Tag: Lorane Grange

Sweet Lorane Community News, February 15, 2018

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

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

I am writing this column earlier than usual as, by the time you read it, we will have left on a short vacation. I’ll have to tell you a little about it next week. In the meantime, I have some news to share…

Because of the great attendance and the fun had by all after the last similar event, the Lorane Grange is hosting a Barn Dance on Friday, February 23. It will be happening between 7:00-10:00 p.m. The music group will be announced later on the Lorane Facebook page as soon as arrangements have been finalized. All ages are welcome to participate and a suggested donation per person is $10. There will be refreshments served at the intermission.

The Lorane Community Association has got some big plans in the works if everything falls into place, according to the minutes of the last meeting.

Their main issue is addressing the Lorane Community food basket program. The current storage space needs to be repaired and revamped. Misty Burris is working with Food for Lane County to expand the pantry stock and they are hoping to involve other organizations in the community to help run it.

Little Lorane Library has outgrown its current space and the issue will be addressed sometime in March.

Also, the possible creation of a neighborhood watch is being revisited. The Lane County Sheriff’s Department and Oregon State Police offices are being contacted about issues the community has regarding the seasonal break-ins and lack of response from law enforcement agencies. The Easy Acres Neighborhood Group has already held two meetings to set up its own Neighborhood Watch. We’re planning to share information with the Lorane group.

In a response for more recognition and support for veterans returning from war zones, the LCA wants to make an effort to reach out to local vets and establish more connections. A proposed veteran-specific banner will be added to the reader board and discussions of future activities are in the works.

The LCA also wants to assist a member of the community with the building of a house. According to Mina Knittel, Secretary of the Lorane Community Association, ideas for a fundraiser, work party, etc are in the works and will be decided at the next meeting.
In years past, communities and neighbors came together for barn-raisings! Why not a house in Lorane? I strongly believe that communities need more of these projects where neighbors can join together in helping each other. I’m proud of those who are not afraid to set goals and reach for the stars. Good for you, LCA!

The next monthly meeting of the group is scheduled for Thursday, March 1 at 9:00 a.m. at the Lorane Deli.

More next week!

Sweet Lorane Community News, January 4, 2018

January 4, 2018Newspaper Columns, , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Fern Ridge Review
Creswell Chronicle
Sweet Lorane Community News
January 4, 2018
By Pat Edwards

Well, it’s time we leave behind “holiday mode” and return to some kind of normalcy. Our family had a busy-but-great Thanksgiving and Christmas together, but there’s something about settling back into a routine within our comfort zone following the holidays that always appeals to me.

The November and December weekends spent in the company of Joe and Saundra Blakely and Jen Chambers in our Holiday Market booth was very special. We’ve become good friends as well as “Oregon Author” colleagues and we met a lot of people and sold a lot of books, to boot! I was amazed at how much demand there was for my new The Baileys of Bailey Hill book and I ran out of them at the end. I’m trying to get them distributed to local bookstores and libraries now.

The bad part of this holiday season was that so many of us came down with some type of cold, flu or other bug. I was one of them who was a bit quiet on Christmas day. I managed to get the house in order for company, but thank goodness I had a huge volunteer crew of cooks and “bottle washers” on hand to allow me to kick back and watch the dinner and celebration unfold.

I’ve finally got a few things to tell you about that are coming up this month in Lorane, so let’s take a look.

On Saturday, January 13, the Lorane Movie Night, sponsored by the Rural Art Center, will be showing the movie,”Sita Sings the Blues” (2009). It is an animated film which has “received rave critical reviews.” It’s been described as “a tale of truth, justice, and a woman’s cry for equal treatment” created by Nina Paley. It’s the story of Sita, an Indian goddess, combined with parallel scenes from Paley’s own life and features music by jazz singer, Annette Hanshaw.

For times, prices and program events, go to the RAC website at https://www.ruralartcenter.org/movie-night

The Lorane Grange’s Dinner and Bingo Night will resume on Saturday, January 27. Dinner usually begins at 5:30 p.m. and bingo follows at 6:30 p.m. It’s a fun evening for the whole family.

Jim and I have been observing the recent 40th anniversary of the Lorane Family Store by providing a history of not only it, but of the Lorane Service Station, aka The Mitchell Store, that preceded it. There have only been two owners of the grocery store—the Mitchell family and the Edwards family—through its history. We purchased the store in December 1977 from the Mitchells who established it in 1934.

I have included a couple of stories about the history of the store on my website. The first is a story of the Mitchell Store written in 2008 by Bill Mitchell’s great-grandson, William Olsen. It is followed by the history that I included in From Sawdust and Cider to Wine which I have updated a bit for this purpose.

They can be found on my website at https://allthingslorane.com/lorane-interests/. Also, there are several old pictures of the store posted on the Lorane, Oregon Facebook page for those who enjoy the nostalgia.

Happy New Year, All!

Sweet Lorane Community News, October 19, 2017

October 20, 2017Newspaper Columns, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Fern Ridge Review
Creswell Chronicle
Sweet Lorane Community News
October 19, 2017
By Pat Edwards

Happy Autumn all! This is when I miss the days of cuddling around a warm fireplace or woodstove with a hot mug of coffee or cocoa. Don’t get me wrong… I love our heat pump, but there’s just something about the comfort of sitting on the raised hearth of our old fireplace and soaking up the heat in the evenings…

This is the time of year to celebrate our harvests… much of the canning and freezing has been done for those who still raise their own gardens and preserve their own produce. I kept my grandmother’s old pressure cooker going all through the late summer and early fall for a couple of decades when our kids were growing up. I always had a huge garden, but these days we enjoy the limited amount of fruits and veggies we plant fresh off the vine and donate extra to the Lorane Grower’s Market. Home canned vegetables, especially, are so much better than store-bought, but my back no longer allows me to stand at and lean over a kitchen sink for long periods, so we either eat fresh or bring home canned from the store.

I love the fact that the new group, Lorane Community Cares, is focusing on community gardens and canning and preservation clinics to work together and learn how to prepare and process the produce to donate to local food banks. Their first 3-day clinic was held this past weekend. Hopefully, I can report on its success in next week’s column.

Margie McNutt, an extremely talented kiln-formed, fused glass artist, in Lorane is offering to set up classes at her home studio on Cottage Grove-Lorane Road. If you would like to learn how to design and make your own creations for yourself or as a special gift for someone else, the 5-week course will be from 6:30 to 9:00 p.m. Schedule, TBA. The classes will go for 5 weeks with firings to complete two projects of your choice. If you’d like to see some of the work she has done, go to her Facebook page at MargieMcNuttGlass. For further details, call 541-942-7471.

The Lorane Grange is having “a baked potato bar dinner with just about any trimmings you might think of” night followed by family bingo on Friday, October 27 beginning at 5:30 p.m.

I personally would like to invite everyone who enjoys reading stories and poetry written by local writers to join us at the Groundwaters annual Groundwaters LIVE! It’s a celebration of the completion of our 3rd annual Groundwaters 2017: An Anthology which showcases 62 authors and poets. The event will take place on Sunday, October 29 at 2:00 p.m. at the Applegate Regional Theater (ART) on the corners of Central and Fleck Roads north of Crow. Ten of our contributors will be giving 5-minute readings of their work. Refreshments will be served and books will be available.

Lorane and Crow have a large representation in this year’s book. Jennifer Buchholz of Lorane provided the beautiful cover photo and Katarina Digman of Lorane provided the painting on the back cover. Norm Maxwell is represented in the book by three of his popular stories; Stanley Buck provides three stories, one of which is called “Carpenters By-Pass 1950.” A new contributor, Michael Matchulat of Lorane has written a moving story about his battle with Stage IV colon cancer; and always popular, Millie Graves from Crow, her son Dana, as well as numerous others from the West Lane area and Creswell who are also included. We hope to see a large attendance on the 29th.

Don’t forget! The annual Fall Harvest Festival will be held on October 28 from 6:00 to 8:30 p.m. at the Applegate Elementary School.