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About Vernonia's voice. (Vernonia, OR) 2007-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 15, 2022)
September 15, 2022 V E R N O N I A’ S Volume 16 Issue 18 Free Reflecting the spirit of our community www.VernoniasVoice.com The Wisdom of Columbia County Musical project celebrates the beauty and heritage of this rural place called Columbia County By Scott Laird I think of Columbia County: Its hills and high ridges, forests, fields and fens; its ponds, springs and creeks, and the great river that lies to its east. Of its crea- tures, furred, feathered and finned. Of its people, past, present and to come. We stand here now. Oth- ers will stand here when we are gone, as others stood here before us. with the River City Children’s Choir. A recent and exciting development will see the production travel to New York City to be performed at Carnegie Hall in 2024. It will join several other similar renowned mu- sical pieces like Spoon River Anthology and Under Milkwood that use music to tell a story about a place. “These are really grounded in a specific place, be it real or imaginary, would have universal messages, and translate to other communities,” says Margaret Trenchard-Smith who wrote the lyrics for Wisdom. This project to create a piece of music specifi- cally about Columbia County has brought together the vision of four major talents living amongst us – composer Kevin Bryant Lay, Alice Rice Boyer, the Artistic Director of the Columbia Chorale of Oregon, Margaret Trenchard-Smith, and her husband, film di- So begins the narration for The Wisdom of Co- lumbia County, a new, original, and ambitious mu- sical project – a cantata, written for and about our home, Columbia County. It’s a lov- ing tribute to the history, the beauty, and the characters who have made this corner of Oregon remarkable. It’s a piece of music that explores our past, honors our legacy, and cel- ebrates our bonds. “A sense of place” is a phrase that is often used to help us under- stand our relationship to a particular geographic area, its landscape and its features, the people who reside there alongside the flora and fauna, the history of a place and the story it tells. It’s the way we feel about a place when the morning fog settles over a pond, or the songbirds return in the spring, or the wind blows and the tree tops sway, or smelling last Columbia County: Canaan Road View, a painting by Dee Vadnais, night’s campfire when you pull on who lives in Deer Island, will serve as the cover art for the project. your sweatshirt the next morning. It’s a way of describing our connection to a place, the rector Brian Trenchard-Smith. way we think about it when we’re away from it, the The idea for a musical composition to celebrate way a place can inhabit our memories and our souls. this place – its forests and waterways, its vistas Anthropologists Steven Feld and Keith Basso and valleys, its history and changes – was in many have defined a sense of place as: ‘the experiential ways an organic process which has taken on a life and expressive ways places are known, imagined, of its own. Boyer, who has worked with numerous yearned for, held, remembered, voiced, lived, con- choirs and vocal ensembles, several of them very tested and struggled over...” And that’s what The prestigious across a career dedicated to music, says Wisdom of Columbia County has tried to capture she and Margaret collaborated with the Columbia through words set to music. Chorale Board of Directors to develop the concept Commissioned by the Trenchard-Smith Family over time that would artistically celebrate Columbia Trust, the musical project will combine the talents County and its roots. “It’s actually quite typical for a of local choir singers with instrumental accompani- choir, especially if they’ve been around in the same ment across several movements, along with visual area for a long period of time, to try to commission a backdrops. It will be performed live right here in work based on an idea, and have someone compose Columbia County on June 16, 2023 by the Columbia it,” says Boyer. Boyer’s musical connections were Chorale of Oregon, a local community choir, along continued on page 5 Knee Deep in Salmon Auction is Back! Local artists decorate wood cutouts to create art and raise funds for Salmon Festival on October 1 st After over a decade hiatus, the Knee Deep in Salmon auction is back this year to help celebrate the Salmon Festival, Vernonia’s an- nual fall harvest celebration. Paula Hanson is once again coordinating the auction, one of Ver- nonia’s more unique and fun events. Hanson expects to have 20 salm- on for the auction this year to commemorate the 20 th Salmon Fest. “I’m really excited,” says Hanson. “What always feels so good about Salmon Fest is the community support. We have some good food vendors coming in and it’s going to be fun!” Salmon by artist Kelly Jarman Hanson says she reached out to several of the artists who previ- ously participated in the auction, while also incorporating several new artists, and has produced a great lineup of artwork with some great stories about their creation. In case you’re not familiar with the Knee Deep in Salmon Auc- tion, here’s some background on these salmon’s lifecycle. Wooden salmon cutouts are “hatched” by “Carvin’ Marvin” Howard from Buxton, who has always provided the cutouts for the auction in the past. These salmon “smolts” then find their way “downstream and out to sea” when they are purchased by local artists. Those artists then have several months to decorate their salmon, adding their own personal artistic touches. Each salmon develops its own character- istics and personality, usually reflecting the artist who created them. After their metamorphosis these “spawning” salmon are donated back by the artists, and “return back upstream” to display themselves in downtown shop windows, before finally returning to Hawkins Park on October 1 for the auction. The original Knee Deep in Salmon Auction spawned the ongoing and popular Junior Salmon Auction at Vernonia High School which annually sees more simple salmon cutouts decorated by Vernonia art students auctioned at the end of the school year to help support the school art program. Joe Versaw of Penney Lane Antiques will serve as this year’s auc- tioneer and opening bids will start at $45. Proceeds help fund future Salmon Festival activities. continued on page 3 VHS Fall Sports Preview: Logger Football is Fun Again! ferent players found the end zone. The offense is led by Football – After a num- senior quarterback Cameron ber of seasons full of strug- Terry, who has switched gles, the Vernonia Loggers from his spot as a three year are off to a 2-0 start and once starter on the offensive line, again there is joy in Logger- to lead the team. Bunke says ville on the football field. Terry has really embraced Head coach Brett Bunke his leadership role and led a has his team playing an ex- group of 11 players who at- citing and hard hitting style, tended camp this summer at with key players in the right Linnfield College. Against positions. With 21 players Riverside, Terry looked dan- on the roster this year, so gerous both throwing the far the team has been fun ball downfield and finding to watch, as they have been open receivers, and running scoring points and register- The Loggers are 2-0 after defeating Oakridge and Riverdale. it himself. ing wins. After Terry, the offense ber 2, before rolling to another non-league The move this season revolves around senior running back Gar- home win a week later on September 9, by all of Oregon 2A schools to play nine- rett Jones, who also helped lead summer aside football, instead of the traditional defeating Riverside 41-14; the Loggers camp, who is dangerous both running and 11, seems to be a welcome change for the dominated Riverside, leading 28-0 at half- catching the ball out of the backfield. time, and 41-0 before Bunke started emp- Loggers, who have used their team speed “Cameron and Garrett have really to capitalize on the additional open space tying his bench and giving everyone some helped create a cultural shift on the team playing time. on the field this format provides. this year,” says Bunke. Bunke says he is working to spread After participating in the Willamina Sophomore running back Jarryn Ma- the ball around and give a variety of play- Jamboree on August 27, the Loggers rine is also contributing on the offense, ers a chance to contribute when the Log- opened their season with a non-league along with junior Austin Pultz and senior 30-6 home win over Oakridge on Septem- gers are on offense, and that was the case in the win over Riverside where four dif- continued on page 12 By Scott Laird 10 Heading into Fall 17 The Good Ol’ Days One Century Ago 18 Senior Center Picnic www.VernoniasVoice.com
