Giants in our midst: grunge legend to visit Republic Brewing

By Liv Stecker

Photo Credit: Megan Blackburn

The pioneer grunge band Nirvana disbanded in 1994 after the untimely death of frontman Kurt Cobain, but the cultural impact didn’t stop there, and neither did the music. Band members splintered off to join other acts, go to college or start up their own bands, some of which have gained notoriety in their own right.

Krist Novoselic, Founding bass player for Nirvana, took up farming. Alright, so that’s not all he did. But after starting up and playing with a few bands in the late nineties and early 2000s, Novoselic turned his attention to even dirtier matters than grunge - politics. Forming JAMPAC (Joint Artists and Musicians Political Action Committee) with other Washington state artists, Novoselic went after legislation such as the “Erotic Music Law” which was later re-named the “Matters Harmful to Minors bill”. They also tackled the 1985 Teen Dance Ordinance that limited minor’s access to live shows. In his first book, Of Grunge and Government: Let's Fix This Broken Democracy, published in 2004, Novoselic tackled the underlying political issues that were driving far-reaching legislation in true Footloose fashion.

Fighting tyrannical censoring isn’t the only thing that Novoselic has in common with Ren McCormick, he knows a thing or two about small farm towns - the grunge music legend now serves as the Worthy Master of Grays River Grange No. 124, near Novoselic's home in Deep River, a tiny town in the heart of Wahkiakum County, the county with the second lowest population in Washington State (Garfield is the lowest, and our own Ferry County comes in fourth after Columbia).

It was at the grange that Novoselic met fellow “grangers” Jillian Raye, Erik Friend and Ray Prestegard, and they formed the band Giants In The Trees after one jam session. Raye says that she got a phone call from her musical partner Friend an hour before the jam session.

“He said, you better get down here!” and she went. The rest became history. While they all have farming obligations and have embraced the rural lifestyle (drummer Friend lives completely off grid), they are dedicating more energy to the band. “We’re putting our all into now, the four of us,” says Raye, putting some other musical pursuits on hold.

Novoselic, Nirvana era

According to their Facebook description, Novoselic and his latest musical inception play music that “... inspired by the environment and culture of the Lower Columbia River,” and while it might be a step or two away from his grunge roots, the foursome says that they “have created a sound that could best be described as Pop / Rock. The band is not offended by terms like schmaltz.” the description of their music continues: “On the other hand, there are heavy groove numbers, screaming slide guitar and accordion. There is even an anthem—so raise your arms with the phone flashlights.”

Raye and Friend also play together in a band called the Skamokawa Swamp Opera, Prestegard hails from a blues background and of course, Novoselic brings his grunge roots to the table. Giants In The Trees formed right after the first jam and composed their first song that day. They play what could be called a pop-rock mix with a little banjo and accordion thrown in. Much of the Giants’ music is influenced by the rural lifestyle they live and the northwest.

“The beauty and environment definitely play into our music,” says Raye. “We’ve got a little country, a little pop and little slow-grooving, haunting type stuff.” On their tour of northwestern venues, urban and rural alike, the band will pay a visit to Republic Brewing on Saturday, July 22nd for a ticketed concert. Raye says this is the farthest they have traveled for a show so far. Tickets are $14 in advance and available at republicbrew.com or $18 at the door with a $21 seated option. For more information check out Republic Brewing on Facebook.

How to not be cougar bait

By Liv Stecker

MEOW.

So we’ve been watching this reality show on the History Channel called Alone. It’s sort of like survivor, but colder and more… northwestern. These ten guys get dropped off by themselves at super remote locations around Vancouver Island in British Columbia where the wildlife population outweighs the number of humans - by a longshot. The premise of the show is that these guys fancy themselves survivalists, so the one who lasts the longest out in this “temperate rainforest” (read - soggy and barely above freezing wasteland) gets to take home $500K. That’s a lot of beers in dollar money.

Within the first six days, five of these self-proclaimed “survivalists” had tapped out, and most of those were due to close encounters of the carnivorous kind. One guy was sure that he was being “stalked” by bears when the game cams caught a pair of black bears sniffing out his tent one night. He spooked them off but left the next day, sure they just ran home to plan up their feast menu. The next guy heard wolves howling on a ridge near his campsite and decided they were DEFINITELY headed his way, so he bailed. We got talking about wildlife behavior and how much you do, or do not know, about how these wild beasts act, typically, would definitely determine the fear factor. Also, the dark, and also, being alone, but still, knowledge is power.

Maybe it was bingeing the series that inspired it, or maybe not, but we decided to go camping at my friends’ beach this weekend. The beach is located off of a heavily wooded area right along the Columbia River just after it flows out of Canada with all of those wonderful Canadian gifts in it. You know, things like raw sewage, heavy metals and the occasional corpse. Don’t worry Canada, we’re not mad - I mean look at Hanford, how can we point fingers?

Anyway, camping on this beach seemed like an especially good idea since my friends’ neighbors had just sent her a picture of not one, or even two, but THREE nearly full grown mountain lions hanging out in a tree just above the river near the beach. Cougars. Young, hungry, curious, probably still in pre-frontal lobe stages of decision making, cougars. Giant kitties with vice-like jaws, razors for claws and fangs for days. LET’S GO STAY THERE! We thought. I think secretly, we both wanted to pretend we were on Alone, except we weren’t Alone, and we took a camp trailer to sleep in as well as guns.

We had a wonderful time on the beach and nary a sign of cat, kitten or otherwise. Maybe we were secretly disappointed. As we drifted off to sleep in our safe little box of protection and screens, we patted ourselves on the back for SURVIVING.

This is where I want to talk about cougar safety. This does not involve always having a wingman to make sure you don’t leave the bar with a woman who is twice his age minus seven (I think that’s the cougar formula?). No, the cougar safety I refer to is how to behave in the wild when a 200 pound cat is breathing down your neck. According to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, these are the steps that should be taken during a cougar encounter:

1. Stop, stand tall and don't run. Pick up small children. Don't run. A cougar's instinct is to chase.
2. Do not approach the animal, especially if it is near a kill or with kittens.
3. Try to appear larger than the cougar. Never take your eyes off the animal or turn your back. Do not crouch down or try to hide.
4. If the animal displays aggressive behavior, shout, wave your arms and throw rocks. The idea is to convince the cougar that you are not prey, but a potential danger.
5. If the cougar attacks, fight back aggressively and try to stay on your feet. Cougars have been driven away by people who have fought back.

This is a great and helpful list. I would improve it thusly:

1. Stop, stand tall and don't run. Pick up small children. Hurl children at cougar and move carefully to a vehicle. Drive fast.
2. Do not approach the animal, especially if it is near a kill or with kittens, unless they are VERY cute and you want to Instagram them.
3. Try to appear larger than the cougar. Never take your eyes off the animal or turn your back. Use your best Angry Eyes on the cougar.  Do not crouch down or try to hide. This would be useless anyway since if you are out in the woods you are definitely wearing some version of neon Patagonia outdoorswear.
4. If the animal displays aggressive behavior, shout, wave your arms and throw rocks. If this is what attracted the cougar in the first place, stop doing it.
5. If the cougar attacks, fight back aggressively and try to stay on your feet.  Cougars have been driven away by people who have fought back and Very Angry Mothers.

Being an expert on speculative wildlife encounters, I feel like there is a lot of useful information in both of these lists. But back to my story.

We had just drifted off into an oblivious slumber when I heard the cat. I woke Everyone Else up with a whisper-yell of “DID YOU HEAR THAT?” which I am sure the cat did. It turns out that the cat I heard was my friend’s housecat named Bob. Bobcat had no business running around the beach yowling like a wild animal at all hours. Now that we were awake we discussed protocol in case Bob had actually been a cougar. That discussion went like this:

“Where is the shotgun?”

“Under the bed.” pause. Possibly drifting back to sleep. “Wait, did you want to know where the cartridges are too?”

Pause. Possibly wondering if I should be strangled. “Yes.”

“Also under the bed. Should we load the gun?”

“No, let’s wait until you are half-eaten.”

“OK. I have my knife.” Pause. Sleeping?

“That’s great.” definite sarcasm.

We went back to sleep. Later I decided that the most efficient thing would have been to just throw the box of shotgun shells at the cat while screaming at each other  in confusion. Fairly certain that would do the trick but if not, check out http://wdfw.wa.gov/living/cougars.html for more information on this.

For more from Liv Stecker, go to livstecker.com

Meyers Falls Cemetery: preserving history and providing solace

By Liv Stecker

 January 31st, 1916, the Meyers Falls Cemetery was incorporated in what is now Kettle Falls, Washington. At the time, the scenic town high above the Columbia River was called Meyers Falls, founded by Louther Meyers and his family in 1869. In 1898 the cemetery was founded as a place to lay members of the Meyers family to rest. The railroad moved into town in 1890, bringing with it the industry and prosperity that Meyers and other settlers in the area had been working toward for decades. More people migrated into the area, and in the early 1940s as work was completed on the Grand Coulee Dam, residents of the soon-to-be submerged town of Kettle Falls relocated up the hill and absorbed the small town of Meyers Falls right into their industrial boom.

But the Meyers Falls Cemetery retained it’s name and descendants of the Meyers family that settled there donated the land to the association, which is now a non-profit organization, managed primarily by volunteers and operating on a shoestring, donation based budget to keep the history of Meyers Falls alive - or at least safely buried. More than 1500 graves make up the historic graveyard, including many graves that were relocated to the site from other cemeteries that were submerged when the Grand Coulee Dam was constructed. While the board and volunteers have worked hard to restore and maintain records, due to time, the names of some interred graves are unknown.

 The all-volunteer board is made up entirely of family members of plot holders that are interred in the historic cemetery. Recently, the board voted to approve urn burial and there is a section plotted out in the cemetery for that purpose. Located at West 7th Avenue and Ivy Street In Kettle Falls, the cemetery provides a resting place for generations of local residents that have passed on, as well as the occasional visitor.

 Last year, an attorney from California contacted the President of the Board, Rosie Carr, on behalf of a Mr. Charles Pence of California, a veteran of the Vietnam War, who had no living family. He had traveled through this area years ago, and liked it so much that he wanted Meyers Falls Cemetery to be his final resting place. In the spring of 2016 his ashes were delivered to Kettle Falls and the board and the VFW were present to honor him and pay respects when he was laid to rest.

Eileen Kaiser began decorating the historical site for Memorial Day many years ago. Several years ago she was joined by local high school students and other volunteers to expedite the process that had taken weeks in the past. Melinda Langrehr, a teacher from Kettle Falls High School, has been coordinating the service with students for eight years. Eileen says she believes vandalism in the cemetery is down because of the growing local awareness of the significance of the place.

Eileen has a special interest in honoring Memorial Day at the cemetery: her brother, Robert Brown, was the first United States Military Service Member killed in action in Vietnam to be buried there. John Sparks was also killed in action and laid to rest in the graveyard, making little Kettle Falls, Washington one of the highest loss-per-capita towns in the United States during the Vietnam War.  

 This year when the volunteers gathered to decorate the cemetery, the board provided refreshments as they worked.  Howard Kaiser was on hand as always with his four-wheeler to move the boxes and clean up branches and rubbish on clean-up day.  The members of Kettle Falls Veterans of Foreign Wars were there to make sure that every known veteran, as well as  parents of veterans, had a flag on their grave. Local resident and board member Linda Cancel says the cemetery holds a very personal connection for her. Her sister, who died as a child is buried in the cemetery. Recently, she joined other volunteers and high school students to place flags and flowers on the graves for Memorial Day.

 “When I was about eight, I would take my friends to the cemetery to 'visit' my sister.” Cancel says, “Yesterday, I walked with a small group toward my family's area with the pink tree.  I thanked them and spoke of how this was personal to me.  One of the girls reacted because she remembered from last year the stone with the bird and angel.” Cancel goes on to talk about the impact that the historic cemetery has had on many of the visiting students.

 “One boy opened up and showed me where his infant brother was buried.  His buddy told me that his parents lost a baby before he was born, and that his mother doesn't talk about it.  I told him that even though he was not yet born, he still lives with parents who mourn...and that I was sorry. One of the other adults said that a student was honored to place a flag on the grave of a Navy Seal. My heart fills when I see how much beauty, comfort, and solace that people find in this special place.” Cancel says.

 Meyers Falls Cemetery is funded largely by donations and grants. If you are interested in supporting the historic preservation going on at the landmark, contact the Association at (509) 738-6768. You can also find more information on the Facebook page of the Meyers Falls Cemetery Association.

Message in a bottle: communication beyond borders

 By Liv Stecker

 The banks of rivers are often the keepers of secrets and mysteries that wash down from upstream civilizations and plant themselves in the gravel and mud somewhere along the way.  From human bones to ancient tools, riverbanks and shorelines are some of the best places to find unexpected treasures. Steve Buchholz stumbled across something he never expected on the banks of the Kettle River earlier this spring as the flood waters began to recede. It was a bottle, sealed from the turbulent waters of the spring-runoff engorged flow of the tributary river. Steve found it near Kamloops Islands, just before the Kettle River spills into the Mighty Columbia and becomes absorbed in Lake Roosevelt. Inside the bottle was a rolled up piece of paper.

Steve and his wife Michelle carefully opened the bottle and unrolled the paper, now yellowed with exposure to sunlight refracted through the glass of the bottle. The note, scratched in crayon between word-search puzzles torn out of a subscription magazine, was from nearly six years ago, and entirely different country.

 "Hi my name is Jeremy Peter - I am 8 years old - I live in Lake Country , BC - we are camping at the Little Dipper Hideaway Campground.”  it reads. Steve and Michelle turned to social media to track down the sender of the message, and after more than 100 shares on Facebook, someone in Kelowna, British Columbia, tagged Anita Peter, Jeremy’s mom.

“Steve went walking on the Kettle River beach and found this bottle, brought it home unopened. When we opened it, on the backside of a crossword puzzle page was a msg. So Please share this maybe we will find Jeremy Peter, 8 at the time, who lives or lived in Lake Country BC and let him know we found his msg. (expiration date of the paper was 2011 so we know it’s approximately that old ),” the Facebook post read. Michelle was able to make the post public so that it could be shared more widely and a friend posted it to a buy, sell and trade page in Kelowna. After they made contact with Anita, Michelle updated the post:

“UPDATE: We found Jeremy! His mom contacted me and left a comment, will close this tomorrow. We would like to thank each and everyone of you for sharing and helping us find little Jeremy , Very short journey but exciting nonetheless,3 Yay!!”

On May 11, Anita commented on the Buchholz’ post:

“That's hilarious. That is Jeremy Peter's bottle, my son. We have a yearly site at the Little Dipper and decided to send a message in a bottle one afternoon. Very cool!” Michelle sent Anita a message and got the full story behind the bottle.  Anita told the Buchholz’ that Jeremy had indeed dropped that bottle and a few more in 2008 when they were camping in their usual summer spot at the Little Dipper Hideaway. She voiced disappointment at first that the bottle had been rediscovered still in the Kettle River, until she realized that the Buchholz found the bottle at the very southern end of the Kettle, nearly 100 winding river miles south of the campground, and in the U.S.!

After tracking down the Peter family, Michelle was amused to discover that Anita is good friends with one of her cousins.

“It’s such a small world, really,” Michelle laughs. She says lucky things like this happen to her husband a lot. “Steve is always finding stuff and having lucky things happen to him. He’s just that kind of guy!” but according to Steve, a message in a bottle was the last thing he expected to find as the flood waters receded from the banks he likes to wander. Steve and Michelle plan to return the bottle and note to Jeremy so he can keep it as a souvenir, a reminder that long journeys and international borders can take you to new places, with a little time.

How to get lost (no wrong turns)

By Liv Stecker

I would assume that growing up, the idea crossed every kid's mind at least once that they must be adopted. For me, it was usually once a day. Even though my walk is unmistakably my dad's, and my mouth is without question my mother's, but still... something about me just didn't fit. Lately it's been occurring to me that maybe I wasn't adopted, but maybe I wasn't actually SUPPOSED to be here at all. Maybe I snuck my way into the universe like some cosmic accidental joke that God played on my parents. And then all three of them were like "well, Jeez. What are we gonna do with this one?" Nothing has ever quite worked out the way it "should have" for me. I have been coming to terms with the fact that I won't ever have a 60th wedding anniversary, or a burial plot next to someone. And that's ok I guess, since I really want my ashes scattered somewhere really fun, so people can remember me every time they hang out there. But I still think that maybe I just don't fit into this life quite right. I am a square peg in a round universe. Maybe, just maybe, I am SO accident prone that I have unintentionally missed every rendezvous with death that has been appointed to me. I showed up late, true to form, for all of the stellar alignments that would return me to my rightful place in the Order of Things.

 All of this crossed my mind as I was leaving Walla Walla yesterday. Walla Walla is the epicenter of my existence. The place that destined me to birth, if such a destiny was in the first place. The beginning of it all. I was there for the memorial service of a great Uncle/Cousin named Solomon Frank, whom I remember meeting as a little girl, probably between Easter Egg Hunts and visits from The Real Santa Claus, who apparently lived across the street from Grandma Schiffman in 1983. Solomon Frank was triple related to me, since at least three Schiffmans married at least three Franks, and both lines crisscrossed repeatedly in a somewhat Appalachian fashion.

 Volga Germans, the Franks immigrated INTO Russia (I know, right?) under the reign of Catherine The Great and set up German colonies along the Volga river, and then crossed over to the US when Russia started thinking maybe German-Russians shouldn't be a thing after all. Staunch Lutheran Reformationists, this family, getting all mixed up with the ever-imbibing Schiffmans, hard drinking Germans with a penchant for all sorts of vices. I was there with my parents and my Aunt and Uncle and clone-cousin, and we had some interesting conversations about what made us the person(s) that we are, which is quite nearly the same, and a repetition for all intents and purposes of our great grandmother Francis Hawk.

 Francis was neither Frank nor Schiffman, but threw in her own dash of awesome for the perfect mix. She was a woman ahead of her time. An amatuer performer on stage with Adam West (the actor who first portrayed Batman on the big screen), she also helped excavate and curate the historical site of the Whitman Mission, a novice archaeologist after my own heart. She was a photographer, an artist, a mountaineer, a mother, and a journalist for the Associated Press back when they were worth their mettle in World War II. My cousin Hannah and I have (often unintentionally) pursued almost the exact same exploits. It's a little bit eery.

 Anyway, I left Walla Walla and foolishly followed SIRI's directions off into the wheat covered hills of the lower Palouse. I was lost in thought as I travelled a couple of different two lane, winding highways dutifully, disregarding a curious note that they were oddly named roads, but trusting the painted double yellow to not be destination-less. After about 45 minutes SIRI told me to turn onto a gravel road. Sensing immediately that this was it, her final play to do me in, I disobeyed. As far as I knew, I didn't need to take a gravel road ANYWHERE between Walla Walla and Northport, and it was obviously nothing more than an attempt to shake me. Nice try, SIRI. I continued on the two lane for another 20 minutes or so and then it ended. Well really, it turned into a gravel road. Which was disconcerting. The gravel road was well maintained and pointed in the general direction of the Columbia River which gave me some peace. I reassured myself that I wasn't in a hurry, and since I was already looking at backtracking at least 20 miles I might as well try it. SIRI started sputtering about having no service and Proceeding To the Route, which apparently now was off in the middle of a wheat field somewhere.

 I followed the gravel for 18 miles and at last there was a tiny little farm town. I knew a highway had to be nearby. Until I got close and realized that the tiny farm town was actually just a huge farm. With lots of campers. and no highway. I tried taking the road through the farm and it was fenced off  in the direction that SIRI insisted was the way to Northport. South facing, interestingly. She's vicious. I took the only road out and started thinking about that family that got lost on the forest road in Oregon and the dad starved to death. I figured my odds were slightly better because there was lots of wheat around, plus all the fire snacks I brought home, and if I ever overcame my pride and the hint of terror that the farmhouse might be the den of a serial killer, I could always ask for directions. Fortunately, after another 20 minutes of driving too fast on a gravel road, with no cell service and no radio reception, so basically, running for my life, I ran into WA State HWY 261, which I didn't even know existed.

 For the record, it is my personal belief that HWY 261 is actually a roller coaster. hiding in a witness protection program after a few too many suspicious theme park deaths. I survived that road/ride with only a touch of carsickness and then raced my gas light to the nearest gas station, which it turns out was NOT in Washtucna. I met a nice family of healthy black widow spiders living in a public restroom provided by the Washtucna Lions Club. (Note to Lion's Club - get in there with some big boots and a shop-vac STAT!) Once again, narrowly escaping the death that has been pursuing me since my unintentional inception. Somehow I got to Ritzville alive, and remarkably, ahead of schedule.

 All of that near-death-defying experience made me think about accidents, the unfortunate ones, and the serendipitous ones, and how a wrong turn can be the thing that makes your life what it is. The extra bends and turns and the little bit of uncertainty that makes your heart beat a little bit faster. Knowing for certain that there are a LOT of wheat fields out there that you can't see from the highway. A lot of stuff to see and know, that you can't reach from a direct route. It's ok sometimes to get off course, both to see the sights, and to know that you won't die. Not at the hands of a serial killer or a black widow or starvation. And that it's ok to go with your gut - sometimes you wind up on a questionable gravel road, but in the end, it all works out.

Storied past leads to new chapter for Fogle Pump

Rod and Sue Fogle

By Don Birch

Open house May 12-13

for new headquarters

Fogle Pump & Supply, Inc. is celebrating their 36th anniversary during the month of May at their new 10,000 sq. ft. building located one mile northwest of Colville along Highway 395.

"It's with great pride and sense of accomplishment that we show off our new facility to our customers with a special month-long sale," stated Rod Fogle, owner. "We are offering tours of our new building which includes a working display highlighting some of our products."

A variety of prizes will be given away during the open house, including a flat screen television, a Bluetooth radio shower head, outdoor barbecue, $100 gift card, and the grand prize, a Softmax #JM920-TM water conditioner valued at $1,895. Hot dogs and hamburgers, chips and drinks will be offered both days between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.  Factory representatives will also be on hand during the event.

The era of Fogle Pump & Supply began in 1981 when Rod and Sue Fogle purchased Bargain Warehouse from Harold Rotter.  Rotter's business featured plumbing products, pumps and logging supplies.  Rotter took over the business from Bill Parrott, his former father-in-law.  Parrott was known in the community as "Bargain Bill", and carried that title throughout his career when he purchased a similar business in Spokane.  Bargain Warehouse had served this area since 1946.

Fogle decided his career to be in the well drilling industry, but not before struggling with life at an early age.  "I was like a lost child--I didn't know what I wanted to do," Fogle remembered. Rod tried college to find his way. "It took me two years, and five different colleges, before I figured out college wasn't meant to be for me."

Rod's life changed drastically in 1974 when his parents, Bob and June Fogle died in an airplane accident on June 3 near Castle Rock, WA. They were with Jerry McMillan and wife Emiko. McMillan was creator and president of Colmac Industries.

"There were the four of us who all of a sudden had to learn how to deal with the loss of our parents, and how to go on with life and become successful," Rod continued. "My sister Julie was the oldest, just graduating from high school. I was in my junior year. Steve and Wendy were youngest in the family."

Family was in the car industry  

The Fogle family was well-known and respected in the Colville community. Ott Fogle, Rod's grandfather, was owner of Fogle Motor Company. Rod's father had joined the business and took over ownership of the dealership when Ott retired.

"I grew up always wanting to follow in my father's and grandfather's footprints. But I was too young when my parents were killed. My grandfather was too old to assume the chores of keeping the business going," Rod explained. "So Rainier Bank took over the running the dealership. The bank made the decision to sell the dealership which had just moved to the present location (now Country Chevrolet). The Ford dealership was purchased by Al Sherman of Spokane".

The new Colville building

It's history, but hard to believe

The Fogle dealership was just one of several car dealerships in Colville early on. It's hard to imagine that a town with less than 3,000 people could support 12 different car dealers, but during the 1950's, that was the case.

For history buffs, the list of dealers, including Fogle Motors, who sold Fords, Cadillacs, Pontiacs, Studebakers and Packards, were: Harms Motor Co. (Buick); White & Blessing Motor Co. (Oldsmobile); Laird Chevrolet Co. (Chevrolet); Cole Motors (DeSoto, Plymouth); Dallas Garage (Dodge, Plymouth); Wendle Bros. Motor Co. (Ford); Eldon Carter Motors (Nash Rambler, Metropolitan); Bronsons Implement (Parkard); Dominion Motors (Hudson); Jefferson-Thompson Motors (Mercury); and Lynn Farm Supply (Kaiser Frazer, Willys).

There were also 27 different service stations where customers could purchase gas and get vehicles serviced.

"After giving college a try, I found a job during the summer months managing the Northport Race Track," Fogle stated. "A short time later, I got my start in well drilling when I was hired by K.C. Kane, owner of K.C. Kane Well Drilling. K.C. taught me the business."

Rod and Sue were married in 1978. At the time, Sue was employed at Mount Carmel Hospital. "I was on maternity leave when we purchased Bargain Warehouse in 1981," Sue related. "All at once we had a new baby and a new business."

Tasha was the first born. Three more children joined the family including Alaina, Elizabeth and Robert.  Robert is presently employed at Fogle Pump, Spokane branch (Airway Heights purchased in 1995). There is a third store in Republic.

Rod and Sue have always agreed on one thing raising their children. "When they were old enough, we always encouraged our kids to move away from Colville; then if they wanted to come back, it would be because they wanted to come back," Sue explained. Tasha and Elizabeth live in Colorado Springs; Alaina in Tacoma, and Robert in Spokane. The Fogle's have five grandchildren, "and two grand dogs and one grand cat," Sue chuckled.

Rod decided to get back into the car business in June 1990. "I was always a Ford man because my father and grandfather were Ford men," Fogle said. "But I got a call from General Motors asking me to take on the Chevy line. I decided to give it a try, but not before approaching Dave LaDuke to become my partner.  Together, we opened LaDuke & Fogle Motors. We also went into partnership at LaDuke and Fogle Equipment," he added. Fogle has since sold his interest in the dealership to Tony Booth. The store is now under the name of Country Chevrolet-Buick.

Community involvement

Owning two major businesses in four different locations, doesn't mean the Fogles spend all their time worrying about the day-to-day grind. "We have always said if you are going to own a business, you should get involved with the community in which you serve," Fogle stated. That's exactly what Rod and Sue have done.

"I have several civic projects near and dear to my heart," Rod related. Probably the one Rod cared most about was the re-location of the cross on Colville Mountain. The cross is the most iconic symbol which overlooks the Colville Valley.

It was when two individuals contacted the ACLU to complain that the Colville cross was located on city land, a violation of church and state. The ACLU sent the city of Colville a letter suggesting they remove or move the cross to another location, or face a lawsuit.

"I did some research and found that an individual owned property adjacent to the city property," Fogle said.  "I contacted the owner of the property to see if I could purchase the property--and I did."  

Ken Macomber headed the project with a group of local businesses and individuals to re-construct a bigger and stronger cross just a short distance from its original location.

"I remember most the candlelight vigil held at the cross after 9-11. Everyone could see the illumination--it was so cool," Sue added.

Another project Rod played a major role in was "Colville 2000", which he chaired. The project included the construction of the two round-abouts, one at each end of town. Colville 2000 was accomplished through the hard work and determination of a group of many, including the late John Acorn. "John worked hard, and I feel good about how these round-abouts have turned out to be. I feel they have helped the traffic flow in Colville. At first I was worried it might hurt the business community on Main Street, but I think everything has turned out okay," Fogle said.

Fogle was also involved in the clock project located at Main and Astor in downtown Colville.  The clock and sculptures were created by Chris Anderson. Fogle, Macomber and Acorn did the major fund-raising for the project.

Sue has also donated her time to the community. She served on the Colville School Board for 11 years, served as a director for the Mount Carmel Hospital Foundation Board and has been a volunteer Red Cross worker for many years.  

The Fogles are also big supporters of conservation groups such as Ducks Unlimited, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, the Safari Club, and Wild Turkey Foundation. They are also avid hunters. "I am a better shot the he is," Sue bragged humorously.

EOD fundraiser

Sadly, but honorably, the Fogle's are involved with a more meaningful project: the Explosive Ordinance Disposal (EOD) Warrior Foundation. It was created by a small group of individuals who support each other after the loss of a loved one, or one who was injured in the fight against Alejada, the Taliban and ISIS.

Tasha's husband, Nick Sprovtsoff  was an EOD technician. He was killed in Afghanistan by an explosive device while serving with the Marines. She has become a board director for EOD Warrior Foundation which carries the commitment of raising funds for the organization to benefit families affected by the war.

Each director is responsible for raising at least $5,000 for the foundation. Last September, Tasha, with the support from her family, held a golf tournament and auction at the Chewelah Country Club. With the backing of her parents, Tasha was able to raise over $60,000 during the event, which the family said was a tribute to the commitment by northeast Washingtonians to the EOD cause.

"Tasha's family has truly also benefitted from being a part of the organization," Sue noted.

One of the featured items auctioned at the Chewelah event last year was a sculpture of an EOD warrior created by well-known sculpturist Jerry McKellar, a former Colville dentist. The Fogle family still has several McKellar sculptures planned for future events. McKellar will have some of his work on display at the Fogle Pump open house.

Another feature at the open house will be the work of artist Webb Keller, a former Army EOD survivor.  He will have handmade pictures on display during the two-day event. The EOD Warrior Foundation will continue to have fund-raising events across the country to support families affected. "It is my feeling that our own government could do more to support the EOD cause," Fogle added.

Fogle Pump & Supply has a special parking lane in front of their store specifically for veterans. They also fly an "Honor and Remember flag" in front of their Colville store.    

Rod and Sue Fogle display sculptures created by Jerry McKeller. The sculptures will be donated to fund-raising events to help the EOD Warrior Foundation.

The Spokane location

Ducks in a row: Kettle Falls second grade pitch in with Ducks Unlimited

By Liv Stecker

 Everything is under a-quack in the second grade at Kettle Falls Elementary School. Students have ducked into a big project, and it’s ruffling feathers in major fowl circles! Under the guidance of second grade teachers Lari Kay Smith, Liz Braden and Emily Cooper, students have been fully submerged in learning about ducks this year as part of their science curriculum. “Our program is called an expedition.” explains Lari Kay, “and our expedition's guiding question is: What does it take for a wood duck to survive in the Colville River ecosystem?” And the kids have all dived in head-first.

 This year is the 5th year that Kettle Falls second graders have hatched a project to play into the local Ducks Unlimited annual banquet. The idea began when local representative Jamie Baskin, a long time teacher, realized how well the second grade expeditions would tie into the conservation work that Ducks Unlimited has been undertaking for years.

 In addition to undertaking environmental projects cleaning wooden duck houses that high school students constructed the first year of the program, they have learned every stage of the life cycle of a wood duck, even committing the process to song with the help of music teacher, Mrs. Olson. In “crew club”, the music and art program that the second graders participate in twice a week, they helped to write the song and are practicing it for performance at the Ducks Unlimited banquet which took place at the Ag-trade center in Colville on April 22.

 In addition to performing  their original musical piece, the students provided artfully crafted drawings in the form of placemats for the banquet, each depicting a specific duck and describing either physical or behavioral characteristics of the wood duck. One of the wooden duck habitats crafted by students was donated and auctioned off at the banquet.

 The event on April 22 was a great success. Along with the student’s song and presentations about wood ducks, there was a raffle and several games and great prizes donated by local businesses and individuals.

 Baskin says that the program and projects that the students are working on has grabbed the attention of Ducks Unlimited organizers on a larger regional level, who have requested any left over placemats for the regional banquet which will be held in Spokane this year.

 Next year the local chapter of Ducks Unlimited will host the annual banquet fundraiser on April 21st with the help of local students and individuals interested in wetlands conservations. For more information, contact Jamie Baskin at 509-685-2256 or email: jlbconsulting20@yahoo.com. You can visit the Ducks unlimited website at ducksunlimited.org.