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Illinois Valley News, Cave Junction, OR Wednesday, August 30, 2006
The 1893 Althouse Church is one of the oldest structures
in Illinois Valley. Additions to the original structure, such
as the small room on the left and entryway on the right,
were added as early as the 1940s. (Roger Brandt photo )
Venerable, historic church building still standing,
but could use some volunteer tender, loving care
By ROGER BRANDT
For IVN
This is a story about a
building that --
*Has been dragged
down a road by teams of
horses.
*Was abandoned during
the Depression.
*Almost burned down
when a stove exploded.
Now, at more than 112
years of age, it is the oldest
church in Illinois Valley. Its
original name was the
Althouse Church because of
its location near the mining
town of Althouse.
Today, its location on
Holland Loop is a reminder
of a time when this road was
the main travel corridor be-
tween the mining towns of
Althouse, Waldo and Kerby.
The church was built in
1893, mostly by volunteers
using donated materials
nailed together with square
nails made by a blacksmith
from the community we
know today as Holland. The
pulpit and pews were also
handmade by local crafters.
The church originally
was constructed at a site
about a mile down Dick
George Road from its cur-
rent location. In 1898, a de-
cision was made to move
the church from that there to
where we see it today. The
move probably was accom-
plished by skidding the
building down the dirt road
using horses or a steam trac-
tor to pull it.
Church services were
provided by preachers called
“circuit riders.” They rode
from community to commu-
nity and held services in
homes, schools or wherever
they could. Services were
given whenever a preacher
could get to the community,
and often were delayed for
weeks or months if the
weather was uncooperative.
The arrival of a circuit
rider was announced by
ringing the church bell. This
bell has since been moved to
the roof of Bridgeview
Community Church where a
rope inside can be pulled for
those who want to hear what
it sounded like.
Lighting in the church
was provided by coal oil
lamps, even after electricity
came to the area around
1934. Electrical service was
provided only to persons
who had appliances. Heat-
ing was provided by a large
wood stove in the front near
the entrance. It was replaced
by a gas stove, which ex-
ploded and almost burned
the building.
During the Depression,
when work was scarce, the
circuit preachers no longer
came to the church, and it
was all but abandoned. It
wasn’t until 1937 that ser-
vices were again held.
The church was in use
until 1987, when the congre-
gation moved into the new
and larger Bridgeview Com-
munity Church adjacent to
the historic church.
During the following
years, the old church served
several purposes and now is
used as a youth center. It
needs repairs. Phone Cal
Messerli at 592-3669 to vol-
unteer.
Mary Starrett, candidate for governor (Photo provided)
Attempt to keep Starrett
off November ballot fails
An attempt by Ron
Saxton campaign operatives
to have Mary Starrett, the
Constitution Party candidate
for Oregon governor, re-
moved from the Nov. 7 bal-
lot has been rejected by the
Oregon Attorney General’s
Office, said Starrett aides.
The Starrett campaign
has contended from the be-
ginning that all state election
laws were followed. The
attorney general agrees, said
Bob Ekstrom, Starrett’s
campaign manager.
To formalize the kick-
off of the fall campaign,
Starrett was at the capitol on
Monday, Aug. 28 to submit
her Oregon Voters Pamphlet
statement to the Secretary of
State’s Office.
“Oregonians will now
have a clear choice in No-
vember,” said Ek-
strom. “Despite recent at-
tempts to limit voter choice
and restrict the political
process to a de facto monop-
oly, our message will now
go to the voters. They will
decide between:
“A) Two nearly identi-
cal candidates, while they
argue over which brand of
big government is better, or
B) A candidate who prom-
ises to seriously limit gov-
ernment’s involvement in
our lives.”
“The voters who were
planning to sit this election
out are now assured of a real
choice this November,”
added Suzanne Brownlow,
Starrett’s communications
director.
Starrett expressed her
optimism that, “This next
step in a free-and-clean elec-
tion process might well be
the harbinger for a sweeping
change in Salem this year.”
State rep. and Vietnam vet
Richardson speaks at wall
State Rep. Dennis
Richardson (R-Central
Point), a Vietnam veteran,
spoke Friday, Aug. 25 at the
American Veterans Travel-
ing Tribute.
It was at the Southern
Oregon Rehabilitation Cen-
ter and Clinics (formerly the
Veterans Affairs Domicili-
ary) in White City.
Richardson served in
the U.S. Army as a helicop-
ter pilot in Chu Lai, Viet-
nam during 1971.
The centerpiece of the
traveling tribute is a 4/5-
scale replica of the Vietnam
Veterans Memorial in
Washington, D.C. The trav-
eling replica is 8 feet high
and 370 feet long, making it
the largest replica of the
wall in the United States.
The wall is inscribed
with the names of 58,249
U.S. military personnel who
died during participation in
the Vietnam War or are
listed as missing in action.
Wind energy more than hot air
THE AMERICAN LEGION Glenn Morrison Post 70 and
Dan Warden (right) welcomed sheriff’s candidate Gil
Gilbertson Wednesday, Aug. 2 as its newest member.
Membership in the American Legion requires proof of
service in the military with an honorable discharge.
‘Whether you hire or elect a veteran, you get the finest
workers in America,’ said Warden. (Photo by Dale &
Elaine Sandberg)
Amount of disposable income spent on food rises
The U.S. consumer is
spending a bit more of
their disposable income to
purchase food than the previ-
ous year.
But they still enjoy the
cheapest, most abundant
food supply in the
world, according to new sta-
tistics released by the U.S.
Dept. of Agriculture.
“It’s no secret that
Americans continue to get a
bargain with their food dol-
lar,” said Katy Coba, director
of the Oregon Dept. of Agri-
culture (ODA). “We should
all thank our productive and
efficient farmers and ranch-
ers for making that bargain
possible.”
USDA’s Economic Re-
search Service has released
food expenditure statistics
for 2005. They show that
Americans are spending, on
average, 9.9 percent of their
disposable income on food.
That’s up slightly from 9.7
percent in 2004, but consis-
tent with figures during the
past five years.
The percentage dropped
to single digits for the first
time in recorded U.S. history
in 2000. Twenty years ago,
U.S. consumers spent 11.7
percent of their dispos-
able income on food. Thirty
years ago, that figure was
15.1 percent.
Going back in history,
Americans spent approxi-
mately 20 percent of
their income on food about
the time today’s Baby
Boomers were born. During
1933, the figure was more
than 25 percent.
Statistics are not avail-
able for individual states, but
Oregon generally follows
the national trend.
U.S. families and indi-
viduals spent more
than $895 billion on food
during 2005 compared to
$11 billion in 1933.
Of
course, the nation’s
population has risen dramati-
cally. But the end result of
increased productivity in
agriculture is a percentage
of income for food that is
the envy of the world.
On average, farmers get
back less than 20-cents of
every dollar paid by the con-
sumer. The balance primarily
goes to processors,
wholesalers, and retailers.
Last year, spending on
food away from home was
48.5 percent vs. 51.5 percent
for food prepared and con-
sumed at home.
Thirty years ago, ap-
proximately 34 percent of
those food dollars were spent
away from home. Fifty
years ago, that figure was 25
percent, ODA said.
While wind today pro-
vides only a small percent-
age of our national electric-
ity needs, it is an immense
homeland energy resource
and is the fastest-growing
energy supply technology.
The United States has
an abundance of potentially
viable wind resources. And
this homegrown energy
source contributes to na-
tional security by reducing
America’s dependence on
oil and natural gas -- with
most of both imported from
other countries.
To learn more, phone
(877) EERE-INF or visit
www. eere.energy.gov.
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