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About Wallowa County chieftain. (Enterprise, Wallowa County, Or.) 1943-current | View Entire Issue (June 17, 2015)
Wallowa County Chieftain News wallowa.com June 17, 2015 A7 Old Time Fiddlers a crowd-pleaser By Kathleen Ellyn Wallowa County Chieftain What they lacked in atten- dance was more than made up for in enthusiasm. The small- ish crowd that attended the Blue Mountain Old Time Fid- dlers event at Cloverleaf Hall in Enterprise last Saturday came ready for a good time. And they found one. After dining on Randy *DUQHWW¶V $SSOHÀDW &DWHULQJ barbecue they hit the stage for an evening of old-time enter- tainment. Club President Denny Langford, of Union, kept folks laughing between sets with his corn-fed country hu- mor, and some folks even got up to dance. The event is meant to con- QHFW¿GGOHUVEXWWKHUHLVSOHQ- ty of appreciation for other musical instruments: banjo, guitar, bass, autoharp and even accordion. “We’ve got some of the best backup you can get” Langford bragged. The voice is a musical LQVWUXPHQW WKDW LV DOVR GH¿- nitely on display at the event. Many musicians sprinkle a little commentary in as they play, and others give a full voice performance. The set Kathleen Ellyn/Chieftain Bill Henke of Wallowa performs at the Blue Mountain Old Time Fiddlers event Saturday in Enterprise. by locally grown “Homemade Jam” featured Laura Skovlin’s lead vocals with backup by other members of the band. Other musicians both from the group or added in for the event included Mike Rags- dale on lead guitar, Lorainne Ragsdale on accordion, Caleb 6DPSOHV RQ ¿GGOH 3DWULFN Powers on bass, Larry Rich- erson on rhythm guitar and Sandi Richerson on autoharp. Skovlin broke it down for a simpler rendition of “Will the Circle be Unbroken” backed by Caleb Samples on vocals DQG¿GGOH²DWXQHVRHYRF- ative that the entire crowd joined in. Another crowd-pleaser was little Regan Domschot, age 9, who braved the stage to strum her ukulele in ac- companiment to her grandma, Jody Domschot of La Grande. One of the bits of stagecraft that Regan picked up over the years was to take off her shoes before she played. “Regan ¿JXUHV LW PHDQV WKDW \RX¶YH come to do business,” Jody said. The event has been a standby for the area for so many years not even Lang- ford can recall the exact num- ber without consulting his vast library of notes. “There was actually someone before Charlie Trump,” Langford re- called. “There was Ivan Mc- Daniel of Longcreek (near )RVVLO¿UVWEDFNLQ¶WKHQ Bob Hunt of Prairie City (near Sumpter), then Walt Langlitz of Baker City and then Bob Dunn of Union and then Al- bert Langlitz of Baker City and Enterprise, then Charlie Trump of Enterprise and then Len Samples of Joseph and then me.” Langford has been president of the seven-coun- ty group for 21 years. “They used to have term limits, but then they found a sucker will- ing to keep doing this and here I am,” Langford joked. That makes it about 47 years the Blue Mountain Old Time Fiddlers have been coming to Wallowa County. Expect them again next year. Many of the musicians have multiple CDs available for sale. Enterprise Library honored for summer reading program Rautenstrauch remodels Ready to Read; success rate soars Enterprise Public Librarian Denine Rautenstrauch smiles as she poses with the banner for this year’s summer reading program. Rautenstrauch received a prestigious award from the Oregon State Library June 8 for her work promoting the program. By Kathleen Ellyn Wallowa County Chieftain Students of all ages have been hitting the books during the Enterprise Pub- lic Library “Ready to Read” Program — reading those books, earning their Library Dollars, and reporting their progress. In fact, in the past two years, thanks to Librarian Denine Rautenstrauch’s re- model of the program, 119 kids have participated in the program and 72 percent achieved their goals. “This is extraordinary,” said Katie Anderson, youth services consultant for the Oregon State Library. “State Kathleen Ellyn Chieftain average for completion is only 33 percent.” Of all the 131 libraries in the state, only five librar- ies got this award, which is made regardless of the size of the library. “It’s not like sports where schools are put into confer- ences based on the size of the school,” Rautenstrauch said. “We beat out Mult- nomah. We were competing against libraries with a staff of five.” In fact, the Enterprise li- Fiddle Tunes Camp July 5-10 The 11th annual Wallowa Fiddle Tunes Camp takes over the Wallowa School campus during the week of July 5-10. WFTC offers affordable, JURXS ¿GGOH LQVWUXFWLRQ IRU individuals and families in a relaxed, week-long format. WFTC also offers instruc- tion in other accompaniment string instruments as well as on-site technique of ensemble participation. Morning core classes run from 9 a.m. until noon daily, and include: Beginning Gui- tar (Duane Boyer), Bluegrass Fiddle (Isaac Callender), Irish and DADGAD Guitar (Stuart Mason), Intermediate Bluegrass Guitar (Jon Meek), Vocal Repertoire (Emily Muller-Callender), Begin- ning through Intermediate Mandolin (Matt Sircely), Basic Fiddle (Lora Staples), Intermediate Clawhammer Banjo (Martha Stone), Irish Fiddle (John Weed). The In- termediate Old-Time (South- ern) Fiddle class taught by Judy Lungren is sold out. Afternoon electives include contra dance sessions led by dance master Larry B. Smith, jam sessions, and the Thurs- day performance by the camp faculty at the Courthouse Concert Series in Enterprise. For more on instructors and classes, visit wvmusicalli- ance.org, You can also regis- Wallowa’s 4th of July Parade 11:00 am, Fri. 7/4/15 (Be at Cougar field by 10:15 am!) Parade Entry NAME:______________________ DIVISION ADDRESS:_______________________ CHILD_________ ________________________________ (12 & under) CITY:____________________________ ADULT_________ STATE:_______ZIP_________________ *PHONE:*__________________________* CATEGORIES (Select as many as needed) Organization___ Motor Bike___ Horse___ Automobile___ Bicycle____ Tractor____ Walking Unit____ Truck_____ Other____ Number in Group_____ Please Explain for Announcer___________________________ ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________ Drop off Entry Form at Wallowa City Hall by: noon 7/1/15 or Mail to: “Parade Entry” PO Box 487, Wallowa, OR 97885. Questions call 541-886-2422. ter online. Registration fee is $175 per person. (Some scholar- ships are available). A lunch catered by Beth Gibans of Backyard Gardens is an addi- WLRQDOSHUSHUVRQIRUWKH week. Camping is free on the school grounds. For further information contact camp director Carla Arnold: pickandbow@aol. FRP KRPH FHOO brary was achieving goals fairly well all along, with 50 percent of the 35 kids who took part finishing their reading plans. But that ex- plosion from 35 kids to 119 kids and an additional 22 percent completion did not go unnoticed. Anderson awarded the Enterprise Public Library the 2014 Outstanding Ready to Read Program Award at the June 8 city council meet- ing. Other winners of sum- mer reading awards were: Coquille Public Library, He- lix Public Library, Newport Public Library and Salem Public Library. d e d! t ted! r e invi te re are Yo Y o a You To a Reception Honoring Lisa Dawson, Oregon State Parks Commissioner for Eastern Oregon Tuesday, June 23rd, 5-8pm at Wallowology! 1MFBTFKPJOVTGPSDPNQMJNFOUBSZ GPPECFFSXJOFTQJSJUTGVO Natural Na tur al H History ist or y Discovery D isc o v er y Center C en t er /.BJOt+PTFQIt"DSPTTGSPN$PDPTBOE.VUJOZtXBMMPXPMPHZPSH / . B J O t + P T F QI Q t " D S P T T G S P N $ P D P T B O E . V U J O Z t X B M M P X P M P H Z P SH S H