Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
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Jon Rampey: Wand Maker 2020 has taught us how to make lemonade out of lemons. Jon Rampey, a newcomer to Dayton, makes art using this philosophy of resourcefulness. "Creating something is better than buying it," he said. Like many of his generation, 27-year-old Rampey loves the Harry Potter universe and knows nearly everything about it. Years ago, he decided he must have his own sorcerer's wand like Professor Dumbledore's. Wands being a bit pricy, he decided to carve his own. In 2009 he made his...
4 is finally coming to an end, and we have endured. I know I hope for a great new year to enjoy with abandon. Maybe that’s why I’m a bit more forward-looking than usual. Not that I am planning to make a list of New Year’s resolutions. I know myself, the first time I break one, I will break them all. Maybe it’s just semantics; but, no resolutions; instead, it’s break bad habits and add good ones. First, I will pay my taxes on time this year and avoid the penalty I just paid for last year. Some...
With the holidays upon us, the sights and sounds of Christmas surround the Waitsburg community. From glittering street decorations to themed music taking over our favorite radio stations, the magic of December can be neither escaped nor denied. Of the many celebratory songs, I am willing to place a wager on literally everyone knowing the "Twelve Days of Christmas." It's a timeless standard. And, love it or hate it, it shall be heard again this year. And what do we all expect on the first of the...
I don’t usually believe in karma, probably because I just don’t want to experience the wrath of someone imposing a karma curse on me. Lately, though, I am beginning to feel my sister may be getting me back with some sleep karma. I’ve recently experienced insomnia, which is not something I’ve ever had. Until recently, I was the best sleeper ever. My mother used to say that I could sleep anytime, anywhere, and on anything; a bed, floor, bed of nails, in a car, plane, tent, it didn’t matter. I...
This year our family Thanksgiving will be a virtual party, sadly, but then it does save me driving two hours each way to my sister’s house, just to sit in a corner and read or knit with a big glass of wine while she overcooks the turkey and focuses on her grandchildren. The guys sit glued to the TV, watching football, not moving or helping, because they can’t take a chance they might miss a throw, sack, or touchdown. Thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday; there are no mandatory gif...
When Juniper Kerr was in middle school, her basketball coach kept saying, "Every shot not taken is a shot missed." It stuck with her. But it's not just about basketball now; it's about life and her love of taking pictures. I've been noticing her stuff and wanted to sit down and chat with her. I'm glad I did. First, she started very young. "When I was four years old, my mom helped me start my first business selling my pictures on cards at the Bellingham Farmer's Market," she said. And she never...
We returned from our brief trip to Los Angeles, and although I am glad to be home, I did discover that there are still some things I miss. Los Angeles is one of those places where people can go to reinvent themselves, hideout, wait to be discovered for a starring role in a blockbuster feature film, or like me; rediscover some of the things I miss. First on my list, of course, my friends, then sushi and outdoor tennis year-round, but I rediscovered other aspects of the city that I miss as well....
1. Don’t let anyone steal your joy. Not COVID-19, not relatives, not an illness, not work or family stress, not any circumstances. Your attitude creates your reality. Choose to be happy, to be thankful, and to value life! 2.Take care of your health Self-care means listening to your inner needs and making choices to improve daily functions through a healthy diet, water, exercise, positive communication, and social support. 3. Plan Ahead Much stress can be eliminated by making a plan. You c...
Turning down Lewis Gulch, I spied a beautiful draw curling into the wheat fields, free of human track. A sight for sore eyes on the eastern Washington pheasant opener. Whipping the Tundra to the shoulder and throwing her in "park," we finally had something to look forward to. Deciding to try something new this year, I quickly re-learned that if it ain't broke, don't fix it. We had left home at 5 a.m. Four hours hence, we had yet to put boots on the ground for lack of room in the bird covers....
Once again, I say “thank you” to the parents of Waitsburg. Your children made Halloween a much-needed fun evening during these challenging times. The kids were cute and always said, “thank you” for their treats. Even some of the younger ones didn’t require additional prompting from their parents. I apologize in advance for filling their bags with more candy than usual, and your upcoming struggles with the inevitable day-after sugar rush, and your future dental bills. I thought since they didn’t...
This week was somewhat sad reading about the spread of COVID-19. It will make the holidays a very different experience this year, and not in a good way. But then I remembered a plaque a former boss had in his office. It read: “Not all the bad things happen.” In the past, when something annoying, problematic, or unexpected happened to me or someone close to me, my usual knee jerk reaction was to panic. Maybe it is maturity or maybe just exhaustion, but now I’m not going crazy about the little thi...
My recent visit with Starbuck's new Mayor, Zonia Dedloff, was a revelation for me. First thing I learned: she has lived there for 50 years. She and her late husband, Jerry, parked a trailer here in the late 1960s, along with many others, to work on building the Little Goose Dam. Jerry, a diamond driller, was one of many who traveled the U.S., following jobs like this. "It really was one long vacation," she said of those years. The dam work temporarily swelled the little hamlet's population....
Several people have asked me about how I prepare my collection of 160 varieties of tall bearded iris for winter. Here is what I do: NOTHING! Iris are quite frost-hardy, so they do not need to be mulched. In fact, mulch is hard to remove, will retain too much moisture in the spring, and you will risk the new growth and root rotting. I wait until early spring to remove the previous season's leaves, for several reasons. This has been my procedure for about 15 years, and it really seems to work in...
Just a week ago, I was on the tennis court in a short skirt and tank top; now, I’m making an appointment to have my tires changed to my snow tires. I blinked and the weather changed, and I mean dramatically! Not a simple 5-6 degrees, but below freezing and even a prediction of snow this Saturday. I think mother nature is out for revenge. I once mentioned that I was a little disappointed in my first autumn here because I just expected more of an explosion of color, so now she’s just decided out...
Blue Mountain Pheasants Forever (Pheasants Forever) recently teamed with Mike and Steve Erwin to relocate two wildlife watering guzzlers on their 1,000-acre lease with an expiring Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) contract near Prescott. Signed into law by President Ronald Reagan in 1985, the CRP is one of the largest private-lands conservation programs in the United States. In exchange for a yearly rental payment, farmers enrolled in the program remove acreage from active crop production and...
Last Friday, I think at least half of Waitsburg probably heard my deep, tortured sigh as I parked my car and put the top up for what will likely be its permanent status until next spring. No more racing down the highways at 65-70 mph with the sun in my face, hair blowing in my eyes. Mugsy, tethered in securely, will certainly miss the smell of goats, sheep, roosters, and growing wheat. I won’t miss his whining while he tries to break free of his restraints to sit in my lap while I’m dri...
It’s a minor miracle, but the kitchen is done, finally! The correct glass panels were installed on Monday, the silicone holding the glass in place has dried. Our new sod has taken, so we have ceased the twice-daily watering, and the muddy footprints have subsided. Now that the major remodeling is complete, I knew it was time to clean the house from the construction mess. I mean really cleaned, including windows, baseboards, the works! I hired a cleaning crew, especially to clean the windows i...
I find I am now pleasantly surprised by a kind gesture from anybody, including family, friends or people outside of my immediate small circle. It feels rare. And I include any kind gestures coming from business people, either owners or their employees, who directly encounter customers. Yes, the changing status of kind gestures is a condition of modern life due in part to the pandemic’s current circumstances. Regardless, a gracious gesture or word transforms the moment. My life as a senior c...
I hate to be cliché, but, Wow! Time does fly. And, sticking with clichés, it seems like yesterday that I wrote my first article for The Waitsburg Times. It’s been a very full year, and I can now say I’ve experienced all four seasons here. My first winter was brutal. Everyone was apologetic because we were experiencing the most snow and the coldest winter in 15 years. Lucky me, what an introduction to my new home. Good heaters, gloves, great new friends, and a little scotch, I survived. That firs...
I am not, nor have I ever been accused of being a “romantic.” Even as a young girl, I didn’t fantasize about wearing a big white poufy wedding dress, or a white knight charming and romancing me. It had nothing to do with being levelheaded; I was just more enthralled with action, adventure, and getting dirty. My sister, brother, and I have all been married twice, and none of us opted for big parties or over-the-top events. We had small weddings at home, except my last one to Daniel; we elope...
Jeromy Phinney, Chief of Columbia County Fire District 3, is a good man to have a conversation with right now. He's cool as a cucumber, with a large framed photo of John Wayne on the wall beside his desk. He has the confidence you want in a fire chief while wildfires rage around the Pacific Northwest. "Everything's dry, and dry conditions happen every year. It's nothing new," he said. "But yeah, this summer has been tough." Twenty-one years ago, Jeromy Phinney was a kid fresh out of college. He'...
As you all probably know, I’m a city girl. Born In New York (Brooklyn), we then moved to Queens, and eventually to the suburbs of Long Island. We grew nothing in New York, except for one crab apple tree and a pear tree, that never bore fruit. Our vegetables didn’t come from the ground; they lived in little white boxes in the freezer. My mother would boil salted water, drop in the frozen vegetables, then cook the life out of them. We eventually moved to Tucson, Arizona, because my father’s arthr...
When I’m not in the mood to watch one of the binge-worthy shows on Netflix or Prime, I turn to TCM and watch old movies, some of which are art to me. Recently, I watched a movie that I hadn’t seen in years, called The Egg and I with Fred MacMurray and Claudette Colbert. The movie is very old, in fact, it was released before I was born. It’s the story of newlyweds; Fred MacMurray (the groom), has just announced that he has purchased a ramshackle old farm, and they are going into the busin...
I don't know when Dad purchased the gun or from whom or where, but one of its few outings captured on film was in 1977. My brother was a toddler and dad had hunted a gray squirrel on his parent's farm in what used to be the middle-of-nowhere Appalachia. The Herrington and Richardson Topper Model 158 (H&R) was the shotgun built for everyone. An ordinary, functional firearm built for the budget-minded. Overly simplistic yet wholly reliable described the H&R firearms line from 1871 to 1986 under th...
A conversation with Julia Mead When Julia Mead graduated from high school at the age of 17 and started college, she decided her motto would be, "I don't know where I'm going, but I'm on my way." She finished nurse's training in Walla Walla in 1982. A year later, she met her first and only blind date, Charles "Skip" Mead IV. When asked, "Who is Julia Mead?" her answer is, "A transplant to Columbia County who sank her roots down." Two sons, six grandchildren, and 37 harvests later, she hasn't...
