Storytellers at the Columbia River by Nancy Danielson Mendenhall

“Mendenhall’s excellent and exhaustive research shines a spotlight on the distant, hidden influences that were at work while the early farmers toiled in the dry sandy soil to bring their dreams of Eden to life.” ~ Helen Hastay, raised in White Bluffs, WA “Vivid and authentic! The life of an isolated river community before the Hanford Project ushered in the firestorm of the atomic age.” A richly woven human story…a history that reads like a novel.” “Mendenhall has brought to life in vivid detail the birth, maturation, and death of a tiny desert town. “Orchards of Eden” goes far beyond the story of one family to illustrate the historical period and the economic system that many small farmers struggled with…especially those in the arid west.” ~ Journal of Rural and Community Development “ gives us important insights…a well-documented story.” At times reading like an epic novel, this rich social history shows in detail the hard roles of pioneer women, children and their men, and delves deeply into their emotional and intellectual lives. Through oral histories, letters, photographs and meticulous research, author Nancy Mendenhall tells the story of how, despite all the adversities, the orchardists built a remarkable, thriving community until it was cut short by events of World War Two. Yearning for a healthy, possibly lucrative life in the wild desert setting, they struggled with nature, railroads, power companies, commission houses, water systems and the ever-disappointing market. America's early 1900's dream of greening the western desert through irrigation drew hundreds of would-be farmers to the Columbia River hamlet of White Bluffs in Washington State.

Storytellers at the Columbia River by Nancy Danielson Mendenhall