The nugget. (Sisters, Or.) 1994-current, August 01, 2018, Page 26, Image 25

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    26
Wednesday, August 1, 2018 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
The people behind The Nugget...
Kathryn Godsiff couldn’t
quite get herself to hit “send”
on her first story for The
Nugget, back in 2002.
The self-described intro-
vert had ventured outside her
comfort zone to craft a story
about a school play, but when
she got to the last lines she
“got all insecure.”
Her husband, Allan,
stepped in. He tied up the last
lines of the story and hit that
send button — and Kathryn
Godsiff was a freelance
reporter for The Nugget.
“Writing for The Nugget
has been a great boon for me,
for my self-confidence,” she
said. “And what an honor to
see all the interesting people.”
The writing aspect of the
work was the easiest part, she
found — since she had always
had a knack for it, even when
studying animal science in
college. The interviewing was
another matter.
“For an introvert, that was
so hard,” she said. “Having to
learn to ask people the right
questions has been a great
learning experience, which
I’m grateful for.”
Godsiff trod carefully into
her writing, and she acknowl-
edges that her early pieces
were a bit stiff.
“Kathryn was a bit inhib-
ited, a bit too careful,” Editor
in Chief Jim Cornelius
recalled. “I tried to encourage
her to let it rip a little, that I’d
rather have to rein her in than
to spur her on. At some point,
something clicked, because
her writing became much
more vivid, more muscular
and really strong.”
Writing for The Nugget
has been a great boon
for me, for my self-
confidence. And what
an honor to see all the
interesting people.
— Kathryn Godsiff
Godsiff credit several
things with kicking her work
into a higher gear: an inten-
sive writers’ workshop in
Montana, joining a critique
group, and writing for The
Nugget’s short-lived publi-
cation, the Central Oregon
Horse Journal.
“Every article I wrote (for
COHJ) was something that I
was deeply passionate about,”
she recalled.
The critique group
was rewarding and
confidence-building.
Armed with well-honed
chops and the confidence to
go with them, Godsiff has had
Kathryn Godsiff
several essays published in
anthologies.
“I wrote one about the tat-
too on my leg; that was the
first one,” she said with a
smile.
Other essays focused on
dogs, and one was written in
honor of her mother.
Writing and reporting is
a side gig for Godsiff, who
raises grass-fed beef on a
ranch she and her husband
manage in Sisters. She’s
proud to be an “aggie.”
“That’s how we’ve always
wanted to be identified,” she
said. “And I’m proud of that.
It’s a good heritage… I feel
bad when ranchers get a bad
rap. I don’t know how to fight
back against that — except to
be a good rancher, I guess.”
She finds it frustrating that
views of ranchers and their
trade are so often informed
more by prejudice than
perception.
“There’s still this percep-
tion that ranchers don’t take
care of the land; that they
just rape and pillage it,” she
said. “That’s so 19th century.
It’s just very frustrating that
ranchers are perceived like
that.”
In keeping with her ranch-
ing heritage, Kathryn is an
avid horsewoman, having
come back from a bad wreck
that caused some serious
injuries. She enjoys horse
PHOTO BY JIM CORNELIUS
Kathryn Godsiff has stepped way out of her comfort zone to have a
significant, positive impact in the Sisters community.
camping with a group of
women in the Sisters area.
Godsiff is an important
member of Sisters Rotary,
where she served as presi-
dent and remains active. Her
neighbor Barbara Turner, a
charter member of Sisters
Rotary, tapped Godsiff to
join the organization when
Kathryn was looking to get
more involved in commu-
nity activities and make a
difference. Her role evolved
quickly into leadership.
“Again, that’s kind of hard
for an introvert,” she said.
“I’d rather just be in the back-
ground and wash the dishes.”
Nowadays, Godsiff makes
significant contributions to
her community in a variety
of fields. She’s gotten used
to stepping outside her com-
fort zone, knowing that she
has the ability to develop her
skills and build her own con-
fidence to fill whatever role
she takes on.
“And just think,” she said.
“It all started with writing an
article for The Nugget.”
THANK YOU to all our readers who have let us know
how much they enjoy reading The Nugget.
We are honored by your appreciation and support!
The Nugget
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PHOTO BY GARY MILLER