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Memoirist to relate dysfunctional Did you know you can talk to
family adventure at Seaside library astronauts with amateur radio?
SEASIDE — On Thursday,
Sept. 8, the Friends of the
Seaside Library will welcome
Andra Watkins, author of
“Not Without My Father:
One Woman’s 444-Mile Walk
of the Natchez Trace.” The
event will take place in the
Community Room at 7 p.m.,
and there will be book sales
and signings.
Watkins needed a wing-
man to help her become one
of the only living people to
walk the 444-mile Natchez
Trace, from Mississippi to
Tennessee, as the pioneers
did. She planned to walk 15
miles a day. For 34 days.
Watkins asked everyone in
her life if they would accom-
pany her on the adventure,
but no one was able to make
the commitment. She was
left with her cantankerous,
disinterested, 80-year-old
SUBMITTED PHOTO
“Not Without My Father” by
Andra Watkins.
father. And his gas. And the
sleep apnea machine and
self-scratching. And sharing a
bathroom with a man whose
gut obliterated his aim.
As Watkins trudged
America’s forgotten highway,
she lost herself in despair.
Nothing happened according
to plan, and her tenuous con-
nection to her father started
to unravel. Through argu-
ments and laughter, tears and
fried chicken, they fought to
rebuild their relationship.
In “Not Without My Fa-
ther,” Watkins invites readers
to join her dysfunctional fam-
ily adventure in a humorous
and heartbreaking memoir
that asks if one can turn “I
wish” into “I’m glad I did.”
Watkins is a New York
Times bestselling author, and
“Not Without My Father”
was nominated for the 2015
National Book Award for non-
iction. She has been featured
in the Hufington Post, The
Tennessean, and ABC News.
She lives in Charleston, South
Carolina.
ART EVENT
Satu rd ay Septem ber 3rd , 3–6 pm
Women + Hats
Interesting & Varied
Photos, Oils, etchings
and much more…
G u est A rtist: Sherry Lee
Join us for a glass of champagne and a tip-of-
the-hat to the ladies who wear hats!
• Drawing for a 50% off gift certificate to Deux
Chapeau
• Wear your hat and receive a 10% discount and
Beautiful Things*
* Through the end of September
– H om e Interior B ou tiqu e –
N ew — O ld — R e-Im ag ined
110 P acific W ay (in m all across from P harm acy)
L ong B each, W A • 360-244-25 10
Professional North Coast Women Artists
The Palette Puddlers
of Cannon Beach
are moving their Labor Day
Art Show and Sale to the
Astoria Art Loft
103 3rd Street, Astoria
(above Dots and Doodles Art Supply
across from Burger King)
Saturday Sept. 3 rd thru
Monday Sept. 5 th
10am to 4pm daily
Fantastic Original
Artwork at Surprisingly
Reasonable Prices!
Join long-distance
conversations at
Lewis and Clark
National Park
ASTORIA — As part of the
Lewis and Clark National
Historical Park’s National
Park Service centennial
celebration, a group of local
students and scouts will take
part in an important con-
versation Saturday, Sept. 3.
Thanks to a partnership with
a local amateur radio club,
the youth will chat with
astronaut Takuya Onishi,
who is in orbit aboard the
International Space Station,
via radio transmission. The
event is scheduled to take
place at 11 a.m. at the park’s
Netul Landing at the north
end bus shelter. The public
is welcome to attend.
This “explorer to explor-
er” conversation is part of
the Amateur Radio on the
International Space Station
program, which lets students
worldwide experience the
excitement of talking directly
with crew members of the
International Space Station,
inspiring youth to consider
careers in science, technol-
ogy, engineering and math,
and engaging them with
radio science technology
through amateur radio. The
International Space Station
is a global partnership of 15
countries learning to work
through differences in culture,
language, politics, design,
manufacturing, management
and operational styles.
Lewis and Clark park
rangers have been working
with students from the Asto-
ria School District migrant
summer school program and
local girl and boy scouts to
learn about the International
Space Station, as well as
connections between the dai-
ly activities of the Corps of
Discovery and the astronauts.
The youth have worked
hard to come up with spe-
ciic questions for Takayu
Onishi of Japan’s space
agency. For instance, the
Corps of Discovery was
fond of iddle tunes, and
Kevin, 13, wants to know
if astronauts aboard the
International Space Station
listen to music. Nahomy, 10,
is interested in how many
outits the astronauts have
with them, and what they’re
made of. Josie, 8, knows that
when Sacagawea was ill,
Lewis treated her; but who
treats the astronauts?
“This is an amazing
opportunity to engage our
youngest park goers with
an astronaut in space,” says
Visitor Services Chief Jill
Harding. “The connection
between the park and the
International Space Station
ampliies the same themes
of exploration and investi-
gation that we celebrate at
Lewis and Clark National
Historical Park.”
This Amateur Radio
on the International Space
Station event is part of a Na-
tional Parks on the Air effort,
featuring support from the
Mouth of the Columbia Am-
ateur Radio Club. Through
2016, amateur radio opera-
tors celebrate the National
Park Service’s centennial
by traveling to national park
sites nationwide to have
radio conversations with
people around the country
and around the world.
As part of the National
Parks on the Air activity,
the Mouth of the Columbia
Amateur Radio Club will set
up radio stations at the park’s
Netul Landing site from Fri-
day evening, Sept. 2 to Sun-
day morning, Sept. 4. The
public is invited to visit with
the radio operators, learn
about radio, and even join in
a conversation by talking on
a radio microphone.
For more information
about Amateur Radio on the
International Space Station
go to ariss.org. The week-
end’s radio events at Netul
Landing are sponsored by
the Mouth of the Columbia
Amateur Radio Club, the
Lewis & Clark National
Park Association and the
National Park Service.
For more information,
call 503-861-2471 or visit
nps.gov/lewi or ind Lewis
and Clark National Histori-
cal Park on Facebook.
Find a book sale in Ilwaco this weekend
ILWACO, Wash. — Find a
good read to add to your
bookshelf or fall reading list
this weekend. The Friends
of The Ilwaco-Ocean Park
Libraries will hold a book
sale from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Saturday and Sunday, Sept.
3 and 4 at the Ilwaco High
School Black Lake Campus
at 404 School Road.
Some books are marked
specially; all others are $1
per hardbound and trade
paperback and 50 cents for
regular-size paperback.
Between 2:30 p.m. and 4
p.m. Sunday, bring a stan-
dard paper grocery bag and
ill it for just $3.
The Friends of the
Ilwaco-Ocean Park Librar-
ies collect and sort donated
books year round to sell at
two annual sales on Me-
morial Day and Labor Day
weekends.
All proceeds will beneit
the Ilwaco and Ocean Park
Timberland Libraries.