6A COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL April 20, 2016
Hebron remembered at Cottage Grove dam presentation
BY SAM WRIGHT
The Cottage Grove Sentinel
When asked how many knew
where Hebron is, the audience
at the Cottage Grove Commu-
nity Center presentation burst
into laughter. That’s because it
would take a boat and perhaps
some scuba gear to reach the old
Oregon town. While the topic
of Saturday’s presentation by
Corps of Engineers Park Ranger
Christie Johnson was on the
Cottage Grove dam, the town of
Hebron was very much the heart
of the story line.
A vital source of information
for Johnson was the book “They
Called it Hebron,” by the late
Marie Geer.
“It was an invaluable source
for learning about the town,”
she said.
Before a lot of the dams were
built around the area, the Wil-
lamette Valley consistently fell
victim to mass fl ooding. John-
son shared photographs from
the early 20th century that de-
picted Cottage Grove residents
getting around town by boat.
The Cascade mountain range
on the east and the Coast Range
on the west make the valley act
as a geographical bowl, where
snow melts from the mountains,
funneling a massive amount of
water into the Willamette River,
which passes through all the
major towns in the Willamette
valley. Without any dams, early
LORANE COUNTRY NEWS
BY LIL THOMPSON
For the Sentinel
T
welve Crow Middle/High
School students attended
the 2016 Math Fair at LCC on
April 7. There were six differ-
ent levels of math — pre-algebra
though calculus — with two of
our students in each group. The
teams competed against seven
other teams from Churchill,
Creswell, Junction City, Marist,
Oak Hill, Sheldon and South
Eugene.
Two local students, Grace
Wagner (Level 1) and Teancum
Jentszch (Level 6) had high
scores of 12 on a 15-point test.
Only one other student from all
the other schools scored that
high. State competition will be
on May 14 for levels 3-6. Con-
gratulations to all.
Distinguished Service Award
presentations will be held at
Applegate Elementary this year
on Thursday, April 21 at 7 p.m.
A bake sale will be held April
23 in front of the Lorane Family
Store starting at 10 a.m.
The annual Grandparents Tea
is scheduled at Applegate Ele-
mentary on Thursday, April 28.
The program, which includes
a talent show, begins at 1 p.m.
Themed baskets from each class
will be auctioned off at the tea.
Classroom parents are collect-
ing items for the baskets: Kin-
dergarten — kitchen/cooking
items; grade 1— movie night
items; grade 2 — relaxation
items; grade 3 — game night;
Driveway, Rock, Septic Pumping,
NEW AND REPAIRS
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Residential and Commercial
Licensed and Bonded CCB#70638
with an NBC show called
“Highway
of
Adventure”
(sometimes listed as “High
Road to Adventure”), in which
he recounted spine-tingling mo-
ments from the previous dozen
years of hunting for dinosaur
eggs and exploring unknown
landscapes. He also sought and
won the hand of Miss Paulina
Stearns, daughter of a wealthy
Michigan timber family. And
then, in 1933, he went to Port
Orford — probably to search for
the legendary Port Orford Mete-
orite. It was a historic moment
indeed.
“Two years later, to the
amazement of its 300 inhabit-
ants, Gilbert Gable appeared at
Port Orford, Ore., and formed
six companies to promote it as
the only natural deep-water har-
bor on the rugged coast between
Puget Sound and the Golden
Gate,” reports TIME Magazine
in its somewhat supercilious
1938 account.
The empire builder
Gable hit Port Orford like
a temperate-zone hurricane.
He was convinced the nearby
countryside was peppered with
deposits of copper, gold and
other resources, all covered
over with billions of board-feet
of old-growth timber. The har-
bor, having no river to compli-
cate navigation with a bar to
fi ght through, was just a mil-
lion-dollar jetty away from be-
coming the perfect port … but,
of course, it would also need a
railroad line.
For a few years things went
very well indeed. “Since 1935,
Gilbert Gable has wrought such
changes in Southwestern Or-
egon that the region has been
called his ‘empire,’” Time Mag-
azine reported in April of 1938.
But: “Last week, Emperor
Gable was dethroned by the
Interstate Commerce Commis-
sion,” the article continued.
It was the railroad line that
took Gable down — the rail-
road line, and the sea. Just
three months after Gable (now
mayor of Port Orford) dedicated
the harbor in a splendid cer-
emony before dignitaries from
all over the state, the massive
new Trans-Pacifi c and Port Or-
ford Dock and Terminal Line
breakwater collapsed in a huge
storm. A temporary pier was
soon built, but it didn’t afford
the kind of protection the harbor
would need, and Gable’s back-
ers weren’t willing to invest in
a railroad line to service a har-
bor that might not be capable of
functioning as more than a tem-
Cell: (541) 729-7779
Construction of the dam began in 1940 and ended in 1942.
settlers suffered damages and
loss of life over the course of
Please see DAM, Page 9A
grade 4 — outdoor game/beach
items; grade 5 — Duck tailgate
items and grade 6 — camping
items.
Many Lane County schools
are implementing the KITS
(Kids in Transition to School)
Program. KITS’ purpose is to
help incoming kindergarten and
fi rst grade students, with their
parents, get a “jump start” on
their fi rst years in school.
CAL District has been award-
ed a grant from SIF (Social In-
novation Fund) and UNICEF
to begin this program this year.
Up to 22 kindergarten and fi rst-
grade students planning to at-
tend Applegate Elementary this
fall may attend.
It will start the week of July
11 and run through Aug. 22.
Those interested can call the
district offi ce at 541-935-2100
for more information.
Everyone attending the spa-
ghetti dinner and bingo Sat-
urday night at Lorane Grange
had a fun time. The progres-
sive blackout is growing again.
They will resume the dinner
and bingo nights in September.
Those with bingo withdraw-
als may like to know that Crow
Grange has them on the fi rst and
third Saturdays. Crow-Apple-
gate-Lorane music department
will present a night of music
with food, raffl es and door priz-
es on May 17 to raise money for
the district’s music department.
Spaghetti dinner begins at 6
p.m. and will cost $5 per adult,
$3 per child, or $15 per family
of four. District students will
perform along with some guest
performers from local music
groups.
porary port of refuge.
In 1938, an ICC examiner
quashed the whole plan, opining
that Port Orford was never go-
ing to be an important center of
commerce, and pulling Gable’s
“certifi cate of convenience and
necessity” — and with that, his
permit to build the railroad line.
link. He started thinking about
ways to bring pressure on the
state to help him out. He started
advocating for Curry County
to split off from Oregon and
become part of California — a
suggestion that seems to have
yielded amusement, alarm and
ridicule in roughly equal mea-
sures from the governments of
both states, but nothing more.
The suggestion did bring
something else, though. It
brought a visit from one of the
West Coast’s most enterpris-
ing and colorful newspapermen
— Stanton Delaplane.
Gable and “Del” hit it off
immediately. Soon, the two of
them were cooped up together
in a cozy offi ce with a bottle of
150-proof rum as a hard winter
rain pounded the roof, making
plans that would soon blossom
into an apparently serious pro-
posal to secede from the state
outright.
We’ll talk about those plans
and their implementation next
week.
Desperation sets in
Now Gable was caught in
a catch-22. Without a rail-
road connection, his backers
wouldn’t help him fi nance the
necessary repair and beefi ng-
up of the harbor jetty. Without
a beefed-up jetty protecting the
harbor, the ICC wouldn’t issue a
permit to build a railroad.
An increasingly desperate
Gable looked to the state for
help in getting roads improved,
so that the mining, logging and
shipping companies that he’d
founded could get their produce
out to markets.
But politicians in Salem could
barely be bothered to even no-
tice the tiny port city of 1,000
residents that still cherished
hopes of superseding Portland’s
harbor. Road-building dollars
remained in scarce supply.
By fall of 1941, Gable was
watching his dream slip from
his fi ngers for want of a railroad
Douglas G. Maddess, DMD
FAMILY AND GENERAL DENTISTRY
Brightening Lives One Smile at a Time
See our new website:
douglasgmaddessdmd.com
O FFBEAT
Continued from page 5A
Greg Stocker
Owner
(Sources: Laufer, Peter. The
Elusive State of Jefferson. Guil-
ford, Conn.: Twodot, 2013;
“Gable’s Gold Coast,” TIME,
04 Apr 1938; Gable, Gilbert.
“Thrills,” Radio Digest, March
1931; Los Angeles Times, 1927-
1930)
THINK BEFORE
YOU REACT
April is National Child
Abuse Prevention Month,
a reminder that every
child deserves to feel
safe at home and in his
or her community.
If you feel you are in danger of harming your
child, help is available. We provide
support and counseling. Call us at 541-942-3939
South Lane
Mental Health Services, Inc.
1345 Birch Ave., Cottage Grove
541-942-3939 • slmh.org
To report possible child abuse or neglect,
call 800.422.4453 or contact your local child
protective services or law enforcement agency.
W orship D irectory
6th & Gibbs Church of Christ
195 N. 6th St. • 541-942-3822
Pastor: Aaron Earlywine
Youth & Families Pastor: Seth Bailey
Services: 9am and 10:30am
Christian Education
Nursery for pre-k - 3rd Grade
www.6thandgibbs.com
Calvary Baptist Church
77873 S 6th St • 541-942-4290
Pastor: Riley Hendricks
Sunday School: 9:45am
Worship: 11:00am
The Journey: Sunday 5:00pm
Praying Thru Life: Wednesday 6:00pm
Calvary Chapel Cottage Grove
1447 Hwy 99 (Village Plaza)
541-942-6842
Pastor: Jeff Smith
Two Services on Sun: 9am & 10:45am
Youth Group Bible Study
Child Care 10:45am Service Only
www.cgcalvary.org
Center for Spiritual Living Cottage
Grove
700 Gibbs Ave (Community Center)
Rev. Bobby Lee
Meets Sunday 3:00 p.m.
(907) 230-5070
www.facebook.com/CSLCottageGrove
Church of Christ
420 Monroe St • 541-942-8565
Sunday Service: 10:30am
Cottage Grove Bible Church
1200 East Quincy Avenue
541-942-4771
Pastor:Bob Singer
Worship 11am
Sunday School:9:45am
AWANA age 3-8th Grade,
Wednesdays Sept-May, 6:30pm
www.cgbible.org
Cottage Grove Faith Center
33761 Row River Rd. • 541-942-4851
Lead Pastor: Isaac Hovet
www.cg4.tv
2 Sunday Services: 9am & 11am
Full Childrenʼs Ministry available
First Presbyterian Church
3rd and Adams St • 541-942-4479
Pastor: Karen Hill
Worship: 10:00am
Sunday School: 10:00am
www.cgpresbynews.com
Old Time Gospel Fellowship
103 S. 5th Street • 541-942-4999
Pastor: Herb Carson
Sunday Service: 10:00am
Sunday Bible Study: 6:00pm
We sing the old time hymns.
Grove Community Church
77820 Mosby Creek Rd.
Cottage Grove, OR 97424
541-942-0123
Pastor: Bryan Parsons
Worship: 10:30 a.m.
Nursery: Infant - Pre-K
Kidʼs Church: K to 5th grade
Our Lady of Perpetual Help
and St. Philip Benizi
Catholic Churches
1025 N. 19th St.
541-942-3420 / 541-942-4712
Pastor: Roy L. Antunez, S.J.
Euch. Liturgies; Sat. 5:30pm
Sun. 10:30am
St. Philip Benizi, Creswell:
552 Holbrock Lane • 541-895-8686
Sunday: 8:30am
Covered Bridge Nazarene Church
152 S. M St.
541-942-4422
Pastor: Cindy Slaymaker
Sunday School: 9:30am
Worship 10:30am
Hope Fellowship
United Pentecostal Church
100 S. Gateway Blvd. • 541-942-2061
Pastor: Dave Bragg
Worship: 11:00am Sunday
Bible Study: 7:00pm Wednesday
www.hopefellowshipupc.com
“FINDING HOPE IN YOUR LIFE”
Delight Valley
Church of Christ
33087 Saginaw Rd. East
541-942-7711
Pastor: Bob Friend
Two Services:
9am - Classic in the Chapel
10:30am - Contemporary in the
Auditorium
Living Faith Assembly
467 S. 10th St. • 541-942-2612
Pastor Rulon Combs
Sunday School All Ages 9am
Worship & Childrenʼs
Church 10:30 am
“The Bridge” Sat Evening Service 6:00pm
Youth 180 Mondays 5:30-8pm
Childrenʼs Breakout Class: Wed. 6:30pm
First Baptist Church
301 S 6th St 541-942-8242
Pastor: Steve Johnson
Sunday School: 9:30am
Worship: 11:00am
Come Worship with us
Non-Denominational
Church of Christ
1041 Pennoyer Ave * 541-767-0447
Preachers: Tony Martin & Robert Evans
Sunday Bible Study:10:00am
Sunday Worship:10:50am & 5:30pm
www.pennoyeravecoc.com
St. Andrews Episcopal Church
1301 W. Main • 541-767-9050
Rev. Lawrence Crumb
“Church with the fl ags.”
Worship: Sunday 10:30am
All Welcome
Seventh-day Adventist Church
820 South 10th Street
541-942-5213
Pastor: Kevin Miller
Bible Study: Saturday, 9:15 am
Worship Service: Saturday, 10:40 am
Mid-week Service: Wednesday, 1:00 pm
Trinity Lutheran Church
6th & Quincy • 541-942-2373
Pastor: James L. Markus
Sunday School & Adult Education 9:15am
Sundway Worship 10:30 am
Comm. Kitchen Free Meal Tue & Thur
5:00pm TLC Groups
tlccg.com
United Methodist Church
334 Washington • 541-942-3033
Pastor:Lura Kidner-Miesen
Worship: 10:30am
Adult Sunday School: 9:30am
Comm. Dinner (Adults $5, Kids Free)
2nd & 3rd Monday 5-6:00pm
cottagegroveumc.org
“VICTORY” Country Church
913 S. 6th Street • 541-942-5913
Pastor: Barbara Dockery
Worship Service: 10:00am
Message:
11:00am
“WE BELIEVE IN MIRACLES”
Our Worship
Directory is a
weekly feature in
the newspaper. If
your congregation
would like to
be a part of this
directory, please
contact the
Cottage Grove
Sentinel
at 541-942-3325.