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NW
word
nerd
By RYAN HUME
Wauna
>Zaݜnԥ@
noun
1. an unincorporated
community in Clatsop Coun-
ty. Located 11 miles west of
Clatskanie on U.S. Highway
30 up against the banks of
the Columbia River, Wauna
is home to the Georgia-Pa-
cifi c paper mill
2. Wauna paper mill
(colloq.): Opened in 1965 by
Crown Zellerbach, today this
paper and pulp mill annually
manufactures more than 30
million cases of household
paper products, including
Brawny paper towels and
Angel Soft bath tissue
3. Wauna Credit Union: a
local fi nancial cooperative
with more than 20,000 mem-
bers that has been based in
Clatskanie since 1967
Origin:
Native American,
probably Klickitat. Wauna
was both the name of the
Columbia River and the
mythological river god
that the river represented.
Wauna is the god featured
in the legend of the Bridge
of the Gods, which spoke of
a great crossing across the
Columbia River hundreds of
years before construction on
the Astoria-Megler Bridge
began. The name Wauna
was applied to the com-
munity in Clatsop County
by A.W. Clark in 1912 with
the establishment of a post
offi ce. The post offi ce closed
in 1980.
“Georgia-Pacifi c’s Wauna paper
mill, which turns 50 this year, remains
the largest single employer in Clatsop
County, with more than 800 employ-
ees.”
—Edward Stratton, “Engineers play
major role with Wauna: Clatsop County’s
Via Wikimedia Commons
Wauna Mill as seen from Bradley State Scenic Viewpoint, just west of Westport.
Photo by Matt Love
Oregon author Willy Vlautin, right, signs a copy of his novel “The Motel Life” for
a student during a recent visit to Astoria.
A G LIMPSE I NSIDE
An occasional feature by MATT LOVE
Willy Vlautin
Photo by Joshua Bessex
Bundler operator Craig Zacher inspects a freshly wrapped package of Brawny paper towels
at the Wauna converting plant in April.
largest employer on the hunt for top tal-
ent,” The Daily Astorian, Oct. 9, 2015
“I read with great interest the let-
ter detailing the Koch Brothers owner-
ship connection to the Georgia Pacifi c
Wauna Paper Mill. Being the largest
single employer in Clatsop County, this
relationship is critical.”
—Chris Connaway, “Letter: Kochs at-
tack union,” The Daily Astorian, May 8, 2015
“‘There it was, only a short dis-
tance away, a great natural bridge, a
rugged bridge of stone, pierced with
a wide arched tunnel through which
the waters fl owed, extending across
the river. It was covered with stunted
pine and underbrush growing in every
nook and crevice; and on it were Indian
horsemen with plumed hair and rude
lances. It was the bridge of the Wauna,
the bridge of the Gods.”
I’m sitting seven feet
away from Oregon Book
Award-winning author Willy
Vlautin. He drove from his
home in Scappoose to discuss
his novel, “The Motel Life,”
and the movie adaptation of it
with my English Credit Recov-
ery students at Astoria High
School’s Gray School campus.
My students read excerpts
from this extraordinary novel
that unfolds the hard-luck story
of two orphaned brothers from
Reno. We had potent discus-
sions about the brothers’ poor
choices, loyalty and the qui-
et courage it takes to not run
away from bad decisions. We
also wrote hundreds of words
about how “The Motel Life”
connected to our lives.
Willy, also the front man
and singer/songwriter for
the acclaimed Portland rock
band Richmond Fontaine, is
a riveting storyteller. He holds
the class spellbound with the
reasons why he created these
brothers and how playing
football and writing saved
him in high school.
The students ask questions.
Some of them didn’t like the
book’s ending. Willy explains
his reasoning behind it. He ad-
vocates for Willy Nelson, read-
ing, old movies and Dodge
Darts. He talks about the dif-
ferences between writing a
novel and playing in a band.
Willy’s not here to lecture
or reveal the magic nonexis-
tent formula for becoming a
successful author and musi-
cian who makes a living from
his creativity, the very dream
many of my students have.
He’s just suggesting that they
“try” at life, that trying can lead
to good outcomes. Not trying
gets you absolutely nowhere.
Trying is everything. It’s
the most important lesson
these students can hear. It goes
beyond a classroom lesson. It’s
called life. Willy gives my stu-
dents a glimpse of his unique
hard-earned creative life in the
most honest of ways — face
to face, candid, without affec-
tation or clichés. I like to think
they heard him. I did.
When the gig concludes,
Willy gives away free copies
of “The Motel Life” and signs
them for the students. They got
to meet a renowned author and
shake his hand, an author who
was just like them not too long
ago … who started trying.
Matt Love is the author/editor of 14 books
about Oregon. His books are available
through coastal bookstores or his web
site, nestuccaspitpress.com
I ntroducing
—Dewitt Harry, “Bridge of Gods, Born
of Indian Lore,” The Sunday Oregonian,
Magazine Section, Oct. 17, 1920, P. 1
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January 21, 2016 | coastweekend.com | 21