COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL • DECEMBER 12, 2018 •
Church hopes boughs can help repair bells
5A
Pet tips
‘N’ tales
By Mary Ellen
“Angel Scribe”
A ‘Precious’ Miracle
CAITLYN MAY/COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL
Completed boughs made from a 100-year-old holly bush owned by the church line chairs at the London Grange. Funds
raised from the sale of the handmade wreaths will go toward repairing the Church at London's 159-year-old bells.
By Caitlyn May
London.
It’s not a big church; just 20
or so parishioners. It’s where
the pews accommodate just
one or two worshippers
each and where they still
hand-make the confi rma-
tion bread. It’s where mem-
bers mark their pews with
blankets the night before
service and where some of
those blankets mark the
seats of those who have left
the church to settle in the
salvation they once sought
there.
It’s where preachers pre-
fer to be called teachers and
cmay@cgsentinel.com
Hope travels south from
Cottage Grove.
It rides the sways and
swerves of the road that
stretches passed Sixth Street
and the railroad crossing;
beyond the quaint din of
downtown Main Street to
where houses — not busi-
nesses — dot the spaces be-
tween old fi r trees.
It hugs London Road into
the rural stillness until it fi -
nally settles in the hearts of
the ladies of the Church at
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NOTICE OF CITY OF
COTTAGE GROVE HISTORIC LANDMARKS
COMMISSION VACANCIES
The City of Cottage Grove Historic Landmarks
Commission has two vacancies. Commissioners are appointed
to this volunteer body by the City Council for three year terms
(2019-2021). Applicants must show a demonstrated positive
interest, knowledge or competence in historic preservation, and
must complete a Historic Landmarks Commission application
(available at the Public Works & Development Department at
City Hall and on-line at www.cottagegrove.org). Incumbents are
eligible to apply for these positions. The deadline for receiving
applications is January 2, 2019 by 5:00 p.m. For further
information please contact the Public Works & Development
Department at 541-942-3340.
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where the fence was paint-
ed by practiced hands and
where, for the fi rst time in
decades, the bells no longer
ring.
“Well, this whole thing is
her fault,” said Sandy Tul-
lar. She’s part of the small
group of women gathered
at the London Grange, just
down the street from the
Church at London. Th ey
have a sort of assembly line
in place where holly from a
100-year-old bush is paired
with greenery and donat-
ed decorations to become
Christmas wreathes. “She
got us started on this,” Tul-
lar said.
“She” is Gretchen Spears
and “this” is an all-out ef-
fort to save the 159-year-
old bell tower at the Church
at London.
Th e church, fi rst founded
just aft er the Civil War in
1888 as the Liberty Church,
was undergoing repairs
earlier this year when the
congregation discovered
the problem.
“Th ey told us, the worker,
told us not to ring the bell
because someone could get
hurt,” Spears said. Th e bell
had already been silenced
aft er parishioners discov-
ered that, if they rang it,
dead fl ies would come tum-
bling into their sanctuary.
“Th e fl ies were attracted
to the bell because of the
rot,” Spears said.
Th e estimate to repair the
bell totaled between $4,000
and $6,000 — funds the
church didn’t have. So, the
bell lay silent and the con-
gregation continued its re-
pairs. Until Spears got a call
from Tullar.
She had been painting the
fence one day when she says
her age and a holly bush
stopped her from going any
farther.
“Sandy called me and said
she couldn’t squeeze past
the holly bush so we went
out there to cut it and I saw
it and just said, ‘this is gold,’”
Spears said.
Th e holly was from a
100-year-old bush the group
hopes will stretch into
enough wreathes to raise the
thousands of dollars it needs
to repair its bell.
With hope in their hearts,
they’ve gathered every day
— seven hours a day — for
the last two weeks in the
meeting room at the Lon-
don grange, where they
twist and tie greenery and
holly together, their fi nger-
tips blackened with the ef-
fort.
Th is past Saturday they
lined a festival booth at
Shady Oaks with their
wreaths hoping to garner
additional funds.
“We painted the church
white,” Spears said of the
group’s repair eff orts. “It’s
been a place for marriages
and baptisms and funerals
and we painted it white be-
cause we wanted it to look
shining and welcoming and
to hear that bell ring again.”
To purchase a wreath or
donate to the bell’s repair
fund, contact Spears at 541-
844-6616 or email her at
gretchenspears@msn.com.
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When Heather’s marriage ended she declared to God, “Phoo-
ey! I am done with men! Send me a dog!”
Shortly aft er, at a Christmas gathering, she met an Australian
Shepherd and fell in love with the breed. She put a photo of her-
self with the Aussie on her car’s sun visor and asked in prayer
for one.
She volunteered at the SPCA and saw hundreds of dogs. In-
explicably, she never saw one with a pinch of Aussie in it. She
also scanned newspaper ads and the Internet for “her dog.” She
wondered, What is up? because she never saw “her” Aussie res-
cue.
Aft er two years, she looked at the faded photo on her visor,
removed it and angrily tore it up. As she tossed the remains into
the air, she looked heavenward and declared, “Phooey on you,
too! Two years I’ve been waiting. Praying. And nothing!”
For the fi rst time in her life she began doubting her faith.
A few days later, while on the phone with her friend, Heather
told Kim about the faded photo incident. Kim declared, “We’ve
been looking for a home for an Aussie, ‘Precious,’ for months
now! She’s been breaking into our yard. My husband was in-
censed at watching our vicious neighbor beating Precious. So
one day he marched over to the abuser and demanded, ‘I am
sick of you beating your dog in front of us. Give it to me now.’
Th e abuser threw the dog and her leash at him.”
Heather immediately hung up and drove to Kim’s home for
“her” dog.
A few months later, Heather’s new cleaning lady, June, asked,
“Where did you get that dog? She sure looks like the dog I res-
cued in Tampa before we moved here to Key West.”
Th e next week, June arrived with Heather‘s dog’s baby photos.
How was this possible? June had moved from 450 miles away!
Im-paws-ible!
What miracle led June to walk into the very home, in a city
of 27,000 people, of the people who had also rescued her once
It is a miracle to be rescued once, but Heather’s dog, Pre-
cious, was rescued three times.
rescued puppy.
“I was driving in Tampa and saw a nasty bugger, in a pickup
truck, toss a puppy out onto the six-lane freeway,” said June. “I
slammed on my breaks, ran over and rescued the animal.”
June named the injured baby, Precious. Aft er a hurricane
forced her family to move, her new landlord would not let them
keep the dog. Sadly, unknowingly, in her innocence she gave
the young dog to the abuser.
What is lacking in someone’s mind and heart to beat and ter-
rorize sweet innocence!? Th e puppy, now grown, still cowers
when she rides in Heather’s pickup truck — but not in her car.
Heather eventually moved to Canada and Precious, who was
born on the east coast, did what most people never do — she
had lived in two countries and swam in the Atlantic and Pacifi c
oceans.
Precious trained and became an amazing therapy dog. She
uplift ed children at elementary schools while they read and
off ered compassion and comfort to seniors in care homes.
She loved people and they loved her. She earned medals for
her hours of volunteering dedication and received a letter of
acknowledgment from Queen Elizabeth in gratitude for her
services.
“Precious taught many of us about love, patience, faith, trust,
friendship, faith in a higher Power and in life's amazing coinci-
dences,” said Heather.
Who was luckier for fi nding each other? Heather or Precious?
Paws-ibly Heather, because aft er she divorced a “dog” and
found her true love.
TIPS:
• Animals are not dumb. Treat their spirits, hearts and bodies
with respect. Th ey have feelings and feel physical pain just like
us.
• Never underestimate a dog’s intelligence or depth of their
heart and understanding of humans.
• Precious knew commands in English, German, French and
Italian. Even though she held memories of her early abuse, her
forgiveness and love for others left over 1,000 people mourning
her upon her passing. Very few humans leave a legacy like Pre-
cious a three-time rescued dog! In her honor, consider having
your pet become a service animal.
Share your fun, amazing or crazing pet tips and tales at an-
gelscribe@msn.com or Follow Pet Tips ‘n’ Tales on Facebook at
www.facebook.com/PetTipsandTales. Adopt loving pets online at
www.PetFinder.com. For spay or neutering, call the Humane So-
ciety at 541-942-2789.
