News Blue Mountain Eagle Wednesday, January 11, 2017 A3 Diane Simmons shares Huntington woman’s story Author to read from “The Courtship of Eva Eldridge” Jan. 17 Blue Mountain Eagle Contributed image Author Diane Simmons, who grew up in Eastern Oregon, writes about a Huntington woman’s story in “The Courtship of Eva Eldridge.” Award-winning author Di- ane Simmons kicks off Eastern Oregon University’s 2017 Carl and Sandra Ellston Ars Poetica Literary Lecture Series Tues- day, Jan. 17. Simmons will share se- lections from her new book, “The Courtship of Eva El- dridge: A Story of Bigamy in the Marriage-Mad Fifties,” at 7:30 p.m. in the Pierce Library Reading Room on campus. The reading is free and open to the public. David Axelrod, Ars Poetica director and professor of En- glish at EOU, encourages the community to attend to learn more about this true story about a woman from Huntington. “If there is one literary event this year that speaks to inter- est in the history of women in farming communities in rural Eastern Oregon, this reading is for you,” Axelrod said. Simmons’ book draws on a trove of some eight hundred letters and papers about El- dridge, who like others of her generation, grew up pretty and popular in rural Oregon and was expected to marry young and live a life much like that of her parents: farming and rearing children. But when the United States entered World War II and men headed to battle, the government started recruiting women to work in their stead. Eldridge and many other young women found that life in the city with plenty of money, personal freedom, and soldiers and sailors eager to pay court, was more exhilarating than living on the farm. Her remark- able life illuminates women’s struggle for happiness at a time when marriage – and the per- fect husband – meant every- thing. The New Yorker singles out Simmons’ narrative of El- dridge’s life for tracing “one woman’s story through hun- dreds of wartime letters and papers, ultimately uncovering postwar America’s rampant bigamy and the women who overcame it.” Fellow author Peter Chil- son praises Simmons, too, stating that her writing “is vivid and tight, with a touch of American noir reminiscent of Raymond Chandler and Joan Didion. Simmons’ writ- ing brings to life the dark side of a country trying to move on in the wake of war. She blends history and her own detective work to tell a story of betrayal and shattered dreams.” Simmons grew up on a farm in southeastern Oregon and completed her under- graduate degree in history from the University of Ore- gon. She began her writing career as a journalist in Ida- ho and her first investiga- tive piece involved a ponzi schemer in a mink tie and rattlesnake boots. She has also worked for newspapers in Alaska and Washington, and is the author of two high- ly regarded novels and an award-winning collection of short-fiction. Her novel “Dreams Like Thunder” set on a farm in Eastern Oregon at the end of the frontier, won the Oregon Book Award. Her short stories have appeared in Northwest Review, Missouri Review, Beloit Fiction Journal, Drunk- en Boat and elsewhere. Simmons went on to earn a master of arts in cre- ative writing from The City College of New York and a Ph.D. in English literature from the City University of New York Graduate Center. She currently lives in the New York City area and is a professor of English at Bor- ough of Manhattan Commu- nity College – City Univer- sity of New York. Copies of “The Court- ship of Eva Eldridge” will be available to purchase at the reading. Learn more about the author at dianesimmons.net. New deputy DA looking forward to building cases After law school in Chicago, Houck enjoys the trees, mountains By Rylan Boggs Blue Mountain Eagle Deputy District Attorney Mara Houck has a thing for Legos. She sees similarities be- tween building a case with pieces of statute and building a structure with tiny bricks. Each piece has to work to- gether. Trying to support or refute an argument requires using pieces of statute and case law that work, while taking out pieces that won’t work and making sure they can be coun- tered, she said. Houck started Dec. 19 and said it’s been a nice change of pace from working in the Multnomah County DA’s of- fice, which was regularly in- undated with cases. “It was all hands on deck figuring out what you wanted to do with those cases every morning because the person is sitting in jail overnight and you have to charge them or they get to go,” Houck said. She worked in the Mult- nomah DA’s office while on a school-funded fellowship from Northwestern University in Chicago. She initially dealt with misdemeanors. Once she passed the bar examination, she began handling domestic violence cases, specifically restraining order violations. The Grant County DA’s office handles only a fraction of what Multnomah County’s office dealt with, according to Houck. So far she is enjoying the slower pace, but is expect- ing it to pick up. “Overall it’s a little more relaxed, and I like that be- cause I get to give better at- tention to the cases,” she said. The Eagle/Rylan Boggs Deputy District Attorney Mara Houck sits for a photo in her office in the Grant County Courthouse Wednesday, Jan. 4. Houck has worked in a number of government posi- tions and said she had rarely encountered the stereotype of the “lazy public servant.” “I’ve worked for a lot of aspects of the public service, and I’ve always liked it a lot. I feel like the people you en- counter and work with are usually really sincere,” she said. Houck grew up in Ore- gon and graduated from Or- egon State University with a degree in environmental engineering. After graduat- ing she went on to work for a civil engineering firm and then the city of Forest Grove’s light and power department. While working there she de- cided a career change was in order. She chose to study law at Northwestern University in Chicago. Houck said she enjoyed aspects of living in Chicago, such as the art museums, but wouldn’t want to live there again. “I just didn’t fit in there. I was not a city girl. I missed being able to drive around. I missed trees. I missed moun- tains,” she said. Now, she has neighbors bringing her gravel for her driveway and lending her a roaster to cook Christmas din- ner. She anticipates getting out Local students named to EOU dean’s list Blue Mountain Eagle Eastern Oregon Univer- sity named 520 students to the dean’s list for the 2016 fall term. Qualifying students achieve and maintain a grade point average of 3.5 or higher on a 4.0 scale while complet- ing a minimum of 12 hours of graded coursework for the du- ration of the term. The following local stu- dents earned this distinction: Mariah Meyerholz, Canyon City; Jamie Waltenburg, Day- ville; Hannah Brandsma, Mi- chael Luttrell and Mikayla Luttrell, John Day; Hannah Flower, Kimberly; Stephanie Croghan and Desiree Ko- desh, Mt. Vernon; and Rian- non Bauman and Amy Black, Prairie City. R obbins Farm Equipment 3850 10th St. Baker City 10218 Wallowa Lake Hwy. La Grande 1160 S Egan Burns 86812 Christmas Valley Hwy. Christmas Valley 541-523-6377 541-963-6577 541-573-6377 541-523-6377 and exploring the area. “I’m hoping that living out here forces me to put into practice my largely theoreti- cal love of the outdoors,” she said. Though she’s not fully un- packed yet, Houck is looking forward to settling in. She’s a big fan of NASCAR, ice hockey and, of course, Legos. One of her recent projects is a miniature city block she con- structed, adding LED lights to brighten up each room on the block. The most valuable and respected source of local news, advertising and information for our communities. eomediagroup.com MEETING NOTICE UPPER MAINSTEM AND SOUTH FORK JOHN DAY RIVER AGRICULTURAL WATER QUALITY MANAGEMENT AREA PLAN The Biennial Review of the Upper Mainstem and South Fork John Day River Agricultural Water Quality Management Area Plan will be held January฀25,฀2017 at 4:00pm at the USDA Conference Room at฀ 721 S. Canyon Blvd., in John Day. Contact Jason Kehrberg or Pat Holliday at 541-575-0135 with any questions. 2