How to make the most of a Century: the story of Verna Fine Walsh

by Liv Stecker

100 years is a lot of time. Over the course of the last century, Verna Fine Walsh has made the most of her time. As a mother, a wife, a postmaster, volunteer librarian, gas station attendant, camp cook, food bank volunteer, Charter Member and Past Master of the Kettle River Grange, actress, convenience store clerk, avid dancer, pinochle player and quilter, Verna has quite literally done it all.  Only July 26th, Verna turns 100, friends and family from all around will gather to celebrate with her at one of the places that she was instrumental in building, the Kettle River Grange. 

Verna Jean was born to Bill and Betty Plews in 1915 at Sacred Heart Hospital in Spokane. Growing up in Ione, Washington, where her father worked at the sawmill, Verna remembers the catastrophic fire of 1924 that destroyed much of the town. "They had the train backed into evacuate people because they didn't have any other way to get out." She tells the story. Her family was one of the few with a car at the time: "Mother had the car packed up, and in the evening, just before we left, the wind shifted and the fire went the other way." In 1929, the Plews moved to Boyds, where her father ran the local tavern for many years. 

Verna went to school in Boyds and Marcus before the town was relocated, and was transferred for her senior year to Orient, due to reallocated school district. Her junior year, she was tapped for a role in the senior play at the Marcus School. The next year she starred in both the senior play and the all school production at Orient. She graduated in 1934 and the following year she met Lester Fine through mutual friends at a dance at the Sherman Creek Grange Hall. She and Lester were married that year and had their first son, Gary Dean Fine, in the spring of 1938. 

Grange and schoolhouse dances were the best and often only place for young adults to socialize during the mid 1930s, and Verna recounts traveling all over to go to dances, from Laurier to Deadman Creek and Kettle Falls at it's original location above the falls. To get to dances at the Marcus Dance Hall, Verna says that she and her friends had to walk across the railroad bridge, since the only one who owned a vehicle apparently didn't have a driver's license yet. She says crossing the bridge in the dark seemed like a long trip, and looking back she's not sure it was worth it. "There was a fella that had built the dance hall out of slabs, and when you danced around, they would move." She laughs at the memory. Always at the dances,  there was a fiddle player, and usually an organ or piano to accompany. Later on, the Kettle Falls High School orchestra formed a dance band that played for dances at the Orient School - one of the favorite dance locations. 

The winter of 1938-39, Verna and Lester lived at old Kettle Falls. The relocation process had already begun, but Verna recalls how cold that winter was, and how poorly insulated their house had been. They had no running water and Verna remembers that the water bucket sitting right next to the stove would freeze solid overnight. Baby Dean was only a few months old at the time. "Good thing he slept through the night!" Verna chuckles at the recollection. 

In the Spring of 1939, the relocation of Kettle Falls was completed. Verna remembers going with a young Dean to see the Grand Coulee Dam as construction was completed. Lester got a job with the mill on Sherman Creek as night watchman. The Fines lived in a company house and Verna worked in the cookhouse. "My son would come into the cookhouse and sit on the men's laps and they kept giving him food and taught him all kinds of bad words. He was just learning to talk, and luckily he forgot most of them after we left." Verna recalls. 

The following year, Verna's second son, Monty Keith Fine was born. The Fines moved around for seasonal jobs, working for the Forest Service at Growden Camp on Sherman Pass, operating a service station where Verna became proficient at pumping gas, and finally ending up back in Boyds where Verna helped move the Post Office into the front of their convenience store. 

In 1946, Verna helped to organize the Kettle River Grange, where she became a charter member. Shortly after its founding, she and several other community members spearheaded fundraising efforts to construct the grange building. "We started working hard at turkey shoots, dinners and plays - the plays were a big money maker." she says. The community built a basement with a peaked roof that could be removed when they  had the funds to build the first story. 

The first play at the grange took place in the basement. Verna remembers running around the outside of the building in costume to make entrances by sliding into the basement. That production was a minstrel show, all in grease paint black face, before the era of political correctness in theater. Verna played "Mammy" who had 16 children, including her own boys, all done up in black grease. She says that night was a greasy hot mess. The dinner they cooked before the show was put together in the cloak room of the schoolhouse, since the grange didn't have a kitchen yet. Someone had donated a cookstove that ran on propane, but Verna and her friends didn't have experience cooking with gas. There was a mini explosion when they lit the stove that melted holes in her girlfriend's nylons, and after that, the ladies gave up and resorted to the old reliable cook stove they knew so well. One of the gals had to run home and cook up a batch of potatoes on her own stove to save time. 

Verna went on to play countless lead roles in the Kettle River Grange plays, which became major social events in the area. She recalls playing a "hideous hag" that no man wanted, and a schoolmarm that was overcome by shock and fainted in nearly every scene. One of the stand out productions involved all of the local men, burly loggers, miners and mill workers, dressed up as Can Can girls in a Showboat play. The community would bring potluck dishes to share for every play, and Verna jokes that everybody that wasn’t in the play got to eat all of the food while the actors were busy performing. 

In 1956 she was appointed Postmaster of Boyds. Lester worked for the Napoleon Mine across the hill from Boyds driving an ore truck until it closed, then he went on to drive school buses for area schools until his retirement. Verna kept the little community of Boyds ticking through the grange and the Post Office until her retirement in 1976. Lester passed away in 1975, and following her retirement, Verna took many bus tours with her sister down to the redwoods in California and other scenic locations. 

An avid pinochle player, Verna traveled to card games around the area in the "widow wagon" with three other widows that were chauffeured by Swede Hills every Saturday night. Card parties in those days would pack out the grange, with up to ten tables of card players. Kids would roller skate in the basement of the grange, as her son Monty recalls. 

In 1977, Verna moved into Kettle Falls. She immediately began fundraising for the new senior center, an abandoned church building in need of remodeling. "I sewed quilt blocks day in and day out - I don't know how many I made!" she laughs. The church was originally relocated from the old town of Kettle Falls and served many purposes before the senior center purchased it and revitalized it. Verna says that they held dances in the center until they discovered that the foundation couldn't handle the traffic. 

In addition to her efforts for the Senior Center, she also volunteered at the library, and the Kettle Falls food bank for many years, where she served on the board. Verna was a tireless advocate for the community for many years. Recently, the loss of most of her vision forced her to quit working, but she stays active in the community at the Senior Center and other local events, even riding in parades as Grandma Kettle! 

On Sunday, July 26th, Verna’s son (Monty) Keith Fine and friends invite the community to join in celebrating Verna’s 100th birthday. The old fashioned potluck party will take place at the Kettle River Grange that was such a big part of Verna’s life in the community. Keith is providing meat, and asks guest to bring a side dish or dessert to share. The party will start at 1:00 PM; no gifts please.  

Truly a matriarch of the community and an example of how to make the most of a long life, when asked what her secret is, Verna laughs. "Working! Just keep going I guess. Even when it's bad, just pretend it's not and move on!" With a memory like a steel trap, a keen sense of humor and a twinkle in her eyes, Verna is what all of us should hope to be at 100. Happy Birthday Verna! 

The Proof is In The Bottle

by Liv Stecker

When Henry Anderson headed to Kentucky last year for the Annual Conference of the American Distilling Institution, winning an award was the last thing on his mind. Somewhat reluctantly, he submitted a sample of his Apple 151, a distilled spirits specialty "moonshine", made with 5 different varieties of apples from Sherman Creek Orchard, local beets and molasses. "I wasn't going to send it in," says Anderson, "because it was the second batch out the still," but seeing the conference and the judging process as a chance for some feedback and exposure for his fledgling distilling project, he changed his mind. Henry says he wasn't even paying attention to the competition results until he started getting pats on the back from the people standing around him. Apple 151 had taken a gold medal for best in category and a silver medal overall. Long time craft distillers watched grudgingly as Dominion Distillery emerged to the immediate accolades of some of the world's most qualified master distillers, professional nose and taste experts and more importantly, everybody who tasted it. 

Henry decided to tackle the intricate world of distilling after several years of successful home beer brewing. Not wanting to launch yet another micro brewery and compete with good friends locally, he wanted to try something new. Dry Fly distilling in Spokane was just taking off as a model of a successful craft distillery, and Henry was intrigued. A pile of distilling textbooks later and Henry was in the thick of it. Simultaneous to creating award winning recipes, Henry designed a still to optimize air cooling distillation using vertical copper tubing that forces distilled spirits upward without compromising the flavor of the finished product, which happens often in traditional stills. While waiting for approval for his spirit recipes, Henry submitted patents for the "Gatling Still" as he calls it, a nod to it's gangster-era machine gun resemblance. 

The finished product of  Dominion's distilling innovation speaks for itself. So much so that Henry is also building a custom Gatling Still for a new distillery in Buffalo New York. It's not like Henry doesn't already have enough to keep him busy. The 100 gallon still at Dominion Distillery cranks out about one batch of spirits a week. This process involves five "stripping runs" that take about 8-10 hours apiece, and heat the distillery to a whopping 130 degrees - and that's just outside the still. After that, Henry performs a "spirit run" which can take even longer. All said and done, the process of making a batch of Apple 151 starts off with 500 gallons of apple mash and results in 30-50 gallons of 151. "It's a reductive process," Henry explains, "the still could be running all the time," but the problem that Dominion runs into at present is fermenting space. Henry and his business partner, Tommy Webster are working on solutions for this, as well developing a larger still. 

Recently, Dominion Distillery was approved to begin distributing through the Rosauers chain of grocery stores, which includes Super 1, Harvest Foods and many more. To keep up with this kind of demand, the need for more distilling space is urgent. All of these logistical issues are nothing compared to the challenge of keeping the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms happy. Each recipe has to be submitted for approval and classification before the distilling process can begin. This process involves copious amounts of paperwork and time. "It took nine months for them to tell us how to classify the 151. They had us put on the label 'Distilled Spirits Specialty' and 'moonshine'." Henry went on to say that the federal agency has since changed their definition of moonshine and that will mean yet another label change for them down the road. There are a lot of hoops to jump through, and occasionally Henry recruits the help of Saundra Richarts, who is also one of their tasting expert and resident spirits connoisseur.

When Henry isn't distilling or building state-of-the-art stills, he spends his time with his wife Quinell and their three little girls. Quinell makes wine at home, and Henry jokes that any marital discord in the home usually springs from who gets to use the glass carboys next and where the hydrometer went to, issues only a brewing family would understand. 

Growing up in Stevens County, Henry was homeschooled for most of his K-12 career, and it's perhaps his acquired skill of self-motivated investigation that is responsible for his success as a distiller. From college distilling text books to historical documents, Henry says he has found almost all of his knowledge about distilled spirits within the pages of the vast distilling library he has accumulated. "Craft Distilling is all about tradition," Henry says, and most of his recipes hearken to the oldest styles of spirits. 

July 1st, the tasting room at Dominion Distillery will begin to serve mixed cocktail drinks, including the Dominion Orange, Apple Pie, and other original recipes created by a master chef in Spokane. Plans for expanding the tasting room as well as the distilling operation and underway, as Henry and his partners look forward to meeting the ever growing demand for their award winning product. 

The Dominion Distillery tasting room is open Wednesday - Saturday, 3:00 PM until 8:00 PM, where you can sample Apple 151 and the Single Malt Vodka, and take home a bottle or two and see Henry and the Gatling Still in action. A new batch of Whiskey is in the final stages of distilling and then into the racks for barrel aging; it will be released in stages over the next few months. Stop by the tasting room at 116 North Main Street in Colville; check them out on Facebook, visit the website http://dominiondistillery.com or call 509-675-2179 for more information. 

Local Author Busts it Like a Mule

by Liv Stecker

They say that the best writers draw from personal experience, and while Caleb Mannan certainly isn't an Okie from the early 20th century, the characters from his recently self-published novel, Bust It Like A Mule, spring from the pages as if they were old familiar friends of the Colville native. 

Bust It tells the story of Cotton Kingfisher, the son of a "lousy cuss drunk" in Oklahoma who set out as a boy to make his way into the west, where he rides the rails and works across the Dakotas and the Pacific Northwest, leaving a trail of legend behind him as he goes along, defining the difference between a bum and a hobo who "chooses the life of a gypsy and earns his way through it..." Eventually, Cotton's travels take him to the Land Where The World Began and into the hometown of  a "beer bottle pretty girl" named Jael, who forever alters the course of his wandering. 

Told in the rambling voice of a drifter poet, Bust It Like a Mule is songlike in its spoken-word dialect and colloquial disinterest in grammatical propriety. Much like the hero of the story, Mannan's writing trudges along, winding through the emotions of the reader like so many mountain roads in Glacier National Park, which serves as the central setting for the unfolding of Cotton's fate. As the story develops, bits and pieces of northwest history are intertwined as Cotton moves through the Second World War and makes his way working seasonally for the Forest Service in Oregon and then Montana as a firefighter. Set against the backdrop of mountains, train cars and raging wildfires, Cotton Kingfisher battles local stigmas as well as his own baggage in the ultimate human quest to belong.

An avid storyteller and writer since elementary school, Caleb kept siblings and friends spellbound with his ridiculous tall tales and imaginative ramblings. Caleb married Jenny Anne Bulla, a local bluegrass musician, and the couple has four children. The themes of small town family, community spirit, down home music and dancing weave their way through Cotton's story, and manifest in a soundtrack for the book that has been developed by Caleb's friends and family, including his wife Jenny Anne, brother Jacob, and childhood best friend Kevin Morgan. The Mannans currently reside on the South Hill in Spokane Washington, where they held a "Hootenanny" release party on July 31st, at the Spokane Women's Club, complete with readings by the author, live music from the soundtrack, and a good old fashioned, small town hoedown. 

Growing up several miles south of Colville, Mannan is no stranger to the radical individualists, self-starting curmudgeons, dramatic beauty and hardship of the rustic northwest. Based loosely on an amalgam of characters throughout Caleb's life, Cotton Kingfisher is built on the core personality of J.E. Jones, Mannan's maternal grandfather, who was a singer/songwriter, migrant worker, and heroic legend to Caleb and his brothers throughout their childhood. The second born of four boys and one girl, Caleb Mannan lived on a little farm in Arden where they were homeschooled by their mother, Pat. As a young teenager, he worked a paper route for the Statesman Examiner in downtown Colville. He attributes his persistence in writing to a teacher that worked with him in highschool, Kay Bauer. Raised under somewhat strict, conservative standards, Mrs. Bauer encouraged Caleb to write passionately, allowing him to push boundaries. "As long as it made sense with the story, she supported it," he says, giving him the opportunity to venture into darker themes like war and conflict. Caleb says,  "She made writing as a boy fun." 

Getting Bust It published was about as much of a fight as Cotton Kingfisher puts up throughout the story. As Caleb's fourth complete novel (but the first to be published!) it was the first to garnish noteable feedback from publishers and literary agents. Granted, the feedback was resoundingly negative, but each response was personal and specific, in contrast to the form rejections Mannan was used to getting for his other stories. Repeated rejections had worn on Caleb, who also works full time in business for a subsidiary company of Expedia.

 When he wrote Bust It Like a Mule over a two week period in 2012, it was more of a recreational exploit than his darker and more serious writing endeavors had been for him. It happened after he and Jenny Anne visited Glacier National Park for their 10th wedding anniversary and Caleb was instantly captivated by the wild grandeur of the landscape and the Native American Lore that the area was rich with. 

Jenny Anne and Caleb made a pact to get his book published, come hell or highwater, but after so many edits, rewrites and turn downs, however personal they were, the project lost steam. Finally Jenny Anne took matters into her own hands and undertook to have the novel self published. She surprised Caleb with the first proof copies in June of this year. More editing, and preparing to self-market the book, Jenny Anne's kickstart was the momentum they needed to get going, and to "bust it like a mule" in true Cotton Kingfisher form. 

Mannan acknowledges his deviation from writing norms in the storytelling style of his book, he says, in an attempt to "connect with people on a visceral level." While some early readers of the story have said it takes a chapter or two to get in stride with the garrulous banter, Mannan says that it is the same narrator's voice that makes it so easy to read aloud and share. And like Caleb insists, he is a storyteller first and a writer second. The back cover of his novel is sprinkled with a tongue-in-cheek nod to literary rejectors, as if to thank them for giving the Mannans reason to wrestle the story into being just to spite them, much as the hero of the story would have. 

By the end of Bust It Like a Mule, the reader can't help but root for the crusty loner who has taken on his own demons as much as he has the closeminded Montana town where he lands. Cotton Kingfisher reminds us that a hero is defined by his actions more than his appearance, and that the bad guys aren't always the drifters fresh off the freight train.While Mannan might not have the war stories that Cotton Kingfisher can boast, he certainly captures the pulse of the very human struggle for commitment and belonging, and in that, his experience growing up in Stevens County is enough. 

Bust It Like a Mule is available on Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle formats, as well as at Auntie's bookstore in downtown Spokane. Visit the author's blog at CalebMannan.com for more background on the story, artwork by the author, and to listen to songs from the soundtrack by local artists. 

Getting to Know You

Washington DC is a big city, and for a visitor from rural Stevens County, it’s an easy place to get lost. It was a humid May morning when I wandered off of the Metro and toward the Nation's Capitol. Many Senators offer weekly opportunities to meet with constituents from their home state, and I had secured a reservation to attend a Wednesday morning coffee meeting with Patty Murray in the building where her office is housed, adjacent to the Capitol building.

Finding the Russell Senate Office Building wasn't nearly as hard as finding the meeting room where the Constituent Coffee was held. I stepped through security at one of the back doors of the building and true to form, didn't ask the guards for directions. I circled the cool, marble halls of the first floor, reading names on the placards by each door that were surprisingly familiar. I passed the offices of Ted Cruz and Paul Rand, pausing for a moment to consider the nation-altering conversations that happen behind these doors. The detailed wood work around the tall doorways was a throwback to the early 20th century, and I could almost see Jimmy Stewart's lean frame emerging from one of them as Jefferson Smith in the iconic classic, Mr. Smith Goes To Washington.

So much history in these walls - intrigue and maybe even some scandal. On my second circle I found the coffee room, which was designated by a large poster in front that I had somehow missed the first time. I went in quietly and took a seat alongside the wall, in between several smartly dressed 20 somethings who seemed to know what they were doing. At a large table in the middle of the room, a dozen or so people were seated, dressed in varying degrees of casual tourist and business attire. All of these were residents of Washington State, like me, stopping in for a chance to meet and maybe bend the ear of one of our senators.

I realized quickly that I had probably taken an inappropriate seat, as one of the sharp 20 somethings asked me which committee I was serving on. I am sure my look of total confusion set him back and then he introduced himself as one of the interns helping Senator Murray field any specific questions that might emerge about Food and Drug Related Issues in the State of Washington. It turns out that each of the several young professionals in the room was a specialist in some field. "Staffers" they are called on the hill, and they are designated to help the Senator deal with the massive amounts of paperwork, constituent concerns and the plethora of details that go along with every piece of legislation and issue in the Senate. While the young man was giving me the quick and dirty version of what everyone does, the Senator's administrative assistant stepped up to instruct us about how the coffee meeting would proceed.

Every constituent filled out a card identifying themselves and giving a brief physical description, so that photos taken with the Senator could be mailed to the correct individuals later. We lined up near the door when Senator Murray came in, and one by one we introduced ourselves and shook her hand and posed for a picture. Once the logistics of photos and hand shakes were over, we took our seats and Senator Murray asked each visitor to give a brief introduction, including names, where they were from and the nature of their visit to Washington D.C. The visitors ranged from families with school aged children on an educational vacation, to a student from a Community College in Spokane who was there to address a Senate Committee about higher education issues.

Senator Murray gave a quick talk about the jobs she performs on Capitol Hill and what issues she would be addressing in the Senate that day. Unfortunately for visitors on that particular Wednesday, there were no issues going to a vote on the floor, and while we were all given passes to the Capitol to watch the Senate in progress, Senator Murray explained that she would be moving between several meetings that she was scheduled to be at and would rarely be on the floor, if at all. It was a brief but concise glimpse into the daily life of a busy Senator. When she finished, the Senator opened up the meeting for any questions from the constituents. A pastor from the west side of Washington State brought up the issue of the recent Pilchuck School shooting and what could be done. Senator Murray offered a compassionate response that put the focus on getting communities the resources needed to recover from an incident like the Marysville Shooting, as well as building up the families to provide the mental health care that would prevent such tragedies.

After a few minutes, another staffer appeared to whisk Senator Murray off to her next meeting, and the professional 20-somethings stayed behind to answer more questions and mingle with constituents. I was impressed with Senator Murray's efficient but engaging interactions with the visitors, she asked many questions about their sightseeing plans, backgrounds and made suggestions for their visits. It was a good glimpse of a Senator that is easy to write off as a distant politician, and a chance to experience the bustle of Capitol Hill outside of what we see on The West Wing or HBO.

Leaving the Constituent Coffee, I took one more lap around the building for good measure, and also to avoid the humidity that was rapidly escalating outside. It occurred to me that although there was a little less makeup and suspense than on the set of a political drama, the inner workings of our legislative branch of government is a fascinating machine, staged in the magnificent setting of buildings that speak of poise and power. We live in one of the youngest nations in the world, but our Capitol carries that youth with an air of purpose that befits the legends who have walked these same marble hallways.

For Washington State residents who are visiting Washington DC, reservations to attend the Senator Murray's Constituent Coffee can be made through the website: http://www.murray.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/weeklycoffee, or by calling: 202-224-1425. 

Fire Season Begins Early

by Liv Stecker

What began as a normal day of logging activities in the woods east or Orient on May 7th took a dramatic turn when a helicopter that was being used to lift timber fell out of the sky. The UH-1 helicopter, also known as a Huey, broke apart on impact and burst into flames. The 30-year-old female pilot miraculously managed to walk away from the wreckage, and with help from nearby logging crews, made it nearly 1/4 mile through the woods to the road to meet with emergency responders.

The fire from the helicopter quickly spread into nearby timber, and within less than an hour had grown remarkably in size. Firefighters responded from multiple nearby agencies and within a short time the Department of Natural Resources and local units from the Colville National Forest were on scene. By the Thursday evening the fire had grown to 50 acres and within 24 hours there were 100 firefighters battling the blaze.

Any given summer in Northeastern Washington, the risk for accidentally caused wildfire is a real threat. Fast moving grass fires have been caused by vehicle crashes along many major highways and forest roads. The difference in this situation is not only the type of crash, but the time of year. Franklin Pemberton, Public Information Officer for The Colville National Forest, says that while fire behavior on the Hungry Hill blaze was what firefighters would call "moderate", for early May, fire activity in heavy timber is highly unusual.

Hungry Hill Fire was contained at 85 acres with the help of several outside fire crews, including Interagency Hotshots who came in from Oregon to help put out the fire. Local fire managers were thrown into active fire mode weeks ahead of the anticipated fire season, and before many local seasonal fire employees had begun work. Hungry Hill was a glimpse into what could be one of the most potentially dangerous fire seasons we have seen regionally for some time. After the tragic losses last year during the Carleton Complex, fire managers are looking at ways to help communities prepare for and prevent devastating events like we saw in the Methow Valley.

On May 15, 2015, Governor Jay Inslee declared a statewide drought emergency. The current Washington State snowpack is presently at 15% of normal levels. The last statewide drought emergency was declared in 2005 when the snowpack was at 25% of normal levels. More than 3/4 of residential watersheds in Washington State are below 75% of normal supply levels. Even with the rainstorms that have swept through northeastern Washington lately, we have a long summer ahead of us. Long term weather outlooks for the summer are calling for normal precipitation for the summer, but due to higher than normal temperatures, evaporation rates will accelerate and we are looking forward to a very dry season.

All of these factors mean an increased chance of wildfire in our area this year, both human and naturally caused. The first line of defense for fire prevention and protection starts with each resident and community. To help rural homeowners prepare for the risk of wildfire, the National Fire Prevention Association has developed a program called FireWise Communities, which provides resources and tools to reduce the chances of property loss in case of fire. Visit www.FireWise.org for more information and find out how to make your community FireWise before this season gets the better of us. Also visit www.fireadaptedcommunities.org to find out about how you can integrate wildfire preparedness throughout every part of your community, professionally, recreationally and personally. For current wildfire information, visit www.inciweb.org - all major incidents are updated on this site daily. Fire weather forecasts and information can be found through the National Weather Service at www.nws.noaa.gov. 

photo credits: inciweb.org

Local Author Releases Book

By Liv Stecker

  36 years of school administration all over the northwest adds up to a lot of learning. Cathie West began her career in education nearly 45 years ago as a preschool teacher, and quickly moved into a job as a principal, which set her on a professional path that she would continue for the rest of her working life. Moving around the northwest from Washington to Oregon, Idaho, Alaska, and British Columbia, Cathie served as a principal in locales as varied as the orchard-rich Wenatchee Valley, and Friday Harbor on San Juan Island. 

  Receiving numerous awards for both her own leadership and the success of the schools where she worked, Cathie has earned her stripes as an effective force in education in the northwest. She began writing during her time as a principal – pieces for professional journals, magazines and local newspapers. She also edited material and proofread for other writers in her spare time. 

  Along the way, Cathie’s experience as a proofreader for academic writers became the impetus for writing a book. In September, The Educator’s Guide to Writing a Book: Practical Advice for Teachers and Leaders (Routledge, 2016) will be released. According to Cathie, educators that work “in the trenches” are effecting change. “They need to tell stories about their successes,” she says.  For many who have been trained to write in technical, academic terms, producing a book that captivates an audience can be daunting. “Everyone has fabulous ideas, that’s not the problem,” according to Cathie, “articulating them in a manner that grabs the reader” is the real challenge as she sees it. 

  This is Cathie’s fourth publication, her other works include The 6 Keys to Teacher Engagement: Unlocking the Doors to Top Teacher Performance (Routledge, 2013); Problem-Solving Tools and Tips for School Leaders (Routledge, 2011); and Leadership Teaming: The Superintendent-Principal Relationship (Corwin Press, 2009) which was co-authored with Dr. Mary Lynne Derrington. Her success in writing for her educational peers has led to this new volume, which includes usable tools such as a sample prospectus and checklists for the aspiring author. “My goal is to write something of value to other educators,” Cathie says, but this step-by-step instructional is applicable beyond the academic world to writers from all backgrounds. 

  Cathie and her husband moved to Colville after her retirement in 2013. They currently manage a small farm outside of town and the busy author laughs at the paradox of retirement. Finding time to produce material is a challenge for every writer, and since she has left behind her academic career that has not gotten any easier. She and her husband juggle a fully operational alfalfa farm and prolific garden, along with sheep and chickens, in addition to her literary undertakings. 

100 Years Of History

by Liv Stecker

 In 1902, the first school was built along Onion Creek. It was called the Lotze School and it was housed in a small log building. In 1908 a school board meeting about locations and districts actually came to blows when board members couldn't agree. The school was relocated several miles up Bodie Mountain Road and it was renamed the Wall School. Over the next decade, numerous schools around the area were built and then subsequently consolidated into larger districts in the town of Northport, the Marble Flats, and eventually, two small homestead districts combined in 1915 to create Onion Creek School.

 Still in operation today, without a break in service, the schoolhouse was built in 1917 along with a teacher's cottage which provided housing for the resident teacher into the 1970s. It has since been retrofitted to be used as a preschool classroom. In 1981, the school built a new multi-use building, complete with a passive solar greenhouse and an open solarium-style mini amphitheater (lovingly known as "the pit”) at the center of the polygon shaped building that is used for student gatherings. Heavily influenced by the influx of hippy generation families that accumulated in the Onion Creek area in the 1970s, the building was designed to encourage community experienced based learning. At one time, green vining plants thrived in custom fabricated containers throughout the atrium, enhancing the open second story which now serves as a library and additional work space.

 The greenhouse posed problems for the school district for heating in the winter, and when some of the glass panels cracked, a safety based grant from the state provided for a remodel that expanded the former greenhouse into a cafeteria and locker space. Most of the plants from the greenhouse inside the school were transplanted to the school garden which is still maintained by students and staff and provides fresh vegetables for the kitchen in the late spring and early fall.  While many of the idealistic concepts from the 1970s are no longer functioning aspects of Onion Creek School, the die-hard spirit of individualism that has been characteristic of the area since the first settlers moved up Bodie Mountain is still a driving force.

 Over time, the population of the Onion Creek area has grown and diminished. First with the commercial mining and logging interests, and later as families left urban areas and sought out  a back-to-the-land lifestyle in northern Stevens County. For many decades, the Onion Creek School served Kindergarten through the 6th grade only. In the mid 1990s it was expanded to include middle school grades.

 Currently the historic 1917 schoolhouse serves as the middle school, while the K-5th grades meet in the 1981 addition. Partitions have gone up between the once open classrooms in the round schoolhouse, as state standards for grade level requirements and testing processes have grown more demanding and allow for less distraction and flexibility in teaching.

 In April, in preparation for the 100 year anniversary of the school, students put together a “museum” display. The theme “Peeling Back the Layers of Onion Creek” is revisited every three years as a period of time in the history of the community is investigated. In addition to special project focused on the centennial, the students were all assigned the task of creating their own “hippy home”, as if they had moved to Onion Creek in the 70s, exploring motivations for different and unorthodox styles of houses during the period. The 3D projects ranged from retrofitted school buses, to geodomes, to earth houses and even a whimsical tree house, many of which are replicated after actual homes in the area.

 For the centennial, one of the projects that students in the middle school were assigned involved filing a claim for property in the Onion Creek Area according to the historical process. Students studied plot maps and chose a claim and filed all of the necessary paperwork, signing contracts for the required conditions of property claims at the turn of the century. Learning about the use of land, either along water, wooded, or for pasture gave the students a glimpse of the value system at Onion Creek in the early 1900s.

 Other centennial projects included snapshots of the turn of the century lifestyle in transportation, entertainment, social life and religion; tracing family lines from the first settlers in the area; and recipes from the turn of the century homesteaders. Each student also created a display about their own family and how they came to Onion Creek.

 In May, local author Jack Nisbet paid a visit to the school, facilitated through the Upper Columbia Children’s Forest, a project sponsored by the Colville National Forest. Nisbet gave the 4th-8th grade students a presentation about the Onion Creek area along the Columbia River around the time that explorer David Thompson made contact with the Native Americans, in the early 1800s. Discovering the types of canoes that local tribes built during this time, the students then followed Jack on a nature walk to locate the same tree varieties and other useable plants in the woods around the school. Nisbet painted a picture for the students that contrasted the wild plant life that Thompson encountered 200 years ago to the 100 year old cleared meadows, fruit trees and non-native plants that were introduced by the homesteaders. Glimpses of both historical environments are within a few steps of the old schoolhouse.

 Onion Creek School is an icon of the true-grit determination of the earliest settlers in Stevens County and the radical individualism that defines our area. It combines realism of harsh, off-the-grid living with the idealism of the 70s. The school has a long history of  producing artists and free spirits that move on to high school in other locations and bring a sense of community and vision with them. The Onion Creek School community is the picture of cultural and technological adaptability, allowing changes over time to bend and mold their mission throughout a century of  history.

 On June 27th, the Onion Creek School is hosting a 100 Year Anniversary Celebration that begins at 10:00 AM and goes throughout the day with a ceremony, a sing along, live music and lunch from the kitchen will be offered. There is no charge for the event but donations will be accepted. More information is available at the website http://ocs100.weebly.com , where you can find details about the celebration and RSVP. All Onion Creek alumni, past teachers and staff are encouraged to attend, as well as any interested community members! Coordinators do ask for an RSVP to facilitate meal planning.

Looking Back at Onion Creek School

 

We’ve been studying local history with our ‘Peeling Back the Layers of Onion Creek’ unit.  Students have looked back on the consolidation of 5 local schools to 1, and have researched many of the early Onion Creek families.  Thank you to those of you who were able to visit our Museum on April 30th, and for those of you who missed it, here is a taste of some of the work which will be on display during our 100 year celebration on June 27th, 2015….

 

Walter Jacob William Lotze was born in Stevens County in 1888.  The Lotze family was one of the earliest homesteader families in Onion Creek.  Walter was a contractor and was never paid cash for his occupation.  At one time he worked at a smelter.  Life was hard for the early settlers because the technology they had to work the land and build things would seem primitive to us today.

-David

Claude Busby was born in Montana in 1890.  He moved his family, including a 4 year old daughter named Patricia, to Onion Creek when he was a young man.  He had multiple occupations, including farming, carpentry, and mining.  He loved to dance at parties up Bodie Mountain.  Claude was a veteran of World War I, but he survived to return to his family and home in Onion Creek.

​-Jakob

The Butorac family was from Croatia and moved to Onion Creek in 1907.  They had seven children, with four of them growing up to be teachers, while one became an engineer and one became a nurse. The Butorac father could do arithmetic in his head faster than most people could write down the problem. He tried to share this talent with his family by applying math to everyday events, like seeing fractions in a pie cut into pieces.  The mother was vegetable and flower gardener and often produced and canned over 1,000 quarts of vegetables, fruits, pickles, jelly, jam and meats.

​-Nicole

Ernst Lotze was born in 1855 in Germany and moved to Onion Creek, establishing a homestead in 1894. He and his wife Marie had 12 children. They survived by growing crops, picking wild berries, fishing in the creek and the Columbia and hunting deer and smaller game.  Ernst occasionally had disputes with neighbors and shot and killed a man in on his property in 1895.  In 1902 Ernst was sentenced to 20 years in prison.  Ernst’s sons and wife continued to live in Onion Creek on their homestead.

​-Cody

Iver T. Sundheim was born in 1875 in Norway.  He and his wife Margit arrived in Onion Creek in 1896 and established a homestead. They had 19 family members living in their home.  He was a farmer and grew wheat and alfalfa.  For entertainment, the family would go to the Bodie Mountain dances, renowned for the good music, good times and fights.  

​-Tristan

Nicholas Bolick was born in Austria and came to Onion Creek with his parents at age 14. Later he married Annie Vocobrolic. In 1919 he had a successful deer hunting party in Onion Creek. He rode horses and in the winter his horses could carry people in sleds. Nicholas owned a farm with his wife and they cultivated a garden with potato crops, and raised chickens, pigs, and rabbits. Nicholas Bolick died on April 29, 1950.

-Lindsey​

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Onion Creek’s Original Schoolhouses

 

Briggs Schoolhouse opened its doors to students in 1906. Briggs, a one room schoolhouse, was built by Mr. Erdman. Students had to carry buckets of water to the schoolhouse to meet their water requirements.  Usual people that attended the school were the Flanik, Sundheim, Dromovich, Snyder and Erdman families. Students caught squirrels, frogs and snakes to scare teachers and fellow classmates.  The first board members were Mrs. Erdman, Mr. Robinson and Mrs. Briggs. The first person to teach at Briggs was Louise Adams and the last teacher was Ellahanna.

 

-Jakob & David​

 

Onion Creek Falls #127 (The “Elgie School”) was built in 1905.  A nearby sawmill housed many of the families that attended the Elgie School.  Some students had a long walk to school so they found shortcuts to make their walk easier. A few families lived above the school and could ride their sleds most of the way down during the winter months. The first school board members were Frank Clay, J.C. Johnson, and Dan Elgie.  The first person to teach at Elgie School was James Norman. The last person to teach there was Hattie Gaines, from 1911-1912.  Dan Elgie moved the local sawmill and the school transferred its students to Marble District #167.

 

-Nicole & Lindsey​

 

Onion Creek School #30 was founded July 12th 1915.  The Sundheims used their log puller to clear a nice sized area around the school for kids to play on.  Across from the school was a teacher’s cottage. It was later moved onto school grounds and it is still being used today to teach preschool. It is lovingly referred to as the Cottage.  Some of the first people to use the teacher’s cottage were Gazelle, Walston, and Georgia Brown.  In 1917 the main schoolhouse was erected. It is a one room schoolhouse with a bell tower. The 1917 building is also still being used today to teach grades 6-8.  With an influx of families moving to the area in the 1970’s the local community desired a new ‘modern’ school. In 1981 construction finished on a multi room building, including a kitchen and a greenhouse. 

 

-Tristan​

 

Onion Creek’s Wall School was located in a remote area up Bodie Mountain Rd.  It was a one room schoolhouse built out of logs.  The first board members were A. Roseberry, Earnest Lotze, Ola Johnson, and J.C. Johnson.  The school’s first teacher was Mrs. Hanna and the last person to teach at Wall School was Mrs. Murphy.  The school held many dances, parties and community gatherings outside of regular school hours.  Some of the schools past students remembered it having a very precarious road up the mountain. Harry Blacken remembers the road as being, “nothing but a ledge cut into the side of the mountain.”

 

-Cody​

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