SMALL TOWN PARADE

Saturday last week we were with the Mile High Warnocks at the “Cave of the Winds” near Colorado Springs. After touring the cave, we bought sandwiches for lunch and picnicked at the “Garden of the Gods.” But that was last week.

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Today, Mike suggested it would be fun to take in the fair parade in Orofino. The Clearwater County Fair and Lumberjack Days celebration is in full swing, with the parade starting at 10:00 a.m. The theme this year: “100 Years of Clearwater County” – or “Happy 100^th Birthday, Clearwater County,” or some such.

“Do you think you’ll see anyone you know?” asked Mike.

 

“Doubtful,” I said, thinking that unless I just happened to see Harry and Mary Lou on the street, I wouldn’t know anyone. The community has changed so much since I graduated from high school. Normal change is gradual and subtle, but the cumulative effect over time becomes noticeable, and I think that’s true of everything.

I used to like to take in the fair when my parents lived in the heart of town. It was easy to go early and park in their driveway, just a block off the parade route. “Can’t we park at your folks’ house?” asked Mike. The answer was a resounding no. We parked on Kalaspo (between the Fagan’s and the Haney’s, for those of you who know the houses), and we walked down “D” Street toward Brown Avenue, slowly looking over the old family home.

As we left Clarkston the other day, Mike checked out a novel by Nelson DeMille, only to discover he had read it. The libraries in our region are all part of the same library system, Valnet, which allows us to check out and return books to any library within the system, and it works great for us. The library in Orofino sits right on the parade route, so with a few minutes to spare, Mike returned the one book and checked out another, this time a John Grisham novel. (I selected Country Decorating by Country Living. I figure it will either spur me to action or discourage me.) We then found a spot on the curb near the library and directly across the street from the “Orofino School,” now a condemned building. We were soon flanked by two families with about four little kids each, a fact that would become significant. Taking advantage of a little waiting time to read, Mike discovered he had also read that novel, but at least he was able to immediately return it. He came back with a book from the “new release” shelf.

As the parade began, the candy began to flow – out of log trucks, out of fire trucks, off of flatbed trucks, out of new vehicles. I’d say 75% of the parade participants threw candy for the kids. I felt kinda sorry for Mike at first because they threw to the kids on either side of us but mostly ignored him, and he likes Tootsie Rolls and Tootsie Pops, which were abundant. We felt sorta obligated to hand any candy that landed in front of us to the kids, but as the parade wore on and the candy continued to flow, I felt the kids had enough and we began to quietly keep what came our way – really not all that much. One business threw bright orange whistles with the candy, and I unabashedly ran out and picked up one of those. Nellie’s has seen better days. We also came home with two pop can sleeves, one of the mothers graciously handing me hers. I’m sorry I was not successful in garnering a Frisbee, but I asked for and received a seedling tree, a Douglas fir, from the University of Idaho. We planted it in the grove when we got home.

“What’s this? Halloween isn’t until next month!” an onlooker observed. As the parade ended and Mike and I moved up the street, I saw that some families came prepared with sacks for the candy.

We had thought we might take in the exhibits. We had thought we would buy a little gasoline for the 4-wheeler. In the end, once we were in the flow of traffic, it was easiest just to head on over the bridge and back up the Gilbert Grade, so that’s what we did. It’s tough to be a guest in your own home town. 

[The first picture is of Yancey at "Cave of the Wind." The second is of me on the left with the Mile High Warnocks at "Garden of the Gods." The rest were taken at the parade in Orofino today, the most notable being the vintage tractors from the collection of our neighbor, Pete Curfman.] KW

OROFINO PICTURES

We left the farm last Saturday (May 21) in order to accomplish some things in town -- shopping, exercise, and a P.E.O. meeting. We're also applying to the State of Idaho for "century farm" status, and I spent hours putting together a packet of "proof" that the homeplace has been in continuous cultivation for 100 years (and more). Frankly, I decided years ago that obtaining official century farm status was way too much trouble, but Mike decided we owed it to my grandparents and my dad to try for it. So he started the project during slow times at the office this winter. It's a matter of supplying documentation of ownership and also that at least 40 acres of your family farm have been in continuous cultivation.

Anyway, I have these lovely pictures of Orofino taken from Gilbert Grade last Saturday and wanted to post them before they become totally outdated. Here you see the little town nestled in the valley where Orofino Creek runs into the Clearwater River. And the back country just seems to run on forever.

We have stopped several times at this spot near the top of the grade because Mike was looking for a geocache (what else?). This time he found it. At first he tied onto the Dakota in order to look in a stump downhill, but you know, most people just don't hide caches where it's steep and dangerous. Still -- you never know and if you're an adventurer at heart, you might just take a look-see anyway. Mike said that's where the "cords" took him.


"Why don't you try this stump," I said. "Seems more logical." (See photo right)
"Okay, but that's way off," Mike said, "but here it is."

This picture left shows the Clearwater above Orofino. I love this view.


On Monday I read that the flood watch on the Clearwater had been renewed by the National Weather Service out of Missoula until further notice. Both the Snake and the Clearwater are high. But -- it's still cold. This morning at Gilbert the low was 37, so it froze in the mountains and that slows the run-off. Here's  a picture I took yesterday of mountains to the south of the farm -- the snowy peaks glistening in the afternoon sun. The sun would be warm this time of year -- but the air is cold. KW

ON THE ROAD TO AHSAHKA

Orofino, Idaho, from Eureka Ridge Road. Smoke in center is right above the Gilbert Grade.

I think I'll start sanding those chairs when we get back to the farm," Mike remarked, whereupon I reminded him that we weren't home yet. It was about 1:00 and it seemed like we were making good progress with our list of geocaches. Still, you never know. One or two caches can take a while.
 

Mike & Nellie at Ryder's cache

After geocaching east of Orofino (see previous post), Mike decided to try for a couple of caches on a hillside west of town off State Highway 7, the road to Ahsahka. We found a nice wide spot to park the pick-up and trailer and crossed the road to the steep hillside. The cache description indicated the hillside trail would rise 1300 feet in ¾ mile to the second cache. I didn't think I could do it. Steep, sandy trails are intimidating to me. Slipping steps on the ascent become downright treacherous on descent.



"I think I should stay here," I volunteered. But in the end I did give it a try and reached the first cache, a bittersweet site to honor a beloved pet Schnauzer who had been run over. The next cache was on up the hill with the path becoming even steeper. 

Riverside (Orofino) from across the Clearwater River

Mike advised me to go back to the pick-up, which I did. But first I sat on a rock and took pictures of Orofino's Riverside across the Clearwater River. I thought about Orofino, my home town – how everything changes and nothing changes. Inside I still feel like the girl who grew up here. It seems like an afternoon after school.

Seems mighty steep

Then I gingerly made my way back down the hill, walking off-trail at the steepest parts to keep from slipping on the sandy trail. When I came to the approach at the very bottom, I froze. "What if I fall and a passing motorist sees me?" I thought. "Pride goeth before a fall," I counseled myself. I waited untl I didn't hear any vehicles approaching, and then I descended the steep incline as quickly as I could.

I waited a long time for Mike to return. At one point I nearly panicked, but then I looked at a topo-map of the area and determined that the time lapse was not unrealistic. Eventually he and Nellie showed up, excited for the conquest. He said there was a board at the top where those who had accomplished the hike had signed their names. However, Mike did have blisters on his feet which occurred during the descent as his foot slipped in his shoe.
We had a couple of errands in Orofino. We bought fire bricks to replace some in the fireplace that had broken – very reasonably priced – and milk, which was not. We parked briefly at the elementary school where children were playing soccer on the lawn. My class was the second, I believe, to attend school at this facility, built to meet the post-WWII "baby boom." During the six years I attended school there, we were not allowed to walk on the grass let alone play soccer. Soccer? What's that?
Yes, we got home all right, but it was about 5:00 – too late to sand chairs, too late to sew. KW

IDA-HOST

Orofino, Idaho from the Gilbert Grade

Some years ago I participated in the Ida-Host program, a workshop to awaken employers (and others) to the economic impact of tourism on the community. Statistics were presented showing that the longer a tourist stays in the community, the more he spends. If he spends the night, you have vastly increased the amount of money he will leave behind. Tourism dollars improve the over-all economy of the community and that's good for all of us – not just the business owners. I had never thought of that before. I was impressed.

Actually, the people with the greatest opportunity to influence the tourist are front-line employees – clerks, cashiers, etc. – at places like grocery and convenience stores, specialty shops, museums, etc. Unfortunately, these are the workers who are also at the lowest pay grade and mostly disinterested. On the other hand, anyone can do it. Here's an example:

My friend Chris told me about the quilt shop in downtown Orofino, our hometown, and mentioned it would be worth my while to check it out – some different things. "It's called The Wild Hare and it's where the Style Shop used to be." (Does that date us or what?) So, when Hallie was here last week, we turned off Highway 12 and drove across the bridge into Orofino on our way back to the Lewis-Clark Valley. We arrived at the shop at 9:20 so had 10 minutes to wait for the shop to open. (The storekeeper later told us she would have opened if we had knocked. Small towns – so great!) Anyway, Hallie and I walked up one side of the street and down the other while we waited, and as we were contemplating the Mexican Restaurant where Oud's Hardware used to be, a woman walking by, a stranger to us, said, "Best food in town." After a brief exchange with her, she again reiterated – "Best food in town."

Kathy at the Mexican Restaurant

"Great!" said Mike when I told him. "I'll take you there for your birthday dinner." And so that's what we did last night – a first for us to leave the farm for any form of town entertainment. Leaving Nellie in the farmhouse, we headed down the steep and winding narrow Gilbert Grade to Orofino and had dinner at the Mexican Restaurant. We aren't people who rave about food, but we thought our entrees were delicious. Not only was the food good, but we were served promptly and courteously and the price was reasonable. We were impressed by the efficiency of the wait staff – five people working the floor and anticipating the needs of the diners. "Yancey would like this place," said Mike. (And that's because Yancey and family have taken us to Mexican restaurants in Denver.) I was thinking that Hallie and Nick would like it. We agreed we would make the effort to go again and take guests. And all because Chris told me about the quilt shop and a stranger recommended the Mexican Restaurant.

So, our recommendations have far-reaching effects. "Word of mouth" is powerful if we use it. Perhaps it's not so important in metropolitan areas where tourists come knowing what they want to see and do, but it's certainly important in smaller communities where attractions are not so obvious or well-known.