COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL JUNE 6, 2018
3A
Betty Keiser’s Chatter Box: Paradise erupts!
Betty Keiser
T
oday I bring you greet-
ings from Pat Deter, a
former Cottage Grove
resi-dent, who is now living
in Pahoa, Hawaii. I’ll let that
sink in for a moment.
Yes, she is now living in the
small town on the big island
next to the exploding Kilauea
volcano. It began erupting
in early May, destroying ev-
ery-thing in its path includ-
ing Pat’s new home and all
her belongings. It shows no
signs of stopping.
Pat and her husband Ralph
were my CG neighbors but
they raised their family in
Whittier, Calif. Ralph was a
lithographer and after serv-
ing in the Navy, he bought
a print shop. Pat worked
It was tempting. Last year, at
88 years old, she made the
decision to move and put her
house on the market. It sold
and she began preparations
to move to paradise.
Moving to rabies-free
Hawaii is complicated if
you have animals. There are
many hoops to jump through
and it takes lots of dollars to
prove that your pets are ra-
bies free. Fortunately, Pat has
the patience of a saint (and
some good friends). She also
had the foresight to buy a ful-
ly furnished house sight un-
seen. Then there was a garage
sale of a lifetime and packing
the rest.
Finally, she breathed a
sigh of relief and boarded an
airplane in March with her
cats and dog for a new life of
leisure on the big island.
Or so she thought.
Hundreds of earthquakes
woke up Pahoa in early May.
Pat said the 6.9 quake really
shook everyone up. Then the
volcano blew up and massive
lava flows began.
The earthquakes continue
to come every hour. Pat lived
in Leilani Estates, one mile
from the downhill lava flow.
A voluntary evacuation was
announced. Her daughter
Vickie called her to pack an
over-night bag — a change of
clothes, robe, nightgown and
medicine.
They were headed for
her Vickie’s house on higher
ground. Pat said it was like a
war zone and they decided to
leave the cats and pick them
up the next day. Before they
left there was a mandatory
evacuation so the cats had to
be pulled out from under the
bed.
Later, a couple drove by
her house and noticed the
patio furniture on the lanai.
They packed it all up includ-
ing a large television and put
it in stor-age at their house
for her return. A local East-
ern Star group gave her a
generous contribution to buy
clothes.
Everyone was looking out
for each other.
Suddenly, the lava came
and destroyed her house.
The last shipment of boxes
from Oregon was unpacked
prior to the lava flow. She
lost everything. All import-
ant papers, birth certificates,
banking information, phone
numbers (no cell phone),
computer were all gone.
Most precious were her
pictures of Ralph. Her grand-
daughter in Calif. put out a
plea on Facebook for anyone
who knew her grandparents
and had photos of them to
contact her.
She’s had a good response.
New cracks bubbling with
lava are everywhere. Hous-
ing is scarce. In some places,
three families are crowded
together under one roof.
Amazingly, a lady Pat didn’t
know offered to take her and
her pets in to live with her
for as long as needed. Her
daughters and husbands are
under evacuation and look-
ing for housing.
Pat has not gone back to
her former home site but she
has been told that there is a
lava wall eight feet high, that
looks like black popcorn and
is razor sharp.
No house.
Through it all, she has had
a great attitude. How does
she stay calm? Here’s what
she said when I asked.
Notice her sense of hu-
mor:
“There’s nothing I can
do about it. There’s no end
in sight. They can’t pre-dict
when it will stop. I’m grateful
that I have my animals and a
place to stay where I’m wel-
come as long as needed. My
insurance is providing liv-ing
expenses.
“I’m okay. And I have a
whole new wardrobe.”
The real meaning of Alo-
ha in Hawaiian is that of
Love, Peace, and Com-pas-
sion. “Aloha” to Pat and all
those in Pahoa.
Contact Betty Kaiser’s
Chatterbox at 942-1317 or
email bchatty@bettykaiser.
com
Tucker’s Cupboard working to provide outreach for canines’ comfort
Want to
share your
viewpoint?
Write a Letter
to the Editor:
cmay@
cgsentinel.com
or
nhickson@
cgsentinel.com
alongside him until she went
to work as a bookkeeper for
the Red Cross.
She says that they brain
washed her to become a vol-
unteer!
In 1994, the couple re-
tired, sold their business and
moved to CG Lake. It wasn’t
long before their little red car
was zooming up and down
the hill to volunteer tasks in
town. They were members
of Prospectors and Gold-
dig-gers who are known for
raising money for non-profit
organizations.
Ralph belonged to the local
Masonic Lodge and Pat, the
Eastern Star. He was a driv-
er for So. Lane Wheels; she
was a hospital volunteer and
a member of the Episcopal
church. They were also excel-
lent neighbors.
Ralph died suddenly in
2014. Pat continued to live
in their house in the woods
with her cats and a new
dog. During this time, her
daughters Debbie and Vickie
moved to Hawaii and sug-
gested that she do the same.
Tucker’s Cupboard, a new
nonprofit organization dedicat-
ed to aiding needy canines in the
Cottage Grove area, is having a
launch party. Sunday, June 24,
from noon to 4 p.m., at the Brew
Station., 106 S Sixth St., in Cot-
tage Grove.
Door prizes, music, and a raf-
fle for a kayak full of surprises .
Well-behaved canines are wel-
come.
The goal of the newly estab-
lished Tucker's Cupboard is to
aid canines who reside in
homes where their hu-
mans may struggle finan-
cially to provide adequate
or some additional com-
fort care.
Examples of aid in-
clude matching funds up
to a set amount for med-
ical procedures, medica-
tions or dietary needs.
Tucker’s Cupboard also
helps assist in obtaining
items such as ramps, or-
thopedic mattresses and lifting har-
nesses or other quality of life items
on an as needed basis.
“Our aid is currently local to
those residents of the South Lane
School District and we are a 100 per-
cent volunteer organization,” said
Lynn Boe of Tucker’s Cupboard. “All
support directly aids the animals.”
For more info contact Tucker's
Cupboard at tuckerscupboard@
exede.net.
Cottage Theatre presents
A cautionary tale of hysteria and persecution
Winner of the 1953 Tony Award for Best Play
Meet
CHRIS
WINGER
Chris poined the service team
at Brad’s aft er serving as a
Technician for a dealership
in Eugene. Chris has been a
Technician since 2005 and in
his free time Chris enpoys hiking,
fi shing and camping. Stop in an
welcome Chris to Brads.
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June 8-24
rucible
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-
Directed by Joel Ibañez
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With this coupon offer good through 6/30/18
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Sponsored by:
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541-942-8001 • 700 Village Drive • Cottage Grove
www.cottagetheatre.org