Tag: Lorane Trunk or Treat

Sweet Lorane Community News, October 15, 2020

October 15, 2020Newspaper Columns, , , , , Leave a comment

Fern Ridge Review
Creswell Chronicle
Sweet Lorane Community News
October 15, 2020
By Pat Edwards

The increasing numbers of COVID-19 cases in Lane County and all over the country necessitates that we continue protecting ourselves and our loved ones as best we can. Wearing masks, social distancing, hand washing, and not seeing our loved ones as often as we would like are taking their toll on many of us, but we cannot let up our vigilance. The first three things have been easy for Jim and I to assimilate. They are simple inconveniences that seem almost natural to us when we are out and about these days. The hard part is not being able to spend more time with our son and daughters; our grandchildren and great-grands. We still get together—outdoors—maybe once a month or so for special events, and Jim and I get to hold and cuddle our babies and ration ourselves to quick “hello” and “goodbye” hugs from the other “littles” while maintaining distance from the adults. Jim and I know that each of our family members are as careful as we are around others and if they have any doubt about possible exposure to the virus or have symptoms, they would not expose us or the rest of the family. Now that we are getting into the fall season, however, we need to be even more careful… even around each other.

The groups in Lorane that hold events have made hard decisions about whether or not to try to proceed during this pandemic and a couple have come up with ways to hold them while still staying within the CDC guidelines.

The Lorane Christian Church continues to meet each Sunday. The members have the options of coming inside the church for services as long as they wear masks and social distance. They are also given the option of participating in the service in their cars, parked in the parking lot outside, while listening to it on the car radio on FM 89.1. Before the service, Pastor Dave Langstraat and his wife Heidi, spend time circulating among the cars while masked and welcome attendees and take any prayer requests from them.

The church’s membership is planning to host its annual Trunk ‘n Treat event on Halloween night between 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. in the church’s parking lot. For those attending, masks are required and candy and goodies that will be handed out to trick or treaters from the trunks of cars must be sealed in individual ziploc bags. Hand sanitizer and/or disposable gloves will also be used.

Another annual fall series, the Rural Art Center’s Lorane Movie Night may or may not happen. The RAC board of directors canceled its initial October movie and is currently discussing whether or not they will try to offer future ones in the 2020-2021 season under CDC guidelines.

Last week, I provided an update on the plans for the Territorial Highway Road Project at Stony Point. As of this writing, truck travel between Hamm Road and Cottage Grove-Lorane Road will be restricted with the exception of those making local deliveries to the Lorane area. This past weekend, traffic lights were set up, covering 600 feet of roadway, to regulate one-way traffic through the most hazardous part of the construction. We ask everyone who is driving through that area to use caution and respect the other drivers who are also having to share this very difficult portion of the road.

We’ll soon be only 2 weeks away from a very important Election Day. Please! Remember to VOTE!… and send in your ballots early.

Sweet Lorane Community News, September 26, 2019

September 26, 2019Newspaper Columns, , , , , , , , , 2 Comments

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.

Sweet Lorane Community News, October 25, 2018

October 25, 2018Newspaper Columns, , , , , , , Leave a comment

Fern Ridge Review
Creswell Chronicle
Sweet Lorane Community News
October 25, 2018
By Pat Edwards

We’ve been blessed with beautiful fall weather this year, but it appears to be gearing up for the rainy season this past week. I’ve noticed that in our yard and front pasture, especially, our oak trees are divesting themselves of lots of acorns. This is unusual for us as I don’t remember seeing as many acorns around until now. We haven’t had the overabundance of gray squirrels that many are reporting and our dogs discourage deer from entering the property, so when Jeff Levy of Lorane’s Balance Restoration Nursery put out a notice that he was needing white oak acorns, I contacted him. He came right out and harvested ours. If you have a good supply that hasn’t been eaten by wildlife, give him a call at 541-942-5530.

Halloween preparations are in full swing. The Crow-Applegate-Lorane School District’s “Harvest Festival” was held this past weekend and Lorane’s celebration on the actual day—Wednesday, October 31—the Lorane Christian Church will be hosting its annual “Trunk ‘n Treat” from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. Local residents are encouraged to park their cars in the parking lot at the church where they can open their trunks to display Halloween decorations. Ghosts, witches, Cinderellas and superheroes can get goodies from each trunk while the adults, who are also encouraged to dress in costume, enjoy the hot soup and cocoa provided.

The age-old practice of trick or treating used to be a fun, exciting prospect when I and later, our children, were young, but it was also logistically challenging in the rural areas. Homes were frequently so spread out, with many of the houses at the end of long driveways, that most parents took their kids into familiar neighborhoods of friends and family in town.

Sadly, the rare, but very real dangers posed by sick predators who laced candy with hallucinogenic drugs or even razor blades, has almost brought that practice to a full halt. The church’s “Trunk ‘n Treat” is the ideal solution for a fun and safe time for young and old alike. Thank you to those who provide this and the harvest festivals for the area children.

GPosterroundwaters Publishing (aka Jennifer Chambers and me) is gearing up for its upcoming Groundwaters LIVE! event scheduled for Sunday, November 4, at 3:00 p.m. at the Applegate Regional Theater located north of Crow on the corner of Central and Fleck Roads. Our 2018 annual anthology is done and waiting to be distributed that day. As we do each year, 10 of our over 70 contributors will be giving 5-minute readings from their stories and poetry included in the 146-page book. If you haven’t experienced Groundwaters through its 11 years as a literary quarterly or the past 4 years as an anthology, you will be amazed at the quality of our local writing talent. Plan on joining us at Groundwaters LIVE! on November 4! It’s FREE and a fun way to spend a fall afternoon by honoring those who share their wonderful stories and verse with us.

Lil Thompson of the Lorane Grange asked me to let everyone know that the grange meets next on Thursday, November 1 at 7:00 p.m. They always welcome new members. The next spaghetti dinner and bingo event will be on Friday, November 16. There was no winner on the progressive blackout game last week, so there’s a good chance it will go next time.

The Crow Grange hosts a similar dinner and bingo night every first and third Saturdays during the school year. Doors open at 6:00 p.m. with bingo starting at 7:00.
These are family nights of fun. Plan on coming out to support your local grange!