Wednesday, May 16, 2018 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
Sisters celebrates
Grooney retirement
By Jim Cornelius
Editor in Chief
He showed up in his paja-
mas and bathrobe, with mis-
matched socks and a scarf.
No one among those who
gathered at Spoons last week
to celebrate the official retire-
ment of Bob Grooney was
surprised. A wry sense of
humor has always character-
ized the Sisters entrepreneur.
“I got some strange
looks,” he said. “But what are
you gonna do?”
Grooney is 89 years old
and has been working since
he was a 9-year-old paperboy.
For decades he worked in the
grocery industry for Ralph’s.
He and his wife, Claudia, dis-
covered Sisters in the 1970s.
“I couldn’t keep from
coming here,” he said. “It
was like a magnet.”
He and Claudia opened
The Gallimaufry in Sisters
in 1979, and in 1984 they
started selling liquor there.
Grooney was the Oregon
Liquor Control Agent for
Sisters, and his retirement
from that slot as of May 1
is what occasioned the com-
munity gathering at Spoons.
Grooney’s grandson Spud
Shaw is now the temporary
agent and is eligible to take
over the slot permanently.
“It’s been a long time
since I was out of work,”
Grooney said. “I waited too
long to retire; I should have
done it 25 years ago, when
my Social Security came
due.”
Grooney’s life in Sisters
was at least as much about
community service as it was
about work; he served the
community in many capaci-
ties, including being on the
school board when Sisters
got its own high school — a
key element in knitting the
community together.
“It made us whole,”
Grooney said.
Bob served with Sisters
Kiwanis and chaired CATS
(Community Action Team
of Sisters). But he is perhaps
best known for his long-time
service to the Sisters Area
Chamber of Commerce.
That service started early.
“I went to my first
Chamber meeting at The
Gallery at the bar and came
out the incoming president —
and I said ‘What?’”
Grooney led the Chamber
for years – and enlivened
many an annual awards
banquet as the Master of
Ceremonies.
The great affection and
appreciation the community
holds for Bob Grooney was
evident at the retirement
party. Interrupted while get-
ting beat by his computer at
cards, Grooney reflected:
“It was just great to be
part of this town and seeing
it grow and aspire to do the
right thing.”
PHOTO COURTESY SUZANNE CARVLIN
Bob Grooney celebrates retirement with Earl Armbruster.
15
Fun and funds raised for Amber
By T. Lee Brown
Correspondent
Ever been to a medi-
cal fundraiser with somber
speeches and a lot of sad
faces? Amber Alvarez Lara’s
recent fundraiser at Sisters
Elementary School was
exactly the opposite. Lively
Mexican music filled the air
while kids in bright costumes
took to the stage. Dozens of
families chatted and mingled,
eating delicious food and
waiting to see who might win
the raffle.
Patrons donated $10 per
plate to help offset medical,
travel, and other costs asso-
ciated with Amber’s two spi-
nal surgeries in Portland this
spring. Friends of the family
served up quesadillas, tacos,
tostadas, and generous bowls
of pozole, a hearty soup of
pork and hominy. A poster
drawn by Amber’s friends
hung near the door, signed
with encouraging words
like “Hope you feel better.
We love you Amber!” and
describing the second-grader
as “loving fun and full of
joy.”
Schedule online!
Sarah Conroy,
Chiropractor
Don’t let pain slow
down your gardening.
Call 541-588-2213
392 E. Main Ave.
SistersChiropractor.com
Located within Bigfoot Wellness
Shena Fields LMT#7439
Harmony Tracy LMT# 21211
PHOTO BY T. LEE BROWN
Local women prepared food for a fundraiser for Amber Alvarez Lara, who is
undergoing treatment for spinal bifida.
Amber is a Sisters
Elementary School student
who was born prematurely
with spina bifida, a severe
condition in which a baby’s
spinal cord develops abnor-
mally. She can often be seen
zooming around the SES
campus in her motorized
wheelchair, greeting people
with a friendly wave.
After finishing their
postres, attendees watched
Shalom Rebolledo and
Zenas Ortega dance the
“Santa Rita,” a dance from
Chihuahua. Then the kids
headed outside to play soc-
cer and scale the playground
equipment while adults gath-
ered up the evening’s festive
decorations. Readers can find
out more about fundraising
opportunities and Amber’s
surgery recovery in forth-
coming issues of The Nugget.
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