Author: paedwards

Sweet Lorane Community News, April 20, 2023

April 20, 2023Newspaper Columns, , Leave a comment

The Chronicle
Sweet Lorane Community News
April 20, 2023
By Pat Edwards

Last weekend, Jim and I attended the annual Lorane Talent Show sponsored by the Rural Art Center and the Lorane Grange. I sometimes take a few of my books for the “stationary” art that is put on display and it seemed like a good time to do it this year. I could tell, however, by the frequent reminders, that the organizers were having difficulties finding willing talent entries this year. In the past, there have been some seriously wonderful talent performed… either singing, playing an instrument, dancing or doing a comedy routine. But there have also been some equally entertaining quirky and fun hidden talents that some of our friends and neighbors have chosen to share. One of those that comes to mind that took place years ago was the lady who put a cherry stem in her mouth and proceeded to tie it in a knot using only her tongue… as we all watched in amazement. These shows have never failed to entertain the audience.

This year was no different as far as entertainment quality was concerned. There was a good-size audience of about 17 people, but sadly, due to illness and changed plans, only one talent entry had been able to attend. Fortunately, though, the “comb band” provided the impetus for a fun and lively affair in which those of us in the audience were able to participate. As they raised their instruments—long-toothed plastic combs in cellophane sleeves— and pressed them to their lips, the comb band members—Lisa, B.J. and Chris—accompanied by Dean on the bass fiddle, began humming tunes which we—the members of the audience were challenged to identify. After a short while, I was able to determine that the first was the theme song of a TV show, but none of us were able to identify it as the song from the 1970s “My Three Sons.” I was able to identify the next song as “Home on the Range,” and won a small bag of cookies. By the time that two other prizes were given out, we were all warmed up and thoroughly enjoying our time together.

Kat, one of the audience members decided to share her hidden talent with us, then. As she came to the front of the room, she began to tell a sad story, and as she did, tears began rolling down her cheeks. We were all wondering whether we were supposed to applaud or sympathize with her, but at the end, a huge smile came over her face as she wiped the tears from her wet cheeks, bringing laughs and applause.

Not yet wanting to go home, we were pleased when Dean, the bass fiddle player, told us that he was going to play a song, but he needed us, the audience to play the part of the horns on cue. By the time we had all helped him finish the song with our “toodly, doodly” singing voices at the appropriate places, we were all laughing and thoroughly enjoying a pleasant afternoon with our friends, neighbors and some we had never had the opportunity to meet until then. After we adjourned for some refreshments in the cafeteria, we visited some more—and I even sold three of my books—before we headed home, in a much happier frame of mind than we had when we arrived.

Our world needs so much more of what I like to call “innocent, impromptu fun”… not the kind that is “manufactured” through the haze of alcohol or recreational drugs, but the honest-to-goodness willingness to let down our guards and allow our good natures and senses of humor to shine through… the qualities that many of us unwittingly bury and keep hidden under the busy-ness of our lives and the anger, distrust and disrespect that we seem to be surrounded with these days by the evening news.

Let’s all strive to find the fun in our lives again. We still need to do our parts with the serious stuff of life, but for our own emotional health, let’s find the laughs and giggles and wonderful endorphins that accompany “innocent, impromptu fun” that so many of us have been missing for so long.

Sweet Lorane Community News, April 13, 2023

April 13, 2023Newspaper Columns, , , , , Leave a comment

The Chronicle
Sweet Lorane Community News
April 13, 2023
By Pat Edwards

I’ve taken the last couple of weeks off from writing my column because they’ve been busy ones. My husband Jim has signed up for a wonderful twice-weekly Neuromuscular Fitness class at the Celeste Campbell Senior Center in Eugene to help strengthen his legs and balance in preparation for our 12-day bus trip and cruise through Canada in late-June. He also just started another round of physical therapy sessions, too… for the same reason.
In addition, we’ve spent time with our family and I made a 5-day pilgrimage to Montana to visit a close, long-time friend who has been struggling with widowhood this past year. I paid a visit to her twice last fall, but the Montana winter, the absence of her soulmate, and the memories of a long marriage have taken their toll. We spent the four days I was there, visiting, reminiscing about our college days and just reconnecting as we always do when we are together. We occasionally found ourselves sitting at her little kitchen table, talking well after dark without turning the lights on. I think it allowed each of us to shut the world out for awhile and concentrate on our friendship and the blessings it has brought to us through the years.

My plane landed back in Eugene at noon on Easter Sunday. I was greeted by Jim and our daughter, Gloria, and at 5:00 p.m., after a refreshing nap for me, our adult children and their spouses arrived at our home, bearing a wonderful Easter dinner for the nine of us. Our littles all had other plans this year, so there were no Easter egg hunts, but it was a beautiful day, anyway, in which we gave thanks and counted our many blessings.

***

Now, on to Lorane news…

Both the Lorane and Creswell Granges agreed to host a Lane County Sheriff’s office “Public Information Session” to provide information and discussion on the upcoming Lane County Public Safety Levy to appear on the May 16, 2023 ballot. The Creswell Grange’s program was held last week.

The Lorane Grange program is scheduled for Thursday, April 27, at 6:00 p.m.
According to the published info on the official Lane County website, “If passed, the levy would fund a minimum of 255 jail beds for local offenders, as well as 8 detention and 8 treatment beds for youth offenders, including associated treatment services. Currently, the jail has 317 beds for local offenders, 62 more than the minimum required by the levy.”
If the levy is passed, it will be a renewal, meaning the tax rate will not increase. Residents won’t have to pay any more than they are already paying in taxes. The tax rate for this levy is $0.55 per $1,000 of assessed value. It is the same rate that was approved by the voters in 2013.

The next Lorane Grange Dessert and Bingo is scheduled for Saturday, April 29, at 7:00 p.m. It has proven to be a fun evening for all ages and the attendance reached over 40 people recently. It’s a fun way to get out and meet your neighbors and enjoy some laughs and camaraderie.

Mother Nature seems to be in “game mode” this year, too. While driving into town lately, each day has brought us little surprises in the form of April showers for a mile or so, and then we enter dry pavement and sunshine for a short distance. We’ve even encountered smattering of snowflakes or hail pelleting our windshield a bit further down the road. It’s become a guessing game and not easy to plan for when deciding what to wear.

But a sight that many of our Lorane residents are being treated to this spring is the local herds of beautiful elk calmly grazing in our fields. One resident counted 57 head of elk this morning. The cattle ranchers aren’t thrilled with these visits, but for everyone else, they are an inspirational sight.

Sweet Lorane Community News, March 23, 2023

March 23, 2023Newspaper Columns, Leave a comment

The Chronicle
Sweet Lorane Community News
March 23, 2023
By Pat Edwards

This past week, a news item from a local TV channel was posted to the Lorane, Oregon, Facebook page. The headlines: “Former Lorane Elementary School for Sale.” The Eugene newspaper also used the story on its front page. It stirred up a lot of memories for each of us who lived through some very emotional times over the past decade.

The Crow-Applegate-Lorane School District made the decision to close down the beloved Lorane Elementary School at the end of the 2012-2013 school year. Among many of the community members, there were visions of submitting grants to make it into a community center, encompassing a place for a library and local events; in addition, an active local group worked on ways to establish a charter school of some sort and grants were submitted. In May, 2014, when bids for the purchase of the school were opened, one was selected for a local resident who had hoped to help the community retain it. It generated a great deal of excitement and hope that a way could be found for the community to purchase it from him as planned. We soon found that funding was going to be a problem; grants were hard to come by, and the local resident who purchased it needed a definite plan in place to pay for upkeep, taxes and insurance. Eventually, he received an offer from another person in the community who purchased it from him.

The new owner provided the needed maintenance, including a new roof for the gymnasium, and put it on the market once again at a price well beyond what the community could afford, keying in on the interest shown by the passage of the Oregon legalization of marijuana ballot measure in 2014, which would take effect on July 1, 2015. The school was purchased from the second owner with the intent of using the gymnasium and grounds for the cultivation of cannabis. The news was a black cloud that descended over the whole community, and one that still elicits tears and sorrow in addition to the sweet memories of the beautiful red and white school that members of the Lorane community built in 1926 and to which the old-timers, many of their parents, children and grandchildren had attended through the decades. During those 88 years, it served as the community’s base, hosting school functions of all kinds—classes, school board and P.T.C. meetings, carnivals, plays, concerts, holiday programs, fundraisers, sports—as well as other community events, 4-H and Scout meetings, a 3-day Lorane Centennial Celebration, picnics, potlucks, basketball and baseball games, and even large funerals. It served as the heart of Lorane for so long.

Now, the knowledge that the property and buildings are once again being put on the market for $1.25 million, the pot has once again been stirred among those of us who are still around and remember what it meant for so many years to our community. The listing mentions that the planned cultivation of marijuana never took place on the site despite the fact that it has been licensed for that use. Potential buyers who are interested in buying it for that use would have to come up with an additional $250,000 for the license. The realtor has also been contacted by others, interested potential buyers who are involved in “therapy” and “hospitality” businesses, causing some to hope that the future of the Lorane Elementary School might eventually be one that honors its history, heritage and respect within the community, for all that is left to us as a community is that fervent hope.

***

The Lorane Grange has announced that Lane County Sheriff, Cliff Harold, will be visiting Lorane to provide information and answer questions in order to garner support for the renewal of the upcoming public safety levy that will appear on the May 16, 2023, ballot. The public safety levy currently helps to fund the jail, mental health services, and youth services for juvenile criminal offenders. This will be taking place at Lorane Grange on Thursday, April 27, at 6:00 p.m. Let’s provide a large audience for this talk so that we can all be well-informed voters at the May election.