As crazy busy as life is with work, family responsibilities, traffic, daily news, and social media, designing a simple way of life isn’t just a lifestyle; it can be a lifeline.
“…a family camp on a remote lake in the Adirondack Mountains…” – Jim Leach page 160 of Small Homes.
Embracing a simple lifestyle involves more than changing priorities from possessions to experiences. It is a choice to be more present, fostering relationships with yourself, others, and the natural environment. People make this change to create more joy and fulfillment in their daily life, leading to more gratitude for what they already have. In the world of sustainable living, Lloyd Kahn is an expert with more than 50 years of experience promoting alternative housing, especially in tiny and small homes.
Loving the Simple Life
Jonathan Avery’s Nesthouse on page 220 of Small Homes.
Khan wrote Small Homes when the average family home size (and home price) was on the rise. Today, the number of people looking for those larger homes (and those larger mortgages) is decreasing, as the appeal for smaller homes is partly driven by challenges with expensive housing, maintenance, and interest rates. The move to a small home allows people more freedom from cost and upkeep and results in more time for enjoyable activities, creating a more sustainable life.
These facts may seem almost common sense now, but they are community trends that Lloyd Kahn picked up on decades ago.
Lloyd’s insights and advocacy emphasize the benefits of a mindful, sustainable lifestyle.
Flipping through the pages of Small Homes is inspiring, informative, and affirmative. The book features many pictures and stories to keep you engaged, as well as instructions that show you how “you can do it!” The book features different types of structures, such as cabins, treehouses, and yurts, and many materials, such as stone, timbers, tin, and much more. The variety appeals to a wide range of people; you will find something that works for you.
At the beginning of his book, Lloyd advocates for small homes, saying, “Compared to the average American home, small homes are less expensive, use less resources, are more efficient to heat and cool, and [are] cheaper to maintain and repair.”
Getting Real about Home Ownership
Many buyers cannot afford bigger homes. If they are building, the cost of materials and labor are also high, causing them to reduce the size of their floor plan—some eliminating bathtubs and living rooms, according to a Wall Street Journal post.
People are becoming creative when it comes to finding homes. They are looking for alternatives to what was once considered a starter home. Builders are pivoting their business to building smaller, more affordable homes or creating alternative options. Even Costco has started selling small structures!
The beauty of Small Homes is that it tells the stories of how individuals have been able to craft structures and find joy in building something of their own. The pride on every page is worth looking into if the current market conditions are unfavorable to you. Let it (and Lloyd) inspire you to live a simple, sustainable lifestyle.
Dudley Edmondson, film director Chad Brown, and Molly Merkle
This past weekend, our publisher, Molly Merkle, made the trip to Atlanta, GA, to attend the screening of the new outdoor adventure film Blackwaters.
Blackwaters follows five black outdoorsmen of diverse backgrounds into Gates of the Arctic National Park. The film captures their outdoor adventures and conversations about life’s experiences and challenges as black men.
While at the September 30th showing, Molly had the chance to meet with AdventureKEEN author and wildlife photographer Dudley Edmondson and chat with other film members. Dudley was part of the film crew and the film’s senior editor. All of the cast members attended the event and participated in a moderated discussion.
The Blackwaters film crew is currently on tour with their movie. You can find other showings on their site. We recommend catching a viewing and participating in the conversation if you’re able.
Blackwaters crew on stage at Atlanta screening
Dudley Edmondson and Molly Merkle in conversation with cast member Jahmicah Dawes, president of Slim Pickins Outfitters in Central Texas.
In 2006 Dudley Edmundson conducted a series of interviews with African American outdoors-people that culminated in the book Black & Brown Faces in America’s Wild Places.
A lot has changed, in the world, and around the United States, in the 17 years since Black & Brown Faces in America’s Wild Places was first published. Yet, when reading through the interviews, it is easy to see the common themes and energy that link all of their experiences with the growing outdoor community who LOOK like them and share their passion for nature and the outdoors.
Over the coming months we will be sharing the interviews from Black & Brown Faces in America’s Wild Places here on our blog, and we hope you can find your voice to add to those celebrating their passion for the outdoors.
The following excerpt is taken from an interview with Judie Johnson back in the early 2000’s when she was the Executive Director, Gunflint Trail Association.
I am the Executive Directorof the Gunflint Trail Association in northeastern Minnesota. The Gunflint is a vacation destination for people from around the region and the world. The 57-mile paved highway goes north out of Grand Marais, Minnesota, through some of the most beautiful wilderness areas you may ever see, and turns west, ending on Saganaga Lake near the Canadian border. People visit the trail to access the Boundary Waters Canoe Area. There is so much to do off the Gunflint at any time of the year, including fishing, camping and hiking and skiing in the winter. You can watch wildlife at all times of the year. Moose, bears, wolves, deer and a host of other cool animals make the area their home. The best part about my job is telling tourists how to have fun in a place that I love.
By most people’s standards, Grand Marais would seem very remote. Most of what we do here is outdoors. Closest movie theater or shopping mall is 75 miles away. I tell people, “There is Lake Superior, it’s right there in front of you. It is the largest freshwater lake in the world, and you can’t find anything to do?”
Childhood Experiences and Turning Points in Nature
As a child growing up in Chicago, Illinois, in the Lake Meadows area, I got to experience a lot of Chicago’s Lake Michigan waterfront and some of the parks there.
My father’s parents lived on a farm near Alton, Illinois, close to St. Louis, until their deaths, so we were at the farm quite a bit. My father and my grandfather and uncles would be on tractors, so I would be out there watching them work or following them around. It was a working farm—cows, chickens, horses and pigs. They raised most of their food. We got to do all those living-off-the-land things that most kids don’t get to do. The area where my grandparents farm was and is still a little wild, but with urban sprawl I think it will all be gone in a decade or so, which is kind of sad.
Our family took vacations a lot during my childhood, which a lot of blacks did not get to do back then. We would go for two to three weeks. We would camp and stay in hotels. My sister and I read National Geographic, so we would plan vacations using information in them. We traveled all over. We were a curious family, wanting to see things we had never seen before—my parents nurtured that.
One year we took a trip from Chicago across the country to Yellowstone National Park, the Painted Desert, Mesa Verde National Park and a few other places. We visited my father’s brother and my mother’s aunt in L.A. Then we went up the coast and camped at Big Sur. Then we went to the Hearst Castle of W. Randolph Hearst, the millionaire, in San Simeon. There was a black guy there who was a tour guide and he gave us a private tour, so that was pretty cool. After that we went up to San Francisco. From there we stopped at Yellowstone, the Tetons, then through the Badlands of the Dakotas, eventually making our way back to Chicago. We stayed at a lot of national parks and some state parks.
On another trip we visited Lake Louise in Jasper, Canada, then went out on the Athabaska Glacier. I was so excited that my heart was going a mile a minute when we got out of the snow tracker, the vehicle that they take you out on the glacier in. They told us all about the formation of the glacier. As the guide was talking, I could see over in the distance there was a group of people. So I told my father, “Let’s go see who they are.” So we went over, and I was pleased to find out it was none other than a National Geographic magazine crew out working on an upcoming project. So I, of course, was extremely excited, to say the least. I got to talk with them and find out what they did and why they were over there. They sent me a special reprint of that copy of the magazine, which was really cool.
What I Do in the Outdoors
I actually bought land here, knowing that some day I wanted to move here. One day I was sitting at home in Minneapolis trolling their local paper and there was the Gunflint Trail Association director job. I thought to myself, “OK, by the time I am ready to move up there, something like this is bound to come up open again.” So my sister called me on the last day they were accepting applications for that job and said, “If you don’t apply, I will get an old copy of your resume and send it in.” I said, “OK, fine,” and I faxed in a current version of my resume to the office. I got a call within a few hours of sending the fax. Long story short, they made me an offer. So I accepted the job.
I remembered my mother telling me that when I was 10 years old I returned from a summer camp in Wisconsin and announced that I was moving to the woods when I grew up. So when I moved up here to Grand Marais, it was no shock to her. I am pretty sure I am the only black woman living in the whole town. People asked my mom, “What is wrong with Judie?” And she told them, “Judie told me she was moving to the woods a long time ago, and now she has finally done it.”
In 2006 Dudley Edmundson conducted a series of interviews with African American outdoors-people that culminated in the book Black & Brown Faces in America’s Wild Places.
A lot has changed, in the world, and around the United States, in the 17 years since Black & Brown Faces in America’s Wild Places was first published. Yet, when reading through the interviews, it is easy to see the common themes and energy that link all of their experiences with the growing outdoor community who LOOK like them and share their passion for nature and the outdoors.
Over the coming months we will be sharing the interviews from Black & Brown Faces in America’s Wild Places here on our blog, and we hope you can find your voice to add to those celebrating their passion for the outdoors.
Cheryl Armstrong, President and CEO, James P. Beckwourth Mountain Club Denver, Colorado
Heroes and Mentors
The most important mentor in my life was my father. I guess you could describe him as a black Ernest Hemingway. He was a big game hunter and trophy fisherman; he was way ahead of his time. We traveled all around the world during my childhood and did outdoor activities as far back as I can remember.
We would travel to Mexico for fishing and traveled to different countries around the world visiting historic places, climbing the pyramids in Mexico—you name it, we did it. My father traveled to Africa quite a bit in the late 1950s as a big game hunter; he would go on safari there. He also wrote and was a civil and women’s rights leader and a great speaker, too. I had a great mentor in my father.
Minorities in Our Wild Places
I don’t think that African Americans and other people of color spend enough time in the outdoors. The reason, I believe, is because they just don’t have the opportunities and access to do so. Getting into the outdoors oftentimes requires transportation and many urban residents do not have reliable transportation. Another factor is that it takes a certain amount of know-how and equipment to do these things. Many of them simply cannot afford it, nor do they have the skill sets to be able to safely do things like camp or backpack. In order to get that knowledge, they need access to a program or organization like the Beckwourth Mountain Club.
Youth and Wilderness
One of the rewarding parts of running the Beckwourth outdoor and youth program here is experiencing firsthand the joy and awe of children who come through our program. This is Denver and we come very close to the front range of the Rocky Mountains, with its alpine lakes and flower-filled meadows within an hour or so of the city. However, 87 percent of the children who come through our program, although born and raised in Denver, have never been to the mountains and seen this breathtaking scenery. Most of them have never experienced what it is like to climb along a mountain trail or have never been camping. Oftentimes when they first have this experience of an overnight of camping, or seeing the night sky away from the city, the looks on their faces are truly remarkable.
This is a long-term mentoring program that is not just a one-time camp-out or one-week trip; kids can sign up in our program as early as age 8 and remain in our program until they are age 18, and even after that they can come back and work as part-time program assistants and also as youth leaders. A big part of the program is to not only introduce urban youth to the outdoors, but to seek youths who really enjoy the outdoors, key in on those particular kids and encourage them to pursue careers in natural resources fields. We help young people with career prep, college scholarships, and summer internships with national partners such as the Park Service, the Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management, and others who are interested in diversifying their workforce.
The keyword is “diversifying.” Everybody is jumping on the bandwagon because they realize that the population demographics in the country are changing, and if we don’t impress upon this younger and more diverse generation the importance of protecting our wilderness areas, then we are all going to be in trouble. It’s very important to pass on those ethics and foster stewardship with our young people. Plus it is important to show them, contrary to what most city residents think, that the outdoors and outdoor activities can be enjoyed by everyone, not just by wealthy or middle-class white people.
Best Outdoor Experiences and Favorite Places
My favorite outdoor activity is and always has been horseback riding. I have been riding since I was five years old and still love it. Being on the back of a horse on a trail, climbing up into the mountains and wilderness areas of Colorado makes me feel like I am truly at home. Camping out under the stars and seeing the beauty of the constellations with no light pollution from cities puts me in a whole other state of mind. It relaxes me and takes away all the stress that I may have had. Nothing makes me feel the same way; nothing is even comparable.
Some of my more memorable experiences in the outdoors with my father and my family include touring the ruins of the fabulous city Angkor Wat in Cambodia and climbing the pyramids in the ruins of the ancient Mayan city, Chichen Itza, on the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico. I remember holding a huge python in Algiers, Morocco, and watching a ceremonial snake dance with live cobras. We also rode camels at sunset in the desert there; it was just beautiful. We rode elephants while in Thailand and Cambodia. My father enjoyed life and enjoyed world travel, and he has given me outdoor experiences I will never forget. I feel very fortunate.
Here in the United States, some of my more memorable experiences include seeing the Grand Canyon at sunrise. And seeing a female grizzly with her cubs and, on the same morning, a wolf pack in the Lamar Valley of Yellowstone National Park. In New Mexico I took a night hike at the cliff dwelling of Bandolier National Monument. We saw thousands and thousands of bats emerging from their caves at dusk.
But my favorite place to spend time outdoors is in Colorado’s Rocky Mountain National Park. I say that even though I have traveled all over the world and seen some pretty incredible places. I have been in just about every state in this country, which includes visits to several national parks and state parks, but for me nothing can compare with the beauty of Rocky Mountain National Park.
Being a Face of Color in Remote Places
On field trips with youth groups here in Colorado, the children always notice that whenever we go somewhere hiking or camping, people stare at us. White people stare at our groups of African American or Latino youth or adults—it happens with our group every time we go on a field trip, simply because they are not accustomed to seeing people of color in the outdoors. There is also a certain amount of prejudice in some of the rural areas that we go to, which includes unfriendly and rude staring that is probably meant to intimidate us. The kids always ask why people are staring at them, and we tell them it is because they are special. Our program is very disciplined and structured, and we teach the children to conduct themselves in a very respectable manner so their behavior does not warrant the attention they get.
Environmental Advocacy and the Future
Stewardship might be the most important part of our program here in the Beckwourth Mountain Club. I am very proud of the fact that we not only teach our young people about the environment, but we also teach them the importance of protecting, preserving and managing this country’s natural resources. We do that by partnering with national organizations like the National Park Service, the U.S. Forest Service, Colorado State Parks and other organizations. Every long trip we do with the youth program also incorporates work projects. The kids not only learn that it is fun being in the outdoors, but they also have to learn how to protect the environment—how to restore trails, how to restore and protect natural habitats—and they learn about different ecosystems and how they function.
I do many presentations about the Beckwourth Mountain Club and its efforts to increase diversity in the outdoors. I have traveled to national conferences around the country as a guest speaker for seminars, panels and workshops. One comment I frequently hear from non-people-of-color never ceases to amuse me—“I didn’t know groups like yours existed!” People of color, whether they are Black, Latino or American Indian, have always had a deep connection to the land. It is part of their culture. They lived on the land, and they survived by living off of the land. It has only been in the last 100 years or so that people of color have become urbanized.
Another frequent comment I hear comes from environmental groups. They are surprised about the results of recent surveys. The surveys showed that people of color who reside in urban areas: (1) want their children to be exposed to the outdoors; (2) are very supportive of protecting the environment; and (3) look forward to opportunities to get into the outdoors. Why should this be surprising? Why would urban residents and people of color not want these opportunities for themselves and their children?
In 2006 Dudley Edmundson conducted a series of interviews with African American outdoors-people that culminated in the book Black & Brown Faces in America’s Wild Places.
A lot has changed, in the world, and around the United States, in the 17 years since Black & Brown Faces in America’s Wild Places was first published. Yet, when reading through the interviews, it is easy to see the common themes and energy that link all of their experiences with the growing outdoor community who LOOK like them and share their passion for nature and the outdoors.
Over the coming months we will be sharing the interviews from Black & Brown Faces in America’s Wild Places here on our blog, and we hope you can find your voice to add to those celebrating their passion for the outdoors.
Cheryl Armstrong, President and CEO, James P. Beckwourth Mountain Club Denver, Colorado
The James P. Beckwourth Mountain Club was named after a famous biracial African American, James Pierson Beckwourth. He was a true legend of the West.
He was born in 1798 in Fredericksburg County, Virginia, to a white plantation owner and one of his African American female slaves. They moved to Missouri when Jim was about six years old, because they wanted to stay together, and it was easier at that time to do that there than it was in Virginia. Beckwourth was raised in Missouri. He was taught to read, as were all of his siblings. He was apprenticed to a blacksmith so he would have a trade. Around 23 years of age he was fortunate enough to meet General William Ashley, who founded the Rocky Mountain Fur Trading Company. Beckwourth joined the company as a hunter, and over his long fascinating life he was, among other things, a frontiersman and an exceptional explorer. In 1850 he discovered a pass over the Sierra Nevada Mountains that would lead pioneers into the Sacramento Valley of California.
He also saved the life of General Zachary Taylor, who later became President of the United States. Beckwourth was also war chief of the Crow Indian nation. He was adopted into the tribe and he pretty much lived with the Crow for many years. He spoke a multitude of Native American dialects as well as being fluent in English, Spanish and French. He was also one of the co-founders of the city of Pueblo, Colorado.
Our organization named itself in honor of Jim Beckwourth because of his contributions to the West and also because he was a real trailblazer and adventurous guy. We like to think that we honor some of that spirit of adventure and his legacy in our organization.
Childhood Experiences and Turning Points in Nature
I was born in Detroit, Michigan. My father’s side of the family was one of the original black families in Michigan. They founded the first Episcopal churches. My childhood was pretty unusual for African Americans at the time. My father was a doctor, and his father was a doctor and medical school professor, and education had gone on and been a tradition in my family for generations and generations. I guess you could say I had a very affluent childhood.
We had a house in Detroit where my father practiced medicine and proudly served inner city residents. He also had a home in Canada, across the river right on Lake Saint Clair. So I grew up canoeing, swimming and hunting in the summer. I fished and explored the woods around our home in Canada. My father had a boat and we got to water ski and do all of the traditional water sports. We would ice skate on the lake in the winter.
I grew up being a very athletic girl. I loved sports and the outdoors and being in the woods, immersed in nature. I loved being under the open night sky more than anything—it was good for the soul then, and it is good for the soul now.
What I Do in the Outdoors
I have been involved with the Beckwourth Club since I moved to Denver in 1995. In 1998 we started a formal program called the Beckwourth Outdoor Education Center, specifically to take urban youth into the outdoors for hiking, fishing, camping, backpacking, snowshoeing, whitewater rafting, canoeing and kayaking. We teach them mapping and compass skills as well as self-arrest training and leadership skills.
The reason we started the Beckwourth Mountain Club (it was formed in 1993) was because of our passion to bring the outdoors to inner city youth and residents. The organization is run by a terrific group of almost 60 volunteers, predominantly by people of color. They act as mentors, chaperones, hike leaders, instructors and historical reenactors. They mentor not only the young kids in the organization, but also the adults that come to our center that are new to the outdoors.
The membership is open to everyone and is about 65 percent African American, 25 percent Latino, and the remaining is mixed race, multi-race, Asian, Anglo and all combinations thereof. Membership is for families, singles and seniors. We do outdoor activities every single weekend, from easy day hikes, to climbs of Colorado’s peaks. We also do upscale trips such as orca watching on the San Juan Islands off the coast of Washington state, and trips to national parks such as Acadia in Maine and Yellowstone in Wyoming. The idea is to make these national parks and wilderness areas available to a broader population.
I also do a great deal of fundraising. That’s my job—I am the money beggar! I am the grant writer and public relations person. I travel around the country heading up panel discussions and workshops, doing presentations on our program. I guess you could say I wear about 15 different hats around here.
I spent many years in the legal profession, but eight years ago I was able to break away and do what I truly love and have a passion for. There is no comparison salary-wise between working for a nonprofit organization and being in the legal profession, but I would not do anything else even if you gave me a million dollars. I enjoy running this organization and doing what we do for the community.
There are so many wonderful author events all around the country this October. Whether you’re looking for some spooky fun in New England, paddling the rivers across the state of Georgia, or pitching a tent with your family in Colorado, our authors are out there hoping to meet you and hear about your experiences. Check out the list of author events to see if any are happening near you!
Learn to identify the birds of Texas, and make bird-watching even more enjoyable with Stan Tekiela’s famous Birds of Texas Field Guide. This book features 140 species of Texas birds organized by color for ease of use. Do you see a yellow bird and don’t know what it is? Go to the yellow section to find out.
This new edition includes more species, updated photographs and range maps, revised information, and even more of Stan’s expert insights.
Here are some amazing birds to watch out for:
The Boat-tailed Grackle is a noisy bird of coastal saltwater and inland marshes, giving several harsh, high-pitched calls and squeaks. It eats a wide variety of foods, from grains to fish, and is even seen picking insects off the backs of cattle. The bird will even visit bird feeders!
Did you know that the Boat-tailed Grackle makes a cup nest with mud or cow dung and grass? Interestingly, the Boat-tailed Grackles in Texas and on the Gulf Coast have dark eyes. Birds farther east, on the Atlantic Coast, have bright-red eyes.
The Spotted Towhee and Eastern Towhee were once considered a single species called Rufous-sided Towhee. It is found in a variety of habitats, from thick brush and chaparral to suburban backyards, and it is usually heard noisily scratching through dead leaves on the ground for food. Over 70% of its diet is plant material. The Spotted Towhee eats more insects during spring and summer.
The Black-necked Stilts is seen year-round along the coast in Texas, and it can be found along the East Coast and as far north as the Great Lakes. The bird nests solitarily or in small colonies in open areas.
This very vocal bird of shallow marshes gives a “kek-kek-kek” call. Its legs are up to 10 inches long and may be the longest legs in the bird world in proportion to its body. Black-necked Stilts are known to transport water with water-soaked belly feathers (belly-soaking) to cool eggs in hot weather.
The bird aggressively defends its nest, eggs, and young. The young leave the nest shortly after hatching.
So grab Birds of Texas Field Guide for your next birding adventure―to help ensure that you positively identify the many birds that you see.
About the author: Naturalist, wildlife photographer, and writer Stan Tekiela has written more than 175 field guides, nature books, children’s books, wildlife audio CDs, puzzles, and playing cards, presenting many species of birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, trees, wildflowers, and cacti in the United States. With a Bachelor of Science degree in Natural History from the University of Minnesota and as an active professional naturalist for more than 25 years, Stan studies and photographs wildlife throughout the United States and Canada. He has received various national and regional awards for his books and photographs.
Also a well-known columnist and radio personality, his syndicated column appears in more than 25 newspapers, and his wildlife programs are broadcast on a number of Midwest radio stations. Stan can be followed on Facebook and Twitter. He can be contacted via www.naturesmart.com.
For more stories about wildlife and nature, sign up for our newsletter now!
Learn to identify the trees in the Carolinas with Stan Tekiela’s famous Trees of the Carolinas Field Guide. Learn about all 153 species found in the two states, organized by leaf type and attachment. Just look at a tree’s leaves, then go to the correct section to learn what it is.
Fact-filled information contains the particulars that you want to know, while full-page photographs provide the visual detail needed for accurate identification. Plus, Stan’s naturalist notes feature fascinating tidbits and fun facts.
This new edition includes updated photographs, expanded information, and even more of Stan’s expert insights.
Here are some amazing facts about trees found in the two states:
The Red Mulberry produces large crops of fruit, providing an important food source for wildlife, especially birds. In summer, berries ripen to red and are delicious when black. The fruit is sweet and juicy and can be used in jams, jellies, and pies.
One of the most fascinating trees is, without a doubt, the Ginkgo tree, the sole surviving species from an ancient family of trees that flourished millions of years ago. Because the surviving trees were cultivated only in ancient temple gardens in China, the species remained unknown to the scientific community until the late 1700s. Only the male trees are sold and planted because female trees produce butyric acid, which makes the fruit smell foul.
Ginkgo fruit has been highly prized by some people for medicinal properties. Its leaves are often in two lobes, hence the species name biloba. It is also called Maidenhair-tree because the unique fan-shaped leaves resemble the fronds of the Maidenhair Fern plant.
Ginkgo biloba seed or fruit ready to harvest – Image
A small nonnative species that was introduced from Asia is the fast-growing Siberian Elm. Also called the Chinese Elm (U. parvifolia), it thrives in a wide variety of soils and tolerates harsh conditions.
So grab Trees of the Carolinas Field Guide for your next outdoor adventure―to help ensure that you positively identify the many trees that you see.
About the author: Naturalist, wildlife photographer, and writer Stan Tekiela has written more than 175 field guides, nature books, children’s books, wildlife audio CDs, puzzles, and playing cards, presenting many species of birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, trees, wildflowers, and cacti in the United States. With a Bachelor of Science degree in Natural History from the University of Minnesota and as an active professional naturalist for more than 25 years, Stan studies and photographs wildlife throughout the United States and Canada. He has received various national and regional awards for his books and photographs.
Also a well-known columnist and radio personality, his syndicated column appears in more than 25 newspapers, and his wildlife programs are broadcast on a number of Midwest radio stations. Stan can be followed on Facebook and Twitter. He can be contacted via www.naturesmart.com.
For more stories about wildlife and nature, sign up for our newsletter now!
Today, Nicole Hardina, author of Little Washington, takes us to the town of Waverly. Founded in 1879, the town has a population of 106.
A Complicated Past The town of Waverly received a post office and a name in 1879. Then, while other Inland Empire towns met the railroad and began to flourish, Waverly remained a lonely outpost. An early history describes it as a “little village, quiet and serene . . . remote from the scenes of turmoil and strife.” However, Waverly’s most prominent feature speaks to a history that is anything but bucolic.
Hangman Creek winds through Waverly. Uncultivated land approaches the creek’s edge. Farmed acres stop for a treeline, a rocky butte, and a soft marsh. The water looks as though it might spill over its edges, glimmering gently past farmhouses. The name was long ago changed to Latah Creek, but it’s still widely known as Hangman—and for a reason. The Spokane Historical society isn’t pulling any punches in its description: “This is the site of a murder.”
In 1858, the Spokane and Yakama tribes resisted treaty terms, and violence erupted in Eastern Washington. When the tribes defeated Colonel Steptoe’s 150 men, Colonel George Wright sent hundreds more in their place. Chief Owhi, whose son, Qualchan, was wanted for murder, tried to negotiate with Wright, who took Owhi hostage. Not knowing Wright had imprisoned his father, Qualchan entered the camp on his own peace mission, along with his wife, son, and brother. Wright ordered Qualchan hanged. The next day, Chief Owhi tried to escape and was shot and killed. In three days, Wright ordered the hangings of more than a dozen people, all of whom had approached with a white flag, symbolizing their peaceful intentions.
By the time A. D. Thayer homesteaded on Hangman Creek, evidence of the violence was long gone. Two decades later, Waverly began to flourish. The Washington State Sugar Beet Factory, established in 1898, employed 150 men. The Waverly Optimist reported in 1899 that laborers made $1.50 per day, while “skilled superintendents” earned as much as $7,500 per year, or more than $250,000 in today’s dollars.
A dam across the creek fed water to the factory. Soon the railroad came, and multiple grain producers established warehouses and elevators in Waverly. In 1900, the population had blossomed to 895. Ten years later, the sugar beet factory closed, and the bloom began to wilt.
School’s Out In Waverly today, Hangman Creek Bar and Grill is closed and boarded up. Peeling signs in the windows upstairs advertise Miss Elsie’s 5¢ baths and Doctor Yankum’s dentistry services. Concrete memorials at the park’s edge remember beloved townspeople and war veterans. In 1935, the Spokane County Pioneers Association established a memorial at the site where the hanging tree once stood.
In 1910, Washington state had more than 2,700 school districts. Not quite a century later, that number has declined by about 90%. Spokane County had some of the first schools in Washington, dating to the 1830s. The first schools often took place in settlers’ homes until a community secured funding for a dedicated building.
As the population increased, communities often abandoned their log cabin schools in favor of wood frame and, later, brick schools. As the student population grew, schools diversified, distinguishing elementary and junior-high education programs and locating them in their own schools. By 1915, Washington boasted 500 high schools.
The boom in school construction continued until the Depression, when a lack of funding put the brakes on school spending. Despite funding scarcity, many new schools were built in the 1930s as part of the Works Progress Administration. Even with the government-sponsored infusion of capital, by the end of WWII, school consolidations in rural areas had begun in earnest. After the war, urban centers grew at the expense of rural communities, and by 1946, nearly all one-room schools had closed. The Prairie View school in Waverly was one of them.
From 1904 to 1938, the school served as many as 40 students in a year. The simple, wood frame building boasted an iron stove for heat and a curved stage for the teacher’s desk. Prairie View is the oldest example of its kind in Spokane County. Long since fallen into disuse, the school malingered in a cottonwood grove, its porch sagging, wind rushing through its empty windows. Then, in 2013, preservationists decided to move and restore the decaying school. With a fundraising effort that garnered thousands in private donations, the southeast Spokane Historical society led the effort to preserve the history of public education in eastern Washington. Today, the school has a new foundation and a new roof. A modern door stands between the weather and the schoolroom. The clapboard siding is original, but the windows are brand-new. If left abandoned, nature would have taken the school back. After years of snow and neglect, the roof would have collapsed, and then the walls. Instead, the Prairie View school stands on the corner of South Prairie View Road as it curves out of, or into, town, like a greeting or parting message for visitors.
Waving Goodbye Driving through any city’s residential neighborhoods between the hours of 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. can be a slow affair. When children are present, the speed limit usually tops out at 20 miles per hour. In Waverly, the school has been closed for a long time. Still, a hand-painted sign asks travelers to keep it under 25 mph. A father shepherds two children and a dog on the short walk from the park to their home. He holds the kids’ hands and they stick to the sidewalk, though mine is the only car on the road.
Waverly is the smallest incorporated town in Spokane County, and it feels like it. Visitors to Waverly might be forgiven for looking around and asking, “What makes a town a town?” There is a fire department, a Grange, and evidence of agriculture. Other than that, there’s a collection of houses, a controlled burn, a barking dog, a shuttered door, a babbling stream. There’s history here, for sure. A future feels less certain.
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