Subscribe to Sports YakimaNews FeedSubscribe to Sports YakimaComments |
Browse > Home / Blogs, Out There / An indoor film on an outdoor icon

An indoor film on an outdoor icon

March 23, 2010 by Scott Sandsberry  

Email this Email this | Leave a comment

YAKIMA, Wash. — I never knew Harvey Manning, the hiking guru who died four years ago at the age of 81 after decades of helping to shape the way we Pacific Northwesterners treat and respect the great outdoors.

I’ve heard him described as irascible, dedicated and tireless, and, of course, I have some of the guidebooks he authored. (What hiker doesn’t?) I have seen the occasional reference to his role in the creation of the North Cascades National Park and other protected areas such as the Alpine Lakes Wilderness (my personal favorite), and admire him for that activism.

But until today, when I read a public-television press release about upcoming showings of a film about Harvey Manning, I knew nothing of “The Irate Birdwatcher” — which is both the name of the film and the pen name Manning used in the 1960s while working so furiously to protect the North Cascades wilderness he so loved. And watching that film will be an indoors activity this outdoors editor is most assuredly looking forward to.

The film is a production of Crest Pictures and Northwest filmmaker Robert Chrestensen (also the man behind “Below the Clouds/Rainier Impressions“) and is a truly regional work. Manning’s message is brought to life through the voice of venerable Northwest stage actor Earl V. Prebezac; the musical score was composed by Port Townsend’s David Michael (and performed by Michael and other area musicians); and the still images in the film were taken largely by local climbing photographers.

“The Irate Birdwatcher” will be broadcast on Yakima’s KYVE at 10:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 1 (too late for us early-to-bed, early-to-risers); 4:30 a.m. on Monday, April 5 (sure to draw a big audience among people chomping at the bit to get up and go to work on a Monday morning); and, finally, a perfect time for a film like this — a 6 p.m. Sunday (April 11) showing. I think I’ll wait for that one to see this film on the “John Muir of the Cascades.”

And, no, I’m not nearly the first person to call Harvey Manning that.

– Scott Sandsberry


Filed under Blogs, Out There

Tags:

Speak Your Mind

Comments are moderated, so your comment will not show up immediately.

Keep comments civil (no personal attacks), clean (no swearing) and properly capitalized (NO ALL-CAPS COMMENTS).

Comments are generally moderated daily between 3 p.m. and midnight. If your comment does not appear within 24 hours of submission, resubmit it (it may have been caught by our spam filter). Comments regarding moderator decisions will not be approved.

If you have questions regarding our comment policies, e-mail us.