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About Cottage Grove sentinel. (Cottage Grove, Or.) 1909-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 10, 2015)
COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL November 10, 2015 F LIGHT Continued from page 1A Volunteers and/or family mem- bers accompanied each veteran, with daughter Robin Fouquette accompanying Gates, Alan Guess traveling with Grimes and Brian Antone on board to assist Wait- man. Ed Bock, fl ight leader with South Willamette Valley Honor Flight, said the program has thus far prioritized World War II veterans due to their advancing age (most are over 90 years old), though the program has begun to transport veterans of the Korea and Vietnam confl icts. Once on the ground in Washington, the veterans were kept to a schedule that would be ambitious for any traveler — they started with the World War II memorial at 9 a.m., visited the Lincoln, Vietnam and Korean memorials between 10:30 a.m. and noon, the FDR memorial after lunch, the Navy and Air Force memorials by 3:15, Arling- 11A LORANE COUNTRY NEWS ton Cemetery and the Changing of the Guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier a half-hour later, then the Women in Military Service and Marine Corps memo- rials before being treated to what all agreed was a wonderful dinner at the Elks Lodge in Loudon, Va. Waitman listed the World War II memorial as a highlight, which Gates also called the "most im- pressive" of the monuments. The stars on the wall there commemo- rate 100 military deaths each, for a total of 400,048 American deaths in the war — though they said talk of the war itself was minimal. “The most impressive part for me was the random people that came up and thanked (the veterans) and asked for photos with them wherever we went,” Fouquette said. “They gave them hugs and expressed their ap- preciation. I was really stunned. It was a universal response, the thought that ‘we were so lucky to have been here to see this.’” Gates and Waitman said a group salute at the World War II memorial found much of the crowd — and many of the veterans themselves — overcome with emotion, which was also the result when Fouquette herself led a rousing rendition of “God Bless America.” Grimes agreed that it was “quite an emotional trip,” and he treasures the 28 letters he received from strangers in thanks for his service. It’s been a big year for Grimes, who purchased a 10-acre proper- ty and married his sweetheart this summer in addition to the Honor Flight, all at the age of 95. He said the Changing of the Guard was also quite impressive. “I didn’t fi gure to go back there,” he said, “but Will Parrish (Commander of Veterans of Foreign Wars District 9, which includes Cottage Grove) wouldn’t take no for an answer. It was a great trip, but it did get emotional at times.” The City of Cottage Grove Public Works Department will be conducting its annual Leaf Pickup during the following weeks: November 16 th -20 th • December 14 th - 18 th • December 28 th -31 st Tips for Leaf Placement in Street ✓ Only piles of loose leaves will be picked up ✓ Pile leaves on the street surface near the gutter, keeping gutter and catch basins free of leaves so storm water is not obstructed ✓ On streets without curbs and gutter, pile the leaves near the street surface away from ditches ✓ Stack the leaves so that they don’t block bike and traffi c lanes ✓ Leaves should be piled in rows so they do not block the fl ow of water along the curb and do not encroach on the traffi c lane ✓Do not place leaves in the streets where curbside parking does not exist. You may bring those leaves to the designated area outside the Row River Water Treatment Plant at 3300 Row River Road ✓ Do not place your leaves in plastic bags ✓ Branches will not be picked up ✓ Shrub prunings and blackberry vines will not be picked up ✓ Do not include rocks, metal or other debris in your leaf pile ✓ Lawn clippings will not be picked up For more information please contact the Public Works Department at (541)942-2042 during working hours of Monday through Friday, 8:00AM to 5:00PM. BY LIL THOMPSON For the Sentinel Happy Veterans Day to all our veterans! Take time tomor- row to remember those who lost their lives for our freedom and be sure to thank a veteran for their service. This Saturday evening, Nov. 14, RAC movie night will show Fred Astaire in "Royal Wed- ding." Soup dinner begins at 6 p.m. with some delicious soups. It’s pie month, so bring your fa- vorite pie to share. The evening promises to be very special with a “Vintage Dance” shorts col- lage. There will also be a mys- tery guest dancer. Lorane Christian Church is hosting a Thanksgiving Dinner on Sunday, Nov. 15, at Lorane Grange. The community is in- vited to join them at 5 p.m. Lorane Grange’s spaghetti dinner and bingo is scheduled for Friday, Nov. 20. All the fun begins with dinner at 5:30 p.m., then bingo at 6:30 p.m. The Blackout fund is rising as no one has won yet. Come out for a fun-fi lled evening in Lorane. If you haven’t seen or heard, Lorane Rebekah Lodge has a scrap metal bin at their building. It’s a great fundraiser and an easy place to remove that scrap you don’t want. Remember to put aside some nonperishable goods for the community Christmas baskets. Boxes will be up in all organiza- tions. One should be up at the Grange for movie night. She quickly ordered her patients to stop eating them. Hers was the only ward with no deaths in it, although she very nearly supplied one herself; the one bite she’d taken nearly killed her. Over the next few days, authorities were trying to fi gure out what had happened. They considered, and rejected, the possibility that it was some kind of particularly virulent food poisoning. Governor Charles Sprague suspected foul play. “I lean heavily toward the theory that a criminally insane patient at the hospital was responsible for the placing of sodium fl uoride, more deadly than a poison-fanged snake, in the dinner dish,” he said. But McKillop, O’Hare and Nosen knew what had hap- pened. They’d fi gured it out immediately after the inmates started dying. McKillop had Nosen show him the bin he’d gotten the powdered milk out of, and as he’d feared, Nosen led him straight to the fruit room. The three of them kept quiet about it for several days, terri- fi ed of what might happen to them if anyone found out. Then at last, McKillop couldn’t stand it any more, and he confessed. He also claimed responsibility for the whole thing, in an at- tempt to shield O’Hare. Both cooks were arrested and prosecuted, but the grand jury refused to indict them. Nosen, too, was never charged, but after that he was a pariah at the hospital. Nosen’s was a particularly sad story. He’d been brought to the hospital by his par- ents, seeking treatment for his epilepsy, but upon arrival he’d been diagnosed by a staff psychiatrist with paranoid schizophrenia and committed. The psychiatrist’s justifi cations and intentions cannot, from the distance of so many years, be really guessed at, but the result was institutionalization for Nosen, for the rest of his life. And whether he was really crazy or not upon his arrival, he was never the same after the egg incident. Two attempts to send him forth into the world failed, and he died in the hospi- tal in the 1980s. One good thing did come from the whole debacle, though. The Oregon State Hospital was required to get the roach poison out of the fruit room and put a label on it. O FFBEAT Continued from page 4A A 29-year-old patient who had barely survived the night told Oregonian staff writer Richard Nokes his story the next day. “As soon as I had swallowed the fi rst spoonfuls of my eggs my face became numb,” he whispered weakly, through lips still blue from the effects of the toxin. “My teeth began to ache. Pretty soon my legs became paralyzed. They have been paralyzed most of the time since, my face is still numb.” Nokes didn’t mention the patient’s name in his article. But he was far from alone — and he was one of the lucky ones. Forty-seven of his fellow patients were dead by then. The roach poison’s active ingredient was sodium fl uoride — a substance that, in tiny doses, strengthens people’s teeth, but in larger quantities quickly becomes deadly. A lethal dose is about fi ve grains — an amount the size of an aspirin tablet. “Don’t eat these eggs!” The hero of the day was a nurse named Allie Wassell, who was in charge of one of the fi ve wards affected. Wassell took a bite of the eggs, found them unpleasant — the fl uoride would have attacked her teeth instantly, probably causing them to start aching. (Sources: Kenck-Crispin, Doug and Lindberg, Andy. “The Eggs,” Kick Ass Oregon History (podcast), March 14, 2011; Portland Oregonian, Nov. 19-20, 1942; www.salemhis- tory.net) Finn J.D. John teaches at Oregon State University and writes about odd tidbits of Oregon history. For details, see http://fi nnjohn.com. To contact him or suggest a topic: fi nn2@ offbeatoregon.com or 541-357- 2222. A carefree place to CALL HOME Actual Crescent Park residents Discover the freedom of fewer responsibilities! Spend more time doing what you love – and less on chores. With our maintenance-free living, it’s easy. • Chef-prepared, restaurant-style dining • Housekeeping and transportation • Engaging social events and activities Save $2,000 on select apartment homes! 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