Marriages, memorials and merriment of all kinds once happened at the Grange, the center of rural social life since 1867. But the future of grange halls is bleak. Slowly but surely, these rural institutions are being neglected, abandoned, torn down or converted to something else. But a few still survive — and even thrive — […]
Valley Life: Twisp
What’s the secret to remaining vibrant into your elderly years? Two women who share my love of horses have the answer. Both these ladies, despite their age and infirmities, would sooner be 6-feet under than give up riding. Betty Wagoner, at 86, still rides every chance she gets on her black-and-white pinto. She might need […]
Valley Life: Twisp
Soil is alive and can be killed. Healthy soil is disappearing at an alarming rate, and quite a few of us here in the Methow Valley want to know more about how to stop this deadly process if attendance at several events the past few months is any indication. Audiences learned how soil degradation, carbon […]
Valley Life: Twisp
When I first came to the Methow, I wandered into the most iconic building in Twisp, the Methow Valley Community Center, to get a feel for the history of the place I now called home. Vintage-looking black-and-white photos of past graduating classes from the high school that once occupied this building lined the walls. On […]
Valley Life: Twisp
This, my first column written for the Valley Life page, is where I introduce myself. Like so many of us, I lived in the Methow part-time before making the leap “over the hill,” full-time. I’m a third-generation Seattleite who was raised in the home my grandfather built in 1910 near Ravenna Park, a park with […]
