Illinois Valley News, Cave Junction, Ore. Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Page 3
Ellie Buell recalls World War II service by three relatives
PASTA FEAST - An All-You-Can-Eat Spaghetti Feed,
sponsored by I.V. Youth Alliance (IVYA), will be held Fri-
day, Nov. 7. The fund-raiser in the Josephine County Bldg.
in Downtown Cave Junction will run from 6 to 8 p.m. Be-
sides the feed, there will be live entertainment, door prizes
and a raffle. Proceeds will help support IVYA Cheer. Ad-
vance discount tickets for families are available. For tickets
or more information phone Lori Colbert at (541) 415-2236
or Cricket Alvarez at (541) 761-8308.
GETTING THE BIRD - An evening of Turkey Bingo,
sponsored for the sixth year by Cave Junction Lions Club,
will be held Saturday, Nov. 8 in the Josephine County
Bldg. in Downtown Cave Junction. Doors will open at 5
p.m., and games will begin at 6. Besides turkeys for bingo
winners, there will be raffles, a 50-50 drawing, pie auction,
refreshments and a door prize. Phone 226-6570 for more
information, and see the ad in this issue.
‘HIS MAJESTY’ - Joyful Noise, an Illinois Valley tam-
bourine and dance troupe, will present A Night of Joy &
Encouragement for the Body of Christ on Sunday, Nov. 9.
The program at Bridgeview Community Church, at Holland
Loop and Dick George Road, will begin at 7 p.m. The
theme is taken from Hebrews 10:25, reading in part:
“Encourage one another, and so much more as you see
the Day approaching.” There’s an ad in this issue.
HONORING VETERANS - Evergreen Federal Bank is
sponsoring “A Salute to Our Heroes” with 1,000 U.S. flags
that will fly Saturday through Tuesday, Nov. 8 through 11
(Veterans Day is Tuesday the 11th), at Riverside Park in
Grants Pass. The recognition, hosted by United Veterans
of Josephine County, is to be an event “honoring veterans,
fallen heroes and currently serving men and women in the
U.S. military.” Information about sponsoring a flag to boost
an existing scholarship fund to help children of “fallen and
wounded heroes who have served during all conflicts” is
available by phoning 659-5485 or 660-1342.
BOUNTIFUL BIDDING - Illinois Valley Chamber of
Commerce will hold its annual Auction & Mixer on Friday,
Dec. 5 at Wild River Brewing & Pizza Co. in Cave Junction.
The auction will be preceded by a mixer with beer-and-
wine tasting. Jim Frick, a chamber director and broker at
Century 21 Harris & Taylor, again will serve as auctioneer.
Donations of goods and services for the fund-raiser are
requested. Items can be left at the Illinois Valley News
office or phone 592-2541 or 592-3326 for pick-up.
LUTHERAN HONOR - Good Shepherd Lutheran
Church on Sunday, Oct. 26 dedicated a new sign in mem-
ory of Jeff Davis. The church sign is at the access road at
E. River Street and Lewis Court across from Illinois Valley
High School. The dedication coincided with the anniversary
of the first service at the new building some years ago.
Davis was a member of Good Shepherd who died sud-
denly and unexpectedly. He played Twilight League men’s
golf, and was not in Cave Junction for a lengthy time, but
made a lasting impression.
MUSEUM MUSING - Kerbyville Museum in Downtown
Kerby has closed for the season, but it can be open Fri-
days by appointment. The site, including the completely
furnished 1871 Stith-Naucke House, is a storehouse of
interesting historical items. Phone 592-5252.
LETTERS TO SANTA - Illinois Valley News will pub-
lish its annual Christmas section with letters to Santa in its
Dec. 17 issue. The deadline to submit letters and original
art is Thursday, Dec. 4. As well, the valley newspaper will
run holiday greetings from valley merchants in the Dec. 17
issue. Phone 592-2541 for more information.
NOTEPAD - “Free” is the operative word at Shasta
Fudge Candy & More, Illinois Valley’s one-and-only candy
store across from Shop Smart. Shasta Fudge is giving a
quarter-pound of fudge free with the purchase of 3/4 of a
pound at a reduced price. There’s an ad on page 14 … I.V.
High School students were recognized for perfect atten-
dance and “no tardies” during September. Attaining the list of
excellence were 31 freshmen, 30 sophomores, 21 juniors
and 26 seniors ... A blood drive at IVHS is set for Thursday,
Nov. 13 … Live entertainment, free refreshments, and
prizes are offered by Horizon Village on Wednesday, Nov. 26
from 3:30 to 5 p.m. Sam Kurtz on Indian flute, and Ross Wel-
come on guitar will perform. Admission to the gathering to
honor veterans and Thanksgiving, is a can of food for the
Josephine County Food Bank … Consumer health updates
are available from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. All
updates appear on the FDA Web page for consumers,
www.fda.gov/consumer. Visit www.fda.gov/consumer/
consumerenews.html to sign-up for e-mail notices of new
updates on an immediate, weekly or monthly basis ... News-
paper slips: *A valuable coin collection was discovered in
the abandoned car, which had been stolen from a desk
drawer. *The pay raise will be radioactive to July of last year.
*Upon his retirement, it was noted that the police chief has
been responsible for all crimes in the city during the past 20
years. *Removing the huge pile of construction debris was
impossible in the time allotted, the contractor said, because
he had been given only one mouth.
LAST WORDS - I don't make jokes. I just watch the
government and report the facts. (Will Rogers)
Community Media
& Education Center (CMEC)
CMEC is a self-
educational project for the
community, based in Down-
town Cave Junction.
There will be a Grand Fall
Opening during Art Walk on
Friday, Nov. 14. New film will
be featured, and discussion will
be hosted on topics including
the economy, energy, per-
maculture, and community
building.
On Thursday, Nov. 6 at 7
p.m. the documentary, Kilowatt
Ours, will be shown. Viewers
discover how they can save
hundreds of dollars annually on
energy bills, and use a portion
of the savings to purchase re-
newable energy. Kilowatt Ours
invites viewers to help build a
net-zero nation by conserving
energy to the greatest extent
possible at home, then using
clean renewable energy to pro-
vide the electricity used.
See kilowattours.org for
more information.
On Thursday, Nov. 13 at 7
p.m., there will be a meeting of
the I.V. Neighborhood Asso-
ciation. Community members
in Illinois Valley are working
on developing local relation-
ships regarding economy, secu-
rity, and quality-of-life issues
in the valley. Phone 592-2408
for more information.
With three brothers and a
cousin in military service
during World War II, Cave
Junction resident Ellie Buell
had a lot on her mind.
Now, just in time for
Veterans Day 2008, she of-
fers the following story:
Charles enlisted in the
U.S. Navy in June 1941 as a
Seaman 2nd Class. He was
made Seaman 2nd Class due
to his experience in the Civil-
ian Conservation Corps, and
was discharged in 1953 as a
Quartermaster 1st Class.
He served aboard the
U.S.S. Pennsylvania from
1941 to ‘44, the U.S.S.
Springfield ‘44 to ‘45, the
U.S.S. South Dakota ‘45 to
‘47, the U.S.S. Montray ‘50
to ‘52, and from ‘47 to ‘50 he
was an administrator for the
Navy Reserve.
In December 1941
Charles was aboard a passen-
ger ship on the way to the
Philippines when it arrived in
Pearl Harbor on Dec. 8. Or-
ders were changed. His ship
saw a lot of action in the Mar-
shall Islands, Okinawa, Iwo
Jima, Tarawa, Kwajalen,
Enewetak, New Caledonia
The Philippines, Australia
and two months before Japan
surrendered off the coast of
Japan. After the surrender his
ship was in Tokyo Bay.
While in Tarawa he saw a
aircraft carrier sink. In 1943
his ship sailed into the Alu-
tian Islands.
Charles’ brother, Eugene,
was aboard the U.S.S. Fayte
A.K.A. 43, a troop transport
cargo ship which operated in
the same task force. Eugene
was a Cook 1st Class. He
enlisted in the Navy right
after Pearl Harbor, and sev-
eral times the brothers were
able to meet when their ships
were in Hawaii.
Charles and Eugene had
another brother, John, who
was also in the Navy. He was
a cook assigned to the Sea-
bees. John served in the Phil-
ippines and New Guinea. The
brothers were not able to
meet up with John until after
the war.
Charles was sent to the
East Coast where he helped
put into commission a cruiser
which escorted President
Roosevelt to Gibraltar. Then
turning back it went through
the Panama Canal on its way
to the South Pacific, Iwo
Jima, Okinawa, and the Phil-
ippines.
I asked Charles what was
the most outstanding memory
of those years, without hesita-
tion he said “April 1, 1945, 4
a.m.” Early in the morning he
John, Charles and Eugene Cavell (Photo provided)
awoke with severe stomach
pains, taken to sick bay, and
the doctor told him his appen-
dix had to be removed right
away.
As he was being pre-
pared for surgery, the general
alarm sounded. The doctors
aboard went directly to battle
stations, the water-tight doors
were locked; no one could
enter or leave. The ship was
being attacked by Kamikaze.
This left Charles alone in the
infirmary with the ships phar-
macist mate, who performed
the surgery.
Charles said, “He must
have done a good job, I’m
still here.” The next day he
was put into a wire body car-
rier and a life jacket, and
taken up on deck to get some
sun. He was told the reason
for the life jacket and carrier
was if the ship was attacked
he would be one of the first
ones to be thrown overboard.
Another outstanding
memory comes from when he
was a mail orderly and re-
ceived a letter from his sister,
Mary, with a photo of her.
Two of his shipmates
saw the photo and asked if
they could write to her. When
Mary wrote back, the letter
was addressed with the first
name of one sailor and the
last name of the other.
Charles told the men, “I don’t
know who to give this to, you
figure it out.”
The men flipped a coin
and the winner got the letter.
After the war Mary married
one lucky sailor.
Charles said that he saw
a lot, but he looks on the good
memories, not the bad.
These brothers also had a
cousin, William Kelly, who
served in the U.S. Army as a
corpsman in Europe. He was
a POW captured by the Ger-
mans in January 1945.
I am sure there is much
IVHS 21 st
Century
Salsa
After School Classes
SAT Prep
Yoga
Theater/Improv
Genealogy (2 classes)
Beginning & Advanced
November & December
New & continuing classes for
Three Rivers School District
students, staff, and
parents/guardians
Cooking
Sewing
Film Festival
Scrapbooking
Homework Help
Information: 226-6368
14 Regular Games
Saturday, November 8, 11-1
$5 (includes soup refills)
plus
1 Blackout Game for an
Entire Turkey Dinner!
Lots of Choices
Take-out Available
Immanuel United
Methodist Church
200 West Watkins
Tell your friends that you saw it in the
Illinois Valley News
more he could tell me. I am
just so grateful that these
three brothers of mine and my
cousin all came home safe.
Raffles
50/50 Drawing
Door Prize
Only 25¢ per Card
Refreshments
Pie Auction
Saturday, November 8
County Building, 102 S. Redwood Hwy.
Games begin at 6 p.m., Doors open at 5
For more info call Cori at 541-226-6570
Siskiyou Field Institute
A Wilderness Medicine
Institute course, Wilderness
First Responder Course, will
be held Dec. 13 to 21 at Deer
Creek Center in Selma.
The course will cover
wound management, realigning
fractures and dislocations, and
improvised splinting tech-
niques. Also, patient monitor-
ing/long-term management,
and up-to-date information on
environmental emergencies,
plus advice on drug therapies.
For information on tuition
and lodging phone 597-8530 or
visit www.thesfi.org.
illinois-valley-news.com
Christmas Bazaar
I.V. Senior Center
520 East River St.
Friday & Saturday, November 7 & 8
9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Ô Lots of Booths
Ô Bake Sale
Ô Lunches can be purchased
For info, call Casey Thomas at 592-4487