B2
Hood River News, Wednesday, January 21, 2015
ROOTS
A nd B ranches
Rockford Grange looks
ahead to next 100 years
By MAIJA YASUI
Young people and the art of guidance
T
HE WINTER HOLIDAY SEASON has been a
blur of Nutcracker practices and perfor-
mances, charity fund raisers, shopping for
gifts and food, cooking and cleaning. Add to
that all the family meals and holiday visi-
tors and my five weeks of vacation was overflowing
with the basic elements of happiness, sharing, car-
ing and service with loved
ones.
While the Nutcracker is a
holiday tradition in many
communities, it is one we
have become intimately in-
volved with through our
granddaughter Kendra’s love
of ballet. She has performed
each year since she started at
the dance academy over nine
years ago when she was not
yet in school. It has been a
struggle getting her from the
“country” to town for
lessons, but the joy on her face as she grew through
each performance was worth the multiple car trips,
dance practices and performances. Her goal as she
came of “age” was to win the coveted part of Clara.
This was as exceptionally challenging goal, given the
competitiveness of the role, but entirely of her own
volition.
Kendra was not a natural dancer in the beginning,
having to overcome the obstacles of a body type influ-
enced by Finnish and German genes and scoliosis of
the spine. But hundreds of hours of practice with
dedicated dance instructors, a true love of ballet in-
spired by her beautiful mentor Kayla Walker, and
Kendra’s own dedication and strong work ethic over-
came all these barriers.
Who am I to complain about the eternity of Nut-
cracker performances I have witnessed over the last
nine years, the hard auditorium seats and long lines
that somehow turn hundreds of little girls and a
handful of boys into accomplished performers. I
would be negligent not to mention the service ele-
ment of the
Nutcracker,
the thou-
sands of
cans of food
collected
each year
and the
tremendous
financial
support for
the food
bank that the
perfor-
mances gen-
erate.
Personally,
ballet has
given our
granddaugh-
ter the grace
Submitted photo
of a dancer,
KENDRA
WILKINS
with
a
friend at the
the inner
2014
Nutcracker.
beauty of a
woman who
can reach seemingly unattainable goals, and the love
of an art form that complements her passion for
reading and writing. I watched the Nutcracker
through tears of joy as I felt my little “Bendra Boo”
transform into an accomplished young woman, able
to overcome whatever curve balls life may throw at
her, and thrive in the process.
■
I was fortunate to share a similar experience this
year with our oldest granddaughter, Katie Scarbor-
ough. Chalk two up for 2014 benchmarks. What start-
ed as just another requirement for graduation trans-
formed a quiet young woman into a public speaker,
an accomplished fund raiser, and a believer in service
and the Joy of Art. Katie was one of the lucky stu-
dents, able to experience the full benefit of the Ex-
tended Application project , to engage in a “signifi-
cant learning experience that enables students to
connect their current academic program to their con-
text in real life situations”
It started typically enough, with a few delays at the
beginning, asking grandma for help with project
ideas as one of the first deadlines approached. But
her parents (and teacher) encouraged her to branch
out from asking family members and to meet others
in the community. I was able to connect Katie with
Susan Frost, the marketing and foundation director
of Providence Hood River Memorial Hospital. Katie
really clicked working with Susan. She was able to
share with a stranger her interest in art, and her de-
sire to do something for one of her first mentors,
Peggy Dills Kelter. Art and the caring attention that
Kelter had given a struggling little introverted second
grader helped Katie find her way. She had not forgot-
ten the kindness or the power of art in transforming
her life.
With the support of several caring mentors, in-
cluding Rob Norton who served as the auctioneer for
the event, Katie put on an art auction. She had to
face some unexpected challenges along the way. After
the event was advertised, art work selected from
Hood River Valley High School students, a venue at
the high school secured, and an auctioneer sched-
uled, Mother Nature forced the auctions cancellation.
For once Katie wasn’t hoping for a snow day. The
event had to be rescheduled, and with the holidays
coming there were few venues available and even
fewer students and parents not committed to other
projects or events. Katie was able to reschedule the
event before the holiday break by moving the venue
to Mid Valley Elementary School thanks to the gen-
erosity of Principal Dennis McCauley. While atten-
dance was low, Katie, supported by a handful of other
art students, carried off the auction with the self-con-
fidence of a professional event coordinator.
Rob Norton helped make the experience even more
meaningful, teaching the students how to highlight
their art work and really “market” it. He had them
assist at spotters for the auction and showed them
how the price of an auction item could increase when
students shared how much work they had put into a
piece, or what they were expressing in its creation.
■
Like the Nutcracker, the service component that
is such a game changer for students was in donating
the money raised at the auction to the students at
Mid Valley Elementary School. In an assembly in
front of over 500 students and staff, Katie presented a
check for $546 to Peggy Dills Kelter for much needed
art supplies that would foster the creativity of yet an-
other generation of students.
Katie’s Joy of Art project brought joy to our fam-
ily, in watching this quiet young lady become an accom-
plished public speaker, one who believed in herself and the
project she had created. It brought joy to the students who
will get to be inspired by art in their young lives. And it
brought joy to those very special community mentors,
Peggy Dills Kelter, Rob Norton and Susan Frost , who
helped Katie, and hundreds of other students believe in
themselves and their abilities.
We are blessed in this community to have many mentors
who give the most priceless gift possible, the gift of their
time to others through service. I salute you.
Submitted photo
The Rockford Commu-
nity Grange 501 is cele-
brating the New Year as
the renewed owners of
its 92-year-old Grange
Hall building.
In 2005, due to declin-
ing membership and the
need for funds to make
renovations to the build-
ing, the Rockford Grange
sold both the building
and the land that it and
the Westside Fire De-
partment Building were
located on to the West-
side Fire Protection Dis-
trict.
The Grange retained
rights to use the build-
ing for meetings and,
over the past several
years, the Grange was
revitalized and member-
ship and activities in-
creased. So in late 2014,
the Westside Fire Dis-
trict agreed to sell the
building back to the
Grange. The Grange now
also has a 99-year lease
on the land where it is lo-
cated and a parking ease-
ment.
Ro c k f o r d
Grange
meetings are held at the
Grange Building, located
at 4250 Barrett Road. You
can learn more about the
Grange and friend it on
Facebook under Rock-
ford Grange #501. Some
of the activities current-
ly at the Grange include
Folklore Society Dances
from October to May on
the second Saturday of
the month at 7 p.m.,
Country Living classes
on homesteading skills,
and a beekeeping group.
A Seed Swap is also
scheduled for March.
Religious groups that
regularly rent the space
include the United
Church of God on Satur-
day and the Mid-Colum-
bia Unitarian Universal-
ist Fellowship on Sunday.
The Grange also pro-
vides an affordable place
for anniversaries, birth-
day parties, weddings
and memorial services.
If you have a group that
is looking for a meeting
space please contact
Linda Short at 541-490-
9287 for more details on
the Grange and rental
rates.
ROB NORTON auctioneer volunteer with Katie Scarborough.
T RAVEL
Continued from Page B1
private getaway.
The next day was Christ-
mas! After a delicious break-
fast we began our float. Our
Christmas included a couple
of really cool side hikes to
ruins and waterfalls; we
even found some mango
trees and enjoyed some of
the delicious fruit.
Mid-way through dinner
on Christmas night, our
merry excursion began its
morph into an epic adven-
ture as I found myself hav-
ing a sudden urge to dig a
hole — the kind of hole used
to bury one’s normal morn-
ing routine.
I’ll spare the details and
will simply say that I experi-
enced a very uncomfortable
and restless night. In the
morning Christie began her
fight with the same symp-
toms that had struck me. We
weren’t sure if it was our
breakfast, the water, the
mangos or something else,
but we knew that we were
days away from help and in a
precarious situation.
Adding to the complica-
tions, it began raining that
night and the river came up
to an estimated 15,000 cfs.
Having few options, we
packed our gear and made
our way downstream. After
several large rapids and
more great scenery, we made
it to camp and hunkered
down in the rain. Christie
suddenly experienced vio-
lent shivering and more vom-
iting as we both continued to
combat the sudden illness.
Observing the rain become
stronger throughout the
evening, our concern contin-
ued to grow. In the morning
we noticed the river had
come up again, this time sev-
eral feet. Now we had flows
near 25,000 cfs and the
largest rapids were down-
stream.
■
Arriving at the first of the
“big” rapids, which were
supposed to be two class IV
rapids, we were faced with
one long and difficult class V.
We managed to find a good
route through the exploding
whitewater and made it to
the bottom safely, albeit
humbled by the power.
After rounding a few cor-
ners and enjoying some large
waves, we made it to Shapal-
monte, the largest rapid of
the trip, and the only rapid
that we were told we could
not portage. After spending
an hour or more scouting
and discussing possibilities
to get through the rapid, we
found ourselves uncertain of
the best option. There was
just so much happening in
the rapid with a large hy-
draulic at the top on the
right, several unpredictable
features in the middle, crash-
Queen Size
Mattress Sets
ing waves throughout, and a
scary hydraulic at the bot-
tom on the left, which hap-
pened to be boxed in by
rocks.
All of the water was push-
ing to the left into that scary
hydraulic. We knew it would
be a tough rapid. We knew
that it would be the biggest
rapid we had ever paddled.
We knew that paddling this
rapid with just the two of us
was not an advisable move,
but we didn’t have another
option. After taking a mo-
ment to collect ourselves, we
attempted to run the rapid.
After making it through the
first few waves, I looked back
and saw that Christie had
flipped over in one of the
crux sections at the top.
After I passed the large hy-
draulic that was on the right,
I looked back again to watch
as Christie went into the
aforementioned hydraulic
upside down. Fearing the
worst, I made the decision to
get to shore and prepare to
rescue Christie by throwing
her a rope.
On my desperate scramble
to shore, I noticed Christie
had miraculously made her
way out of the hydraulic,
rolled her kayak upright,
and got to shore quickly. I
managed to stop my kayak in
the last possible spot above
the scary hydraulic that
lurked at the bottom of the
rapid on the left. After catch-
ing our breath, we walked
back upstream to the top of
the rapid and began weigh-
ing our options. After feeling
the power of Shapalmonte,
we knew that attempting the
rapid again would be a roll of
the dice. With rain beginning
to fall again, we were aware
that waiting for the river
level to decrease was a pipe
dream. We made the decision
to portage.
mistaken. The soil was rocky
and loose and a few hours
into our portage, the sun
began to beat down on us. We
had grown exhausted and
had run out of water. Being
several hundred feet above
the river level and becoming
increasingly dehydrated, we
didn’t have any way of ac-
cessing water.
As I sat in the minimal
shade behind a cactus, I de-
cided to cut into the water
bearing plant. The cactus
produced zero water. Still sit-
ting and thinking how I
could rehydrate, I decided I
was going to urinate on my
shirt and ring the liquid into
my mouth. T hankfully
Christie saved me from this
rash decision. She came into
view from above me and ex-
claimed, “I found a trail over
the saddle and back down to
the river!” With this new
knowledg e we left our
kayaks behind, took a few es-
sentials, and scurried over
the pass and down to the
river on the other side of the
canyon that we had been
climbing. After filling our
water bottles, twice, we
trekked back up to where our
kayaks were and decided to
leave the boats for the night.
At this point it had become
dark and we had been work-
ing on the portage for seven
hours. We took all of our
camping gear back down to
the river where we set up
camp, ate some much needed
food and developed a plan to
retrieve our boats in the
morning.
■
At first light we went back
up the canyon wall, over the
pass and down to our kayaks.
We set up a pulley system to
■
Attempting to portage a
rapid that has previously
been determined to be “un-
portageable” is a daunting
task. At first look, we
thought the portage would go
pretty well, but after begin-
ning our climb out of the
canyon with our 80-pound
kayaks, we realized we were
981 Tucker Road • Hood River
(541) 386-3915
■
We still had another week
to enjoy Peru as more typical
tourists. We visited the an-
cient town of Cusco, ex-
plored the ruins at Machu
Picchu and walked along the
beaches near Lima.
Our trip on the Rio Mara-
non strengthened our ever-
growing love and respect for
the natural world, in particu-
lar rivers. I don’t know that
we’ll ever return to the Rio
Maranon, or even Peru for
that matter, but we’re incred-
ibly grateful to have had
such an epic adventure that
provided us with a few trying
hardships, so many lasting
memories and, most impor-
tantly, the endless smiles.
Like our driver exclaimed
after dropping us off at the
beginning or our journey,
“Buena suerte!” to all you
kindred spirits.
Your
Mortgage
Lender
Call Bernie today
541-490-0167
Bernie Dittenhofer
Licensed Mortgage Banker
NMLS #2550 NMLS #114231
A division of Mann Mortgage, LLC
509 Cascade Ave., Suite F, Hood River
Apply at berniedittenhofer.westcorpmortgage.com
Volunteers in Action -
Providence Community Caregivers
Volunteer Training
9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Saturday, Jan. 31, 2015
Providence Hood River Memorial Hospital
VIA-PCC offers non-medical volunteer assistance to older adults
and those with chronic illness in Hood River and Klickitat Counties.
If you have an hour a week or an hour a month,
you can be someone’s “good neighbor.”
Volunteer tasks might be taking someone to the doctor, picking up a prescription,
friendly visits, grocery shopping and or other assistance.
Starting at $ 249
MURRAY’S
FURNITURE &
SLEEP CENTER
make hauling our kayaks
easier, and within three
hours we had our kayaks and
all of our gear safely at the
bottom of Shapalmonte.
After sharing a brief sense
of relief and reflecting on
our portage that required ten
hours of teamwork, we hap-
pily resumed our trip down-
stream. With the river still at
flood stage, we could hear
rocks rolling on the stream
bottom as we made our way
through the remaining twen-
ty kilometers of our trip,
much of which contained fif-
teen foot tall waves. We once
again experienced a sense of
relief when we saw the
bridge that marked the end
of our river trip and the lux-
ury of a hot shower, a warm
meal, some antibiotics and,
yes, a toilet!
Call to register or find out more,
call 541-387-6404
or email clare.black@providence.org