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

You may learn a thing or two about local history if you pick up a copy of a new book titled "Dry Falls and Sun Lakes" from Arcadia Publishing's Images of America series, which includes early and rare photos of that area.

Local man John "Jay" M. Kemble compiled the book following his 2020 publication titled "Steamboat Rock" in the same Images of America series. 

"I hope I am presenting several stories that tie together to create a larger whole," he said about "Dry Falls and Sun Lakes," which includes 127 pages of accumulated photographs with captions explaining the history of the region.

"There are a lot of mysteries in the Dry Falls and Sun Lakes area, and I have spent years tracking down artifacts and lost places," he said, which required "working with local historians, establishments and many hours spent in the sagebrush searching for evidence."

"I have spent a lot of time hiking Dry Falls even before I started writing the book, usually looking to solve a mystery or two," Kemble continued. "Just like the Steamboat Rock book, while writing the Dry Falls and Sun Lakes book I spent more time there to get the feel. I think it is important to stay grounded in your subject."

Elaborating on the "lost places" and the "mystery," Kemble said that "there is a lot of forgotten history here in the coulee: legends, rumors, lost cities, mines, documented places."

"I spend a lot of time tracking these down," he said. "I mention them a lot here and there. My goal is to raise awareness of the Grand Coulee as truly a place of wonder and not just a desert with lakes and RV hook-ups. I realize I can't and won't share sensitive material with the general public, but some of the places I visit haven't been documented in decades, and it makes a very interesting 'bigger picture' when juxtaposed with the historic documentation."

Next on Kemble's journey of history enthusiasm, he explains, is the first part of a history of Rattlesnake Canyon in the modern Crescent Lake area. It will be published in an upcoming issue of the Spokane-based Nostalgia Magazine.

Kemble would also like to run a museum someday. 

"Dry Falls and Sun Lakes" is available for purchase on Amazon, at http://www.arcadiapublishing.com, and Kemble said that a copy will be donated to the local library system.

Book signings are planned for May 21 at the Coulee Pioneer Museum in Electric City at 2 p.m.,  May 22 at the Bookery in Ephrata at 11 a.m., May 29 at the Coulee Wall Variety Store in Grand Coulee at 11 a.m., and at the Banks Lake Brew and Bistro in Coulee City at a time to be announced.