Fern Ridge Review
Creswell Chronicle
Sweet Lorane Community News
May 28, 2015
By Pat Edwards
I’m having a bit of a problem this week in coming up with some news for my column. I think it all ties in with the beautiful weather, warm days and plans for a busy summer. I’m sure it’s the same with most of us. We’re preparing to put our lives into a higher gear with the approach of summer. Our heads are full of the various activities that affect our lives – the end of the school year, vacation plans, gardening decisions, barbecues and outdoor living, fishing, summer team and water sports and other similar “gears.” Our lives are picking up speed, if that is even possible. I should know… I’m learning that the older I get, the faster it goes.
Jim is already noticing the increase in business at our store… the nicer the weather, the more people are out-and-about, whether they are heading to Carpenter’s Bypass to ride their mountain bikes or stopping by for a rest break from a long bicycle road ride. Motorcycles are pulling up to the gas pumps where we have always been very careful not to allow even a small drip from the nozzle to land on their highly polished gas tanks. Winery visitors occasionally stop by to chat and our local residents seem to be switching their own gears, too.
The Lorane General Store aka The Lorane Deli
For those who haven’t discovered it yet, the Lorane Deli has been closed for the past month or so. The closure is due, apparently, to family health issues. That’s not to say that Lorena Mitchell will not be back behind the counter again soon. She’s a human dynamo who has been a community leader for more years than either of us care to remember. For now, the sign on the door says that it is “closed indefinitely.”
A heartfelt “Get Well Soon” message is being sent out to Marge (Wickwire) Parry. According to family, even though she suffered a stroke, she is doing well with less dire after-effects than many stroke victims have. We’re very grateful for that and hope that she makes a full recovery in record time.
For those who have been regular readers and submitters of Groundwaters’ magazine for the past 10+ years, I wanted to let you know that our staff has begun working on the first annual issue of our local literary journal now that we are no longer publishing it quarterly. Although the deadline for submissions is not until September 1st, I’ve gotten the layout designed and a number of early contributions set up. I’m quite pleased with the new format and I think you will be, too.
We’re hoping that those of you who plan on sending us your fiction, non-fiction, poetry, photography and art submissions will get them to us before the September deadline. It will make my life much easier in trying to have it ready for publication by mid-October. The annual issue will encompass the equivalent of 4 full quarterly issues – 150 to 200 pages – in a professionally-published paperback edition that will be available for sale on most on-line booksellers and at local distributors. Contributors are asked to supply us with a photo of themselves and up to a 100-word biography that we will include with their work(s). Those whose material is used will get a 40% discount off the $12.50 selling price. Unfortunately, we are no longer able to offer them for free to the public as we once did.
We are also planning a “Best of Groundwaters” anthology that will include stories, essays, memoirs and other prose (and possibly poetry) that we have published in the past issues. It will be offered once the 2015 annual issue is out.
You might keep an eye out for a new book by a local resident that we have just published. Muriel (Ava) Linder of Elmira just released her first full-length novel called The White Man’s Brother. I am very impressed by the knowledge and the research that Ava put into the book and I believe that the storyline is quite good. Members of the Ridge Writer’s group are in the process of reviewing it currently. I think that you’ll enjoy it. Even better, a sequel called The Rainbow Chasers will soon follow.
All Things Lorane 