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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (March 26, 2015)
NASELLE A Finnish village with history, character and hidden treasures A A river wends its way through the Willapa Hills, down its valley WRERWWRPODQGVDQG¿QDOO\MRLQV Willapa Bay. Along the way, it passes a small village; both vil- lage and river are named Naselle, after the Nasil tribe of Native Americans. The Nasil were a Chinookan people obliterated by smallpox in the early 1800s; six surviving families made their home near the location of the modern village that bears their name. “Nasil” means “hidden” or “sheltered;” the name is appro- priate. Early trappers and trad- ers bypassed the valley of the Nicole Hoff , center, stand with her two Naselle, protected as it was by sons, Royce, left, and Lewis, who serve the namesake for Hoff Brothers Enter- dense forest that could only be as prises, a combination cold-storage locker approached from Willapa Bay for hunters and a liquor store in Naselle, by a maze of small rivers and Washington. FUHHNV7KH¿UVW(XURSHDQWROLYH in the area was a French-Canadian trapper with his Cree wife; they lived among the Nasil for the next 25 years. Americans had entered the area by then, mainly bachelor loggers RU¿VKHUPHQZRUNLQJDMREDQGPRYLQJRQ,Q-DDNNRDQG6R¿H 3DNDQHQDQGWKHLUGDXJKWHU0DU\EHFDPHWKH¿UVW)LQQLVKIDPLO\WR settle in Naselle. 3HUKDSVLWZDVWKH¿VKLQJRUWKHOXVKJUDVVODQGVZDLWLQJIRUFDW tle and the plow, or perhaps the place reminded them of home. Or they may have been seeking others like themselves, people who had ÀHGWKH\RNHRI5XVVLDQRSSUHVVLRQDQGZHOFRPHGWKHKDUGVKLSRI freedom on the frontier. For whatever reason, Naselle was an almost entirely Finnish community before Washington was a state. Forest so dense that, settler Katarina Pakanen said, “You have to look straight up to see the sunlight,” assured that logging was king. $QGWKHUHZDV¿VKLQJDQGVRPHVKHHSDQGGDLU\IDUPLQJ$ photograph shows 100 children standing in front of the schoolhouse. DUHLGHQWL¿HGDV)LQQLVKDQGIRXUDVKDOI)LQQLVKRQO\VHYHQVWX dents were not Finnish. 7RJHWWR1DVHOOHWDNH:DVKLQJWRQ6WDWH+LJKZD\HDVWIRU 11.2 miles from the north end of the Astoria Bridge. The town boasts DSRVWRI¿FHD7LPEHUODQG5HJLRQDO/LEUDU\2NLH¶V6HOHFW0DUNHW DQGWKUHHFKXUFKHVEXLOWLQWKHV7XUQULJKWLPPHGLDWHO\DIWHU the market, and immediately right again. You will see on your left the KDQGVRPH(YDQJHOLFDO/XWKHUDQ&KXUFKDQGRQWKHULJKWDQXQH[ pected discovery, Hoff Brothers Enterprises. “When we moved to town a year ago,” says Nicole Hoff, laugh- LQJ³SHRSOHWROGXVRXUIDPLO\LQFUHDVHGWKHSRSXODWLRQWR´+HU WZRVRQV/HZLVDQG5R\FHDUHWKH³+RII%URWKHUV´RIWKHQDPH You can learn all about the logging history of the Naselle area at the Appelo Archives Center. 1LFROHDQGKXVEDQG5DQGDOODUHQHZRZQHUVEXWWKHVWRUHLVPXFK the same as it has been for many years: a meat locker for local hunters and a liquor store. The changes the Hoffs have made are to include DVPDOOEXWVHOHFWDVVRUWPHQWRIEHHUVZLWKJURZOHU¿OOVDVORZDV $6), wines and spirits that are virtually unobtainable elsewhere. They DOVRFDUU\H[TXLVLWHHVSUHVVRDQGDOGHUURDVWHGFRIIHHEHDQV)UHG¶V Homegrown Produce is also in Naselle, and you can buy his organic beef at the Hoff Brothers. 5HWXUQWR+LJKZD\WXUQULJKWDQGDPLOHODWHUULJKWDJDLQRQWR :DVKLQJWRQ6WDWH+LJKZD\$IWHUDOPRVWPLOHVRQ\RXUULJKW\RX will see the Archive Café and next to that the Appelo Archives Center, a trove of historical information about the area, with logging industry displays and a room of traditional Finnish clothing, instruments and reading materials. 1H[WWRWKHFDIpLV+XQWHU¶V,QQZKLFKLQYDULDEO\KDVVHYHUDOSLFN XSWUXFNVSDUNHGLQIURQWWKHUHVWDXUDQWLVMXVWL¿DEO\IDPHGIRULWV broasted chicken. 7DNHDIHZPRUHPLQXWHVDQGJRDQRWKHUPLOHVWR:HVW'HHS 5LYHU5RDG7XUQOHIWDQGWDNHDVFHQLFGULYHXSWKHULYHU7KHURDG LQWHUVHFWV(DVW'HHS5LYHU5RDGLQDFRXSOHRIPLOHVDQG\RXFDQJR back to the highway on the other side of the river. 7RGD\RQO\DWKLUGRI1DVHOOH¶VSRSXODWLRQLVRI)LQQLVKDQFHVWU\ but it remains in any other important way a Finnish village. Naselle LVKRPHWR(PP\ZLQQLQJFLQHPDWRJUDSKHUDQGKLVWRULDQ5H[=LDN There is also local pride in Oscar Wirkkala, who lived in Naselle. :LUNNDODKDGDSURIRXQGHIIHFWRQLQGXVWU\LQWKH3DFL¿F1RUWKZHVW he invented both the “high lead” method of cable logging, suited to logging on steep slopes, and the ubiquitous choker hook. ,QDVWDJHGYHUVLRQRI-HQQLIHU/+ROP¶V1HZEHU\ Honor-winning novel, “Our Only May Amelia,” set in pioneer 1DVHOOH ZDV SUHVHQWHG DW )LQQ)HVW 86$ D QDWLRQDO IHVWLYDO WKDW Naselle co-hosted with Astoria WKDW\HDU6LQFH1DVHOOHKDV hosted the Finnish-American Folk Festival every other year, a three- day extravaganza of all things Finnish. The free festival will next WDNHSODFHDWWKHHQGRI-XO\ Before you leave Naselle, take another short trip, seven miles or VRHDVWRQ+LJKZD\<RX¶OOHQWHU :DKNLDNXP &RXQW\ DQG ¿QG WKH vanishingly small hamlet of Grays 5LYHU 7KHUH \RX¶OO VHH 'XII\¶V ,ULVK 3XE ZKLFK ORRNV IXQN\ enough to be extolled by Matt /RYH,QVLGHLW¶VDWUDGLWLRQDO,ULVK pub with friendly people and good IRRG<RX¶OO DOVR VHH VLJQV WR WKH *UD\V5LYHU&RYHUHG%ULGJHEXLOW LQDQGZRUWKWKHVKRUWWULS EHIRUH\RXUHWXUQIURP:LOODSD¶V Duff y’s Irish Pub in Grays River, Washing- ton, is a mere 7 miles east of Naselle. misty hills. travel Story and photos by DWIGHT CASWELL March 26, 2015 | coastweekend.com | 9