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-
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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,
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“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-
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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-
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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