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About Applegater. (Jacksonville, OR) 2008-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 1, 2020)
1 Winter 2020 Applegater Photo by Ann Nguyen • applegater.org WINTER 2020 Applegate Valley Community Newsmagazine Volume 13, No. 4 Serving Jackson and Josephine Counties — Circulation: 13,000 Long-lost story of pioneer blacksmith re-emerges BY SUZIE SAVOIE Benjamin Johnson lived for at least two years near Ruch in 1868 and 1869, just long enough to leave a lasting legacy in the Applegate Valley. Ben was born into slavery in Alabama in 1834 and eventually made his way to Uniontown, Oregon, as a freed slave. Uniontown was at the mouth of the Little Applegate River during the mining era. Ben worked for Theodoric Cameron, the founder of Uniontown, built a blacksmith shop, and prospected at the base of the mountain that would become known Ben and Amanda Gardner Johnson, Oregon pioneers and among as “(racial epithet) Oregon’s first Black citizens. Photo: Courtesy of the Ben Mountain.” By Lane County History Museum. all accounts he was respected in the community and was the Deckards had freed their slaves, known as a skilled blacksmith. according to the Lane County History Ben eventually moved north to Albany, Museum Digital Collections, “Amanda and on New Year’s Eve in 1870 he married postponed her marriage to Johnson for Amanda Gardner Johnson, a former slave five years while she cared for her former who had come west with the Deckard mistress, Elizabeth Deckard Snodgrass, family in 1853 when she was 16. Although See BLACKSMITH, page 13 Celebrating ~26~ Years A great time to give NewsMatch doubles donations through year’s end Want to make your money go farther? Support your community newspaper this month! As newly minted members of the Institute for Nonprofit News, the Applegater is eligible for NewsMatch, a matching-gift campaign benefiting nonprofit news groups across the nation. Until December 31, every donation you make of any size will be matched, doubling its value to the Applegater— and making it possible for us to continue publication of your community newspaper through the new year. Better yet: If you decide to make a monthly donation (highly recommended), NewsMatch will match the full-year value of your pledge, not just the first month’s amount—for example, a new $10/month donation that starts in December will be eligible for a $120 match! This is an excellent time to be extra generous in your donation to the Applegater. Use the enclosed envelope to send us a check, or donate online on our Facebook page or on our website home page at applegater.org. Thank you so much! We love you for your support. The Applegater applegater.org gater@applegater.org, 541-631-1313 Crafts, music, and theater during the pandemic BY DIANA COOGLE In spite of the pandemic, Peg Pragg, co-founder of Pacifica Garden in Williams, was reluctant to cancel Pacifica’s annual Winter Arts Fest. “I think right now people need a big fix of ‘community,’” she said, so she and others figured out how to make it work: only 15 vendors, masks required, numbers limited, and no food or live music, and for just seven hours on one day, November 29. An abbreviated Winter Fest. No Jacksonville Market last summer. Closed or coronavirus-adjusted local markets, stores, crafts fairs, and festivals. These changes have not been easy for Applegate artists and musicians. “The hit has been substantial,” admits Williams musician Barbara Mendelsohn, who plays music with Kevin Carr at dances, festivals, music camps, and pubs—venues now mostly unavailable. Kevin estimates he has lost a third to half of his income. The loss for the English Lavender Farm, on Thompson Creek Road, is around 40 percent. Shanna Rose, also in Williams, who makes “wear the forest” clothes, estimates a $10,000 loss. Clothing vendors were hit especially hard because, Shanna says, “COVID restrictions excluded textiles.” Food vendors were luckier: theirs is an essential service. Sales at By George Farm, on Yale Creek, were down about 10-20 percent. Into the gap have stepped good-hearted people. More customers than usual have been buying directly from Williams artist Serene Dussell, who makes hemp clothing, since the pandemic forced the closure of the store that carried her wares. Grocers Local Postal Customer Nonprofit Org US Postage PAID Permit #125 Medford OR ECRWSSEDDM wanting to support Oregon food during the pandemic have patronized By George Farm. While most theaters have had to close, Wanderlust Theater, at LongSword Winery, was doubly lucky because (1) their shows are moving, outdoor spectacles, so audience members can be safely distanced on the twenty-two acres of LongSword Vineyard, and (2) their next show, Dracula, was already scheduled for spring 2021. Auditions were socially distanced, with masks. Many crafts-fair vendors have begun looking for outside jobs. Some, like musician Kevin Carr, who is also a licensed counselor working online, have put more energy into already existing Serene Dussell at work. side jobs. Barbara Mendelsohn, an artist as well as a musician, is “trying harder to ISSUE See CRAFTS, page 8 HOLIDAY - ARTS
