Fern Ridge Review
Creswell Chronicle
Sweet Lorane Community News
September 26, 2019
By Pat Edwards

This past week was the beginning of fall, and it certainly feels as though it’s earlier than usual, weather-wise. I’ve always enjoyed the cooler, sunny days of fall that we usually have through September and into October, but Mother Nature is keeping us guessing on what each of our tomorrows is to bring this year.

With fall comes the beginning of football, volleyball and cross-country seasons at the area schools. How I miss having a son, daughter or grandchildren in high school or middle school who participate in athletics. I’ve packed away Jim’s and my red and white Crow High School jackets with the names and uniform numbers of our grandkids on the sleeves. We cheered on so many of their games, both at home and away and I miss that. Our daughter, Michele Kau, and her daughter—our granddaughter—Stephanie Furlong, have gone on to coach volleyball. Michele stepped down as the head coach at Crow last year, but Stephanie has taken on the head coaching job for Glide High School east of Roseburg. We still try to make it to at least one of their games each season, although those bleachers are getting harder to sit on as well as climb. At least our one granddaughter, Natalie, who attends Creswell High School, participates in music and drama events that we can attend and so enjoy.

Along with school sports, fall brings harvest festivals and Halloween events. Trick or treating has morphed into the much safer “trunk or treating” where parent and community members park their cars In the Lorane Church parking lot and decorate their cars’ trunks with orange and black and provide treats for the ghosts and goblins who come to fill their jack-o-lanterns. The adults and children are also treated to hot chocolate, spiced cider, coffee and other goodies while standing around outdoor heaters (and under canopies, if it rains) while visiting.

How I remember when the Lorane Elementary School hosted its annual carnival in the gymnasium. It was so popular and usually filled to capacity while young and old alike would gather to watch the children run to the various booths to fish for prizes and do the ring toss and bean bag throw. Some tried shooting basketball free throws for tickets; others had their faces painted with unicorns and rainbows. And then there was the annual lollipop tree which sported hundreds of Dum-Dum suckers. One of the biggest events was the cake walk. Cakes and cupcakes of all flavors and sizes were won if you were on the magic number when the music stopped. Bingo, too, was a popular event for the adults, especially.

While the Lorane Carnival is no more, Crow’s Applegate Elementary is planning a Harvest Festival on October 25 from 6:30 to 9:00 p.m. this year. They are advertising it as a fun evening of carnival games (some are from Lorane’s carnival), trick-or-treating, costume contests and a haunted house.

And did I mention bingo? Yes, our three local granges—Lorane, Crow and Creswell—will be offering cash prizes and lots of fun for all ages this fall as they sponsor dinners and bingo games as fundraisers.

The Lorane Grange will have their Spaghetti Dinner and Bingo nights beginning October 18—a Friday night—with dinner beginning at 5:30 and bingo at 6:30 p.m. They charge $5 for a “2-on” pack or $10 for a “4-on” pack plus $1 or $2 a sheet for the blackout game. The jackpot was won last spring, so it will be starting again with $100-plus for the featured blackout game.

The Crow Grange starts again with dinner and bingo on Saturday, October 5. They serve a delicious dinner, usually provided by Dan and Connie Suing or Ruth Teafatiller, beginning at 6:00 p.m. and bingo starts at 7:00. The cost is $17 for a buy-in. Their jackpot was not won last spring, so it has built to over $500.

The Creswell Grange sponsors a bingo night every third Wednesday of each month. The doors open at 6:00 p.m. and games start at 7:00. The cost is $15 for 14 regular games and a blackout game. Their blackout pot is up to $300. They don’t have dinner, but they provide free coffee, tea and popcorn.

Good times are ahead! So, let’s support our schools, granges and other community organizations in any way we can to maintain our strong communities.