4 A
❘
WEDNESDAY EDITION
❘ MARCH 9, 2016
Siuslaw News
P.O. Box 10
Florence, OR 97439
RYAN CRONK , EDITOR
❘ 541-902-3520 ❘
EDITOR @ THESIUSLAWNEWS . COM
Opinion
E XTRAORDINARY P EOPLE
Albert J. Brauer
C ATHERINE J. R OURKE
For the Siuslaw News
_____________
F
or some things in life, there
are no explanations. Perhaps
no one knows that more
poignantly than Albert J. Brauer,
M.D., who has embraced the inex-
plicable as well as miracles in both
his professional and personal life.
One day in 1972, while providing
volunteer medical services in Kenya
with the Christian Medical and
Dental Society, he swerved his vehi-
cle to avoid hitting some villagers
herding their livestock and hit anoth-
er car head-on instead.
“In a split second, my entire life
changed,” said Dr. Brauer, describ-
ing how his vehicle spun out of con-
trol. In that moment, he lost a leg as
well as his beloved wife, Alice.
“Things often happen that we sim-
ply can’t understand,” he said. “We
like to think we have it all figured
out, but we’re really not in control
of anything.”
Suddenly, the doctor — known as
“Al” or “AJ” — who had brought
surgery to rural Africa since 1970,
required five operations of his own
and spent several weeks recovering
in the hospital. But that didn’t stop
him from moving forward. Fitted
with a prosthesis and after undergo-
ing extensive physical therapy, the
single dad with six kids eventually
got back on his feet and got his life
back.
“It was devastating,” he said. “But
something good always comes out of
tough circumstances.”
During his hospitalization, one
particular nurse watched over him.
Al and Catherine eventually mar-
ried and completed 19 medical
missions together in Africa and
Asia. Today they have 16 grand-
children plus two great-grandchil-
dren on the way this spring.
“Traumas are often big turning
points in our lives,” he said. “We
have to trust that God will take
care of us in tough times.”
Al learned that as a young boy
during the Great Depression. Born
just two months after the Wall
Street Crash of 1929, Al grew up
in the same small “Dust Bowl”
town as comedian Johnny Carson.
In fact, both attended the same
high school in Norfolk, Neb.,
where he remembers watching
Carson perform magic tricks.
“Johnny was a very clever,
charismatic and classy guy,” Al
said. “You could tell he had a
bright future.”
But so did Al.
Following his father’s footsteps
as a family doctor and orthopedic
surgeon, he earned his medical
degree from the University of
Nebraska College of Medicine in
1955. He met his first wife at col-
lege and they married while Al was
still in medical school.
Al completed his residency at a
hospital in Eugene and, after serving
in the Navy, eventually opened a pri-
vate practice in Florence in 1968.
become involved in all three endeav-
ors.
“I wanted a small town and even
Eugene was too big for me back
then,” he said. “People here live the
way I grew up, with a focus on fami-
ly. I also grew up with temperatures
of 40 below in the winter and 118 in
the summer. Florence offered a good
climate without those extremes.”
As a physician, he provided versa-
tile medical services for the commu-
nity, from orthopedic surgery and
family medicine to obstetrics and
gynecology.
“Medicine was vastly different
than it is today,” he said. “We still
made house calls. I’ve seen the tide
turn, with doctors facing too many
restrictions and too much bureaucra-
cy. We’re losing our freedoms in so
many ways in this country and medi-
cine is one of them. It’s not healthy
for a democracy.”
His advice for today’s doctors:
“Keep your sanity and uphold your
sacred oath. Refuse to do anything
that violates your conscience.”
Al devoted eight years to help
PeaceHealth Peace Harbor Medical
Center open its doors in 1989 and
served on the board for 19 years.
“We needed a modern hospital
and had to keep pushing for
progress,” he said. “Now it’s ranked
among the top 100
hospitals in the
U.S.”
“I JUST WANTED TO SUPPORT
After retiring
IMPROVING SERVICES FOR THE
from medicine in
1995, Al remained
COMMUNITY.”
—AL BRAUER committed “to
make Florence a
better place to
Al vividly recalls the fishing and
live.” He helped plan the Lane
logging town of nearly 50 years ago
Community College campus, serving
in need of a good hospital, a college
on its board for 12 years as well as
and banking services. Although he
on the local school board for six
didn’t know it at the time, he would
years.
PHOTO BY CATHERINE ROURKE
Albert Brauer has been making Florence “a better place to live” since
opening a private practice here in 1968.
But his longest tenure involved
Oregon Pacific Bank (OPB), an
enterprise he helped launch in 1979.
At an age when most people get
ready to retire, Al’s work was just
beginning.
“Banking was never my idea,” he
said. “A patient asked me during a
medical exam if I would like to help
start a bank. I just wanted to support
improving services for the communi-
ty.”
Al served as a founding chairman,
director and board member at OPB
for a total of 35 years, retiring the
day before his 85th birthday in 2014.
His passion for community serv-
ice also led him to establish a chari-
table foundation through Rotary to
benefit many individuals and good
causes.
“When you get to be my age, you
get worn out quickly, but you still
find energy to support Rotary,” he
said with a smile. “The key in life is
to stay positive. Things always work
out for the best in the end.”
Dr. Brauer’s indefatigable contri-
butions to Florence’s medical, edu-
cational and financial services, as
well as its charitable needs, serve as
living testament to that positive
vision.
______________________
Catherine J. Rourke is an award-
winning writer, journalist and book
editor who teaches creative writing
at the Florence Regional Arts
Alliance. She may be contacted at
CJReditor@gmail.com.
LETTERS
Advice from a first lady
Nancy Reagan has provided a partial answer
to the Republican dilemma. As to Donald
Trump, just say no.
Charles Walker
Florence
Camp deserves our support
This is in response to Thomas Nieland’s letter
to the editor (“Camp for All Youth,” March 2)
about the young men from Camp Florence who
volunteered to provide free haircuts for individu-
als at the Helping Hands program.
He asks why there is not a camp, like Camp
Florence, for those youth who are not “law
offenders.” Camp Florence is not a recreational
facility offered to youth offenders. It is a transi-
tional facility for incarcerated youth.
The residents of Camp Florence are serving a
sentence for a crime they committed as a juve-
nile. The purpose of this facility is to provide
programs and education to young men so that
they can return to society and live positive, pro-
ductive lives. The fact that some of these young
men want to give back to this community by pro-
viding free haircuts to those in need, speaks very
highly of who they are and how much they have
changed.
It costs taxpayers $25,000 a year to house an
adult in the prison system. If we can provide
skills and purpose to these youth that keeps them
from re-offending as adults, we are all winners.
Yes, we should have opportunities for all
youth — absolutely! But the youth at Camp
Florence who have turned their lives around, in
spite of some difficult challenges in childhood,
deserve our support, and so does Camp Florence,
for all it does to make a difference in the lives of
young people.
Bettie Egerton
Florence
Stones from glass houses
I am probably the only Republican living in
Florence and that makes me an outsider to be
sure. After reading the letters to the editor in
Saturday’s paper (“Trump’s Tyranny” and
“Candidate Cannibalism,” March 5) I became
not only an outsider, but a scared outsider as
well. I had no idea this little community har-
bored such narrow, mean-spirited and either
uninformed or misinformed citizens when it
comes to politics and the upcoming presidential
elections.
I am reminded of the old saying, people in
glass houses shouldn’t throw stones.
The Republican party candidates have yet to
be investigated for illegal use of a personal
server with classified information held on it.
Nor have they been involved in the unsettling
occurrence with regards to Bengazi. Not one of
the Republican candidates favors socialist
ideals or allowing communism a foot hold in
our
highest
office.
All
candi-
dates, be they
Democrats
or
Republicans, will
always have citi-
zens that support
them or refuse to
support
them.
That is our sys-
tem and one of
the privileges of
living in the
United States.
My disappoint-
ment with the
two letters in
Saturday’s paper
was the lack of
respect shown to the candidates. It takes a very
brave person to run for any political office
nowadays, especially with the world the way it
L ETTERS
TO THE
is now. My Chihuahua is Catholic so I guess he
will be safe.
Elizabeth Burletson
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Pres. Barack Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW
Washington, D.C. 20500
Comments: 202-456-1111
Switchboard: 202-456-1414
FAX: 202-456-2461
TTY/TDD Comments: 202-456-6213
www.whitehouse.gov
Gov. Kate Brown
160 State Capitol
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Salem, OR 97301-4047
Governor’s Citizens’ Rep.
Message Line 503-378-4582
www.oregon.gov/gov
U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden
221 Dirksen Senate Office Bldg
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FAX: 503-986-1080
Email:
Sen.ArnieRoblan@state.or.us
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313 Hart Senate Office Bldg
Washington, DC 20510
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541-465-6750
State Rep. Caddy McKeown
(Dist. 9)
900 Court St. NE
Salem, OR 97301
503-986-1409
Email:
rep.caddymckeown@state.or.us
U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio (4th Dist.)
2134 Rayburn HOB
Washington, DC 20515
202-225-6416/ 800-944-9603
541-269-2609/ 541-465-6732
www.defazio.house.gov
State Sen. Arnie Roblan (Dist. 5)
900 Court St. NE - S-417
Salem, OR 97301
503-986-1705
West Lane County Commissioner
Jay Bozievich
125 E. Eighth St.
Eugene, OR 97401
541-682-4203
FAX: 541-682-4616
Email:
Jay.Bozievich@co.lane.or.us