You will find short stories on this site. Most are autobiographical. Some are fiction.

A SMALL TOWN GIRL

Astoria Oregon is a small town of 10,000 people, located at the northwestern corner of Oregon, where the mighty Columbia River challenges the Pacific Ocean. Izi’s life began much further north and in a remote valley near McCarthy, Alaska where two college students were participating in a summer outdoor adventure class. They shared a love affair in an abandoned miner’s cabin next to the Nizina River. As the summer drew to a close, the young woman discovered she was pregnant. After their summer adventure, both parents moved to Astoria Oregon.

When Their baby was born, they named her Nizina after the river where her life began. Though they did not continue their relationship as lovers, both were dedicated to the child they had conceived. Izi’s Mother became a teacher in Clatsop Community College. Her dad moved away Although Izi’s mom and dad lived separately and both were committed to “Izi’s” welfare. She spent her childhood shuffling between two distinctly different households and life styles. Izi’s mom is a member of the Pacific Unitarian Fellowship (PUUF) and Izi was brought up within that spiritual tradition. It was through my affiliation with the Unitarians that I have know Izi and her mom from her infancy. Every summer Izi and her mom would return to McCarthy. Consequently Izi is the child of two rural communities as well as two distinct homes. I had not met Izi’s father until, during the covid years, I was rebuilding a derelict house in Astoria. I needed a carpenter to help me build the entry stair case. George was recommended. George built the structure and stairs while I completed the balustrade. Over the time we worked together he proudly spoke of his daughter and her academic successes. He did so without mentioning her name. Then one day he was telling me how, because of their financial limitations, Izi would be going to the Community College for her first two years. It was only then that I made the connection, George was Izi’s father.

The covid pandemic of 2020 through 2022, interrupted Izi’s education through her 6th, and 7th grades. When she lived in Spokane, Washington where her mother had taken a teaching job. When asked what she thought of her education during the covid years, when there was no classroom teaching, she enthusiastically responded, ‘It was great. Those, who took advantage of on line education during Covid, excelled in comparison to most students who slacked off.” I surmised that by continuing to study through covid, those students who did well during covid were the ones with a strong independent work ethic. They not only learned more, they also established a reliance on that independent work ethic, strengthening it.

Izi is a student who could have achieved acceptance at almost any university, but because her parent’s income was not adequate to provide her a four year university education. She was destined to take her first two years in the local Community College, (CCC) an institution which was struggling financially and ill-equipped to challenge a student of Izi’s caliber. Besides, Izi had already taken courses at CCC to supplement her interests beyond what was offered in her high school.

Here is where living in this small town comes in. As a teenager Izi ran the “religious Education” program for PUUF. Her skill in this job, showed her to be a thoughtful and responsible person. Those who knew her, admired Izi as a model of what a teenage girl should be. When they learned of her being limited to the offerings of the local community college they rallied and offered to provide financial support, to supplement the scholarships she would surely receive, so that she could attend a four year university. When Izi was telling me about the scholarships awarded by the citizens of Astoria, she mentioned that there was “one scholarship, the largest one, is for eight thousand dollars.” However the scholarships were not a certainty. She wouldn’t know the value of her scholarship, or even if she would receive one, until the night of the Awards Ceremony. However there was reason for optimism because of her families financial situation, her school activities and excellent grades.

Izi applied to a eight universities, and was accepted to all but two, Smith and Swarthmore both of which put her on their wait list. She chose The University of Oregon because of their generous offers of reduced tuition and Honors College academic status. The community stepped up in a second way to provide her a heart warming send off. Her Unitarian fellowship recognized Izi with a cake and a speech. They also wished to claim some credit for her turning out to be a model young citizen. In addition to the three school celebrations associated with high school graduation, adult friends provided dinners and parties to celebrate Izi’s graduation.

Next to the graduation ceremony at the high school’s athletic field, the Awards Celebration is the most momentous occasion of the school year for graduates wanting to go on to higher education. This ceremony was the event at which each student who had applied for a scholarship, would learn if they would receive one. These scholarships were provided by individuals and businesses in Astoria.

The Awards Day was more than a one evening event. It was a full day of activities involving the graduating seniors. Awards Day started when all of the graduates, dressed in their purple gowns and square cornered caps, assembling at the town’s one grade school. There they formed a line and walked down the school corridors which were lined with elementary school children, many of whom knew or were related to members of the graduating class. Following this the graduates boarded a school bus which took them to the middle school for a similar promenade. After which they went to their high school where the corridors were lined with their underclass mates. This ritual is a symbolic retracing of their educational experiences, a celebration of their achievement, and it serves as motivation for the younger students to stay with their educational program and graduate from high school.

Following the school processions, the graduates were bused to a location near the west end of Astoria’s main street, (and a state highway) from which they started their walk, accompanied by a fire truck with lights flashing, down the main street which was lined with friends and family. It is a tribute and celebration of their graduation from the Astoria School System. For many this marked the start of a new life beyond their childhood town. The graduates ended this walk at the Liberty Theater, the showcase venue of Astoria, where they would rehearse for of the Awards Night Celebration that evening.

AWARDS NIGHT CELEBRATION

We arrived at the Liberty a little before 7:00. The place was packed. We were fortunate to find what seemed to be the last two empty seats. We sat down in time to hear the high school orchestra playing their final piece before leaving the stage. The ceremony began with a speech from the high school principal, followed by a procession of graduates as each was called to walk across the stage and receive their scholarship. The first two scholarships were for $500 dollars, These were followed by awards of $1,000 for each for the seven valedictorians. Izi was one of these. Surely, I thought, this will not be the only scholarship she will get. The first hour passed with what seemed like an endless procession of individual students crossing the stage to the applause of the audience as they each received a certificate of their scholarship. I noticed that the scholarships were increasing in value as time passed. The second hour continued like the first. As it did, the awards continued to increased in value reaching $6,000. We sat in expectation that Izi would be called again. Each time the master of ceremonies started to call another student, I anxiously listen for Izi’s name to be called. And with each, disappointment. By 9:00 PM the ceremony was winding down. The master of ceremonies had stopped calling names. The school orchestra was reassembling on stage. It seemed the last award had been given and Izi had only received $1,000.

Then the master of ceremonies picked up the mike and spoke saying “And the last one,” she paused before saying “Will Nizina Cook come up on stage.” The audience roared with applause and cheers as Izi climbed the stairs to the stage. Before crossing the stage, she turned toward the audience. With a broad smile, Izi raised her arms, like a football cheer leader encouraging the applause, expressing her relief at not having been passed over and her joy at the realization that she was about to receiving the grand prize of the evening, the $8,000 scholarship.

While talking with Izi after the ceremony, she said “I thought they had forgotten about me.”