Washougal rolls out the red carpet for first ‘Sister City’ visitor

Roma Toft, of Zielonki, Poland, tours east Clark County, falls in love with area’s open spaces

Doug Flanagan/Post-Record Zielonki, Poland resident Roma Toft (right) chats with Rolan Snider, Pendleton Woolen Mills' vice president of textile manufacturing, during a factory tourr on Wednesday, April 26. (Photos by Doug Flanagan/Post-Record)

Roma Toft (right), of Zielonki, Poland, picks up a Pendleton blanket Wednesday, April 26, 2023, during a tour of the Pendleton Woolen Mill factory in Washougal. (Doug Flanagan/Post-Record)

Roma Toft (third from left), of Poland, talks with Port of Camas-Washougal commissioners John Spencer (far left) and Cassi Marshall (second from left), and Councilwoman Molly Coston April 26, 2023, near the Port's headquarters.

Doug Flanagan/Post-Record Roma Toft (right) walks off the Steamboat Landing dock, on her way to the Pendleton Woolen Mill factory in Washougal, on Wednesday, April 26.

Roma Toft (left) speaks with Washougal City Manager David Scott April 26, 2023, at Washougal Waterfront Park. Toft, a resident of Zielonki, Poland, visited Washougal in April 2023, after the two municipalities agreed to form a "Sister City" partnership in early 2023.

While walking down the Washougal Waterfront Trail on an uncharacteristically warm and dry spring day last week, Roma Toft was asked what she liked best about east Clark County. She responded with a flick of her hand southeast, toward the Columbia River and Mount Hood.

“(I love) the (open) space and the nature,” said Toft, a resident of Zielonki, a small commune in northern Poland. “I’m really envious of that because in Europe, no matter if it’s Poland, Ukraine or (anywhere in) Western Europe, we like space. When I first came to America — and this impression will stay with me forever — (I fell in love with) the open space. Everything is just big and wide open. This is really nice.”

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