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, September 21, 2017

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Fern Ridge Review
Creswell Chronicle
Sweet Lorane Community News
September 21, 2017
By Pat Edwards

Oh, it seems there is no longer enough time in a day to get everything done lately. I can blame no one but myself… I love the work that I do and keep committing myself to more and more… but I sometimes feel as though I’m running in circles. I thought that retirement was all about having lots of free time to play golf, socialize, vacation and take naps. Ha!

Marissa McNutt Cooper, one of my co-administrators for our Lorane community Facebook page, has agreed to take on the principle duties as lead administrator. I will continue to help out, but I’ve got several book projects in the works and more in the wings so that I’m not checking in as much with the page as I used to. Thanks so much to my co-admins, Marissa and Lil Thompson, for all that they do for our community in so many ways.

Speaking of Marissa, she is also an active member of the Lorane Community Association (LCA). Several people have been asking that the LCA meetings be held on a weekend – preferably Sunday – instead of weekday mornings so that those who work can also participate.

The organizers heard the pleas and have scheduled a meeting for Sunday, October 1st at 1:30 p.m. at the Lorane Grange. According to Marissa, “We encourage anyone interested in our community service group to attend. A few of the LCA’s projects are the Lorane Growers Market, the Angel Tree and the Little Free Library. We have quite a few new projects we are working on as well. Including a canning and preserving clinic coming up soon.”

Does that Preservation and Canning Clinic pique your interest? If so here’s some information on that, too. It will be held at the Lorane Grange on October 20 through October 22. More details will be posted on the Lorane, Oregon Facebook page and in this column as soon as they are available.

Of course, you should by now have your calendars marked for the upcoming Crow Harvest Festival and Carnival to be held at the Applegate Elementary School on Saturday, October 28. I won’t go into detail again in this column, but I’ll keep reminding you.

The Lorane Grange’s Dessert and Bingo Night held last weekend was fun, but not well-attended. Now that the days are getting shorter, there usually is more participation and the fact that the next one will feature a Potato Bar Dinner as well as bingo should bring many more people out. That one is scheduled for Friday, October 27.

There’s another event that needs to be added to your calendars. The Lorane Rebekahs will be hosting their annual Lorane Hunter’s Breakfast on the morning of Saturday, September 30 from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m… Opening Day. For $5.00 per person you can get a hearty breakfast — pancakes, eggs, sausage, ham, orange juice and coffee.

One final announcement… Now that fall is approaching, Mike and Joanne Cantrall of Lorane, are once again collecting donations of warm clothing, shoes, socks, jackets, blankets and sleeping bags for homeless veterans. The Lane County organization that they collecting them for is having a “stand down” on Friday, October 13th. If you have anything to donate, please give them a call at 541-769-8205 and they will arrange to pick it up in the Lorane area. I believe that there will also be a donation barrel at the Lorane Family Store where these items can be dropped off.

Our rainy respite from the heat and wildfires last week was extremely welcome, but we’re ready for a bit more sunshine and warmth for a while longer, at least, before the winter rains set in.

Happy Fall, Everyone!

Sweet Lorane Community News, September 14, 2017

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Fern Ridge Review
Creswell Chronicle
Sweet Lorane Community News
September 14, 2017
By Pat Edwards

Well, our family has made it through a busy, busy time these past several weeks… vacation, out-of-town company and three birthday celebrations. They were all fun, family times, but it’s so nice to be able to settle into a more normal routine. I’m not sure what “normal” means these days, but for me, it’s spending more time at home, running errands with Jim, taking our dogs for walks and being able to work on my book projects.

I am really excited about this year’s Groundwaters anthology that I’m currently working on, and even more so about the new local history book that I have almost completed for publication. I’m hoping that it can be the maiden voyage for a series of books I’d like to write on early Lane County families with connections to Lorane and the Siuslaw Valley. I envision that future books will each contain profiles on 4 to 6 of these families, but the research on this first one has been so interesting and the information so extensive that it will feature just one family. The proposed title of the book will be The Baileys of Bailey Hill. They were not only a prominent family in the Eugene City area of Lane County in the mid-1800s, but several of them also owned land in the Siuslaw/Lorane area. I hope to have the 70-plus page book published and available by the first part of October.

The 2017 Groundwaters Anthology should also be out by mid-October. We will once again be featuring the amazing writing talent of 60, mostly-Lane County, authors, poets and artists. Jen and I hope to host a Groundwaters Live! event again this year to celebrate its publication and to distribute pre-ordered books as soon as it is in print. More on that later…

I want to remind you about the upcoming Crow Booster Club’s Fall Auction & Carnival to be held on Saturday, October 14. This will benefit all K-12 students in the Crow-Applegate-Lorane School District.

The carnival will run from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. and the dinner and silent auction will begin at 4:30 and run until 6:00 p.m. At 6:30 p.m., the live auction will proceed with some fantastic items in the offing. I’m sure that they would welcome donations of auction items (both silent and live) as well as offers of volunteer help during the event. For more information, contact a Booster Club member or Crow Middle/High School at 541-935-2227 or email to crowboosterclub@yahoo.com.

I understand that Lorane resident B.G. Kidd was admitted to the Cottage Grove Hospital in serious condition last Wednesday. At this writing, her son and daughter are asking for extra thoughts and prayers to be sent her way. Get well soon, B.G.!

The Lorane Grange is seeking donations of new socks for children to add to those being collected by the Lane Pomona Grange. Anyone interested in donating may contact Lil or Gary Thompson at 541-942-5701.

Jim and I got to attend our first volleyball game of the year last night. Our granddaughter, Natalie Edwards, is playing on the Creswell Middle School team. It’s the only sport she participates in and she’s the last of our grandkids to participate, so it’s a real treat to be able to exercise grandparent rights by cheering and showing our pride in not only the Creswell team, but Natalie, as well. Go Tigers!

Don’t forget to check out the Lorane Grower’s Market table in front of the Lorane Deli…

Sweet Lorane Community News, September 7, 2017

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

I hope that by the time you read this, you can see the hills off in the distance and smell the scent of roses in the air instead of squinting into the smoke-filled air and breathing in unhealthy particulates from the dozens of forest fires burning throughout the West.
Today on Facebook, someone posted a collage of photographs. The first showed a brilliant red picture of a wildfire out of control with the inscription, “Pray for Washington.” Three more pictures in the collage had a similar theme of forests burning – “Pray for Oregon… Montana… California…” A fourth picture showed a city under water with the caption, “Pray for Texas,” and the sixth one depicted a weather map showing a massive storm system bearing down on Florida… and yes, the caption read, “Pray for Florida.” It seems that we all are at the mercy of Mother Nature right now.

Today brought a little relief to the air quality, at least. A few raindrops descended and freshened the air a bit, but what we really need now is a hard rain that will dampen the forests enough to slow down the fires.

It has been heartwarming to hear of strangers across the county offering to take in evacuated livestock and pets from the McKenzie River area so their owners, who have had to move from their homes, can concentrate on the safety and well-being of their families until they can return. The thoughts on everyone’s minds during this time is, “It could be us.”

Labor Day 2017 is in the books; school has started; gardens are being harvested; and football and volleyball seasons have begun. That means that fall is on it’s way. Let’s all send those prayers as a plea for a very early and wet autumn so people can return to their homes and gather their families and pets around them once again in safety. It could be us!