Life at Big Pasco: La Dona Madison and Michael Madison

Michael Madison and his mother, La Dona Madison.

La Dona Madison worked at the “Big Pasco” military base in Washington during World War II. It was a busy place with soldiers eveywhere but not just American soldiers. She tells her son, Michael Madison, about some unusual guests at the base.

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Headshot of author Kirsten Sundberg Lunstrum. She is sitting in an armchair. Shelves of books are pictured behind her.

Pacific Northwest author’s new novel captures atmosphere of the region

On a gray, early spring morning, I drove to Steilacoom, Washington, to catch the ferry to Anderson Island. I boarded alongside the line of other cars and after parking, stepped out onto the deck of the boat. The ferry pushed off from the dock and rocked a little in the Puget Sound before steadying.
I took this journey to the real Anderson Island to see from the water what inspired Northwest author Kirsten Sundberg Lunstrum’s new novel, “Elita,” which was published earlier this year. Sundberg Lunstrum was inspired while sailing around the Puget Sound to write a mystery novel on an island.
Sundberg Lunstrum read excerpts of the book at a gathering at Tacoma’s Grit City Books.

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