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Top of the World

from My Northwest Home by Wes Weddell

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Toppenish, Wash., lies just on the edge of the Yakima Indian Reservation in an extraordinary part of the state where one can drive five minutes and move from the enchanting authenticity Latin American culture to the celebratory elegance of the Yakima Nation. The town—and it’s delightfully resourceful Visitor’s Center staff—proved to represent a goldmine of quirky facts and compelling history, and I learned about everything from the area’s black currant production (90% of the black currants grown in the U.S. are produced nearby—by two farmers who own a combined 35 acres) to the continued importance of the Treaty of 1855, which created the Reservation, to members of the Yakima Nation. Downtown Toppenish—“Where the West Still Lives”—features some 60 giant, brilliant public murals, all based on some element of the region’s rich history. Every first Saturday in June since the Washington State Centennial in 1989, the town turns out for ‘Mural in a Day,” an event in which a collection of artists works together to complete a painting in one day—“We set up bleachers, and people literally come down to watch paint dry,” I was told. Specific murals referenced in this song include: “The Prairie Chicken Dance,” “The Owl Dance,” “Patterns of Life,” “The Rhythms of Celilo,” “Cattle Drive,” “Halloween Pranks” (my favorite—a depiction of several youngsters tipping an occupied outhouse, which adorns one side of the public restroom, or “Westroom”), “The Ruth Parton Story,” “Maud Bolin,” “Treaty of 1855,” “Alex McCoy (Owl Child),” “All Aboard,” “Irish Dick,” “When Hops Were Picked By Hand,” and “The Old School Barns.” Inspiration for the final verse of the song came from a sign that lies on the outskirts of Yakima, which reads: “Welcome to Yakima, the Palm Springs of Washington.”

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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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