Nancy's Poem

Nancy Curry has Irish roots and has been to Ireland searching them out. She is an EWGS member. In her other-than-genealogy time, she is the retired manager of the Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge (south of Cheney). When she shared her poem with me, it really touched my heartstrings as I hope it does touch yours.

We family historians are a creative bunch, are we not????

 

Dead End Genealogy Tree

Was out walking one day and spotted this tree. I sat down and pondered upon all the possibilities it signified to me. 

I have...... you have..... we all have "dead trees" on our genealogy tree. Some of us have many! Here are some thoughts that came to me as I mentally embraced that tree:

* How/why did it die? If we're thinking "the male surname is gone," that's one thing, but look at the base of the tree........... it goes on but differently!

* Is it really dead? Or just blighted and taking a natural time out? With strong roots, will it come back? 

* How do we deal with these "dead trees" in our family history? I think we should document them as fully best we can but never give up hope for new resources are always coming up.

* Perhaps a thinking adjustment is called for. That dead tree is, to my mind, still very lovely. It lived and hopefully fulfilled its reason for being before hard times hit. Now its an inspiration for others.

* Think of that tree as a patriarch or matriarch of a large clan! Look at all the descendants gathered round her base. She did good and is still an inspiration to the upcoming generation. 

* Even if she is dead, she is still upright. This signifies that she had sunk deep roots into life which did sustain her for decades. 

* Spark: Indigenous peoples used the bark from such white trees as paper. Nothing is ever worthless, even a so-called dead tree. 

 

Wind Power: Yesterday and Today

Being an unashamed history buff, I nearly teared up when I came upon the picture on the left. How vitally important the old windmills were to our ancestors! Now likely only a few isolated farms rely on windmills. Our electricity comes with a button. :-) 

If you take the back road from Ellensburg down to Vantage, you will come to the Wild Horse Wind and Solar Facility and Renewable Energy Center. This is a fascinating place and you'll come away with a greater understanding and appreciation of the benefits to us from these ginormous wind turbines dotting our state. 

For instance: did you know that each single blade averages 200 feet long and requires a 

L-0-N-G trailer for transport? Most towers have elevators for maintenance to the top and each tower costs about $1,000,000 (so I was told). The "box" at the top may look small but it's the size of a school bus! Towers are 221 feet high and weigh 104 tons. 

This facility has 149 turbines spanning across 10,000 acres. The facility can generate up to 273 megawatts of electricity, enough to serve an average of 60,000 homes annually. 

Wild Horse benefits the surrounding community by creating jobs and providing leasing income for landowners. The facility also produces significant local tax revenue.

The Visitors' Center provides visitors with an up-close look at turbines as well as 360o views of Mount Rainier, Mount Adams, Mount Hood and the Columbia River Basin. Tours are offered and their educational displays are super.

NOTE: Do check before you go. As I was researching for this post, the facility was temporarily closed. 

Palouse: The Rolling Hills

"Our wonderful Palouse region is the most serene and pastoral of the seven wonders of Washington State. It is a region in southeastern Washington characterized by gentle rolling hills covered with wheat fields. The hills were formed over tens of thousands of years from wind blown dust and silt, called loess (and pronouned luss) from dry regions to the southwest. Seen from the summit of 3612-foot high Steptoe Butte they look like giant sand dunes because they were formed in much the same way. The Palouse hills are not only a landscape unique in the world but they are beautiful to behold and worthy to be on the list of Seven Wonders of Washington State."

This was an excerpt from Howard Fisk's book, The Seven Wonders of Washington State: Your guide to exploring the natural wonders of the Evergreen State, published in 2015 and available via Amazon. 

Green in the spring, golden brown at harvest time and snowy white in winter.... Washington's Palouse is a beautiful and very unique region.

Oregon Grape .... Jelly?

 But it is NOT a grape and its origin is NOT Oregon. So how come???

Also known as Holly-Leaved Barberry and Mahonia, this plant has been used by Indigenous peoples of North America for centuries as a food source and a medicine. Lewis and Clark collected specimens of this plant on the expedition of 1804-1806. 

Since these berries are ubiquitous to our area, here's the recipe for "Mahonia Berry Jam: a stunning wild preserve made from the tart, vibrant berries of the Mahonia shrub, also known as Oregon Grape. Those these berries are mouth-puckeringly sharp when raw, they transform beautifully into a glossy, jewel-toned jelly with a tangy zing. "

To make 4 small jars of Mahonia Berry Jelly:  Gather about 3 1/2 pounds of ripe Mahonia berries, stalks removed and rinsed. Put in large pot with 2 1/2 cups water and bring to a boil, simmer for 20-25 minutes, mashing berries with a spoon or potato masher to release the juices. Pour the mixture through a jelly bag or muslin-lined sieve into a clean bowl. Let it drip overnight. For the clearest jelly, avoid pressing the pulp.

For every 2 1/2 cups of juice, use one pound of sugar (less to taste). For a firmer set, you can add a teaspoon of pectin if Mahonia's natural pectin content isn't enough. Add the lemon juice. 

Still continually over low heat until sugar has fully dissolved, then bring the mixture to a rapid boil. Boil until the jelly reaches setting point (104oC or 220oF). Pour into warm, sterilized jars and seal. 

TIP: Pick RIPE berries only; under ripe berries are overly bitter. 

If anybody makes this jelly, I'd surely like to know how it was. :-) 

Cranberry Glass

Do you recall your mother or grandmother having any cranberry glass? This very special type of glass became famous in the Victorian Era in Britain and came with the English immigrants to America. Cranberry glass creations were most popular as a table display, often holding candy or flowers. 

If you happen to have one of your grandmother's cranberry glass pieces, please know that it is highly collectible but its value varies wildly from $10 to thousands of dollars! The value of the piece is determined by the amount of gold used to make the rich color.

Antique cranberry glass is occasionally found in old outhouse pits (privies). Before city trash pickup, people threw broken household trash—including expensive glassware—into outhouse holes. 

I became intrigued when viewing a YouTube video where a fellow found cranberry glass in an old privy pit! (No comments on my eclectic viewing habits, please. :-) 

Videos

Cranberry Glass and a Small Figure - Bottle Dump Finds

YouTube · Mudlarking with Steve

Dec 15, 2025

YouTube · Mudlarking with Steve

 

Odd Fellows Hall in Hillyard

This sad looking building in northeast Spokane (Hillyard, actually) was an important social hub back in the day. It was built to serve the booming railroad community that sprang up after James J. Hill decided to avoid Spokane taxes and build his railroad shops in that area..which ultimately was named after him. 

In the 1880s, Spokane was becoming the premier rail hub of the west and tycoon James J. Hill wanted it on his Great Northern line to the coast. Hill had the "hutzpah" and pulled the right strings to achieve his goal. The Hillyard yard became the biggest rail shop west of the Mississippi. 

To help the families and the workers, several fraternal organizations sprang up in the area. The Odd Fellows Hall was one. Located on North Market Street, the hall hosted community dances, meetings and charitable gatherings but the purpose of the organization was to "visit the sick, relieve the distressed, bury the dead and educate the orphan." Since one goal of the group was to provide burial for its members, they established Resthaven Cemetery (now Evergreen Cemetery). The building was completed in 1896.

According to an article in The Spokesman Review, March 7, 1996, "Built by lodge members from Waverly, it opened on March 17, 1896, according to John Nunn, a member who keeps many of the lodge's historical documents." The article spotlighted that the Lodge's centennial celebration was being held on March 10, 1996, with members planning a picnic "and the lodge will lay out its old photographs and letters, dues ledgers, attendance books and documents, including the original deed that passed the property to the lodge."

The question screaming into my mind is where are those documents today????? My husband's grandfather worked for the railroad in Hillyard in the 1920s..... might he have been a member of this lodge? Wouldn't we like to access these records of our ancestors? 

P.S. In 1900, there were about 170 Odd Fellows Lodges in Washington; some 25 are still active today.