Radio Tierra, the Hood River-based Spanish/English community radio station, recently celebrated its 15th birthday with a Radiothon party at the Columbia Center for the Arts.
During the celebration (a quinceañera in Spanish), Radio Tierra also honored Dr. James B. Wade for his long and devoted service to the local community, including the local Latinx community, Radio Tierra board member Juan Reyes said in a press release.
“Dr. Wade is well-loved among the community for his generous and respectful help to many families, whether they could afford payment or not. He truly cared about serving people, and he helped many families in a time of need,” Reyes said.
As one example, Leticia (Leti) Valle, who currently is on the Board of Directors of Columbia Area Transit (CAT) and is a local actor, but when she was born 36 years ago, Leti’s father didn’t have health insurance to cover the expense. That didn’t matter to Wade, so he delivered Leti and allowed her father to “work off the debt” by doing some tree landscaping. The trees still stand.
Dr. Tina Castañares, herself a well-known local physician, also has fond memories of Wade’s commitment to his patients, including his Latinx patients.
“When I came to Hood River in 1984, there were a couple of other doctors in Hood River who would try to ‘get by’ with Spanish-speaking patients, but only Dr. Jim Wade and Dr. Gary Regalbuto really worked at it. Dr. Regalbuto had been an exchange student in Chile, so he had a head start, but Jim Wade was diligent in learning Spanish, and his patients so appreciated that. I was working then at La Clinica del Cariño (now One Community Health) and many persons told me they would switch to La Clinica except that Dr. Wade was their doctor, he spoke Spanish with them, and he cared about them.
“As I got to know Jim over the years, I realized his patients were exactly correct about him. On a personal level, Jim also helped me, even after his retirement, with his terrific medical knowledge and compassion. Dr. Wade absolutely deserves the honor you are paying him today.”
Reyes said Radio Tierra wishes to thank the sponsors and musical acts that made the 15th birthday party successful: Oregon Cultural Trust, Lake Tacos, Los Amigos de la Sierra, Ixtapa, Pho River, Juanitas, Veronica’s Salsa, Sweet Lila’s Coffee, Dog River Coffee, Energía Norteña, Gorge-ous Zumba Girls, Batalla M5, Cherry on Top, Empanadas María Elba, and Mendiola Music.
Reyes also thanked Columbia Center for the Arts (CCA) for hosting the event, CCA technical director Jesse Harkin for his help in the remote simulcasting, and to CJ Forbes for helping us broadcast on Facebook and Instagram live.
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