News across Stevens County
October 2026 – Huckleberry Press
A Tootsie Roll History
By Cassie Patton As the end of October approaches, out come the popular Halloween candies, such as Tootsie Rolls that taste like chocolate, but actually have no trace of it at all. The famous Tootsie Roll as we know it today was introduced in 1896 by Jewish Austrian immigrant,…
Is It a Collection… or Hoarding?
The last 10 years or so have seen the growth of an industry, namely storage units. They pop up like toadstools after a rain. I got curious and a bit careless in my thinking, I suppose. I was blaming other people for the phenomenon Couldn’t they curb their impulse buying? Seemed…
Sharing Our Home with Wildlife
When we are privileged to live amidst wildlife, as so many of us are here in the Inland Northwest, we have a responsibility to disturb their habitat as little as possible. Natives are taught from childhood and newcomers are expected to learn that we should observe animals from a…
Tag, You’re It
When did everybody get so old? Obviously, I don’t mean me – I’m eternally young and plan to stay that way – but everybody else in my generation and above? My resident Viking recently reported being startled by seeing a grizzled old man in the mirror, rather than the much younger…
The Many Unexpected Gifts in Passing
Oct. 2 would have been my brother Denny’s 77th birthday. Last year at this time, my sisters and I were busily preparing a birthday party for him at his assisted living facility. It would be the last time several of his best friends and some of his nieces and nephews would see…
September 2026 – Huckleberry Press
Hoover Stew
By Cassie Patton We have made it to September which means the start of soup season, when the kids are headed back to school and life feels like it’s about to get 10 times more hectic. Those summer beach days were glorious compared to the screeches from the mini versions of…
A Good Honest Truck
Chances are you have a favorite vehicle in your life. Maybe you have memories of the radio croaking out a tune while you and your father sing along. I have such a memory, and as a bonus, we were heading out for a bit of fishing. But my favorite ride was not quite a truck.…
Mama Gives You Wings
One of my all-time favorite songs is “Landslide” by Fleetwood Mac. The landslide coming down in this song is a symbol for a sudden upheaval. It represents a time in your life when there’s a violent shift in the ground beneath your feet, for which you have no control. “If you see…
It’s About Time for Some Updates
Many people today have short attention spans, which explains why news reports on television rarely last more than 30 seconds. Give us a “Breaking News” banner accompanied by a dramatic sound effect, pop in some video with a voiceover to quickly tell us about it and move on to the…
Finding Calm and Joy, Even During Fire Season
I’m an optimist. So much so, that I’ve been known to annoy people with my relentless quest for silver linings. But despite my belief that happiness is largely a personal choice, it’s easy to get sucked into the continuum of despair when the whole world seems to be burning up…