Cruising the edge of the world

Lakeside Seattle

Lakeside Seattle, originally uploaded by jonesdaily.

Lake Washington.

Countdown to Ale House

Countdown to Ale House, originally uploaded by jonesdaily.

Repainting that lime nightmare.

I hear a train a-comin’

I tend to love trains and reflection photos. So — bam.

And here’s an old story on new railroad development at the Port.

Holy ship, that’s big

So another massive auto ship hit the Harbor a couple weeks ago to carry out the first Chrysler vehicles to ship out of the area. They decided to have a ribbon-cutting ceremony, which gave everyone a chance to peek inside the Positive Passion. Here’s the story:

After loading 221 new Chrysler vehicles aboard the massive cargo ship, only a thin strip of red ribbon stood between the car company’s first export from Grays Harbor and the long voyage to Asia.

More than 60 people crowded into Port of Grays Harbor Marine Terminal 4 on Thursday afternoon to cut the ribbon and send the Positive Passion on its way.

John Griffin, manager for Chrysler Group International’s port operations, stepped forward with the giant scissors.

“The support has been just outstanding,” he said. “There’s so much that this community is ready to do.”

The shipment launches a recent agreement between the Port of Grays Harbor, Chrysler and Pasha Terminals & Stevedoring to export as many as 25,000 vehicles through town on the way to Asia and Australia.

The ship is pretty impressive with multiple floors that can be shifted up and down to accommodate larger equipment. So here’s a few more photos including a future Pasha Terminals executive running in circles inside the ship:

Deadline novella on WeyCo mill anniversary

JACOB JONES | THE DAILY WORLD
Former Weyerhaeuser mill worker Robbie Davis, right, points out his former supervisor Jerry Papac, who now cooks alongside him in the culinary re-training program at South Puget Sound Community College in Olympia.

So yesterday marked the one-year anniversary of the Weyerhaeuser mill and Pacific Veneer plant closures in Aberdeen. I wanted to follow up with some of the workers I met last January and found they were all doing a lot of different things, but many had returned to school.

After a preliminary meeting Saturday morning, I visited their classes Tuesday to see how they were spending the anniversary. I also stopped by the Mary’s River mill to see another displaced worker. And then after work I spent a couple hours transcribing notes before starting to actually write at about 9 p.m. While expecting about a 50-inch story, it ended up 72 inches. My editors were not thrilled, but it managed to fit.

So thanks to everybody for their time and enjoy the story.

Dirty dishes crashed in the metal racks. Butcher knives knocked against cutting boards. Students in slumping white chef hats rushed from stovetop to sauce pan in the cafeteria kitchen of the South Puget Sound Community College in Olympia.
East County resident Robbie Davis, gray sideburns lining his round face, worked alongside the recent high school graduates Tuesday morning as he pulled a fresh raspberry cobbler from an industrial-sized oven.
“These are done,” the 57-year-old said, tilting the pan of golden brown dessert.
In the white uniform of a first-year culinary arts student, Davis has found a new passion 55 miles and 365 days away from his final shift at the Weyerhaeuser Co. sawmill in Aberdeen, which shut down, along with the nearby Pacific Veneer plant, a year ago yesterday.
After nearly 38 years with the company, Davis was one of 220 employees laid off. Scores of veteran workers, many with more than 30 years at Weyerhaeuser, faced starting over in the middle of a crushing recession.
“You didn’t think it was going to last forever,” he said a year ago, “(but still) you’re caught a little short.”
Some workers focused on survival. Some embraced the chance to start over. But a lot can change in a year.

Ale House on the way

Bill Gibbons, owner of the Galway Bay Irish pub, is finishing up a new project — re-opening the Stiffy’s pub in Hoquiam and renaming it the 8th St. Ale House.

He said he hopes to introduce live music to the new pub as well, so we should make it in sometime soon. And we won’t have to play Irish music.

Gibbons said he wants a more acoustic, almost coffeehouse feel to the music as long as people still have a good time. I’m looking forward to seeing it.

The place has already changed a lot since I took these photos inside a couple weeks ago. Look for the doors to open in the next couple weeks.

Former Stiffy’s owner Keith Walker is helping with the renovations.

On behalf

On behalf, originally uploaded by jonesdaily.

“This flag donated on behalf of Landen Jones Sergeant U.S. Army, deployed to Afghanistan, July 13, 2009.”

I was surprised to find this hanging in The Viking in Spokane.

UPDATE: So here’s the rest of the story.

End of the rainbow

Happy 2010. Here’s a couple shots I took when I should have been driving, but sometimes you do what you have to for a photo.

Surprising we had a dry year in Grays Harbor with only 50 inches of rain. Here’s to next year.

Also, this photo through my rainy windshield clearly shows the end of the rainbow. It was right there:

Not a big tree — the biggest

Just to let people know I’m still alive. Here’s my Dad with a big tree, no, the biggest tree.

Thanks Mom and Dad for visiting this past weekend. Maybe more photos later.