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About Applegater. (Jacksonville, OR) 2008-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 1, 2009)
Applegate Valley Community Newspaper, Inc. 7386 Highway 238, PMB 308 Jacksonville, OR 97530 U.S. Postage Applegater Fall Paid 2009 1 Non-Profi t Permit No. 50 Grants Pass, OR 97526 Log on to our web site www.applegater.org Photo by Chelsea Fine FALL 2009 Volume 2, No. 4 Applegate Valley Community Newspaper Postal Patron Serving Jackson and Josephine Counties — Circulation: 9,000 Hiking the Applegate BY JANEEN SATHRE Albino gopher digs Applegate home BY TASHA KNOWLTON I have been enjoying the hiking trails in the Applegate for many years now, from the highest points around Dutchman Peak to the lowest ones nestled in the Enchanted Forest. It always amazes me how many trails there are to explore, each with its own variety of fl ora and fauna, and all of it contained in the wonderful Applegate watershed. Most of these trails have been maintained by the US Forest Service. Sadly, as their funds have become constricted, many of the trails are disappearing back into wilderness. Some of the trails are diffi cult to get to and others diffi cult to maintain, such as those in the Red Butte Wilderness where restrictions against chain saws or motorized equipment apply. wild rhododendrons, meadows filled with wild fl owers and cool clear water feeding the Applegate River. Knox McCoy thought it was beautiful too, and in the early 1900s lived at Frog Pond in a cabin built to incorporate several large cedar trees. McCoy appears to have been quite a character according to several tidbits of information that have been handed down about him. For instance there was the time he visited my grandparents, where he slept in the barn as a pit stop on his walk to Jacksonville for supplies. He was thinking how nice a blackberry pie would be and knew if he picked some berries on his way, my grandmother would make one. Since it was a hot day and he didn’t have a container to put the berries in, he took Th is interesting albino gopher belongs to John Hill and Francine Decker. Th ey were working in the Bottroff ’s fi eld when they found it. John and Francie managed to get a hold of it and decided to keep the gopher as a replacement for their old albino gopher. Its bright white fur and glowing red eyes make it a very intriguing creature. Th is gopher has a good home and goes everywhere with John and Francie in a large bucket fi lled with fresh dirt. Successful Williams Garden Party at Herb Pharm BY BONNIE JOHNSON AND PREM MILES A fundraiser for Josephine County Libraries Inc. (JCLI) and the Williams Branch Library was held June 21 with wine- tasting, live music, food and a fabulous silent auction. Th e Williams Friends of the Library’s Garden Party Fundraiser in the beautiful Herb Pharm Gardens, on Bonlinda Lane in Williams, couldn’t have been nicer. Attendees from Grants Pass, Murphy, the Applegate area and, of course, Williams, came to show their support for libraries and enjoy a perfect afternoon in exquisite gardens. Th e event was co-sponsored by the Williams Friends of the Library and JCLI, Josephine Community Libraries, Inc. the 501(c)(3) non-profi t corporation that has re-opened the library in Grants Pass. Th anks to JCLI’s creativity, hard work, enthusiastic volunteers and ongoing fundraising eff orts, plans are now in place to reopen the Williams branch library in November of 2009. Watch for the Grand Opening Day events! Th e fundraiser party at Herb Pharm on June 21, 2009 was perfect for strolling in the gardens, sipping unique local wines, listening to live music and enjoying the very good food. Th e herb and fl ower gardens were at their peak, due to the spring rains and the excellent work of the gardeners. Ray Reussner delighted the attendees with his suburb classical guitar music. Th e food was scrumptious and plentiful and wine swirled in the special c o m m e m o r a t i ve g l a s s e s ordered just for the occasion. Local residents, Grants Pass folks, and Applegate Valley library supporters all mingled and enjoyed each other’s company on a special Fathers’ Day outing. See GARDEN PARTY, page 2 However, these trails provide some of the best connections for us to know and understand the vibrant history of the environment we live in. Many of these trails were used by the early miners who came here in the 1850s, men who probably followed in the footsteps of their predecessors in the area, the Native Americans. There are funny names given to camp sites (No- See-Um), old remains of cabins, and even obsidian arrowhead pieces lying on the trail. Although some stories are lost forever, many have been written down for us to enjoy. One such trail is the Frog Pond/ Cameron Meadows four-mile loop. Th e hike winds through one of the most beautiful old-growth forests, delicate his long johns off , tied knots in the legs and proceeded to fi ll them with berries. According to my grandmother, it seemed that McCoy rarely bathed, so the thought of eating those berries out of his underwear was not very appetizing. It is this kind of history, in addition to the sheer beauty of the trail, that makes it important to not lose this part of our Applegate heritage. With that in mind, volunteers from the Red Butte Wilderness Trekkers and the Rogue Group of the Sierra Club got together last year to clean the Frog Pond Trail. We thought it would be a one-day project, but after coming back a second See HIKING, page 2
