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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 16, 2017)
BY JORDAN RICH • With basketball season starting at the UO, it was a curious jolt to see the name William Drozdiak as the author of a new book, Fractured Continent: Europe’s Crises and the Fate of the West, reviewed Nov. 12 in The New York Times. Drozdiak played basketball at Oregon way back in the Stan Love era. He graduated in 1971 with degrees in political science and economics, went on to play pro basketball in Europe, ultimately becoming a famous journalist and scholar now with the Brookings Institution. Let’s bring Bill Drozdiak back to Eugene to talk about his book and basketball. • In reflecting on all the words spoken and printed for Veterans’ Day, we heard no mention of one of America’s most famous veterans, President Dwight Eisenhower, and his warning to beware of the military- industrial complex. Next year let’s heed his warning, focus less on war and more on peace. • The national media has been filled with news of Donald Trump’s trip to Asia (and of course his Tweet in which he says he wasn’t calling Kim Jong-un “short and fat”). But Trumpian distractions aside, Oregon Gov. Kate Brown, together with Jerry Brown of California and Gov. Jay Inslee of Washington traveled to Bonn, Germany, for the COP23 global climate change talks. While the Trump administration has retreated from the Paris Agreement and Clean Power Plan, these governors spoke on a panel focusing on how these three states together with British Columbia have a regional objective of phasing out fossil fuels and moving toward a clean energy economy in a partnership called the Pacific Coast Collaborative. Let’s get a little more media on that. • A document Eugene Weekly got from the University of Oregon on Tuesday, Nov. 14, shows that Oregon Bach Festival artistic director Matthew Halls was fired last summer while under investigation for complaints of sex and race discrimination Frankly, we’re shocked at what it reveals. The allegations against him hardly rise to Harvey Weinstein territory. A festival participant, the report says, felt Halls didn’t treat women musicians with the same respect as men. “She said that Mr. Halls does not pay the same attention to female musicians in rehearsal that he does to male musicians,” it said. The report, from the Office of Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity, does not make any accusation of sexual impropriety. In a non-denial denial, UO spokesman Tobin Klinger emailed, “You’re assuming a causal relationship that is speculation” in connecting Hall’s firing to the complaint. He did not, though, offer any other explanation, and the report details a planned threat to fire Halls over the matter and his ultimate termination. See next week’s issue of EW, which comes out on Wednesday, Nov. 22, for a full account of what’s up at the festival. VINTAGE SEWING MACHINES COME TO VALLEY RIVER INN NOV. 18 PHOTO: STAGECOACH ROAD SEWING MACHINES HEAVY METAL KEEPS US IN STITCHES Stagecoach Road Vintage Sewing Machines brings its school bus and machines to town M odern sewing machines are usually made from plastic and end up in the landfill. But old-school vintage machines are made from metal, and, like the clothing they stitch, they are designed to be repaired. Stagecoach Road Vintage Sewing Machines brings its collection of restored sewing machines dating from the 1900s to 1970s for dis- play and for sale Saturday, Nov. 18, in Eugene. The owner and lead technician, Mike Kraemer, has been restoring these machines for more than 20 years. “We do this out of a great love for these beautiful preci- sion machines. It’s a pleasure to work on something so beautiful and so perfectly made,” Kraemer says. He says current machines are a monotonous stream of cheap plastic, which makes the older machines desirable for both their beauty and practical use. “We live in a cul- ture of toss and replace,” Kraemer says. “We don’t feel that way. We’ve been rescuing the unloved heavy-metal sewing machines that were destined for the dump and bringing them back to their best.” TR Kelly is another technician at the company. Kelly taught Kraemer the basics of sewing-machine repair in 1995, when Kraemer was working as an electronic cash register technician in Eugene. Kelly says they are the only people offering this service on the West Coast, and people travel many hours to get their sewing machines restored. “Nobody is making the basic metal sewing machine in this country,” she says. Kelly echoes Kraemer’s thoughts on current sewing machines. “You can go to Bi-Mart and buy a machine for $200 and hope it lasts five or six years, but the older ones are meant to be worked on and last a lifetime,” she says. “If you would compare this to anything, it’s like clas- sic cars, but there’s a little more practicality to it because most of the people who buy these things, they want to use them,” Kelly says. Their machines are not only restored aesthetically, Kelly says, but the inside is completely cleaned out and brought up close to the standard of when they were brand new. Stagecoach Road Vintage Sewing Machines works out of a 1947 Diamond T school bus, which used to be a mo- bile dental clinic before Mike Kraemer purchased it. The bus is parked on their property in Swisshome, where all of the committed employees of the company live, meaning it’s not just a job but a lifestyle. The event they are setting up at the Valley River Inn is their biggest endeavor yet. Kelly says it’s not very practi- cal to ship out heavy vintage machines because they can weigh up to a few hundred pounds, including their cabi- nets, so having them all in one place and ready to take home will be ideal. She expects there to be about 50 sew- ing machines for sale as well as bonus attachments and accessories to go with them. The prices will range from a couple hundred dollars up to a $1,000, Kelly says. She adds that they hope to sell some machines, but she encourages anyone to stop by and admire the machines for their artistic value or to talk sew- ing with the crew. Check out the vintage sewing machines from 10 am to 5 pm Saturday, Nov. 18, at the Valley River Inn in Eugene. FREE. eugeneweekly.com • November 16, 2017 7
