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About Cottage Grove sentinel. (Cottage Grove, Or.) 1909-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 20, 2017)
6A COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL DECEMBER 20, 2017 1943. Her voice refl ected a past that had seen both joy and pain. She had fond child- hood memo- ries of riding into town on her bicycle to get groceries in the 1920s. She loved being a mother but later she suffered through years of being treated for lymphoma with massive doses of chemo and prednisone. Sandy then began a downward slide into what she described as “a nightmare disease—Alzhei- mer’s.” He passed on and she was living alone but said, “This is a nice time.” So how did she get to be a writer? Well, as an only child living way out in the country, Marvel loved to read, and hoped to be a writer. But when a high school teacher asked her to be editor of the school paper, she “couldn’t be bothered.” She was too busy. Later, as a wife and mother of two she was still too busy. She was the leader of her daughter’s Brownie Troop when she learned that the mother of her daughter’s best friend had won $5,000 in a cake-naming contest. “So,” she said, “I called her and she told me how she did it.” It turns out that there was money to be made in contests that extolled the attributes of a Betty Kaiser's Chatterbox I t’s tradition! For nearly 20 years it has been my plea- sure to tell an old-fashioned Christmas story in the month of December. It brings joy to my heart to share how generations past celebrated this sacred holi- day. Money was usually scarce, gifts were homemade and there were no glitzy shopping centers to buy “stuff.” It was all about family and church—and the birth of Jesus was the reason for the celebration. I vividly remember the in- spiration for one of those fi rst columns. Her name was Marvel Stephen. She wrote me a note asking if I would be interested in one of her stories that had just been published in a Christ- mas edition of Country Wom- an magazine. Of course, I was interested and an appointment was made. Sitting quietly in her tidy liv- ing room, Marvel Stephen, then 82 years old, exuded a serene peace and dignity that is often absent in today’s world. She was born in Montana, but grew up in Sandpoint, Idaho. She married Sandy Stephen and they moved to the Cottage Grove area in name brand product in 25 words or less. Marvel thought it sounded easy, and she started entering contests. “It was a long time be- fore I won anything. Local con- tests were the easiest. A group of us got together and encour- aged one another. It was a lot of fun. The biggest prize that I ever won was a statement about a mattress. I won a trip for two to Miami Beach!” When we met, she was long retired as a weekly columnist for the Dead Mountain Echo newspaper in Oakridge. Farm Life News had published her fi rst story and she was still writ- ing for magazines. Here’s one of her favorite heartfelt Christmas stories that happened about 90 years ago: "The year Papa decided I should learn to ski, deep snows covered the land, the buildings, even the towering trees on our small farm. Our rustic house was burst- ing with excitement and activ- ity. Christmas was only a few weeks away. "December's early sunsets urged us to fi nish our chores and supper fast so we could get to work on our Christmas gifts. Having recently mastered the art of making French knots, I chose to embroider dish towels cut from fl our sacks. Mother was tatting lovely lace to trim her presents and Papa was creating a pair of skis for me. Working close together in our cozy kitch- en made it impossible not to be aware of what each other was making — but we were clever at pretending we didn't know what they were doing. "No one mentioned anything about Papa crafting skis for me, but I knew what he was doing." Her story goes on to describe the excitement of Christmas morning. New skis! She was so excited. Sadly, the homemade skis were a failure! Somehow, the tips of the skis had straight- ened out and instead of gliding down the slopes Marvel tum- bled down the slopes. Her Papa was embarrassed and he apolo- gized profusely, Marvel remembered sigh- ing, "Oh, Papa. This is the best Christmas I've ever had. I wanted to say more as I put my small mittened hand in his large gloved one, but I couldn't fi nd the words to tell him he'd already given the greatest gift of all...his love." After all these years, love, gratitude and understanding are the best gifts of the season. May they bless your heart, mind and soul. Merry Christmas to one and all! Betty Kaiser’s Chatterbox is about people, places, family, and other matters of the heart. Contact her at 942-1317 or via e-mail — bchatty@bettykaiser. com. Happy holidays from the Sentinel! The Cottage Grove Lions Club will be offering wonderful See’s products to benefit their sight & hearing projects in our community. Our sales trailer will be located in the Pinnocchio’s Pizza parking lot on Main Street. Our hours will be 11:00 A.M. until 5:30 P.M. through Christmas Eve. NOW ACCEPTING Credit & Debit Cards Shop early…..stock will be limited! If your business would like to place a large order, please contact Jessica Baker of the Cottage Grove Lions Club at 541-221-7685. Thank You in advance for your support!!!!! Order Your Christmas Ham NOW! Please place order no later than Tuesday, 12/19/17 Smoked $8 per pound Honey $10 per pound Pick up Sunday, December 24th by 12 pm 942-3999 733 East Main Crumley’s Christmas Trees Teacher arrested for sex crimes By Caitlyn May cmay@cgsentinel.com Andrea Nicole Baber, 29 of Cottage Grove, was arrested on charges of sodomy II, rape III, contributing to the sexual delin- quency of a minor, online sexual corruption of a child and unlawful delivery of marijua- na to a person under 18 years of age. On Dec. 12, the Douglas County Sheriff's offi ce received a report of a female teacher who had been engaging in a sexually inti- mate relationship with a former student, a minor. Baber is a former teacher at Logos Chris- tian Academy in Springfi eld. "Deputies began their investigation and discovered evidence to substantiate the re- port," a press release on the arrest read. "It was learned Barber began the relationship Andrea Nicole Baber with the then 15-year-old student in 2016 and had engaged in a sexual relationship on a regular basis with the minor and provided him with marijuana." Law enforcement obtained a search war- rant for Baber's residence on Dec. 15 on the 1200-block of Territorial Hwy. Detectives reportedly discovered addi- tional evidence at the residence. Baber later returned home and was con- tacted by deputies after reporting a burglary. She was taken into custody. Detectives are asking anyone with infor- mation to contact them at (541) 440-4458 or at dcso.pio@co.douglas.or.us. 2 New Locations 29th & Willamette St. 18th & Chambers St. St . s Wreath and d Garlan cash/checks only please Serving South Eugene for 30 years! CGSENTINEL.COM OUR LADY OF PERPETUAL HELP December 24, 2017 1025 N. 19th St Cottage Grove Family Christmas Eve Mass: 6pm Christmas Eve Mass: 10pm Christmas Day Mass: 10:30am ST. PHILIP BENIZI MISSION 552 Holbrook Ln, Creswell Christmas Day Mass: 8:30am COTTAGE GROVE FAITH CENTER 33761 Row River Rd Christmas Eve Service: 10am Candlelight service: 5pm DELIGHT VALLEY CHURCH OF CHRIST 33087 Saginaw Rd East Christmas Eve breakfast: 9am Service: 10:30am Candlelight service: 7pm LIVING FAITH ASSEMBLY 467 10th St Christmas Eve Candlelight Service: 9am & 11am UNITED METHODIST CHURCH 334 Washington St Christmas Eve Candlelight Service: 5pm FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH 3rd & Adams St Christmas Eve Service: 10am Candlelight Service: 7pm TRINITY LUTHERAN CHURCH 6th & Quincy Christmas Eve: 10:30am Great Christmas Mystery Candlelight Service: 6:30pm Wonder of Christmas Christmas Day: 10am • Word & Wonder E R O T R E S E L A S Y A D I L H O C HRISTMAS D ECORATIONS & M ORE AT GREAT PRICES OPEN T HURSDAY - S ATURDAY 10 AM -4 PM Winter Hours and Specials “Holiday Casino Days” returning December 21-23 HOPE FELLOWSHIP 100 S Gateway Blvd Dec. 17th Christmas Program: 11am CALVARY CHAPEL COTTAGE GROVE 1447 Hwy 99 (Village Plaza) Christmas Eve Candlelight service: 7pm COTTAGE GROVE BIBLE CHURCH 1200 East Quincy Ave Christmas Eve 10:30am • Christmas Drama & Music Candlelight service: 6pm Roll the dice for your discount for your entire purchase - 10%-60% possible • The ReStore will be closed December 28-30 - Happy New Year! • The ReStore will be open for sales and drop offs ONLY on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays 10am-4pm • For Drop Off appointments after hours, call the offi ce - 541.767.0358 Habitat Offi ce and Warehouse 2155 Getty Circle ~ Unit #1 in the Cottage Grove Industrial Park South on Hwy 99 past the High School NS Call 541.767.0358 O I T A N for more information DO S Email Y A W L A info@habitatcg.org ! 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