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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (March 16, 2017)
22 // COASTWEEKEND.COM What was Washington like during The Great War? Fairy gardens captivate Speaker program commemorates the centennial of World War I PACIFIC and GRAYS HARBOR COUNTY, Wash. — On April 6, 1917, the United States entered World War I — The Great War — to fight alongside its European allies. Washington state’s homefront turmoil, however, began before the country en- tered the war, and continued afterward. Four Timberland librar- ies will host the program “Washington at War: The Evergreen State in World War I,” presented by Wash- ington historian Lorraine McConaghy. The talks are presented by Humanities Washington and the Washington State Historical Society in com- memoration of the 100th anniversary of America’s involvement in World War I. The schedule is: • 2 to 3 p.m. Thursday, March 23, Ocean Park Tim- berland Library, 1308 256th Place, Ocean Park, Washing- ton, 360-665-4184. • 5:30 t 6:30 p.m. Friday, March 24, Raymond Tim- berland Library, 507 Duryea St., Raymond, Washington, 360-942-2408. • 10 to 11 a.m. Saturday, WASHINGTON AT WAR 2 p.m. March 23, Ocean Park library 5:30 p.m. March 24, Raymond library 10 a.m. March 25, South Bend library 2 p.m. March 25, Westport library SUBMITTED PHOTO Historian Lorraine McCo- naghy will talk about Wash- ington state during World War I and lead a readers’ the- ater reading. March 25, South Bend Tim- berland Library, First Street and Pacific Ave., South Bend, Washington, 360-875- 5532. • 2 to 3 p.m. Saturday, March 25, Westport Tim- berland Library, 101 Harms Drive, Westport, Washing- ton, 360-268-0521. McConaghy will begin the program with an illus- trated introduction to the war’s themes. Following that, attendees may participate in a scripted readers’ theater designed to portray the turmoil of the years 1914 to 1919. The readers’ theater script is drawn from first-person sources such as letters, diaries, speeches and newspaper stories. It allows modern readers to speak aloud the words of a past generation and gain an sense of how Washingto- nians of that era experienced the great social, economic and political changes of the time: industrialization, im- migration, women’s rights, radical labor, epidemic disease, and worldwide turmoil. McConaghy is a public historian whose work has been widely recognized and honored. She received the Wash- ington State Historical Soci- ety’s Robert Gray Medal, the annual award of the Pacific Northwest Historians Guild, and the Humanities Wash- ington Award. McConaghy earned her Ph.D. from the University of Washington. At the Museum of History & Industry and Washington State Histo- ry Museum, her work as historian and curator has dealt with Washington at war during the Treaty War of 1855-1856, the Civil War, World War I and World War II. She has participated in working groups concerning the opportunities of com- memoration and presented lectures and workshops on readers’ theater programs at the National Council on Public History, the Amer- ican Association for State and Local History, and the Washington Museum Asso- ciation. In 2009, her readers’ theater script “Speaking Out” won the national performance award from the Oral History Association. In 2015, the American Asso- ciation for State and Local History honored her “Voices of the Civil War” readers’ theater script with a national award of merit. McConaghy lives in Kirkland, Washing- ton. For more information, contact the individual librar- ies hosting the program, or visit www.TRL.org Watch ‘Paper Tigers’ with Way to Wellville SEASIDE — Columbia Pacific Coordinated Care Organization and Way to Wellville in Clatsop County are hosting a free community screening of the movie “Paper Tigers.” The screening will be held from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 21 at the Seaside Civic and Conven- tion Center, located at 415 First Ave. “Paper Tigers” follows a year in the life of stu- dents at an alternative high school in Walla-Walla, Washington. The film looks at the effects that adverse childhood experiences can produce, and, following a change in the school’s discipline approach, how the school staff were able to step up to help these stu- dents become successful. The film is the basis for current work locally happening for Trauma In- formed Practices in health care and schools. After the movie, the audience will have time to have a discussion. For more information, contact Patti Atkins by calling 503-961-2535. SUBMITTED PHOTO Attend a screening of “Paper Tigers” at 5:30 p.m. March 21 in Seaside. kid, adult imaginations By TRACEE M. HERBAUGH ASSOCIATED PRESS A set of little wings. Ceramic fountains. Tiny versions of ornate cottages and brick walkways fit for the English countryside. These are just some of the whimsical decorations that adorn fairy gardens. When such miniature decorations are paired with similarly diminutive plants, these gardens — aimed at luring fairies — can cap- tivate the imaginations of children and adults alike. “I think it is in our DNA,” said Brenda Williams, a master gardener at Pesche’s Greenhouse, Floral and Gifts in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. For the last four years, Williams has been teaching classes to 4H students and through the University of Wisconsin’s continuing education program on how to create fairy gardens. We have the itch to gar- den, she believes, to satisfy a lingering part of our hunt- er-gatherer past. “That gene is still very present in modern people who no longer need to garden,” Williams said. And designing a little fairy abode turns a garden into “a living artwork,” she said. Fairy gardens’ appeal is similar to that of Japanese bonsai, the ancient practice of grooming small trees inside containers. In 1893, fairy gardens surged in pop- ularity in the U.S. because of the Japanese Pavilion at the Chicago World’s Fair. No two fairy gardens are the same. Some people use creative containers, especial- ly antiques — a wash tub, bird cages or pickle bottles. “I tell people to imagine something in your head and try to recreate it in a pot, or whatever,” Williams said. The gardens can be designed underwater or with silk plants if the creator is more of a “set and forget” type of plant person. Often, fairy gardens are a creative bridge between adults and children. Jayme Tortorelli Benko, a 37-year- old mom from Denver, saw photos of fairy gardens on- line and wanted to make one for her young daughter, Alo- ra. In a large pot, Benko put a ceramic flower with a resting fairy (named Nata), some rocks and an assortment of potted plants. Creating the garden was about spending time together, Benko said, adding, “Kids love magic.” Fairy gardens are also part of a larger DIY move- ment. Victoria Hannley, a 39-year-old mother of three who runs the DIY blog Dazzled While Frazzled, made her first fairy garden with items left over after her daughter’s birthday party and some empty soup cans. “It makes me think back to the days when I had a dollhouse,” Hannley said. “You’re able to take every- day stuff you have and make something with it.” Yet fairy gardens also can take on more solemn meanings. The 15-foot-wide fairy garden on the side of Michelle Peebles’ home commemorates her daugh- ter Amanda, who died at age 12 from complications from a rare form of cancer. Peebles, 46, of Broomfield, Colorado, planted the garden two years ago with Amanda and her other children. “She helped me plant some snapdragons and she used to dig for roly polies (beetles) there,” Peebles said. There are still snapdrag- ons in the spot, as well as a little fairy home and seashell walkway. Amanda’s digging tools are still there. “It’s just a little peaceful place, and it’s incorporated with her little stuff,” Peebles said.