From this Chair by Cloann McNall

From this Chair

By Cloann McNall

This weekend we received our first rain in weeks and the air is finally clear of smoke. Once again the Clearwater valley is beautiful with the trees and foliage sporting magnificent fall colors and the air is moist and sweet smelling.

Catch and Keep steelhead season opened Monday, Oct. 15 on the Clearwater River. The Phantom was driving Hwy 12 along the river around 8 Monday morning and counted between Orofino and the Clearwater Casino 96 fishermen and 40 boats. Some boats had four or five fishermen aboard and others were standing in the river to fish.

I remember years ago, we at the paper and Orofino Chamber, thought it was a good idea to promote Orofino as the Steelhead Capitol of the World. We had a small logo designed of a steelhead jumping out of the water and run it on the masthead alongside the name of the paper Clearwater Tribune.

I and others thought we were doing a great job in promoting tourism in Orofino.

This was during the days the paper was being printed at the Daily News in Moscow.

One day while I was waiting in the pressroom for the paper to be off the press the Daily News publisher Jay Shelledy, came to me and said he thought our fish logo was tacky and that we needed to get rid of it.

If I remember correctly he had just returned from the east coast where he had helped choose the Pulitzer Prize winner for journalism.

At any rate the logo disappeared and I hadn’t thought of it for years until just last weekend. Now I wonder was he correct or were we? (What do you think? Tell us by voting in the poll on our homepage!)

Shelledy was eventually promoted to the daily paper in Salt Lake and last I heard he had been injured when he stepped from a curb and was struck by a car in New Orleans, LA. He survived.

Marcie and I are packing our bags to go to Boise to attend a state newspaper convention where we hope to learn more ‘tricks of the trade’ and hear talk as to what’s going on with our fellow publishers.

Looking back on my 40 years of business at the Clearwater Tribune I can’t believe I was ‘gutsy’ enough to drive alone the round trip from Orofino to Moscow for 15 years. I had some frightening moments on icy, foggy Hwy 95 and Lewiston Hill.

But as the saying goes “All is well that ends well.”

QUOTE: Remember the steam kettle! Though up to its neck in hot water, it continues to sing.