Siletz news /, July 01, 2011, Page 4, Image 4

King graduates warfare school
QUANTICO, Va. - U.S. Marine Corps
Capt. Ryan T. King, son of Dave and Judy
King of Greenville, Pa., graduated May 12
from the U.S. Marine Corps Expeditionary
Warfare School Quantico, Va. Guests and
presenters at the ceremony included high-
ranking officials within the Marine Corps.
Expeditionary Warfare School was
established at Quantico as the Amphibious
Warfare School in 1921. The nine-month
course provides career-level professional
military education, with emphasis on
combined arms operations, warfighting
skills, tactical decision-making and Marine
Air Ground Task Forces in amphibious
operations. It prepares Marine captains to
function as commanders and staff officers
at appropriate levels within the Operating
Forces and Supporting Establishment.
In addition, it provides career-level pro­
fessional military education to selected
officers from the Marine Corps Reserve.
King, who has served in Iraq and
Afghanistan, is currently en route to serve
as an artillery officer at Marine Corps
Base Camp Pendleton, Calif.
Courtesy photo
U.S. Manne Corps Capt. Ryan T King, show here with his parents, Dave and Judy
King of Greenville, graduated May 12 from the U.S. Marine Corps
Expeditionary Warfare School in Quantico, Va.
Mussels, con’t from page 1
Courtesy photos by Chris Crawford
A mussel is shown up close (above).
Sharia Robinson and Bud Lane (left)
gather mussels on a sunny day during a
minus-tide near Seal Rock.
seis because they are necessary for her
Healthy Traditions program. She already
had gone once several days before and
planned to go again that weekend on top
of her regular work schedule. I definitely
could tell she was dedicated to bringing
traditional foods back to our community.
Once out in the mussel beds (areas
with a high concentration of mussels),
Robinson and Lane used their highly spe­
cialized equipment (crowbars) to retrieve
the mussels from the rocks. As I found
out, it takes a lot of work and a crowbar
definitely is needed to pry up the mussels.
When in their larval stage, mussels
excrete a goo that acts just like a natural
glue, solidifying as strands firmly grip
onto the rocks. I learned from Bud that in
the ’70s, gross over-harvesting of mussels
occurred primarily because a high Eastern
Asian immigrant population used them as
a primary food source. It’s much better
now, though, as you can go out to Seal
Rock at any low tide and see large clumps
of mussels all over.
We collected our bucketfuls of mus­
sels and headed back to the school to meet
with Cova St. Onge, who would co-teach
the traditional foods lesson with Robin­
son. The two of them took two groups
of classes throughout the day - first and
second grades, then third and sixth.
Starting out the lesson, St. Onge got
the group’s attention by having them sing
Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star in Athabas-
kan. I was very impressed with how well
they had the song memorized. Robinson
and St. Onge went over with the group
how mussels grow, where they can be
found and, most important of all, how to
eat them.
Lesson wasn’t just about mussels
As the mussels cooked, Robinson and
St. Onge taught the students about other
edible sea life, such as sea roses (green
sea anemone) and bull kelp. The students
(and I) learned a lot from them about our
traditional foods.
Unfortunately, not all of the students
were allowed to try the mussels because
the school, on short notice, mandated
signed permission slips for any students
who wanted to eat mussels. Of the ones
who did try them, though, opinions were
definitely varied.
While some vocalized their dislike of
the mussels, others took an immediate lik­
ing to them. Even the students who didn’t
care for the taste were interested in what
Robinson and St. Onge had to teach them.
As part of the requirements to gradu­
ate from Siletz Valley Early College
Academy, all seniors are required to do
at least two work-experience days total­
ing 16 hours of hands-on learning about
careers. For one of my job shadows, I
approached Diane Rodriquez about learn­
ing how Siletz News was run and maybe
even helping on it myself.
I had no idea I’d actually be able to
do something like this! It was definitely
a fun experience being able to act like a
real reporter and write this story.
Students at Siletz Valley Schools (far
left) ask Sharia Robinson and Cova St.
Onge questions about mussels.
Isaac (left) says he likes them.
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Siletz News
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July 2011