Methow

By Joanna Bastian The same year my great-aunt Rosie was born, her 17-year-old sister Jean gave birth to my mother Carol. Being just a year apart, my mother Carol and her Aunt Rosie were playmates and confidantes, as close as sisters. They had sleepovers and play dates, inside jokes and secrets. When we visited Grandma Jean […]

By Joanna Bastian Dear readers: After a column requesting information about Helen Louise Martin, I received a wonderful number of emails from genealogists around the Methow Valley. Everyone directed me to the website, FindAGrave.com. An entry for Helen Louise Martin contains a photo of a similar headstone, with one minor difference: the date of death. […]

By Joanna Bastian Since my column about the mystery of Helen Louise Martin’s headstone appeared in the Dec. 12 Methow Valley News, we have learned that Helen passed away in 2001 and not 2004. Thank you to Claudia Bradley for the correction; Claudia sent an email with the additional information that Helen was born in […]

Editor’s note: Since this column ran in the Dec. 12, 2018 edition of the Methow Valley News, we have learned that Helen Louise Martin passed away in 2001 and not 2004. Thank you to Claudia Bradley for the correction; she sent an email with the additional information that Helen was born in Wyoming, and lived and […]

By Joanna Bastian In this season of gratitude, it is important to keep the balance in the universe by practicing the age-long tradition of Festivus — the Airing of Grievances. Let us begin. • Wasps. I would be grateful that weather that is too cold for the little buggers, but now I’m vacuuming up their carcasses as […]

By Joanna Bastian Meet Crick, aka “Fat Daddy.” Tree climber, mouse hunter, pink-toed, yellow-eyed, black cat with nine lives and a crooked tail that ends in a heart-shaped spiral. A heart-shaped tale, if you will. Crick went missing three years, 250 miles, and three moves ago — and last week he miraculously reunited with his family here […]

By Joanna Bastian The 2018-2019 winter race season is right around the corner, and Christina Gibson is ready to mush with her team of Alaskan Huskies. After a successful run at the mid-distance Junior Iditarod sled dog race in Alaska last winter, Christina, 17, has her sights set on competing as an adult this year […]

By Joanna Bastian It was an honor to meet Sandra Warriors Pistol Bullet, a student intern at the Methow Valley Interpretive Center (MVIC). Her story was featured on the front page of the Methow Valley News last week, written by Ashley Ahearn. To celebrate Sandra’s internship, the Methow Valley Interpretive Center and the Methow Native […]

By Joanna Bastian We recently enjoyed a dinner with friends from Singapore. Our friends joked about the common American greeting, “How’s it going?” My friend spoke in amused amazement about the number of people who would walk by him, make eye contact, smile amicably, and say, “How’s it going?” Before our friend could answer, the […]

By Joanna Bastian Holy smokes, Batman! Finding clean pockets of air is like jockeying for good seats at a concert. At a concert, if you’re lucky, you can reserve perfect seats with a great view. Otherwise, you and your crew spread out strategically and whistle or howl when the good seats are found and secured. […]