The folks who live in and above the Lincoln Creek valley northwest of Centralia have a new way to stay connected and to better know their neighbors — but it’s not entirely clear if they’ll seize the opportunity.
A new newspaper (or call it a newsletter, if you’d like) highlights life in this rural area.
The Lincoln Creek Granger and Ag Trader, as it’s called, aims to build stronger ties in an area that historically has depended on strong neighbor-to-neighbor support, both in good times and especially during natural disasters or extended power outages. (Floods, like the 2007 deluge, cut this community off entirely from the I-5 corridor.)
Jack Russell Thompson is the editor and publisher of the fledgling newspaper.
A native of the Lincoln Creek area, he left after graduating from high school in 1995. After a stint in the Army, and several years living in town with his wife and their children, the family finally moved back to a hill above Lincoln Creek last year.
He’s active in the Lincoln Creek Grange (which held their annual Christmas party last night). A big part of forming the newspaper — as its name, The Lincoln Creek Granger, suggests — is to highlight activities at this community hub and to spur people to become more active in their local Grange.
The first issue has historical items, upcoming events, a news report on the Grange’s annual cider squeeze, some autumn recipes (including caramel apple crisp and sage pork chops with apple cider gravy) and a column headlined “God is Good - Always!” It also has a story about “living with a herd of horses.”
Thompson’s vision is for a full spectrum of stories about the good life in this corner of rural Washington.
I was quite impressed with the scope of items he wants to feature: pets, livestock, farm/garden and forestry reports, wild picking (berries, mushrooms, etc.), wildlife (trapping, hunting, watching, rescue), homeschooling, faith and fellowship, news from their local Fire Station 6, as well as general stories about country living, with a focus on the “friends and neighbors” of the Lincoln Creek environs.
I was also impressed that Thompson is willing to pay for his writers — and my favorite part of the whole deal is that he’ll pay double for people who are members of the Lincoln Creek Grange. That’s a great way to encourage and recognize local folks to be engaged.
I talked to Thompson this week to ask about his new endeavor.
He’s a busy guy — he runs his own wildlife control service (no poisons or chemicals used).
He told me that he sent out 1,200 copies of the first edition, to people living in the Cooks Hill area and the tiny community of Galvin all the way up the long, winding Lincoln Creek, including the areas known of Michigan Hill and Garrard Creek. He also has copies available for free at the Galvin Post Office, which is where I picked up my copy.
“Unfortunately, it hasn’t gotten the reception I’d hoped,” Thompson said. “From a financial aspect, it doesn’t look like it’ll pay for itself.”
He’s had some people contact him to say they like the paper, but he hasn’t had enough interest from businesses that could help pay for the cost of printing and mailing the paper.
He doesn’t want to make any money on the paper — he just wants to come close to breaking even. His goal is to simply connect his neighbors together and help encourage people to engage with the Lincoln Creek Grange, their main community center.
Anyone who wants to support this newspaper — either through a voluntary subscription or through buying an ad — can contact Thompson by email at icymudpuppy@yahoo.com or by mail at L.C. Granger, P.O. Box 43, Galvin, WA 98544.
I’m going to send him $10 to help offset the cost of the first printing and to ensure that I get a copy of any upcoming editions.
I hope that his new newspaper gets the support it deserves, and that he can continue publication. I believe that community connections make us stronger, and I’m impressed that a dedicated resident of Lincoln Creek is willing to put so much work into helping his neighbors find new ways to build strong connections.
Long live The Lincoln Creek Granger!
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Thanks to everyone who contacted me about traffic on Highway 6. Keep your stories coming. I’ll incorporate as many as I can into a future column.
On a different topic, I’d love to hear from you in this holiday season about your Christmas traditions. What do you do in the days leading up to Christmas, and what parts of your childhood Christmas celebrations are very meaningful to you as you look back on days of yore?
I’m particularly interested in your stories of Christmas caroling. What do you do to spread cheer by sharing songs door-to-door?
Email me your thoughts.
Merry Christmas to all!
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Brian Mittge is celebrating the Yuletide with his family at their rural Chehalis home, with songs a’plenty. Drop him a line at
brianmittge@hotmail.com.
