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 – November 12, 2015

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Fern Ridge Review
Creswell Chronicle
Sweet Lorane Community News
November 12, 2015
By Pat Edwards

Winter is truly approaching now. Even though we’ve had some sunshine, the cold dampness seems to be seeping into my bones these days. Even though our thermostat is kept between 70 to 72 degrees, I find I frequently need to wear a sweater to stay warm in our large common areas of the house. The dogs and I still take our almost-daily mile-long walks up the hill, and the exercise helps with my “internal heating” problem. I’d like to go for longer distances, but for Shortie, with his basketball-size abdominal tumor, the mile is his maximum, and I won’t go without him. He loves it so. I really dislike the ellipticals and stationary bicycles, although I will turn to them as the weather gets worse. I miss the wind and even a few sprinkles in my face, but most of all, I miss the scenery of those walks this time of year.

Lorane and Crow are gearing up for the holidays. By the time you read this, the Lorane Thanksgiving dinner will have taken place, but the free Crow community potluck for Thanksgiving is still in sight. It will be held on Thursday, November 19 beginning at 6:30 p.m. The Crow Grange will provide turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy. Those attending are asked to bring a side dish and/or dessert. They are also accepting donations of canned foods for the Crow holiday food baskets.

Lorane’s own Michael Matchulat, who is fighting Stage 4 colorectal cancer, is taking an aggressive plan of attack of surgeries and treatments programmed by a special team of surgeons from the Oregon Health Sciences University in order to get on top of his cancer. Michael’s first surgery on Friday, November 20, will involve removing the 4 or 5 malignant tumors from the left lobe of his liver. It will be followed later by the removal of his whole right lobe. Obviously, this young man needs all of the prayers and support we can muster for him. We all admire his openness and grit in dealing with the grueling fight he is waging. For details and more information on what he is facing, check out his postings on his Facebook page in the name of Mychel Matchy.

The West Lane Holiday Bazaar is approaching fast… this coming Friday and Saturday, November 20 and 21. Please keep our Lane County Author’s booth in mind that will be set up at the Applegate Regional Theater in the former Central School gymnasium. Books make excellent gifts and we will have several local authors there to sell and autograph their books for you including Michael Foster, Michael J. “Hoss” Barker, Ava (Muriel) Linder, Terah Van Dusen, Joe Blakely and Jennifer Chambers. I will be there on Friday, too.

And, remember… The Farm Store has our Groundwaters 2015: an Anthology on hand for gifts, as well. Your support of local writers and poets will be most appreciated!

Sweet Lorane Community News – November 5, 2015

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Fern Ridge Review
Creswell Chronicle
Sweet Lorane Community News
November 5, 2015
By Pat Edwards

Hooray for Lorane resident, Marilyn Wenger-Cooper! She spent several days on a respirator in the ICU at RiverBend with kidney failure and under-functioning heart and lungs. But, she is back!… at least she’s off the respirator, awake and in a regular room in the Heart and Vascular Center at RB. She scared the daylights out of our whole community. Marilyn has been a long-time clerk at the Lorane Family Store and is a member of our LFS family. In fact, she’s worked for Jim and me for much of the 38 years we’ve had the store. We’ve been in to see her several times and although she was looking like she had been through a war (she was), her smile and sense of humor are still intact. Welcome back, Marilyn! Jim looks forward to putting you back on the schedule when you are feeling better.

Thanks to a large response to the Rebekahs request for donations of scrap metal as a fundraiser for one of their building projects, the large dumpster is full. Since some of us have been slow in getting our metal brought in, another empty dumpster will replace the full one to, hopefully, be filled again. Let’s make sure that we fill this one, too.

It’s time to mark your calendars for the upcoming annual Thanksgiving Dinner sponsored by the Lorane Christian Church and held at the Lorane Grange. It will be held on Sunday, November 15 at 5:30 p.m. and is free to all local residents. Each family is asked to bring a dessert to share. It’s a wonderful event and a good chance to meet and visit with your neighbors.

The Crow Grange is also planning an annual Thanksgiving potluck on November 19.

Holiday plans are in the works for the local food drives and the annual Angel Tree. For me, the holiday season is not so much about ourselves, but to give thanks and show our care and concern for others. The Lorane Community Association will soon be installing Angel Trees at the Lorane Family Store and probably Crow Middle/High School.

Also, collection boxes will soon be placed all around Lorane to gather non- perishable canned goods and other necessities for the food baskets. It’s a joint effort put on by the Rebekah Lodge and the Lorane Fire Department. If you know of any family who would benefit from a food basket, please contact  Sande Maxwell (541-942-5083 or sandemaxwell@wildblue.net) or Betty Willoughby (541-942-7539), and be sure to be generous in your giving this year. These baskets have been so very important to our local families in the past.

I will provide more information on both the Angel Tree project and the Food Drive in upcoming issues.

I wanted to also alert you to what’s become a huge event for the West Lane area, including Crow, each year. It’s the gigantic Fern Ridge Holiday Bazaar to be held on Friday and Saturday, November 20 and 21 between 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. each day. Local churches, organizations, businesses and schools will be participating and I’ve heard that this year there are more offerings than ever signing up. I’m not sure if my information is correct, but I was told that at least 20 sites will be participating. Groundwaters is taking part in the Lane County Authors’ table that will be set up at the Applegate Regional Theater site in the former Central School on Central Road north of Crow. We plan to offer books from many local authors, including many from the Veneta, Elmira and yes, even Lorane areas. Many of the authors will be manning the booth both days. The Applegate Regional Theater (ART) will have lots of other offerings of crafts, and mostly handmade, quality merchandise and food. They usually have live musical entertainment and we might even talk some of our Groundwaters’ poets into doing a few readings. It sits right next door to the Central Grange which also has a large selection of booths and tables. Be sure to put us on your list! Maps will be available.

And, authors… if we haven’t contacted you and you want to participate, please email me at edwards@groundwaterspublishing.com or paedwards42@yahoo.com.

Sweet Lorane Community News – October 29, 2015

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Fern Ridge Review
Creswell Chronicle
Sweet Lorane Community News
October 29, 2015
By Pat Edwards

Linda HughesI’m very late in reporting on the passing of another long-time Lorane resident… Linda Hughes. I didn’t hear about her death until a week or two after she passed away on September 28 and feel badly that I haven’t mentioned it until now. Linda lived on Gowdyville Road with her husband Vergil. They had three children, Grant, Rick and Jason. The Hughes family moved to Lorane in 1966 and I got to know Linda when she’d come by the store while I worked there. She was involved in school activities in those days and later became active in making crafts of all kinds. She proved to be quite gifted and sold many of them through the old Lorane Country Café and craft sales around the area. Our thoughts and prayers have been with the Hughes family for their loss of a very caring wife, mother and grandmother.

With Halloween in the past (and even before), the stores have been telling us that we need to be thinking about Thanksgiving… and even Christmas. It seems that with such early reminders each year, the excitement and anticipation begin to wear thin by the time that the actual celebrations get here. I don’t know if it’s just my age or if others feel relief to get through the holiday season and move into a new year.

In truth, I love Thanksgiving Day, especially when our family gathers at our house to give thanks for our blessings. I hand over the potato peelers to Steph and Lins (this year it will be Hayley since Linsey is in Italy), the carving knife is presented to Gloria and the table setting duties to everyone else. Christmas day itself is special for that same reason. I guess that it’s the expectations and yes… commercialism… surrounding both holidays so early in the season that tire me out and turn me off.

Be sure to mark a couple of upcoming events on your calendar. The next Rural Art Center Lorane Movie Night will be held on Saturday, November 14 at the Lorane Grange. It will feature the movie, “Royal Wedding,” with Fred Astaire. You can find all of the information on times and schedules at at http://www.ruralartcenter.org/#!movie-night/ck0q.

The next Spaghetti Dinner and Bingo Night will be on Friday, November 20, beginning at 5:30 p.m. at the Lorane Grange. It is fun evening with good food, good friends and lots of fun for the whole family.

Beware! There have been recent theft and suspicious activities reported in both the Lorane and Crow areas. Try to be alert to cars and people in the area who seem out of place or acting strangely. A man was seen wandering through the arena building of a local stables this past week and ran away when confronted. A theft was reported at a home between Simonsen  and Briggs Hill Roads. We all need to watch out for our neighbors and report any incidents or concerns to the Lane County Sheriff’s tipline at  541-682-4167 or their non-emergency line at 541-682-4141.

Front coverThe staff of Groundwaters would like to thank the Soverns at The Farm Store in Veneta for agreeing to be the local distributor for our new annual issue, Groundwaters 2015: an Anthology. They have a supply on hand right now, so if you’re missing our quarterly issues that we’ve had in the past, drop by to pick one up at the Farm Store located on Territorial Road, south of Veneta or at the Lorane Family Store in Lorane.

Front CoverWe have also just completed two more books by local authors. A new novel by Elmira author, Ava Linder, called The Rainbow Chasers, is a sequel to her first book, The White Man’s Brother, and both take place in the 1850s. The Rainbow Chasers brings Bob and Rebecca Tanner to the Oregon Territory where they settle in the Canyonville area. Ava was featured in a recent Fern Ridge Review article.

Front pageAnother new book is Rebellion, Murder and a Pulitzer Prize by Joe Blakely. Joe lives in Eugene, but has had Groundwaters publish his last two books. This one tells about the actual murder trial of the leader of Southern Oregon’s “Jacksonville Rebellion,” Llewellyn Banks. The 1933 change of venue trial was held at the Lane County Courthouse and resulted in a Pulitzer Prize being awarded to Robert Ruhl of the Medford Mail Tribune. Joe’s books are available on his website at https://joeblakelyauthor.wordpress.com/

Check out all of our Groundwaters’-produced books at https://allthingslorane.com/published-books/.