Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Applegater. (Jacksonville, OR) 2008-current | View Entire Issue (July 1, 2016)
16 Summer 2016 Applegater NONPROFIT NEWS AND UPDATES — Applegate Valley Community Grange — The Spring Fair on April 17 at the Grange was a very successful event, with lots of people stopping by to check out the art show, vendors, plant sales, informational booths, play space for kids, great food, great music, and a chance to bump shoulders with neighbors and friends. The weather was just right, and everyone enjoyed their time there. This is a major part of what our local Grange is all about—providing events for the local community to enjoy and providing a rental space for a wide variety of community activities and organizations, as well as being open without cost for nonprofit and community awareness meetings. Our members are active in many other community organizations, and our basic goal is to better our community in any way we can. To the point, our active members are old or elderly (don’t say that to their faces), and we need more active members to keep the Grange open to do what we do for the community. We have monthly potlucks at 5:30 pm on the second Sunday of each month, followed by a one-hour meeting at 6:30 pm. We’re a friendly group, no biters, the food is good, the meetings brief and civil, and we’d welcome any input of energy. Crucial positions on the board need to be filled by October in order for the Grange to continue operation. If you care about what the Grange does in the Applegate, please consider joining a great group of people who care about you and what happens right here in our community. For more information about the Applegate Grange, contact Paul Tipton or Janis Mohr-Tipton at 541-846-7501 or applegategrange@gmail.com. Our new mailing address is PO Box 1341, Jacksonville, OR 97530. — Applegate Food Pantry — As always, the Applegate Food Pantry thanks all of the volunteers who help make it possible to run the pantry. Reminder. Please drive slowly through school property. If you bring your kids or pets, they must stay with you at all times. Hours of operation. Mondays from 9:30 to 11:00 am. The pantry is closed the last Monday of every month when school is in session. Location. Back of the Ruch School cafeteria off Highway 238 in Ruch. For more information, contact Charlotte Knott, Applegate Food Pantry Manager, at 541-899-8381. — McKee Bridge Historical Society — At a recent meeting, the board of McKee Bridge Historical Society (MBHS) decided to cancel the annual McKee Bridge Day for 2016, usually held on the second Saturday in June. However, plans are to hold a huge celebration next year to commemorate the centennial of the construction of the bridge. That celebration will be held on Saturday, June 10, 2017, and will feature food, live music, demonstrations, vendor booths, as well as historic displays about the bridge and its function in the community through the years. We hope you’ll join us then, but meanwhile, stop by the bridge and enjoy some time in the park by the river. See if you can spot the restoration work changes done last year to reopen the bridge to public use. Some are very visible; some are not so easy to spot. The MBHS Board of Directors has some positions to fill. If you have an interest in local history or would like to give us a hand with the maintenance of the bridge or help with the preparations for the centennial celebration next June, we can use your help. We meet only a few times a year, and our main purpose is to maintain and promote the bridge and its connection to local history, as well as putting on the annual McKee Bridge Day. Please consider joining us. Contact Bob Van Heuit at 541-499-6132 or Paul Tipton at 541-846-7501. — Pacifica — In addition to its educational pursuits and wildlife habitat, Pacifica has assumed the role of a park for the Applegate Valley community and beyond. It’s gratifying to see more people and their pets using the property, which is open during daylight hours for hiking, horse riding, catch-and-release fishing, bird and nature watching, disc golf (bring your own), and enjoyment of the scenery and solitude, Now available: There are so many wildflowers and birds out right now. To help you enjoy them, borrow-and-return mini field guides are available at each of the main kiosks. The only restrictions involve giving wedding parties and their guests exclusive use of the center of the property (watch for signs at Pacifica’s entrance and postings on Pacifica’s website). We ask that their privacy be respected, with no fishing on event days after 1 pm. Even on event days, however, you can now hike and ride horses because there are new trails around the perimeter of the property. Please park (horses and hikers) at the first parking area just inside the main entrance (West Trailhead) and stay away from the area around the Cedar Center and the Pond House. All of this is available free to users, although contributions to help with maintenance of the grounds are needed and greatly appreciated. Brown donation boxes can be found at the West Trailhead and the kiosk near the horse-trailer parking area in the center of the property, or mail your donation to Pacifica, PO Box 1, Williams, OR 97544. Another hard-won small step forward: The Cedar Center has long had a drop-off where floor levels did not match. But now that hazard has been eliminated (we’re thankful that no one broke an ankle all these years), thanks to funding from the Carpenter Foundation, a generous discount on materials from Lippert’s Carpet One, and the efforts of Pacifica’s own board member and volunteer extraordinaire Rodger Miller. This new surface will be easy to clean and should last many years (see photo). While the Cedar Center “barn,” including the recording studio, was built for Steve Miller, we have never been able to reach him to hear his tales of the years (1976-1986) that he owned the property that is now Pacifica. We’ve been fortunate New flooring in the Cedar Center thanks to the Carpenter Foundation, Lippert’s Carpet One, and Rodger Miller. to have Wes Lippert come to regale us with his stories of growing up on the cattle ranch in the 1950s and 1960s and have heard from others relating what occurred on the property during the years before 1976. But the Steve Miller era has spawned only hearsay about the happenings then. The Steve Miller Band has performed in southern Oregon every few years (Britt Festival) and is scheduled again for September 1, 2016. We’ve tried through the years to find a way to contact the rock star, but have never been successful. We’d really like to have him see what’s become of the ranch that he once owned and would love to hear how the property changed during his ownership. So if anyone reading this article knows of a way to reach Mr. Miller to invite him to tour Pacifica this year (he has two days off between the Britt show and his next gig in San Francisco on September 4), please let us know by emailing info@pacificagarden. org or calling 541-846-1100. If someone can arrange for Steve to tour Pacifica or accompany him, we are offering a reward of a night’s stay in the historic Pond House! Pacifica is doing some interesting and exciting things, and we can use your help! We know there are lots of interesting and exciting people out there…please join us! (That’s our wish list for this issue, though we wouldn’t turn down a golf cart if one were offered!) If you have an hour a week or month available to help enhance a beautiful community place, please call 541-846- 1100 or email info@pacificagarden.org. We are located at 14615 Water Gap Road in Williams. Thank you! Peg Prag • 541-846-1100 peg@pacificagarden.org Give your kids a summer to remember! At Pacifica’s Day Camps this summer, community experts will be teaching their skills and specialties to our youth. Join us for a wide range of exciting day camps. Scholarships are available, as well as discounts for siblings and multiple camp sign ups. Times are 9 am to 2 pm, and the cost is $150 per camp. June 20 - 23: Wilderness Camp (ages 6-12), Caleb Schulten June 27 - 30: Craft Camp (ages 6-12), Morgan Breeze and Leah Markman July 5 - 8: Outdoor Games Camp (ages 6-10), Patty Goodin July 11 - 14: Silat Martial Arts Camp (ages 11-16), Matt Edwards, Summer Kniveton July 18 - 21: Art Camp (ages 8-12) July 25 - 28: Potpourri Camp—Arts, crafts and music (ages 6-12), Zuki August 1 - 4: Rock Band Music Camp (ages 10-16), Brian Risling, Patty Goodin August 8 - 11: Rock Band Music Camp (ages 10-16), Brian Risling, Patty Goodin August 15 - 18: Yoga Camp—Playful Practice (ages 6-12), Clair Highfield, Allee Gus August 22 - 25: Acting Camp—Dramatic Adventures (ages 8-18), Shane Skinner August 29 - September 1: Sewing Nature Spirit Camp (ages 8-14), Serene Dussell Sign up now. Print out an enrollment form from our website at www. pacificagarden.org/caterpillar/currentnaturecamps, and send payment and form to Pacifica, PO Box 1, Williams, OR 97544 two weeks before the camp start date. For more information, email vanessa@pacificagarden.org or call 541-846-1100.
