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Mossyrock, Lewis County

from My Northwest Home by Wes Weddell

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The town of Mossyrock—population approximately 500—lies along U.S. Highway 12, sandwiched in between Mts. Rainier and St. Helens. For the very first stop of The Project, I camped at a nearby State Park for a few days. Driving into town my first day there, I assessed the collection of diners on the main drag in an attempt to determine which would most likely tolerate an order for coffee and nothing else. Eventually, I selected the Neighborhood Deli.

A table in the back corner of the Deli ‘belongs’ to a group of older gentleman who call themselves the “Story Tellin’ Club”—a small plaque overhead reads “Story Tellin’ Club, Truth Not Tolerated.” From these individuals I gathered many fascinating pieces of local lore ranging from the revelation that the town has just ended its best winter tourist season ever—thanks to nearby Riffe Lake (formed by Mossyrock Dam, the tallest dam in the state; “Grand Coulee just has a better name,” one storyteller remarked) being some 80-100 feet low due to the current drought—to a pronounced local aversion to espresso. A visit to City Hall produced the story of Henry Bucy, one of Mossyrock’s first homesteaders, who shot himself over a bizarre misunderstanding with a group of local Native Americans in the 1860s, as well as the admission that the railroad blew up the mossy rock that the town took its name from. Said rock, I later learned, was 200 feet high!

Should you plan on visiting Mossyrock, I highly suggest you drive 20 mph…

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from My Northwest Home, released December 8, 2001

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Wes Weddell Seattle, Washington

For the past twenty years, Wes Weddell has worked multiple shifts in the engine room of Seattle’s roots music scene as frontman, sideman, writer, teacher, and community-builder. "Always heartfelt and well-constructed" ("Seattle Weekly"), listeners have come to expect Weddell's songs to "speak for themselves" ("No Depression"). ... more

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