Mimi Torchia Boothby

Every one of my husband’s siblings has one of these little black and white photos. It’s blurry and washed out, but Grandpa Tom Boothby has a salmon in his hand. Whenever my husband sees this photo, he explains how when he was a little kid, Indians used to fish at Celilo falls, but then they put in a dam which flooded the falls and ended the fishing. Apparently from before time began, the Indians fished this way; with plank scaffolds perching them above the falls. But the photo just didn’t show much, so, impressed by his zeal, I always listened to the story but failed to connect. I decided that was not enough. It would be so much better to place grandpa in front of a waterfall that could be seen. And here he is. In the painting,it was rather surprising to see just how much my husband resembles his grandfather; and actually, my husband is about the same age now as his grandfather is depicted in this painting.

Every summer our local bike show sponsors a rather arduous ride, it’s called Mazama because that’s where it starts. However, the cyclists must climb two mountain passes, where it is often snowing despite the hot summer weather they left behind in Mazama. I was the operator of a support vehicle for the Mazama ride when I met Marilyn. Marilyn is a lovely lady in her 60’s who is one tough bike rider. The wind, the rain, the hills, the snow, none of this slowed Marilyn down. Here’s my painting of her at the summit of Rainy Pass.

This painting has been sold to another Rainy Pass veteran.