Stefanie Pettit

Looking forward to a trip is so wonderful for the brain and for personal outlook that it’s almost better than the event itself. Well, maybe not that good but darn close. I find myself there now and notice I have a little more spring in my step, a more cheerful outlook and zippy little melodies running through my head. Not that I was morose before, but I do feel lighter and, well, happier.

Mica Creek Cemetery sits atop a small rise in the rolling fields of southeast Spokane County. Some 150 souls are buried there, most being early settlers of Norwegian heritage, the most famous of whom is no doubt Helga Estby, a woman whose unlikely story would probably have faded into time had not a descendant written an essay about her for a contest. And interestingly enough, it was a contest more than a century ago that prompted Helga Estby to do something unheard of for a woman of her day.

Set back off the street behind large gates along the busy North Market Street corridor is a small house built in 1934 by a most unusual woman, Rose Hurst. But as interesting as the house is, the garden Hurst created adjacent to it is the real show-stopper.

It’s time for the summer update on Miss Chicken and her pals at Joan Nolan’s home for wayward and unwanted chickens. The big news this year is that our gal is a mama again. As has been reported in previous years, Miss Chicken – the formerly feral chicken whose life and activities I have followed for several years – again went broody in the spring. This is not uncommon in chickens, but what is somewhat unusual is that most chickens will move on eventually if you wait them out. But Miss C has an iron will and can out-wait even the most determined human.

As chalices go, this one is rather plain. It has none of the polish and ornamentation of some of the others in the small group of chalices owned by the Oregon Province of the Society of Jesus and held in Special Collections at Gonzaga University’s Foley Library. But what makes this particular one stand out is that it was once used by the Rev. Pierre-Jean DeSmet, the Jesuit priest who served a 40-year mission among Native American tribes in the 1800s. He established mission buildings as he went, serving as a peacemaker and earning the unofficial title of Apostle of the Rockies.

The Clayton eagle is getting a facelift. More than a facelift, actually: It is being saved from destruction thanks to the efforts of the Clayton-Deer Park Historical Society.

On television in mid-June, I saw an interview with British actress Helen Mirren, who has done rather well lately portraying queens on stage and in film. She commented that she always plants things wherever she is but often doesn’t get to see them bloom because of her travel schedule. What an optimistic thing that is. And when I did a little research, I came across a statement she had made earlier: “Gardening is learning. That’s the fun of them. You’re always learning.”

The historic Phelps House in Browne’s Addition has any number of remarkable elements that speak to its elegance and architectural stature. Perhaps its most important contributions to the culture of the area, however, have to do with who lived there and the fact that it’s an example for owners of classic older homes to restore them to their original single-family residence status. More than 95 percent of the home’s interior retains its original floor plan, materials, design and workmanship, said Linda Yeomans, the historic preservation consultant who prepared the documentation for the home’s listing on the Spokane Register of Historic Places in 2009 (it was listed on the National Register in 1976).

For a woman who was such an innovator, pioneer and who rubbed shoulders with some of America’s most influential people, Rebecca Jane “Reba” Hurn is buried below a modest and unassuming grave marker. The flat, plain stone only gives her nickname and years of birth and death – Reba J. Hurn, 1881-1967. It is situated at Greenwood Memorial Terrace next to the vertical and more prominent headstone of her parents, David W. and G. Harriet Hurn, which provides full names and exact dates of birth and death. Her father was a prominent attorney and judge, which may be why theirs is the more noticeable marker. And perhaps Hurn herself was more modest in her wishes for her own gravestone.

There is a path through education that the Ward family has taken – and the youngest child in the family, Reid Ward, 17, is perfectly happy to follow it. Mother Heather Ward is a teacher at the Enrichment Cooperative, or TEC at Bryant, an alternative enrichment parent cooperative. Her daughters Amanda and Ashley attended and now son Reid will be graduating from there this spring.

Ferris High School’s Matthew Taylor is launching out, growing as an artist and entrepreneur and finding great happiness – all coming after the saddest time in his life. His father, Phillip, died in December after a five-year battle with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, during which time father and son grew even closer. And that is quite something because they had the best relationship to begin with.

Growing up in Dessie, Ethiopia, Kianna Hood lost her government worker father in what was believed to be a political killing when she was 5; her mother, a police officer and counselor, died when she was 9. “My mother didn’t want us to stay in Ethiopia because of family issues and because we would not get the education she wanted for us,” Hood said, so she and her two sisters went to an orphanage. It was supposed to be a short-term stay, as children in the Spanish-run facility were usually adopted within a year by families in Spain. But the three girls were older and wanted to stay together, so no family was forthcoming for them.

When you see Jessica Monroe, it’s not uncommon to see a camera in her hands. The 18-year-old senior at Rathdrum’s Lakeland High School loves art in general, but photography in particular, and has achieved success already in what she hopes will be her life’s work. She has entered Lakeland’s art competition for the past several years and has consistently done well in several of the categories. In her sophomore year, her photo of wildflowers in a water bottle was judged best in show.

Brook Chick is a young woman who enjoys challenges and making the most of opportunities in life. She also learned at a young age that not everything goes as planned and that things can change quickly. She was 9 when her mother, Ruth, died and has been raised ever since by her father, Mark, a chef, who never remarried.

What Bogdan “Theo” Mynka found upon arriving in America two years ago was a world of opportunities he never imagined possible. World Relief brought him, his father, stepmother and two half-brothers to Spokane from Ukraine, where his father had been persecuted for religious reasons. He had only been living with his father for a few years, having spent most of his childhood traveling with his mother and older brother doing missionary work. His mother is currently a missionary in the Philippines, and his brother a missionary in Bosnia.

A quiet and soft-spoken young woman, Angel Silva has very definite ideas about what she wants to do with her life and how she wants to help people. She is very clear on this, even while recognizing the challenges she has overcome and those that she takes forward with her. Her father, Shannon, is a construction worker who is disabled with a back injury and is facing a third surgery; her mother, Aubree, is a stay-at-home mom. And at age 18, Silva has eight younger siblings.

Savana Sitton is one of those students who loves school. Now about to graduate from Deer Park High School with a 3.96 grade-point average, she is described by senior class counselor Catherine Oviatt as a person with “a passion for learning like I have never seen before.”

Maggie Brown-McSwain is about to achieve an important goal – high school graduation. “My family has not gone through high school, and I want to break the cycle,” said the 17-year-old senior at Coeur d’Alene’s Venture High School. “I’m getting my diploma and getting it on time, and I’m going on to college and want to do well in life.”

Naomi Spezza, 18, is a young woman of deep religious faith who all through life has listened for God’s direction. She is about to graduate from Deer Park’s Home Link program, which provides enrichment and regular classes for home-schooled students. She had attended Spokane Christian Academy and Colbert Elementary School, but when she was in fifth grade her mother, Kelly Lachnit, felt that home schooling would be better for her and her brother August, who is now 20.

Why aren’t we cooking at home? Oh sure, some of us still are, but for many of us who think we are, that means throwing a frozen something into the microwave and plopping it on the counter and consuming it while we engage in some task on the day’s to-do list.

The little sitting wall and pocket park on the southeast corner of 14th Avenue and Lincoln Street on Spokane’s South Hill was supposed to look different than it does – but that’s what happens when history intervenes. The mini-park was dedicated April 25, replacing an asphalt traffic triangle. Now, according to the hopes of the Cliff Cannon Neighborhood Council, it serves as the discernible center of the neighborhood, which is loosely bounded on the north and south by the freeway and 17th Avenue, and east to west by Cowley Street and the bluff.

There are such good kids out there. On the first Thursday of June each year The Spokesman-Review runs a special graduation issue featuring area high schools’ graduating seniors, listing their names and including a feature story about one student from each school.