REGION
Tuesday, June 14, 2016
East Oregonian
Page 3A
HERMISTON
Staff photo by Tammy Malgesini
A waterfall and pond provide a soothing oasis in the
yard of Dan and Polly Briscoe. Their garden and ive
others are featured in Saturday’s P.E.O. Hermiston Gar-
den Tour. Tickets are available at The Cottage.
Spring blooms with
annual garden tour
By TAMMY MALGESINI
East Oregonian
Staff photo by Kathy Aney
Rodeo wash-up
Hannah Hayden, of Pilot Rock, gives her horse a bath Monday at the Buckaroo Rodeo Bible Camp at the
Round-Up Pavilion. The Bible camp, sponsored by the Pendleton Free Methodist Church, teaches kids ages
12 and up the basics of the various rodeo events and includes a rodeo at 3 p.m. Wednesday at the pavilion,
which is free to the public.
MILTON-FREEWATER
A Milton by any other name
Arts Portal previews
non-traditional play
By ANTONIO SIERRA
East Oregonian
If Shakespeare is correct
and all the world’s a stage,
then the Miltons of the world
are getting their soliloquy.
As a part of a ive-city
tour in towns named Milton,
the MILTON project gave a
preview of their non-tradi-
tional play at the Arts Portal
gallery in Milton-Freewater
Saturday.
In a cascade of English
and Spanish, Seattle actors
Todd Jefferson Moore,
Moises Castro and Rose
Cano began sharing infor-
mation about Miltons both
familiar and foreign, inter-
spersing facts about Saager’s
Shoe Shop and McLoughlin
High School with dialogue
about mainstays in other
Miltons, like the Varsity
Lanes bowling alley in
Milton, Wisconsin.
Sometimes the Spanish
would be interpreted but
other times it wouldn’t, as the
actors handed out pictures
and memorabilia from the
various Miltons.
MILTON is the brainchild
of Lisa D’Amour of New
Orleans and Katie Pearl of
New York, the eponymous
founders of PearlDamour,
an interdisciplinary theater
company.
Having done much of
their work in large cities,
D’Amour and Pearl were
looking for a project focused
on small towns and what it
meant to be American in an
increasingly
multicultural
country. They did a Google
search for the most common
American town names and
settled on Milton, which was
Courtesy Photo by Charles Frates
Todd Jefferson Moore, left, and Moises Castro perform MILTON at the Arts Portal
gallery in Milton-Freewater Saturday.
evocative of John Milton, the
author of “Paradise Lost.”
“It was almost like
throwing a dart,” D’Amour
said after the preview ended.
Although Milton added
Freewater to its name in 1950
when the two cities merged,
Pearl and D’Amour were
intrigued by Milton-Freewa-
ter’s ethnic diversity.
The pair started visiting
Milton-Freewater in 2013
and while all the perfor-
mances of the play feature
bilingual elements, Pearl
and D’Amour speciically
rewrote the play to relect the
more than 3,000 Latinos that
live in the town.
D’Amour is planning an
even more ambitious produc-
tion when they perform the
full play at Mac-Hi next
week.
That string of perfor-
mances will feature a light
installation, a full soundtrack
and greater audience partici-
pation, including a poll about
whether Milton-Freewater
should keep the frog statues.
The three-person cast is
excited to perform the play
in full.
“There’s a poetry to it,”
Jefferson Moore said.
They’ve been rehearsing
the play in Seattle for the
irst few weeks, and although
this is their irst time in
Milton-Freewater, the town
felt instantly familiar when
they started seeing landmarks
featured in the play like the
Wee Bit O’Heather restau-
rant.
While Castro is a Mexi-
can-American from Los
Angeles, Cano is Peruvian.
Although it was Castro’s
irst time performing in
Spanish, he gave input on the
script to better it the termi-
nology used in Los Angeles.
Pearl and D’Amour
said the themes of the play
relect the characteristics of
Milton-Freewater, from the
language gap between its
Hispanic and Anglo citizens
to the city’s pea farm past
versus its viticultural future.
From the rise of the
Milton-Freewater
Down-
town Association to the recent
passage of the Milton-Free-
water Uniied School District
bond, Pearl and D’Amour
have experienced a great deal
about the town since arriving
there three years ago.
Now they get to share it
with their inspirations.
MILTON
will
be
performed at Mac Hi June
16-19 at 7 p.m. Matinees will
be held June 18-19 at 2 p.m.
Area residents are invited
to attend a community
barbecue in celebration of
MILTON Saturday at 5
p.m. at McLoughlin High
School. To ensure there’s
enough food, RSVP by
calling 888-854-5698.
———
Contact Antonio Sierra at
asierra@eastoregonian.com
or 541-966-0836.
With windswept hair,
Polly Briscoe was taking a
survey of her yard and garden
spots Monday afternoon.
“The wind has taken a
toll,” the Hermiston woman
said.
Dan and Polly Briscoe
bought their West Division
Avenue home in 1991. Over
the years, the couple has
done a lot of work to make it
their own private oasis.
The Briscoes enjoy being
outside and have hosted a
variety of parties in their back
yard. In addition to beautiful
lowers and large shade trees,
the gardens feature every-
thing from a corner arch and
whimsical signs to a pond
and bottle tree.
Their home — along with
ive others — is featured in
the annual P.E.O. Hermiston
Garden Tour. The event is
Saturday from 10 a.m. to
3 p.m. The tour booklet
includes descriptions of the
gardens, directions and a
map. The gardens may be
visited in any order. Members
of the P.E.O. Chapter will
greet participants at each of
the locations.
Others featured on the tour
are Chris and Amy Moon,
Bill and Thelma Reynolds,
Barry and Sandy Trapp,
Gene and LuAnn Garner and
Ken and Kathy Dopps.
The Moons include their
four children, ranging in age
from 2-11, in the process.
They choose and help create
lower combinations around
the yard. The Reynolds’
display includes hand-picked
rocks that were deposited
along area rivers from the
Missoula Floods. The Trapp’s
garden features a three-tiered
yard and a lovely river view.
A large koi pond is the high-
light of the Garner’s park-like
setting. Harvest is coming on
at K & K Blueberries, but the
Dopps’ property also features
colorful plants and shrubs,
as well as antique farm tools
and supplies.
Tickets for the P.E.O.
Garden Tour are $10 and can
be purchased at The Cottage,
1725 N. First St. Hermiston.
They also will be available
at each of the gardens on the
day of the event.
In its 12th year, the garden
tour supports local scholar-
ships as well as the organiza-
tion’s state and international
projects. P.E.O. was founded
in 1869 as a way to support
women and encourage them
in realizing their potential
through education.
Organizers are always
looking for gardens to
showcase during their annual
event. People are encour-
aged to let members know
about potential gardens for
upcoming tours.
For more information,
contact Judi Mason at judi-
masn@eoni.com, 541-314-
5407 or 541-564-9789.
———
Contact
Community
Editor Tammy Malgesini at
tmalgesini@eastoregonian.
com or 541-564-4539
MILTON-FREEWATER
Man can’t remember why he
was in road when car hit him
East Oregonian
A Walla Walla man
trying to cross a ive-lane
highway Thursday night in
Milton-Freewater ended up
in the hospital after a car
struck him.
Oregon State Police
reported Rebecca Albert, 43,
of Milton-Freewater, was
northbound on Highway 11
near milepost 32 at about
10:30 p.m. Thursday when
she saw a person in her lane.
She tried to swerve her white
Cadillac Escalade, but struck
Gary Lee Jones, 52, with the
left front bumper.
Police closed the north-
bound lanes for about two
hours.
Jones was conscious and
alert when medics arrived
and took him to Providence
St. Mary Medical Center,
Walla Walla, according to
state police, and a trooper
talked to Jones there. Jones
told the trooper he could not
remember why we was in the
roadway or anything related
to the collision that broke
his ribs and inlicted other
non-life threatening injuries.
Oregon State Police also
reported Milton-Freewater
police contacted Jones earlier
that evening and noted he
appeared intoxicated.
BRIEFLY
Food program
includes fun
activities
HERMISTON — The
Summer Food Program
though Umatilla Morrow
Head Start is underway.
The lunch program is
free for all children from
infants to age 18. It’s held
Monday through Fridays
through Aug. 12 from 11:30
a.m. to 1 p.m. on the lawn
area on the east side of the
Head Start administrative
ofice, 110 E. Fourth St.,
Hermiston. Along with the
food, each day will feature
fun activities or educational
offerings.
On Wednesday, kids can
eat and meet with Hermiston
Mayor Dave Drotzmann.
Parents can get information
about nutrition and receive
a free dental screening on
Wednesday, June 22, and
a free car seat check on
Thursday, June 23. Kids can
learn about public safety
when police oficers come
for lunch on Thursday, June
30.
For more information,
call Amy Hendrix, health
and nutrition director, at
541-564-6878.
Parks & Rec offers
dog obedience class
PENDLETON — Pet
owners are invited to
learn to teach their dogs
basic command during an
upcoming class offered
through Pendleton Parks &
Recreation.
Good Dog Obedience
meets Tuesdays from June
28 through Aug. 2 at the
Pendleton Recreation Center,
502 S.W. Dorion Ave.
Beginners are from 6:30-
7:30 p.m. and the follow-up
intermediate class is from
7:45-8:45 p.m.
It’s open to owners ages
14 and up and their canine
companions. The $48 fee is
due by Wednesday, June 22.
To register, go to www.
pendletonparksandrec.com
or stop by the parks ofice,
865 Tutuilla Road. For more
information, call 541-276-
8100.
Baldo retirement
celebration features
lying pig rafle
HERMISTON — A
retirement gathering is
planned for Marie Baldo.
After leading the
Hermiston Public Library
since 2004, Baldo is
shelving her last book at
the end of the month. A
retirement celebration is
planned Thursday from
4-6 p.m. at the library, 235
E. Gladys Ave. A rafle
featuring some of Baldo’s
lying pig collection will
beneit the library. In
addition, refreshments will
be served.
For more information,
call 541-567-2882.
Award-winning
cowboy storyteller
visits Weston
WESTON — A cowboy
storyteller will enthrall
audiences during an
upcoming presentation in
Weston.
Christopher Leebrick has
won national storytelling
awards with his three
albums, “Good Stories
From All Over,” “Critters,
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The public is invited to
hear Leebrick Friday at 1
p.m. at the Weston Public
Library, 108 E. Main St.
The free show is appropriate
for all ages. For more
information, call 541-566-
2378.
Friends celebrate
nonagenarian’s
birthday
PENDLETON —
Friends and family of
Mary Ann Ryder invite the
community to help celebrate
her 90th birthday.
Over the years, Ryder
has been active in the
community. She has
volunteered with many
programs, including the
Oregon East Symphony,
Pendleton Public Library and
ASPIRE (Access to Student
Assistance Programs in
Reach of Everyone).
The birthday gathering is
Saturday from 2-4 p.m. at the
Pendleton First Presbyterian
Church, 201 S.W. Dorion
Ave. No gifts.
For more information,
contact Amy Johnson at
541-379-7857 or akrydson@
gmail.com.
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Fathers Day!
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