Plge 20 EUGENE REGISTER-GUARD, Sunday, Jan. 21. 1961
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Isolated
Valley
There is no easy way to arrive at Lane County's Lobster Valley,
above. For persons with patience and steady nerves, the coun
ty's Deadwooa Road from Highway 36 is recommended. Luck
ily, visitors to Paris, a small community near the valley, do not
have to rely upon this sign, below, to know they have arrived.
The town has a prosperous mill, lower right, surrounded by
many homes but the only store is now closed and empty.
Youngsters go to Alsea for school and there is not a foot of
paved road fon many surrounding miles.
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Most everyone in Lane County' portion of
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I Iqjyjpc Lobster Valley lives in this small group of and there are no maps that will admit a road to
nomes once ownea Dy xne local mm. xne only ine utile valley even exists.
.
Lobster Valley: The Plaee the Map Forgot
access to the valley is through Benton County,
s are no maps that will admit ;
the little valley even exists.
By SAM FREAR
Of tb ReglsteMitimrd
Tucked away in a mountain
fold along the northern bound
ary of Lane County is a littla
valley that isn't marked on any
map, nor is it given credit for
being connected to anyplace by
road.
There is no pnstoffice, no
store, no gas station and no
church.
There is no way for persons
on Sunday drives to enter it by
way of Lane County. And al
though it lies within Lane Coun
ty lines, its children go to
school in Benton County.
The valley is called Lobster,
It is a pretty little valley,
with rich farmlands beside small
rivers, and backed up against
hills thickly covered with em
erald green trees.
But it is a place few people in
Lane County have heard of.
It is not difficult to imagine
why.
If you want to go to it by way
of the closest entry point with
in Lane County there is a coun
ty road (of sorts) called the
Deadwood Road which parts
from Highway 36 near Triangle
Lake.
The road goes through Alpha
and Paris.
These two Lana County areas
are almost alwavs marked on
maps, but for Alpha this is the
only claim to fame. The days of
its importance as a stage stop
are past. A person knows he
has been there only after pass
ing its map location and realizes
he didn't notice anything except
a farmhouse or two.
But it's different when en
tering Paris. After carefully
passing over the razor-backed
Deadwood Mountain on a wind
ing road barely wide enough for
a small car, there is a sign in a
tangle of blackberry vines at the
bottom of the mountain: "Enter
ing Paris. Population 133."
Even though Paris has no
store, no gas station, no post
office, nor a church, there is a
prosperous - appearing mill
owned by the Coquille Valley
Lumber Co. and a cluster of
houses and trailers.
From Paris the road signs
begin to point the way to Lob
ster Valley here county lines
lose significance as the road
winds in and out of Lane Coun
ty. At the end of a short littie
valley ' there is a cluster of
homes.
A woman, Mrs. Robert Royse,
was standing on her porch.
"Is this Lobster Valley?"
"Part of it," she replied.
No one is quite sure how Lob
ster Valley got its name. It is
assumed that someone tagged
is such after observing the na
tive crawfish around these
parts. And, of course, Lobster
Creek runs through Lobster
Valley.
It's a long way from Lobster
Valley to Eugene. The valley is
naturally turned toward Benton
County. Folks do most of their
business in the small town of
Alsea. or travel 35 miles into
Corvallis.
This natural affiliation of the
area with Benton County pro
duced a secessionist movement
in the fall of 1948 and the Lane
County Court agreed that it
should be annexed by Benton.
But twixt the agreement and
the opening of the legislature
in 1949 something happened.
When a permissive bill was en
acted in Salem, it pertained only
to that portion of Lobster Val
ley within Lincoln County. This
was transferred to Benton Coun
ty, but Lane County has re
tained the remainder.
"When you first come out
here it does seem kind of re
mote," Mrs. Royse admitted,
"hut you get used to it. It is
nice and quiet out here."
There are about 40 persons
living within Lane County's
share of the two-mile southern
end of the valley. Children
travel 13 miles to Alsea for
schooling.
The Alsea Lumber Co. mill,
where many of the men work,
is located in the Benton County
end of the little valley. Mail if
addressed to Alsea.
But Mrs. Royse said that sha
is very conscious that she lives
within Lane County despite her
isolation. For one thing, she and
her husband are never forgotten
by the tax collector. And if tha
road needs work, Lane County
is asked to fix it.
She said she has never voted
in the 10 years she has lived in
the valley. Registration and vot
ing is conducted in Paris. "And
you know, by the time your
husband gets home at 5 or 6
p.m. you just don't feel like
going over the mountain to
Paris," Mrs. Royse said.
Some people have moved out
of houses they rented from tha
Royses. "It's not that they
minded the isolation," Mrs.
Royse said. "They just didn't
like the inconveniences."
But she has adapted to them.
She has two freezers to store
food in, and has become ad
justed to planning ahead for
all needs.
Besides, the valley may seem
remote, but it has the basic con
veniences of modern life. "Peo
ple come way out here and ara
surprised that we have tele
phones, running water, electri
city and television," sha noted.
1 """"" ii-'.?h
Johnny Isn't the Only One Who Can't Read
Pioneering Texas Program to Challenge State's Adult Illiteracy Program
EDITOR'S NOTE Johnny
isn't the only one who can't
read. Some of his parents
can't, either. Ten per cent o
adult Americans are illiter
ate. To remedy this blight, a
Texat university u pioncerinu
a program in hopes it tcill
teach everyone the dxflerenct
between A and Z.
By FINIS MOTHKRSHF.AD
Of Iht Anocuted Prrti
WACO, Tex. Wl Suppose
you're In a bus. You casually
(lance up to read a poster or
Do smoking sign.
If your bus is a typical cro.is
ectlon of the United Slates,
one out of every 80 passengers
aboard can't read the signs,
lie's illiterate.
For two out of 100 adults in
the country are unable to read
with comprehension, a surpris
ing figure for a nation that
prides Itself on Its universal
aducatlon.
Worldwide the problem is
worse. Seven out of 10 can't
read.
To challenge this appalling
blight Is the task of the first
literacy center of its kind in
the United States. It is located
at Baylor Univorsily, has been
operating four years.
"Since then," said Richard
Cortright, until recently direc
tor of tha literacy center, "a
stream of people have come
from Malaya, Cambodia, Indo
nesia, Jordan, Hong Kong, Tan
ganyika, India and all over the
United States. They have coma
to share information and prob
lems concerning Illiteracy in
the world. Soma have stayed to
study and teach."
In the world illiteracy is com
monplace. In the United States
it is not only a major impedi
ment to a career. Often the il
literate lives in agonized fear
of embarrassment lest friends
find him out. Soma hava man
aged to keep the deficiency se
cret for years.
One case the center came
across was a Dallas painting
contractor. In his 80s, he could
neither read nor write. Yet he
earned more than $100 a week,
owned his own homa and car.
GOP State Legislators Advised to Give
More Speeches to Create Winning Image
SAI.EM (Pi Republican
state legislators were told Sat
urday they must make more
speeches in order to create an
image that would win this year's
elections for the (iOP.
The advice came from Wally
Hunter, executive director of
the State Republican Central
Committtee. He spoka at a con
ference of Republican members
of the Legislature. '
As a starter, Hunter an
nounced that panels of GOP
legislators arid other officials
will apepar at luncheons and
dinners of Feb. 14 in 12 cities.
He called this "Alert Orec.on
Day."
These panel meetings will be
held in Portland, Salem, Ku
gene, Rnjehurg, Medford, The
Dalles, Bend, Klamath Falls,
randlelon, La Grande, Baker
and Ontario.
The meetings at Portland. Sa
lem and Baker will be luncheon
dates, while the other appear
ances will be at dinners.
The purpose of these meet
ings, Hunter said, is to "alert
tha voters of Oregon to tha
need for electing a Republican
controlled House and adding
further GOP strength to the
Senate."
The Democrats held a 31-29
lead In the 1961 House, and
2010 In the Senate.
Feb. 14 was picked because
that is the anniversary of Ore
gon's admission to the Union.
Hunter said lots of hard work
must he done to get people to
register in the Republican par
ly. And. he went on, tha GOP
legislators can help greatly by
making many public addresses.
He pointed out that the Re
publicans trailed hy 78.000 in
registration in I960, and said
this deficit could reaih 100.000
this year unles the parly goes
to work.
But he said ha thought the
Republican deficit could be re
duced to less than 78.000.
The Republicans hava a regis
tration lead In only eight of
the 36 counties.
Hunter told the legislators
how to conduct their campaigns
more effectively.
Rep. F. F. Montgomery. R
KuRcne. House GOP leader, con
ducted the meetings.
Hunter spoke In plare of Rob
ert G. Davis. Grants Tass. slate
Republican chairman, who was
unable to attend because of ad
verse weather.
Since he could not read signs,
he memorized the appearance of
stores and streets. Close atten
tion to television, radio and the
conversation of friends kept
him surprisingly well posted on
current events, which he would
pretend to cull from news
papers. Playing a Role
When he finally raised the
courage to ask instruction, he
confessed:
"For more than 40 years I
have been playing a role, afraid
of my friends, my wife, my bus
iness associates and finally my
own 6-ycar-old daughter."
Another noureadcr told of at
tending a Sunday school class
where the practice was to pass
about various periodicals for
quick perusal and discussion.
Carefully he would observe
how long it took othera to scan
the printed matter, and then
time himself accordingly.
"If there weren't any pictures
on the page, I would be scared
to death I might be holding it
upside down."
The center at Baylor has a
twofold program: to train spe
cialists as specialists in literacy
work and set up community and
area workshops for training vol
unteer teachers and writers.
Already tha center has been
able to cite progress. So far,
1,738 Texans have been taught
to read. Another 1.068 are be
ing taught and 483 are learning
English as a second language.
It is estimated, however, that
the stale still has 800,000 func
tional illiterates.
Baylor has turned out 2,286
literacy tutors, either on the
campus or in Txas community
workshops coordinated by the
nation's first statewide council
for this purpose. Area or local
councils have been established
in 84 cities or towns. An im
portant purpose of the Baylor
program is teaching people to
read well enough to understand
the Bible.
Workshops and councils have
been established In a dozen
other states, mostly in the
South.
And in an "each one teach
one" crusade, individuals, with
out waiting for further instruc
tion, are asked to teach someone
else a lesson he has just learned.
Missioner's Methods
Baylor's literacy program em
ploys methods evolved by Frank
C. Laubach, Congregational
EWEB Audit to Comply
With Thorntons Opinion
Byron Trice, superintendent
of the Eugena Water & Electric
Board, said Saturday the board
will comply with an attorney
general's opinion on how EWEB
docs its annual financial audit.
The opinion, made this week
by Attorney General Robert Y.
Thornton, said that the audit of
the City of Eugene should in
cluded the audit of the munici
pal utility.
EWEB has never submitted
its audit to tha secretary of
state. This year, the secrctary'a
audit division refused to accept
tha city'i audit unless It con
tained the utility's figures. This
led to the attorney general's
opinion.
Price said that EWEB will
probably continue to employ its
own auditor and that the audit
will be "certified" to the city's
auditor. This would amount to
a certificate that the EWEB au-
Idit had been made.
Church missionary who founded
World Literacy Inc. The organi-'
zation is credited with helping
IS million persons in 64 nations
to read.
Instruction is keyed to charts,
each bearing a letter of the
alphabet superimposed on the
picture of a familiar obiect. Tha
name of the object begins with
the same letter.
The teachers use whatever fa
cilities are available. One in
Abilene used church basements,
vacant elassrooms, private
homes and once even used cars
during a sandstorm because no
other shelter was readily
available.
At Rotan, Tex., a graduation
class for newly taught adult
readers contained the first
Negro to finish a course there.
They held a graduation banquet
in a public restaurant.
"We considered the integrat
ed banquet a fine exampla of
what literacy work can do to
break down barriers," one of
the leaders said.
One 70-year-old woman, who
never went to schools and could
; only write "I am fine," came to
j a teacher because she wanted to
"know more about figuring."
She was a quick learner,
spurred hy her ambition "to
read the Bible and write letters
to my daughter."
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