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Newspaper Archive of
Shelton Mason County Journal
Shelton, Washington
January 11, 2007     Shelton Mason County Journal
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January 11, 2007
 
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What's Cookin'? Marlene rem(00mbers root By REBECCA WELLS Marlene Echaniz wears her Scandinavian ancestry with pride. Evidence of this is the fact that she even answered the door for her in- terview with The Journal decked out in an ornate, traditional Nor- wegian costume. Her great-grand- parents on both sides of her family immigrated to the United States from Norway. Just two years ago she and her sister traveled to their great- grandparents' homeland, visiting the historic farming communities they came from in hilly, central Norway. "It was really pretty," Marlene recalls. Still, observing the region's steep terrain, she could tell the area wasn't well-suited to produc- tive farming. "I can understand why they left Norway at the time," she considers. Since then, the land has turned into mostly a vacation spot. She recalls that in those days the first- born children inherited ownership of family land in Norwegian soci- ety and so younger siblings didn't have much choice but to move on to a place where they could have their own property, such as Amer- ica. SINCE THEN, the country has become very wealthy and most people enjoy a very nice standard of living. In fact, the Norwegian economy appears do be doing so well, the currency exchange rate is expensive over there compared to in America and they calculat- ed the price of gasoline to be the equivalent of more than $5 per gallon over there. "It wasn't that way in the late 1800s, early 1900s," Marlene notes. This fall it was her husband Leo's turn to explore his ances- try and so the couple traveled to Spain. Both of Leo's parents emi- grated from the Basque area of Spain. During theil" trip to Spain, Leo and Marlene also celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. "We tried to talk to people; some people spoke English," Marlene recalls of their experience in Spain. At one point, Leo was out on a dock and a group of men were excitedly rattling off in a Basque dialect to Leo, who couldn't under- stand what they were saying. Despite their close ethnic ties, neither Marlene or Leo learned to speak Norwegian or Spanish from their parents. The strongest cul- tural influence both of their fami- lies tended to pass down to them was in some of thei traditional cuisine. MARLENE'S mother made Scandinavian pastries and lefse, a fiat potatobread. She also used to occasionally make lutefisk, a white fish cured in lye, but this fish dish has since fallen out of popularity in their family. "We don't fix lute- risk, nobody will eat it," Marlene explains. During Leo's childhood, his mother would traditionally srve bacalao, or salted cod, at Christ- mas. Other than these fbod facts, they didn't know much more about their cultural heritages but that's no longer the case with Marlene. About 10 years ago, or around the same time she and Leo moved to their retirement home on Harstine Island, she saw Scandinavian arts and crafts exhibited at a festival hosted at Pacific Lutheran Uni- versity. Inspired by what she saw, she began studying r6semaling, a delicate floral painting style, and hardanger, a kind of lacy needle- work. These arts, she said, "kind of fell out of popularity for a number of years." A few decades ago she had ini- tially been interested in hardan- ger and had bought a book to teach herself the technique in order to DISPLAYING SOME OF the Scandinavian crafts she has made at home is Marlene Echaniz with her husband, Leo. sew an apron with that particular style. But soon she flt intimidat- ed by the craft's complexity and dropped the attempt. YEARS LATER, she now not only has an apron adorned with the dainty hardanger pattern but she also has a complete Norwe- gian bunal, a traditional gown complete with white blouse, plaid apron and the appropriate jew- elry and accessories. Each region in Norway boasts its own unique patterns and styles of'cl(:)thing and crafts. Among the souvenirs Marlene brought back with her from Nor- way were traditional Norwegian fabrics and brocade, which she used to make her Norwegian out- fit. "I wore it for one of our lunches at the community hall and every- one was horrified. They said 'You can't wear that to wait tables. (You'll) get it dirty.' I said, 'It's cot- ton, it'll wash,' " she recalls. Her own costume is faithfully close to what her ancestors would have worn in the area they came from before emigrating to Amer- ica. Marlene also brought back an authentic Norwegian sweater, featuring colorthl, intricately knit- ted patterns and ornate silver but- tons. These days she also belongs to the Western RSsemalers, who meet at a Scandinavian museum in Bal- lard and invite proficient instruc- tors to lead workshops in different styles of painting. She also studies rSsemaling with an instructor at Sons of Norway in Bremerton. LAST FEBRUARY, she dis- played some of her r6semaling and hardanger work at the William G. Reed Public Library in Shelton. Marlene has also displayed and demonstrated her handiwork at the annual Apple Squeeze on Harstine Island. She also sells pieces at the Biggest, Brightest Wood Flame I I III II I I II I Breckwell's "Luxury"P2000 our op o t the hnc peflet slov( enhcmce.s /out hOltle wth t)r¢ill woo(] lllrrles, (]ncl modem sf yhu K /he [(lr}:le c er( tmJc: )'Jc/5' (],')r)€ showccses o h90 de?/,.!e [re [dh,(I purlnr(lm(! • 16 Heat Exchange Tubes • 80% Steady Sate Effi(iency ° 50,000 BTU The l=me For Seasont" Im/IEIPLACE 8HOPSw INC. N0) 779-30$E 19410 Viking Ave.NW. Pou|sbo (Across from Poulsbo RV) 3801377-6655 ,o9o w. st,wy. 16. s,,rto. (At Gorst o, W,¢,d,) 206) 842"9356 www.herit.gehreplaceshop.com Paae 16 - Shelton-Mason Countv Journal - Thursday, January 11, 2007 annual Harstine Island Holiday House Bazaar, though sometimes she becomes attached to her work and has trouble parting with it. Belonging to Vesterheim, a genealogical society in Iowa spe- cializing in tracing Norwegian ancestry, helped her research her roots and find out where her great-grandparents had lived in Norway. Since their retirement, she has also been putting down roots on Harstine Island by participating in a number of community organi- zations. Marlene served as secre- tary and treasurer of)l! Harstine Island Community Club for four years before switching to take part in the Harstine Island Women's Club. She has since served as the women's club secretary for four years, club vice president tbr one year and now she's in her second year as club president. Besides this organization, she also consid- ers her involvement in a local Take Off Pounds Sensibly - or TOPS - as another a social group. ORIGINALLY, THE couple bought the property they now live on in 1981 and used it just for camping trips for the first 15 years. "All of a sudden we said, 'What are we going home for? Let's just stay here,'" Marlene remembers. Right after retiring but before settling into their home on Har- stine, the couple took advantage of their free time to travel by visiting Europe, Alaska, Australia, New Zealand, the Cook Islands and Ha- waii. They also spent six months driving around the entire United States. Marlene and her sister plan to visit England in a couple of years. Previously, Leo and Marlene had worked together in a construc- tion business. He built houses and Marlene helped him by taking care of bookkeeping, designs and purchases. "I was a jack-of-all- trades," she says. In the case of persons who were interested in building custom homes she would take their clients shopping with her and help them select the fixtures, colors and home accessories of their choice. In the case of a home they built in the hopes of finding a buyer after it was complete, she picked out ev- erything herself. AT TItAT TIME they lived in the Renton and Seattle area, where their three children, five grand- children and one great-grandchild still reside. For a while, Marlene also enjoyed working with stained glass. While she doesn't practice the art much anymore, she did create the stained glass work in their bathroom window. Leo is a former U.S. Navy sea- man who finds that retirement has given him time to devote to his maritime hobbies. At first he vis- ited a number of maritime muse- ums and thought about model ship building. He quickly decided the complicated rigging was too much work for him, so he then choose to build remote-controlled tugboats after seeing them displayed at OysterFest. Now he and his fellow tugboat pals show off their hand- made toy sea craft at festivals in Shelton, Olympia and Tacoma. Leo has constructed 16 tug- boats, cranes, rafts, a barge, fish- ing vessels, a scale-model replica of the ship he sailed on while serv- ing in the U.S. Navy and a long ship of the kind the Vikings built. Not content with the building of boats, he and Marlene forces to construct a doll (Please turn to page 17.) by Blaine & Linda MARBLE FLOORS No flooring material makes a more elegant statement than marble. This natural stone is the product of tallization of limestone under hi, temperatures and enormous within the earth. It has an incredible rebound in over the past few years, not that ever went away, Marble has been symbol of affluence for centuries, day, homeowners are utilizing its claS" sic looks to increase the luxurious fed of bathrooms and the "wow factor" in foyers. While marble is rather relative to other stones, the sional application of a sealer out stains. Marble floors in should be sealed every 12-18 monthS, Marble used in bathrooms and kitch" ens should be cleaned and resealed, every 9-12 months. There are so many choices available today in flooring designs. Before making a final deci- sion, one that will remain with you for many years to come, be sure to discuss the options with someor with a reputation for knowledge, creativity, and quality resources. Here at SHELTON FLOOR COVER" ING, we hope you'll give us the portunity to do what we do - help you find the ideas and ucts that will transform your homo into the one you've been drearY" ing of for years. It easier than think and begins with a call 427-2822, ! 306 Olympic Hwy HINT: Tumbled marble vides a finish with an aged look. Still Available at the Mason County Historical Society Museum at Fifth and Railroad Michael Fredson's Short History of Michael Fredson's Short History of Mason County Written on the occasion of the county's 150th anniversary (With 24 photographs) $2 at the museum $3 by mall: Mason County Historical Society P.O. Box 1366 Shelton, WA 98584 What's Cookin'? Marlene rem(00mbers root By REBECCA WELLS Marlene Echaniz wears her Scandinavian ancestry with pride. Evidence of this is the fact that she even answered the door for her in- terview with The Journal decked out in an ornate, traditional Nor- wegian costume. Her great-grand- parents on both sides of her family immigrated to the United States from Norway. Just two years ago she and her sister traveled to their great- grandparents' homeland, visiting the historic farming communities they came from in hilly, central Norway. "It was really pretty," Marlene recalls. Still, observing the region's steep terrain, she could tell the area wasn't well-suited to produc- tive farming. "I can understand why they left Norway at the time," she considers. Since then, the land has turned into mostly a vacation spot. She recalls that in those days the first- born children inherited ownership of family land in Norwegian soci- ety and so younger siblings didn't have much choice but to move on to a place where they could have their own property, such as Amer- ica. SINCE THEN, the country has become very wealthy and most people enjoy a very nice standard of living. In fact, the Norwegian economy appears do be doing so well, the currency exchange rate is expensive over there compared to in America and they calculat- ed the price of gasoline to be the equivalent of more than $5 per gallon over there. "It wasn't that way in the late 1800s, early 1900s," Marlene notes. This fall it was her husband Leo's turn to explore his ances- try and so the couple traveled to Spain. Both of Leo's parents emi- grated from the Basque area of Spain. During theil" trip to Spain, Leo and Marlene also celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. "We tried to talk to people; some people spoke English," Marlene recalls of their experience in Spain. At one point, Leo was out on a dock and a group of men were excitedly rattling off in a Basque dialect to Leo, who couldn't under- stand what they were saying. Despite their close ethnic ties, neither Marlene or Leo learned to speak Norwegian or Spanish from their parents. The strongest cul- tural influence both of their fami- lies tended to pass down to them was in some of thei traditional cuisine. MARLENE'S mother made Scandinavian pastries and lefse, a fiat potatobread. She also used to occasionally make lutefisk, a white fish cured in lye, but this fish dish has since fallen out of popularity in their family. "We don't fix lute- risk, nobody will eat it," Marlene explains. During Leo's childhood, his mother would traditionally srve bacalao, or salted cod, at Christ- mas. Other than these fbod facts, they didn't know much more about their cultural heritages but that's no longer the case with Marlene. About 10 years ago, or around the same time she and Leo moved to their retirement home on Harstine Island, she saw Scandinavian arts and crafts exhibited at a festival hosted at Pacific Lutheran Uni- versity. Inspired by what she saw, she began studying r6semaling, a delicate floral painting style, and hardanger, a kind of lacy needle- work. These arts, she said, "kind of fell out of popularity for a number of years." A few decades ago she had ini- tially been interested in hardan- ger and had bought a book to teach herself the technique in order to DISPLAYING SOME OF the Scandinavian crafts she has made at home is Marlene Echaniz with her husband, Leo. sew an apron with that particular style. But soon she flt intimidat- ed by the craft's complexity and dropped the attempt. YEARS LATER, she now not only has an apron adorned with the dainty hardanger pattern but she also has a complete Norwe- gian bunal, a traditional gown complete with white blouse, plaid apron and the appropriate jew- elry and accessories. Each region in Norway boasts its own unique patterns and styles of'cl(:)thing and crafts. Among the souvenirs Marlene brought back with her from Nor- way were traditional Norwegian fabrics and brocade, which she used to make her Norwegian out- fit. "I wore it for one of our lunches at the community hall and every- one was horrified. They said 'You can't wear that to wait tables. (You'll) get it dirty.' I said, 'It's cot- ton, it'll wash,' " she recalls. Her own costume is faithfully close to what her ancestors would have worn in the area they came from before emigrating to Amer- ica. Marlene also brought back an authentic Norwegian sweater, featuring colorthl, intricately knit- ted patterns and ornate silver but- tons. These days she also belongs to the Western RSsemalers, who meet at a Scandinavian museum in Bal- lard and invite proficient instruc- tors to lead workshops in different styles of painting. She also studies rSsemaling with an instructor at Sons of Norway in Bremerton. LAST FEBRUARY, she dis- played some of her r6semaling and hardanger work at the William G. Reed Public Library in Shelton. Marlene has also displayed and demonstrated her handiwork at the annual Apple Squeeze on Harstine Island. She also sells pieces at the Biggest, Brightest Wood Flame I I III II I I II I Breckwell's "Luxury"P2000 our op o t the hnc peflet slov( enhcmce.s /out hOltle wth t)r¢ill woo(] lllrrles, (]ncl modem sf yhu K /he [(lr}:le c er( tmJc: )'Jc/5' (],')r)€ showccses o h90 de?/,.!e [re [dh,(I purlnr(lm(! • 16 Heat Exchange Tubes • 80% Steady Sate Effi(iency ° 50,000 BTU The l=me For Seasont" Im/IEIPLACE 8HOPSw INC. N0) 779-30$E 19410 Viking Ave.NW. Pou|sbo (Across from Poulsbo RV) 3801377-6655 ,o9o w. st,wy. 16. s,,rto. (At Gorst o, W,¢,d,) 206) 842"9356 www.herit.gehreplaceshop.com Paae 16 - Shelton-Mason Countv Journal - Thursday, January 11, 2007 annual Harstine Island Holiday House Bazaar, though sometimes she becomes attached to her work and has trouble parting with it. Belonging to Vesterheim, a genealogical society in Iowa spe- cializing in tracing Norwegian ancestry, helped her research her roots and find out where her great-grandparents had lived in Norway. Since their retirement, she has also been putting down roots on Harstine Island by participating in a number of community organi- zations. Marlene served as secre- tary and treasurer of)l! Harstine Island Community Club for four years before switching to take part in the Harstine Island Women's Club. She has since served as the women's club secretary for four years, club vice president tbr one year and now she's in her second year as club president. Besides this organization, she also consid- ers her involvement in a local Take Off Pounds Sensibly - or TOPS - as another a social group. ORIGINALLY, THE couple bought the property they now live on in 1981 and used it just for camping trips for the first 15 years. "All of a sudden we said, 'What are we going home for? Let's just stay here,'" Marlene remembers. Right after retiring but before settling into their home on Har- stine, the couple took advantage of their free time to travel by visiting Europe, Alaska, Australia, New Zealand, the Cook Islands and Ha- waii. They also spent six months driving around the entire United States. Marlene and her sister plan to visit England in a couple of years. Previously, Leo and Marlene had worked together in a construc- tion business. He built houses and Marlene helped him by taking care of bookkeeping, designs and purchases. "I was a jack-of-all- trades," she says. In the case of persons who were interested in building custom homes she would take their clients shopping with her and help them select the fixtures, colors and home accessories of their choice. In the case of a home they built in the hopes of finding a buyer after it was complete, she picked out ev- erything herself. AT TItAT TIME they lived in the Renton and Seattle area, where their three children, five grand- children and one great-grandchild still reside. For a while, Marlene also enjoyed working with stained glass. While she doesn't practice the art much anymore, she did create the stained glass work in their bathroom window. Leo is a former U.S. Navy sea- man who finds that retirement has given him time to devote to his maritime hobbies. At first he vis- ited a number of maritime muse- ums and thought about model ship building. He quickly decided the complicated rigging was too much work for him, so he then choose to build remote-controlled tugboats after seeing them displayed at OysterFest. Now he and his fellow tugboat pals show off their hand- made toy sea craft at festivals in Shelton, Olympia and Tacoma. Leo has constructed 16 tug- boats, cranes, rafts, a barge, fish- ing vessels, a scale-model replica of the ship he sailed on while serv- ing in the U.S. Navy and a long ship of the kind the Vikings built. Not content with the building of boats, he and Marlene forces to construct a doll (Please turn to page 17.) by Blaine & Linda MARBLE FLOORS No flooring material makes a more elegant statement than marble. This natural stone is the product of tallization of limestone under hi, temperatures and enormous within the earth. It has an incredible rebound in over the past few years, not that ever went away, Marble has been symbol of affluence for centuries, day, homeowners are utilizing its claS" sic looks to increase the luxurious fed of bathrooms and the "wow factor" in foyers. While marble is rather relative to other stones, the sional application of a sealer out stains. Marble floors in should be sealed every 12-18 monthS, Marble used in bathrooms and kitch" ens should be cleaned and resealed, every 9-12 months. There are so many choices available today in flooring designs. Before making a final deci- sion, one that will remain with you for many years to come, be sure to discuss the options with someor with a reputation for knowledge, creativity, and quality resources. Here at SHELTON FLOOR COVER" ING, we hope you'll give us the portunity to do what we do - help you find the ideas and ucts that will transform your homo into the one you've been drearY" ing of for years. It easier than think and begins with a call 427-2822, ! 306 Olympic Hwy HINT: Tumbled marble vides a finish with an aged look. Still Available at the Mason County Historical Society Museum at Fifth and Railroad Michael Fredson's Short History of Michael Fredson's Short History of Mason County Written on the occasion of the county's 150th anniversary (With 24 photographs) $2 at the museum $3 by mall: Mason County Historical Society P.O. Box 1366 Shelton, WA 98584