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About Illinois Valley news. (Cave City, Oregon) 1937-current | View Entire Issue (July 27, 2005)
Illinois Valley News, Cave Junction, OR Wednesday, July 27, 2005 Page 9 Seniors getting their produce Bill Wallner with a nearly 100-year-old F-12 tractor engine. (Photo by Christina Hill) Engines keep his motor running By CHRISTINA HILL Correspondent With nearly 90 years of life experience under his belt, Illinois Valley resident Bill Wallner has seen many changes during the decades, especially when it comes to advances in engines and tractors. But nothing gets this “old-timer’s” engine run- ning better than restoring a century-old F-12 tractor engine, an International en- gine, or an Eclipse power plant. Wallner, 89, has been collecting and restoring gasoline engines, diesel en- gines and tractor engines during the past four decades. His expertise and ex- perience has landed him in the Early Day Gas Engine and Tractor Association Hall of Fame. He also earned the prestigious title, Member of the Year in the national association. “I’ve helped people all across the United States and in seven foreign countries,,” he said. “I guess that’s why I got this plaque. I shared my knowledge with lots of peo- ple. I’ve restored engines and made a lot of parts for people, too,” said Wallner. At one point, Wallner’s property on Laurel Road looked like a museum. “I had over 100 engines and several tractors,” he said. “I’ve gotten rid of a lot of them. My health has been on the rocks the last few years,” he said. Wallner, who under- went triple bypass heart sur- gery slightly more than two years ago, hasn’t let his health stop him though. He’s “slowed down” quite a bit, but he still likes to tinker every once in a while. Wallner also attends monthly meetings of the Early Day Gas Engine and Tractor Association Branch 9, the group he single- handedly started in Cave Junction in the early 1980s. Wallner also opened a cou- ple other clubs in California. Besides starting clubs, Wallner, with the help of a friend and the late “Debb” Potts, started Pottsville near Grants Pass, where annual engine and tractor shows are held on Father’s Day. “Somebody told us old Potts had a lot of equipment we might be interested in, so me and a friend went out there and saw a guy welding in a shop wearing raggedy old coveralls, and he said, ‘What can I do you for?’ “We told him we wanted to use his property to have a show that would educate the public and show them how things worked 100 years ago. He said, ‘I like what you guys stand for, the place is yours.’ “We helped build that place up to what it is now. Old ‘Debbs’ got interested in it too and started partici- pating,” Wallner recalled. Wallner’s passion for antique engines has always been there, he said, but he wasn’t able to turn his love for engines into a full-time hobby until he retired 33 years ago. “I retired after working construction in Alaska for 35 years,” he explained. “We moved here in 1976, and that’s when I really started collecting and restor- ing engines full time,” Wall- ner said. Wallner, who was born and raised in his first 25 years in Yankton, S.D., moved West when times worsened. Before relocating, Wall- ner worked for the Civilian Conservation Corps for 18 months in the Black Hills, where he built fire trails, roads and did surveying. “I left the farm in South Dakota in 1941 because we had several years of crop failure,” he noted. “I came out West and was picking berries, starving to death. I couldn’t get a job anywhere because I wasn’t union; then finally I got a job construct- ing Elmdorf Air Force base in Alaska. There weren’t any Air Force bases there until the ‘40s,” Wallner ex- plained. Wallner worked on the base until he retired and moved to Cave Junction. He lived here with his wife, until she died a while back. “I was getting lonely and prayed to God and said, ‘Please don’t let me die alone. Then not too long afterwards I got a letter from Fae,” Wallner said. Fae was Wallner’s neighbor, who had grown up on a farm across the street from him in South Dakota. They hadn’t seen each other in several decades. Fae was writing him to find out how many of the “old- timers” remained. “We had dated when we were younger; then after she went through a couple of husbands and I went through a couple of wives -- over 60 years later, we got back together,” Wallner said with a laugh. They were married in April three years ago. Fae had lived in Yankton, where she was born and lived 86 years before moving here three years ago. Wallner has five chil- dren of his own, and Fae has three. Together they have several grandchildren, great- grandchildren and two great-great-grandchildren. Water, sewer rates rise for Cave Junction Approximately $72,000 will be realized by the city of Cave Junction with new water and sewer fees that will be reflected with Sept. 20 billings. The Cave Junction City Council voted 4-0 to ap- prove the revised, increased rates during its meeting in city hall Monday evening, July 25. Councilman Dan Fiske was absent. Water rates will rise from $25 to $28 for the first 500 cubic feet; a 12 percent increase. Sewer fees will go up from the current basic rate of $25 to $31, a 24 per- cent increase. The ordinances for the price revisions each note that “the council does not believe the general fund should again subsidize” either the water or sewer departments. Increased costs for op- erating the systems, plus maintenance and repairs, are listed among reasons for the rise in fees. The full new rate table is at city hall. Senior assisted care project planned in CJ city An 86-unit senior as- sisted care project is to be considered Monday, Aug. 8 by the Cave Junction City Council. Manor Communities Development Corp., led by Larry Osborne, plans the project on 10.32 acres be- tween N. Old Stage Road and Hwy. 199. Prim Rose Lane is the planned new name for Hanby Lane. The council said it’s possible that there might be a problem with the name, as there is a similar one in Grants Pass. A new feature, The Community Calendar, debuts in this issue on page 16. The page offers businesses, organizations and individuals exciting opportunities to reach the valley community -- and beyond! A record number of low-income seniors state- wide -- numbering more than 21,000 -- have an op- portunity to take advantage of the state’s agriculture bounty this summer and fall through the Senior Food Direct Nutrition Program. Now in its fourth year, the program is a partnership of the Oregon Dept. of Hu- man Services (DHS) and the Oregon and U.S. Depart- ments of Agriculture. Eligible participants can buy fresh produce from au- thorized farmers at farmers markets and farm stands through Oct. 31. Each par- ticipant receives 20 $2 cou- pons. Kerbyville Farm in Kerby is a participant. “I am pleased to report that more and more Oregon seniors are taking advantage of this nutrition program and that they are able to access fresh produce from Oregon farmers” said Gov. Kulon- goski. “It is a relationship that is grounded firmly in the Oregon tradition of help- ing those who are most in need with our own resources and products.” Seniors who meet the following guidelines are eligible for the program: *60 years or older. *Enrolled in food stamps and/or Medicaid as of April 1, 2005. *Living at home or with family, not in a facility where meals are provided. *Monthly income does not exceed $1,077 for a sin- gle person or $1,443 for a couple. DHS program coordina- tor Lauren Mitchell said that four years ago the program had limited participation and minimal interest. “Now the demand has exceeded our capacity,” she said. This year, out of 40,000 eligible low-income seniors, federal funds covered only 21,184. Mitchell attributes this year’s record participa- tion not only to outreach and education, but also to word- of-mouth. “The basis of most of the inquiries we get are from folks who learned about the program from their neighbors,” she said. The program not only benefits at-risk families and low-income seniors, but supports local farmers mar- kets and farmers. Oregon has more than 70 participat- ing farmers markets and 412 farm stands located throughout the state. Marion County leads the way with 53 farm stands, followed by Lane County with 42. OSU Extended Campus highlights usage of long-distance education The number of students taking courses through OSU Extended Campus, the award-winning distance education program at Ore- gon State University at Cor- vallis, has almost tripled during the past five years. It has happened with a surge in course offerings, new degrees, an influx of students from all over the world, and a fundamental change in the nature of higher education, OSU said. The traditional college student, educators say, is becoming a minority. And in few places is that trend more evident than the enormous recent growth and interest in distance edu- cation, especially at OSU. It is making college accessible to new generations of stu- dents. “It’s now estimated that more than 75 percent of the students in higher education in the United States are those referred to as nontradi- tional, something other than the traditional 18-22-year- old resident student,” said Bill McCaughan, dean of OSU Extended Campus. Dramatic improvements have occurred in the meth- ods used to deliver distance education, said McCaughan, and many students indicate that online courses have provided them a more per- sonal experience than their face-to-face classes. Distance education can provide a good fit for work- ing students; people who hope to finish a degree op- tions; older-than-average students; or those who can’t find the programs they need in their local area. “Perhaps the most com- pelling aspect of distance education is that distance simply doesn’t mean much,” McCaughan said. “It doesn't make much difference whether a pro- gram is 30 miles away or 3,000 miles away. “What students want are quality educational pro- grams that meet their needs,” he said.
