Sweet Lorane Community News, July 16, 2020

July 16, 2020Newspaper ColumnsCrow Grange, Evening Grosbeaks, Joe's Chicken BBQ, Lazuli Buntings, Yard Salepaedwards Leave a comment

Fern Ridge Review
Creswell Chronicle
Sweet Lorane Community News
July 16, 2020
By Pat Edwards

I have a couple of community events that I’d like to tell you about ths week. Despite everything, the communities of Lorane and Crow are going to try to have events that incorporate social distancing.

In Lorane, we are planning a “Multi-Family Yard Sale” to be held on the lawn surrounding the Dew Drop Inn building next to the Lorane Family Store on Saturday, July 25. I am having to clear out the old tavern where I’ve stored a lot of things from the years I used it as the Groundwaters office. Among many, many other things, there will be reams and partial reams of colored paper and card stock available for crafting, two production printers, some furniture and cabinets. Other family and community members are also participating and bringing really nice items. We ask that everyone wear masks and distance themselves from each other. I won’t go into detail here, but it looks like this will have to be a mini-version of our annual Community Yard Sale this year.

Connie Suing of the Crow Grange asked me to post information on the upcoming “socially distanced” version of their annual “Chicken ‘n Pickin’ Barbeque.” This year they are calling it “Joe’s Chicken BBQ” in honor of Joe Canaday a beloved past master of the Grange. It is scheduled for Saturday, August 1st from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. at the Crow Grange. They will be unable to schedule their live old-time fiddlers music, nor will they be able to offer sit-down meals this year, but according to Connie:

“We will have Bluegrass playing in the background. Please plan to drop by and get your BBQ Chicken dinner to go. We need to keep socially distanced and we will have our masks on, but a dinner that you don’t have to cook is always a good thing and you will be supporting our community service efforts. Dinner will include 1/2 chicken, corn on cob, baked beans, a roll, a cookie and water.” If you have any questions, please contact Connie at 541-556-2609.

In last week’s column, I mentioned that I’ve recently had some bouts of depression, but I think I can safely say that we all have had them during these troubled times. Mine show up as a general ennui—not because I don’t have enough to do; I have plenty of projects that I can be working on—but my energy level decreases and taking a nap or sitting in our recliner-swing outside in the sunshine is about all I want to do some days. It’s a way of recharging, I think, and it allows us to make note of all that is beautiful surrounding us if we take the time to see.

Jim and I find that spending time outside in the yard, encouraging the flowers to bloom and watching, through our family room and computer room windows, the beautiful birds who frequent our many feeders, eases our anxieties. I have been keeping feeders out for many years now and Jim loves them as much as I do. They give us a sense of solace and peace, making it well worth the price of the large bags of birdseed and sunflower seed they go through so quickly.

One of the Lazuli Buntings (on right) visiting our bird feeder.

The bird varieties are ever-changing. I used to write about the beautiful little Lazuli Buntings that came to our feeders every year, almost like clockwork, in mid-April. I had never heard of them until they became fixtures at our house. But, after about 6 or 7 years of their visits, those beautiful little turquoise-colored birds stopped coming. I haven’t seen them for about 4 years now and it saddens me.

This year seems to be the year of the goldfinches, sparrows, red house finches, cowbirds, black-headed grosbeaks and most prolifically, the beautiful bright yellow and black male evening grosbeaks. The females are plentiful too, but Mother Nature dictates that the female of most species be much plainer.

It was a female evening grosbeak and one of her grown offspring that entertained me the other day. As I watched through the window, the two of them flew in, landing on top of one of the bird feeders. They were the same size and looked alike, except the feathers on Junior’s black head were ruffled as if he had just gotten out of bed. Mom jumped down to the feeder for a moment while Junior waited on top. She grabbed a beakful of seed and went back to feed a very excited baby who really didn’t look like he needed the help. After doing it several times, they both flew away, but returned the next day to do the same thing from the ground.

Simple things like this are what life is really about for all of us. Looking for and appreciating the everyday things that surround us will get us through the bigger “stuff.”

Sweet Lorane Community News, July 9, 2020

July 9, 2020Newspaper ColumnsBob Reynolds, Sam and Mattie Reynoldspaedwards Leave a comment

Fern Ridge Review
Creswell Chronicle
Sweet Lorane Community News
July 9, 2020
By Pat Edwards

I was so dismayed this week when I read about the defacing of the historical marker honoring Sam and Mattie Reynolds in West Eugene with a racial slur.

Sam and Mattie Reynolds plaque

I didn’t know Sam or Mattie personally, but I’ve long known of the strength of their family and the hardships they suffered in establishing themselves and the African American community in Eugene. I covered some of the journey that black families such as theirs had to take before settling in an area off of West 11th Street in our book, OREGON’S MAIN STREET: U.S. Highway 99 “The Folk History.”

In addition, Jim was a long-time friend of Sam and Mattie’s son, Bob Reynolds. Jim and Bob played on the same AAU basketball team out of Springfield in the mid-1960s. In fact, it was how I met Jim. Some of their other team members during that time were Jerry Cyphert, Rick Herman (who later managed West Lane Thriftway in Veneta), and Don Ainge. Jerry was my co-worker at Calkins Finance in Eugene and recruited me to keep score for the team. Jim and I began dating and we went to team get-togethers where Jerry played the banjo and we had sing-a-longs. I remember how much I enjoyed watching the children who came to watch their fathers play… notably Bob’s little boy, Quentin, and the young son of Don Ainge—Danny Ainge, who later became a pro basketball player and General Manager of the Boston Celtics. They were always at each game.

Bob Reynolds Bob and Jim kept in touch, over the years whenever possible after the team broke up. Sadly Bob passed away in October 2019. He was well-respected in the area and his obit told of the good man he was. “He believed in helping others, giving to those in need, and he took great pride in providing for his large extended family.” Jim attended his funeral, paid respects to his family and said goodbye to not only a good friend, but a portion of his youth that was dear to him.

Sam and Mattie were wonderful parents and raised their children with respect, kindness and courage. I saw that first hand and have long held so much respect for all that they accomplished in their lives. They didn’t deserve the disrespect they were shown last week.

Right now, we are all experiencing a dismay and an actual depression at the trials that our country is now experiencing. I have gone through periods of deep sadness over the destruction and disrespect that is occurring in our country by a small percentage of our citizens. I worry about what kind of world my generation is passing off to our children, grandchildren and, in our case, our great-grandchildren.

It was pointed out to me when I was in an especially bad funk recently that I needed to take a closer look at my grandchildren’s generation, especially. I’ve been so encouraged by not only our grandchildren as they become parents, but by many of their friends, as well. They are once again parenting… really parenting their children. They are teaching them good manners, respect for authority, and they spend so much more time with them than some of the earlier generations did. I am confident that their children will grow up with the kind of values that will allow them to take hold of their future and guide it back to common sense and decency.

We all need to look at the good that surrounds us right now and get away from dwelling on all that is bad. I have faith that in time, we will all come back together and respect one another, not only despite our differences, but because of them.

Sweet Lorane Community News, June 25, 2020

June 25, 2020Newspaper ColumnsGillespie Corners, Lorane Oregon, Territorial Highway Projectpaedwards Leave a comment

Fern Ridge Review
Creswell Chronicle
Sweet Lorane Community News
June 25, 2020
By Pat Edwards

Beginning 06-24-2020

Drivers coming to and leaving Lorane to the north will need to plan for a little extra time these days. The Lane County Territorial Highway Project has finally begun in earnest and Phase One—the realignment and straightening of the curves at Stony Point (also spelled “Stoney Point”), about 3 miles north of town, is expected to continue through the summer and into the fall.

The entire project involves the stretch of Territorial Highway lying between Gillespie Corners and the community of Lorane and will be done in four phases over the next 3 years. Stony Point is the most critical and urgent part of the project, so it comes first.

Historically, early roads in the area, built by the first white settlers, usually traversed the sides of foothills. This was done because of the better drain-off on the hillsides during wet weather. Since gravel was not used until later years, the dirt roads in the flat lands became quagmires during rainy periods and dusty in the summer.

The Stony Point section of Territorial Road took a different route before 1920. As the original road started to ascend, its route cut farther east and went through the properties at the top of the hill and came out just south of the entrance to Territorial Lane where it continued on to Lorane as it does today.

Stony Point’s current route, climbs the hill leading into Lorane and has been a series of sharp, sweeping curves. But for several decades now, the road bed on the, then, state-owned highway, began slipping in three places. ODOT would arrive on an increasingly frequent basis to fill it with more gravel and pavement which, in turn, would once again slip off into the field below. The road is narrow and there were no shoulders going around those curves. The fog lines are right on the edges of downhill drop-offs on the west side and steep banks border the east side of the road.

During the last 20 years or so, traffic has been increasing, due to the popularity of our local wineries and access to the shortcut to the southbound I-5 freeway. Territorial Highway has become a popular route for bicyclists, too, so when the State of Oregon agreed to trade the oversight of Territorial Highway to Lane County for Beltline Road in Eugene, the county put a priority on realigning the road for safety’s sake. A large grant was obtained for the project and June 2020 was set for it to begin.

According to Lane County’s Summer 2020 Project Update, Phase One will soften the sharp curves of Stony Point and widen the road with shoulders and guardrails. The road will be stabilized to prevent future landslides and a retaining wall will be installed across the largest slide area. Flexible mesh (geotextile) material will be used to reinforce the soil. The new road will be built on top of the reinforced soil and the retaining wall.
During the construction, one lane of gravel road will be open for “bi-directional” travel and flaggers, pilot cars and temporary traffic signals will be used as needed. Lane County advises that bicyclists use alternative routes as the work zone will be steep and hard to navigate on a bicycle.

The county is hoping that Phase One will be completed by late fall 2020 so that Phase Two, between Gillespie Corners (where Lorane Highway meets Territorial Highway) and Easy Acres Drive, can begin on time next spring or summer in 2021. That section will address the frequent flooding we have during rainy winters that goes over the road as well as softening the curves in that area where accidents are common.

Phase Three, scheduled for 2022, will take out some of the sharp curves between Easy Acres Drive and Hamm Road, at the north end of Stony Point, and all phases will widen the road considerably with generous shoulders.

The final phase will finish up between Stony Point, to the south, and Cottage Grove-Lorane Road in 2023.

For those of you traveling in our area, please be aware that construction will be on-going for quite some time and expect delays. And, most of all… please drive carefully. Help us keep our family, friends and neighbors safe during this time.