Words Of Support

It is apparent from the fence surrounding her house that Nona Hengen’s farm is unique to Spangle, maybe even to the entire Palouse.

At the top of the chain-link, chicken wire extends another foot or so, and curves inward.

In her front yard is a cemetery with tiny crosses.

Different. Certainly unusual. But definitely not “eccentric,” with all its negative implications.

The chicken wire extension helps Hengen keep the numerous stray cats she has adopted safe within the farmyard.

The cemetery, a public memorial to the many animals she has cared for, serves as encouragement for others to care deeply about animals.

“I think as you get older something within you changes and you begin to believe that all life is sacred,” Hengen said.

The words of an animal rights extremist? No. Hengen’s sheep are regularly sheared. On Wednesday, May 7, from 5 to 7 p.m., Hengen will be in the lobby of The Met in downtown Spokane to sign copies of her new book, “In Pursuit of Compassion: A Centennial History of the Spokane Humane Society.”

Hengen donated her time and paid research costs to write the book. All sales go to the Humane Society.

That’s no small feat for this renaissance woman.

Hengen, 63, is a renowned artist and the author of 13 other books, most about animals or Eastern Washington history.

She paints and writes in a wood-and-glass studio just across the yard from the Victorian farmhouse where she was reared.

“I wanted to be an artist from the beginning, but at the time there weren’t any art schools nearby,” she said.

Instead, Hengen earned a doctorate in education and held professorships at Indiana University, Western Washington University and Southern Oregon College.

She left academia in 1980 to care for her mother, who was dying of cancer. Her mother left her the farm and a legacy of compassion for animals.

Hengen passes that along in the Humane Society book.

“The book asks people to approach with an open mind our relationship with animals,” she said. “I believe it’s better to light a candle than curse the darkness.”

, DataTimes