Another Chief Joseph Days is in the record books, and a number of us are breathing a sigh of relief. It was a terrific celebration and a lot of work. Everyone we ran into was having a great time.

The rodeo performances were nothing short of impressive, from the organization that obviously went into each night to the quality of the contestants.

As they say, this wasn’t our “first rodeo,” and we have seen a lot of stumbling and fumbling over the years. Kudos to the Chief Joseph Days committee for keeping everything running like clockwork, even when last-minute changes were necessary.

The food vendors were outstanding. If you left the rodeo hungry, it was your own dang fault. Another opportunity to eat Indian fry bread, what more could you ask?

I’ll admit, I’m not a huge parade fan, but both versions were fun events that brought out large numbers of spectators and participants. Walking up and down the route both days shooting photos, I was greeted by many friendly faces. Next year, the Chieftain will have a parade entry.

I was a tad disappointed there was no marching band in the parade. It’s unfortunate we couldn’t have convinced the New Old Time Chautauqua band to hang around and participate. The group of performers had been in Enterprise for events concluding Friday evening. Their musicians were top-notch.

A number of towns have community bands that perform for parades and such. It’s a nice touch.

It’s been several years since Chief Joseph Days had included a carnival midway, but a number of folks sure remember those days fondly. Several people wondered why it had been dropped from the schedule.

Special thanks to Ellen Bishop for her work behind the lens. Her images are nothing short of amazing.

We hope you will enjoy all of the coverage in this week’s edition. We will only have room for about a 10th of the photos we took in the print edition, so check us out at wallowa.com for “the rest of the story.”

CAN YOU BELIEVE it’s almost time for the school year to begin? Where did the summer go. I know there are a few parents out there who are breathing a sigh of relief.

Fortunately, there were any number of programs, camps and workshops to keep children’s minds active. That means less summer learning loss. That’s what researchers call it.

According to one source, six weeks in the fall are spent on average relearning old material to make up for summer learning loss. I would have to believe Wallowa County is ahead of the game given all of the learning opportunities.

This is also where a vital library system comes into play.

NEXT MONTH, we will bid a sad farewell to our Wallowa Gal columnist Katherine Strickroth. She is going to pursue other projects. We will miss her sense of humor greatly.

That means we will have an opening for a monthly columnist on our opinion page. If you’d like to throw your hat into the ring, drop me an email. There’s even a small stipend that goes with it.

We have had several readers suggest that we find someone to write a politically conservative column to give those folks a greater voice. We are open to that suggestion.

While I am on the topic of journalism, the ink has recently dried on agreement between the Chieftain and Fishtrap to present a free program on journalism this fall. It will be an opportunity to learn more about journalism as a form of writing, but also a chance to discuss the direction it has taken the past few years.

Stay tuned for registration details or drop me an email, and I can put you on a list of people who have asked to be updated.