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Author packs center
By Steve Tool
Wallowa County Chieftain
About 50 people packed
the Josephy Center on the
evening of May 15 to hear
a reading by multi-award-
winning author and Fishtrap
instructor, Craig Lesley. The
author has an extensive back-
ground in the Wallowa Valley
and several of his books fea-
ture the Wallowa Valley as a
backdrop. Lesley currently
resides in Portland, where he
is writer-in-residence at Port-
land State University.
Lesley spent most of his
earlier years near the town of
Madras, and he still dresses the
part of a rural East Oregonian
arriving at the May 15 engage-
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im. As the Josephy Center was
celebrating the 1950s, Lesley
read from several of his works,
concentrating on the theme of
“Growing Up in Eastern Ore-
gon in the Fifties.”
Lesley spent well over
an hour on his readings and
answering questions from a
genuinely moved Josephy
Center audience. Afterward
he agreed to sit
down for a short
interview with
the Chieftain
concerning his
ties to the Wal-
lowa country.
Lesley
Lesley orig-
inally became
acquainted with the area
through several visits to an
uncle’s elk camp on the Imna-
ha River. In the early 1980s,
Lesley read at the Bookloft
and later became connected
with Fishtrap from its very be-
ginning in 1988. He read from
his works then, but starting
in 1990, he began teaching at
Fishtrap writers workshops,
which he continues to do.
“It was a great way to
come back here, and I really
like it. One thing that’s inter-
esting is that I’ve never real-
ly felt like writing a Portland
story. I just don’t know how
to handle a big city, and I’ve
always grown up and lived in
small places,” Lesley said.
When writing books with
the Wallowas in mind, Lesley
doesn’t visit the area once and
shape a book around it. “I’ve
taught at Fishtrap about eight
times, and I came back a lot
because I like the country and
people so much. I really like
the students I’ve had here at
Fishtrap as well,” Lesley said.
Because of family obliga-
tions, Lesley hadn’t visited
the Wallowa Valley in about
six years. Regardless, people
in the community remember
Lesley well as at least a half
dozen people stopped by to
chat with him during the in-
terview.
Lesley compared Wallowa
County stays to a golfer’s
preference for playing on a
familiar or “home course.”
“Enterprise and Joseph are
my home course as a writer,”
Lesley said.
Retirement from writing is
not in Lesley’s plans. “I don’t
think I will. I’m writing slow-
er than I used to, and I can feel
the difference, but I still have
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ries of several varieties, some
going all the way back to col-
lege, and some being set up
in this country. I’m still inter-
ested in the outdoors,” Lesley
said.
May 27, 2015
Wallowa County Chieftain
J OHNSON CELEBRATES 101 ST
Steve Tool/Chieftain
Jeanie Johnson (in red, center), of Wallowa Valley Senior Living, celebrated her 101st
birthday on May 21 with about 50 of her closest friends attending. Local country band
“Last Call” played for the party. Johnson attributed her longevity to dogs, staying away
from men and enjoying an occasional beer.
Shaw awarded for her reading
Wallowa grad’s team at
UA wins $100K award
Morgan Shaw, an out-
standing 4th grade reader at
Wallowa Elementary School,
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Accelerated Reader (AR)
reading program award in the
2014-15 school year.
The award was based on
Morgan’s participation in AR,
a computer-based comprehen-
sion program that keeps a re-
cord of the books read by each
student.
A 1997 Wallowa High
School grad is a key collab-
orator in an award-winning
effort in Arizona to help the
public gain and share knowl-
edge about the state’s water
resource issues. Using tools
the project provides, everyday
people will be able to take part
in forging possible solutions.
Cody Sheehy, currently a
resident of Arizona, is the son
of Dennis and Marcie Sheehy
As of May 6, Morgan had
accumulated over 549 AR
points for the year.
Morgan is the daughter of
Mike and Christie Shaw of
Wallowa. In order to earn her
points, she has read more than
52 very large literature books.
Morgan is a good student in
all academic areas. She has
participated in Battle of the
Books the past three years.
After school she participates
Memorial Day Decorations
Please retrieve any bouquets or other
decorations you'd like to keep from the
Enterprise Cemetery no later than June 5th.
After that date, the cemetery maintenance crew
will remove any items in the way of
mowing and trimming work.
Thank you,
Enterprise Cemetery Maintenance District
in
soccer
and softball.
Other activ-
ities she en-
joys are ski-
ing, running,
and making
jewelry. She
is also an
Shaw
avid writer.
Morgan’s favorite book is
“The Blood of Olympus,” by
Rick Riordan.
Stewart Jones Designs in Joseph
is now buying precious metals
Gold • Platinum • Silver
Call for Appointment
541.432.5202
of Wallowa. He holds a mas-
ter’s degree in rangeland sci-
ence from Oregon State Uni-
versity.
He’s also a videographer
who has applied those skills in
documenting life in Mongolia,
the rangelands of Australia,
and in Costa Rican jungles.
Currently he’s video coordi-
nator in the University of Ar-
izona College of Agriculture
and Life Sciences (CALS),
which in April was awarded
the $100,000 grand prize in the
“Water Consciousness Chal-
lenge,” a competition within
the New Arizona Prize, a joint
initiative of the Arizona Com-
munity Foundation, Republic
Media and Morrison Institute
for Public Policy.
The CALS team’s winning
project, “Beyond the Mirage,”
plans to launch a website in
January that will be a key com-
ponent in an overall strategy to
Sheehy
engage Arizonans, who will
use the site to create their own
mini-documentaries,
using
footage the site will provide.
Cody’s wife, Jatta Sheehy,
is also a member of the “Be-
yond the Mirage” team.
For more information
about the award, visit newar-
izonaprize.org.
High and Low Temperatures
According to data sent to MesoWest: www.mesowest.utah.edu
Fondest Memories
Enterprise
Date
May 20
May 21
May 22
May 23
May 24
May 25
May 26
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Lostine
Date
May 20
May 21
May 22
May 23
May 24
May 25
May 26
Joseph
Ervin F. Botts
Jack Elliott
November 26, 1915 –
May 3, 2014
The memory of
your smile & hugs
inspire us all.
October 17 1924 –
May 31, 2013
We are so grateful for our
wonderful years together;
you were the “rock” in our
lives. The love you shared
forever remains
in our hearts.
Wife and daughters,
Sandy and Susie
Charlie, Richard,
Bryce and Rod
Date
May 20
May 21
May 22
May 23
May 24
May 25
May 26
Date
May 20
May 21
May 22
May 23
May 24
May 25
May 26
Amy Hafer
Race for Awareness!
Saturday, June 27, 2015
9:00 am at Wallowa Memorial Hospital, Enterprise
Three Easy Ways to Register
1. Visit www.wvhcf.org and register online
2. Stop by Wallowa Memorial Hospital & pick up form
3. Call the Foundation at 541.426.1913 to have form
mailed to you
All Ages & Abilities Encouraged!
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May 20
May 21
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May 23
May 24
May 25
May 26
Imnaha
Mark Your Calendar!
Sign U
p Now!
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Troy
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May 20
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Six-day forecast
May 27 – June 1
Source: National Weather Service
May 27
H: 69 L: 43
Chance of showers
May 28
H: 73 L: 44
Chance of showers
May 29
H: 80 L: 49
Chance of showers
May 30
H: 81 L: 47
Chance of showers
May 31
H: 82 L: 45
Chance of showers
June 1
H: 63 L: n/a
Chance of showers
June 2
Phases of the moon
June 9
June 16
June 24
Last Quarter
New Moon
1st Quarter
Sign Up Today!
1 mi walk • 5 k walk/run • 10 k run
Event hosted by the Wallowa Valley Health Care Foundation
& Wallowa Memorial Hospital
With additional support from Major Sponsors
Bank of Eastern Oregon, Legacy Ford, Viridian Management, Winding Waters Clinic
Full Moon