Page 20 RAIN February/March 1982 trators and the like. They tend to cluster around Omak-Okanogan and are coming to occupy positions of respect and influence in the community. They introduce new ideas into the traditionally conservative political climate, frequently attend public hearings and spearhead local election campaigns. Politics is a favorite topic of conversation at their gatherings. The fourth style is the new pioneers, young and middle-age couples who have left urban professional and business backgrounds to make a serious go at farming. They live throughout the county and raise anything from sheep to apples to hydroponic tomatoes. Some experiment with new solar greenhouses or old farm technologies like draft horse teams. Generally, they are also politically progressive. Among these four groups of new settlers there are many links of friendship and common effort. They barter labor, crafts and food with each other, share a common appreciation for the values of rural simplicity and self-sufficiency, and present a united front in county politics. Nobody should mistake Okanogan County for a cultural utopia. Long, cold winters, perpetually tough economics and isolation cull out those less dedicated to country living. It is not a place for people who require such amenities as first-run movie theaters and a variety of interesting restaurants (though there are a few). Most live music is country and western, a reflection of the strong cowboy theme that runs through the local mainstream. The nearest real cities, Seattle and Spokane, are hours away on two-lane highways that twist down river gorges and up mountain passes. (Of course, that is regarded by many as an advantage.) Winter travel takes courage. To live in the Okanogan, you have to like isolation or at least be prepared to deal with it. The new settlers do that by drawing close to each other. Friends often gather at each others' tables to share meals fresh from their gardens and farms. Friendships grow well in this soil. It seems to attract people committed to putting values into practice. Two practical commitments seem to identify those who stay—generally, they are buiding up homesteads and are involved in some form of com- munty life. III. Getting into politics The county establishment has not exactly greeted the newcomers with open arms. With their urban backgrounds, the new people have a different style and generally more skeptical attitudes toward growth and development. This has led to a nurhber of political battles with the local powers. In these fights the newcomers have found allies among the county's substantial population of seniors, many of whom are in the agrarian populist tradition. Earlier decades saw them active in movements responsible for putting most Washington electrical utilities under public ownership. Over the past six years, new settlers and seniors have joined to fight a ski resort proposed for Forest Service land in the northern Methow Valley. Fearing the development would irretrievably alter the valley's rural atmosphere, the coalition was successful in a 1976 election campaign against a pro-resort county commissioner. That was a defeat for the business establishment, which supports the development. The controversy simmers on as the Forest Service continues to study the plan. In 1980 elections, the resort would again be an issue. But it would be eclipsed by a more general battle over the county's energy and economic future. The energy battle focused on a contest for a seat on the public utility district (PUD) board. The incumbent was Ray Colbert, an orchardist who supported a Washington state public utility program to build five nuclear reactors. The challenger was Ken Neal, a new pioneer rancher who favored pulling out of as many of the reactor projects as legally possible and using the money for local renewable-resource energy production and conservation. He argued that local people should have control of their own energy supply. That This is the essence of the Okanogan experience, a sense of continuity in a specific place. was a direct challenge to the pro-nuclear Okanogan establishment, one of whose number was Nick Cain, another PUD board member and statewide board president of the nuclear construction effort. The debate over the county's economic future came in the form of a county commissioner race between Dick Wilkie, a car salesman, and Arlie Clinkenbeard, a sheep rancher with local roots. Wilkie, a supporter of the ski resort, called also for county efforts to attract high technology industries such as electronics. Clinkenbeard said employment growth should be in the traditional agricultural and timber economy. The new settlers mobilized behind Neal and Clinkenbeard. They raised money lor Neal through a benefit dance and an auction of objects donated or made by supporters. That money paid for printing of a brochure and buying radio and newspaper advertising. Volunteers canvassed town dwellers for both Neal and Clinkenbeard. Material was mailed to rural people. Especially important was a drive to register new voters. That was strongest among alternative culture members who had previously shunned involvment. Many were coming to see they could no longer isolate themselves from local politics. They were realizing their vote was vital. At first, the establishment did not take Neal too seriously. And Clinkenbeard, a young man inexperienced in politics, was not a stellar speaker during the early campaign. But he learned fast and picked up support as he made his economic stand more clear. Neal was also gaining ground among farmers, seniors and mill workers growing nervous about power rate jumps to pay for the ever more expensive nukes. Colbert partisans realized what was happening late in the campaign. They parried with a series of full- page newspaper ads to blunt Neal's increasing strength. The final result was an overwhelming victory for Clinkenbeard and a heartbreakingly narrow defeat for Neal. Perhaps one reason for this is that Neal is a newcomer while Clinkenbeard's family has deep roots in the county. In a traditional area, that makes a difference. The story has a sequel. In 1981, angered by ever increasing electricity bills, the people of Washington state and Okanogan County overwhelmingly passed a ballot measure to schedule a future vote on the nuclear projects. The initiative passed even in Cain's home precinct. And at this writing, two of the five nukes have been cancelled due to their cost. Progressive forces in Okanogan County are looking forward to fall, when Cain's PUD seat is up for election. What are the secrets of the new settlers' success in gaining political influence? Operating on a local level is one. In a rural county, individuals and small groups can make a difference. But that would mean nothing if people were not willing to be involved. In Okanogan County, a network of dedicated people has developed, people ' who devote their free time to the hard and often boring work of influencing local government. Persistence is the key. Losing once means trying again. These people^re in it for the long haul. That is the essence of the Okanogan experience, a sense of continuity in a specific place. People are planting new roots in this land, roots of community, of friendship, of shared experience. They are growing in care for each other and this mountain soil they share. They have identified their individual and collective futures with the future of this place, these wanderers away from nomadic, urban America. This has become more than just another resting place for them. It is their country, their land, their life. It is the place that is home. □□
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