Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (May 13, 2015)
SIUSLAW NEWS ❚ WEDNESDAY, MAY 13, 2015 3 B FloTones perform M ILITARY H ERITAGE C HRONICLES — ‘Glory of Love’ in May World War II icon passes Shakespeare’s words, “The course of true love never did run smooth,” provide the foundation for Billy Hill’s song, “The Glory of Love,” also the theme of the FloTones concert being pre- sented at the Florence Events Center (FEC) on Friday and Saturday, May 29 and 30. The songs specially select- ed by the FloTones producers are classic American tunes that provide some insight on why the lyrics of “The Glory of Love” would be appreciat- ed by The Bard. The lyrics include lines such as “You’ve gotta laugh a little, cry a little, before the clouds roll by a little.” Folks who are now, or ever have been, in love know “You’ve gotta win a little, lose a little and always have the blues a little.” “Married I Can Always Get,” “All of Me” and “Just in Time” provide a bridge between that line and the musical explanations. “Anything You Can Do,” Irving Berlin’s show-stopper from “Annie Get Your Gun” and the Gershwin Brothers’ “Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off” cover the first two parts of that line while the perfect finishing lament is “The Meaning of the Blues” by composer, jazz pianist and TV star Bobby Troup. With more than 20 audi- ence favorites and musical accompaniment by pianist Marty Adams, trumpeter Ron Green, percussionist Randy Curtola, reed player Lou Invernon and bassist Lynette Kristine, attendees at “The Glory of Love” are sure to be humming along with the FloTones. Tickets are on sale now at the FEC box office for $15, and seating is limited. Both performances start at 7 p.m. B Y C AL A PPLEBEE Special to the Siuslaw News Back in 2010, when the Oregon Coast Military Museum was first gaining momentum after its start just a year earlier, I wrote an arti- cle about the passing of a 92- year-old woman named Edith Shain. She was acknowledged to be the nurse in the iconic “Times Square Kiss” in Life magazine, a moment in histo- ry caught commemorating VJ Day — the day Japan surren- dered on August 14, 1945. My article was written to promote a museum event cel- ebrating that day, and one of the speakers in our program was Margaret Thorngate, her- self a WWII Veteran. Margaret was a 21-year old U.S. Navy Wave on August 14, 1945, and recounted how she and her late husband, Fred, a First Lieutenant in the U.S. Army who was on a 30 day leave, were on their hon- eymoon in Pennsylvania with his family. Fred had been scheduled to report for duty and be in the first wave of attacks on Japan scheduled for that November. As relieved and joyful as they were that the war was over, they would have preferred to be with their comrades in arms for the celebration. In later years, Margaret boasted “that 30-day leave turned into 65 years of mar- riage.” During that 65-plus years, Margaret accomplished a lot of things, typical of a member of the Greatest Generation. Both of her sons went on to serve in the military and her daughter married into the mil- itary. She and Fred moved to Florence in 1985 and she formed the local Coastal Women Veterans Group, which she remained active in while still living in Florence. She found time during those years to also author a novel, “When Flags Flew High,” a 771 page fictional account of life on the home front during WWII — much of it based on both personal experiences as well as obser- vations. It’s still one of my Margaret Thorngate favorite reads. Margaret was also a proud participant of our Veterans Day Parade here in Florence, which is where I first met her. I could always count on her and Fred showing up each year to line up and represent the Coastal Women Veterans Group. My proudest moment was having her ride shotgun in my U.S. Army truck in 2013. Sorry it wasn’t Navy, Margaret! Margaret and Fred were both ardent supporters of the Oregon Coast Military Museum over the years, not only contributing financial support, but with their time and talents as well. Margaret herself was anxious for us to get complet- ed and open, but unfortunate- Fred Thorngate ly, neither she nor Fred lived long enough to witness that. Fred Passed away in 2014 and Margaret passed in February — ironically, almost identical in age as Edith Shain. In my mind, Margaret Thorngate is as much of an icon as Shain was. We just said farewell to Margaret here in Florence last week. You will be missed Margaret — thank you for your service, for your support of the Oregon Coast Military Museum, and for having touched and been a part of my life. To learn more about mili- tary heritage in general, visit the Oregon Coast Military Museum website at www.ocmhm.com. City Club to hear about community visioning project The Friday, May 15, City Club meeting will feature Becky Goehring and Meg Spencer, who will address the community visioning project currently under- way. The project is sponsored by the Ford Family Foundation and involves community members who first met in November 2014. The group has been holding community dialogues to develop a community vision for the Siuslaw region which includes Florence, Dunes City, Mapleton, Deadwood and Swisshome. “We have a working team that has been meeting to explore a community vision,” Goehring said. “What will we look like in ten years, maybe 20 years? We will be reaching out to focus groups and community members for insight and feedback.” The presentation will also include an overview of the Ford Family Foundation’s work throughout rural Oregon and Siskiyou County in north- ern California. The Foundation is com- mitted to supporting and pro- moting rural community vitality through programs, grants and training opportuni- ties. The City Club meets at the Ocean Dunes Golf Course. Lunch is provided at 11:30 a.m. and the program starts at noon. For more information, con- tact Sharon Hobart at 541- 914-7784. Conference the adaptation of both evidence-based and promis- ing strategies as groups look to develop preventative strategies. The afternoon was spent exploring the debut of “What Would We Do?”, an approach to opening the discussion around child abuse and prevention. Local actors depicted, both in live dramatizations and in video shorts, local and real scenarios where child- ren were at potential risk. Discussions followed to decide what helpful responses could be to each scenario. “Those of us who work in the field of child abuse prevention and intervent- ion are constantly having people ‘run things by us’ at work, at parties, on planes and trains, at the grocery store or wherever we might be,” Barkhurst said. “Most often these situations are those where the person involved was uncomfort- able at witnessing some interaction where they thought a child was neglected or was in potential harm. They wanted to intervene but weren’t sure what to do.” Barkhurst explained how the group has collected real life scenarios and embarked on a three-year project to have Lane County residents act out scenar- ios. “We will film these and then make them available so that we, as communities, will figure out what some helpful solutions might be,” said Barkhurst. Final workshop topics focused on protective fact- ors, including supporting par- ent resiliency, increasing social connections, under- standing and knowledge of parenting and child develop- ment and concrete support for families in time of need. At the end of the confer- ence, participants were treat- ed to an ice cream social and the opportunity to meet 90by30 participants from throughout Lane County. For Kaczenski, that was a highlight. “The conference was a great opportunity for people to hear what 90by30 is all about, who’s behind it and to understand why we’re using these strategies,” Kaczenski said. “There were people attending who work in the field of child abuse prevention, public health and even some who are com- pletely new to the conversa- tion and wanted to learn more. “This allowed for a great environment for people to learn about each other and the role they can play in preventing child abuse.” The West Lane team was instrumental in placing the Blue and White pin- wheel gardens throughout Florence and Mapleton dur- ing April, which was Child Abuse Prevention month. More work lies ahead with team members collecting baseline surveys to measure community perceptions about child abuse and neglect and begin examining pro- grams that would be most beneficial to children, family and community in West Lane County. “We still are looking for more volunteers to help,” said Rose Wilde, outreach coordi- nator for the 90by30 Initiative. “The team meets every other month and people can be as involved as they want. The next meeting of the team is scheduled for Friday, May 15 from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Siuslaw Elementary School. There will be a discussion about the conference and what the next steps for the team will be. Anyone who is interested in learning more about the 90by30 Initiative or who is ready to volunteer is encour- aged to attend. For more information, con- tact Wilde at 541-953-3643. from 1B Shalom Outreach Center Assistant Director Teresa LaNasa agreed. “The Australian team brought with them years of expertise which is going to profit this effort greatly,” LaNasa said. “I was amazed at the turnout. I am encour- aged by the interest and sup- port that 90by30 is getting from the people in Lane County.” Conference participants also heard from Dr. Charles Martinez, director of the Center for Equity Promotion at the College of Education, University of Oregon. Martinez spoke about the concept of culture and re here esses a in s u b munity ese com rvice needs. h t g in now ur se relax, k with all of yo o t y s It’s ea to help Call the Siuslaw News to Join Our Senior Directory 541-997-3441 BRADLEY BERG ATTORNEY Wills - Trusts Probate 733 Hwy. 101 Florence, OR 997-8114 Best For Hearing 2285 Hwy. 101, Florence 997-8866 S S IUSLAW IUSLAW N EWS 148 Maple St. Florence 541-997-3441 See Jim for your Auto Sales Needs! 2150 Hwy. 101 • Florence (541) 997-3475 • 1-800-348-3475