Sweet Lorane Community News, August 27, 2015

August 27, 2015Newspaper ColumnsAll Things Lorane, Bjornstad, Cooper, Goodheart, Lorane, Lorane Elementary School, Matuchlat, Mychel Matchy, Rich Mitchellpaedwards Leave a comment

Fern Ridge Review
Creswell Chronicle
Sweet Lorane Community News
August 27, 2015
By Pat Edwards

Two of our Lorane residents who “vacationed” part of last week at RiverBend are once again home. Marilyn Wenger Cooper, our long-time clerk at the Lorane Family Store, was taken to the hospital by ambulance due to an irregular heartbeat. It took several days to get her meds adjusted so that her heart settled back into a normal rhythm. Welcome home, Marilyn!… and yes, your spot at the store will always be waiting for you1

Michael Matchulat spent a couple of days there, as well. He had all of us rather worried, but when he began to feel better, he began mugging for the camera and the pictures were posted on his Facebook page to show all of us that he was feeling better. His wonderful sense of humor comes through in the name he uses for his Facebook account, too… one that had me wondering at first, “Who is this Mychel Matchy who was trying to friend me?” Welcome home, Michael!

This news is rather late, but I’ve been holding off saying anything about it in this column until I knew a few more details. Most everyone has heard, I think, that the Lorane Elementary School property has once again changed hands. Long-time resident, Rich Mitchell, has purchased the property from Nolan Scheid who was awarded the bid from the school district. Actually, according to Rich, “It is a family endeavor. I am married to Denice Goodheart and Olivia and Sarah Goodheart are our two daughters. We are collectively committed to it’s success.”

The papers were signed in late July and the school building, itself, has been undergoing some major restorative surgery… a furnace has been installed and new roofing put on the school.

According to Rich, “I feel we have succeeded in preserving the building for at least 50 more years. The infrastructure is solid and we are making up for 20 years of deferred maintenance by removing any rot, installing some new toilets and sinks, getting professionals in to handle the plaster and other trades-related issues…”

This, in itself, is cause for celebration as it means that the former school will remain part of our landscape, but the full scope of project is not ready to discuss.

I hope to get together with Rich and Tim Bjornstad, whom Rich describes as the project’s “program director and community liaison” to write an article on the visions and plans that they have for the school buildings and property once they are ready to share those plans with us. We’re all curious and very thankful that the property is getting the care that we envisioned for it. Thank you, Rich and Tim!

Jo-Brew and I received some wonderful news this past week. Upon doing a casual check with our book supplier to see if we have sold many of our Highway 99 books this month, I got quite a shock. Our royalty report says that we have sold over 1,200 books in August. We’re almost positive that they were purchased by Costco which has been interested in them. If that’s the case, they should be in quite a few stores throughout Oregon by the holiday season. So exciting!!

For those interested, I’ve set up a new personal website which will eventually host all of my past columns that I’ve written for both the Fern Ridge Review and the Creswell Chronicle. I’ll post each new column a week after I’ve written them. In addition, I’m including many of the other things I’ve written over the years including two Lorane newsletters, personal profiles on people I’ve interviewed and some of my personal experience non-fiction. So far, I have my last 10 columns loaded, two newsletter issues and some other more recent essays and profiles. It’s set up like a blog and I’d love to have those of you who visit register to have new emails sent whenever I post something new and, even more important, leave comments. It’s at http://allthingslorane.com. (One note about navigating it which is something I haven’t resolved yet… you’ll need to click on the salmon-colored border on the left hand side the screen to make a secret slide-out menu open to give you more options for viewing.) I still have much to learn on setting it up.

Remember – September 12 is the Lorane Celebration!

Sweet Lorane Community News – August 13, 2015

August 13, 2015Newspaper ColumnsChambers Mill Fire, Forest Fire, Lorane, Lorane Wildfire, Matuchlat, Oregonpaedwards Leave a comment

Fern Ridge Review
Creswell Chronicle
Sweet Lorane Community News
August 13, 2015
By Pat Edwards

Lorane has been in the news for several days this past week and the wildfire that threatened homes in our area has consumed all of us. Today is Friday, August 14, as I’m writing this. I’ve gone over my deadline, but there was just too much going on with the fire during the past two days that I wasn’t able to focus on writing the column. I am the administrator of the Lorane Facebook page and I was kept constantly busy monitoring it and giving permissions to the 79 new people who requested to join it in order to get the news of the fire and to comment on postings. Also, I wanted to be able to write a happy ending to it for this week’s column.

I’ve waited long enough – our happy ending is in sight, even if the fire has not yet been fully contained at this point. The weather is teasing us with possible rain and a few stray “mistings” this morning. I don’t know if anything will come of it, but it feels good and it has slowed down the progress of the fire, itself. The official word is that it has burned 180 acres and is 70% contained after coming within 75 feet of the Matchulat home, near where it started. Yes, that’s the same Matchulat family that has been mentioned in this column in recent weeks. Fortunately, the Matchulat’s were spending a few quiet days at the beach to rest up from the furious rounds of fundraisers put on to help with son Michael’s medical expenses following a diagnosis of Stage IV colorectal cancer.

The fire has been determined to be human-caused and started along the roadway on South Territorial Road just north of the Matchulat home. It quickly spread through dry grass and into a group of trees near the home and began racing up the hill next to the house. Lorane resident, Cherie Lutman, called 911 and then made a call to lifetime Lorane resident, Gary Thompson since she couldn’t rouse the Matchulats. Gary and his wife Lil rushed to the blaze and immediately saw that it was heading towards the Matchulat’s house. Gary turned on hoses and climbed to the roof of the house. He and Lil sprayed down everything as they watched the fire get closer and closer. The Lorane Fire Department volunteers and air support were soon there and they began the work of keeping the fire at bay. With the help of others who had arrived, they went inside and collected as many of the Matchulat’s photos and personal items as they could in case they were not able to save the house. Without the Thompsons’ quick thinking and their concern for their friends and neighbors, that could easily have been the outcome. Fortunately, with the barrage of water dumps from the air and fire hoses on the ground, the fire’s force focused on the trees and the dry grass above the house and the immediate danger was over. But, Gary and Lil and others who had arrived, stayed on the scene to make sure that stray embers from the burgeoning fire did not land on the roof.

In the meantime, crews from the Western Lane division of the Oregon Department of Forestry began trying to contain the fire. They put out a priority alert and other crews began arriving from as far away as McKenzie and Lowell Fire Districts. Helicopters and air tankers continued dumping water and retardants on the fire. Local resident, Bruce McDonald, and others who had cats and heavy equipment began working on a fire line to try and keep the fire from spreading. The next day, more crews arrived. One of them, in five trucks, pulled into our store parking lot to get supplies before heading for the fire. They had been fighting the large Southern Oregon fire near Glide and their clothes still were fragrant with the smell of smoke. But, they knew that they were needed here, so they came.

We have a lot of heroes to thank… not only Cherie, Gary, Lil, Bruce and all of the local and out-of-area firefighters, but all of the people who were glued to their computers, reading and commenting on breaking news about the fire… the ones sending prayers and thanks to all who were working so hard to save the lives and homes of our residents. I have a special soft-spot in my heart for those who offered help in the form of providing food and drink for the firefighters, making trailers and transportation available for threatened livestock and beds for anyone who became displaced by the fire. All are heroes in my estimation.

I’m very proud of our community and of all of those who showed their concern. Thank you.

Sweet Lorane Community News – August 6, 2015

August 6, 2015Newspaper ColumnsCruise and Ride Benefit, George Budington, Lorane Community Potluck, Lorane Grange, Lorane Ice Cream Social, OPVA, Oregon Paralyzed Veterans of America, Pancake Breakfastpaedwards Leave a comment

Fern Ridge Review
Creswell Chronicle
Sweet Lorane Community News
August 06, 2015, 2015
By Pat Edwards

I promised to give you a report on the Pancake Breakfast fundraiser that was held at the Lorane Grange last week for Sheriff’s Deputy Michael Matchulat who has been diagnosed with Stage IV colorectal cancer. It was a huge success! Over 250 people showed up to eat pancakes, eggs and sausage and to visit with friends and, best of all, to give Michael a hug and assurances of many prayers. The large turnout was comprised of not only Lorane community members, but many other friends, co-workers, family and perfect strangers who opened their hearts and their checkbooks for this young man. There was a large group of volunteers who stayed for the whole four hours to set up, prepare the food and clean up afterwards. I volunteered to wash dishes, but since paper plates were used, I was handed a spatula so I could man one of the three large pancake grills under the watchful eye of pancakologist, Bruce McDonald, throughout the morning. By doing so, I got to see and talk to so many people I haven’t seen in years as they passed through the line. Michael’s mother, Trish, worked next to me and we were so touched at the outpouring of love and concern shown towards her son. In the end, when the donation canisters were emptied and counted, Michael was able to deposit over $6,200 into his medical fund for the breakfast alone. From what I understand, the garage sale that was held for Michael in Eugene was also a big success. Thank you to each one of you! It’s amazing what can be accomplished when we all have a common goal.

Have there been more activities than usual this summer? It seems that Lorane has been the site of several events. This past Saturday was the “Cruise and Ride” Benefit for the Paralyzed Veterans of America in which granges around Lane County, including Lorane’s and Crow’s, were visited by a large contingent of cruisers. In addition, the Lorane Community Potluck and the Ice Cream Social was held on Sunday. I will need to give you reports on those next week as my deadline takes place before the events. Then, on September 12, we’ll be having the Lorane Celebration for the first time.

I want to thank those of you who sent well-wishes and kind thoughts to Jim when I posted a picture of him lying on a hospital bed in preparation for one of three epidermal steroid injections that he’s scheduled for to try and locate the source of a lower back problem that has been causing him quite a bit of pain and discomfort. It’s slowed him down considerably in the past few years and has now begun affecting one leg, so it’s time to get something done.

Thank goodness the weather has cooled down. Even the few, scattered drops of rain I felt one morning last week, felt good. We need a lot more to help out with the forest fire situation. Fern Ridge Lake looks so desolate and muddy with the water level being so low. Summer’s quickly sneaking by, so be sure to enjoy what’s left. Here’s a little reminder how a quiet summer evening in the country, away from city lights, can be spent…

A Bit of Lorane History:

“Willard Gowing recalls the friend that the children of Lorane had in George Budington in the 1930s. Mr. Budington was a bachelor who lived by himself in his home on Old Lorane Road. On warm summer evenings, the children, tiring of playing “Hide and Seek,” would drift over to George Budington’s house. He came outside and talked to the kids about the stars in the sky. ‘He was hard of hearing, so it was hard to ask him questions, but we watched and listened as he pointed out the stars…'” (From Sawdust and Cider; 1987; 2006)