Applegate
Applegate Valley
Valley Community
Community Newspaper,
Newspaper, Inc.
Inc.
7386
7386 Highway
Highway 238,
238, PMB
PMB 308
308
7386
Highway
238,
PMB
308
Jacksonville,
Jacksonville, OR
OR 97530
97530
Jacksonville,
OR
97530
Applegater
Log on to our web site—www.applegater.org
site—www.Applegater.org
Photo by Belva Carole Lamb
Applegate Valley Community Newspaper
SUMMER 2011
Volume 4, No. 3
Summer 2011 1
Postal Patron
Serving Jackson and Josephine Counties — Circulation: 9,000
New Applegate
trails group
Farewell to our very own
Ruth Austin
By tom CaRstens anD DaviD CaLahan
By J.D. RogeRs anD saRa austin
Ever wonder what our beautiful
valley looks like from the air? Aside from
flying, there is a way to enjoy a bird’s-eye
view of the Applegate: by driving up to
some very accessible trails and roads along
the ridgeline that separates the Applegate
Valley from Forest Creek and the Rogue
River. Standing beneath huge pines and firs,
you can gaze upon the entire Thompson
Creek valley framed by the jagged Red
Buttes and the white tops of Dutchman
The Applegater
Ne wspaper sends its
condolences to the Ruth
Austin family. Ruth passed
away peacefully at home in
the early morning of July
1, 2011. She will truly be
missed.
Ruth single-
handedly took on the job
as sales representative for
the Gater when grants from
the Oregon Watershed
Enhancement Board and
other foundations dried up
in the 1990s. Anyone who
has done cold sales knows
how difficult they can be, but
Ruth hung in there, keeping the Applegater
financially afloat while building her
reputation of trust, honesty and customer
service among her clients.
From almost the start of the
Gater, Ruth was involved with helping
bag the paper for mailing, distributing the
Gater to many drop sites in the Applegate
Watershed, and writing many wonderful
articles for the paper over the years.
Ruth Austin was born in Liberty,
New York, on August 1, 1924. During
World War II, she served as a radio
Peak and Mt. Ashland. Humbug Creek
and the double crests of Billy Mountain lie
closer in. Enjoy a picnic in flower-studded
mountain meadows while marveling at the
pristine wildlands surrounding Wellington
Butte. In the other direction you will
marvel at the emerald green slopes of
Mt. Isabelle and the high ragged peaks of
Timber Mountain and John’s Peak beyond.
The Rogue River seems so close from
see tRaiL, page 20
Looking SW over Ruch with Little Applegate on the right. Aerial photo by Scott Harding.
Ruth Austin and Sable
operator for the Coast Guard from 1944
to 1946, and then worked for many years
for the telephone company. In 1960, while
visiting her sister in San Diego, she decided
to stay. There she married and raised three
children: Catherine, William and Susan.
In 1990, she came to the Applegate to
visit her daughter Catherine just before
her granddaughter, Sara, was born. Ruth
fell in love with the area and community
and remained here for the rest of her life.
see Ruth, page 4
Another fun and successful fundraiser
By PauLa RissLeR
On one of the sunniest days of
the year, the third annual fundraiser
for the Applegater Newspaper was held
on Sunday, May 1 at the Applegate
River Lodge. Everyone enjoyed the
fun, the food and the fine weather.
We appreciate the efforts of all who
contributed to the success of this event.
Joanna Davis and the Applegate River
Ranch Lodge and Restaurant provided
a wonderful BBQ chicken meal that
was prepared by the Lodge staff and
served by Applegater volunteers. Blue
Fox Farms provided the superb spring
salad mix. Local wineries donating
and serving the Applegate’s finest wines
were Plaisance Ranch, Rosella’s Winery,
Slagle Creek Vineyards, Schmidt Family
Vineyards, The Academy of Wine and
Wooldridge Creek Winery. Sterling
Bank in Jacksonville donated the wine
glasses commemorating the event and
several of the staff donated their time to
work that day. Duke Davis and Friends
provided music for our listening pleasure
along with a set by the Applegater’s
own J.D. Rogers. The silent auction
focused on local services this year and
the bidding was friendly but competitive.
The fundraiser generated over
$5,500. Every dollar goes toward the
production of the Applegater and these
funds guarantee at least one more
issue! Sioux Rogers and Mary Driver
presented the auction items in a
beautifully organized fashion. A
special thank you to Daena Tougher
and Barbara Holiday for all their
creative graphic-design work.
We would like to thank all
the volunteers and the donors of
merchandise for the silent auction.
Please see our complete listing on page 13.
Thanks again to Joanna Davis
and the Applegate Lodge for their
generous donation of the food and the
use of their lovely facility for this event.
Paula Rissler • 541-601-8949
see FunDRaiseR, page 13
Fun was had by young and old, with two legs and
four. See you at our next “fun-raiser.”
MEET THE NATIVES
INSIDE
Ticks and Lyme in the Applegate Watershed—page 20
The Applegate Watershed trees—page 12
The Oregon state insect—page 9
Silver-spotted tiger moth—page 9