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 23, 2017

December 8, 2017Newspaper Columns, , , , , , Leave a comment

Fern Ridge Review
Creswell Chronicle
Sweet Lorane Community News
November 23, 2017
By Pat Edwards

Well, we’ve survived the overeating frenzy of another Thanksgiving day. Oh! How good it was (and still is), though. Jim and I had 22 people at our house for a 4:00 p.m. dinner followed by two tables full of card games going until after 10:00 p.m… There were at least 8 playing Contract Rummy at the big dining room table and four of us playing Pinochle at the smaller game table in the family room. Gosh! It’s been years since I played Pinochle. I had forgotten how much fun that can be. Having family and friends gather at our house each year is so special for us and we know how blessed we are to have each other.

The next Lorane Movie Night sponsored by the Rural Art Center will be held on Saturday, December 9. It will feature what has got to be my very favorite movie of all time… “The Sound of Music” with Julie Andrews. My daughters and I know the lyrics to every one of the songs in that show by heart. We must have seen the movie dozens of times… “Do, a deer, a female deer; Re, a drop of golden sun…”

There will be a pre-show that night featuring the Community Ukulele Club leading a sing-along. This sounds like an evening I could really get into… maybe they can even strum a few lines of “My Favorite Things,” although I’m having a hard time envisioning a ukulele version of it.

The soup dinner will begin at 6:00 p.m. followed by the pre-show at 6:45 and the movie at 7:30 p.m. There will also be doorprizes drawn. The suggested admission price is $7.00 for adults; $5.00 for children with most or all of the proceeds going to the each night’s sponsoring area non-profit organizations.

A reminder… The Lorane Grange will be holding its annual community Christmas dinner and Open House on December 10, beginning at 12:30 p.m. The turkey and trimming dinner is free! We are encouraged to bring a dessert or side dish to share, but no one will be turned away. Unfortunately, I will be working our booth at the Holiday Market that day, so I won’t be able to go, but I know from past years that it’s a great event.

Speaking of our booth at the Holiday Market, if you are planning to go between now and Christmas Eve, plan on stopping by to say “Hi!” Joe Blakely, Jennifer Chambers and I share the space in the far southeast corner of the hall at the fairgrounds where it is located. It’s just down the back wall from the entertainment stage and food booths. We offer our collection of Oregon and Lane County history books. They make great holiday gifts. I have to laugh, though… so many people who buy a book from us confide that, “Of course, I’m going to read it before I give it to – (name the family member) – for Christmas.” Even if you’re not in the market for books, we’d love to have you stop by to chat. I’ve seen so many people I haven’t seen in years there, and some who are neighbors that I have never met.

The Angel Trees will be going up at Lorane stores and at Crow High/Middle School again this year. Be sure to plan to take one or more tags off the trees to fill with a holiday gift for a local area child in need. These gifts are so important in making the holidays less stressful for the families that have fallen on hard times. ‘Tis the season to be generous.

Sweet Lorane Community News – November 16, 2017

December 8, 2017Newspaper Columns, , , , Leave a comment

Fern Ridge Review
Creswell Chronicle
Sweet Lorane Community News
November 16, 2017
By Pat Edwards

I’ve been told that boxes are now all in place in Lorane organizations and businesses to collect canned and non-perishable foods for the Community Food Baskets that will be distributed to local families. Let’s make sure that no one goes hungry at any time during the year, not just the holiday season. We have shown ourselves to be a community that cares for one another.

I don’t have info on the Angel Tree, but I’m sure that Lorane will also be participating in that wonderful project as well. Details next week!

Mark your calendars for the Lorane Grange’s Christmas Dinner to be held on December 10 at 12:30 p.m. Everyone is welcome and it’s free. If you want, bring a side dish or dessert to share. The rest of the meal will be provided by the grange. A collection box for the food baskets will also be available.

A new group is forming in Lorane called “Birth and Beyond.” The goal will be “to connect as individuals, couples, families, guardians, grandparents” by initially providing play date opportunities for local preschool children, but branching out as needs are found to involve the whole community. Anyone interested in taking part in this group, sponsored by Lorane Community Cares and Oregon Institute for A Better Way, should come to the Lorane Grange on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 12 noon or you can contact Misty Burris to find out more about it.

The Crow High School Alumni Basketball Tournament for both men and women is being planned. The proposed dates are December 9 and 10. If you’re interested in participating, leave word with Geena Zimmerman Cull, Kevin Stevens or at the school.

It’s hard to believe that we’re swiftly entering the holiday season, but I’m looking forward to it this year. It’s a busy and sometimes stressful time for all of us, but I think that this year, especially, we need to shift gears and immerse ourselves in this season of thanks, joy, hope and love. Let’s take this opportunity to put aside, for a short while, the frustrations and anger of a world gone crazy and let our hearts be filled with the positives of the season.

Sweet Lorane Community News – November 09, 2017

December 8, 2017Newspaper Columns, , , , , , , Leave a comment

Fern Ridge Review
Creswell Chronicle
Sweet Lorane Community News
November 9, 2017
By Pat Edwards

Former Lorane resident, Jackie Keep Shappart, just received word that Douglas Burns, who graduated from Crow High School in 1961, passed away on August 20, 2017. He was a resident of Woodburn. His parents, Gene and May Burns (and later, stepmother, Jeanette), lived on South Territorial Road for many years. In the on-line “West Lane Project,” is an article, published in the Eugene Register-Guard on October 23, 1957, that featured Douglas and his brother Robert. They had an unusual 4-H project… raising ring-neck pheasants for the Oregon State Game Commission. “Pheasant raising has been a profitable venture for the Burns’ youth, Robert, 14, and Douglas, 13. This year they incubated 150 eggs and 72 pheasants for return to the Game Commission. Their total profit on the birds was $52.50…” Check it out at https://westlaneproject.shutterfly.com/people-b/9041. Our condolences to the Burns family for their loss.

It was exciting for a lot of us who have lived in the Lorane area for quite a while to hear that the former Lane County Work Camp, located west of Lorane on Siuslaw River Road, is now going to be used again. It has been sitting empty for many years since the county shut it down for lack of operational funds.

It is now being called, “Camp Alma,” and according to a story on the KEZI website, a local nonprofit group, Veterans Legacy, plans to turn the approximately 30-acre site into a treatment center for veterans.

The plan is to incorporate activities including the working of the land, growing food and raising animals in a quiet, safe, serene and isolated environment to allow veterans suffering from PTSD to heal and ready themselves for life away from war… to begin their transition back into the community. We’re proud to have Camp Alma as our neighbor.

Winter is fast approaching and Kathy Rice of Lorane reminded everyone recently about the Lane County Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), a federal program which “provides financial assistance to low-income households for home heating and energy bills. The program is seasonal and winter services are available as early as funding allows.

“Households with a person age 60 or over and households with a permanently disabled member are priority groups. Funds are disbursed on a first-come, first-served basis… Services are available in Oakridge, Cottage Grove and Florence, Eugene and Springfield.” The contact number for Eugene is 541-345-3642; for Cottage Grove, 541-942-6492.

Boxes will soon be appearing all around Lorane to collect non-perishable foods for the community food baskets for those in need in our community. Be sure to watch for them and let’s keep them filled so that everyone can enjoy the holidays.

There will be no dinner and bingo nights held at the Lorane Grange in the months of November and December. They will resume in January.

A last reminder that the Crow Grange will be holding its Thanksgiving Community Potluck and Open House on Thursday, November 16 beginning at 6:30 p.m. Don’t forget to bring some non-perishable foods to donate!

Congratulations, Creswell, on a great turnout for last Tuesday’s election.