Wallowa County Chieftain
News
wallowa.com
December 28, 2016
2017 Big Read features war stories
By Steve Tool
Wallowa County Chieftain
Fishtrap’s 2017 Big Read
features the Vietnam War
classic “The Things They Car-
ried,” the semi-fi ctionalized
wartime experience of author
Tim O’ Brien.
Although the story is told
from a man’s point of view,
Fishtrap isn’t leaving out the
women who supported the
troops from afar.
Local writer Katherine
Stickroth, a Vietnam-era wife
herself, is leading a writing
class tentatively titled: “The
Other Warriors: Voices of the
Women of Vietnam Veterans,”
which is specifi cally aimed at
women left behind during the
confl ict.
Stickroth is interested in
sharing her experiences and
learning of those of other
women from the era. The class
will discuss women’s stories
from the era, including how
they responded to sons and
husbands going off to war, and
their experiences once veter-
ans returned home.
“(Life) is not the same,” she
said. “Adjustments have to be
made. So how do you make
those adjustments? That’s
where our stories come from,”
Stickroth said.
Writing prompts for the
class will be taken from “The
Things They Carried,” but
Stickroth may add other books
to the curriculum.
“I’ll also be making refer-
ences to other books that will
generate conversations about a
woman’s response, wife, niece,
daughter — our response to
what we see when (the veter-
ans) get home,” Stickroth said.
She noted diffi culties ad-
justing to civilian life can
cause stress for both women
and men.
“Even after discharge,
there’s still the military train-
ing and mindset about how to
think about things and how to
SCHEDULE
More online at fi shtrap.org
Thursday, Jan. 12, 7 p.m.
Kickoff & Screening of “Dick Cavett’s
Vietnam” and Pies!
Location: Hurricane Creek Grange Hall
— Joseph. $5 admission, students free
admission
Dick Cavett’s Vietnam is a documentary that
examines the war and its impact on America
through interviews conducted on “The Dick
Cavett Show,” which featured thoughtful
conversation and debate from all sides of the
political spectrum. The program combines
interviews from Cavett’s shows with archival
footage, network news broadcasts, and war
footage from the Vietnam war.
Thursday, Jan. 19, 7 p.m.
What Vietnam Teaches Us: Wallowa
County Veterans Discuss The Things
They Carried
Location: Tomas Conference Center, Enter-
prise. Free.
A panel of Wallowa County veterans discuss
The Things They Carried in the context of
their own combat experience. Moderated by
react to things. Some people
can’t close the door on that,”
Stickroth said.
The class can also help
women connect with others
facing issues.
“For one thing, sitting at a
table with women who have
their own stories offers a sense
of support and understanding
that people outside that circle
can’t understand,” Stickroth
said. “I think there’s value in
giving the women who come
the opportunity to voice their
stories.”
One thing Stickroth wants
to make clear is that the class
won’t focus on negativity. She
also said the class is not just
about rehashing bad experi-
ences.
“I’m not trying to portray
that it’s all bad,” she said. “If
it were all bad, why would you
hang in there? There are joys.”
Stickroth is hopeful that
the class conversation expands
outside the group.
“With the county having
one in seven residents who
are veterans, what I hope will
happen is to generate a com-
Miles McFall, the discussion will focus on
similarities and differences between Vietnam
and other wars our nation has fought.
Emphasis will be on lessons learned from
Vietnam and inform the audience about how
Wallowa County residents can help returning
veterans successfully integrate into society.
Thursday, Jan. 26, 7 p.m.
America in Vietnam: Understanding Tim
O’Brien’s Vietnam War with David Schmitz
Location: The Place/Joseph United Methodist
Church, Joseph. Free.
Author and professor David F. Schmitz
examines why the United States was in
Vietnam and the state of the war when Tim
O’Brien fought. In the process, Schmitz will
place O’Brien’s The Things They Carried in
its historical context to illuminate some of the
key themes in the work. David Schmitz is a
Whitman College professor of history and a
widely published author on the Vietnam era.
Thursday, Feb. 2, 7 p.m.
Life after War: Photography & Oral Histories
of Coming Home with Jim Lommasson
Location: Wallowa City Hall, Wallowa. Free.
When does a war end? Does it ever? Many
munity-wide
conversation
about what’s going on in indi-
vidual lives whether they were
soldiers or not, and what was
going on at the time in this
county and this country,” she
said. “Some people here were
hippies, and that had as much
to do with the era as veterans
coming home.”
Stickroth has a syllabus for
the class —the fi rst assign-
ment is about how they met
their connection to Vietnam.
Although the class has
some structure, the writing
itself can be poetry or prose.
Also, Stickroth wants women
who think they have no talent
to consider taking the class.
“I believe that anyone who
can organize their thoughts to
write a grocery list or to-do list
can be a writer, but this class
isn’t about good or bad writ-
ing — it’s about telling our
stories.”
The four-week class is slat-
ed to start on Jan. 7 at Fishtrap,
400 E. Grant St. in Enterprise.
Fishtrap will provide all writ-
ing materials with classes
from 9-11 a.m. each Saturday.
returning soldiers bring wars back with them,
and these wars can reach beyond the bat-
tlefi eld, infi ltrating the very thing that defi nes
comfort and safety: home. Photographer
Jim Lommasson has collected oral histories
from returning soldiers and documented
their struggles at home. In this conversation,
participants will consider the wars at home
faced not only by returning veterans, but also
by communities at large.
Thursday, Feb. 9, 7 p.m.
Movie Night: Good Morning Vietnam
Location: OK Theatre, Enterprise. $5.
Good Morning Vietnam is the blockbuster
American military comedy/drama set in
Saigon in 1965. The fi lm stars Robin Williams
as a disc jockey on an Armed Forces radio
station who proves hugely popular with the
troops in Vietnam but infuriates his superiors.
Saturday, Feb. 11, 7 p.m.
Finale: 1960s fashion show, pot luck
dinner and dance party
Location: The Place/Joseph United Methodist
Church, Joseph. $10.
Dress in your wildest vintage garb and dance
to the hits of the 1960s with a live band.
The class registration fee is
$40 or $10 per session. A slid-
ing scale fee is available for
those who qualify. Register at
the location or online at www.
fi shtrap.org.
Missing
hunter
found
dead
By Steve Tool
Wallowa County Chieftain
A Lostine man died of nat-
ural causes while hunting out-
side of Wallowa on Dec. 17.
Scott Colony, 65, of Los-
tine, was found dead by Wal-
lowa County Search and Res-
cue team, which had received
a call of an overdue hunter at
5:19 p.m. that day.
The team found Colony’s
vehicle parked in Little Bear
Creek and at 9:30 p.m. locat-
ed his body in rugged terrain
above the vehicle. Wallowa
County Sheriff Steve Rogers
said Colony died of natural
causes, likely a medical issue.
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Happy New Year
It was another fun Winterfest Celebration in Enterprise this holiday season!
Perfect winter weather and a fantastic parade turnout made this year the best
yet. Greater Enterprise Main Streets (GEMS) would like to thank the people
and organizations that helped to make this event a success.
from
Enterprise Les Schwab Tires!
Stangel Industries and Les Schwab for their very generous
support in constructing the new barrel train ride for the kiddos.
All the vendors who participated in the Winter Wonderland Pop-up Market at Stage One.
The entire City of Enterprise staff for their great attitude and help with all the logistics.
The Enterprise Fire Department for their delicious chili feed.
Mr. & Mrs. Claus for bringing the Christmas spirit to Main Street.
Santa’s Elves for helping with Santa Central and all the photo opportunities.
Angie Nash for taking pictures of the the kids with Santa.
All the fantastic parade entries. Wow!! Awesome parade for sure!!
Maury Bunn for his help with the sound system.
Jon Stewart for manning the barrel train rides all day long.
Bill for keeping the burn barrels stoked for the day.
Charlie for helping put all the wood out for the burn barrels.
Superaxe for delivering the wood that kept us warm.
Bird Dog Signs for the beautiful new Winterfest logo and signage for the event.
Wallowa County Nursery for the Christmas tree donation on the fire truck.
Don Swart for braving the cold and lighting up the trees.
Pacific Power for assisting us to light up the town.
The Carolers for ringing in the season with the sound of Christmas.
And to all the merry people in the community who showed up to have fun
and add to the festive mood of the holiday season.
A Happy New Year to all of you.
Thank you for keeping Enterprise vibrant & alive.
A3
802 NW 1st • Enterprise
541-426-3139
www.LesSchwab.com