Fern Ridge Review
Creswell Chronicle
Sweet Lorane Community News
March 21, 2019
By Pat Edwards
This past week has been a really strange one for Jim and me. For one thing, we had more doctors’ appointments to go to and errands to run than usual, but the most bizarre part of the week was that we only had one car between us. Jim had to take his pickup into town for some much-needed repair work and I had to delivery my car to a body shop to repair damage it sustained when the portable canopy I keep it in collapsed in the recent heavy snowfall. Fortunately, our insurance covered a rental car. We have always run our own errands with Jim doing store business in the early-morning hours—I’m talking 4:00 a.m.—two or three days a week, and me doing my own “thing” during the day in my car.
Fortunately, he agreed to cut out the early-morning trips to town. We did them while we were in town anyway for doctors’ appointments, and I became the designated driver in the rented mini-van, making several trips to take him to the store at 6:30 a.m. to open, picking him up again when he either needed to go to an appointment or when it was time to go home. Consequently, I have put all my writing and publishing projects aside and we’ve had a bit more “together time” than usual. In a way, it’s been kind of a nice change of pace.
Pat Dixon, the art and band teacher for the Crow-Applegate-Lorane School District is asking for help from the community for an upcoming class project in art. He’s planning for the class to make a “soft sculpture” that requires the use of LOTS of wire coat hangars and white or light-colored bed sheets. He is needing at least 100 coat hangars and a dozen or more sheets.
According to Pat, “If you have any amount of these things and are willing to donate them, I will even come by your home in the Crow area and pick them up personally.”
Sadly, I have just learned that another of Crow’s life-long community members, Earl Ford, has passed. Earl and Mary Ford have been fixtures in Crow for as long as I have been involved with the school district and much longer. Earl and my husband Jim served together for many years on the C-A-L School Board and Mary was the district’s much-loved secretary during the time our kids were in school. They both were regulars at all of the sports events that their kids and ours participated in.
We saw Earl and Mary last month at this year’s alumni basketball tournament at Crow High School. It’s the first time I had seen them in a long while, but they both looked good. Earl stopped by to comment to Jim about old times. It will seem strange to know he’s gone.
Our daughter Gloria wrote a message of condolence to Earl and Mary’s daughter, Laurie, and expressed our collective family’s thoughts:
“Your parents have always been amazing pillars of the community and the news of your father’s passing absolutely breaks my heart! I feel so blessed and grateful to have been able to spend a bit of time with them at the alumni basketball tournament last month! This life is far too short and we need to embrace and hold dear those we love! You and the family are in my thoughts and prayers. Your dad was a loved, respected, and admired man who will be missed by many…”
Earl Ford’s Memorial Service has been scheduled for Monday, April 1, 2019, at 11:00 a.m. It will be held at the Lane Memorial Gardens & Funeral Home, 5300 W. 11th Ave, Eugene.
All Things Lorane 