Page 4
Illinois Valley News, Cave Junction, OR Wednesday, October 23, 2002
(Continued from page 3)
ancient Celtic holiday called
Samhain. According to the
Scottish-Gaelic dictionary,
“Samhain” translates as
“Summer’s end.” Samhain
marked the final harvest of the
agricultural year, and herds
were culled for winter food.
Samhain was also the
New Year of the Celtic calen-
dar, and therefore a time of
great celebration. People trav-
eled for miles to visit friends
and family, going bravely
from house to house in the
winter darkness, and partying
like champions (the Celts
loved a good party). Hospital-
ity was a sacred obligation to
the Celts, so no one was
turned away from the door on
Samhain night. This is where
the “treat” part of “trick-or-
treat” originated.
The Celts believed in an
afterlife, but they had no con-
cept of Hell, devils, or de-
mons. But they did believe in
the existence of fairies.
Fairies could be helpful or
harmful, as they chose, and
were never to be taken lightly.
At Samhain, when the veil
was thinnest, fairies came out
to roam with the spirits of the
beloved dead, and they often
played pranks on unsuspecting
humans. The Celts set out of-
ferings of favorite fairy delica-
cies, like honey, butter, and
milk, to keep mischievous
fairies from pestering them.
This is the birth of the “trick”
aspect of “trick or treat..”
It may also be the origin
of the jack-o-lantern. Some
scholars believe that the Celts
carved out turnips, beets, and
apples (pumpkins are native to
America, not Europe), as safe
places to set burning candles,
to light the way to their homes
for beloved guests, dead and
living. Carving scary faces
into these organic candle-
holders may have been a cus-
tom developed in the Christian
era, when mischievous fairies
and the beloved dead had been
transformed by church doc-
trine into evil demons.
“Trick-or-treating” was
born of the Celtic custom of
visiting from house to house
and receiving food and drink,
and of setting out goodies to
dissuade fairies bent on
pranks.
Wearing costumes and
disguises most likely origi-
nated in Scotland. While some
scholars feel that costumes
were added in the Christian
era to fool wandering evil
spirits (or at least to disguise
human pranksters), chances
are that costumes arose from a
simple desire to dress up in
fancy clothes to make the
Samhain celebration more
special -- the same way we
dress up for any holiday party.
“Samhain” was rechris-
tened “Hallowe’en because
Christian leaders did not be-
lieve the dead could or should
come back to visit the living,
but felt that, for various rea-
sons, a holiday to honor the
dead should remain in place.
So they established the day
after Samhain night, Nov. 1,
as All Souls or All Hallows
Day. Oct. 31 was then known
as All Hallows Eve or Eve-
ning. This was shortened by
the
peasants
into
“Hallowe’en.”
Hallowe’en has come to
be viewed by many as a cele-
bration of evil, but in reality it
simply celebrates the human
experience -- life and death,
our loves and fears, and the
sense of community that we
all hold dear.
So this Hallowe’en, why
not raise a glass in memory of
those who’ve gone on? Then
share some goodies with the
little ones who come to your
door, and feel your own sense
of continuity with those who,
thousands of years ago,
laughed bravely in the face of
the coming winter darkness.
The information in this
letter came from “Halloween”
by Silver Ravenwolf. This
book is available at Blue
Moon Books and Coffee.
Access to information
From Sue Lily
Cave Junction
Have you ever felt lonely,
hot or bored; down in the
dumps with no good pros-
pects, no new thoughts to keep
you perking? Then it’s time to
visit the local library.
Our librarians are cheerful
and eager to help you find
whatever answers you need --
the newest dachshund book, a
good mystery or the right
Chilton’s manual to fix that
engine. You can get any pub-
lic information from county
codes and soil maps to Ore-
gon’s Constitution.
We have a wonderful col-
lection of gardening books,
animal books, computer
books, children’s books, travel
books, biographies, atlases,
audio books, videos.
You can access local
newspapers, trade magazines
and the Internet, and you can
take home books worth hun-
dreds of dollars.
For all this, you’ll pay
only $20/$100,000 assessed
value per year to access more
Illinois Valley News
An Independent Weekly Newspaper Co-owned and published by
Robert R. (Bob) and Jan Rodriguez
Bob Rodriguez, Editor El Jefe
Entered as second class matter June 11, 1937 at Post Office as
Official Newspaper for Josephine County and Josephine County
Three Rivers School District, published at
321 S. Redwood Hwy., Cave Junction, OR 97523
Periodicals postage paid at Cave Junction, OR 97523
Post Office Box 1370 USPS 258-820
Telephone (541) 592-2541, FAX (541) 592-4330
Volume 65, No. 31
STAFF: Virginia Gilliam, Cindy Newton, Chris Robertson,
Britt Fairchild, Sharon Silva and Becky Loudon
Member: Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association
DEADLINES: News, Classified Ads
NOON MONDAYS
POLICY ON LETTERS: ‘Illinois Valley News’ welcomes letters
to the editor provided they are of general interest, in good taste,
legible and not libelous. All letters must be signed, using complete
name, and contain the writer’s address and telephone number.
The latter need not be published, but will be used to verify
authenticity. The ‘News’ reserves the right to edit letters. One
letter per person per month. Letters are used at the discretion of
the publisher. Unpublished letters are neither acknowledged nor
returned. A prepaid charge may be levied if a letter is
inordinately long in the editor's opinion.
SUBSCRIPTION RATES
One year in Josephine County - $20.80
One year in Jackson and Douglas Counties - $24.40
One year in all other Oregon counties and out-of-state -$28
POSTMASTER:
Please send address changes to P.O. Box 1370, Cave Junction, OR. 97523
than 850,000 books, periodi-
cals, videos, audio tapes, re-
cords, microfiche and the
Internet during 35 hours per
week in Illinois Valley; and
50 hours in Grants Pass; and
24/7 with a home computer
and www.solis.lib.or.us. We
can do library searches and
reserve books.
I can’t imagine life with-
out public libraries -- gifts we
give each other everyday. I’ll
vote for that.
About city trees
From Lou Chauvin
Cave Junction
Regarding your page 1
story on sparing the city trees
last week, I have a few ideas.
*Install tree grates, allow-
ing rain water to get to the
roots, and the roots to rise
without buckling sidewalks.
*Drill holes in the gutters
to soil depth, about two inches
in diameter, every two or three
feet; and backfill with sand to
allow the run-off to wet the
under-soil.
*To avoid drilling, use
cardboard tube forms in new
road and curb-and-gutter con-
struction to facilitate sand
placement.
*Don’t cut down any trees
that are not hopelessly dis-
eased, and plant new trees
whenever and wherever possi-
ble, especially colorful fall
trees (Japanese and Norwe-
gian maples for example).
Beautiful trees are multi-
functional. They provide
shade and thus local and gen-
eral relief. The whole town’s
hotter when there’s nothing
but asphalt and concrete.
This will become increas-
ingly important as the Earth
continues to warm. Trees pro-
vide sanctuary for birds, espe-
cially as they mature.
They will provide “oohs”
and “aahs” for our visitors, as
they appreciate the beauty and
admire our foresight. And
lastly, they will further justify
our pride in our place.
People for Parks
From Sunny Sundquist
Grants Pass
I am a member of People
for Parks, becoming involved
because I take advantage of
the parks we have in the
county.
I am appalled at the condi-
tions I see. The roofs leak; the
restroom plumbing is inade-
quate or not in good shape.
We do not have facilities for
disabled people to use.
The parks department has
not had enough funding from
the county to take care of the
parks in order to do anything
but basic maintenance. We
had beautiful parks in the
1970s, but by not funding
them adequately, we are in
desperate need.
The proposed Three Riv-
ers Parks & Recreation Dis-
trict would restore and main-
tain our county parks; make
them safe and accessible; and
would fund development of
new community parks.
Money raised by the dis-
trict would be dedicated ex-
clusively to the operation and
maintenance of parks and rec-
reational facilities. I am urg-
ing people to vote “yes” to
help our parks and our quality
of life.
Fire stations work
From Allen Reitan
Cave Junction
Regarding the summary of
Measure 17.95 in the county
voters pamphlet: Will the
funds be used specifically for
new fire station construction
as we have been told?
It reads, “This measure
provides funds to the district
to finance the costs of capital
construction and capital im-
provements, including but not
limited to providing funds for:
constructing fire stations and
related improvements; acqui-
sition of real property; acqui-
sition of fire safety equipment
and related improvements and
pay bond issuance costs.”
Somehow the district
“found” $25,000 in its operat-
ing budget to begin work on
the new Holland Loop Fire
Station, and then borrowed
$182,000 for 10 years, without
taxpayer approval, to finish
the construction. Loan pay-
ments are being made from
the operating budget? Is there
too much money in it?
In an article in the Grants
Pass “Daily Courier,” it was
reported that “of the $2.5 mil-
lion being sought, about $1
million would be used for nec-
essary infrastructure improve-
ments at the three stations
such as fill material, septic
and water systems. The rest
would be used for the build-
ings themselves, as well as
paying off a 10-year loan.”
Does this mean $330,000 for
water, septic and fill material
at each of the three stations?
BIG HOUSE AVAILABLE -- Using a donated kit, teachers
Cathy Bosse and Jackie Wright (the latter now retired) used
their own time to construct a large wooden doll house. Ever-
green Elementary School is raffling the house to raise funds
for items including field trips and playground equipment.
Posing with the doll house are (from left) Matt Anderson, 8;
Tyler Robbins, 8; and Chaise Robbins, 6. Tickets are avail-
able at the school, and the drawing will be held on Dec. 12.
Tickets also will be available during the Halloween Carnival
at the school on Thursday, Oct. 31 from 4 to 6:30 p.m. And
the house will be displayed during the first week of Novem-
ber in the Klamath First Bank Branch in Cave Junction.
Sister backs Iverson
From Karin Fiederer
San Antonio, Texas
Heidi Iverson is my little
sister. She and her husband,
Frank, have made Grants Pass
their Paradise on Earth.
When they lived on
Guam, Heidi ran a quarantine
kennel. All dogs and cats
coming in had to be quaran-
tined for three months before
being released to their owners.
Much government paper-
work and people skills were
involved in dealing with pet
owners, who were allowed
daily visits. Heidi is capable
and compassionate. She did
the job.
Although I did not need to
be quarantined, Heidi took me
in when I needed help. She
gave me and my two boys, 10
and 4, a room; and while I
went to work, she took care of
my baby until he was old
enough for day-care.
Heidi is loving and gener-
ous. There is no doubt in my
mind that the best new com-
missioner would be Heidi
Iverson. She had the most
votes in the primary election,
and her education exceeds that
of all other candidates by far.
Heidi believes and pro-
motes the best of both parties
without forsaking her ideas
and beliefs on the issues con-
cerning Josephine County.
Every home and every office
benefits by the presence of a
good, capable and caring
woman. That’s what Heidi is.
Neither she nor her oppo-
nent have held the position of
county commissioner, but I
believe that Heidi has the best
qualifications.
Ready to expand your
home business?
Get a Low Interest Business Loan
Pick up an application & information at:
•IVCRT Office, 200-C Lister St.
•The I.V. Library, 209 W. Palmer
•I.V. Family Coalition, 535 E. River St.
•Selma Video (next to Selma Post Office)
•O’Brien Country Store
Deadline for applications: Nov. 22
Illinois Valley Community Response Team
Micro Business Revolving Loan Program
KERBYVILLE MUSEUM
Sat., October 26 - 10 a.m.-3 p.m.
Free admission to all events & to the museum!
Contests and Prizes for:
*Children’s costume (judging at 1 p.m.)
*Bring your own carved pumpkin (judging at 2 p.m.)
*I.V. Lion’s Club train rides *Festive bake sale
*Rummage sale *Vendors *Raffle
Josephine County Commissioners have been invited
Come & enjoy a variety of festival fun!
is open
Saturdays:
9:30 a.m.
to
2:30 p.m.
Hours: Mondays - Saturdays
9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
For more information phone (800) 922-1025