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About Illinois Valley news. (Cave City, Oregon) 1937-current | View Entire Issue (June 4, 2008)
Page 11 Illinois Valley News, Cave Junction, OR Wednesday, June 4, 2008 True tales, mapmaking slated for two free Chautauqua programs Two free Oregon Chautauqua programs will be presented in Illinois Valley on Saturday and Monday. True Stories and Other Fictions in Northwest Oral History will be hosted by the Selma Community & Education Center. The presentation will be on Saturday, June 7 at 1:30 p.m. in the Selma Center adjacent to Selma First Baptist Church on Hwy. 199. Mapping the West: Eighteenth- and Nineteenth-Century Car- tography will be hosted by the I.V. Section of the Sierra Club on Monday, June 9 at 7 p.m. in the Community Media & Education Center, 140-C S. Redwood Hwy. in Downtown Cave Junction. Oregon Chautauqua programs are organized by the state- wide, nonprofit Oregon Council for the Humanities (OCH) that is dedicated to the belief that knowledge and ideas are fundamen- tal to the health of communities. OCH offers the programs at no charge to nonprofit organizations throughout the state, which in turn offer them free to their communities. For more information phone 597-2007. ‘Sonny’ Ness at work (above) on the lathe; and with a cou- ple of his finished pieces (right). (Photos provided) We digitize your logo or art to personalize hats, shirts, uniforms, jackets, etc. Unique woodwork by Ness due at Art Walk By JUDY HOYLE When I caught up with DeLos “Sonny” Ness, he’d just spent the morning help- ing his grandson move into a new home. It’s an unusual activity for most 85-year-olds, but Ness demonstrates the enthu- siasm and vitality of a man half his age. He first showed me around the property, the gar- dens of flowers and vegeta- bles – which have produced asparagus since April – sur- rounded by dozens of young oak trees, all of which he’s planted himself. A 40-ton pile of rocks sits off to the side, the result of clearing the land. He and his wife, Darlene, an accomplished fabric artist, moved to Illinois Valley in 2000 to live closer to their daughter, Kathy Lombardo and her family. The relative newcomers, to the valley, built a unique new home from Rastra. This space-age material is a com- bination of concrete and ground, recycled Styrofoam, offering superior insulation. Inside the spacious living room is a comfortable 70 degrees, even when it’s more than 100 outside. Ness showed the enter- tainment center he designed and built. One panel is deco- rated with a music staff of scrolled wood forming the first four notes of September Song. It was chosen for the month he married his high- school sweetheart 65 years ago. The room is lined with beautiful lidded bowls and desk organizers; which he’s created from as many as seven different woods. He milled the wood into lumber, cut and glued the pieces together into blocks of wood, then turned them on a lathe into elegant shapes. “I’m big on scraps,” he said. “We were taught not to waste anything.” He and his wife are chil- dren of the Great Depression, an era that taught their gen- eration thrift and value. Their South Dakota home was part of the Dust Bowl of the era. “Nothing would grow but Russian thistle,” he re- calls. “Some years we bailed that up for cattle feed.” “Sonny” learned to fly when he was 14, and has flown more than 30 different aircraft. Drafted into World War II, he took U.S. Air Force pilot training, but was sent into Europe, then Japan as a combat medic as the war wound down. Later, as part of the occupation of Japan, he rode troop trains through bombed-out cities. “We were like mush- rooms – fed B.S. and kept in the dark,” he laughs. His connection to wood began at a young age. He created his own toys when he was 6 years old. As a high school student, he trimmed trees for 10-cents an hour, and returned to this field after the war. He became a fore- man for the Davey Tree Ex- pert Co., training young men to climb trees using ropes and 10-foot ladders stacked as high as 40 feet. “We couldn’t use spurs because that would damage the trees,” he said. “There weren’t any cherry pickers or chain saws then. We had to use two-man cross-cut saws,” he explains. He went on to become an arborist for the city of Scotts- dale in Arizona; retiring after 17 years. A patch on his denim jacket reads, “Certified Arborist - International Soci- ety of Arboriculture - West- ern Chapter.” Between stints as an arborist, he and Darlene variously owned a motel in Arizona, developed a 50-acre ranch near Red Bluff, Calif., and then another property in Cave Creek, Ariz., while rais- ing four daughters and seeing them off to their own mar- riages and children. Their lives and attitudes reflect the joy of living and satisfaction of accomplish- ment. Along the way, “Sonny” has enjoyed fashioning toys, furniture, bowls and even “joke” items of wood. He showed a bank with a mouse- trap in the floor rigged to ex- plode when a coin is dropped. “Every time I see a new piece of wood, I get a new experience,” he explains. DeLos “Sonny” Ness is the featured artist for June’s Second Friday Art Walk. The public is invited to meet him and enjoy his wood crea- tions at Illinois Valley Visitor Center between 5 and 8 p.m. on June 13. Community Media & Education Center (CMEC) A program about fuel prices and the economy will be held Thursday, June 5, begin- ning at 6:30 p.m. at CMEC, 140-C S. Redwood Hwy. in Downtown Cave Junction. The program will feature Peak Oil: Imposed by Nature, and The Power of Community. Additionally, there will be ex- cerpts from an interview with Richard Heinburg, author of Power Down. There also will be a pro- gram on genetically engineered foods on Tuesday, June 10 starting at 6:30 p.m. For more information, visit cmec.n3.net or telephone 592-2408. Spiral Living Center Laurel Pena, an herbalist and free-lance writer, will pre- sent Herbal Immunity on Satur- day, June 7 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Frog Farm on Takilma Road. “Discover how to use plants and mushrooms to main- tain balance in this complex world,” said Pena. “Some plants strengthen our innate defenses, and others give us a boost when we’re attacked.” To sign up, or for more information, phone 592-3642 or visit spiral@frontiernet.net. American Legion Auxiliary, GP Sunday, June 8 is set for A Victorian Grand Tea from 2 to 4 p.m. at Fruitdale Grange Hall, 1440 Parkdale Drive to benefit Josephine County chil- dren in Special Olympics. There will be a Victorian fashion show, door prizes, a tea and hors d’oeuvres buffet, and The Old Time Radio Players. For tickets phone 956-0842. Illinois Valley Safe House Alliance (IVSHA) Pressed Flowers is the title of a free WOW (Women Of Worth) activity for women and children at the IVSHA building on Lister Street in Cave Junction Wednesday, June 4 beginning at 4 p.m. Snacks and beverages will be served. To reserve a spot, or arrange for child-care and transportation assistance, phone 592-2515. * * * Karoke with Donna & Wayne Whitfield will be the focus of a WOW program Tuesday, June 10 at 6 p.m. Snacks and beverages will be served. To reserve a spot, or arrange for child-care and transportation assistance, phone 592-2515. On Saturday, June 14, at 2:00 p.m., in honor of Fathers, Taylor Rose will be entertaining with her warm, southern-style singing. Refreshments will be served. TaylorRoseCountry.com Event takes place at 3098 University Rd., Grants Pass. (Go West 199, right on Hubbard, right on University) 541-955-0777 for more info. ~ www.horizonvillage.com a Personal & Commercial Orders a No Order too Small or Large a Affordable Rates Call 659-6838 for quotes * Biscuits & Gravy * Pancakes * Eggs * Bacon * Sausage * Coffee, Milk, Juice Adults - $6 Children 12 & under - $3
