Local News
By Angela Downs At 71 years old, Darby Huffman of Laughin’Gnome Pottery is retiring after 21 years of throwing, decorating, and inventing mugs and plates. Since 2004, with the start of Daily Bird Pottery, Huffman has been an artist and small business owner in the community, working to make
Editorial
By Angela Downs “My name is Jen Hauser. I am a human on Earth.” Hauser and I met in a grief meeting they held over Zoom. I lived in Maine; they lived in New Mexico. Four years later, we are sitting together in the parlor at Kalma, where Hauser hosts
Local News
News by Angela Downs. Prison may seem to solve some conflicts, but it falls short as a solution for many civil issues. Restorative Justice offers solutions that, contrary to fears, do not mean being “soft on crime.” Restorative Justice means the creation of pathways of healing through referencing the diversity
Editorial
By Angela Downs Judith-Kate Friedman is the founder of Songwriting Works, steward of Myth Legacy Project, coach of Aliveness Through Arts, and an award-winning performing artist. We met two years ago when I came to her home at Mossy Rock to offer my support as a home caretaker.
Local News
by Angela Downs How do we fortify a community? This is so often the question on the minds of counselors, shop owners, parents, medicine workers, artists, farmers, and many others. One major sector of society that needs consideration, and at this time receives far less fortification than deserved, are the
Local News
Photo by Angela Downs [https://www.jeffcobeacon.com/caption] By Angela Downs There’s construction on Lawrence Street. The city of Port Townsend has designed a beautiful, easy-to-use new sidewalk with public safety in mind for rolling strollers, playing, hauling inventory, moving with a disability, the elderly, and
Angela Downs
By Angela Downs Even before Oregon, Washington, and Idaho were states, there were Grange Halls. “Its primary function back then was to help farmers help themselves and to provide education to farmers from trusted sources.” Says current Quimper Grange President, Doug Groenig. At one time, there were over 400 granges
Editorial
By Angela Downs I’m talking with Greta Montagne of Gentle Strength Botanicals in Arcata, CA. She has been sharing about her back-to-nature upbringing, emergency medicine, herbal grief care, and hope for the revolution of home medicine (see last month's column to catch the first half
Housing
Concept art illustration by Kristina Stimson [https://www.jeffcobeacon.com/caption] By Angela Downs The median-priced home in Jefferson County is now selling for over $600,000, and based on the median income, most people who live in Jefferson County cannot afford to buy a home here. Fortunately, there’
Editorial
Illustration by Nhatt Nichols [https://www.jeffcobeacon.com/caption] By Angela Downs Greta Montagne is the founder and owner of Gentle Strength Botanicals, a garden-to-shelf apothecary outside of Arcata, CA, offering Western Clinical Herbalism, Herbal First Aid, and Ayurveda. I met Greta through the 2024 Northwest Herbal Fair