Spring has sprung

The daffodils are beginning to bloom all along Bay Avenue. Last week we had several gorgeous sun windows. My Happy Light is sitting lonely on a table in the living room, and I’ve stashed my winter coat in the closet … for now. Looks like I only need three layers instead of four these days.

The biggest chill I feel now is watching the news. What havoc will that unelected wrecking ball Musk unleash next? As mentioned in last week’s Chinook Observer article, cuts in Bonneville Power Administration staff could have long lasting negative effects for the Peninsula (tinyurl.com/3xbf28x7). Can our local National Forests withstand Trump’s demand for more timber cutting? And what kind of scary future might be in store for clean up staff at the Hanford atomic works?

On the national scene, Vance and Trump’s televised shakedown of Zelensky fighting for the life of his country against that Big Bear Russian aggressor was a horrifying example of the fall of American hegemony and leadership in what we used to call the “Free World.” (Our president was quoted as saying “This is going to be good television!”) AP and Reuters were barred from the Oval Office sit-down, but TASS, a Russian state media organization, was there. What?!

I can’t help wondering what Putin has on Trump. Why oh why does a U.S. president make a malicious 180-degree turn on allies Canada, Mexico, and Europe and bow down to a known criminal — someone who poisons his citizens for speaking out and regularly jails international visitors for “espionage.”

Yikes, let me get out of this hole and back to spring!

Ruby Anderson and Sea Resources Hatchery

Some good things are happening at Ilwaco High School despite what some are calling a clear decrease in academic standards (more on that in a future column). I caught second-year teacher Ruby Anderson on the phone last week just before she had to run off and coach the softball team. Ruby, who grew up in Enumclaw and graduated from Washington State University, has created a new gardening program in conjunction with our local Future Farmers of American chapter.

As she says, “We’re just getting started — our gardening and leadership program is open to all grades from 9-12 and so far we have 10 student chapter members of FFA. We’ll be building the program slowly, we want it to be sustainable. There will be some FFA competition in the spring and I’ve got a hydroponic growing system that I got through grants. Plus we’re raising rabbits too.”

She continues, “I’m so grateful to Nansen Malin for allowing us to use the greenhouse space at the fish hatchery. And Brett [Malin] was fantastic too — he helped us build four planter boxes and we’ll be using them to plant natives and a variety of annuals and perennials. We may even have some for sale later, probably not this spring though. But we’ll be working on that. It’s really been super fun and super exciting. It’s great to see the group develop. We’re on the rise!”


Nansen, long-time Seaview resident and president of the nonprofit Sea Resources, Inc. wrote me about her support of this great project, “The Future Farmers of America Club at Ilwaco High School have use of the greenhouse at Sea Resources. The greenhouse was built by students and we offered them use of it for their Ag classes and fundraising efforts. Sea Resources is dedicated to having students back at the hatchery and we’re eager to support activities on site!”

Nansen continues with a little more information about the hatchery, “Additionally, we’re looking forward to incorporating exciting new methods that shorten the captive rearing time for Coho. Salmon Habitat Aquaculture Research and Education (SHARE) is helping us continue the legacy of Sea Resources with an eye to our local history and Baker Bay. Sea Resources is the oldest salmon hatchery in Washington State and on the entire west coast. Currently there are trout in the new trout pond that will help stock local waters, including Black Lake for the derby. The Lewis & Clark Botanical Trail is in need of volunteers to help maintain the original educational trail established by local students. Contact me if you’d like to help.” (More info here: chinookhatchery.com)

A good man down

Lastly, I have the sad news that long-time friend, community booster, and poet Anthony “Tony” Pfannenstiel passed quietly in his sleep Feb. 23. Tony and Betsy were vibrant and engaged members of the Peninsula community for years after moving from Portland to their charming home in Surfside. They met at Georgetown University at a conference about energizing their faith. Betsy had been a nun for five years and Tony was on the path to becoming a monk. Their eyes caught one another across a room and boom — it was the proverbial love at first sight. They have been married since 1971.

A couple years ago, Tony wanted a respite from our rain and a place where he could spread his wings in a community with a little more ready culture. He and Betsy moved to Green Valley, Arizona where they had access to university classes, a robust community center, and the cultural offerings available in urban Tucson. Their rambling home looks out over the Sonoran desert and an arroyo frequented by desert creatures and birds of all kinds. Tony and Betsy had never been happier, though after one very hot summer they had decided summer digs would need to be elsewhere.

Then last year in early October, Gary and Marla McGrew and I visited Tony and Betsy and had a great lunch and long talk on their patio before moving inside because — well, it was still too darn hot! At that point Tony had gotten news about his lung cancer which came totally out of the blue. We all had a stark and honest talk and the deep sharing that can only take place with special friends. He said to me that last time I saw him, “I’ve been the luckiest man in the world!”

Tony’s diagnosis was dire and he faced it like the incredible yet “reluctant disciple” he was. He chose no dramatic Western medical interventions; he wanted to live his life on his own terms right to the end. He and Betsy bicycled, and continued hiking on the trails around the Santa Rita Mountains. (He considered Saint Rita his personal saint and would often talk to her from his view of the mountain tops from their home.) They gathered the family for a glorious lovefest and bitter sweet Thanksgiving.

Tony has been an inspiration to me for so many reasons. One of the biggest is not only how he lived his life — with integrity, humor, authenticity, and caring — but how he faced his death. He was determined to complete a book of poetry he had been working on for some time. Yep, by mid-November he had his book in hand, complete with a cover and illustrations he had created himself. (“Prayer Poems from a Reluctant Disciple” is available at Amazon. I wrote about his accomplishment here: tinyurl.com/4pmvkhua)

Tony, how we will miss your kind just-do-it energy and your passionate love for Betsy, your family and friends, and for the world. We need your values more than ever now. Let me end with an excerpt from one of Tony’s poems.

I walk on

a reluctant disciple,

faith in my steps,

questions in my heart,

embracing the mystery

knowing that to search

is its own form of finding

and to wander

is sometimes the closest way

to home.

Godspeed, Tony.