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.