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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (May 15, 2019)
SIUSLAW NEWS | WEDNESDAY, MAY 15, 2019 | 9A SPRING CLEARANCE SALE 50-75% OFF Blooming Rhododendron History — and me By Ramiro Ramirez Siuslaw High School Student T CALL TODAY to TAKE HOME and DEMO for FREE Starkey’s premier hearing aids! For a Limited Time Only receive the following at no charge: 1. Complete electronic hearing screening by our licensed hearing professionals. 2. Examination of your ears to check for wax build-up. 3. Live demonstration of the NEW Starkey hearing aids. 4. If you currently wear hearing instruments, no matter where they were purchased, they will be cleaned, adjusted and fine tuned at no charge during your office visit. Contact our appointment desk today to RSVP. (541) 997-8866 Trade-In offers will be available!* Experience You Can Trust Best For Hearing is a 2nd generation, family-owned practice with a 37 year history of helping Florence residents hear better. We are committed to providing the very best hearing health care with the very best technology. We are committed to providing unsurpassed service from the beginning to the end of our patients hearing journey. Please call us today to begin your life of better hearing. WHEN E XPERIENCE COUNTS We go to EXTREMES to solve your hearing problems! 2285 Highway 101 Florence, OR 97439 541-997-8866 Family Helping Families Hear Better 1 BestForHearing.com Statistics from Better Hearing Institute. *See office for details. © 2019 Starkey. All Rights Reserved. 3/19 330738763 hat time of year has come again. It’s Rhody Days here in the town of Florence — where the com- petition heats up in the Rhody Run, a lucky girl will be Queen Rhododendra and a lucky guy King of the Coast, and ages of all kinds are thrilled by the rides and games that Davis Shows Northwest has to offer. Some may know it, some may not, but the tradition of having the Rhododendron Festival dates back more than a century ago. Let’s go back to some of the first Rhododendron Festivals. First stop is the first festival. It is 1908, and the town is bustling with new festivity. The very first Queen Rhododendra is Lau- ra Johnson. Things were presented differently in older times. In this case, the queen got to ride in specially deco- rated boats on the Siuslaw River with Mayor George Edwards. He then presented the key to the city, which was made out of Rhododendron wood. Johnson had dinner at the Western House, along with a public picnic. Throughout the afternoon, athletic con- tests, music recitals and wa- ter exercises were booming all around the town. Here’s a fact: the first Queen Rhododendra was not born in Florence. You’ll have to skip two years to find the first Florence-born queen. Also during that time period, attendance started to increase. In 1910, 1,200 to 1,500 people attended the festival, and in 1913, 2,000 people showed up for the festivities. That same year, Rhody Festival Rhody Days festivities begin all over town today and con- tinue through Sunday. Visit FlorenceChamber.com for info. the carnival had an arrow shooting tournament with 11 potential queens. The goal of the game was to get the highest score as possible to become queen. As time passed, many things have changed. One of those moments was the early start of Rhody Days af- ter the Siuslaw River Bridge was completed, and another in which it was the 100th anniversary of the Rhody Festivals in 2008. This year is the 112th year since the first Rhododendron Festi- val, even though the festival wasn’t celebrated for several years. My first Rhody Days ex- perience can be traced back to 2007. Many of my festival memories consist of me go- ing on many different rides. One particular memory was the bumper cars attraction they had, since I remember being too small for it. Along with that came the Ferris Wheel ride, a beau- tiful experience. At the top you can see almost all of Old Town with cars rolling downtown and the Siuslaw River Bridge hoisting the cars across the Siuslaw River. Other rides that I’ve liked are Pharaoh’s Fury, Wipeout and Sizzler. Rides that I used to go on, but no longer can due to height restrictions, include Dragon’s Dream, a ride that is similar to the Rock Star but smaller, and an Indiana Jones themed maze that contains numer- ous obstacles. And while that may be the typical youngster’s expe- rience in the Rhody Festival, I will never forget the pa- rade of hot rods that come to town — especially when we get to hear the high RPM whine from them. That’s not the only pa- rade we get though, as we also have the Rhody Parade featuring floats represent- ing groups from all across the county and the state. It is fun to see it in person, but to be a part of it is a new ex- perience. I have been a part of the Rhody parade three times and am looking forward to my fourth appearance in it. The first two times were with CROW (Children’s Repertory of Oregon Work- shops) while the third one was with the Siuslaw Youth Soccer Association. This time, I am going to be a part of the Last Resort Players’ float to publicize our up- coming musical, “Mamma Mia!” I am intrigued to see what creative floats our locals and neighboring cities have to offer this year. I’m sure it will be something interesting. Happy Rhody Days! Life‛s Short. Get Dirty. SPECIAL Celebrate Rhodie Days at COME BY AND SEE OUR FEATURED BOAT! LAUREL BAY GARDENS! Plant a Rhododendron for beauty and fl owers for years to come! Rhododendrons, Azaleas ......................................................15% off Lilacs, Flowering Quince........................................................15% off Fragrant Deciduous Azaleas ................................................10% off Just Arrived! Blooming Summer Perennials Lavender, Shasta Daisy, Daylily, Beautiful Flowers every summer. 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