Category: Newspaper Columns

Newspaper columns that I have written for the Fern Ridge Review in Veneta, Oregon and the Creswell Chronicle in Creswell, Oregon. I began writing them for the Fern Ridge Review on August 4, 2010; on December 6, 2012, the Creswell Chronicle began printing them, as well. I am still the Lorane columnist for both papers.

Sweet Lorane Community News – December 03, 2015

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Fern Ridge Review
Creswell Chronicle
Sweet Lorane Community News
December 03, 2015
By Pat Edwards

Now that we are looking through the rearview mirror at Thanksgiving 2015, our community is gearing up for Christmas 2015.

The members of Theta Rho will once again be hosting a Parents’ Night Out on Friday, December 11 from 5:00 pm to 10:00 p.m. at the Lorane I.O.O.F. Lodge Hall. The girls are providing free child care for children ages 2 to 12 years of age. There will be crafts, games, snacks and fun for all the children who will be closely supervised by Theta Rho girls and adult advisors. Contact Tara Wigle 541-935-5245 or Mary Houle’ 541-942-9341 with questions or for more information.

As a reminder, too, plan on attending the Lorane Grange Christmas dinner on Sunday, December 13 at 1:30 p.m.  The traditional dinner of turkey, gravy, ham and potatoes are furnished by the grange; everything else is potluck and those who are attending are asked to bring a salad, side dish or dessert. The whole Lorane community is invited.

The Lorane Angel Tree has now been installed at the Lorane Family Store and I believe there is now one at the Crow Middle/High School. The store’s tree is located by the little library at the back of the first aisle. I hope that everyone is generous and takes one or more names off the tree for whom they can buy gifts. Jim and I began participating in this several years ago, selecting two – one for a boy and one for a girl. Jim has taken great delight in buying the gift for the boy all on his own (we don’t have too many boys in the family!) and I select the girl’s gift. It means so much to us to imagine the children’s excitement when opening them. I highly recommend it for everyone. If you have any questions or if you would like to add children’s names to the tree, please call Marissa McNutt-Cooper at 541-517-6608 (Lorane) or the coordinator at Applegate Elementary at 541-686-5140 (Crow).

The Applegate Winter Program, held at the Applegate Elementary School is scheduled for Tuesday, December 15. It will include dinner at 5:30 p.m. and school performances by the bands and choir at 7:00 p.m.  Everyone is asked to bring canned or non-perishable foods to be used in the food boxes that will be made available to C-A-L families in need.

While participating in the West Lane Holiday Bazaar a few weeks ago, I was approached by someone who asked why Lorane and Crow were not coordinating their food and gift baskets and trees through the very successful Mid-Lane S.A.N.T.A. Project headquartered in Veneta. Their advertising includes Lorane, Crow and other local communities and they welcome and invite us to join them in coordinating and planning the activities and events associated with S.A.N.T.A. I wanted to pass her invitation on to our local organizers. More information on the project can be found at http://www.midlanecares.org/holiday-programs/.

The Rural Art Center is sponsoring its next half-day of art on Friday, December 11. It’s open to elementary kids in the C-A-L School District. Middle and high school students are also welcome as volunteers. Adults may also volunteer, but they need to pass a background check before being accepted.  Alyssa Shepherd will guide the students through the annual holiday ornament and candlemaking.  Classes are $10, but scholarships are available.  Contact Alyssa at 541-556-8151 or malyssa2@yahoo.

The R.A.C. Lorane Movie Night will also be holding its next movie… the 1925 oldie-but-goodie “The Gold Rush” featuring Charlie Chaplin on Saturday, December 12. “This classic silent comedy includes two of Chaplin’s most famous skits (he eats a most creative meal). Capturing the optimism of the gold-seekers and the hardships and romance they found, this is the film Chaplin most wished to be remembered for. “ (95 minutes). There will also be short entertainment provided by the Ukulele Club and the on-screen version of Tiny Tim singing “Tiptoe Through the Tulips.” The non-profit beneficiary of the evening will be the RAC Ukulele Club.

There are lots of activities to participate in locally, so be sure to plan some of your holiday entertainment within the community, if at all possible.

Sweet Lorane Community News – November 26, 2015

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Fern Ridge Review
Creswell Chronicle
Sweet Lorane Community News
November 26, 2015
By Pat Edwards

I hope that everyone took some time this past week to contemplate all the things in life that we can be thankful for. Sometimes it’s easy to allow the trials and tribulations to take over the focus of our lives, but there are usually multiple “some things or some ones” that we can add to the blessings’ side of our lists. Thanksgiving is the time to make a point of recognizing them.
Be sure to mark you calendars for the Lorane Grange Christmas dinner on Sunday, December 13 at 1:30 p.m.  Turkey, gravy, ham, and potatoes are furnished by the grange, everything else is potluck. He community is invited.
Thanks to quite a few of our Groundwaters’ Lane County Authors for participating in the West Lane Holiday Bazaar the weekend of the November 21. We were set up at the Applegate Regional Theater on Central Road and we had a successful sale. We really appreciate the support shown by the community, too.
If you are at the Holiday Market at the Lane County Fairgrounds, Joe Blakely, Jo-Brew and I are sharing a booth there to sell our books. So far, we’ve been very successful and Jo’s and my Highway 99 books as well as Joe Blakely’s “Oregon’s Coast Highway” and other books are selling quite well. Stop by our booth (#206) in the southeast corner of the Holiday Market building just to say “Hi” if nothing else. It’s always fun to see people we know.
I don’t have any more community news to report that I didn’t cover in last week’s column, so I’ll include a short piece from one of our Highway 99 books.

An excerpt from OREGON’S MAIN STREET: U.S. Highway 99 “The Folk History”:

“After 1865, the stagecoaches no longer used the steep Territorial Road to cross the Calapooya Mountains, past the Cartwright House/Mountain House Hotel and Lorane on their way to Eugene City. Instead, they were rerouted by way of an old road which wound through Pass Creek Canyon. The road was poor, soft and muddy along the creek bottom and the canyon passage was narrow.
“Robert H. Ward, who lived at the southern end of the new route, built a corduroy road by laying 8-foot cedar logs side by side across the road through the pass. This road became known as Ward’s Toll Road, with Ward collecting a toll from northbound travelers and Ira Hawley collecting the southbound tolls.
“On the stage route, Hawley’s Station was located 10 miles north of Estes Ranch on the Ira B. Hawley Donation Land Claim. It provided a rest stop and a horse-changing station there.
“The passengers found food and overnight accommodations at the house and a big barn sheltered the team of horses on the large 4,000 acre cattle and sheep ranch. There was also a small community school on the property that served the surrounding area.
“Today, U.S. Highway 99, south of Cottage Grove passes the red ranch buildings and barns which belong to the present Hawley Land and Cattle Company on the site of Ira Hawley’s Stage Station.”

Sweet Lorane Community News – November 19, 2015

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Fern Ridge Review
Creswell Chronicle
Sweet Lorane Community News
November 19, 2015
By Pat Edwards

Here’s an update on Marilyn Wenger-Cooper who has had a long stint in the hospital. She was temporarily moved to the Valley West Health Care Center on Bailey Hill Road and is now home. Welcome home, Marilyn! We’re so glad that you’re back, Wonder Woman!

Last Monday, November 16, a “Master Planning Session” sponsored by the Crow-Applegate-Lorane School District #66 was held at the Lorane Grange. The purpose of the meeting was to inform the Lorane end of the district about proposed upgrades and safety measures for the district schools. The architect in charge of the project discussed the plans, answered questions for interested parents and residents and encouraged their input. A second meeting was held at Crow last Thursday, November 19. I apologize for not providing more information sooner, but we were not informed until after last week’s deadline. If you weren’t able to attend either meeting and have any questions about the school district plans, please call the District Office (541-935-2100) or check their website at http://www.cal.k12.or.us/.

Jim and I attended the Lorane Community Thanksgiving Dinner put on by the Lorane Christian Church at the Grange last week. Even though this event has been offered free to the residents of Lorane for quite a few years, this is the first one we’ve attended. We really enjoyed ourselves and not only enjoyed the great food, but we were able to visit with friends and neighbors that we have not seen for quite some time. I really encourage others, like us, who keep saying that they will attend, but just never have, to plan on it next year. It was a fun evening!

Collection boxes are being placed at the Lorane Family Store and other organizations in the community for donations of canned and non-perishable food to be used for Christmas baskets for those within the Lorane and Crow area. If you know of anyone who could use a food basket, please call Sande Maxwell (541-942-5083; sandemaxwell@wildblue.net) or Betty Willoughby (541-942-7539) in Lorane or the Crow-Applegate-Lorane District Office for Crow (541-935-2100).

This year, a week or so after Thanksgiving, the Angel Trees will be placed in the Lorane Family Store and the Crow Middle/High School gymnasium. Before they can do that, however, community members of both Lorane and Crow are asked to nominate, right away, families with children ages birth to 18 years who could use an angel this year. Children do not have to attend the area schools, but they just must live within our school district.

Nomination forms were sent out through the schools this past week. If you or someone you know is in need of assistance this year, please return the form to the school office or contact Marissa McNutt Cooper at 541-517-6608. She wants to assure everyone that all information received is completely confidential.

Once names and information on each of the children are collected, the trees will be hung with felt angel “ornaments” representing these area children whose families are in need of assistance. Attached to each ornament is a tag showing the age, gender – not names –  and a suggestion of what the child would enjoy as a Christmas or holiday gift.

Once the Angel trees are in place, our community members, who have hearts of gold, are asked to select one or more angels from the trees to buy gifts for the holidays. After they  have been purchased, bring these unwrapped gifts and the felt angels to which they correspond to either the Lorane Family Store or the Crow Middle/High School (wherever you obtained them). Let’s be as generous this year as we were last!

As a fundraiser, the Crow High School senior class is taking orders for two different sizes of wreaths to be picked up on Sunday, December 7. The 22″ to 24″ size sells for $20; the  26″ to 28″ size sells for $35. Both size wreaths are made from fresh greens with Ponderosa pine cones. An order form may be downloaded from the C-A-L website or picked up in the CHS office. It must be filled out and dropped off with your payment in the school office by noon on November 30.

Happy Thanksgiving, all!