Tillicum House – Home of KMUN and Coast Community Radio
Today I went to Astoria’s Tillicum House at the invitation of Dayle Olson, one of the co-producers of a KMUN program called “River Writers,” a Writer’s Guild 30-minute show hosted on alternate weeks by Dayle and by Marianne Monson. It airs monthly on second Mondays at 9 AM. and Dayle had kindly asked if I would agree to be taped for an August airing.
I had no idea what to expect. I’ve been on a number of Carol Newman’s “Arts Live and Local” shows which are usually a fifteen minute slot which just cover the nitty gritty of an upcoming book publication or a book launch at a local bookselling venue. But this was to be a half hour taping session which sounded a bit more ominous somehow.
Dayle Olson, My Hostess and Interviewer Today
As it turned out, the time went by almost before I could collect my wits. In fact, I’m not sure I managed to gather them in any sort of order that might make sense to listeners. I guess we’ll find out when it airs next month. Dayle is the consummate interviewer. Not only does she ask penetrating questions, but she sits across the way, head-phoned, microphoned, and totally professional appearing, with eyes that dance with merriment and appreciation. She made the whole experience such fun.
Dear Medora
We talked about my first (and favorite!) book, Dear Medora, and about my ghost books and, of course, about Mrs. Crouch, the resident ghost in my house. I told about my ongoing series, “Saints or Sinners? Characters of Pacific County” now running weekly in the Chinook Observer and I even a recently published one, “Klondike Kate” for the ‘listening audience.” Plus, Dayle kindly gave me time to put in a plug for the History Forum which will begin in September at the Oysterville Schoolhouse — for all those interested in local history and who might have stories of their own to tell!
In retrospect, of course, I have no idea whether I stuck with whatever point I wanted to make or even satisfactorily answered Dayle’s questions. I found myself just rattling on — a garrulous old woman enjoying herself immensely. Thanks, Dayle, for a fun half hour! It went by all too fast!
My publicist (PUBLICIST??? I have a publicist???) contacted me last week and said that I have a July 6th book-signing date scheduled at Pacific County Historical Society. Wow! Since most book marketing opportunities in the past have usually been dates I’ve set up myself I was pretty impressed. But also a little disbelieving. Or maybe I’m just a control freak.
But… in the course of our conversation, she said that the event has been mentioned on the front page of the PCHS Newsletter. (It has?) Later, I went online to the PCHS’s recently updated website http://pacificcohistory.org/ and saw that they have a new Sou’wester out: “A Gym is Born: The story of the “New” South Bend High School Gymnasium (1953)” by Steve Rogers. (Really?) I didn’t know anything about either publication being available.
It’s not that I wasn’t forewarned. When Cate Gable came over and spent an hour or so with me, asking questions and snapping pictures, I knew that she was planning to mention me and my new book in her column. But… wow!
Speaking of which, leave it to Cate to compare the story with Elvis Presley’s “Jailhouse Rock!” Pacific County’s Sheriff Tom Roney did indeed seem to be sympathetic to “the little Chinese” although, unlike Presley’s warden, Roney didn’t throw a party in the cell block. There was no music being played in the county jail at South Bend jail at 9:00 a.m. on January 31, 1902.