It’s almost rodeo time in Glenwood. The 88th annual Ketchum Kalf Rodeo show begins at 12:30 p.m., June 17-18, with NPRA cowboys and cowgirls competing in the shadow of Mount Adams.
This year’s rodeo has the added features of wild horse races and a trick rider. The wild horse racers, from Madras, will thrill the crowd at the start of the rodeo each day. Nationally-known trick rider Haley Proctor will perform both days. Haley is a four-time PRCA Top Five Dress Act of the Year. Her act is fast-paced and will have you holding your breath at her daring tricks.
There will be food vendors, a beer garden with music Friday and Sunday evenings by Ray Lemley and Saturday night music with Countryside Ride. (Please remember, no minors are allowed in the beer garden.) On Sunday, there will be cowboy church in the dance hall at 9 a.m., the cowboy breakfast up at the school, and the parade, which begins at 11 a.m. If you wish to participate in the parade, please contact Christina Kuhnhausen at 509-364-3326.
Admission is $15 for adults and $5 for kids ages 6-12. Admission is free for kids ages 5 and under. Camping is available on a first come, first served basis. Take Dad to Glenwood for a fun and exciting Father’s Day weekend.
•••
It’s always a pleasure to write about any of our former Glenwood kids. This time it’s news about Amy Hendricks Utter, daughter of the late Marvina Randle and niece of Anita and Bun Wellenbrock. Amy, who lives in Moses Lake with her husband and sons, was recently chosen as North Elementary School’s Employee of the Year for her hard work and dedication to teaching her kindergarten class. The announcement read, “Mrs. Utter makes learning an adventure for her students. Her commitment to her class goes beyond the classroom. The tenacity and patience that she shows with teaching new learners proves her determination that her class enters into their school career with the tools needed to succeed.
“One look at Mrs. Utter’s classroom demonstrates her creativity! And the saturation of fun, educational events that she provides her littles gives the class a joyful learning environment. These little friends are learning basic knowledge without even realizing it! Her flexibility is shown daily when plans can change in a minute due to a circumstance or unforeseen situation in the life of a kindergarten. Mrs. Utter is a creative, determined, patient, and empathetic educator who strives to meet every aspect of her students’ lives!” Congratulations, Amy. We here in your hometown are extremely proud of your honor as Teacher of the Year. Those little kids in Moses Lake are very lucky to have you.
•••
After I wrote about our Glenwood rodeo athletes, I learned that I left out some important results and need to make some additions and corrections. So I’ll start over. In high school rodeo, Joslyn Arnold, daughter of Casey and Bo, will represent her hometown, her Klickitat County Rodeo Club, and the State of Washington at the High School National Finals, after placing third in goat tying at the state finals. National Finals take place in Gillette, Wyo., in July. She also placed fifth in breakaway roping, qualifying her for the Silver State International Rodeo in Winnemucca, Nev.
Peyton Sanchey, daughter of Jodi and Ryan, placed third in pole bending, which earned her a trip to Nationals. She also placed eighth in barrel racing, qualifying for the Silver State. Blaine Arnold, brother of Joslyn, competed in junior high rodeo. He placed second in steer saddle bronc, which qualified him for the Junior High National Finals Rodeo in Perry, Ga. He also earned a trip to Silver State by placing sixth in goat tying and 15th in breakaway.
If you’ve ever been to a high school/junior high school rodeo, you would know the competition is fierce and there are very large fields of entry for each event, so these placings clearly demonstrate how outstanding our hometown rodeo athletes are. Congratulations, Joslyn, Peyton, and Blaine.
Besides the rodeo results, I left out an important placing of one of our Glenwood High School track athletes at the recent State meet in Eugene. Tomei Tomeo placed 11th in the 800m, one of the events that draws a very crowded field of entrants. Way to go, Tomei. We look forward to watching you fly around the track next season.
•••
We recently learned that Glenwood has lost another dear friend, Wanee Martin Kuhnhausen. Our condolences to out to Wanee’s children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. I received this beautiful tribute from Wanee’s daughter, Karen Gravelle Saunders:
“Wanee (Martin) Kuhnhausen, 97, a former long-time Glenwood resident, went home to heaven May 13. Aided by the matchmaking talents of Beth and Otis Carr, Wanee came to Glenwood from the Yakima Valley to help Manuel Gravelle with his two daughters. The housekeeper/nanny position took on a new dimension as love blossomed between the couple. The following years were filled with picnics at Bird Creek Ford and Bench Lake, winter sledding and ice skating, chaperoning basketball bus rides, pinochle games with the neighbors, yard work, marathon canning sessions using tasty, abundant Yakima Valley produce, and competitive lawn croquet games.
“Wanee adapted to the demands of being a logger’s wife by creating tasty meals for a large, hungry family from little in the larder. Delicious stews, homemade bread, goulash, pies and cakes, and other goodies seemed to appear from nowhere. Her homemade lemon meringue pie was sought after at community potlucks. She and Manuel enjoyed many happy years together prior to his death.
“Years later, Wanee accepted the request from Rama Kuhnhausen to help at the Kuhnhausen ranch with cooking and cleaning duties. The women developed a strong mutual friendship and enjoyed spending time with one another. Following Rama’s death, Wanee continued to assist Osmar with these necessary tasks and the two grew close and decided to marry. At the end of the workday, Wanee didn’t need to return home because she was home! Osmar’s dry sense of humor, solid work ethic, stories of days gone by, and accepting heart were blessings to Wanee’s family.
“Mom will be remembered as a woman who cared about others and put their needs ahead of her own. She chose kindness and understanding over criticism and negativity, always seeing the good in others. She treasured memories of family beach outings, trips to Disneyland, and just listening to and being there for her grandchildren. The light of her love made the world a better, brighter place. She will be greatly missed.”
•••
Here’s just one more reminder from Jennifer Hallenbeck that Stellar Vacation Bible School is coming June 26-30 from 9 a.m. to noon at the church. Jennifer says, “Kids ages 4 years through sixth grade are invited to come experience this fun week where we will learn to let Jesus’ light shine! Every day we will sing fun songs, play awesome games, experience a bible story and do some fun science experiments. VBS is free for all. Registration forms are available at the post office and the church.”Call Jennifer at 509-364-3517 if you have any questions.
•••
Mary Pierce writes about the community of Glenwood every other week in Columbia Gorge News. Please send any news items to gmpierce09@gmail.com.
Commented