Tag: Lorane Growers’ Market

Sweet Lorane Community News – June 25, 2015

June 25, 2015Newspaper Columns, , , , , , Leave a comment

Fern Ridge Review                                    
Creswell Chronicle
Sweet Lorane Community News
June 25, 2015
By Pat Edwards

Summer is definitely here with the above-90-degree temps. I’ve been doing my watering early – this morning I was out wielding my garden hose at 6:30 a.m. before either the dogs or I had eaten our breakfasts.

I went down to our store yesterday about noon and saw that the Lorane Growers’ Market was all set up and there was even some kale waiting to be taken home. Two of our clerks at the store, Shauna and Marilyn, are very excited about the feature. Despite it being so early in the season, they said that there had been several things left that morning, including snow peas, kale and a couple of tomato plants. It didn’t take long for them to be taken. Unfortunately, we don’t have a cooler set up yet for the things that tend to wilt, so the kale was left behind, but we’ll make sure that is soon rectified. Until one is installed, if you have leafy vegetables that will not stand up in the hot weather, ask to have them put in the store’s walk-in cooler and put a note on the produce table to let people know that they are there. I’ll provide some index cards and a marker so that you can make your signs even when the cooler is in place. There probably won’t be much produce or many plants available until further along in the growing season. For now, be sure to check it out whenever you get the chance… and be sure to leave your donations to the Lorane Community Association’s community fund!

Volunteers are needed to help build the Rural Art Center’s Little Bitty Free Libraries that they will be providing in the Lorane area. They already began the project last Tuesday, but they will be meeting at the barn at the Blue Rooster Inn (82782 Territorial Hwy.) from 1:00-4:00 p.m. the following three Tuesdays (June 30, July 7 and July 14).

Liam Reardon is heading up the work parties as part of his Eagle Scout project. He has chosen a basic design for the structures that can be viewed at http://www.instructables.com/id/Little-Free-Library/.  Donations of materials are needed. Call Amy (541-214-3963) or email Lisa (ruralartcenter@gmail.com) with questions about what is still needed.

The next meeting of the Lorane Celebration committee is scheduled for July 9 at 6:30 p.m. at the Lorane Grange. A community-wide garage sale will be taking place during the September 12th celebration. For more information on renting a table at the Grange or including your home sale on the area map, contact Lil Thompson, 541-942-5701. Many interesting events are being planned throughout the day and volunteer help is welcome. Plan to attend the meeting on July 9th if you are interested.

The Lorane, Oregon Facebook page keeps getting more and more useful as a community resource. We have 555 members as of this writing and we keep getting more each week. Of course, not all of our members currently live in Lorane, but many do and many are our neighbors in Crow and other nearby communities. All feel that they have some interest in our community and provide suggestions, support and comments to the various postings.

A new posting this past week was from a resident who was needing to find a local teen who would be willing to do some yardwork and help in the re-siding her barn. An enterprising young man responded that beginning next week, he would welcome the work. Soon, others were asking him if he’d be available to do some work for them, too. I’m sure that there must be other young people in Lorane and Crow who would like to earn some extra cash. If so, please let us know. Once haying season is over, there are still jobs available for those who seek them out. If you don’t have a Facebook account, please let me know and I’ll try to connect you with potential employers in the area.

Jo-Brew and I will be at the Oregon Authors’ table at the Art & the Vineyard festivities in Alton Baker Park on Sunday, July 5. I’ll have the 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. shift and Jo will be there from 3 to 7 p.m. Stop by and see us if you have the chance. We’ll have copies of our books, OREGON’S MAIN STREET: U.S. Highway 99 and I’ll also bring copies of some of the recently-published books written by Michael J. “Hoss” Barker and Muriel “Ava” Linder (who was featured in last week’s Fern Ridge Review). My colleague, Veneta author, Jennifer Chambers will be there on Saturday, July 4, from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. Please come support your local Oregon authors!!

Sweet Lorane Community News – June 18, 2015

June 18, 2015Newspaper Columns, , , , , , , Leave a comment

Fern Ridge Review                                    
Creswell Chronicle
Sweet Lorane Community News
June 18, 2015
By Pat Edwards

The Lorane Rebekahs are hosting a Community Appreciation Barbecue at the Rebekah Lodge on Saturday, June 27, beginning at 2:00 p.m. as a way of saying “thank you” to those who have helped with donations and support in their recent foundation project. In addition, they want it to be an event that will also give thanks to the community members who have given their time and resources to the Lorane community as a whole over the years.

We have lots of people who are involved in making Lorane a great place to live and I hope that many of you turn out to recognize them. You don’t need to bring anything… just come to show your appreciation! For more information, contact a Rebekah member and/or Effie Hughes.

It occurred to me that many of the Rebekah members have given a lot to the community, too. They host the scout troops and Theta Rho in their building and they have long supported and provided a home for the Lorane Senior lunches, volunteering their time in cooking and setting up social activities for the weekly get-togethers. They’ve taken on the project of keeping Territorial Road, north of Lorane, clean and free of litter, and in the past, they baked and sold dozens of pumpkin pies for local Thanksgiving dinners. Reaching further back in our local history, they made their building available for a haunted house that the P.T.C. sponsored for several years in the 1980s, and perhaps their biggest and most popular event, held in conjunction with the I.O.O.F., that was active at that time, was their large smelt feeds that were held annually for many years. So, while they are showing their appreciation, I’d like to express mine in recognizing what a valuable part of Lorane the Rebekahs have been throughout the years.

More congratulations go to Loranian, RC Dearth, who graduated from the University of Oregon this past week with a degree in Bio-anthropology. He is going into the Masters’ program next fall to work for a degree in Psychology. Congratulations, RC! You can be so proud of your accomplishments! Lorane seems to be shining bright this year with college graduates!

By the time that you read this, the Lorane Growers’ Market, sponsored by the Lorane Community Association, will be established at its new home in front of the Lorane Family Store. Jim and I have provided a canopy to keep the produce shaded and, hopefully, the first produce – flowers, plants, fruit, berries, garden vegetables and herbs will begin appearing for sale or swap soon. It’s run on the honor system. Local residents who have an overabundance of any of these items are encouraged to donate them or swap them for other things on display. Anyone can also buy them outright. Just determine what you want to pay and put your money or donation in the secure slotted cashbox. It will be emptied each night when the store closes. All proceeds that come in over the summer goes to fund Lorane community projects.

A Little Bit of Lorane History (Lorane I.O.O.F & Rebekah Hall):

IOOF Hall 2“The Lorane I.O.O.F./Rebekah Lodge for many years sponsored an annual community Smelt Feed. The high school gymnasium was usually the site of the feed, and the “domestic science room” – or home economics room – in the school was used to prepare the feast. In the early 1930s, Wayne and Maybell Robinson remember these smelt feeds with somewhat mixed feelings. They were a popular event for the community, but because the school’s home economics room had no ventilating fan, the grease from the deep fat frying process coated everything in the room – stove, tables, walls, ceiling, curtains, etc. Because the Robinsons were not only the principal and teachers at the school, but also the custodians, it was their job to clean the school after the feed in preparation for the next day’s classes. The job took a good share of the night to complete. The smelt feed was later held in the lower level of the I.O.O.F. Hall after the post office was moved to the Foster Store.

“On February 4, 1936, the Lorane I.O.O.F. Lodge received permission from the Lorane school board to hook onto the school water system for $1 per month.

“The Lorane Odd Fellows charter was dropped on March 15, 1986. Since then, the Rebekahs have remained active and have used the hall for their meetings and activities…” (From Sawdust and Cider, 1987 and 2006)