2 Winter 2018 Applegater
OBITUARY
Hans Rilling
June 6, 1933 - October 16, 2018
Hans Rilling, a research
scientist, professor of biochemistry,
and former board member of
the Applegate Partnership and
Watershed Council, has died in
Orleans, Massachusetts. He was
85 years old.
Hans and I became friends
after he retired from 35 years of
teaching at the University of Utah
and moved to Ruch, Oregon,
with his wife, Alison Baker. As
lead organizers in making plans to
improve Rogue Valley libraries and
the environment in the Applegate,
the two of them contributed
greatly to the community in the
few years they spent here.
Hans and Alison led the
campaign to build 14 public
libraries throughout Jackson
County. As a result, the towns of
Applegate and Ruch each has its own
beautiful library.
As an active board member of the
Applegate Partnership and Watershed
Council, Hans was instrumental in
designing a water-quality monitoring
program in the Applegate River
Watershed, which became a model for
a state-sponsored program. Hans was a
frequent advocate for the environment
and loved the beauty and naturalness of
the Applegate. As a mentor, he offered
insight and encouragement to the
younger scientists and managers of the
Watershed Council.
Hans attended countless meetings
and field trips, always bringing with him
his gentle humor and friendliness. He
gave himself fully to the betterment of
others and to the environment, and he
finished whatever he started. As a lifelong
environmentalist, teacher, and leader
in the effort to gain clean water for the
streams in the Applegate, he deserves our
deep gratitude. His devotion to getting
more people involved in a project so that
he could move on to another project was
outstanding. He and his wife, Alison,
remain an inspiration for us all.
Chris Bratt • 541-846-6988
Thank you from the
Applegater!
We appreciate you—our contributors, donors,
advertisers, and readers—
for your support throughout the years.
The Applegater would not be here without you.
Happy Holidays from
the Board of Directors
Job Opportunity
The Applegater needs a self-motivated
advertising salesperson for
Josephine County.
Existing book; generous commissions.
Must know Excel and be able
to meet deadlines.
Email resume to gater@applegater.org.
Maslow’s Fifth Annual
Smoked Salmon Fest wrap-up
BY PAUL TIPTON
This year’s Southern Oregon Smoked
Salmon Fest, a benefit for the Maslow
Project, featured eight contestants. As
usual, a wide variety of ingredients and
techniques went into creating the savory
end products. I didn’t participate this year
so I could sample other people’s offerings,
which is difficult to do as a contestant. It
was a rewarding experience tasting what
other smoke chefs had prepared.
About 500 people turned out to taste
the smoked salmon, enjoy a drink, and
listen to the music or browse through the
numerous vendors and nonprofit tables
on a pleasant afternoon in September.
First-time contestants, Don Drager
and Mary O’Brien, both of Central
Point, walked away with first and
second places, respectively, in the judged
competition. With smirks on their faces
they revealed that they sourced their
salmon from Albertson’s. (Many of the
competitors are purists like me who use
only self-caught fish.) Drager’s winning
entry was wet-brined and included some
maple syrup in the recipe, while O’Brien’s
was dry-brined and had a fruity flavor
from the basting.
Prior to the award ceremony, I had
chosen O’Brien as the winner because
of a unique flavor that I picked up in
her salmon. After talking to her and
determining that our methods and
recipes didn’t differ that much, I believe
that her unique flavor came from the
madrone used to smoke her winning
entry (also used for Drager’s salmon).
Many people, myself included, primarily
use alder for smoking fish, although some
use fruit woods. I have smoked meats
with both madrone and manzanita in
the past with excellent results and would
recommend that you home-smokers give
it a try if you haven’t already. My next
batch of smoked salmon will be done
with madrone.
Third-place winner, Kiley Chisholm,
also of the Central Point area, credited
her success to the pineapple-apricot
basting that she applied throughout the
smoking process. It did provide a very
nice background flavor. And then there’s
the People’s Choice award winner, for the
second year in a row, Mike Gervais, from
the Upper Applegate. (He also won first
place in 2016.) Mike is very particular
about the handling of his fish. After
catching it, he follows standard procedure
by bleeding it, then immediately putting
it on ice, but he never freezes it. He only
keeps it on ice or refrigerated. Even after
the brining and eight to ten hours of
alder-wood smoking, it goes back into
the refrigerator. But you know it’s worth
the effort once you taste it—excellent!
Kudos to all of this year’s winners.
This year’s event brought in about
$29,000 to benefit the Maslow Project,
which serves homeless and needy youth
in Jackson and Josephine counties by
providing a variety of services, such as
access to clothing, meals, and hygiene
supplies; counseling; family advocacy;
and positive youth development with life
skills workshops, a drop-in art studio, job
readiness tutoring, and more. To learn
more and find out how you can support
this important local nonprofit, go to
maslowproject.com.
And next year come out and get some
tastes of great smoked salmon or enter
your own—whether wild-caught or
store-bought.
Paul Tipton
ptipton@frontier.com
541-846-7501
Women’s March in 2019
Last year many women from Applegate
Valley—and their spouses, children,
family, and friends—participated in the
Women’s March. This annual event is a
safe, fun, and joyful space to raise our
voices and share our visions. Women’s
March 2019 will happen at 11 am on
Saturday, January 19, at Hawthorne
Park in Medford and at Riverside Park
in Grants Pass. You can keep up-to-
date at rogueindivisible.org and engage
with other Applegate marchers on
Facebook—search for “Women’s March
Southern Oregon.”
Thousands participated in the
inaugural 2017 Women’s Marches in
Ashland and Grants Pass, with similarly
high turnout in 2018. Event organizers
expect even more enthusiasm next year.
Time to pull out those pink hats! See
you on January 19!
Laura Ahearn
laura.ahearn@stanfordalumni.org