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Wednesday, January 6, 2021 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
Commentary...
Loving Jim A.
By Karen Kassy
Guest Columnist
Two decades ago, I moved
to Central Oregon with the
calling in my heart to have a
farm. Coming from farmers
on my mom9s side, I didn9t
want to be a crop-and-live-
stock-raising farmer 4 that
is some of the hardest work
I know. I wanted something
manageable, where I could
rescue one of the other loves
of my life, Newfoundland
dogs, and help them find a
forever home. I wanted to
live in harmony with the land
and its animals, leaving a
place better than I found it.
Jim Anderson helped me
with that.
A few years in, with Bend
experiencing a housing con-
struction boom all around my
small acreage, nicknamed
<Farmony,= the harmony was
disrupted. All of a sudden,
there was a huge amount of
holes from a growing popu-
lation of sage rats. I wanted
to rebalance the population
naturally, and read an inter-
esting article in The Bend
Bulletin stating that if I built a
barn owl nesting box, things
might be restored. The author
gave an address to write for
plans. I emailed right away,
<Dear Jim Witty= (the name
of the other <Jim= writer at
the newspaper).
Within a few hours, I was
rewarded with a reply. Never
chastising me for accidentally
addressing him as the wrong
Jim, instead <Jim A.= offered
to come out to my place to
make sure barn owls were
the right solution for me. He
had Googled me and found
out I was an author. He told
me he had written a book
<Tales from a Northwest
Naturalist.= I love to read and
learn, and offered to buy a
book. <Let9s trade!= he wrote,
grandly. I mentioned I9d be
up at Sisters at Angeline9s for
Friday night music 3 might
he be there? We could meet
and trade books. Although he
had lived in Sisters for years,
he had never gone to Friday
music. By this time, we were
talking on the phone, <What
do you look like?= I que-
ried. Drawing out the words
slowly, <I9m an ooolllddd
man.= He made me laugh.
Somehow we missed
each other during that eve-
ning, although he was there
and I was there, looking for
each other. He chalked it up
to fate. Jim came over to the
house the next day. In less
than 15 minutes he surveyed
the land.
<Barn owls would starve
out here; your place is too
small. What you need is a
red-tailed hawk9s nest. I9ll
make you one.=
We then spent the great
majority of three hours talk-
ing about a wide range of top-
ics. I didn9t realize it was the
beginning of a platonic love
affair. At 73 years of age, Jim
knew so much about history,
having moved here in the
1950s, and more about ani-
mals and plants than I have
read in dozens of books. He
talked about his spirituality.
With tears in his eyes, he told
of a healing experience from
a health issue when some
spiritual friends laid hands
on him. He was smart, funny
and mystical. Fast forward
nearly two decades, I realize
I never got three hours unin-
terrupted with Jim again (he
is busy) 4 but we crossed
paths again many times.
At 74, he installed the
promised red-tail hawk9s
nest when he climbed my
150-year-old <grandfather
juniper= in the back pasture.
I thought to myself, <I hope
he doesn9t fall down 4 I
really like his wife Sue and
don9t want to tell her she lost
him on my watch.= Returning
safely to earth, <Now Karen,
you climb up and put some
hay or straw to attract those
PHOTO COURTESY KAREN KASSY
Jim Anderson and Karen Kassy.
hawks&= <Wait a min-
ute, Jim, I may be decades
younger than you, but I can-
not climb that tree. Why
didn9t you tell me? I would
have given you some hay
before you went up!=
We laughed so hard. His
experience was that hawks
probably wouldn9t come the
first year. I was lucky: his
nest invited them. They came
right away and I had sage
rat balance in my ecosystem
from then on.
Over the years, we9d
get snatches of moments
together. I moved to Sisters
and I would see him around
town. He told me stories.
Once he saw some guy driv-
ing with a bunch of feathers
hanging from his rear view
mirror. Jim said his intuition
let him know that something
wasn9t quite right. He fol-
lowed the guy and saw his
house was decorated with
lots of illegal feathers. Jim
called the authorities. With
a search warrant, inside the
home, officials found dozens
of dead, poached, protected
birds 4 including the bald
eagle.
Jim is brave 4 he stands
up for people and animals.
Jim is a community resource
4for everyone. He men-
tioned he gets about three
hours of emails a day (in
addition to phone calls) from
people who need help. Jim
inspires me with his consis-
tently positive attitude and
love of learning and wonder.
One day I called him
and said, <Jim my love seat
is buzzing.= Before I could
explain I thought I had bees
in the porch furniture, he
teasingly laughed and let me
See JIM A. on page 16
A N N O U N C E M E N T S
Weekly Food Pantry
Wellhouse Church has a weekly
food pantry on Th ursdays. Food
is currently being distributed
drive-through style from 12:30
until all food is distributed at the
Wellhouse Market building, 222
N. Trinity Way. People in need
of food may drive through the
parking lot and pick up a bag of
food for their household. Other
Sisters-area churches are joining
with Wellhouse Church to
contribute both fi nancially and
with volunteers to help sustain
the program. Info: 541-549-4184.
Free Weekly Grab-N-Go
Lunches For Seniors
Th e Council on Aging of Central
Oregon is serving seniors (60+)
free Grab-N-Go lunches on
Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and
Th ursdays each week. Th e
lunches are distributed on a
fi rst-come, fi rst-served basis drive-
through style from 12 to 12:30
p.m. at the Sisters Community
Church, 1300 W. Mckenzie Hwy.
Seniors may drive through the
parking lot and pick up a meal
each day of service. Come on by,
no need to make a reservation.
Info: 541-678-5483.
Antiques & Jewelry
Donations Needed
Sisters Kiwanis takes donations of
antiques, collectibles and jewelry
throughout the year for its annual
Antiques, Collections & Jewelry
Sale, held on Saturday every
Memorial Day weekend. Your
donation is tax-deductible! For
more information and to arrange
for pickup of large or small items,
please call Pam at 541-719-1049.
SMS Selling Sisters Strong
Shirts/Decals
Th e student leadership group at
Sisters Middle School is hoping
to make a diff erence in our
community. Th ey are selling
shirts and decals featuring a
newly designed Sisters Strong
logo. Th e proceeds of the sales
will go to Kiwanis Food Bank,
Family Advocate Network,
and the school’s leadership
program. Shirts and decals can
be purchased online and picked
up downtown at either Paulina
Springs Bookstore or Canyon
Creek Pottery. Please go to www.
sistersstrong.org to purchase
your items. Shirts are $15 and
car decals are $4. For more
information email jeff .schiedler@
ssd6.org.
wedding announcement
Mark and Sheila Reifschneider r
proudly announce the marriage
g e
of their daughter, Sabrina
Reifschneider, to Luke Allen,
son of Scott and Kim Allen
of Arizona. The couple were
married on December 13,
2020 in Sisters. The couple met
e t
at Corban University where
Sabrina and Luke fi nished their
i r
last semester this fall, Sabrina
graduating with a Bachelors
of Science/Biology degree
and Luke in Business and
Marketing. They will be residing
n g
in Arizona, where Sabrina will l
begin an accelerated Nursing
program at Creighton University
i t y
and Luke will be working for
Disciple Nations Alliance.
Please call the church before attending to verify current status of services as restrictions are adjusted.
SISTERS-AREA CHURCHES
Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church (ELCA)
386 N. Fir Street • 541-549-5831
10 a.m. Sunday Worship
shepherdofthehillslutheranchurch.com
Sisters Community Church (Nondenominational)
1300 W. McKenzie Hwy. • 541-549-1201
10 a.m. Sunday Worship (with signing)
sisterschurch.com | info@sisterschurch.com
St. Edward the Martyr Roman Catholic Church
123 Trinity Way • 541-549-9391
5:30 p.m. Saturday Vigil Mass
9 a.m. Sunday Mass
8 a.m. Monday-Friday Mass
Calvary Church (NW Baptist Convention)
484 W. Washington St., Ste. C & D • 541-588-6288
10 a.m. Sunday Worship | ccsisters.org
Th e Episcopal Church of the Transfi guration
68825 Brooks Camp Rd. • 541-549-7087
8:30 a.m. Ecumenical Sunday Worship (Sunday school,
childcare) 10:15 a.m. Episcopal Sunday Worship (Sunday
school, childcare)
Chapel in the Pines
Camp Sherman • 541-549-9971
10 a.m. Sunday Worship
Sisters Church of the Nazarene
67130 Harrington Loop Rd. • 541-389-8960 | sistersnaz.org
10:45 a.m. Sunday Worship | 2sistersnaz@gmail.com
Wellhouse Church
442 Trinity Way • 541-549-4184 | wellhousechurch.churchcenter.com
10 a.m. Sunday Worship (Indoor & Outdoor Venues available)
Vast Church (Nondenominational)
541-719-0587 • 5 and 6:30 p.m. Wednesday Worship at
442 Trinity Way (Wellhouse building). See vastchurch.com for details.
Seventh-Day Adventist Church
386 N. Fir St. • 541-595-6770, 541-306-8303
11 a.m. Saturday Worship
Th e Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
452 Trinity Way • Branch President, 541-420-5670;
10 a.m. Sunday Sacrament Meeting
Baha’i Faith Meetings
Devotional Gatherings, Study Classes and Discussion
Groups. Call for location and times • 541-647-9826
PET OF THE WEEK
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541-382-3537
Meet SARACEN, a gorgeous
4-year-old American bulldog
who is eager to fi nd her forever
family! Saracen is a sweet and
gentle giant who would love to
fi nd a quiet home without other
pets! This beautiful girl has a
goofy and playful personality
and would do very well with
older children who can handle
her size. If you are looking for
a dog with a lovely face and a
lovely soul then Saracen is the
pooch for you!
SPONSORED BY
YOUR PET-FRIENDLY REALTOR!
ALI MAYEA, Principal Broker/Owner
541-480-9658 • 541-588-6007