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SIUSLAW NEWS ❚ WEDNESDAY, APRIL 13, 2016
Advisory council seeks members
C AR C HRONICLES —
Fury-ous memories
B Y C AL A PPLEBEE
Special to the Siuslaw News
D
uring my Junior year
in high school, my
real parents still lived
in Oregon, and my father
passed away rather young at
the age of 48. My mom had
never obtained her driver’s
license because she’d had a
bad experience when she was a
teenager learning how to drive.
She evidently didn’t have an
interest in, or knack for, driv-
ing. Both were evident when
my grandmother was trying to
teach her, she promptly put the
family Chevrolet in the ditch
and walked home. The only
other times my mom even
showed any interest in driving
were when my dad was driv-
ing, and she was constantly
stomping on the imaginary
brake pedal on the passenger
side of the car in reaction to
his driving skills.
That must be hereditary
because my wife still does that
to this day when I drive.
Because mom didn’t drive,
the family car at the time of
my dad’s passing just sat
around her house in Tillamook
and anyone who came to visit
could use it.
It was a 1960 Plymouth
Fury, four-door sedan. It didn’t
have the fake continental on
the trunk lid as some of the
models did, but it was still the
nicest automobile my parents
ever owned. Because Mom had
no use for it and I was graduat-
ing from high school, she gave
it to me as my graduation gift.
It was also the nicest car I
had owned up until that time
and a definite step up from the
three junkers I had driven up to
that point. It had an automatic
transmission with the shifting
via push buttons on the dash
just to the right of the steering
wheel.
I believe it had the 318 and
was a pretty powerful car. One
day I needed to get new muf-
flers on it and took it to the
only garage in Marsing to have
the work done. I don’t recall if
I had picked up the new
exhaust or if they had ordered
it, but nonetheless, when they
stripped the old dual exhaust
off and went to install the new
replacements, it was discov-
ered they weren’t correct for
whatever reason.
I couldn’t afford to let the
car sit for several days while
they ordered correct parts, so I
ended up driving it into
Nampa, Idaho, to pick up the
correct exhaust parts, and then
drove it back to Marsing to fin-
ish the installation.
Of course, driving it that far
and back without mufflers was
extremely noisy, and while it
did open up the power to have
no restricter mufflers or
exhaust pipe, I was nearly deaf
by the time I made it back to
Marsing.
They finished the job and I
had a quiet luxury car again!
That car provided other
interesting experiences,
although not for me but for my
college buddies who were
always wanting to borrow it
for dates because of it’s large
back seat.
More than once, with differ-
ent drivers, they would return
it and share horror stories on
how while driving it and
punching the transmission but-
tons, the “drive” button would
get stuck in the dash and they
couldn’t stop it or reverse it.
My roommate talked about
one particular incident where
the throttle also stuck at the
same time as he was trying to
exit the freeway coming back
into Nampa and he had no
choice but to shoot across the
cross road and back onto the
freeway until he could get the
thing unstuck!
The 1960 Plymouth Fury
was the fourth year of that size
and series, particularly with
fins, produced by Plymouth. It
was the first year for some
other innovations, such as uni-
body construction, ram induc-
tion and the infamous slant-six,
although my car had the 318.
I can’t recall now whether it
was the two-barrel or four-bar-
rel version, but since the car
weighed a hefty 3,550 lbs., it
still wasn’t exactly a hot rod.
The four-door accounted for
34 percent of Plymouth’s
63,073 production run for
1960, but despite that large
amount, recent online shopping
didn’t reveal any four doors for
current valuation.
Actually, not a lot of 1960
Plymouth Furys were available
and those that were seemed to
be specialty cars, such as a
race-replica and one convert-
ible that had been in the origi-
nal family since new.
The pricing was all over the
board, ranging from $500 for a
low end specimen to a whop-
ping $95,000 for that single-
family convertible!
My guestimation on a value
for a four-door in decent shape
today would be more in the
range of $4,000.
New, the MSRP was $2,693.
About this time in my vehi-
cle life I evidently developed
the need for constant change,
which would follow for life,
and hence the 90-plus vehicles
I eventually inventoried.
I would spot some other
vehicle that would capture my
imagination, and pretty soon
I’d convince myself I had to
have one. Then, I’d find one
and trade off my current ride
for the new dream ride.
That’s what happened to
the Plymouth; for whatever
reason, I decided I needed a
pick up and soon the Plymouth
was gone and in its place sat
a 1948 Chevy pickup that
would bring its own set of
adventures.
Travel safe!
Hospice scrapbooking program creates memories
It began as a way to honor
veterans and the service that
they gave to America. It has
grown into a program that cre-
ates a treasured memory for a
family grieving the loss of a
loved one who has been in the
care of PeaceHealth Peace
Harbor Hospice.
“It”
is
the
Hospice
Scrapbooking Project, an
endeavor that has been captur-
ing the memories of hospice
patients through the use of pho-
tographs, historical documents
and other memorabilia.
The program began in 2013
when hospice began an associ-
ation with We Honor Veterans
(WHV), a program of the
National
Hospice
and
Palliative Care Organization in
collaboration
with
the
Department
of
Veterans
Affairs.
“This was a natural program
for us to join,” said hospice
volunteer coordinator Donna
Becker. “We have many veter-
ans who come through our
service and the We Honor
Veterans program is a beautiful
way to honor their service and
commitment to our country.”
That association introduced
Becker to the Scrapbook
Project, which she wanted to
incorporate
into
the
PeaceHealth honoring veterans
program.
Not knowing where to turn,
she posted a flyer at Rosie’s Art
Carnival, a local art and crafts
store, now closed, asking for
volunteers.
Several stepped forward,
including Pauline Orozco, who
became the unofficial leader of
the scrapbook group.
For the first two years, the
group concentrated on creating
scrapbooks for veterans and
their families who wanted to
participate.
“Many people do not really
know what a scrapbook is,”
Orozco said. “When patients
The local Patient and
Family Advisory Council
(PFAC) is still looking for
community members who
have the time and desire to
work with staff at the
PeaceHealth Peace Harbor
Medical Center to assure a
patient- and family-friendly
hospital experience.
It is critical that the PFAC
have younger adults, age 18
through middle-aged, who can
address health care experi-
ences from their vantage point.
That includes young fami-
lies with newborns and those
with teenagers or older chil-
dren. Community members
are asked to consider lending
their voices for the benefit of
health care in Florence.
The next PFAC meeting
will be Thursday, April 14, at
the PeaceHealth Peace Harbor
Medical Center conference
room C, from 7 to 8:30 p.m.
Interested people are invited.
To request attendance or
more information, call Janis
Finley at 541-902-6074 or Bob
Horney at 541-997-6626.
Brian Downing
(541) 743-3811
• htpp://www.ppmnps.com
• briandowning@ppmnps.com
Veteran Discounts
Pacii c Paralegal, Mobile Notary
and Project Services
Document Preparation
Services
• Researching • Draft ing
• Filing/Delivery • Notarizing
• Signing/Closing Agent
Project Services:
• Consulating • Managing
• Completing • Evaluating
• Stai ng
Pacii c Paralegal is not staff ed by attorneys. If you
need legal advice or representation please contact
an attorney or your local state bar association.
All Services
are Mobile,
We Come to You!
...need a friend?
Meet
Happy
Happy is a very smart dog, he learns
new commands quickly and is very
entertaining. He is an energetic, active
guy who needs to be in a home where
he would be the only animal. The
temptation to play and chase is way too
strong! He minds pretty well but would
benefi t living with a supportive person
who will work to help him give his best.
Happy was returned to us once for
killing a chicken. He jumped off a
second story balcony to get to the chickens. I feel that he might kill a cat if given the
chance. Aggressive to most dogs.
No Cats • No Dogs • No Small Animals • Children 12 and older
and their families see a com-
pleted one, they not only are
astonished at the creativity and
the work that went into it, but
obviously they see happy
memories preserved forever.”
The small circle of scrap-
booking volunteers meets
every Wednesday at 9:30 a.m.
at the hospice office on
Kingwood Street.
The two hours have become
both a social event and a way to
feel good and give back in a
charitable way. —Submitted by
Becky Goehring
If you would like to meet Happy any of his
friends, please visit us at:
FLORENCE HUMANE SOCIETY
2840 Rhododendron Drive • Florence • 541-997-4277
www.fl orencehumane.org
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Port budget
committee
applications
due Friday
The Port of Siuslaw’ dead-
line for its budget committee
applications is 5 p.m. Friday,
April 15.
The budget committee is a
standing committee of five
citizen members that sits
jointly with the Port
Commission to publicly
review and revise the annual
budget document.
Committee members serve
three-year terms.
Interested persons should
obtain an application from
the port office at 100 Harbor
St., or the port’s website at
www.portofsiuslaw.com.
Applicants must be regis-
tered voters residing within
the Port of Siuslaw district.
For more information, call
541-997-3426.
Deadlines for
press releases and
news items are
Mondays and
Thursdays at
noon.
pressreleases@thesiuslawnews.com
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Tuesday 4/5
Rachel Donston
Thelma Hale
Westlake
Deadwood
Safeway
Safeway
Wednesday 4/6
Carol Tucker
Carol Tucker
Florence
Florence
Grocery Outlet
Grocery Outlet
Thursday 4/7
Wayne Wilkins
Bear McDaniel
Florence
Florence
Oceanside Veterinary Hospital
Three Rivers Casino Resort
Friday 4/8
Tilman Hanson
Elsie McKean
Florence
Florence
Three Rivers Casino Resort
Safeway
Saturday 4/9
Pam Marshal
Pattie Panther
Florence
Florence
Safeway
Safeway
Sunday 4/10
Jammie Mills
Lonita Dalziel
Westlake
Florence
Grocery Outlet
Florence Liquor Agency
Monday 4/11
Chuck Katz
Ervin Dinger
Florence
Eugene
Safeway
Chen’s Family Dish