Area 36 Blues and Music Festival swings in again

By Liv Stecker 

Summertime means music festival time, and as local bands beat the heat on stages across the Northwest, the good folks at Area 36 invite blues lovers young and old to come enjoy the 4th annual Area 36 Blues and Music Festival on July 14th-16th. Set in a grassy meadow south of Colville, the festival features great local food, amazing bands from around the northwest, camping and a car show - all jam packed into a fun filled weekend of family and friends. Proceeds from the event go to benefit the Shriners Children’s Hospital and the many great programs they offer. 

For the fourth year in a row, Area 36 Blues and Musical Festival offers free camping and music and while donations for the Shriners Hospital for Children. The weekend includes a poker run on Saturday, July 16th (for info contact Cody at 509-936-2369), a kids workshop on Friday afternoon from 11:00-1:00 put on by Chewelah High School students, raffles, food and craft vendors and a steady lineup of great entertainment that begins Friday afternoon. The weekend benefit is made possible in part with help from the Colville Vinson Fund and Hotel Fund, and the Jerry Maestas ‘Sponsor A Youth’ organization and access development. A

The traditional show n’ shine car show happens on Saturday, with an added motorcycle show with trophy for best appearing bike on Friday evening. The poker run takes off Saturday morning and tours through the local countryside, returning back to the benefit at Area 36. 

Performers include the Chewelah High School Jazz Band, Jesse Quandt, Midnight Run Rockin’ Blues, Spokane Dan and the Blues Blazers, Royce-Govedare High Rollers, Laffin' Bones, Hoodoo Udo, Atomic Jive, plus Six-Strings n' Pearls. On Friday, the Lady Shriners Clowns will be on site for face painting, and the Shriners will be selling ducks for their annual duck race. 

Food at the event will be available from The Bombing Blue Food Truck, Big Twin BBQ (providing pulled pork and smoked turkey legs) and Rios Tacos. The beer garden will open at 6:00 PM on Friday and noon on Saturday and there will be a variety of craft vendors to peruse, all while listening to great music that is thanks to a grant from the Colville Vinson Fund. 

Updated event information is available on their GoFundMe and Facebook page or call 684-4444. 

End of the line: 2016 is final season for scenic train ride

By Liv Stecker

At the beginning of the 20th century, the fast timber resources of the north Pend Oreille forests were just beginning to be tapped into. During this time, lumber was moved geographically from forest to industry by floating the logs in rafts down rivers or bodies of water. The far north eastern corner of the state faced difficulties with this operation since the Pend Oreille River runs north into Canada. Franklin Blackwell, backed by big-money partners from the eastern seaboard, invested in logging interests in the mountains north of Spirit Lake, Idaho. To facilitate transport of their commodities, Blackwell and his partners constructed a railroad in 1907 that stretched from the base of operations in Spirit Lake to Newport, right on the border of Washington and Idaho. The following year they expanded the Idaho-Washington Railroad another 50 miles to the little town of Ione, where Blackwell and his partners built a mill for the Panhandle Lumber Company. In 1910, the Box Canyon Trestle was constructed and the line ran another nine and a half miles to Metaline Falls. 

The railway served to transport timber and cement out of north Pend Oreille county for decades, as well as two passenger trains per day between Spokane and Metaline Falls. Changing ownership from Blackwell’s organization to the Milwaukee Railroad, and finally Kyle Railroad, the line kept operating commercially until the early 1990’s when both the cement plant in Metaline Falls and the large lumber mill closed down. Sections of the railway farther south are still in commercial use by the paper plant in Usk, but the northernmost stretch has been used only for recreational purposes for more than 20 years. 

In 1981, North Pend Oreille Valley Lions Club member Bud Sargent, who was an operator for the Kyle Railroad at the time, suggested a scenic train ride along this far north part of the track during the colorful fall months. The first ride was on a single flat car that was outfitted with chicken wire and wooden benches. It was such a success that the Lion’s Club adopted the train ride as their annual fundraiser. The first year of the ride, the seating capacity was 60 people and tickets were just $3.00 per person. 

The scenic ride winds along nearly 10 miles of track, through rustic wooded areas, quaint neighborhoods, black-as-night tunnels, and across the historic engineering feat of the Box Canyon Trestle, which stretches 500 feet across Box Canyon, suspended 160 feet above the Pend Oreille River. The trestle was constructed starting at one side and working across using cantilever technology, groundbreaking engineering in the early 20th century. Along the way, passengers are treated to historic tidbits and facts about the area, and at the turn around point, passengers are accosted by a rag-tag band of ruffians consisting of local actors collecting donations and making off like bandits.  The rugged and dramatic landscape of the area was used as the backdrop for filming the movies “Benny & Joon” and “The Postman”. 

In 1984, the Railroad Historical Society of Spokane donated a cattle car to the NPOV Lion’s Club for the ride, and the success of following seasons enabled the club to purchase a coach car, two more open cars and a caboose. Two additional coach cars and another open car have been leased from the Inland Empire Railroad Historical Society, and the railroad has been operated by crew members from the Pend Oreille Valley Railroad. The tracks have been maintained to date by the Port of Pend Oreille. 

The NPOV Lions Club event has accommodated over 10,000 riders a year, during 6 weekends of train rides in the summer and fall. Running during popular local events and into the bright fall weekends, the rides are often sold out weeks in advance. After covering their expenses, income from the train ride has gone to benefit many community projects and efforts.

 In 2017, a federal mandate goes into effect, requiring railroads to have all bridges inspected by a certified bridge inspector. The estimate for an official inspection of the Pend Oreille Valley Railroad is over $130,000, not including the cost of repairs or maintenance work that the inspection would call for. This formidable expense spells the end of a long-enjoyed tradition for the residents of Pend Oreille County and the thousands of visitors to the train ride every year. With no commercial interests backing this section of track, the cost of continuing operations is impossible for the Lion’s Club to cover and forces the discontinuation of the popular event. 2016 marks the 35th and final season of the NPOV Lions Excursion Train Ride on the historic tracks. 

For more information, visit http://www.lionstrainrides.com or call the NPOV Lion's Club at 1-877-525-5226. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Return to tradition: bringing the national anthem back to baseball in Colville

By Liv Stecker

For a busy family in the late spring, it’s hard to find a minute to catch your breath between practices and games and end of the school year events, but for Mason Floener and his family, there is no time like the present to reinstate a long forgotten tradition and reminder to the community about our patriotic roots. 

Mason joined Boy Scout Troop 921 in the Colville area when he was 11, after an illustrious career with the Cub Scouts in his earlier years. A ninth grader, Mason is now a Star Scout and on a quest to earn the community service hours for his next rank advancement. Searching for a project to benefit the community, Mason hailed on his patriotic passion after a suggestion from his mother, Pam, sparked his interest. For more than two decades, the flagpole at Yep Kanum park has stood barren over the Kiwanis Little League Field. Why the tradition of lowering and raising the flag for baseball games, along with the performance of the national anthem went away more than 20 years ago is a mystery to all involved, but the idea to re-initiate the ceremony came from Pam Floener. 

Growing up in Colville at the same little league field, Pam remembers the time when every game started with the flag raising and the national anthem. When the custom stopped is unclear, but it has been many years. Mason jumped on the idea. “I have always been very patriotic,” he grins, with a boy-next-door good natured shrug. An avid animal lover, he says it was attending the rodeo as a young boy and watching the horses fly by with the flags streaming proudly behind that first stirred his national pride. Bringing the flag back to the empty pole at the field seemed like a long overdue project. 

The journey to restoring the flag ceremony at the Colville City Park began when Mason approached Kiwanis Baseball Commissioner Eric Ohrtman for permission to string a new flag to the pole and implement the ceremony at the beginning of all little league games. Ohrtman and other league representatives and coaches were all for the project. With help from Ohrtman and donations from the Jeff Weeman Memorial Fund, Mason acquired a new speaker to play the national anthem. Getting the right speaker took a few tries but the new flag was donated by a local church. With help from league coaches, flag captains were assigned from each team who took a leadership role in learning proper flag handling and raising skills. 

Mason has been on hand at every game to facilitate the ceremony and play the soundtrack of the national anthem while the teams stand at attention on the baselines. He has far surpassed the requirements for his community service hours to move on to the next rank of Life Scout with Troop 921. In addition to his patriotic drive, Mason is a busy freshman with and older and younger brother, so he comes from a family where community sporting events such as Little League are a steady part of his lifestyle. Scouting has been one of his passions since he was a young boy, and his activity led in part to the participation of his brothers in the program. Mason is on track to reach his goal of Eagle Scout long before he graduates from high school. 

In the meantime, if he’s not at a scouting event, you can find Mason at the ballpark, teaching young players what it means to respect the flag, the nation and the freedom that provides them the opportunity to play the all-American sport. 

Crossroads Stage kickoff Event: Crossroads Blues Festival

By Liv Stecker

Drawing on volunteers from across the spectrum of talents, for the past year a crew of dedicated local artists, craftsmen and musicians have worked to build the Crossroads Stage in Happy Dell Park in Kettle Falls. Driven by donated funds and materials and a vision spearheaded by Dave Blanck, the stage was constructed to serve as a showcase for local talent as well as visiting bands, while bringing the community together with visitors from outside of the area as well. 

This June 16th - 18th, The Crossroads Stage will experience initiation during the Crossroads Blues Festival, a weekend packed full of local music and fun. Organizer Bill Holmes hails from a background of 17 years hosting the Rock Cut Blues Festival at the Rock Cut Campground located near Orient. Passing on the campground to new owners, Bill joined a committee in the Kettle Falls area to develop the idea of the Crossroads Blues Festival. “It’s great being part of a committee with such a great group of people.” Bill says, after managing the Rock Cut Festival for many years on his own. 

Pursuing the theme of the Kettle Falls region as a cultural gathering grounds for people from all walks of life throughout history, The Crossroads Stage and Festival are geared towards highlighting local musicians and bringing visitors from all over to the geographic and cultural meeting place for entertainment and fellowship. For the first year of the stage and festival, Bill says that the toughest part is getting the word out and the people in. “The best advertising is the people who come to the festival and tell everybody else about it,” he says, but just starting out makes word-of-mouth advertising hard to get going. 

Featuring nine bands originating out of Spokane and northward, the Crossroads Blues Festival begins on Thursday night with a cover-free concert featuring Anita Royce & The High Rollers starting at 7 PM at Northern Ales and continues into Friday beginning at 6 PM on the newly christened stage. Friday bands include Vantage Point, Charlie Butts and the Filter Tips, and the Sara Brown Band. Saturday afternoon the festival picks up at 1 PM and features the Borderland Blues Band, The Northern Aliens, Bakin’ fat, Atomic Jive and the Bobby Patterson Band. Four of the nine featured bands are from the Kettle Falls area, capturing the spirit of the stage and the festival. 

Camping is available at the venue, $10 per person for the weekend. Festival tickets are $20 for Friday only, $25 for Saturday only or $30 for the whole weekend. Food vendors will be on hand to feed festival goers, along with the many great eateries in Kettle Falls and the surrounding area. For more information, check out the website www.crossroadsstage.com, call 509.675.9418 or find them on Facebook. 

Kicking off the season at Kettle Falls Historical Center

Author and naturalist Jack Nisbet will be on hand Saturday, May 14th at the season opener for Kettle Falls Historical Society where he will offer the presentation “Leno’s World”. Covering the life and times of Inland Northwest artist Leno Prestini, Nisbet takes his usual meandering approach to tying the landscape to the people that it helped to shape. This presentation begins at 7:00 PM and is open to the public, free of admission, thanks to a grant from Humanities Washington. 

Leno Prestini was an Italian born artist who immigrated to the United States with his parents in 1907. He lived in Clayton, Washington, where he painted during the early part of the 20th century between jobs as a bricklayer and mason. His dramatic landscapes capture the rugged wildness of the inland northwest with ferocious passion. 

As the first official event of the season, the evening kicks off the beginning of summer hours at the museum, which start May 15th and run through September 15th, 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM daily. Volunteers and the Historical Center Committee are excited to show off the upgrades, renovations and new exhibits that have been underway during the off season, lending the museum a fresh new appeal to both new and returning visitors. 

As always, membership at the museum is $15 for an individual or $20 for a family annually, providing free admission and 10% off purchases in the “Shop at the Falls” gift shop which features local art and souvenirs. Daily admission is $3 for an individual and $5 for an entire family. The historical center hosts an annual art contest for local artists along the river, as well as the School of Primitive Skills and a series of guest speakers and events throughout the summer. This year the “River of Baskets”, a display of local native basket weavers will be featured at the museum along with a display of Native American Beadwork from local artists. 

The museum is formatted as a laid back, self guided tour through dioramas and displays, and a path on the outdoor grounds for an interpretive “walk in the woods”. The Kettle Falls Historical Center is located 4 miles west of Kettle Falls on highway 395, turn right onto St. Paul’s Mission road and follow it briefly to the museum. For more information, check out their website https://sites.google.com/site/kettlefallshistoricalcenter/ or call 509-738-6964. 

Feathering the Empty Nest

By Liv Stecker

With an empty nest creeping up on them, Greg and Trisha Schwartz were looking for something to take on that would both entertain and employ them. Residents of Loon Lake since 2002, they have owned and operated Loon Lake Motors, selling quality used cars, but according to Trisha, the used car business isn’t always a walk in the park and they were ready to find something that tapped into their creative side. In 2011, the Schwartzes attended a bottling event at a nearby craft distillery and were instantly captivated. Appealing to both Trisha and Greg’s affinity for cooking, distilling small batch artisan spirits offered a challenge and creative flexibility that they both appreciated. 

Trisha’s family has owned property on Loon Lake since 1972, but it wasn’t until 2002 that they brought their children to the area to raise. As the kids reached college age, Greg and Trisha wanted to find a way to tap into the creative tourist community of the rural area, understanding the trials and triumphs of small business ownership as it relates to the vitality of a small town. They jumped in feet first, enrolling in a week long distilling course in Western Washington where they learned the ins and outs of craft distilling as well as the technical and legal requirements on the industry. Opening 2 Loons in 2014, it’s been an ever evolving education for the couple as they have experimented with recipes and techniques along the way. 

It’s a complex procedure to develop unique recipes that adhere to industry standards set by the liquor board, meeting distillation requirements for alcohol content and again to qualify spirits under certain classifications. Trisha laughs that it hasn’t always been successful, and finding a system that works has been a challenge that they have enjoyed in spite of the speedbumps along the way. The 2 Loons line of Loon Lightning is an example of a spirit that didn’t fall into the category that they intended with the first batch, so they adapted it and expanded the popular spirit with naturally flavored variations that have become some of their most popular trademark products, including Loon Lightning Coffee, Blackberry and Mint. “It would be easier if we just made one or two recipes,” Trisha says with a laugh, “but we got into this for the creative aspect,” and branching out is all part of the adventure. All of their spirits are created using Washington grown fruits and grains, and infused with natural local flavors. 

In addition to the Loon Lightning, they produce a corn whiskey, bourbon, cinnamon whiskey, vodka and gin that all present a fresh, unique twist on standard classics. At the distillery, located just off Highway 395 in Loon Lake, Trisha and Greg are on hand on Thursday from 11-4 in the afternoon, and from 11-5 on Friday and Saturday. They also do tours and tastings by appointment by calling (509) 998-0440. At present, their products are only available in the tasting room at their distillery. Distribution to local restaurants, bars and stores is a part of the long term plan for the distillery. 

The last few months has seen 2 Loons expanding their operation from the ground up with new 500 gallon fermentors, water tank and mash tun, and a still constructed with the help of local distiller Henry Anderson using his patented Gatling Still technology to maximize the flavor capturing techniques of copper in a process that is as pretty as it is productive. Partnering with other local artisan distillers, brewers and coffee roasters, Greg and Trisha work hard to establish a solid rapport with the growing industry and help spread the love of community driven business and tourism. In addition to Anderson of Dominion Distillery in Colville, they have strong working relationships with Quartzite brewing in Chewelah, Chamokane Creek coffee, Chew Vino Wine Bar in Chewelah and many other local businesses. Together, these local small business owners build a network toward a rewarding tourism experience in the rural area of Stevens County. 

For the Schwartzes, raising their children in the pristine setting of Loon Lake has been a rewarding experience. They want to share the beauty and strength of their small community with visitors and friends, enjoying the natural haven of the lake and the richness of all four seasons in the area. For these 2 Loons, distilling craft spirits is all about enjoying their time as their children leave the nest, building new relationships and sharing the adventure of small town living. The summer of 2015, 2 Loons had trouble keeping up with demand for their product as locals figured out what was going on and gave the delicious spirits a try. The hearty reception of 2 Loons in the community has helped the business take flight into the next phase of production and given Greg and Trish the push out of the nest that they need to spread their wings. 

Three Pines Youth Camp - “hit the reset”

By liv stecker

Perched high above the confluence of the mighty Columbia and Kettle Rivers, a rambling green landscape opens out of dense woods along a gravel road that winds up the mountain. Three Pines Youth Camp lies on a 50 acre parcel of land that slopes gently toward the dramatic scenery of the Columbia River valley. A cozy lodge constructed out of log is the centerpiece of the setting, surrounded by tiny, efficient cabins, a cookhouse, game barn, bathhouse, basketball court and softball field, with more facilities springing up every year. 

In 2010, ranch owner Jerry Balswick approached Dennis and Patty Roberts with a proposal that they had been waiting on for years. Jerry had become acquainted with the dedicated vision that the Robert’s shared for serving youth in the community and asked if they would help to coordinate youth camps at their secluded ranch on the mountain. Dennis and Patty fell in love with the setting and after a trial run with their youth group, they began to make plans to develop a program establishing camps for various ages throughout the summer. 

Kettle Falls Youth Works was created as the non-profit organization from which to launch their project, and Dennis and Patty branched out from the work they had been doing in youth centers in the community for years. The Three Pines Youth Camp was born, situated at the scenic Gaius ranch located above the Columbia River on Flat Creek Road. Only a few short miles from Kettle Falls, it’s just far enough out of town to get in touch with nature, or according to organizers,”take advantage of the spiritual blessings that can be derived from being amidst the beauties of the Creator's handiwork.”

The mission of Three Pines Youth Camp according to their website is to “lead youth to Christ”, but like Dennis says, the goal is to primarily build a loving family atmosphere for visiting kids and out of that relationship be able to share the leader’s passion for Christ. In keeping with the establishment of building strong interpersonal friendships, Dennis and Patty said that they have hosted camps up to 80 students, but prefer to keep the number closer to 30. “When it gets much bigger, you start to lose that feeling of family”, says Dennis. And for some kids in the summer time, with working parents, broken families, or other hardships, a three day escape to the serene forest can do wonders for a child.  

The biggest motivator for facilitators is to keep the cost of the camp reasonable for busy families in the community. At a suggested donation of $45 for a three day camp, Dennis admits that the fees the families pay barely covers the cost of food. That’s where sponsors and donors come in and  offset the overhead expenses to keep the beautiful landscape flourishing and facilities all functional. This year, donations covered the installation of a new commercial septic system, and soon a new bathhouse will follow as Dennis and the rest of the committee jump through the various hoops of keeping the health department happy. 

The basketball court was the contribution of a visiting men’s retreat, and all camp staff and counselors are volunteers. A collection of tiny cabins serve as cozy housing for the students, three for the girls nestled near the main lodge and three on an upper bench near the forest edge for the young men. This year two new ADA accessible cabins were added on the main campus, and plans for a new kitchen facility are underway with generous donations of siding from Columbia Cedar among other contributions. As plans for Kettle Falls Youth Works and The Three Pines Youth Camp move forward, owners of the Gaius Ranch, Jerry and Carolyn Balswick are working with the committee on a long term plan to keep the organization alive. 

For Dennis, as the volunteer coordinator, he says the way that the endeavor has been blessed is truly humbling. Even with legal obstacles to overcome and some lofty standards to meet, he says there has been a solution for every problem as they go. Camps are broken into various age groups, starting at age 7, as well as father/child, mother/child, grandparent/grandchild and even a few adult retreats. Most of the camps are hosted and staffed by area churches and youth groups. The vision of Kettle Falls Youth Works is to reach out and make the camps available to kids across Stevens and Ferry County from all walks of life. There are also scholarships available for students with financial obstacles. For information, contact Dennis at 509.675.5234. 

On May 21, Three Pines Youth Camp kicks off the camping season with an open house for the community, where visitors are invited to come up with friends and family to tour the facility, hear about the mission of the camp and see all of the new additions. The theme for camp in 2016 is “Hit the Reset” - helping kids start over and keep going down a different path in life. This year the camp will be adding an inflatable obstacle course and a competition slip n’ slide for the campers, which Dennis is very excited about. For information about the open house, camp schedules and registration, volunteering or donating, check out the website at kettlefallsyouthworks.org or contact Dennis at 509.675.5234.