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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 27, 2018)
8 // COASTWEEKEND.COM NEW YEAR’S PEOPLE What’s ahead for these Columbia-Pacific denizens? By DWIGHT CASWELL FOR COAST WEEKEND O n the cusp of 2019, Coast Weekend asked locals about their journey — the setbacks, blessings and unexpected turns that have defined their life — and what they hope the coming year holds for them. CW DENNY HOLMES KIM ANGELIS COURTESY KIM ANGELIS Kim Angelis in 1989. COURTESY DENNY HOLMES Young Denny Holmes. DWIGHT CASWELL PHOTO DWIGHT CASWELL PHOTO Denny Holmes, a lifelong Clatsop County resident and son of Oregon Gov. Robert D. Holmes, was a timber feller for 30 years, until “I was driving farther to cut fewer, smaller trees and making less money.” So he took a job with the county as the one employee of the fairgrounds when the fair was held in downtown Astoria. Eventually he was named manager — just before the city sold the property, giving him two years to find somewhere else for the fair. Holmes, who lives in Warrenton, considers it his greatest accomplishment to weather two failed bond issues until the fair was located where it is today. The new location was a hit, helped along by the opening act: Willie Nelson. Holmes recalls that the following Christmas morning he was awakened by a long dis- tance call: “Willie wanted to tell me what a nice place the fairground was.” As to what’s next in his life, Holmes said, “I’ll be doing some gardening, fishing, clam digging, and I love to cook, just like my father did.” Holmes and his wife, Arlene, grow a lot of their own food (and 200 to 300 pumpkins for Head Start kids). “I’m a James Beard fanatic,” he said. “I knew him, and most of what I do is based on what he taught.” In the immediate future he’ll take a trip to Alaska, then cook a meal at the request of an ex-editor of Gourmet Magazine. It’s not all roses, though. “I’ve slowed down,” Holmes said. “I am 83.” Astoria’s favorite violinist says, “I have been blessed with a wonderful career.” Classically trained, both as a composer and performer, Angelis has played every- thing from bluegrass to gypsy music. “The real high point was having my music used in the Olympics,” she said. Angelis, a Naselle, Wash., resident, is the epitome of a healthy lifestyle, but she was recently diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer. “Because of my relationship with the Lord, I never felt despair,” she said. “I always had hope.” After extensive treatment that often left her weak and unable to practice her violin, she was declared cancer-free late in 2018. “I’m in a place of restoration,” she announced. “I have a new beginning.” How has that changed her life? Two days after the good news she bought seven acres with a Victorian farmhouse and a chapel. She loves her tractor, she may soon raise a few sheep to keep her three collies busy, and her music will change, too. “After years of guitar accompaniment, I really enjoy being accompanied by a piano.” She’s also doing more composing, but “my music will be less secular and more liturgical, because of the gifts of my trials and tribulations.” In December of 2018 Angelis gave her first concert in more than two years, drawing a capacity crowd at a Pioneer Church concert, and she will be recording a new CD in March. And one more thing: “As a big gift to myself I want to hike the Inca Trail.”
