queen 6. The Reckoning Jennifer Torres, Little, Brown Books for John Grisham, Dell, $9.99 Young Readers, $6.99 7. A Cup of Holiday Fear 7. The Complete Baking Book for Ellie Alexander, St. Martin’s, Young Chefs America’s Test Kitchen $7.99 Kids, Sourcebooks Explore, $19.99 8. The Wise Man’s Fear 8. Sisters Patrick Rothfuss, DAW, $9.99 Raina Telgemeier, Graphix, $10.99 9. Eleanor Oliphant Is 9. The Wonders of Nature Completely Fine Gail Honeyman, Penguin, $9.99 Ben Hoare, DK Children, $19.99 10. A Beautiful Day in the 10. Words of Radiance Brandon Sanderson, Tor, $9.99 Neighborhood: The Poetry of Mister Rogers Fred Rogers, Luke Flowers (Illus.), Quirk Books, $19.99

Graphic novels: A different reading experience

family, while earning her own PhD in medieval literature, without much encouragement from her husband.

(Hawking thought medieval literature a bit specialized and “esoteric”—unlike, say, the popular appeal and everyday uses of astrophysics?)

By Alan Rose

Hawking Jim Ottaviana and Leland Myrick First Second $29.95

I

’m not sure why it’s taken me this long to read a graphic novel. Maybe they seemed too comic book-ish and juvenile. This impression has now been corrected.

Merriam-Webster defines graphic novel as “a fictional story that is presented in comic-strip format and published as a book.” But the category also includes nonfiction non-novels, such as this biography of the most respected theoretical physicist of our time.

Alan Rose organizes the monthly WordFest gatherings. His next novel, about the AIDS epidemic, As If Death Summoned, will be published in 2020 by Amble Press/ Bywater Books. More book reviews, author interviews, and news updates can be found at www.alan-rose.com.

from Hawking In 1992, Art Spiegelman’s graphic novel about the Holocaust, Maus, won the Pulitzer Prize, lending the genre both visibility and legitimacy as an art form. The book industry recognized it as a category in 2001.

It’s a different reading experience—not worse, not better, just different. Part of the richness in reading is the activation of one’s imagination. In some ways, the graphic novel limits the play of one’s own imagination by providing visuals, much as do films. But the pictures in Hawking were also useful where my own imagination fell short—as in trying to visualize “singularities,” Schrödinger’s cat, or the bending of space and time. (At one point, even

the authors admit defeat, displaying a blank panel with only “You might find this hard to visualize.”)

Foremost, this is the biography of a brilliant man, whose extraordinary mind continued to explore the farthest reaches of the universe while his body became progressively earthbound

by Lou Gehrig’s Disease (ALS.) His humor and courage shine through as much as his intellect. At times, he comes across as distant and distracted by his work; admirable in a cosmologist, perhaps less admirable as a father and husband. Admirable, too, is his wife Jane who married him knowing his fatal motor neuron diagnosis, and who remained committed to him, caring for him, raising their

But along with being the biography of an extraordinary mind, Hawking is also a history of humanity’s attempt to understand this mystery called the universe, illustrated with useful visuals and entertaining anecdotes (After repeating “gravitationally collapsed objects” ten times in a lecture, John Wheeler decided to call them “black holes” instead. Good call.) The book provides introductions to the people and ideas that have transformed our understanding of the cosmos— Copernicus, Newton, Einstein, Bohr, Heisenberg, Lemaître, Eddington, Hubble, right down to Hawking’s contemporaries Roger Penrose and Kip Thorne.

Not bad for a comic book.

Note: If astrophysics isn’t your thing, you might try George Takei’s graphic novel, also published this year, They Called Us Enemy, a moving testament about his Japanese American family’s internment when he was a child during WWII. ••• After the Dec. 8 Book Pitch, WordFest will next meet 6–8pm, Jan. 14 at Cassava, 1333 Broadway, Longview. Free, open to the public.

Columbia River Reader / Holiday Edition Nov. 25, 2019 – Jan. 10, 2020 / 31

ME AND MY

PIANO* *or other instrument

By Philip Portwood

I was hooked. It was a big thrill when Frau Darby took our German Club to see and hear the legendary Virgil Fox perform on the organ.

While visiting Eastern Germany, I played a pipe organ built in 1856.

R

eading Judi Fouch Peters’ submission (July 15 issue of CRR) describing pianos and organs in her living room and mentioning Don Bean prompted me to share my own story.

My mother, Carolyn Portwood, took accordion lessons from Don Bean, later teaching others in the local area. Don had an accordion band.

They played at Martin’s Dock by Lake Sacajawea and also on a Portland TV station. I’m not surprised when a 60- or 70-year-old tells me they took lessons from my mom. My middle brother took lessons from her for a short time, too.

I didn’t realize mom was in competition with other mothers to have their kid be organist at First Christian Church.

Several of us played the piano and/or organ during Junior Church. Steve Harvey was our choir director.

After 47 years playing the piano and organ at several different churches, I’m taking a break. My last position was at St Paul Lutheran Church in Castle Rock, where they have a French Baroque tracker organ.

Tracker organs are ones where the pipes are connected directly to the organ by strings. The blower is the only electrical component. I have returned to First Christian to fill in while the Praise Band was in Europe.

Occasionally I will fill in at churches around the local area.

And yes, in my living room I currently have a baby grand piano plus a Rodgers concert organ given

By my mom’s selection, I took piano lessons from Betty Staub, who lived just a couple of blocks across the lake from our house. She taught me the foundation of music theory and piano technique. She encouraged me to sight read, play by ear, and even compose.

I walked to her house every Thursday morning for my lesson, then on to school at Kessler Elementary. After five years of this I told my mom I didn’t want to take lessons. She said I could stop, but I would now go on to the organ.

My teacher was Ted Teitzel, a master of the organ. He raised livestock in Napavine, Wash.. He drove into town to give lessons at students’ houses.

In 1972, I began my career at the early service which was held in the chapel. The service grew in size. We moved into the sanctuary.

Ted began teaching me on our new Rodgers Organ, suitable as a concert theater organ. He also took my over to Trinity Lutheran Church to play a real pipe organ.

Artwork by Mark E. Dykstra. Story, page 31.

Private tasting parties by appointment. Use website form or call 503-201-4545

32 / Columbia River Reader / Holiday Edition Nov. 25, 2019 – Jan. 10, 2020

to me by Marion Thuma. She also had taken lessons from Ted Teitzel. All the people whose names I’ve mentioned nurtured my learning of music. My advice to those wishing to learn piano or organ: Practice, practice, practice!

••• Philip Portwood lives in Longviiew, Wash.

“Me & My Piano” Reader Submissions INVITED Describe your funny, sentimental or otherwise unique story about you and your relationship with a musical instrument in 500 words or less and mail to CRR, 1333 14th Ave., Longview, WA 98632, or email to publisher@crreader. com. Note “Me and My Piano” in the subject line and if possible attach/ include a current mugshot and/or a photo of you with your instrument.

Don’t worry about perfect spelling or syntax. If your story is chosen, we will provide editing services and will contact you for additional details or embellishments as needed.

Great Imaging Services Available Locally at PIC With winter weather on the way, the drive to Portland-Vancouver can be an unpleasant adventure. If you need MRI services, skip the traffic and stay close to home.

Pacific Imaging Center features rapid appointment scheduling, experienced techs, state-of-the-art equipment, and prompt return of results to your physician.

Scans done at PIC are read by the fellowshiptrained radiologists at National Orthopedic Imaging Associates. NOIA guarantees that all MRIs will be read by a radiologist with subspecialty training. This means that if you have a knee scan, a radiologist with advanced training and experience in dealing with knees will do the read.

We welcome Kaiser patients with a referral! www.pacificimagingcenter.com

360.501.3444

Columbia River Reader / Holiday Edition Nov. 25, 2019 – Jan. 10, 2020 / 33

Outings & Events

Performing & Fine Arts, Music, Art, Theatre, Literary 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 (contact info, page 21).

Broadway Gallery Artists co-op. Classes for all ages, workshops, paint parties. Featured artists, Nov: Scott McRae (paintings) and Trudy Woods (carved and horsehair pottery); Dec: Guest artists Beth Norwood (paintings) and Stan Gibson (pottery); Jan: Guest artists Linda & Jan Johnson (photography), Jeanette Fedorka (soft sculpture, fused glass). Gallery hours: M-F 10-5:30, Sat 10–4. 1418 Commerce, Longview, Wash. 360-577-0544. www. the-broadway-gallery.com.

McThread’s Art Works Featured artists Michael Metz (ceramics), Ken Knodell (fused FIRST THURSDAY glass) exhibiting Dec. 1–28. Refreshments December 5 served. 1233 Commerce Avenue, Longview.

Hours: Wed–Sat, 11–4. mcthreadsartworks. com Tsuga Gallery Fine arts and crafts by area artists. Thurs-Sat 11–5. 70 Main Street, Cathlamet, Wash. 360-795-0725.

Broadway Gallery Featured guest artists Beth Norwood (paintings), Stan Gibson (pottery) and 35 local gallery members’ works in various media. Reception with acoustic & vocals by Steve Harvey, refreshments. 5:30-7:30pm. 1418 Commerce Ave., Longview, Wash.

McThread’s Art Works “Have a Cuppa with Desserts,” coffee, teas and goodies. Featured artists Michael Metz (ceramics), Ken Knodell (fused glass). 5–7pm.

1233 Commerce Avenue, Longview.

Art Renaissance Team at Teague’s (1267Commerce, Longview), Free Swarovski pencil, see ad, page 35.

FIRST THURSDAY Jan 2

Broadway Gallery Featured guest artists Linda & Jan Johnson (photography), Jeanette Fedorka (soft sculpture, fused glass. Reception music by local artists, refreshments. 5:30-7:30pm. 1418 Commerce Ave., Longview, Wash.

Cowlitz County Museum “First Thursday” will take place on second Thur. Jan 9 due to the 1sts proximity to the new year. 7pm. “Staff Picks,” staff members talk about their favorite items donated to the museum in 2019. 7pm.

404 Allen St., Kelso, Wash.

HOW TO PUBLICIZE YOUR NON-PROFIT EVENT IN CRR Send your noncommercial 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: Jan 10– Feb 20:

by Dec 26 for Jan 10 issue.

Feb 15– Mar 20:

by Jan 27 for Feb 15 issue.

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

34 / Columbia River Reader / Holiday Edition Nov. 25, 2019 – Jan. 10, 2020

Koth Gallery, Longview Public Library Columbia Artists Fall Show, through Nov. 26. 1600 Louisiana Street, Longview, Wash.

Mon-Wed 10am-8pm, Thurs-Sat 10am5pm. Info: Daniel, 360-442-5307.

Forsberg Art Gallery, Lower Columbia College Rose Center for the Arts. LCC Faculty Art Show Nov 12– Dec 5. Gallery open Mon/Wed 12–6, Tues/Wed 10–4.

Free. 1600 Maple St., Longview, Wash. lowercolumbia.edu/gallery Clatskanie Bloom Gallery Artwork from the lower Columbia River region. Wed-Sat, 114. 289 N. Nehalem St. Clatskanie, Oregon.

Info: 503-308-9143. Clatskaniebloom@ gmail.com. clatskaniebloom.com Cowlitz Valley Old Time Music Association Music jam night with open mic, 7–9pm, 1st, 3rd and 5th Fridays, Catlin Grange, 205 Shawnee, Kelso, Wash. Guitar, mandolin, banjo, fiddle, piano, accordion. Traditional country and/or bluegrass. Dance floor open.

Info: Archie Beyl, 360-636-3835.

Community Ar ts Work shop/Alcove Gallery Free instruction and materials, 1–3pm, Mon–Thurs. Located in the CAP building,1526 Commerce, Longview, Wash. Open Mon–Thurs 12–3:30pm.

Info: 360-425-3430 x 306, or email capartsworkshop@gmail.com.

LCC Student Pottery Sale. Friday, Dec. 6, 9– 3, Sat, Dec.7, 10–2. Main Bldg, Room 104, Lower Columbia College, Longview, Wash.

Lower Columbia College Music/Theatre Wollenberg Auditorium, Rose Center for the Arts, 1600 Maple, Longview, Wash.

Jazz Ensemble Concert, Dec 3, 7:30pm.

Choir A Dickens Carol, Dec. 6, 7:30pm.

Quarterly Student Recital, Dec. 10, Instrumental 5:30/Choir 7pm.

Holiday Artisan Faire Dec. 5. 9–5; Dec. 6, 9–5. Cassava Café, corner of Broadway and 14th Ave., Longview, Wash. Local artists’ glass work, jewelry, silversmithing, fabric art, woodworking, photography, up-cycled art. Artisan Guild of Mt St Helens. Also collecting pet food, monetary donations, used towels and blankets to benefit The Humane Society of Cowlitz County.

Michael Allen Harrison Holiday Concert Mon, Dec. 9, 6pm.Well-known pianist. $20 per person. Food and drinks sold separately during the event. Proceeds benefit Columbia City Community Hall.

Tickets: City Hall, 1840 2nd St, PO Box 189, Columbia City, OR 97018. Info: 503-397-4010, columbia-city-org.

Vancouver Symphony Orchestra with renowned soprano Charlotte Pistor and dancers of the Columbia Dance Company.

Sat, Dec. 14, 3pm; Sun, Dec 15, 7pm, Skyview Concert Hall, 1300 NW139th St., Vancouver, Wash. Tickets: Call 360-7357278 or visit vancouversymphony.org.

Outings & Events

Recreation, Outdoors Gardening, History, Pets, Self-Help Cowlitz County Museum Winter Festival, Dec. 8; First Thurs Jan. 9, see details, page 34. Museum Open Tues-Sat 10am–4pm. 405 Allen St, Kelso, Wash. www.co.cowlitz.wa.us/museum. Info: 360577-3119.

“Deck the Hall” Redmen Hall annual open house and sale, Nov. 29-Dec. 15.

History and art, books, gifts, craft vendors.

1394 SR-4, Skamokawa, Wash. ThursSun, 12-4pm. Info: 360-795-3007 or email fos1894@gmail.com.

Appelo Archives Center Historic exhibits, Naselle-Grays River area. 1056 State Route 4, Naselle. T-Fri 9–2, Sat 10–2, or by appt. 360-484-7103. appeloarchives.org.

Holiday Prime Rib Dinner Dec 21, 2pm. $18.

Rainier Senior Center, 48 W. 7th St., Rainier, Ore. Limited seating. Get tickets early. Call to reserve table for 8 or more. 503-369-6382 In Their Footsteps Lecture series. Sun, Dec. 15: “Historic Winter Transportation,” by Richard Brenne, writer/producer. 1pm, Netul Room, Lewis and Clark Nat’l Historical Park, 92343 Fort Clatsop Road, Astoria, Ore. Free.

Info: 503-861-2471.

See’s Christmas Candy Sale Fundraiser for Friends of St. John’s Scholarships. Cash (or payroll deduction) only. Dec. 2–6, 8am–4pm in the PeaceHealth Cafe. Info: Kathy Davis, 360-751-1048.

America’s Sweethearts charm audiences of all ages while navigating their way through a variety of trios, duets and solo features, all with a slice of oldfashioned holiday fun.

In Longview, Sat-Sun, Dec. 7-8, 4–9pm Walk throughout the building to view hundreds of nativities displayed in an authentic, Jerusalem-like village, the white room, and Around the World and Traditional Christmas rooms. Musical performances by local artists every hour. Allow at least 20 minutes to view the displays. Free admission and family-friendly. Children’s room available for hands-on activities. Hosted by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and held at 900 11th Ave, Longview.

HOLIDAY SHOW

AMERICA’S SWEETHEARTS

Sunday • Dec. 15 • 3pm

$18 General • $16 Students/Seniors • $14 Children

Birkenfeld Theatre Clatskanie Cultural Center, Clatskanie, Ore.

HOLIDAY CHEERS!

Columbia River Reader / Holiday Edition Nov. 25, 2019 – Jan. 10, 2020 / 35

the Lower Columbia

Informer

by Perry Piper

GREETINGS FROM SOUTH AMERICA PART 3:

Salt flats and high-altitude hiking

D

eciding to take the train to Machu Picchu for a day trip, I was treated to some spectacular mountain views, just like the bus ride from Cusco to Lima afterwards. I never knew the rocks were supposed to look like a face gazing towards the heavens, but that’s clear as day. The vista of the ancient city was stellar, of course, but the best part was the deluxe dinner train back, The Voyager.

I was seated with a German couple and a youthful, hilarious 50-year-old Florida gentlemen. We were laughing the entire four-hour ride home despite being late because the train kept slamming on the brakes, causing our silverware to fly off the table. Looking around, I noted that every guest was bracing their drinks and cutlery to prevent future accidents. To make up

for this, our already fantastic dinner was enhanced with about five extra free drinks per person! Our main server was Russian and made it a swell old time, being quite the comedic fellow.

Onwards north, the Peruvian buses were the most luxurious yet, including hot meals and movie screens with newer theatrical releases! In the tiny town called Ica, I found a hub of spirits known as El Catador, while discovering Nietto’s creme of Lucuma, a local avocado-looking fruit. It’s such a delicious drink, you could probably down the whole bottle in one sitting and the $10 price does not deter. Sadly, I was disappointed by Lima and its world-revered dining scene. It’s as if the town has fallen asleep at the stove, relying only on their reputation. Both the low-and higher-end restaurants

36 / Columbia River Reader / Holiday Edition Nov. 25, 2019 – Jan. 10, 2020

were massively overhyped. While I couldn’t get into the restaurant rated number six in the world, Central — with its three-month reservation waiting list — I felt that Maido, at number 10, was much inferior to Borago, rated number 26, in Santiago, Chile, and only a bit better than Leo, number 49 in Bogota, Colombia, this last one being about one-third the price!

Unfortunately, more protests shut down Ecuador the day after I arrived, so I spent the week relaxing and having a few meals with a fellow American from the journey there before flying on

to Bogota, Colombia, because the bus system was yet again unavailable due to rocky politics. This time perhaps the most serious because the gas prices were raised about 30-100 percent for standard and diesel, respectively, overnight!

Colombia is starting to feel like home, being here now for the second time and especially after the endlessly sweaty and mosquito-ridden Cartagena and coming back to Bogota a second time on the same trip. This high-elevation mountainous region layered with cloud and rain is my paradise. I have great wifi, perhaps the best I’ve come cont page 37

from page 36

across in South America, a very comfy bed and wonderfully aesthetically designed lodging here at Bandido Hostels, which are following the new trend of poshtels, or luxury hostels, all for $5 per day! Uber is about $3 one way and walking anywhere is always a lovely affair.

Exceeding my expectations, the Colombian city of Medellin is incredible! Vast mountains surrounding the valley are captivating and the most high value public transit yet, at a mere 75¢ connects anywhere the north and south! A few feet from my hostel was a sort of gas stationlike food stop under the freeway that presented a very filling $3 meal complete with steak, rice, salad, beans, a drink and dessert. East about three hours was the gem of the country, Gautape, a large lake with a stunning collection of peninsulas, islands, houses and a Rio de Janeiro-like Sugarloaf rock overlooking it all.

It’s a must-see for all Colombian visitors.

After walking down from the view point, I found a bar with probably the best outside view in the world!

Among the latest Bogota treasures, Museo del Tequila delivered six quality samples alongside a very sour lemon shooter and a Bloody Mary.

Bubble Waffle is exactly as it sounds, a bulbous sort of waffle cone with ice

cream and chocolate in the center, the world class restaurant Leo and Candy Gomas, curing my homesickness for American candy like full size Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, something I’ve been searching for across my entire four-month trip!

I’m quite exhausted from moving around so much and will relax here for the next month finishing my CRR duties and finally completing the books, games and television series I’ve been missing.

headsets to run around a maze, which to us will appear to be some kind of spaceship or moviethemed environment, followed by a concert by one of my favorite bands in high school and finishing with some fine dining. On the way back to Longview, I’ll see my second cousin and her family in Montana.

I’m excited to return by the holidays, ready to assist people with their computers, visit friends and family, and all the while getting my regular fill of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups.

In exactly one month from the time I’m writing this, I’ll fly back to New York City to visit my Polish friend I met last summer in Australia hiking around the famous red rock, Uluru.

We’ll finally try The Void VR, fitting us with backpack computers and special

••• During his travels, Perry Piper is working remotely for CRR and can refer clients to a technical consultant filling in for him to help with their computer needs. Reach Perry via email (perrypiper@ hotmail.com) or text message 360-270-0608.

Photos, clockwise from top: Museo del Tequila, Bogata, Columbia; Gautape; Leo Fine Dining; Medellinl

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Columbia River Reader / Holiday Edition Nov. 25, 2019 – Jan. 10, 2020 / 37

Clatskanie Fultano’s Pizza 770 E. Columbia River Hwy Family style with unique pizza offerings, hot grill items & more!

Sun-Thurs 11am–9pm. Fri-Sat 11am–10pm. 503-728-2922

Ixtapa Fine Mexican Restaurant 640 E. Columbia River Hwy Fine Mexican cuisine. Daily specials.

The best margarita in town. Daily drink specials. Sports bar.

M-Th 11am–9:30pm; Fri & Sat 11am–11:30pm; Sun 11am–9pm. 503-728-3344

Rainier

COLUMBIA RIVER

dining guide

Longview

Homestyle cooking from the 1960s-1970. All natural ingredients. Beer and wine available.

Open Wed. thru Sun, 7am–8pm. Closing Dec. 15. 1140 15th Ave., Longview. See ad, page 6.

The Carriage Restaurant & Lounge

Full breakfast, lunch and dinner 6am– 9pm. Full bar in lounge, open 6am.

Three happy hours daily (8–10am, 12– 2pm, 5–7pm). Group meeting room, free use with $150 food/drink purchases.

1334 12th Ave. 360-425-8545.

Parker’s Restaurant & 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.

360-967-2333 1260 Commerce Ave. Serving lunch & dinner Mon–Sat 11am–10pm. Full bar, banquet space, American comfort food. 360-703-3904. www.millcitygrill.com. See ad, page 12.

Country Folks Deli 1329 Commerce Ave., Longview. Serving lunch and dinner. Sandwiches, soups, salads. Open M-Sat 11am. 360-425-2837.

Conestoga Pub Cornerstone Café 102 East “A” Street Microbrews, wines & spirits Prime rib Friday & Sat. Open M-F 6am–8pm; Sat-Sun 7am–8pm.

503-556-8772.

Evergreen Pub & Café 115-117 East 1st Street Burgers, halibut, prime rib, full bar.

503-556-9935. See ad, page 12.

Goble Tavern 70255 Columbia River Hwy. (Milepost 31, Hwy. 30) Food, beer & wine + full bar, Live entertainment. 503-556-4090.

See ad page 12.

Luigi’s Pizza 117 East 1st Street, Rainier 503-556-4213 Pizza, spaghetti, burgers, beer & wine.

See ad, page 12.

Freddy’s Just for the Halibut. Cod, halibut & tuna fish and chips, oysters & clams., award-winning clam chowder. Prime rib every Thurs. Beer and wine. M-W 10–8, Th-Sat 10–9, Sun 11–8.

1110 Commerce 360-414-3288.

See ad, page 12.

Hop N Grape 924 15th Ave., Longview M–Th 11am–8pm; Fri & Sat 11am– 9pm; Sun 11am–7pm. BBQ meat slowcooked on site. Pulled pork, chicken brisket, ribs, turkey, salmon. Worldfamous mac & cheese. 360-577-1541 See ad page 11.

Masthead Castaways 1124 Washington Way, Longview.

Famous fish & chips, gourmet burgers, Chowders. 13 beers on tap. Extra parking in back.

360-232-8500.

Grant’s in the Monticello Hotel on Longview’s historic Civic Circle. Casual upscale dining. Seafood, steaks, pasta, burgers. M-Th 11-9, FriSat 11-10. 360-442-8234. See ad, page 11.

38 / Columbia River Reader / Holiday Edition Nov. 25, 2019 – Jan. 10, 2020

St. Helens, Oregon

The Original Pietrio’s Pizzeria

614 Commerce Ave., Longview. 18 varieties of pizza. Salad bar, Lunch buffet all-you-can-eat. Beer & wine.

Mon-Fri open 11am, Sat-Sun 12 Noon.

360-353-3512.

Sunshine Pizza & Catering 2124 Columbia Blvd.

Hot pizza, cool salad bar. Beer & wine.

503-397-3211 See ad, page 40.

Scappoose

Alston Pub & Grub 25196 Alston Rd., Rainier 503-556-4213 11 beers on tap, cocktails.

Open daily 11am.

503-556-9753 See ad, page 12.

Castle Rock

Porky’s Public House 561 Industrial Way, Longview Slow-roasted prime rib Fri & Sat, flat iron steaks, 1/3-lb burgers, fish & chips.

33 draft beers. Full bar. Family-friendly, weekly jazz and acoustic dinner hour sets on Weds. 360-636-1616. See ad, page 12.

Red Kitchen 848 15th Ave., Longview. Cocktails, taps, vino. Traditional diner fare, breakfast, lunch, dinner. Sandwiches, burgers, funky comfort food, incl. Bacon Gouda Mac n Cheese, shepherd’s pie, healthy options. Full service bar, incl 12 taps. 7am–10pm, M-F, 8am–10pm Sat-Sun.

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. 503-5435100.

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. 503-543-3017

Warren Roland Wines 1106 Florida St., Longview. Authentic Italian wood-fired pizza, wine, and beer.

Casual ambience. 5–9pm Wed-Fri, Sat. 11–3.

Teri’s 3225 Ocean Beach Hwy, Longview.

Lunch and dinner. Burgers, steak, seafood, pasta, specials, fresh NW cuisine. Happy Hour. Full bar. Sun-Mon 3–8pm. Tues–Sat 11:30am–9pm.. 360577-0717.

Warren Country Inn 56575 Columbia River Hwy. Fine family dining. Breakfast, lunch & dinner. Fri Prime Rib special, Taco Tuesday. Full bar. M-Th 8am–9:30pm, Fri-Sat 8am–10:30pm, Sun 9am–9pm.

Karaoke Fri & Sat.503-410-5479.

HAPPY NEW YEAR! Restaurant operators: To advertise in 2020 Columbia River Dining Guide, call 360-749-2632

Northwest Foods

By Paul Thompson MAN IN THE KITCHEN CLASSICS Say “Yes” to guests offering to help in the kitchen

W

hen traveling to interesting places, we often bring home new ideas that enrich our lives. I find myself wanting to recreate special recipes from my dining experiences afar.

Here are two dishes to enlist guests’ help with in the kitchen, especially over a football game or extended happy hour prior to dinner. Get your main course cooking before guests arrive, then enlist or accept offers of help in the kitchen. Your helper-guests will be feel useful and proud of “their” dish as you share the kudos.

Best wishes for happy holidays, and Bon Appetit!

W

hen we think of Italian food, pasta comes to mind. It dominates every Italian restaurant menu. But Italy is a big country. The North is very different from the South. They grow different crops, eat different foods cooked in different ways. Most traditional Italian restaurants in this country promote the southern style.

In Milan and northern Italy , however, the emphasis is on rice, not pasta. And risotto is their inspiration, their measure of a perfect dish.

In the movie, “Big Night” (1996 starring Stanley Tucci) about a struggling Italian restaurant run by two brothers, risotto was a sore point between them. The maitre d’ partner argues that risotto is not cost-effective and should be taken off the menu. It takes too much time, too much stirring, he says. But his brother, the chef, insists that without risotto, theirs would be a second-class restaurant.

Risotto is a creamy rice dish, infused with flavors during its cooking process and with the final addition of cheeses, herbs, vegetables, meats or seafood.

Unlike many recipes, there are strict rules for creating risotto. Vary from the defined path and you have pilaf, a very nice dish, but it’s not risotto. Making risotto goes beyond rules and into ritual.

First, you must use a special Italian rice, Arborio, because of its unique coating of a soft starch, called amylopectin.

Other rice varieties just won’t work.

As the rice is cooked in its traditional way, the starch is released and mixed with the liquid ingredients, creating a silky consistency. I’ve read that in Milan they like it less creamy, while in Venice creamy is preferred, but the cooking process is the same.

••• Retired college professor Paul Thompson lives in Longview. He has written for CRR since its first issue, April 2004, and these days is known as Man in the Kitchen Emeritus.

Basic Risotto Heat 3 Tbl extra-virgin olive oil in a large pan over medium heat, then add 2 cups Arborio rice and stir, coating the rice with the oil. In two or three minutes it will be roasted to a pearl color. Add 1/2-cup white wine and continue stirring.

Let the wine cook away, stirring constantly, until the spoon leaves a trail and you can see the bottom of the pan as you stir.

Add 1/2 cup chicken stock, stir and continue cooking and stirring before adding more stock, just a half-cup at a time, until a total of 8 cups is absorbed. About 20 minutes into the process, test the rice for doneness and add salt and pepper to taste.

Then continue cooking, adding wine or water if needed for a creamy consistency, until the rice is done, about 10-15 minutes more. If desired, toward the end, add 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese and some butter, chopped Italian parsley, mushrooms, vegetables, saffron, thyme, chives, tomatoes, basil, rosemary — whatever you may choose.

On my visit to Paris with the Piper family a few years ago, we met Marthe Brohan through a Market Tour/French Cooking Class, in which we prepared our dinner in her kitchen. The group met at her apartment and were soon walking the paths of the amazing, expansive local fresh outdoor market, looking for dinner ingredients. A former restaurateur, Marthe was acquainted with many of the vendors, raising our expectations that she knew her craft, as well.

Soon we were back in her kitchen, washing, peeling and slicing veggies while she cut up the guinea hens, small, young chickens about 2 lbs. each. Most whole chickens in our markets weigh 4 to 5 lbs. Together, we also prepared a surprisingly good salad featuring zucchini, a vegetable that’s never been near the top of my “desire to eat” list.

After cutting the ends off the small zucchini, we peeled them in broad stripes, leaving about half the peel behind. Using a mandolin, we sliced the zucchini into nickel-size thicknesses, ready for the additional ingredients.

This “French Zucchini” is a tasty dish we’ve since prepared more than once.

It would be a colorful addition to holiday tables. Joyeuses fêtes, mes amis.

French Zucchini

Serves 6–8 2 lbs. small zucchini 20 cherry tomatoes, halved 4 oz. pine nuts 2 Tbl. fresh basil, chopped 2 Tbl fresh mint, chopped 7 Tbl extra virgin olive oil 2 Tbl. lemon juice 15 whole black olives Sea salt Freshly ground black pepper Wash and peel the zucchini, leaving strips of peel for “striped” effect.

Slice very thinly (about 1/8-inch) with a “mandoline.” In a large bowl, combine lemon juice and olive oil with salt, pepper and all the herbs.

Add zucchini and let stand in a cool place for 2 hours, mixing every 30 min. Heat pine nuts in a frying pan until golden brown. Add toasted pine nuts to the zucchini (after the 2 hours), toss gently and serve with French bread and cheese on the side for a complete meal. Don’t forget the French wine!

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Sun: 11 - 4 We are on the “right” side of Rockcrest.

Columbia River Reader / Holiday Edition Nov. 25, 2019 – Jan. 10, 2020 / 39

Astronomy

SKY REPORT 11/25/19–1/10/20

Venus to Saturn: “Let’s meet up Dec.10”

By Ted Gruber Evening Sky Jupiter, Venus, and Saturn are all visible in the early evening as the southwest sky darkens. Venus is by far the brightest of the three planets, and it appears a little higher in the sky with each passing night. Jupiter and Saturn, on the other hand, appear lower to the horizon each night. Jupiter remains visible through mid-December and Saturn through early January.

In early December, Venus and Saturn appear to get closer to each other each night. They make their closest apparent approach the evening of December 10, when bright Venus appears just below the ringed planet. That night Venus and Saturn form a tight triangle with Pluto appearing just to their east, but you’ll need a large telescope and dark skies to see that distant world. After the 10th, Venus and Saturn appear to move farther apart each night.

JOIN THE FIN Help light up the longvies night!

Winter Solstice Lantern Walk at Lake Sacajawea

Just after sunset on December 27, the new moon appears between Venus See story, page 31 and Saturn low in the southwest sky. The next evening, the moon makes a much closer approach to Venus, appearing just below the bright planet.

Morning Sky Mercury and Mars are visible in the southeast sky just before sunrise.

Reddish Mars rises around 5:00am, followed by brighter Mercury about an hour later. But if you want to see Mercury, you’ll need to do so by midDecember, as the innermost planet gets lost in the morning sunlight after that.

The moon appears just above Mars on the morning of December 22, and just east of the red planet the morning of the 23rd.

Meteor Showers

The Geminids meteor shower is active from December 4-17, peaking the night of December 1314. The Geminids are often one of the strongest showers o f t h e y e a r, b u t unfortunately this year the nearly-full moon will significantly reduce the number of meteors visible during the peak. The

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40 / Columbia River Reader / Holiday Edition Nov. 25, 2019 – Jan. 10, 2020

meteors appear to radiate from the constellation Gemini high in the eastern sky (almost directly above).

The Ursids meteor shower is active from December 17-26, peaking the night of December 22-23, and the moon won’t be an issue for the Ursids.

Although the Ursids typically produce less than 10 meteors per hour at the peak, some predictions call for a slight outburst this year, and the shower might produce up to 30 meteors per hour at the peak. The meteors appear to radiate from the constellation Ursa Minor (the little dipper), which lies in the northern sky roughly halfway between the more recognizable Ursa Major (the big dipper) and W-shaped Cassiopeia.

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Kelso resident Ted Gruber is president of Friends of Galileo. He makes a regular report to fellow members of the family-friendly astronomy club which meets monthly in Longview. For info about FOG, visit friendsofgalileo.com.

JANUARY ISSUE COMING JAN 10

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Al-Anon and Alateen: Help for Families and Friends of Alcoholics

H

olidays are supposed to be joyous and festive occasions — bringing good food, good friends, laughter and happy memories.

But for families and friends of problem drinkers, the holidays take their toll. Celebrations are marred with worry, anger, resentment and fear.

If you are concerned about someone else’s drinking, Al-Anon Family Groups can help you do something about it. Give yourself the gift of Al-Anon, it is free and confidential. It is something you can give yourself any time of the year, but it is a special gift during the holidays when families and friends of alcoholics are most vulnerable.

For information about Al-Anon in Longview and the surrounding area, call 1-888-425-2666.

HOLIDAY CONSTELLATIONS

Astronomy

Impress friends on an evening stroll Point out beautiful winter night sky delights

F

all is here in full force, and winter is barging in as well, diminishing times of star viewing. But not all is lost, we will get to have a few clear nights and I don’t want you to miss out on what is appearing in the night sky.

One of the intriguing little items in the eastern sky is the little group of stars known as the Pleiades. It may look like a small cup and handle, but it is not the ‘Little Dipper.’ The Pleiades are a group of six bright stars; if your eyesight is really good you may see more. This is known as an asterism (not a constellation) it is part of the larger constellation of Tarus the Bull.

Think of the Pleiades as a fly on the back of the Bull. Binoculars will give you a great view of these stars, and will bring out many more.

Several constellations are high overhead during the late autumn months and they are still quite visible during early to mid winter. There is plenty of time to view and get to know these less-famous star patterns.

Auriga: Not Obama’s salad greens The first constellation is Auriga.

This is a good-sized constellation, with a slightly crunched hexagon shape, with five fairly bright stars and one very bright star, now rising in the northeast. It has been a known grouping of stars for millennia. The Greeks, Romans and Chinese, among many other civilizations have used the prominent star we call Capella,

as the base point of many different constellations. Today, commonly known as the Charioteer, it has been known as the Shepherd, the Mule, and even Adam (kneeling, with lambs on his shoulders). Capella, the bright star is among the first of the bright stars that make up the Winter Hexagon, an imaginary hexagon connecting the six brightest stars of the winter constellations, with Orion filling the center. Capella is a binary star system with both stars being larger than our sun and are “only” 43 light years away.

Auriga contains three Messier objects: M36, M37, M38, all open star clusters and all visible through binoculars, though not very bright.

cannot make out any individual stars.

M31 is actually in the constellation of Andromeda. The farthest left star of the “square” is the head of Andromeda as she leans into the neck of Pegasus.

Find the second star after her head, a faint star is the first in line, the second star is brighter and look up another two stars and you will find the fuzzy galaxy.

Think of it as the jewel on her uplifted hand. On a clear cold dark night, with reasonable eyesight (meaning wearing glasses, too), you can faintly see M31 without binoculars. It is the farthest object in the night sky visible with the naked eye. If this galaxy was a little brighter, it would have been the center of a lot of mythological lore.

Pegasus, a large square shaped constellation is passing overhead right now.

This is the flying horse that Princess Andromeda rode to escape the sea monster (or her mother, who was sacrificing her). Pegasus is the constellation you look for when searching for the nearest spiral galaxy, known as M31. This, too, is visible in binoculars as a fuzzy grey ball of light. Unlike a globular cluster, you

All this may seem boring, but again, this will impress your friends when out on a chilly clear evening. Ladies, go ahead and show off your inner geekiness.

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.

Orion: Winter Dominator

By Christmas, the famous constellation of Orion will be in the eastern sky, dominating the sky all winter long.

This is a sure sign that winter is upon us. Look for the “cloud” in the middle of Orion’s sword that hangs down from the three star ‘belt’ (M42). This is a star nursery. The light left this nursery when the Vikings were raiding England.

Binoculars will bring it out, and a telescope will give a lot of detail. Other than the Moon, this should be

By Greg Smith your first stop with your new Christmas telescope or old one if you can still find it buried in the attic or closet.

Cygnus the Swan, Cancer Around December 25th, at 9pm look to the northwest, you will see Cygnus the Swan setting, with its head down looking like a cross planted at the horizon. In the northeast, you will find the constellation of Cancer rising.

There is a naked eye (better seen with binoculars) open cluster of stars (M44, the beehive) in the center of the “Y” shaped group of four stars. This part of the constellation is also known as the Manger. How appropriate for this season.

By January, the full Winter Hexagon will be above the horizon.

The six stars of the Hexagon are: Capella in Auriga, Aldebaran in Taurus, Rigel in Orion, Sirius in Canis Major, Procyon in Canis Minor and Pollux in Gemini. There is a seventh, Castor also in Gemini, but it is not as bright as the others.

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coming soon, I have something to recommend for binocular owners. This book is titled, Star Gazing for Everyone with Binoculars, by Greg Babcock. It is a great guide for those who have only binoculars, or any sky enthusiast, to take a quick look at what is up there.

Price: $24.95 on his website, www. stargazingnow.com.

If you have a budding star gazer, whether young or mature, take a look at my list of Christmas (or even birthday or Valentine’s Day) gifts for the aspiring amateur astronomer. See page 42.

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These gifts will put stars Greg’s 2019 List in their eyes

star gazing with a 4” or larger size telescope. They both are spiral bound so the pages lie flat.

Editor’s note: Of course, the books listed are available online, most notably from Amazon. But please support small businesses and consider ordering your books through local independent booksellers.

Young Children’s Books What Are Stars? By Katie Daynes.

Usborne House, England. A Lift-theFlap Very First Questions and Answers book. For young children 3 years+.

Crinkle, Crinkle, Little Star. By Justin Krasner and Emma Yarlett. Workman Publishing. A hardback feel and touch bedtime story book for young children 3+. I bought both for my granddaughter for Christmas.

For older children and adults

A Planisphere is actually the best way to start. A Planisphere and your naked eyes are the true starting point of learning the night sky.

A subscription to Astronomy Magazine or Sky & Telescope Magazine. This will keep you up-to-date on everything that is happening.

My list of favorite aides in star gazing and enjoying the night sky.

1. Planisphere - The Night Sky 40° 50° (Large; North Latitude). Here is your map to the night sky. This is the absolute most basic thing a star gazer MUST have. You can’t be without this. $12; a smaller version for $7.50.

2. Stargazing for Everyone with Binoculars,

by Greg Babcock. Greg Babcock lives in Camas, Washington. He does most of his viewing here in Washington and Oregon, so he knows the problems with local viewing. This book is

clear and easy to read and follow. He uses three uncluttered sky maps for each season: one looking south, one overhead and one looking north. He does recommend 10X50 binoculars but lower sizes can be used. Use the binoculars that you have. $25 on his website, www.stargazingnow.com.

3. Sky & Telescope’s Binocular Highlights: 99 Celestial Sights for Binocular Users,

by Gary Seronik. Published by Sky and Telescope Magazine, this is an easy way to see some very interesting deeper sky objects that a telescope might overpower. If you already have binoculars, this is the book to start your journey to the stars. Check Amazon or Sky and Telescope for current prices.

4. Sky & Telescope’s Pocket Sky Atlas

by Roger W. Sinnott. Published by Sky and Telescope Magazine. I have found this to be an excellent star atlas.

It’s 6.5” X 9”and very handy. There is also a jumbo edition that some say is extremely useful when doing serious

5 . Tu r n L e f t A t O r i o n b y G u y Consolmagno (Vatican Observatory) and Dan M. Davis (Stony Brook University). Cambridge University Press. Lots of detailed illustrations on how to find objects in the sky. Very good descriptions of telescopes and how they work.

5. Night Watch by Terrence Dickerson.

Gives information on telescopes and how to choose one, plus star charts to use with binoculars and telescopes.

(My first one.)

6. Apps on phones or tablets are good, too. Make sure your phone or tablet has an accelerometer and gyroscope to use the point-and-look features.

(Most do.)

Already have a telescope? Any of the above items and the following: 7. The Year-Round Messier Marathon Field Guide. By Harvard C. Pennington Published by WillmannBell, Inc. This is a hardbound book.

For the Science Geek: 8. Astrophysics is Easy! by Mike Inglis.

This is great for understanding how all the science works behind all the

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42 / Columbia River Reader / Holiday Edition Nov. 25, 2019 – Jan. 10, 2020

cont next page

Gifts

from page 42

discoveries that have been made in astronomy. There is very little math, mostly high school level stuff. The good point is that it goes well with a sky atlas, in telling you which stars in the sky demonstrate what each chapter is explaining.

Binoculars: The best way to start learning the objects of the night sky.

You probably already have a pair, so use those. 7x35 and 7x50 are great.

10x50 is probably best, but you will have to brace yourself to stop the shaking of your hands when holding them. Anything bigger will need a tripod to hold them steady.

Original • Local • Organic All about the good life Things to do, places to go

Telescopes: Do not buy a cheap one from the discount store, unless it has an aperture of 4” or more. Those small telescopes that brag about 500X are false claims. A two-inch wide aperture telescope is only good to 100X. Rule of thumb, 50X per inch of aperture or 2X per millimeter. These will allow you to see the Moon and the five naked eye planets. Some star clusters

and the nebula in Orion, along with double stars, Alcor and Mizar in the handle of the Big Dipper. Reliable brands are, Celestron, Meade and Orion (Telescopes.com.).

A 2” computerized ‘GoTo’ scope can be a fine starting scope too, as it will take you straight to what you are looking for after star alignment.

Purchase a larger telescope only if you truly desire to see the deep sky objects like galaxies and will use it. If you get one, come meet us at the Friends of Galileo Astronomy Club and we will help you get to know how to use it.

Watch CRR’s astronomy pages, visit our website, friendsofgalileo.com, or look us up on Facebook.

•••

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44 / Columbia River Reader / Holiday Edition Nov. 25, 2019 – Jan. 10, 2020

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“Terminator: Dark Fate,” and Zombieland: Double Tap”

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Where to find the new Reader It’s delivered all around the River by the 15th of each month. Here’s the list of handy, regularlyrefilled sidewalk box and rack locations where you can pick up a copy any time of day and even in your bathrobe ...

RAINIER LONGVIEW Post Office Post Office Cornerstone Bob’s (rack, main check-out) Rainier In front of 1232 Commerce Ave Hardware (rack, In front of 1323 Commerce Ave entry) YMCA Earth ‘n’ Sun Fred Meyer (rack, service desk area) (on Hwy 30) Fibre Fed’l CU - Commerce Ave El Tapatio Monticello Hotel (front entrance) (entry rack) Kaiser Permanente DEER ISLAND St. John Medical Center Deer Island Store (rack, Park Lake Café) Cowlitz Black Bears box office COLUMBIA CITY - Post Office LCC Student Center WARREN Mini-Mart next to Regents Warren Country Inn Indie Way Diner ST HELENS Columbia River Reader Chamber of Commerce 1333 14th Ave. Sunshine Pizza KELSO Post Office Heritage Bank Olde Town (Wild Currant) Visitors’ Center/ Kelso-Longview Safeway Chamber of Commerce SCAPPOOSE For more KALAMA locations or the Post Office Fibre Fed’l CU pick-up point Road Runner Kalama Shopping Center nearest you, Fred Meyer

corner of First & Fir visit crreader. (east entrance) com and click McMenamin’s Harbor Lodge Fultano’s “Find the WOODLAND Ace Hardware Magazine” Visitors’ Center under WARRENTON, OR “Features.”

CASTLE ROCK FredMeyer Lacie Rha’s Cafe (32 Cowlitz W.) CATHLAMET Parker’s Restaurant (box, entry) Cathlamet Pharmacy Visitors’ Center Tsuga Gallery 890 Huntington Ave. N. Puget Island Ferry Landing Exit 49, west side of I-5 RYDERWOOD Café porch CLATSKANIE Post Office Chevron / Mini-Mart Wauna mill (parking area)

SKAMOKAWA Skamokawa General Store Redmen Hall NASELLE Appelo Archives & Café Johnson’s One-Stop

Linda Hamilton in “Terminator: Dark Fate.”

T

im Miller’s “Terminator: Dark Fate” is the latest film in the “Terminator” franchise. Will it be the last one? Some people think so; I am not so sure. It is not that I think “Dark Fate” is such a wonderful motion picture. I just think that the original film has been such a hit over the years that many people of all ages see each version of the film as something to cause people to bow in adoration, rather than to see it for what it is— another action film with a good cast, a memorable plot and some superb special effects. Plus, you have Arnold Schwarzenegger who rode his role in the original film to the governorship of California. I don’t know how else to account for it.

I am also glad to see Linda Hamilton again; I think she is a competent actor. It is good to see her in any film.

I don’t know how much money will be coming down the pike for this film, however, so far the $185 million film has generated only about $124 million dollars since Nov. 3. Given its global screening, however, I expect that the film will make money. I don’t know how much Mr. Schwarzenegger made on the film, but I am sure it is enough to keep him in luxury for many years.

I can imagine some film critics will take great pleasure in tearing the film to million dollar shreds, but I saw it as just another action film with a good cast including the stars and “Dani” Dr. Bob Blackwood, professor emeritus of the City Colleges of Chicago, lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Ramos, Mackenzie Davis, and Edward Furlong. Like most good action films, it will be memorable, though not exactly elegant.

Schwarzenegger seemed a bit slow in performance at first, but he picked up his action as the film developed. Will “Terminator: Dark Fate” be regarded as a memorable film? Probably only to the hard core action fans who will see it only two or three times, though that is enough to make a difference to the sales of the film. Well, let’s just say “peace” and let it go. I doubt if anyone could make a better one on this subject; I also don’t look forward to seeing another one on this subject.

I

didn’t expect to see another film on Zombie Land with Woody Harrelson and Jesse Eisenberg, but, boy, was I surprised. The people want that movie and Emma Stone, Abigail Breslin, and Zoey Deutsch are happy to give it to them. “Zombieland: Double Tap” cost $42 million and has made $87 million so far.

I like the concept of Reuben Fleischer’s film more than the film itself. It just seems repetitious. Having written that, I did have a few laughs during the viewing of the film. Woody Harrelson is a wonderful comic. I just found the film, however, not exactly well written. It seemed to be at a loss for laughs at certain points. It wasn’t painful to watch, I just kept hoping for more, which I had found to some extent in the original film. I can only hope that if you see it, you will have a few laughs too and will be able to see humor that I may have missed. Best wishes to you all.

•••

Columbia River Reader / Holiday Edition Nov. 25, 2019 – Jan. 10, 2020 / 45

the spectator by ned piper

Millions of autumn leaves

I

was humming a tune and raking leaves from a patch of lawn beside our house when CRR astronomy writer, Greg Smith, and his wife Margaret walked by on their daily constitutional. “My, look at all the leaves,” Margaret said, eyeing the healthy collection of dry leaves that had accumulated there.

“Yes,” I said, aren’t they pretty?”

Greg added that they have a large tree in their yard, too, that keeps them busy raking at this time of the year.

“I read somewhere,” Margaret said, “that an oak tree produces a million leaves every year.”

I’m now thinking, after having spent several days raking oak leaves in our backyard, that whoever made the million leaf estimate drastically underestimated the count.

Another friend suggested that I purchase one of those powerful (and noisy) leaf blowers. I don’t know, I doubt I will do that as, for some reason, I really enjoy the action of raking leaves, and then disposing of the piles that dot the yard. Unfortunately, oak leaves don’t seem to do well as compost. They just don’t decompose like, say, maple leaves.

We are talking with some of our neighbors about creating a shared compost

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bin in the alley, a place where we can all contribute to recycling grass, leaves and certain kitchen leftovers. I hope that comes to pass. Stay tuned.

I notice that most of our neighbors, me included, rake or blow our fallen leaves into the streets. I would like to commend the Longview City Street Department for periodically sending either a street sweeper or a frontloader and truck to haul away the piles of leaves. This is a fantastic service that requires constant attention. (Editor’s note: It is intended only for leaves from City-owned trees. Be sure to pick out all the co-mingled leaves that fall off from private trees.)

I have yet to figure out how to remove the leaves that build up in the crevices of our roof. I’m not so foolish as to climb up there to rake them off. I may have to hire someone who is more agile to take care of that.

The oak that grows in our backyard is an amazing tree. Its branches spread over the entire yard. It is an ecosystem in its own regard. There are even ferns growing in its nooks and crannies. A couple of squirrels live in a nest made of leaves. Birds love it and the tree gives us cooling shade all summer long.

When we purchased the house, the former owners told me, “This is a selfpruning tree.” I wasn’t sure what they meant but I know now. It is just that.

All year long, things are falling from the tree. Tiny sticks and twigs, slightly larger branches and, of course, autumn leaves. I saw one of the former owners recently. He asked how we like the house. I told him we love it. I also mentioned that I go out in the yard every day and play pick-up sticks with the little branches that fall off the tree during the night.

And, by the way ... one of the songs I frequently hum during my “treetending tasks” is one of my favorites, “Autumn Leaves,” sung by Eva Cassidy.

PLUGGED IN TO

COWLITZ PUD Veterans Honoring Veterans

By Alice Dietz

E

very November, Cowlitz PUD takes time to honor the Utility’s Veterans who make up more than 16 percent of our PUD workforce. We acknowledge each Veteran and give them a gift to show our appreciation for their service.

In the past year, our Veterans decided that rather than receive a gift, they wanted to do something to honor the Veterans in our community. This year, Cowlitz PUD launched our second annual Veteran’s Day Drive.

Working with the HEVIN Veteran’s service, for the month of November, the PUD employees are raising funds to purchase gift cards for our veterans.

One of our own Veterans, meterman Tony Park, spoke a few words to the crowd. A former Army Veteran, Tony described how he has everything he needs and being able to share the donations with local Veterans in need is more of an honor than receiving a gift. Our Veterans deciding that they would like to honor rather than be honored is a wonderful example of the qualities that it takes to be a Veteran.

••• Alice Dietz is Communications/Public Relations Manager at Cowlitz PUD. Reach her at adietz@cowlitzpud.org, or 360-5019146.

••• Ned Piper is enjoying the football, leafraking and watching the continuing drama in Washington, D.C., and the early stages of the next political season.

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46 / Columbia River Reader / Holiday Edition Nov. 25, 2019 – Jan. 10, 2020

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Columbia River Reader / Holiday Edition Nov. 25, 2019 – Jan. 10, 2020 / 47

48 / Columbia River Reader / Holiday Edition Nov. 25, 2019 – Jan. 10, 2020