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About Applegater. (Jacksonville, OR) 2008-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 1, 2017)
20 Winter 2017 Applegater Local fruit-tree propagation effort BY BRAD SMITH Oregon’s propagation fairs started with a humble seed swap in Eugene, hosted by Eugene’s permaculture guild. Over the years the seed swap became the Lane County Propagation Fair, combining a seed swap, a scion exchange, and skill- sharing presentations centered around food plants, regenerative soil building, and building community resilience. This evolution has now resulted in a series of propagation fairs throughout Oregon every March and April, including one here in our valley. These events provide visitors with a good selection of free scion wood. Scion is the fresh growth on fruit-tree branches (usually pruned off anyway). Once you select your variety, you can either take the scion home and graft it or have professional on-site grafters make the artful union onto rootstock for a small fee. You can walk away with some rare varieties of apple, pear, plum, cherry, medlar, grape, figs, and more. ■ DENNIS DRAGON Continued from page 2 recordings and held himself and his clients to the highest standards. His studio offered the warm sound of bygone days, the days when sound and delivery was all there was. We were involved in the filming of Dennis’s brainchild television pilot, Podunk Today, a pretty genius talk/variety/ music show about what it is to live out here in this environment. The host was Vince Herman of Leftover Salmon and we were the house band. There may be a memorial release of it in the near future. In this fast-paced, modern-day society, where quantity often tops quality, Dennis Dragon was such a valuable resource and an irreplaceable character. He was as open- minded as he was stubborn. In the same way that some have trouble working under genius directors, working with Dennis was an exercise in excellence. I am honored to have had the pleasure! These events are the perfect place to freely share cuttings of your favorite food plants. The propagation fair organizers decided to decentralize the annual event in order to diversify our plant material sources so we won’t have to depend on large, at-risk collections. Our propagation material has mostly come from the legendary Nick Botner in Yoncalla, Oregon. Mr. Botner has over 4,000 varieties of apples alone. He has allowed us access to his orchard over the years, so our team has been able to observe it being progressively overtaken by anthracnose fungal disease. We also noticed the varieties that were showing resilience in the wake of this fungal infestation creeping across the northwest. We need those of you who have good fruit trees to allow us to take a handful of cuttings in January or February to be shared freely at these events the following months. Our local Propagation Fair will Our song, “Heroes Unsung,” was the last song to be recorded at the studio at Pacifica on September 25, 2017. Aurelia Anne Cohen booking@intuitive-compass.com Feeling the day turn It was three or four years ago, and we were sitting on Enderts Beach in Crescent City. “Did you feel it?” Dennis asked. I had just felt it. Yes, I really had. It happened at the hottest point of the day, when you could suddenly feel the sun going in the other direction. The day had peaked, and we had both felt that moment together. The ocean is the place to feel such a shift. No one had ever spoken about this before; I had never even read about it. But, of course, such things exist. It’s such a magical thing to feel the turning of the day! Thanks, Dennis, for this great memory and so many others! You are much loved and missed. Laura Zukowski zukiezukie@gmail.com I met “The Dragon” several years ago when I was looking for a studio to record some of my new songs. Dennis was a very intense person with a great, dark, humorous side to him that I be held in March 2018 at the Williams Grange. Stay tuned for an exact date. Although we started calling ourselves Agrarian Sharing Network (ASN), we’re still just a loose-knit collective of folks that could include you too. Our aim is to enhance the availability of fruit diversity, counter to the trend of restricting access through bureaucracy inherent in a kakistocracy. It’s up to the people to plant the future. To be on the mailing list or be part of this 100 percent participant-driven effort, email propagationfair@gmail.com or write to ASN, PO Box 346, Williams, OR 97544. Brad Smith feralseed@unseen.is related to. We had a lot of laughs working on that project. Where else but in the Applegate could I trade my homemade V8 juice for some extra studio time? Through Dennis, I met some topnotch musicians with whom I still work. And the songs on my CD, Just Like You, that Dennis produced became a major hit five feet either side of my mailbox. Johnny Trujillo, who coproduced with Dennis and played bass guitar on Just Like You, became a great friend and is producing my new CD. We laid down 12 rhythm tracks with Dennis engineering. Dennis was shocked when we knocked out eight tracks in one day. He called me many times after that session to tell me that my song “Twinkie Lips” was “the one.” Then he’d laugh and ask how I came up with the lyrics. Well, “Twinkie Lips” will be dedicated to you, Dennis, in that big mixing board in the great beyond. J.D. Rogers • 541-846-7736 We miss you, Dennis. Your unique creativity and willingness to help will always be in our hearts. Our world will be a smaller and sadder place without you. Ray and Peg Prag Pacifica Garden peg@pacificagarden.org Let our advertisers know that you saw their ad in the Applegater. • • • Support our local businesses! 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