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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 24, 1981)
Vol 83, No 58 Eugene. Oregon 97403 Tuesday, November 24,1981 Natural history museum put on ice By ANN PORTAL Of ttM EmariM Nice and very good, but need more things,” one visitor recently wrote in the guest book at the University s Museum of Natural History Actually, the museum has access to entire collections of more things tucked away in storage areas, but a $4,988 budget cut announced last month elimi nated funding of educational exhibits and programs tor next year The budget cut effectively freezes the museum for at least a year, eliminating all but $10,000 for storage and some maintenance of the collections Collections the museum could exhibit, if it had the space and money, include the Oregon State Museum of Anthro pology. the Condon Museum of Geology and the University herbarium For museum director Alice Carnes, the freeze brings an abrupt end to a period of progress and renovation at the museum, which is the official respository for state owned artifacts The main thing is that the momentum that we ve gained could all be lost in a year " she says Carnes says she originally hoped that momentum would propel the museum into a new home in a museum complex that will be built near the Lane Education Service District Planetarium, located on Centennial Boulevard Meanwhile, the museum has concen trated on renovating displays at its current location near Science II on campus Work study students have remodeled most dis plays during the past two years, and new display cases currently are being built by volunteer Mike Smith In addition two National Endowment for the Humanities grants are paying for traveling shows that go to various Oregon cities "The Sandal and the Cave" went on the road in September, 1980, and "Native Basketry " begins a tour in February The road shows will continue until their funding runs out. but the main museum will have to close its doors this June Carnes says she is concerned the one-year closure may lengthen as budget problems contin ue Provost Richard Hill agrees the budget will be a key factor in whether the mu seum's funding is restored Although state residents and faculty show enough interest in the museum to justify keeping it open the University would have to have some budget restoration" to give the museum more money, Hill says "It's not that it's an unimportant activi ty, he adds Despite the administrations' reassur ances, Carnes says she is concerned that the current budget-cutting attitude is that of sacrificing University services in favor of academic programs 'They're coming from the perspective that the academic structure is the core," she says However. University services are one of the most important ways of staying in touch with the taxpayers, allowing the University to be "not only visible, but valuable Carnes says John Finch, a Nez Perce artist working on drawings for Native Basketry, says Eugene Indian community members also are upset about the museum’s possible closure The museum offers the only local ex hibits and programs on Indians done by professionals, he says Those programs show Indian children a culture different from that they've grown up with in Eugene "This is really kind of a drag for Indians in the community If this place closes down, Photo by Bob Baker Budget cuts will force the closure of the University Museum of Natural History for at least a year. we re going to lose that outlet Although the doors appear to be closing, volunteer groups are attempting to at least prop them open Members of the Eugene Natural History Society and the Oregon Mothers' Club already have offered to help keep the museum open at least part time Another group of fund raisers coordi nated by archaeologist Richard Pettigrew is discussing money-raising plans, with a goal of keeping the museum open at least at the present level But for now, the museum needs the University to make some commitment to preserving its collections, Carnes says. Even with the $10,000 for maintenance (mostly by students), a substantial amount will have to be contributed by faculty in their spare time, she says “Oregon is so diverse and rich A natural history museum is just a natural ” Money problems plague Growers Market Graphic by Max DeRungs By DAWN GARCIA Of the Emerald They still claim to have the cheapest food in Eugene That bit of good news is from Growers Market -- one of the few true food market co-ops left in Eugene But the bad news is that financial hardships plus a changing public mood are causing problems for Growers Market Some people are predicting Growers death,” says Growers building manager Ken Meyer " 'Cause if it gets any smaller, it'd better be in someone's garage ” That's where Growers began in someone s ga rage in the late 1960s As the small circle of friends widened into a large group of interested eaters, the co-op was moved into a warehouse across the street from its present location at 4th Avenue and Wil lamette Street The philosophy behind Growers is true coopera tion, Meyer says Whereas some Eugene co-ops are not truly cooperative organizations because customers do not work with the group. Growers relies completely on volunteers The food comes in bulk from local farms and merchants to Growers’ loading dock once a week with everything from artichokes to zucchini as well as other produce, breads, cheeses, lentils, flour and juices, among other things Here’s how Growers say they compare to other food "stores” in Eugene $1 00 worth of groceries at Growers will cost: $1 19 at Waremart $1 25 at New Frontier $1 27 at Safeway Marketeers put their orders in to Growers by 7 p m every Wednesday with the understanding they will come in the next day and work one hour filling other people s orders before they can claim their own filled order The reward for working is being a part of the co-op and saving on their grocery bill Thursdays are a flurry of activity as marketeers fill orders to be placed in cardboard boxes on shelves on one side of the huge room that makes up the Growers Market In the center of the room is table after table of produce and other foodstuffs But not all marketeers are required to be a part of this activity Recently Growers' managers decided to allow marketeers to pay a 10-percent fee in lieu of working their hour Most of the marketeers continue to work, however, Meyer says "The whole philosophy is that we really want people to work," he says “It feels good that they have the option to work " The reason behind this change is that people are not finding the time to come in and work their hour as they have in the past, Meyer says The cooperative spirit of the 1960s and the 1970s has changed somewhat, he says "It peaked out in the late seventies," Meyers explains about Growers rise and present struggling He's been with Growers for eight years, he says, remembering huge political meetings held in the warehouse during more "radical" times The number of people ordering per week jumped from a mere handful to 500 - its largest yet -- about three years ago The number of people ordering now is about 50, Meyer says
