LOCAL
A6 — THE OBSERVER
VOICES
ANYONE CAN WRITE
Nearly 40 years in the business have taught me that readers are bom-
barded and overwhelmed with facts. What we long for, though, is
meaning and a connection at a deeper and more universal level.
And that’s why The Observer will be running, from time to time, stories
from students who are in my writing class, which I’ve been teaching for the
past 10 years in Portland.
I take great satisfaction in helping so-called nonwriters fi nd and write sto-
ries from their lives and experiences. They walk into my room believing
they don’t have what it takes to be a writer. I remind them if they follow
their hearts, they will discover they are storytellers.
As we all are at our core.
Some of these stories have nothing to do with La Grande or Union County.
They do, however, have everything to do with life.
If you are interested in contacting me to tell me your story, I’d like to hear
from you.
Tom Hallman Jr., tbhbook@aol.com
Tom Hallman Jr. is a Pulitzer Prize-winning feature writer for the Oregonian
newspaper. He’s also a writing coach and has an affi nity for Union County.
Yo-yo champion of
Arroyo Seco playground
By CRAIG CHASTAIN
Special to The Observer
There were not a lot of
entertainment options for
11-year–old boys in 1957.
Sure, we were living
in Los Angeles (High-
land Park, actually), home
of Disney, big dreams and
Stage 3 smog alerts, but
there was not much day-
to-day excitement coming
from the world’s entertain-
ment capital. The music
charts were dominated by
snoozers like Pat Boone,
Paul Anka and Andy Wil-
liams. Our black and white
TV off ered such compelling
fare as “Father Knows Best”
and “The Real McCoys.”
Elvis and “American Band-
stand” still were down the
road, and the Dodgers were
playing in Brooklyn.
With so much idle time
and so few diversions, it
is small wonder I and a
cadre of friends chose a
seldom-traveled path lit-
tered with potential heart-
break, frustration and
disappointment.
For us, it was the yo-yo.
The yo-yo of 1957 was
just two pieces of rounded
wood connected to 3 feet
of string, but in the hands
of a gifted showman, the
results could be spectacular.
I watched the “Ed Sullivan
Show” with my family as a
world-renowned “yo-yo-ist”
(which I am still not sure is
a word) stunned the audi-
ence with a jaw-dropping
display of whirling wood
and sizzling string.
As an athletically chal-
lenged, nearsighted geek
(before “geek” was cool
or even a word) I thought
— “I can do that.” I shared
my dream with three close
friends — Larry Lehigh,
Tom Byerly and Danny
Hall. The freshly formed
quartet immediately trav-
eled to Tanner’s Toy Town
where we purchased four
yo-yos in four diff erent
colors.
Within days, we were
hooked by the addictive
allure of the yo-yo.
The singular hangout in
those days was the Arroyo
Seco Playground, where
young guys from the neigh-
borhood came to partake of
such tempting diversions
as pingpong, checkers and
tetherball. As our shared
addiction snowballed for all
things yo-yo, the four of us
soon focused on little else.
Eventually, we took to hud-
dling together behind the
handball courts to avoid
the stares and scorn of our
peers. We became known
around the playground as
“the yo-yucks.”
There were few outlets
to express our chosen pas-
sion, but all that changed
when a representative of
the Duncan Yo-Yo Com-
pany came to the play-
ground. Duncan was, at the
time, the world leader in the
“sport,” and the company
chose the Los Angeles parks
and recreation system as the
launching pad for what it
hoped would be a national
competition to fi nd the best
young yo-yo-ists in the
country.
As we listened for the
details, each of us was
thinking the same thing: “I
am going to win this, even
if I have to crush my three
best friends in the process.”
It was a day that would
mark the beginning of the
end for “the four yo-yucks.”
With just three weeks to
prepare, each of us dived
into our own training reg-
imen. Larry bulked up on
a steady diet of encourage-
ment and sugar cookies.
Tom went to his room where
no one quite knew if he was
practicing or just taking a
lot of “naps.” Danny tempo-
rarily quit bullying fourth
graders and threw all his
anger into the task.
For myself, I uncharac-
teristically made a com-
mitment to triumph — a
decision, I believe, that
has helped to shape me as
a grown-up. Over the next
21 days, I became one with
my yo-yo, practicing tricks
again and again in front of
my mirror with a new-found
fl air I stole from the guy on
the “Ed Sullivan Show.” I
visualized stepping forward
to accept my trophy — and
the $10 — in front of my
three best friends, each of
them humbled in defeat.
The day of the event
arrived and the early
rounds went pretty much as
expected. There were about
20 entrants, but everyone
knew it was going to come
to a smack-down involving
the “four yo-yucks.” After
an hour of eliminations, it
had become a Four-Friend
Face-Off .
Larry faltered fi rst,
due perhaps to the 7-plus
pounds he packed on during
training. His attempt at
“Walking the Dog” ran
away from him and he was
too slow to respond. And
then there were three.
Tom reinforced our
thinking he had napped
through his training. His
version of “the sleeper” —
pretty much a “Yo-Yo 101”
trick — went to sleep at the
bottom of the string, and
Tom was powerless to wake
it up. It was down to Danny
and me.
Squaring off with yo-yo
in hand, it was not lost on
me that, if I beat Danny,
there was a real possibility
he would fall back on old
habits and beat me up every
day until school started.
Making a key life decision,
I pushed the fear aside and
focused on the prize.
What happened next
became the stuff of play-
ground patter for the rest
of the summer. Danny and
I matched trick for trick,
from compulsories like the
“creeper” and “rock the
cradle” to the challenges
of the “breakaway” and
“around the world.” Finally,
I stuck a fl awless execution
of “the Eiff el Tower” and
Danny muff ed it, string and
yo-yo draping him inglori-
ously in defeat and despair.
And just like that, I was
the “1957 Duncan Yo-Yo
Champion of Arroyo Seco
Playground.”
Regretfully, the four
yo-yucks were never friends
in the same way again. I
claimed my trophy in front
of them, but it did not feel as
good as I thought it would. I
went on to the city champi-
onships and was eliminated
in the fi rst round, ironically
by a bungled “Eiff el Tower.”
And Danny never beat me
up — he just did not speak
to me again until high
school.
I took away a lot from
that day of winning. That
persistence, passion and
practice can sometimes be
rewarded. That victory is
sweet but short-lived. And
friendships are fragile.
I used the $10 to pay
back Tom.
And I still have the
trophy.
TUESDAY, AUGUST 3, 2021
Artist tackles a massive project
Joan Gilbert takes
on ‘Wallowa Lake:
55x55’ three-year
project
MORE ONLINE
Those interested in staying
updated on the progress of
Joan Gilbert’s 55x55 project can
check out her blog at the web-
site www.joangilbertstudio.
com.
By RONALD BOND
Wallowa County Chieftain
ENTERPRISE — Joan
Gilbert is stepping outside
her comfort zone.
Gilbert, a graphic artist
who lives in Enterprise,
is seeking to expand her
artistic ability while com-
pleting a major project that,
when done, will be three
years in the making.
The project, called
“Wallowa Lake: 55x55,”
will be completed next
year and, when done,
will be on display at the
Josephy Center for Arts
and Culture.
“Basically, I started two
years ago with a three-year
project (that) by the time I
turned 55, I will have done
55 pieces of artwork —
all pertaining to Wallowa
Lake,” she said.
That 55th birthday
— and with it, the proj-
ect’s deadline — is still a
year away, but is fast-ap-
proaching, and will be here
in August 2022.
The reasons behind the
project are many. One of
them, she said, is to work
with media outside of her
comfort zone. Yes, there
will be watercolor and
acrylic paintings — the
ones she knows best — of
Wallowa Lake from var-
ious angles.
That will be just a taste,
though, of what she is
trying out.
“Part of the reason I
started this project was
to give me an excuse to
sample all types of media
and techniques. I’ve done
illustration before, and
children’s book illustra-
tion,” she said.
Dabbling in new
media
Pastels. Oil. Cold-wax
paintings. Wood carv-
ings. Mosaics. Potentially a
A graphic designer by
trade
Ronald Bond/Wallowa County Chieftain
Artist Joan Gilbert works on a sculpture of “Wally,” the Wallowa
Lake monster she intends to have made into a bronze once fi n-
ished. It is one of the dozens of art pieces she is working on for her
“Wallowa Lake: 55x55” project, a task where she intends to make
55 pieces of art featuring Wallowa Lake by her 55th birthday, which
falls in August 2022.
monochromatic, black-and-
white piece.
“I may even have a
bronze in the show, and
that is way out of my com-
fort level,” she said. “You
name it, I am going to try
to experiment.”
Wallowa Lake, she said,
was chosen as the subject
for several “sentimental”
reasons.
“My family spent a lot
of time up there — it’s
sentimental,” she said. “I
spent six years being art
director at Wallowology. I
learned a lot about the lake
and learned how special it
is with the moraine and the
protections.”
One of the pieces,
for example, is a pastel
of fi reworks over the
lake. Another is an icy
winter scene painted in
watercolor.
Yet another has the lake
in the background and is
focused on a bird nest in
the trees.
The bronze piece she is
hoping to complete — and
currently is in the process
of making a clay sculpture
of — is Wally, the Wallowa
Lake sea monster.
As to the reasons (in
addition to corresponding
with her age) for doing
such a high volume of
pieces?
It gives her plenty of
opportunity to experiment,
and will help her work
through a fear she carries
with her artwork.
As a result, she is
approaching two-thirds
of the way through the
project, but many pieces
are in this limbo stage of
close, but not quite done.
She said 18 of the pieces
are complete. Several
others are at about 75%
done.
“Some of them need
little pops of color, a little
more depth,” she said. “I
know what to do, and I
know I need to get around
to it. Some of them, I like it
as it is, but I know it’s not
done. I don’t know what to
do with it.”
She quipped, as a result,
that she may be putting
fi nal touches on the night
before the display is set up.
Gilbert, a La Grande
native, originally got
a degree in economics
from what is now Eastern
Oregon University and
didn’t seriously consider
art until she was prodded
by her parents to take an
art class. She fi nally did
her junior year at Eastern,
fi nished the core classes
for art, then continued her
schooling at Oregon State
University to get a degree
in graphic design and
illustration.
She has turned that
into a career as a graphic
designer, and has worked
with more than 100 busi-
nesses since moving to
Wallowa County in 2002.
With the additional
time being undertaken on
the project, she is working
on it three days a week
from her home studio,
and the other two week-
days does graphic design
work, including for Wal-
lowology and for prior
clients.
“I’m doing what I call
maintenance work for my
clients in updating ads and
stuff like that. That helps
me carve out time (for
55x55),” she said.
And while the graphic
design work has been
rewarding — and could be
a fall-back plan — she is
hopeful this step outside of
her comfort zone could be
successful enough to allow
her to become a full-time
artist.
“Can I actually start a
career from this? That is
the big question,” she said.
“I’m hoping by the end I’ll
have fallen in love with a
medium and I’ll want to
work with that. If I get a
gallery representation that
would be great.”
QUITTING VAPING
FOR REAL ISN’T EASY.
BUT IT’S WORTH IT.
Free help: 1-800-QUIT-NOW
or QUITNOW.NET/OREGON
SPORTS
PHYSICALS
FREE Sports Physicals are available to any student in grades 4-12 at the selected
locations below. Visit grh.org/sportsphysicals for a list of available dates by location.
Women’s & Children’s Clinic
Regional Medical Clinic
Union Clinic
Elgin Clinic
College students: Get your sports physical for a discounted fee of $50
at one of the above clinics on any FREE Sports Physical Day.
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