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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 23, 2020)
E BR WEDNESDAY EDITION | DECEMBER 23, 2020 | $1.00 The Siuslaw News Presents... Christmas Tree Contest RS 2020 VOTE TODAY AT: AT I N G 1 30 Y MERRY CHRISTMAS – Dec. 25, 2020 – Feliz Navidad ONE GRAND PRIZE WINNER OF $50 EA CEL SN S SIU THESIUSLAWNEWS.COM W 1890 AW NE L S Joyeux Noël Fröhliche Weihnachten Buon Natale https://bit.ly/2020ChristmasTreeContest Enter until 12/23 @ Midnight Online Voting 12/23 @ Midnight until 12/29 at Noon Winner will be announced 1/2/21 Mele Kalikimaka Beloved local doctor leaves lasting legacy Dr. “AJ” Brauer passed away Dec. 17 at age 90, leaving a lasting impact on Florence By Jared Anderson Siuslaw News “I can’t say I did anything. I helped a little,” Dr. Albert J. Brauer said in May 2018 when interviewed on becoming the Grand Marshal for the Rhododendron parade. AJ, as he was known to many, passed away on Dec. 17 at the age of 91, leaving behind a legacy that was in- strumental to building the City of Florence. Over the course of 60 years, he es- tablished a medical practice, helped build new hospitals and clinics, developed Summerset Estates, was a board chairman for Oregon Pa- cific Bank (OPB), helped initiate the New Life Lutheran Church and served on the Lane Community College Florence Center board. “Maybe he just saw potential and could not help but further that. I think he believed that he could ence, feeling like you’re in a small pond. And Florence was pretty small back when they moved here in 1958.” So small that it only had two paved streets. “The population sign said 1,620,” AJ recalled. “In the wintertime, with no paved streets, there were terrible potholes. You would sink six inch- es down. In the heavy rain, you couldn’t see them. Over time, they began doing more and more pav- ing, bringing the town forward.” And while he didn’t pave the streets, AJ was instrumental in “bringing the town forward.” Born in Nebraska, some of AJ’s special memories included flying SIUSLAW NEWS FILE PHOTO/JARED ANDERSON with his dad, piloting his plane and Dr. Albert J. Brauer in his home in 2018, after being named Grand taking care of and riding horses on Marshal of that year’s Rhododendron Parade. his dad’s ranch. He would find his way to the make a difference,” his daughter because he couldn’t not. That’s just Gretchen Brauer-Rieke said. “It the way he viewed the world. I think See BRAUER 5A wasn’t for glorification. It was just there was something about Flor- Florence Elks to serve up holiday dinner Siuslaw News NEWS & VIEWS THAT DEFINE OUR COMMUNITY VOL. 130, NO. 103 F LORENCE , O REGON WEATHER Sunny skies with a high of 52 and a low tonight of 36. Full forecast on A3 COMMUNITY Baskets of holiday help Drive-thru Winter Wonderland INSIDE — B1 A drive-through Christmas dinner will take place Dec. 25 at the Elks Lodge #1858 SPECIAL SECTION By Chantelle Meyer Siuslaw News Just as in years’ past, Florence Elks Lodge #1858 will be offer- ing a free Christmas Day Com- munity Appreciation Dinner on Friday, Dec. 25, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Adapting the model used ear- lier this year by the Kiwanis Club of Florence and its Thanksgiving Dinner at the lodge, the Florence Elks are preparing to serve 800 people. People who drive — or walk — up will form into one line and re- ceive packaged dinners under the overhang at the front entrance of the lodge at 1686 12th St. Gary Vawter, kitchen liaison in charge of the Florence Elks Lodge kitchen and dining room, helped with both the Thanksgiv- ing and Christmas dinners. “We’re planning on putting out 800 meals on Christmas Day,” said Vawter — an amount which almost doubles the meals provid- ed in November. The Elks’ pre-cooked dinners include turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing, mixed vegeta- bles, a roll, cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie. These will be pack- aged into aluminum containers which can then be put in an oven to reheat. In addition, special guest Santa Claus will be there to hand out candy canes. Every child will also receive a stuffed animal from the Elks. “We usually have a kid’s Christ- mas party,” Vawter said. “At that RECORDS Obituaries & response logs Inside — A2 TV GUIDE This year’s annual Soroptimists food basket giveaway provided a holiday meal to 500 area families. PHOTOS BY MARK BRENNAN/SIUSLAW NEWS T he Soroptimists’ largest annual community outreach event was held last Saturday, Dec. 19, during the free Christmas Food Bas- ket Giveaway held at Siuslaw Middle School from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Like many other events in 2020, this year’s giveaway was a bit different than years past, including providing food only, rather than being accompa- nied by a toy giveaway at the Florence Nazarene Church. “It was just not possible to do toys under COVID,” said event coor- dinator Carol Bennett, citing both the number of Soroptimists and the current guidelines surrounding dona- tions and sanitizing options. It also cleared the Soroptimists’ sched- ules to focus on providing Christmas ELKS 6A See BASKETS 6A Inside — A7-A8 KIDS CORNER Activities for kids Inside — B5 CLASSIFIEDS Listings and notices Inside — B6 FOLLOW US FOR THE LATEST NEWS : /S IUSLAW N EWS @S IUSLAW N EWS T HE S IUSLAW N EWS . COM S IUSLAW N EWS 2 S ECTIONS | 20 P AGES C OPYRIGHT 2020 See Our annual Letters to Santa INSIDE — A9-11 Getting rid of 'Huh?' for over 20 years HEARING ASSOCIATES Call today to schedule an appointment. of Florence 541.991.4475 FLORENCE • 1901 Hwy 101, Ste A Florence's ONLY Doctors of Audiology Scott C. Anderson, Au.D. • Steven G. Anderson, Au.D. HearingAssociatesofFlorence.com FREE TV Adapter with the purchase of every set of level 7 or 9 hearing aids.
