I’ve been traveling a lot recently, and a few months ago we had the chance to spend the evening in the town of Dayton. It’s a delightful community in the Palouse, about 50 miles as the crow flies from Washington’s far southeast corner border with Oregon and Idaho.
I had passed through Dayton before and admired its tree-lined streets and charming downtown. I vowed to return.
When we spent the night there, it reminded me of so many of our small towns in Lewis County. While it’s located on Highway 12, it doesn’t have the major impact of a freeway. It was a bit like stepping back in time.
In fact, in addition to its vibrant Native American heritage — it was home to the Palus people, and was part of the trail used by the Nez Perce to travel to fish at Celilo Falls — its history also stretches back to the very beginning of Euro-American exploration of the area. The Lewis and Clark expedition spent the night there in May 1806 along the banks of the beautiful Touchet River (pronounced too-shee) on their way back home after visiting the Pacific Ocean.
Dayton is the county seat of Columbia County, and is home to the oldest county courthouse in the state, gorgeously restored in recent years.
I was blessed with the chance to experience its small-town friendliness late in the evening of our hotel stay there.
Our family was in need of a few consumer products. I drove through town to their sole grocery store, the Dayton Mercantile. Founded in 1961, it reminded me of the local Fuller’s grocery stores that I grew up with in Centralia and Chehalis.
I found my items a few minutes before closing but as I approached the checkstand, I realized that I had left my wallet in the hotel. I usually keep a $20 in my cellphone case, so I pulled that out.
“I don’t suppose a 20 will cover this,” I said. Indeed, I was a few dollars short. I prepared to put one of the items back, but the man at the check stand said, “don’t worry about it, I’ve got it.”
I was floored. Sure, it was only a few dollars, but that was probably their margin on that purchase. A store exists to sell things, not to give them away at a discount to some fleet-footed fellow on his way through town.
I thanked the man for his kindness and marveled at a small-town attitude still thriving in a beautiful corner of Washington.
(The next morning, I stopped by the store to drop off a thank-you note and a $5 bill. After all, I’m from a small town, too.)
Winning the Weekend
A few weeks ago, I offered a playful Weekend Challenge — offering points for getting outside and enjoying the good life in our hometowns. I received a nice response from Sheryl Isaacson, who liked the idea of the contest and sent me her scores:
• Sabbath: 15 points
• Started a book: 1 point
• Called a friend to set a date to get together in person: 5 points
• Sang a song: 5 points
• Singing with a friend: 10 points (she and her husband went to the Neil Diamond tribute at Lucky Eagle for their anniversary — happy happy anniversary to them!)
• Harvested apples: 50 points (and she made applesauce, which she noted should be included for at least another 50 points.)
“Thanks for the fun challenge,” she said.
And thank you to Sheryl and all who took part. I’m declaring her the official winner. And I hope all of us can get outside over the next few days to take a few moments to luxuriate in a fine autumn day in paradise, whether rain or sun. We’ll honestly probably get both.
Whatever we can do to slow down, unplug and get connected with nature and one another, we’ll be winners of the weekend.
Dad Joke of the Week
Apologies to my family, whose messages in our text threads over the past few days have earned nothing but dad jokes from me in response this week.
One example was after a message mentioned a fence. My reply:
“Everybody shouting ‘D-fense, D-fense’ at the football game, but when I build a defensive fence across the 5 yard line to protect the end zone, suddenly I'm the bad guy?”
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Brian Mittge is a community enthusiast who has written for The Chronicle since 2000 as a reporter, editor and columnist. He can be reached at brianmittge@hotmail.com.
