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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (June 9, 2016)
16 // COASTWEEKEND.COM Author recounts growing up in polygamist family SEASIDE — At 7 p.m. June 16, Friends of the Seaside Library hill host Ruth Wariner, author of “The Sound of Gravel,” the true story of Wariner’s coming-of-age in a polygamist family. The event will take place in the Commu- nity Room; there will be book sales and signings presented by Beach Books. Ruth Wariner is the 39th of her father’s 42 children. Grow- ing up in rural Mexico, where authorities turn a blind eye, Ruth lives in a ramshackle house without plumbing or electricity. Preachers teach that God will punish the wicked by destroying the world and that women can only ascend to heaven by enter- ing into polygamous marriages and giving birth to as many children as possible. After Ruth’s father — the founding prophet of the colony — is murdered by his brother in a bid for church power, her mother remarries, becoming the second wife of another faithful congregant. In need of assistance, Ruth and her siblings are carted back and forth between Mex- ico and the U.S., where her mother collects welfare and her stepfather works a variety of jobs. Ruth comes to love the time she spends in the states and begins to doubt her fam- SUBMITTED PHOTO ily’s beliefs. She struggles to balance her ierce love for her siblings with the determination to forge a better life. Recounted from the inno- cent and hopeful perspective of a child, “The Sound of Gravel” is the remarkable memoir of one girl’s ight for peace and love. This is an intimate tale of triumph, courage and resilience. Wariner lives in Portland. At the age of 15, she left Co- lonia LeBaron, the polygamist Mormon colony in Mexico, where she grew up, and moved to California. After earning her GED, she put herself through college, eventually becoming a high school Spanish teacher. She remains close to her sib- lings and is happily married. NORTH COAST SYMPHONIC BAND D IRE CT E D B Y D AVE B ECK ER A m e r i c a n H e r o e s S U N DAY S O L O IST S A NDY AND R ACHEL B ECK ER J U LY 3 • 7: 30 PM Lib erty Thea ter • Asto ria Do o rs O p en a t 6:45 PM PRESHO W AT 7 PM N o rth Co a st Ja zz En sem b le Celebrate A m e r i c a ’ s Birthday! A FREE G D O N ATIO N S EN CO URAGED U RAGED Author says goodbye to the North Coast Gregory E. Zschomler holds inal book signing CANNON BEACH — On Saturday, June 11, Cannon Beach author Gregory E. Zschomler will present his Farewell Signing at Jupiter’s Books. The author is moving away after nearly two years of North Coast living and writing. During that time he’s written and published ive books — most of them written in Cannon Beach’s Insomnia Coffee. He is the author of 11 titles and publisher, co-editor and a contributor for the newly released “Chicken Poop on my Sole.” His first locally written book was “Rocketman: From the Trailer Park to Insomnia and Beyond,” a collection of personal essays, poems and pho- tographs published in February 2015. The second book, “Louie, the Lonely Lighthouse,” illustrated by Oregon Coast artist Roxanne Bowman and published in May 2015, was inspired by local lighthouses and is featured at the National Light- house Museum on Staten Island in New York where Zschomler spoke and signed last summer. His third locally written book, “Plays & Sketches for Schools and Churches,” came out last October and was followed by the novel “Hell, Heaven and Back,” which published Feb. 21. Zschomler’s latest proj- ect, “Chicken Poop on my Sole,” which he published, co-edited with his wife, SUBMITTED PHOTO “Chicken Poop on my Sole” edited by Ruth and Gregory Zschomler. Ruth, and contributed to, is a collection of humor- ous and inspirational short stories about farm life and country living by 16 Northwest authors. The anthology was released May 28. Other contributors include Ruth Ann Zschom- ler, Suzi Goedert, Dennis J. Sparks, Patrick Dwyer, Joe Benjamin, Carolyn Norland, Cherie Walter, Melissa Eskue Ousley, Keilah Joy Zumstein, Bethany Rose Lewis, Arvol E. Zschomler, Chris Johnson, Tammy Owen, Andy R. Bunch, and Joyce Reynolds-Ward. All of Zschomler’s books will be available at the signing from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., but he’ll be featuring “Chicken Poop,” a new omnibus of his three previous “Bayou Boys Adventures” and “Hell, Heaven and Back.” Jupiter’s Books is locat- ed at 244 N. Spruce St. Concert to beneit Astoria homeless coalition ASTORIA — A benefit concert for the new Riv- erfolk Homeless Coalition will be held at the Clat- sop Community College Performing Arts Center at 7 p.m. Friday, June 1. The Riverfolk Home- less Coalition is a new foundation that aims to help bridge the gap be- tween local organizations, services, resources and Astoria’s growing home- less community. The event will feature music by performers from around the Pacific North- west, including guitarist Larry Murante, lyrical guitarist Jill Trenholm with Virgil Venditto, folk singer Richard Colombo with Laurie Linn, tenor guitar and ukulele player Jean Mann; and Americana singer-songwriter Terry Holder with Jerry Holder. The concert will be head- lined by an all-star band, led by Scott Docherty, PHOTO BY KATHERYN HOUGHTON Terry Holder, right, and her bandmate and husband, Jer- ry, will perform at the beneit concert. featuring former touring members of The Nazz, Lifehouse,10,000 Maniacs, Rita Coolidge and more: Thom Mooney, Dale Turn- bull, Mike Hughes and Jason Moore. There will also be a raffle, giving away a solid mahogany Kala Ukulele and a collectible set of Japanese imported Beatles CDs and memorabilia, donated by Music Millen- nium & Artichoke Music. Rafle tickets are $10 and are available at Old Things and Objects, River- SUBMITTED PHOTO Jean Mann plays tenor guitar, ukulele and more. Sea Gallery, Blue Scorcher Bakery & Cafe, Hygge Hair Co., Cargo, and Old Town Framing in Astoria; at the Peninsula Arts Center in Long Beach, Washington; and at Artichoke Music in Portland. The drawing will take place at the show, but the winner does not need to be present to win. Tickets for the concert are $15, and available on- line at riverfolk.brownpap- SUBMITTED PHOTO Folk singer Richard Colombo will perform with Laurie Linn. ertickets.com Sponsors for this event include Redhare, Astoria Coffeehouse & Bistro, Artichoke Music, Colum- bia River Coffee Roasters, Astoria Riverwalk Inn, Bentrabbit Multimedia Stu- dios, Peninsula Arts Center, and Music Millennium. For more information, visit www.riverfolkastoria. com
