Days and Weeks...45º

Days fly by as I try to savor the weeks also flying by...Close to the middle of June and summer is almost here...The city of Joseph and the rest of Wallowa County makes the most of our short summers by scheduling an event every weekend, starting with Memorial Day, to draw in the tourists...We also have farmers market on weekends and during the week with free concerts thrown in...Main events are Car shows, Quilt shows, Festival of the Arts (youth and adult), Rodeos (ranch, broncs and bulls) and Chief Joseph Days Rodeo, Indian feasts and dancing, 4th of July fireworks, Blues in the park, Mule Days and recently revived is Alpine Fest in late September to close out the season.

When we moved here 40 years ago Joseph's claim to fame was "Chief Joseph Days"...It lasted an entire week with parades, carnival, hand dipped corn dogs and 4 PRCA Rodeos...The town, the county and the community planned this event for a year as it was the "Main Event"...I wouldn't say Joseph was a booming town even then but it had the timber industry that gave people family wage jobs and support for schools...Farms and ranches had to deal with the weather but not with wolves imported from Canada who are protected and farm animals are a succulent part of their diet...Yes we have events going all the time but our school population has decreased to half of what it was in the 70's...Family wage jobs are few and far between.

Not sure where I'm going with this except to say, I loved Joseph 40 years ago and I still love this place but sometimes I long for the slower pace, I miss the sound of the mill whistle that sounded when the shifts changed (one at 6am), I miss the Gold Room and the Cowboy Bar, The Corner Grocery, The Variety Store and a Main Street that wasn't always lined with cars and tourists except for that one week in July when Joseph was the place to be!..Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Joseph Sunset 6/12/13 (start to finish)