Christmas on 3rd Avenue
JOEL MARTIN | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 6 years, 10 months AGO
Joel Martin has been with the Columbia Basin Herald for more than 25 years in a variety of roles and is the most-tenured employee in the building. Martin is a married father of eight and enjoys spending time with his children and his wife, Christina. He is passionate about the paper’s mission of informing the people of the Columbia Basin because he knows it is important to record the history of the communities the publication serves. | December 9, 2019 10:32 AM
MOSES LAKE — Friday was a chilly evening for the Moses Lake Ag Appreciation Parade and Street Party, but the atmosphere was warm and bright.
It seemed like the entire population of Moses Lake turned out for the traditional festival of brightly-lit farm equipment, hot cocoa and candy canes. Chairs, blankets and even a fire pit or two lined the downtown sidewalks.
The action started late in the afternoon as parade participants started drifting into the parking lot at the Surf ’n Slide Water Park to begin decking out their creations. Some of the participants were old hands, others were just getting into the swing.
The Sons of Norway have had a float in the parade for nine years, according to member Robert Johnson. The float is made to resemble a Viking longboat, and was completely redone this year.
“We didn’t expect it to last as long as it did,” said Johnson. Johnson’s mother Lillian Lucke, former longtime president of the local Sons of Norway chapter, had her seat reserved in the place of honor at the front of the ‘ship.”
Part of the renovation was a brand-new wooden figurehead and tail, both carefully crafted by Jamie Casteel. The head is engraved with medieval Norse runes.
The float representing JP Ranch and Robel Farms isn’t so old. In fact, it gets reinvented every year.
“We keep trying to one-up ourselves,” said Pam Lewison, who with her husband Jim built a homemade barn for this year’s entry in less than 48 hours. This is their third year entering the parade.
The floats began moving out at 7 p.m., lighting up the dark winter streets with everything from the Grinch sitting atop a light-covered structure that would have made Clark Griswold jealous, to rodeo queens showing off their riding chops, to a rolling Nativity scene put up by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Riders on the floats flung faux snow and candy, the latter of which was eagerly snapped up by children on the sidelines.
The parade is sponsored by the Downtown Business Association and is meant to give the community a chance to show its appreciation for farmers. It also gives farmers a chance to show off for their community. That’s a welcome break for many.
“Especially in the winter, when there’s little else to do,” said Lewison.
ARTICLES BY JOEL MARTIN
Endless battle
Noxious Weed Control Board works to keep invasive plants under control
MOSES LAKE — Some of the nastiest plants in Grant County were the topic of a class led by Jay Johnson, a consultant with the Grant County Noxious Weed Control Board, Tuesday. The Noxious Weed Control Board, as its name would suggest, is tasked with keeping weeds under control in Grant County. That’s not a small job; the board’s website lists 129 species of noxious weeds that are found around Grant County. A noxious weed is defined as an invasive, non-native plant that threatens agricultural crops, local ecosystems or fish and wildlife habitat, according to the Noxious Weed Control Board. Washington state law requires that these weeds be identified and their spread kept to a minimum, if not completely eradicated. “We’re one of those agencies a lot of people don’t really understand,” Johnson said. “We’re a county office and … our funding is tax-based assessment. When you get your tax bill and you look down at all the expenses that you pay for, there we are.”
BASIN EVENTS: Oct. 16-24
COLUMBIA BASIN — Whether you feel like shopping, crafting, learning or seeing a show, there’s something happening for you this week in the Basin. Oct. 16 ‘My Family (Mi Familia)’ screening Spanning three generations, “My Family (Mi Familia)” is a heartfelt drama that follows the Sánchez family as they build their lives in East Los Angeles. Through love, hardship, triumph, and sacrifice, the film explores the immigrant experience, the strength of family bonds, and the traditions that connect one generation to the next. Lowrider show and taco truck before the screening. Sponsored by Columbia Basin Allied Arts, EDUBS C/S and the Moses Lake Creative District. $12 per person. Doors open at 6 p.m., film begins at 7 p.m. at the Moses Lake Civic Center Auditorium, 401 S. Balsam St. Tickets and info: www.cba-arts.org.
Moses Lake author encourages women to look beyond church culture norms
MOSES LAKE — A Moses Lake author’s book, “A Christian Woman Striving to Live Her Faith in a Man-Controlled World,” takes aim at the role to which many churches relegate the female half of their congregations. “It’s to encourage women in the faith,” Linda Curran said. “A lot of churches say, ‘Teach Sunday school, do this, do that, but don’t (evangelize.)’" In her book, Curran recounts a time when she moved to a new community and joined a church there. She was surprised to learn that, as a new female member, she had been automatically assigned church cleaning duties. When she questioned it, she wrote, she was met with condescension and her objections were brushed aside. In other churches, she said, women who were capable of teaching were relegated to “women’s ministry.”