Mazama

No matter what chapter of life you are currently living in, you can no doubt look back and identify friends from each stage of the journey: childhood, classmates, workmates, neighbors, sports, church, music. Some friends have dropped off the map with life changes and transitions. Some friends have passed on, only their memory remains. Many […]

We often hear the expression “dream big” because “dreams really do come true.” It is a positive mantra for parents to offer their children. Don Emerson Sr., a lifelong Fruitland, Washington, (due north of Davenport) farmer and logger, believed that his two sons, Donnie Jr. and Joe, had musical skills that, if honed, could provide […]

One great thing about the doldrums of winter (i.e., February) is the opportunity to prepare comfort food for dinner. It was surprising to me to learn from several different surveys that Americans’ No. 1 comfort food is pizza. It’s not that I don’t like pizza; it’s just that I would not list it on my […]

With the largest cross-country trail system in North America – consistently named in the top 10 such resorts – we live in a Nordic sports nirvana. My curiosity was piqued wondering whether the terms “cross-country” and “Nordic” were interchangeable. I found that cross-country is just one of three forms of Nordic skiing (the other two […]

A neighbor warned us with these words when we purchased property in Mazama more than 10 years ago: “It’s not the end of the Earth, but you can see it from here.” Another neighbor gave us a picture of the house we bought covered to the eaves in snow. Undaunted, we thought – like many […]

One of the many bonuses of writing this column is hearing from faithful readers of this newspaper and the Valley Life columns. My recent column about the pup Jacco elicited a thoughtful and interesting email from one such reader. Bud Bard wrote about his beloved wife Molly, whom he lost to cancer in June 2020, […]

The holidays are once again in the rear-view mirror. COVID is still nipping at our heels. Freezing temperatures have reminded us of how nice it feels to be warm. Another dump of snow is upon us. But, with optimism for a new year of fewer extremes, we embrace the extra minutes of daylight each day. […]

The pup has been with us for a year now. When he arrived last Christmas, I promised that I wouldn’t be that crazy dog lady and bore you with canine tales. However, after reflecting on the past challenging year as it rolls to its end, I realized that having the pup has been a learning […]

When I awake in the night (often) and sleep eludes me, this column dances through my head. What should I write about this week? As an attorney I worked with once said, “My best legal theories come to me in the shower,” I find column ideas pop up in my groggy non-slumber. (Same attorney used […]

The cities of Centralia and Chehalis in southwest Washington are rich in history. George Washington, the son of a Virginian slave and an English woman, and his wife, Mary, of African American and Jewish descent, established the town of Centerville, which was soon renamed Centralia, in 1875. George had moved to the Pacific Northwest as […]