Mazama Store co-owner Missy LeDuc is on a campaign to reduce waste, and is encouraging people to bring their own coffee cups.
By Erika Kar
There is no doubt that living in the upper reaches of the valley has its challenges. First of all, we experience more snowfall, it comes earlier (Oct. 19 this season) and leaves later. Mary Milka, the lovely lady who runs the Mazama Country Inn, once said that you can always tell the Lost River kids at the schools, as they are the ones already (or still) wearing snow boots while all the other students are wearing tennis shoes or even flip flops. Except for Grace Gonzales, eighth-grader and chief marcher-to-the-beat-of-her-own-drum.
Next, Mazamans live pretty darn far from “town,” also known as Winthrop or Twisp. Really, for us, what is the difference? Once you’ve gone into Winthrop, you might as well go all the way to Twisp. If you have school-age kids, you find yourself driving to the school more often than you would like, unless you have worked out some carpools. Even with carpooling, there are people that end up with no other option than driving into Winthrop twice in one day. Or even (gasp) three times.
Thankfully though, The Mazama Store has made it so much easier to live here (that and Amazon, let’s be honest). Eleven years ago, while the Mazama Store was certainly cute, quaint and functional, it did not offer nearly what today’s iteration offers. There had been a time that if you needed something as common as lettuce, you would either need to beg, steal, borrow or drive 40 miles round trip to get it. Once I saw an iceberg lettuce rolling down Lost River Road and I stopped to pick it up. Not really, but I definitely would have!
But now, Rho, the produce manager, brings in not only basic lettuce, but also a plethora of gorgeous local produce. Lettuces, microgreens, asparagus, a huge variety of apples and so much more can be found at the Mazama Store. How about breads, cheeses and a growing assortment of meats and seafood? They are currently carrying black cod, which is sometimes difficult to find even on the west side. Recently they have added frozen meals, such as lasagna and chicken pot pie, for which I believe we are all so grateful. Their slogan “A little bit of everything good” certainly rings true.
But as magical as the Mazama Store is, the heroes that work there don’t seem to be able to make mud season go away any faster. And mud season is here in full force. But take heart! Mud leads to dirt, which leads to dust. Before we know it, the North Cascades Highway will be opening and that will usher in the summer season of tourists and travelers and fights over the last baguette at the Mazama Store.
Finally, with no segue that I can muster, a very happy 90th birthday to Shirley Haase from Winthrop. As she had lived her 90 years without a helicopter ride, North Cascade Heli recently changed that, giving her a ride and fulfilling a lifelong dream.
