To prepare for this year’s Thanksgiving column I revisited the columns of gratitude of the past few years, an effort that yielded precisely … nothing. Last year was all pandemic gratitude blah blah blah, 2020 was not even in my files (although I’m sure I wrote one), and 2019 was pre-pandemic naivete. With those flimsy […]
Winthrop
Valley Life: Winthrop
If your bucket list includes ambitious family hikes, you’d better be prepared for that bucket to overflow. Debby Orsini, mother of Winthrop resident Caroline Orsini, wanted nothing more for her 73rd birthday than to hike the Inca Trail with her family. Not everyone was game for the trip, but Debby, Caroline, her two sisters, and […]
Valley Life: Winthrop
It’s somewhat hard to believe, since she does a triathlon every summer, but Linda Mendro is turning 80 this week. If you know Linda, you’re already aware of her kindness and generosity, her passion for music, and her dedication to humanitarian causes — most notably the Peniel House Orphanage, which Linda and her husband, Wayne, […]
Valley Life: Winthrop
Last Thursday, somewhat by accident, I ended up at Wenatchee’s Sarge Huber Honor Festival: an annual multi-county, multi-school celebration of bands, choirs, and youth music programs in general. Elementary, middle school and high school students from 31 schools around the region — including the Methow Valley — are selected to participate in choir and band […]
Valley Life: Winthrop
In response to my Oct. 12 column about the Methow Valley University (MVU) sweatshirts, I’ve heard from quite a few graduates of that institution. First, I heard from MVU co-founder Paula Christen, who says that she and Janet Lindsey created the concept “a gazillion years ago … like in the early ’80s.” Janet is a […]
Valley Life: Winthrop
Horse people take note: there’s a new farrier in town. Sam Wottlin, Methow Valley class of 2022 graduate, has earned a diploma from the Texas Horseshoeing School (THS) and is now offering horseshoeing services locally and regionally. During his senior year, Sam spent some time thinking about what he wanted to do after high school […]
Valley Life: Winthrop
Among the Methow Valley’s many delights is the prospect of finding something unexpected at the Senior Center rummage room in Twisp. Sophomore Zoe Kaltenbach made a recent discovery that not only provides cozy couture, but also a mystery — one that is solvable, I’m confident, by someone in this community. Zoe’s new baby blue crew […]
Valley Life: Winthrop
In the spring of 2001, Pete Dickinson, eventual co-founder of Winthrop Physical Therapy & Fitness as most people now know it, was providing physical therapy services out of the Riverside Avenue building now occupied by Methownet. Pete was excited about five or six pieces of gym equipment that he had recently purchased, so he reached […]
Valley Life: Winthrop
A month ago I wrote about my father getting an FAA pilot award as a surprise. And thanks to the outpouring of comments from readers since then, I’ve learned three things. One, there are a lot of pilots in the Methow Valley and central Washington. Two, Methow Valley and central Washington residents love doing things […]
Valley Life: Winthrop
The current shortage of health care aides in the Methow Valley will only worsen as the valley ages. The solution to this shortage, however, is simple: train more aides and inspire them to enter the profession. So Jamie’s Place Adult Family Homes is tackling the shortage head-on by providing a free training for potential aides. […]