Wenatchee, Washington
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Image:Wenatchee.jpg Wenatchee (IPA: Template:IPA) is a city located in Chelan County, Washington. Wenatchee is nestled in the eastern foothills of the majestic Cascade Mountain range at the confluence of the Wenatchee and Columbia rivers. Wenatchee is known as the "Apple Capital of the World" for the valley's many orchards, which produce apples enjoyed around the world. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 27,856. It is the county seat of Chelan CountyTemplate:GR.
The city was founded by Don Carlos Corber who named it after Indian Chief Wenatchee. The name is a Yakima word that means "river which comes [or source is] from canyons" or "robe of the rainbow." Awenatchela means "people at the source [of a river]." The City of Wenatchee shares its name with the Wenatchee River, Lake Wenatchee and the Wenatchee National Forest.
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History
Archeological digs have uncovered Clovis artifacts and other ancient artifacts dating back almost 12,000 years that enlightened us to the fact that people migrating during the last ice age settled in Wenatchee. Some believe that the people who remained became the Yakama Indians. The Yakima inhabited this area for ten millennia. The Columbia provided an ample supply of food. They took refuge from the flooding river on the plateau or in high up caves in the coulee walls.
As early as 1811, fur traders from the Northwest Fur Company entered the Wenatchee valley to trap and trade with the Indians. In 1836, Father Respari, a Catholic priest, began his missionary work with the Indians. He was followed some 20 years later by Father De Grassi, who built a log cabin on the Wenatchee River near the present town of Cashmere. Throughout the 1800s other white settlers came to homestead the land. Wenatchee was officially incorporated as a city on January 7, 1893.
On October 5, 1931, Clyde Pangborn with co-pilot Hugh Herndon landed his plane, the Miss Veedol, in the hills of East Wenatchee and became the first person to fly non-stop across the Pacific Ocean. The 41 hour flight from Sabishiro Beach, Misawa, Aomori Prefecture, Japan won him the Harmon Trophy symbolizing the greatest achievement in flight for the year 1931.
In 1936, with the completion of Rock Island Dam, Wenatchee was protected from the summer flooding of the Columbia River as well as having a nice reservoir from which to irrigate crops. Orchards were planted closer to the river and in no time Wenatchee became the apple capital of the world.
Wenatchee made international headlines in 1994 and 1995 when police and state social workers undertook what was then called the nation's most extensive child sex-abuse investigation. 43 adults were arrested on 29,726 charges of child sex abuse involving 60 children. Parents, Sundayschool teachers and a pastor were charged and many were convicted of abusing their own children or the children of other in the community. A massive conspiracy arose which the press deemed the "Wenatchee Sex Rings". Courts ultimately determined the charges were entirely untrue. Police coerced children into giving false statements, and false testimony in court. Dr. Phillip Esplin, a forensic psychologist for the National Institutes of Health's Child Witness Project commented that "Wenatchee may be the worst example ever of mental health services being abused by a state...to control and manage children who have been frightened and coerced into falsely accusing their parents and neighbors of the most heinous of crimes."
Wenatchee also has the reputation for being the Prozac capital of the world. In June of 1995, PBS aired a documentary about this called Welcome to Happy Valley, which chronicled Dr. Jim Goodwin a psychologist, proclaimed by the New York Times as the "Pied Piper of Prozac" and the CBS "Eye to Eye" program as the "Pied Piper of Depression." Dr. Goodwin also utilizes short-term cognitive psychotherapy recognized as essential along with such medications. Goodwin was accused by the Washington State Department of Health's Examining Board of Psychology (EBP) of mental impairement, unprofessional conduct, negligence, and incompetence. All the charges were eventually dropped. Dr Goodwin finally settled his 8 year battle admitting that he once got only a verbal rather than a written release for a client to talk with a prospective client with no danger to either noted. Dr Goodwin continues his groundbreaking work in his office on Wenatchee Avenue.
Every year around the end of April, Wenatchee has its Apple Blossom Festival, which probably brings in the largest number of people Wenatchee sees annually. It features 2 relatively large parades, a food fair, and a few carnival rides. In past years, cruising Wenatchee Avenue at night has become enough of a problem that local government has taken numerous steps to try and end it. The Wenatchee Youth Circus, ("The Biggest Little Circus in the World") founded by Paul K. Pugh in 1952, continues to provide circus fans with opportunties to watch a real, live circus (minus the wild animals)with performers ranging in age from 6-18. The circus travels and performs in the summer months, practices indoors in the winter, and sets up its rigging for outdoor practices during the fair weather of springtime.
Geography
Image:WAMap-doton-Wenatchee.pngWenatchee is located at 47°25'24" North, 120°19'31" West (47.423316, -120.325279)Template:GR at the confluence of the Wenatchee River and the Columbia River in the Columbia Basin just east of the foothills of the Cascade Range. Unlike the climate of Western Washington, Wenatchee's climate is arid. Nested in the rain shadow of the Cascade Mountains, there are blue skies 300 days of the year. Technically a desert, irrigation from the Columbia River and her tributaries allows for the large amount of agriculture in Wenatchee and the surrounding areas.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 19.0 km² (7.3 mi²). 17.8 km² (6.9 mi²) of it is land and 1.2 km² (0.4 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 6.14% water.
Demographics
As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 27,856 people, 10,741 households, and 6,884 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,563.3/km² (4,049.6/mi²). There were 11,486 housing units at an average density of 644.6/km² (1,669.8/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 80.93% White, 0.39% African American, 1.13% Native American, 0.95% Asian, 0.13% Pacific Islander, 13.99% from other races, and 2.48% from two or more races. 21.52% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 10,741 households out of which 33.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.4% were married couples living together, 10.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.9% were non-families. 30.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.53 and the average family size was 3.17.
In the city the population was spread out with 27.4% under the age of 18, 10.0% from 18 to 24, 28.3% from 25 to 44, 19.3% from 45 to 64, and 15.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 95.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.8 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $34,897, and the median income for a family was $45,982. Males had a median income of $35,245 versus $26,062 for females. The per capita income for the city was $19,498. 15.3% of the population and 10.6% of families were below the poverty line. 19.7% of those under the age of 18 and 5.7% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.
Recreation
The Wenatchee Valley and the surrounding areas provide an abundance of spots and recreational activities for any season. There are several facilities including tennis club, an Olympic size swimming pool, an ice arena, several 18-hole and 9-hole goal courses, and countless base ball diamonds and soccer fields. There are lots of places to hike, fish and hunt, both birds and larger game. Boating and water recreation are also quite common. Many kayak, windsurf and water-ski on the Columbia. Whitewater rafting and inner-tubing is frequent on the Wenatchee River. In the winter, the mountains near Wenatchee provide great snowmobiling, sledding at Squilchuck State Park, as well as skiing and snowboarding at Mission Ridge.
The city also offers a large system of parks and paved trails known as the Apple Capital Recreational Loop Trail. The 10 mile loop which runs both banks of the Columbia River is used by cyclists, walkers, joggers, and skaters. In the winter cross country skiers and snowshoers also use the trail. The trail connects in the south at the Old Wenatchee-East Wenatchee Bridge, better known as the walking bridge, and in the north at the Richard Odabashian Olds Station Bridge.
The Ridge to River relay race, a fund raiser for local non-profit organizations, kicks off the Apple Blossom Festival each spring. Modeled after Bellingham, Washington's Ski to Sea, athletes participate in one or all of following legs; cross country skiing, downhill skiing/snowboarding, running, bicycling, and kayak/canoeing and portage.
External links
- The Wenatchee World, daily newspaper.
- El Mundo, Spanish-language weekly newspaper for Washington State, based in Wenatchee.
- Information and photos of Wenatchee
- Article on Goodwin
- Prozac Article in Psychology Today
