Dancing for rain

TULELAKE — Dave and Renee Misso tried dancing with umbrellas.

John Walker wore a raincoat.

The Missos, Walker and more than a hundred others turned out for a "Rain Dance" dance Saturday night at the Tulelake-Butte Valley Fairgrounds. The event was a combination community celebration and foot-stomping good time effort to appease the rain gods in the face of a drought year.

Depending on spring rains, farmers and ranchers who rely on irrigation water from Upper Klamath Lake will receive only a third of their normal supply.

"We're here to support the dance and try to get some rain coming," said Bill Haynes, 81, a semi-retired Tulelake area farmer who has raised grain for decades.

"This is a rain dance," said his wife, Marcella. "If it starts raining we'll be outside. The whole Basin is praying for rain."

The dance was the brainstorm of Dave Misso, president of the Tulelake Chamber of Commerce. Along with the dancing for rain, he said, a major goal was to offer an excuse for fun times in a community depressed by the prospect of limited water for irrigators.

"It's fun. Everybody's having fun, not talking about all the tough times about farming," he said.

For many farmers, the dance was a chance to kickback and visit with friends.

"I came here to help Tulelake and visit with people," said Matt Huffman, who farms south of Newell and waved off any discussion of this summer's farming prospects. "Rain dance is a good idea. We do need rain."

"It's nice to see a community event regardless of the situation," echoed Jeff Boyd, a Tulelake farmer. "If it helps the rain come, that would be great. It goes without saying we need wet weather, big-time."

"It's all about community," said the raincoat-wearing Walker, who farms in Merrill, Malin and Tulelake. "This is the way things were in the '50s and '60s."

Providing music for the night was the Klamath Falls band Fat Sexy, who played a diverse offering, including a heavy metal version of the 1960s Del Shannon hit single, "Runaway," with the hopeful lyrics, "I'm a walking in the rain..."