Tribute to famous folk singer at Grand Coulee Dam
CHERYL SCHWEIZER | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 10 years, 4 months AGO
Senior Reporter Cheryl Schweizer is a journalist with more than 30 years of experience serving small communities in the Pacific Northwest. She began her post-high-school education at Treasure Valley Community College and enerned her journalism degree at Oregon State University. After working for multiple publications, she has settled down at the Columbia Basin Herald and has been a staple of the newsroom for more than a decade. Schweizer’s dedication to her communities and profession has earned her the nickname “The Baroness of Bylines.” She covers a variety of beats including health, business and various municipalities. | May 13, 2016 6:00 AM
GRAND COULEE — Songs written by folk artist Woody Guthrie while he spent about a month touring Grand Coulee Dam and its surrounding area in 1941 will be the subject of a concert and symposium May 28 at the dam.
Admission is free.
“Woody Guthrie Day: A Tribute to His Month of Song” will feature an afternoon concert, film screening and readings from a book about Guthrie’s experiences at the dam. The concert and book readings commemorate the 75th anniversary of the music Guthrie wrote about the dam.
Guthrie was hired by the Bonneville Power Administration in May 1941 to write songs for a movie about the dam and its construction, then nearing completion. He was in the area exactly 30 days and wrote 26 songs about his experiences, including “Roll On, Columbia.”
“His songs about cheap hydroelectric power, irrigation and Grand Coulee Dam are considered folk song classics,” according to a press release from the organizers.
The film, “Columbia,” was released in 1949. It focused on the impact the dam and its power generation had on the region during World War II, and the planned irrigation projects.
The music that emerged from that month is the subject of a book by Greg Vandy, a deejay at KEXP in Seattle, and Dan Person. During the day Vandy and Person will be discussing their book, “26 Songs in 30 Days: Woody Guthrie’s Columbia River Songs and the Planned Promised Land of the Pacific Northwest," and will be reading excerpts.
Other scheduled speakers include Libby Burke, archivist for the BPA; Deanna McCloud from the Woody Guthrie Center in Tulsa, Okla. and filmmaker Michael Madjic. Panel discussions on Guthrie and his works are scheduled.
Musicians will be performing the "Columbia River Songs," other music from Guthrie’s long career and music inspired or influenced by Guthrie. Scheduled performers include Jacob Miller and the Bridge City Crooners, Joe Seamens, Annie Ford, The Foghorns, Aaron Semer, Michael Wohl, John Pontrello, Country Dave, Mindie Lind and Planes on Paper.
Grand Coulee Dam presents a laser show, detailing the history of the river, the region and the dam, each day during the summer. It will begin at dusk.
ARTICLES BY CHERYL SCHWEIZER
Road construction projects starting to wrap up
QUINCY — Labor Day is in the rear-view mirror, school is back in session, football season is here, and the road construction season is in the home stretch. Some projects are wrapping up, some will continue through the end of October, and some will just keep going until they're done.
No injuries when plane attempts to land at Moses Lake Sand Dunes
MOSES LAKE — No injuries were reported when a small plane attempted to land at the Moses Lake Sand Dunes early Wednesday evening. Ty Svancara, 24, Moses Lake, was the only occupant of the Piper PA-18-150, and was not injured, said Kyle Foreman, public information officer for the Grant County Sheriff's Office.
Research recommended before buying new windows
MOSES LAKE — New windows are a big investment for any homeowner. Justin Vanerstrom, owner of Al's Glass in Moses Lake, said that being the case, it pays for a homeowner to do some research first.