Tag: Crow High School Band

Sweet Lorane Community News, November 15, 2018

November 15, 2018Newspaper Columns, , , , , Leave a comment

Fern Ridge Review
Creswell Chronicle
Sweet Lorane Community News
November 15, 2018
By Pat Edwards

I know that my last column was heavy-duty, but I wanted to share my brother’s experiences with you. Jim and I went to see him again yesterday (last Wednesday), and Jimmy is in a hospice care center. Although he was visibly more frail, his spirit was as strong as ever. I’m not sure that he will still be with us by the time you read this, but he has taught me so much about how important it is to be open with your loved ones and share this final journey with them. We will grieve when he has gone, but he has instilled so much of himself in our lives these last days, that letting go will be much less traumatic. I have been blessed to have him for a brother throughout my life and, oh, how I will miss him.

Now to get back to some community matters that I need to share with you…

The Grange Thanksgiving community dinners for both Lorane and Crow have already been held, but knowing how good they are each year, I’m sure there was a nice turnout for each. I didn’t get word of their dates until it was too late to include them in my column. I apologize if some missed out who hoped to participate.

The 9-member Crow High School Band has returned from its trip to Washington, D.C. It had the distinction of being the only band in Oregon to be invited to participate in the Veteran’s Day Parade of Heroes on Saturday, November 10, and a ceremony at the Iwo Jima U.S. Marine Corps Memorial on Sunday, November 11.

Band member and trumpet player, Mark Simonsen, was given the honor to play “Taps” at the memorial ceremony in the nation’s capital.

I’m told that despite the very cold weather, the band members and its director, Pat Dixon, represented their school and state admirably. They not only fulfilled their obligations at the events, they all worked very hard for months to raise the needed funds to pay for their travel expenses while they were there. Thank you to Band Director, Pat Dixon, the Crow High School band and the community members who helped make such a fantastic experience happen. We are proud of each of you.

Several video recordings are posted on the Lorane and Crow Facebook pages for any of you who want to experience snippets of their performances.

Collection boxes are being placed in many of Lorane’s businesses and organizations for donated canned and non-perishable food items. These will be used for holiday baskets and provisions for those in our community who need them. Let’s all be generous enough to fill them multiple times during the holiday season so that each of us can enjoy our own celebrations with family and friends. Contact Marissa McNutt Cooper or Roberta Pietila Miller if you have questions or suggestions about what might be needed most or to nominate a person or family who would benefit.

I hope that each of you enjoys a warm and happy Thanksgiving Day this year. We really need to take time to stop and reflect on all the good things in our lives that we sometimes take for granted.

Blessings to each of you.

Sweet Lorane Community News, November 1, 2018

November 1, 2018Newspaper Columns, , , , , , , Leave a comment

Fern Ridge Review
Creswell Chronicle
Sweet Lorane Community News
November 1, 2018
By Pat Edwards

Now that Halloween has passed, we can all begin settling in to winter and the fast-approaching holidays.

The second Lorane Movie Night of the season will be held on Saturday, November 10.
A soup, delicious bread and salad supper will be served at 6:00 p.m. This one will be “pie night,” so be sure to bring a pie to share! Then at 6:45 p.m., a silent, short cliffhanger—“Perils of Pauline,” will be shown followed by door prizes and popcorn refills. At 7:30 p.m., everyone can settle in for the featured movie, “Hidden Figures,” a 2016 biographical drama about Katherine Johnson, one of the human computers at NASA whose skill with mathematics enabled the early U.S. space program to take flight. Kevin Costner plays the NASA supervisor who recognizes her genius.

The next spaghetti dinner and bingo night at the Lorane Grange is scheduled for Friday, November 16 starting with dinner at 5:30 p.m.

Crow Grange’s dinner and bingo nights are on the 1st and 3rd Saturdays of each month.

The fundraiser for Cody Tripp, held at the Crow Grange recently, was reported to be a huge success. The amount of participation and love shown was very much appreciated. It’s heart-warming to see how generous our small, rural communities can be.

The Crow High School Band leaves on Thursday, November 8, for its trip to Washington, D.C. to participate in the Parade of Heroes. The band was honored to receive an invitation to represent Oregon in the Veterans’ Day celebration in our nation’s capital. Loranian Mark Simonsen, a student at Crow High School, has been given the honor of playing Taps at all three memorial celebrations on Saturday, November 10.

A fun, free “Mini-Pie Making” class is being offered on Saturday, November 17 from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. by the Creswell Grange. Learn how to make delicious and decorative apple, cherry, peach and chocolate cream mini-pies for the holidays. These can be adapted for other varieties, too. The classes are open to the public, but you are asked to pre-register so enough baking supplies will be on hand for all who attend. Contact Dottie at 541-895-2155 to register.

This year’s first annual Art in the Country festival, held in early August on the grounds of the Applegate Regional Theater, was considered a success, so the organizing committee, of which I’m part, has decided that the 2019 edition of it will be a 2-day event and will once again feature quality artists and authors. It will also have a beer and wine garden, food vendors and a kids’ zone. There will be live music on the outside performance stage; author readings and short plays will take place inside the theater, away from the other distractions. So, mark your calendars early for July 27 and 28, 2019. We’re getting an early start this year with signing up authors, artists, vendors and entertainers, so if you’re interested in participating in any of the entertainment, displays or booths, be sure to give Vicki Sourdry a call at 541-935-3636 or email her at art-inc@hotmail.com.

Sweet Lorane Community News, April 19, 2018

April 19, 2018Newspaper Columns, , , , , , , 1 Comment

Fern Ridge Review
Creswell Chronicle
Sweet Lorane Community News
April 19, 2018
By Pat Edwards

Two days, so far, of beautiful sunshine and warm temperatures! I’m in heaven. These 75-year-old bones are getting a bit creaky, so I’ve decided that, this year, I’m going to go at my spring planting and yardwork a little slower than I usually do. I don’t want to pay too dear a price the next day, so my goal is to get at least one major project done each day. Yesterday, I planted my petunia box. It holds 3 dozen plants that I stick through holes drilled through the front and sides of it as well as those that cover the top. Digging the old soil out and freshening it before I layer it on top of the plants protruding from the holes takes a bit of time, so I had a real sense of accomplishment when it was done. I have one more to do at my daughter’s house. I take pride in the fact that I built both boxes with my own hands a couple of years ago and when they are fully in bloom, they are a solid mass of color.

Today, was shrub planting day. Digging three holes and planting shrubs is all the physical work I want to do today since my back has said, “Enough!” but at least I can mark that one off my list now, too. I may even be up to doing some mowing this afternoon after I’ve written this column and worked on my new book a bit. (Fortunately, I use a riding lawnmower.)

The Easy Acres Neighborhood group is inviting the Lorane community to attend a Wildfire Prevention program to be held at the Lorane Grange on Sunday, April 29 at 1:00 to 3:00 p.m.

The program will be conducted by Fire Planning Coordinator, Alex Rahmlow, of the Oregon Department of Forestry, District of Western Lane. We can all benefit from Alex’s presentation by preparing for this year’s fire season. We all know how scary wildfires are after experiencing one really close to home the summer of 2015. 11888121_1625459517709138_4611884414108457338_n

We hope there will be a large turnout, since the more people who care enough to take measures to diminish the chance of wildfires on their property, the safer we all will be.
Just a reminder… the Lorane Christian Church’s Bake Sale and Craft Faire will be held at the Lorane Grange on Saturday, April 28 from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. They are renting tables to display your product for $5 each plus a 10% commission will be charged on sales. I’m going to have one of the tables there for my books, (They are crafts, aren’t they?) and am trying to decide whether or not to bake some goodies, too. I hope to see some familiar faces there that day although I won’t be able to stay to the end. Tracie DeBoer has agreed to watch over my table until closing. Be sure to sign up for a table!

Later, that evening, the Lorane Grange will be holding its Dessert and Bingo Night beginning at 6:00 p.m. It’s for the whole family and the progressive blackout game, played at the very end, is ripe for winning. They also have a 50-50 drawing and great desserts. It’s always a fun evening. Be sure to come if you get the chance.

Here’s an update on the fundraiser for the Crow High School Band trip to Washington, D.C. to represent Oregon in the “Parade of Heroes” that I included in a recent column. Thanks to so many of you out there, they are nearing their goal to guarantee that the band can go. Be sure to send in your donations to the high school office and/or buy a really great-looking t-shirt at https://www.bonfire.com/crow-high-school-band/. It looks like it’s going to happen!

I hope everyone has been enjoy this beautiful weather!