Illinois Valley News, Cave Junction, OR Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Page 13
IVHS 1950 football team
was a league champion
Although 2007 marks
the first football champion-
ship for Illinois Valley
High School in the Skyline
Conference, it’s not the
first IVHS football cham-
pionship in a league.
In fact, the Cougars of
1950 earned a championship
in the J.D.J. (Jackson, Doug-
las, Josephine) League,
notes longtime I.V. resident
Walt Farmer, 74.
Farmer was a member
of the 1950 team that had a
6-0 record. It was the first
year for Illinois Valley High
in a brand-new facility on
Junction Avenue. It’s now
Lorna Byrne Middle School.
Farmer recalls playing
on a field in the vicinity of
the current Jubilee Park pa-
vilion. He remembers that a
layer of sawdust, some 2
inches thick, had been ap-
plied to the boggy site. So
although the field looked
level and solid, it wasn’t.
At one point during a
game, he was tackled, he
said, and with others piling
on, he “nearly drowned,” as
there was plenty of water
beneath the sawdust.
The Nov. 2, 1950 issue
of Illinois Valley News in-
cludes a page 1 story head-
lined “Cougars J.D.J. Cham-
pions.” It reads in part:
“Spotting the Pointers
seven points in the first half,
the Cougars roared to vic-
tory and the championship
with two touchdowns in the
third quarter and another in
the final period.
“By defeating the Cen-
tral Point Team 20 to 7, Illi-
nois Valley ended an unde-
feated season of league
play.”
The final score was 20-
7. The article also notes that
IVHS gained 175 yards, and
Central Point 118 yards.
In the same I.V. News
issue, a page 9 article is
headed “Roberta Bryant
Homecoming Queen.” The
story includes:
“The championship
trophy, won by the Cougars
in this game (vs. Central
Point) was the first football
trophy to be won by a Val-
ley eleven.”
The article also reads in
part:
“Roberta Bryant, home-
coming queen, was crowned
by Ronnie Maurer, Cougar
football captain at the first
annual homecoming dance
last Saturday night in the
elaborately decorated gym.
Two princesses were
Lorraine Mellow, senior
princess, and Annabelle
Brewer, junior princess.
“The day’s events be-
gan at 1:45 p.m. when floats
from various classes and
school organizations were
displayed in a parade down
the main street of Cave
Junction. The Junior class
won the Homecoming tro-
phy for the best float in the
parade. Their float portrayed
a graveyard with tomb-
stones having the score of
each of I.V.’s league games
on them, and an open grave
waiting for Central Point.
“At 2 p.m. students and
townspeople gathered at
Spitz Field where the foot-
ball game was to be played.
Most of the spectators sat in
cars or carried umbrellas to
keep dry, an almost impossi-
ble feat. Despite the steady
downpour and muddy field,
spirits remained undaunted
and the Cougars came
through with flying colors in
winning the game and J.D.J.
championship.
“Considering the many
undermining conditions, the
tremendous spirit and enthu-
siasm displayed by both the
team and spectators was
remarkable.”
Unfortunately, said
Farmer in his recollections,
the championship team did
not get to go to state compe-
tition. The coach got into
some legal problem, and the
Cougars of 1950 had to be
content with their league
championship. Otherwise,
they could have been state
champs too.
Now it’s up the Cougars
of 2007 to do just that.
Anthony Gallegos, 20, of Cave Junction, suffered injuries
in a motorcycle vs. pickup truck crash Monday, Oct. 29
reported at 6:14 p.m. The accident occurred at the inter-
section of Watkins Street and Hussey Avenue. Gallegos
was transported by American Medical Response (AMR).
He knows we’ve got warts, but finds valley cool site
By WALLY AIKEN
For IVN
During a recent conver-
sation with city of Cave
Junction Mayor Tony Paul-
son we were discussing Illi-
nois Valley’s status, or more
correctly the perceived lack
of status in the hierarchy of
Josephine County.
I asked Tony about the
“Step-child Syndrome” or, as
some call it, “The Hay’s Hill
Syndrome.”
Paulson immediately
turned the question back on
me and asked what I thought
about it, and it got me to
thinking. Why are we so ma-
ligned as a backwater com-
munity just getting used to
indoor plumbing?
I began to categorize
some of the elements that
comprise our community and
make it special.
Those who know me
also know that I frequently
make a valiant attempt to be
a rock star, and that brought
to mind some of the players
I’ve worked with here. I im-
mediately thought of Charley
Greenwood, to me the es-
sence of guitar player.
Then there’s some cool
Lorna Byrne school September Students of the Month
Principal Damien Crow-
son, of Lorna Byrne Mid-
dle School, is pleased to
present some of the out-
standing Viking students.
(Rear, from left) Elizabeth
Jenkins, 7th grade; Thea
Barker-Cortrecht, and
Jesse Orndoff, both 8th
graders; and (front, from
left) Ashley Terry and
Joshua Allan, both 6th
graders; and Trey Dilley,
7th grade.
H.D. PATTON JR
C O
N
S T
541
•
R U
He was cited on charges of reckless driving, failure to obey
a stop sign, and driving while suspended. The driver of the
other vehicle was Bruce Parker, of Cave Junction. I.V. Fire
District and Josephine County Sheriff’s Office responded
with AMR. (Photo by Michelle Binker, Illinois Valley News)
C
T
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R EACH - U p , S TAND - UP , F LY - UP !
Latin Jazz coming from
Tony Melendez. You want
singer/songwriters? How
about B Wishes or Libby
Goines. Blues? Dave Angus
on piano. Country? Dale
Hopper. A unique Bluegrass-
tinged fun sound? Check out
Jefferson.
Yes, I’m going to forget
some players here. I honestly
don’t have the space. Deal
with it. The point is that we
have an amazing concentra-
tion of first-rate musicians
and artists in our valley.
Then, probably because
I had just finished talking
with the mayor, I thought
about our city council. Love
‘em or hate ’em, you still
have to acknowledge and
respect them. Here are five
people who, for no pay,
make decisions that are just
going to upset some of the
people all of the time.
They are trying to bal-
ance realities with hope, and
to liven up matters you throw
in a wannabe Woodward/
Bernstein like me into the
mix. This does not describe
the social scene I would
choose, but these five citi-
zens of our community chose
it just to try and make things
better.
We have the Chautauqua
lecture series put on by vol-
unteers from right here.
Every couple of weeks you
can attend an educational
presentation. But before you
start to roll your eyes, let me
suggest that you ask anyone
who attended the last one
what they thought. These are
entertaining.
We’ve heard the travel
brochure description of our
scenery so often that many
take it for granted. Still, I
would guess that there isn’t a
single resident who hasn’t
been taken in by the snow-
covered coastal mountains
acting as background to the
view of Illinois Valley.
I guess I’m trying to say
that we have a community
with character and charac-
ters. Yes, we have our warts.
This community will some-
times frustrate and exasper-
ate but will, I believe, some-
how find solutions.
Sometime when you’re
in town and have a few min-
utes, walk the circuit and just
look in the windows of
downtown. I can promise it
won’t be boring.
And you might notice
that it’s almost impossible to
walk through CJ without
saying “Hi” to someone you
know. This sometimes works
to a disadvantage, but it’s
still good to realize that you
know the people here.