Orchards of Eden: White Bluffs on the Columbia 1907-1943

by Nancy Danielson Mendenhall

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. 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. 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. 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.
“[Orchards of Eden] gives us important insights…a well-documented story.”
~ Journal of Rural and Community Development

“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.”
~ Carlyn Syvanen, educator, Sequim, WA.

“Mendenhall has brought to life in vivid detail the birth, maturation, and death of a tiny desert town. A richly woven human story…a history that reads like a novel.”
~ Dr. William Keep, retired English professor

“Vivid and authentic! The life of an isolated river community before the Hanford Project ushered in the firestorm of the atomic age.”
~ Helen Hastay, raised in White Bluffs, WA

“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.”
~ Margaret Wood, retired campus director, University of Alaska, and descendent of Eastern Washington farmers

470 pages, Paperback

First published January 31, 2006

About the author

Nancy Danielson Mendenhall is a long-time Alaskan with great love for its people and its incredible surroundings: the ocean, rivers, mountains, and tundra. Her love for rivers began with first memories as a child playing on the banks of the Columbia River in Washington. Her love of boats and fishing developed as a teenager on Puget Sound. She has commercial and subsistence fished in Alaska since 1963 and is still picking a set-net. All of those experiences are brought out in her books: one a short history of Nome, where she lives, one about the political and management survival battles of our commercial fishermen from Oregon to Alaska, and two books about life and issues for the people and the salmon on the mid-Columbia.
Mendenhall is a retired educator as well and is still involved for her grandchildren and community in life-long learning for all. That and the health of the natural environment and many of the social issues we face today are her focus when she writes. Her most recent book, fiction, is set at the mid-Columbia in the 1990s. The multicultural cast of characters is plunged into (still current) troubles--the shrinking Chinook salmon runs and the radioactive wastes seeping to the river from the defunct atomic plant at Hanford, and, of course, what these mean in today's world.

Books:

Storytellers at the Columbia River;

Rough Waters: Our North Pacific Small Fishermen's Battle;

Orchards of Eden: White Bluffs on the Columbia 1907-1943;

Beachlines: A Pocket History of Nome
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Raves for "Storytellers at the Columbia River":

"Given the growing global threat of climate change, the Trump administration’s undercutting of conservation and environmental protection laws, promotion of the fossil fuel and nuclear power industries, (this novel) is more than a simple work of entertaining and engaging fiction, it is a clarion call for the support of Native American rights with respect to the land and the waters and the wildlife and people that depend upon them. Especially and unreservedly recommended."
~ "Midwest Book Review"

“Intriguing. . . a compelling cast of characters in an amazing setting. . . wonderfully evocative writing about how globally significant events can affect the lives of everyday people.”
~ Steve Olson, author of The Apocalypse Factory: Plutonium and the Making of the Atomic Age

“Inspiring. . . fascinating. . . This is a much larger story of what could happen anywhere, told in such a grounded, knowledgeable and appealing way that the readers’ hearts are won, and perhaps their political convictions too. A real gem.”
~ Dr. Evelyn Pinkerton, professor emeritus, Fraser Univ., B.C.

“A powerful and important story--in reality many stories. . . told through the concerns of the novel’s characters. . .”
~ Dr. Gerald W. McFarland, author of "A Scattered People: An American Family Moves West


“This book is brave, inspiring and beautiful!...a sterling tribute to the concept of community and communitarianism. How vital it is. How fragile it is. And hopefully how eternal it is. I truly admire Mendenhall's grit, determination, and courage..."

~ Dennis Brown, author of "Salmon Wars: The Battle for the West Coast Salmon Fishery"


"'A strong voice for the power and importance of place...through a series of carefully constructed interlocking stories that connect the Hanford Reach's different cultures, generations, and (involved) countries. ... And in addition, it's a great read."

~ Jim Lichatowich, author of "Salmon, People, and Place: A Biologist's Search for Salmon Recovery"

Reviews

[Lesley Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some Reviews:
"A captivating journal about a place and the people who were much like the hardy folks who settled here and built up our Valley. . . rich, familial stories..”
~ Walla Walla Bulletin

"Gives us important insights. . . A well-documented historical story. . ."
~ Journal of Rural and Community Development

"An excellent social history” ~ Sidelong Films, producer of "Arid Lands" documentary

“A wonderful book (that) will be a valuable reference for me. I took scads of notes.
Truly a gift to future generations of Northwesterners—this is where we came from. It's like a Steinbeck novel, only true.”
~ Kevin M. Bailey, author of "Fishing Lessons: Artisanal Fisheries and the Future of Our OceansFishing Lessons: Artisanal Fisheries and the Future of Our Oceans"

"Reading Orchards of Eden is like experiencing a great screen documentary. . . Mendenhall has written a great contribution to Pacific Northwest history and honored the lives of people who are usually only statistics in historical tracts."
~ Maria Brooks, documentary maker, "Sinrock Mary, The Reindeer Queen "

"Vivid... dramatizes a great American tragedy... Mendenhall writes sympathetically of the people’s struggle to build a viable and civilized rural community.”
~ Tim Wheeler, author of "NEWS FROM RAIN SHADOW COUNTRYNews from Rain Shadow Country"


"Reads like a novel...vivid. . . a richly woven human story”
~ Dr. William Keep, English professor, Hanford Reach devotee