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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
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