“Boyhood Among the Woolies” is by Richard W. Etulain.

Living along the coast, we may think of lush forests and marine climate as the definition of the Northwest, but Richard W. Etulain’s appealing new memoir, “Boyhood Among the Woolies,” provides an entirely different perspective from the dry side of the Cascade Mountains.

The son of a Basque immigrant who came to the United States in 1921, Etulain recounts the steps his dad took over many years to transform from minimally-educated immigrant to successful ranch owner and businessman.

Sebastian Etulain was only 18 when he left Spain. He knew no English, but followed in the footsteps of two older brothers, who already had gone in search of better opportunities in the United States. They wound up in eastern Washington, working for a Yakima sheep farmer.

Sebastian, once reunited with his brothers, learned how to herd sheep and how to speak English. He even attended a 7th grade American history class —despite being a decade older than the rest of the students — to gain the knowledge he needed to become an American citizen.

By 1929, he and one of his brothers had saved enough money to buy their own sheep herd and go into business for themselves. But the stock market plunged one month later, throwing the country into economic chaos, and it was a struggle to keep their business intact through the Great Depression.

It wasn’t until 1936 that Sebastian Etulain was ready for marriage. Mary Gillard Foster, the cook at a neighboring sheep camp, was a divorcee and already the mother of a young son. Once Sebastian and Mary were wed, they had two more sons in quick succession.

As the youngest son and narrator of this story, Richard W. Etulain writes not only about his dad but also about the childhood he and his own brothers experienced growing up on the ranch.

Far from any town, they spent their early years living in a farmhouse that had no indoor bathroom, electricity or telephone. They attended a one-room schoolhouse for the first several years before moving on to a larger school in Ritzville that had separate classes for each age.

At the same time, their dad — “a sturdy engine that knew no rest” — had already ensured that his sons were immersed in the daily chores associated with taking care of the livestock, from feeding to fence-building to assisting with the birthing of lambs.

The ranch, Richard W. Etulain writes, “was our Harvard and Yale of the out-of-doors.”

But their mom exerted her influence, too, introducing her sons to books at an early age, and subtly letting them know that she expected each of them to go to college. Sure enough, they all did, and while their memories of childhood on the ranch were warm and expansive, they were ready to move on.

“Boyhood Among the Woolies” shares perspectives on how the American dream has been differently embraced from one generation to the next. Richard W. Etulain, now living in Clackamas after spending a career in academia, has written a gem of a book.

This week’s book

“Boyhood Among the Woolies” by Richard W. Etulain

Basalt Books – 150 pp —$19.95