The Star - News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area

People that fly complain about how much time it takes to get to and clear security at the airport. Just getting to the airport can be just as difficult. I was staying at the Mandarin Hotel, which is located on Hong Kong Island. I h... — Updated 5/24/2022

I thought for most of my life that I would be a lumber grader. My training was initially at Potlatch Forests Inc., in Potlatch, Idaho, just nine miles from my home in Palouse. I had been there for four years and decided after I... — Updated 3/16/2022

As a lad I had my heroes, and as time went on, I changed how I picked them. Golfer Ben Hogan was one of the early ones. He was severely injured in a car wreck. There was a question if he would walk again, and certainly he would... — Updated 3/2/2022

I’ve mentioned before that cows are not my favorite animal. When I was just in my teens I lived on a farm. My Dad had some work horses and a cow. Had to handle the cow but not milk her. I couldn’t then, nor now, get a cow to... — Updated 2/23/2022

When our youngest daughter was about 10, we bought her a horse. A real old cowboy lived about four blocks from us, and I got acquainted with him. His name was Homer. He lived in a small house on the edge of Bothell and had a two-... — Updated 2/16/2022

I have had a lot of odd jobs, spread out over the years. I don’t think I was in my teens yet when I took my first official job. I set pins in the Palouse bowling alley. I got 5 cents a line, not something I could get rich doing.... — Updated 2/9/2022

Palouse Pottery Company, founded in 1904, produced a ton of crock pots during the short time it was in operation. Currently, I am looking for my fourth Palouse Pottery piece so I can give it away. I don’t remember when or where... — Updated 2/2/2022

This is about places I’ve been that would make my bucket list if I hadn’t. 1 - First would have to be my favorite vacation spot, Grand Teton National Park. Place to stay: Jackson Lake Lodge, on Jackson Lake. It has always been... — Updated 1/26/2022

I well remember the feeling when I heard the clang of the prison door at Walla Walla closing behind me. This needs some explanation. When I was with the newspaper in Bothell, I heard of some of the reforms at the state prison at... — Updated 1/19/2022

We have had great luck with neighbors. Thinking back to our earliest days together, and up to the present time, we have always had good neighbors. Just recently, and after our latest snowfall, is a good example of good neighbors.... — Updated 1/12/2022

Long periods of open time have allowed me to get back to my stamp collection. I had a small collection as a child and then put it all behind me until later in life. My collection had been collecting dust until about six months ago... — Updated 1/5/2022

Our longest fire camp experience was near Prairie City, Oregon, a 21-day ordeal where our kitchen unit served 1,500 firefighters and support personnel. My wife and I worked a couple of seasons for OK Cascade, a Bothell company... — Updated 12/29/2021

As a kid, I loved the snow. In Palouse we got a lot of it. When it came down, I knew it was time to get out my Flexible Flier sled. The Fliers were the sleds of all sleds. When there was a good base, we would gather on North Hill... — Updated 12/22/2021

I have driven north and south and east and west in Kansas. I have searched over the two trips through there to see if I could remember one redeeming quality about the state. My first trip through the state was enroute to Kansas... — Updated 12/15/2021

I never could understand why a person in good health would choose not to work. Several times, as early as high school, I had more than one job at a time.There was a period in my junior and senior years in high school in Palouse... — Updated 12/8/2021

When I lived in Bothell, I used to fly a lot in small planes. One of my friends, Phil Strathy, had a land plane, kept in Monroe. Another friend had a seaplane, kept on Lake Washington at Kenmore. About every month I would get a cal... — Updated 12/1/2021

I have only moved once in the past 55 years. When younger, we moved several times chasing college and job opportunities. We lived in Grand Coulee for a couple of years before moving on to Idaho where we spent seven years. When I... — Updated 11/24/2021

A recent story of several elk being killed by motorists in Grand Teton National Park reminded me of the plight of our wild animals. I have visited the Teton area several times and recall the time that a herd of elk crossed the road... — Updated 11/17/2021

My sister Dorothy was the oldest in our family. After graduating from high school, she just stayed around home until WWII broke out. She lived to be 96 and never learned to drive. She went to Wapato to live with our aunt and... — Updated 11/10/2021

We soon will celebrate Veteran’s Day.  On the calendar it’s just for a day, but we celebrate our veterans 365 days a year. There’s hardly a family in the country that doesn’t have some ties to our military forces. My... — Updated 11/3/2021

Things are changing there also. Currently this restaurant in downtown Atlanta is closed to change its decor to get away from its Civil War decorations. The first thing a friend told me when he learned I was going to Atlanta for a w... — Updated 10/27/2021

My brother David turned Texan on me. Of my three brothers, I was closest to Dave. He and I were both red headed when young and seemed to be more like our Norwegian mother than like our father. Shortly after he returned from... — Updated 10/20/2021

While in Thailand, I was lucky enough to pick up 3 that sell rubbings.  One features two Thai women dressed in ancient Thai costumes. The other is a Thai warrior on an elephant. The two rubbings are about 17 inches square. Dennis... — Updated 10/6/2021

These airline incidents threaten the lives of everyone aboard. The other day a plane two hours out from a flight from Honolulu to Seattle had to turn around and go back because a passenger acted up and interfered with a flight atte... — Updated 9/29/2021

Never been a crop failure in the Palouse, I think, never! The area abounds in deep, rich soil and an abundance of rain at the critical time in the spring. Not this year. Of course, the soil hasn’t changed. But the rains didn’t... — Updated 9/22/2021