February 19, 2012 in Opinion, Letters

Nothing boring about Ritzville

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Regarding the Feb. 6 feature article about Ritzville showcasing wheat as a strategy to help put the town back on the map. I suggest anyone interested read the book, “Amber Waves and Undertow,” by Steve Turner.

Steve and three friends from Middlebury College in Vermont drove a car that broke down a number of times in the summer of 1958 as they were on their way to their first Western experience working in the wheat fields of Adams County. Steve returned in 2005 to visit folks from that experience, and to do research for his book. The book, which chronicles a changing environment of place, culture, crops, economy and issues, would have made the great writer of time and place, Wallace Stegner, smile in satisfaction.

I spent a couple of weeks two years ago with Steve traveling in and around Ritzville, chasing history with his book in hand. We spent time with farmers and ranchers from his work summer and met an assortment of wonderful and talented characters, young and old. The Ritzville area has had to survive more than its share of hard and changing times. But there is nothing boring about its story or its people.

Lawrence Blakey

Sandpoint

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