PATEROS – A large crowd gathered at Lakeshore Park last Saturday, May 27, to witness the official dedication of the city’s latest attraction, the Memorial to the Methow installation on the shore of Lake Pateros.
The new park, spearheaded by former Pateros High School graduate, Chuck Borg, now of Wenatchee, took about a year from conception to completion and will serve as a permanent reminder of the valley’s early Native American culture.
Once Borg secured project approval from the Pateros Chamber of Commerce he convened a committee of like-minded volunteers and began a fundraising campaign to cover construction costs.
Native American activist, Randy Lewis, also a graduate of Pateros High School, served as the Master of Ceremonies and entertained listeners with history-rich stories, cultural insights and song.
Lewis thanked a long list of contributors and sponsors who helped make the memorial a reality and introduced a series of guest speakers and performers.
One of those was Monse resident Arnold Cleveland who played his native flute.
Artist Smoker Marchand, who will also serve as Grand Marshall at this year’s Omak Stampede, explained the evolution of his horse-mounted spear fisherman sculpture and expressed his surprise to discover that a horse would actually stand in a river and allow someone to hang salmon from its back.
From the Quad City Herald