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About Illinois Valley news. (Cave City, Oregon) 1937-current | View Entire Issue (April 13, 2005)
Page 16 Illinois Valley News, Cave Junction, OR Wednesday, April 13, 2005 Ten minutes with ... … Delphin ‘Spike’ Berglund, 92, with his 10-year-old companion, ‘Teddy.’ Did you come from a large family? There were three boys and a girl besides me. My mom is from Sweden, and my dad is from America. I was born in 1912 on a farm in Rush Point, Minnesota. It was really just a little jerkwater store that sold groceries, hardware and clothes. We raised mostly milk cows on a dairy farm. Back in 1925, my dad rented 80 acres for $250 a year; not a month -- that’s when a buck was worth a buck. Were there phones on the farm? Yes. They had two lines that ran to farmers all over. And when your telephone rang, it rang on all the phones. When we had snowstorms and blizzards, sometimes the lines would go down. If you wanted to call your neighbor to see if they were OK or needed something, the line would be down. Many times, I would saddle my horse and go find the break in the line and pull it together so we could have the telephone again. Did you go to high school? No. It seemed like the farm boys weren’t supposed to go to high school; just the people in the city. Where else did you live as a youth? My dad rented a boxcar for $25 and migrated from Min- nesota to North Dakota. There was more open country there. Land was only a dollar an acre; you could even homestead. When we got there, we bought 320 acres in two different fields. The road ran right through the middle. There were even buffalo bones on the farm. I remember I took the horses and the wagon out on the prairie and picked up the bones. We got 12 bucks a ton. Them bones were like a feather, so it took a lot of work to get a ton. At 14 years old, I hauled grain like the older men; I even handled my own team and wagon. I got about five bucks a day; that was big wages back then. When we bought our land, for 10 years we never used our seed. The drought came in, and we had to sell the cattle we raised. We couldn’t feed them, so the government bought all of them. We got $15 apiece. And if they were really good, we got $20. Were you involved in World War II? I volunteered for the Army in 1942. I was a staff ser- geant; although I was a PFC (Private First Class) most of the time. I made staff after the war was over. I was in for 7 1/2 years. I saved three soldiers from drowning when we were in Germany. There were six of us in a boat we had captured. One of the guys suggested that we all throw our weight to one side and see what happens when the guy driving makes a turn. After we capsized, I threw a cushion to one guy, then went and helped the other two. I grabbed Prostinick, who couldn’t swim, just as he was going under. I was also shot in the hand while I was in. I met my brother in Germany, and he had taken a P-38 off a dead Ger- man officer. He asked me to hang onto it for him and take it home. I brought it back to base and got a permit to carry it. Guys were always asking me to see the gun. One day, after the war, my sergeant asked me to see it. I had already been showing the gun to some guys who were loading a truck. I was in a hurry and quickly put the maga- zine back in. I accidentally released the hammer and the gun went off. It went through my hand, and passed between two guys. When they were stitching me up, they ran water over the hole to clean it out, and it poured right through my hand. What do you like about Illinois Valley? Nothing. I moved here in 1969. I cut firewood for many years. Everybody knows it; Berglund Firewood. I sold a lot of wood, and cedar fence posts. I’d go find the logs and cut ‘em and split ‘em. I was still cutting wood at 80 years old. What is your favorite ice cream? Maple nut. I like maple really well. All we had as a kid was vanilla. I remember when we had an ice cream social, my dad would give me 10- or 15-cents for homemade ice cream. ~Interview and Photo by Shane Welsh On account of being a democracy and run by the people, we are the only nation in the world that has to keep a government four years, no matter what it does. -Will Rogers - Corinna Fierro Pregnancy Center aide offers hope Corinna Fierro, a volun- teer with The Pregnancy Cen- ter of Illinois Valley for seven years, first learned about the services when she was a teen- ager in need. Due in part to all the sup- port and encouragement that she received when the center was known as Living Alterna- tives, she now has a beautiful daughter. Fierro particularly enjoys being able to help clients when he or she feels as though all is lost. “We show them that there is hope,” she said. An- other area where she strives to help others is in sharing with them about all of their options -- helping them to see that they have real opportunities to explore. One goal she hopes to accomplish at the center is showing people “what God has done for me, and that He can do it for them too. “Our main need in the Illinois Valley is truthful edu- cation about all options in a crisis pregnancy,” she said. The center provides ac- curate information about par- enting, adoption, legal guardi- anship and abortion in a non- judgmental way. “The valley also needs truthful abstinence educa- tion,” said Fierro, “and there are many counterfeit ‘truths’ out there.” Abstinence is encouraged for unmarried clients, along with information about the risks of STDs and possible long-term effects. Said Fierro, “We need more client advocates. God calls us to use our talents, not to hide them. Being a volun- teer helps one to use their talents wisely.” She challenges folks to “seek God’s will. It is won- derful volunteering here. God can use you to make a differ- ence in someone’s life.” EQUIFAIR 2005 was held at the Josephine County Fair- grounds Saturday, April 9. The free, day-long event was sponsored by the Josephine County Equestrian Coalition. Many horse breeds were shown and there were many demonstrations of equestrian training and skill. There were also many free clinics for horse own- ers, and vendors offered a wide variety of products and services. It was the first such event in the county, according to the coalition. (Photos by Dale Sandberg) 30 years experience in water, sewer & pipeline construction, brush clearing, septic installation & utility line trenching READY TO DIG & AIMING TO PLEASE 24 HOURS A DAY 1-(541) 597-4486 1-(800) 297-0335 CCB#159580 Hey, it’s free! Scholarships are avail- able for “Supervision & Customer Service Train- ing” Tuesday and Thurs- day, April 19 and 21 in the RCC Kerby Belt Bldg. The class is sponsored by Illinois Valley Commu- nity Development Organi- zation (IVCDO). The class will run from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. both days. For more information, or to register, go to the IVCDO office next door to Caves Pharmacy. When my time comes, just skin me and put me up there on ‘Trigger,’ just as though nothing had ever changed. - Roy Rogers - Horse sense is the thing a horse has which keeps it from betting on people. - W.C. Fields - Bedrooms so unique, you’ll hate to close your eyes Queen Bed- Head, Foot, Rails So many styles- all ready to deliver tonight! 798 $ B EDROOM C OLLECTIONS • F UTONS • B UNK B EDS • S LEEPERS www.bedsforless.com 1165 Court Street Medford Open 7 Days 891 NE D Street 780 NW Garden Valley Blvd. Roseburg Grants Pass Corner of Court & McAndrews Next to Staples Next to Joann Fabric 772-0282 474-1060 677-9001 x142555-3/21
