The Chronicle
Sweet Lorane Community News
August 3, 2023
By Pat Edwards

It has been well over a month since I wrote and sent in my last column to The Chronicle. Shortly after, Jim and I spent 12 days touring and cruising New England and Eastern Canada, on a wonderful vacation, visiting areas we have only read about. I promised then to tell you a bit about that trip upon our return, but it’s taken some time to get settled back into our regular patterns. But, for those asking about our trip, here are some of our highlights…

We flew from Eugene to Boston to join a tour group of 40 other people from all parts of the country. We left Boston on a comfortable coach in a bit of overcast weather caused by clouds and some smoke from the wildfires burning in Canada. It wasn’t bad, though, and we eagerly looked forward to our newest adventure. In New Hampshire, on our way to Canada, we boarded the Cannon Mountain Tramway and rode it to the 4,080-foot White Mountain summit in the Franconia Notch State Park. The next day, we tasted newly processed maple syrup over a bowl of sno-cone ice on a farm in Vermont.

 

 

Our stop that night was a very special one at the vast Basin Harbor Club and Resort in Vergennes, Vermont, which overlooked Lake Champlain. There was no TV or fancy accommodations, but we were surrounded by beautiful scenery in a vintage resort that included a full-size golf course, an airstrip, walking trails, tennis courts, croquet and corn hole on the lawns and separate cabins for each of us. We were even taken to our cabins and dinner via golf cart.

 

 

 

 

 

The next morning, we spent several hours experiencing the wonderful Shelburne Heritage Park, also in Vermont, where we could catch a shuttle to various areas of the park to see unique museums, living history displays and shops—all very interesting. While Jim enjoyed the shade under huge oak trees on the grounds where he could people-watch, I rode the carousel, visited the circus museum that featured over 50 antique Gustav Dentzel carousel animals, and saw some original Monet, Rembrandt and Degas art in a restored mansion.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once we reached Montreal, Canada, we boarded a Holland America cruise ship and spent the next 7 days cruising up the St. Lawrence River into the Northern Atlantic Ocean. Because of Jim’s mobility issues, however, we spent most of our time on the ship. We decided that Quebec City, our first stop, would be a bit too strenuous for us to explore, but I did select a couple of very interesting and enjoyable shore excursions further on.

 

 

 

 

 

The one on Prince Edward Island province took us on a bus tour around the island. The featured highlight was a visit to the family home and farm where Lucy Maud Montgomery, the author of Anne of Green Gables books spent much of her childhood and her stories and books of Anne were based on her memories of that farm. The farm home did, indeed, have green gables and a lot of the original furnishings that Lucy described in her books.

 

 

 

 

 

The next day, we took a 7-hour trip to Cape Breton, on the east end of Nova Scotia, where we toured the historic Fortress of Louisbourg, built and occupied by the French in the 1700s and later by the British. It is currently in the process of being restored as a National Historic Site by the Canadian government. We experienced the living history of soldiers in blue French uniforms and red British uniforms guarding the ramparts with their long rifles and muskets.

 

 

We also toured the beautiful area around Sydney, Nova Scotia, where many lobsters are harvested each year. When we were there, lobster season was winding down to the end. Lobster pots dotted the ocean and bays surrounding our ship as the captain carefully wended our way through the many symbols of their precious industry.

One last stop included a visit to the museum on the Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site where we were able to view the many inventions, including the telephone, that he worked on while living on Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. According to an on-line source:

His curiosity and determination would lead to Canada’s first powered flight, the world’s fastest watercraft, advanced recording technology, giant tetrahedral kites and, of course, the telephone.

First airplane flight in Canada

Telephones

 

 

 

 

 

When we disembarked from the ship the last time in Boston, we were shuttled to Logan Airport where we flew back to Eugene and a wonderful homecoming of family who had gathered at our place where they had completed some much-needed projects for us.

Now that we are home, I am trying to settle us into a way of life that will allow Jim and me to focus on each other—trying to get the most out of where this next step of our journey through disability and advancing age is taking us. Seeing and doing new things such as the vacation we just returned from have always been precious to us. But, despite the wonderful things we were able to see and experience on this last trip, parts of it were also difficult. We are learning that as long as we are in groups with structured itineraries and other people to socialize with, we do really well. But, left to our own devices, as we were on the ship… not so much.

Home is our comfort-zone more than ever. Familiar routines and quiet times with our menagerie of four cats and two dogs and day trips and visits with family are very important to us. Health concerns and limited energy reserves have slowed us down considerably.

For me, unfortunately, multi-tasking and concentration are becoming more and more challenging. It is becoming especially difficult to focus on my writing… something that I’ve always loved to do. For this reason, before we left on vacation, I submitted my resignation as a weekly columnist to The Chronicle.

I began my weekly assignments as the Lorane columnist with the Fern Ridge Review in Veneta in 2010 and in December 2012, I was asked to submit my “Sweet Lorane” column to the (then) Creswell Chronicle, as well. I’ve been trying to submit a column each week since then, although I have missed some over the years. Sadly, when the publisher of what had become the “Fern Ridge-Tribune News,” Pamela Kerns Petersdorf, passed last year, that publication was closed down.

But Noel Nash, the owner and publisher of The Chronicle, and Executive Editor, Erin Tierney-Heggenstaller, have continued to publish my columns when possible. Their support and encouragement have meant so much to me and I thank them for the many years they’ve allowed me to share my stories and news of Lorane with our readers. I’m hoping that I can still occasionally send something in for publication, but trying to come up with something each week has not been easy for quite some time.

In the meantime, I am still going to attend Oregon Author events, local book fairs and other events where I can not only sell some of my local and Oregon history books, but meet and visit with the many loyal readers who have told me that they have followed my columns for years. You can’t imagine how much those comments have meant to me.

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I have a few of those events coming up through the end of this year and I’d like to invite those of you who attend any of them to stop by my booth or table and say “Hi!

• On August 10, my colleague, Joe Blakely, and I have been invited by the Eugene Emeralds Semi-Pro baseball team to set up a book booth at PK Park next to Autzen Stadium during their game beginning at 6:35 p.m. The day will be spent honoring the “birthday” of Sasquatch. They have asked us to bring and sell our book, Sasquatch! that Joe and I edited and published for the family of its researcher and author, Ken Coon, who passed away before he was able to publish it himself. We will both also have our other books available for purchase, too.
• On August 26, I’ll have a place at the Oregon State Fair Author’s Table between 10:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m.
• On October 7, I will be one of 24 local authors at the “Festival of Authors” being held at Whirled Pies, 8th and Charnelton Sts., Eugene, from 3:00 to 7:00 p.m.

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Again, I want to give my sincere thanks to Noel, Erin, and the staff of The Chronicle for allowing me to be part of their family for over 10 years, and to the readers and supporters of local writers and the printed word in our Lane County communities.

Until next time, God Bless and be happy!… Pat