Fern Ridge Review
Creswell Chronicle
Sweet Lorane Community News
December 7, 2017
By Pat Edwards

I just received word that another former Lorane resident has passed away. Ellis D. Runk died on December 4. Ellis and his wife Karen helped me immensely when I was researching the Lorane history and, more recently, our Highway 99 books. Ellis grew up on the property on Lorane Highway where his grandfather, Jacob G. “Jake” Runk, settled. It is also where our family home, now owned by our daughter, Michele, and son-in-law, Brian Kau, sits. Both Ellis and his father Everett grew up there. I don’t remember ever having met Ellis in person, but I feel I knew him through Karen.

Karen Runk, asked me to pass along information on his memorial service. It will be held from noon to 3:00 p.m. on Saturday, December 16 at their home at 6955 Glacier Drive, Springfield. Our thoughts and prayers are with you at this time, Karen.

The Runk family has a long history in Lorane. As a boy, Ellis’ grandfather, Jake, moved to the area in 1884 with his brother John, sister Katherine, their mother, Rosina Schneider, stepfather, Francis Schneider and step-brothers, Joe, George and Frank.

Jake’s brother, John lived with his family in various locations around Lorane – down the Siuslaw River at the foot of “Koch Hill; near Siuslaw Falls on the King Ranch; in the former William Jackson grocery store; in the house next to the I.O.O.F. Cemetery; in a home owned by Frank Davis that sat across from the Methodist Church, and in a house which sat across Cottage Grove-Lorane Road from the historic Lorane Valley Ranch house which belonged at that time to Oral Crowe. Tragically, in 1936, that home caught fire and burned, killing John’s son, Ivan, who died after saving his sister Reatha from the fire.

A much-loved Lorane resident, Julia Adler, also passed away recently on November 9. Her family just released the following update.

“For those of you who may not know, Julia Adler, of Siuslaw River Road, a 20-year resident of Lorane, passed away on November 9th. We will be having a celebration of life in the near future, and will keep friends and neighbors posted when we have more details.”

I had only met Julia a few times, but Jim remembers her fondly as a regular at the Lorane Family Store. Julia had a lot of friends in Lorane and she is sorely missed. Jim and I offer our sincere condolences to her two daughters, Megan and Tess.

The Lorane Rebekahs will be holding their Annual Holiday Bake Sale on Monday, December 18 at the Rebekah Lodge beginning at 10:00 a.m. No closing time is listed, but it’s assumed that they’ll be open until the goodies are sold or 4:00 p.m. – whichever comes first. Now’s the time to pick up some yummy baked goods for your holiday celebrations or to bribe St. Nick on Christmas Eve.

I asked Lisa Livelybrooks to give me some more information on the non-profit Rural Art Center’s Ukulele Club that has been active in Crow for several years now. This seems like a fun group and they get to entertain at different venues and events in the area.

According to Lisa, they’ve had participants ranging from 10 to 90 years of age in the classes. They provide three 10-week “terms” of instruction for ukulele playing per year. The first term just ended and “Term 2″ will be offered beginning January 4 from 3:30 to 5:00 p.m. at the Crow High School music room. Terms are approximately 10 weeks each, and they ask for a $10 donation per term if folks can manage it. New members are welcome to join each term.

Lisa added, “If we have some beginners, we may split into smaller groups to catch the newbies up. We have a goal of trying to give away one ukulele each term to one of our learners who don’t yet have their own instrument.”

For more information, contact Lisa or email the Rural Art Center at ruralartcenter@gmail.com.