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):

“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)