Though the Willamette River generally flows south to north, it takes a sharp right at Newberg, and from there to Canby runs perpendicular to all the traffic going to and from the Portland metro area. There had to be a river crossing somewhere along that stretch, and this is the place Mr. Boone chose to put his ferry. At the site where natives had crossed the river for centuries, Daniel Boone’s grandson, Alphonso, established a ferry in 1847, and Alphonso’s son Jesse built B

The rain had started before I even left the house. Nothing exceptional, just that usual Willamette Valley light, constant, shower. I think Mrs. Ednold had a premonition, though, and had stayed home. If you’re wondering what I do with nobody to talk to on my way to a game, this time I wrote a song that I’ll attach at the end of this story. It’s kind of a punk song and it needs another few verses, and I don’t really know what it’s about, but I’ve got a good start on it. I

This week was the second round of the playoffs, and we made our way to Canby to watch the Cougars host the defending state champion Thurston Colts in a matchup of the #4 and #5 ranked 5A teams in the state. Highway 99E runs through Canby in western Clackamas County just south of where the Molalla River enters the Willamette, and situated between Oregon City and Wilsonville and Woodburn and Molalla, the town is another one of those communities that are right in the middle of

This week we exited the interstate and drove through Winston, which brought back memories of waking up in my parents’ house to the sounds of the roaring lions from the safari park just over the hill. That was pretty cool, but Winston wasn’t our destination this time. On a practically tropical 61 degree mid-November Saturday we were headed to Camas Valley, home of the six-time state champion Hornets, to watch a state quarterfinal game of 8-man football. The Hornets are the cha