Talking It Over: ‘An Anatomy of Addiction’ dissects deep-seated pains
The latter part of the 19th century was a time of discovery of many things, including cocaine, which was called a wonder drug at the time. It caught the attention of two men who became famous: Sigmund Freud, the father of psychoanalysis, and William Halsted, who invented modern surgery. Both became addicted to its use at a time when addiction was not known to the medical community.
Wilf Woods: Ag gets some much-deserved attention from Seattle Business magazine
Our state’s agricultural output got notice in Seattle Business magazine’s February issue with an analysis by Bill Virgin, who notes that agriculture has been a bright spot in the state’s economy. We produce some 300 different crops, with apples, of course, leading all of them in value, followed by milk, wheat and potatoes.
Wilf Woods: Time to get rid of the death penalty
I notice some movement in the Legislature to abolish the death penalty, though it is glacially slow at the moment. Although most states in this country still have it, there has been a slow trend to abolish it, with four states in the last five years to do so. Most western nations have done away with capital punishment, but not in the Arab world, nor in China.
Wilf Woods: Looking back on Clovis discovery, 25 years later
It was 25 years ago this spring that two orchard workers in the R&R Orchards, run by Rich Roberts in East Wenatchee, were repairing a sprinkler system when they came across some large points, eight inches long.
Gaye Gavin will be missed
The memorial service for Gaye Gavin, who died in an accident near Entiat, filled the Campbell Resort Conference Room Thursday. She and husband Rick have been a vital part of Chelan for a long time. They owned the Chelan Mirror newspaper for many years, before selling to Bill Forhan. She had been a prominent fixture at Campbell’s restaurant, working as a hostess in recent years.
Wilf Woods: There’s more than new snow on Mission Ridge
This week’s big dump of snow has ski operators happy, and up at Mission Ridge ski area there is more than new snow. The quad chair that serves the top of the mountain underwent a major electrical renovation last summer and fall, and that has been a huge improvement in that important lift.
Otto Ross Jr.: the dean of ski instructors
A ski instructor for sixty years, Otto Ross Jr.’s career of skiing has matched the development of the sport in the Pacific Northwest. Learning to ski sixty years ago took a lot longer than it does today, especially learning to turn with the longer skis used then. Ross began his career as an instructor at Squilchuck’s KPQ ski school run by Kent Addis and Jack Kemp in 1952, after having won a ski instruction certificate at Mount Hood that year. Learning to ski in those years meant a lot of sidestepping up the hills to pack the snow, as there were not even rope tows at first. The amount of time actually skiing was much reduced in comparison with today’s quick learning.
Talking It Over: There’s magic in instruments, old and new
There’s a magic in old musical instruments that has captivated generations of music lovers. The Cremona instrument makers, Stradivari and Guarnari of the 17th century, left violins, violas and cellos that are examples of excellence, worth millions each, that have made them the favorite of collectors.
A place where our four-legged friends could run free
The Chelan-Douglas Land Trust’s “Road Map for the Wenatchee Foothills” outlines potential future developments in a document prepared a couple of years ago with the Trust for Public Lands.
Talking It Over: Machine shop’s work changes with times
Passing by Holland Machine Shop on Orondo Avenue, I noticed that Bob Holland and his wife were both at the office. Their son Mike has been running the place for many years now, but Bob reminded me that he had apprenticed to become a machinist in 1939. He and his wife married the next year, 1940, and next month will celebrate their 72nd anniversary. Machine shop work today is a far cry from that in its heyday when dams were under construction and required a lot a machine work, along with work for the many lumber mills of the area.
Talking It Over: Redistricting— Hoping for the best
Assuming that the congressional redistricting announced the other day becomes reality, our two eastern counties of Chelan and Kittitas, and part of Douglas, will be attached to the west side’s 8th District for the next election. Doc Hastings will no longer represent us in Congress. We have always been a minority to Yakima and the Tri-Cities’ larger populations, but now we’ll be an even smaller one to the west side.
Wilf Woods: Here’s hoping for hope
I have lots of hopes for 2012. Might as well hope, it’s here. With politics taking more and more of our time, there is one wish that will never come true: I would like to be rid of all those unsolicited phone calls and pleas for money.
Wilf Woods: The power of energy security means strength for the future
In yesterday’s, today’s and tomorrow’s world, it is the control of energy that has been the factor that helped make an efficient society. I have been ploughing through Daniel Yergin’s 700-page tome on the history of energy, “The Quest.” He is one of the foremost authorities on the subject, and I remember seeing him comment in a TV interview on our desire for energy independence. His response was that the most important factor was not independence, but energy security.
Wilf Woods: Doctor’s sprained wrists delay job change
Dr. Brenda Baumeister planned to change jobs at the beginning of the new year. She has been a pediatrician at the Wenatchee Valley Medical Center for 15 years and planned to move to Columbia Valley Community Health. But that date has been changed to the first of February after a fall from a tall ladder at Thanksgiving time injured both wrists. Her right one was badly sprained, her left badly broken.
Talking It Over: Pioneer church’s closing marks passing of history
Ray Taylor tells me that his church, First Baptist of Wenatchee, is dissolving due to low membership. This church was the second oldest in town, established in 1894 (next after First Presbyterian). Taylor says the congregation is turning the building on Maple Street over to an East Wenatchee church, Calvary Crossroads.
Wilf Woods: LiDAR brings landforms up close and personal
Every meeting of the Wenatchee Erratics seems to add to our knowledge of this area’s geology. Tuesday’s presentation by U.S. Geological Survey geologist Ralph Haugerud was no exception, as he displayed LiDAR views of our landscape, aerial pictures that show landforms in detail.
A sprained ankle and a broken neck
Rehearsal for this weekend’s concerts of the combined Columbia Chorale and Wenatchee Valley Symphony took a loud turn Tuesday night at the Music and Art Building. Conductor Nick Caoile had been conducting the two for an hour, when he stepped off the podium, turned his ankle and fell right into Kara Hunnicutt’s cello, crunching that instrument’s neck off, bending the end-pin. That was the end of rehearsing for her last night, but he was able to finish the evening’s preparation despite an ankle sprain.
New Stehekin book loaded with historic family photos
Mike Barnhart of Stehekin came by this week with his new book, “At Home in the Woods.” It is the story of the Moore and Courtney families, of which Mike is one, his mother being a Courtney. Mike is a professional photographer and his book is loaded with family pictures going back to the 1880’s, when the Moores started their resort at Moore’s Point. Fortunately, Mike put a family tree in his book, for there are still 25 members of the family in the valley.
Ancestral stories of witches and slaves
Genealogy continues to be a strong topic among families, and we can relate to that in our family. We do not hesitate to tell our kids and grandkids about our ancestor Ann who was hanged as a witch in the infamous Salem witchcraft trials at the end of the 17th century. One of my cousins succeeded, after years of work, in getting the Massachusetts legislature to absolve her of the crime, 350 years later.
Putting a Washington back in Nat Washington’s old home
The former Nat Washington home in Ephrata has a new attraction — a reproduction of an historic painting of Bushrod Washington, the nephew of George Washington and the ancestor of Nat and his family. The painting, by artist Chester Harding, dates to 1828 and hung in Nat Washington’s home until it was sent to the Smithsonian Institution, where it was restored. Bushrod, born to John, George’s brother, in 1762, was named to the U.S. Supreme Court at age 36. He died in 1829.
Wilf Woods: YWCA thrift store finds new home in historic Rose-Wade building
I watched the YWCA move into their new thrift store quarters next door to KPQ a couple of weeks ago. The Rose-Wade building, their new home, gives them a full basement as well as half of the main floor. And, sharing their new home with them is the Drop Dead Fabulous store, which moved from the old Cascadian Hotel building corner shop. Taking the place of Drop Dead Fabulous is the hair salon Sexy Rocks, which moved from a shop in the same building to that corner location.
We are remembering that we were married 60 years ago today
No, our children are not sending us on any trips, nor are we planning any. But we are remembering that we were married 60 years ago today. I met Kathy when she was running the Chelan Visitor Center the previous summer. I asked her for a date after getting some news about Chelan for The World. We drove to Harts Pass that weekend, and hiked up Slate Peak to the Forest Service lookout.
It’s that time again, everyone ...
’Tis the season for giving. And give we do at Christmastime, the most important time of the year for charities. Last year’s figure for charitable giving came to $290 billion, according to a recent Christian Science Monitor story.
New book remembers ‘Louie, Louie’ and other unsung proposals
Historic documents of this state are the subject of a new book, “New Land, North of the Columbia,” by historian Lorraine McConaghy of Seattle’s Museum of History & Industry.
Wilf Woods: Rita Brown joins joins the PAC
There is a special Thanksgiving feeling among the board members of Wenatchee’s Performing Arts Center as they give thanks for finding an experienced, high-energy executive to lead the center. Rita Brown began Wednesday, meeting at the center just as the fire alarm went off, forcing evacuation of the building temporarily — fortunately a false alarm.
Wilf Woods: ‘Take Hold’ a previously unwritten piece of local history
We have the privilege of printing a bit of essential history of this area, a small book on the Arkansas migration to North Central Washington from 1935 to 1960. Greg Hinze, now an adjunct history professor at Heritage College of Toppenish, interviewed a lot of former Arkansas residents as part of a thesis for his master’s degree in history at Central Washington University.
Wilf Woods: Thanksgiving — A day of thanksgiving and praise
Thanksgiving week is ahead of us. Turkey Day for most of us. But Thanksgiving has a distinguished history, as our forebears gathered to give thanks. Abraham Lincoln was persuaded by a persistent magazine editor, Sarah Josepha Hale, to set aside the last Thursday in November as a “day of thanksgiving and praise.”
Wilf Woods: Occupy whirlwind
They started a whirlwind and we don’t know where that wind will take us. I refer to the originators of the sit-ins that have cropped up in city after city, protesting by occupying civic centers. Apparently, the whole idea came from a nonprofit media group in Vancouver, B.C., called Adbusters.
George’s Coyote tale a remarkable one
Stories of Coyote are part of the heritage of Native Americans, and there are many of them. Wendell George of Omak has written a new book, his first, he says, recounting Coyote stories. But his tales are not a simple re-telling of old stories that had a moral twist. His Coyote stories include current events, history, science, and spirituality, and he cites modern authors and recent science as well. His intent, he says, is to use Indian culture to cope with the difficult problems we face in the future.
Talking It Over: New book details New Deal — and NCW's key role
Our current recession/depression brings to mind the REAL Depression of the 1930s and our government’s struggle to keep the country from collapse. The New Deal was FDR’s answer, and we have the residue of those efforts still with us. The most enduring, the most important of all those efforts was the Social Security system’s advent, which today is a mainstay of our retired millions.
Talking It Over: A new idea for an aging historic Wenatchee house
What is the future of Wells House, that historic original building at Wenatchee Valley College? It forlornly sits behind the new Center for Music and Art. It needs work, a lot of it. The place is not usable at present.
Pianists to raise curtain on new grand piano
Two talented pianists will dedicate a new grand piano at 3 p.m. Sunday at Grace Lutheran Church. The new Bohemia piano was purchased by the Wenatchee Valley Music Teachers Association.
Eyman’s latest ‘poison pill’ tough to swallow
Tim Eyman’s latest — Initiative 1125 — takes the issue of setting transportation tolls away from the state’s Transportation Commission and puts it into the political area, the legislature. This concept has drawn a lot of criticism from both Democrats and Republicans, specifically from both likely candidates for governor, Attorney General Rob McKenna and U.S. Representative Jay Inslee. Our state would be the only one in the nation to go this route, and state Treasurer Jim McIntire warns that this would make state transportation bonds prohibitively expensive.
Wilf Woods: ‘Cascadia’s Fault’ a cautionary tale
Long thought to be a quiescent region earthquake-wise, the Cascadia Subduction Zone just west of our coast is now looked upon by scientists as the place where the next “Big One” could happen. It is compared with Sumatra, Chile, and Japan, as a potential region for another quake comparable to those disasters.
GO ... Make a Difference
Ready, set, GO. Tomorrow, that is, for the 21st annual Make a Difference Day. Yesterday’s Wenatchee World listed several dozen specific projects ready for action Saturday.
James A. Garfield, the reluctant president
With all the candidates hustling for the nation’s presidency, would you believe that this country once elected a man who did not want the office, but was nominated and elected over his objections? The story is even stranger, for his assassination only months into his term was a medical disaster that helped convince physicians of the need for antiseptic treatment of wounds.
Talking It Over: Another round on the liquor initiative
The heavyweights are duking it out on the liquor initiative, as retail giant Costco puts millions into the action in favor, and the beer distributors and liquor store union members oppose it with those TV ads. We have had numerous comments on my last column on the subject. There is big money at stake, obviously. Costco makes no bones about its commercial interest in selling liquor more cheaply. The other side has been hiding behind a moral issue of pretending to protect the communities.
Talking It Over: It’s enough to drive you away from drinking
If you are not already a cynic about the liquor initiative ads on TV, you haven’t seen behind them.
Apples and cider and a bear, oh my!
The Buckner Orchard’s Big Squeeze brought a crowd to the historic orchard in the Stehekin Valley Saturday to make cider and take part in a community potluck lunch.
‘New and Improved’ Festival of Trees
The Festival of Trees is on the minds of the Performing Arts Center of Wenatchee folks as fall comes on.
Talking It Over: The highs — and snows — of hiking in October
I look at the new snow up on the ridge tops today, with recollections of October hikes in the high country made memorable by unforeseen snowstorms. This is a wonderful month for hiking, usually. No bugs, beautiful fall colors, with western larch turning yellow high up. I remember a whole hillside red in the sun with low bush huckleberry leaves in the Icicle drainage.
Talking It Over: (Un)buried treasure inside a local gem
A tour of the Cashmere Pioneer Village and Museum at Cashmere is good any time, with its Pioneer Village outside and extensive collections inside. But to follow Richard Congdon through the collections of his father and grandfather is a truly enlightening experience, which Kathy and I appreciated this week.
The trail that Gordon blazed
Gordon Congdon is visiting his hometown on leave from Cambodia, where he represents the World Wildlife Fund. He tells me that the Mekong River, which flows through that country, is host to a dwindling number of fresh-water dolphins, a rarity indeed. Gordon left the Chelan-Douglas Land Trust after eight years as director of that group. He joined it as the first paid manager in 1999 after it had been going with volunteers for fourteen years. Bob Bugert replaced him four years ago. Congdon left the organization with about 400 members and a budget of around $300,000. Both figures have doubled in the four years under Bugert.
One block ... lots kids, lots of memories
A group of youngsters growing up together on the 700 block of Cashmere Street right after World War II got together again last weekend to remember those good old days. They gathered at the home of Darold Wax, who with Bonnie Law McLean, got the group together — more than a dozen of them.
‘Historic preservation’ no longer a dirty word
It looks like the city’s protectors of historic preservation have taken a different tack than their predecessors. Perhaps “historic preservation” won’t be a dirty word any more to those of us who live in the Grandview Historic District. The members of the historic committee have approved every request that has come their way, they say.
Aging gracefully... and peacefully?
The aging of nations has profound repercussions upon their future. Take China, for instance, which many forecasters see becoming the economic power of the world some day.
Risky odds: to vaccinate or not to vaccinate?
Vaccination of children seems like a no-brainer, but there are those who choose to believe otherwise in our society.
Looking for a job? Look at smaller, younger companies
Everybody is talking about jobs nowadays, or the lack of them. Who makes new jobs is rather important, and is subject to a lot of debate now. We quote from the current Economist’s special report on jobs, which says:
Golden opportunity?
My little piece about Saddle Rock and gold brought a quick response from Russ Hepler, who brought Pat Magee to the office to talk about Asamera’s Cannon Mine.
Talking It Over: Mathison talks fruit biz
West Mathison, president of Stemilt Growers, gave an interested group of attendees at a McQuaig and Welk seminar an insight into his management views this week. He talked about excellence, and what his company was doing well, and what is was not doing so well. He noted that a few years ago, the strategy of using California fruit to round out the market needs was abandoned. His customers weren’t crying for California fruit. So he sold off those orchards, he said.
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