COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL | WEDNESDAY, JULY 3, 2019 | 5A
Pet Tips
‘n’ Tales
Betty Kaiser’s Chatter Box:
Longtime Grover shares July 4th memories
Betty Kaiser
“Thus may the 4th of July,
that glorious and ever
memorable day, be
celebrated through
America, by the sons of
freedom, from age to age
till time shall be no more.”
—The Virginia Gazette
T
omorrow is the
Fourth of July. Are
you ready to cele-
brate? Well, the Colonists
certainly were after signing
the Declaration of Indepen-
dence from Great Britain in
1776. But first, they had to
get hostility out of the way.
King George III bore the
brunt of their actions.
Newspapers of the time
describe how the military
tore down a statue of the
King in the Bowling Green
section of Manhattan and
later melted it into bullets.
In Philadelphia, the
King’s coat of arms was
used as bonfire kindling.
The citizens of Savannah,
Ga., burned the king in effi-
gy and held a mock funeral
to put him away forever.
The following year, the
Virginia Gazette, dated
July 5, 1777, described a
more civilized celebration:
“Armed ships and galleys
were drawn up before the
city, dressed with the co-
lours of the U.S and began
the celebration by a dis-
charge of 13 cannon from
each of them. The day was
closed with the ringing of
bells and at night there was
a grand exhibition of fire-
works, which began and
ended with 13 rockets on
the commons, illuminating
the city.”
This year, we will cele-
brate 243 years of the sign-
ing of the Declaration of
Independence.
In many ways, our cele-
bration hasn’t changed very
much. For most of us, it will
be a day off work, family re-
unions, parades, backyard
barbecues and lots of fire-
works.
In 2007, I wrote a column
in which I asked readers
to share their childhood
memories of July 4 cele-
brations. The response was
not overwhelming. In fact,
I only received two emails.
One was from Marcia Al-
len, now 96, whom I con-
sider to be the queen of
Cottage Grove history.
Marcia has been my go-
to-person for 20 years as
a reporter and columnist.
She has also been a driv-
ing force, along with many
others, to preserve and
celebrate the history and
heritage of Cottage Grove’s
people, buildings and cul-
ture. (The Marcia E. Allen
Historical Research Library
is named in her honor. Got
questions? Stop and see
them at 308 S. 10th St.)
Here are Marcia’s child-
hood recollections of cele-
brating the Fourth of July
in the mid-1930s:
“I have several memories
of my childhood and how
I celebrated the 4th of July.
My folks were always very
patriotic, and displayed a
very large flag hung on the
Dignifi ed Pet
Cremations
Cremation
options
for our
Faithful
Friends.
clothesline in the big front
porch, where clothes dried
in the wind in wintertime.
Every store downtown had
bunting draped under roofs
and windows, businesses
were closed for the day.
“We began at the Cot-
tage Grove Armory, with a
speaker and a high school
student reciting the Get-
tysburg address. The Civ-
il War veterans were al-
ways proudly in uniform
and honored as the oldest
group. Seems like there
were still about 8-10 who
were able to come. Kelly
Field is named for a home-
town boy lost in WWI, and
the Calvin Funk Post of the
American Legion is also
named for a CG boy lost in
action.
“The Armory was built
early in the 1930’s because
Cottage Grove was noted
for its group of National
Guardsmen who were crack
shots with their rifles. They
needed a place to practice
inside so as to be ready for
competition when they re-
ported annually to ‘Camp
Lewis’ in Washington to
camp and compete with all
others in the Northwest.
(see the story of the Ar-
mory in the “Golden Was
the Past II,” page 65).
“There was usually a pa-
rade because veterans from
the Civil War were still alive
and the first World War had
been over about ten years,
and patriotic fever was
high.
“The way I remember
CG parades used to be with
the High School Band al-
ways involved as well as the
CG Band of men — most of
whom were WWI vets and
businessmen. The parade
led to the bridge, and on to
the Fir Grove cemetery —
to honor the dead after the
service.
“Sometimes, our family
went by car over to Siuslaw
Falls, down past Lorane, to
the west and had a picnic
with friends from the Ma-
sonic lodge or others from
the business community. A
special treat of the day was
the food — always water-
melon and fried chicken —
not usually enjoyed at other
times.
“Sometimes Dad drove
Mother and I to Florence,
where his uncle and aunt
and some of their grown
children lived. We drove
down the twisty two-lane
highway along the Umpqua
river to Glenada and board-
ed a ferry to cross over to
Florence. The big bridge
over the bay was not built
until 1936, so travel over
any river near the ocean
was all done by ferries. The
first Rhododendron Parade
was done on boats along
where Old Town Florence
is today.
“There were never any
children my age to play
with, but I usually had a
package or two of fire-
crackers and a punk to light
them and had a good time
in the sand dune behind the
house.
“One time I lit a fire-
cracker that burned its fuse
and didn’t go off. When I
picked it up, it did go off
and burned my fingers very
painfully. I was about nine
years old and had started
taking piano lessons that
constituted an hour’s prac-
tice every day. Needless to
say, the practice sessions
were on hold for about a
week!
“May we never forget the
‘good ole days’ and what
our country stands for!”
Thank you, Marcia, and
God bless the U.S.A.
Contact Betty Kaiser’s
Chatterbox at 942-1317 or
email bchatty@bettykaiser.
com
LORANE NEWS
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• A reminder to all Lo-
rane Grangers: Members
meet on the third Thurs-
day in July, so the next
meeting is July 18 at 7 p.m.
We’ll be finishing our ideas
for the Lane County Fair
booth.
• The community is in-
vited to enjoy the 16th
annual Crow Car Show
on July 13. All-day events
for everyone include a
free breakfast and the Kid
Zone, which offers fun
activities for all kids. The
show already has a large
number of custom cars
registered.
Volunteers are still need-
ed. Anyone interested in
volunteering or seeking
more information about
the car show can call Ma-
rissa at 541-517-6608. Vol-
unteers get a free car show
T-shirt and lunch from
their choice of conces-
sions. This is the biggest
fundraiser by the Crow
Booster Club for the local
school district students.
Come out, have an incred-
ible day and help Lorane
and Crow area students.
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MAINTAINING YOUR VEHICLE AFFORDABLY
By Mary Ellen
“Angel Scribe”
Th e ‘Cat Catfe’
You have to be an early bird to meet the Cat Catfe’s
new arrivals. Mary Ellen (above) had the purr-leasure
of meeting Taz, who was soon adopted.
S
ome things you just can’t make up. The owner/op-
purr-ator of Vancouver, Canada’s paw-pular tourist
attraction, the cat cafe, CATFE, is Michelle FUR-
bacher. Yes! FUR is in her name!
Her idea to open a Cat Cafe “freaked out” her parents
because she had never had a business of her own and
had only babysat a few friends’ cats. Then by chance she
learned about Cat Cafes in Japan and thought, “Why
not?” Her decision has paid off in paws-itive ways.
In the three years since her store opened, Michelle has
placed 643 homeless cats into their fur-ever homes and
four more are going home this weekend. The store has
200 visitors on weekends and a slow day has 70 visitors.
No wonder you have to make a reservation online at
www.catfe.ca.
Why should you spend $10 an hour petting cats? The
answer is obvious to cat lovers, especially those whose
landlords don’t allow cats; you get your cat fix here!
Imagine surrounding yourself with other like-mind-
ed animal lovers, in a relaxing environment, with your
fur-vorite espresso, a cat cookie (Meow-caron) and 12
different cats a week. Once a week, the SPCA (Society
for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) shelter deliv-
ers new foster cats to the Catfe to replace the ones that
were adopted. It is a purr-fect partnership.
These are special kitties! Visitors socialize with them
and adopt according to their purrs-onalities. The felines
mix well with other free roving cats. Once adopted, the
cats adapt easily to new siblings, and sleep all night.
Some adopters even return for a second kitty because
they know they are adopting amazing rescues.
The available adoptees are “fixed,” vaccinated, micro-
chipped, dewormed and treated for fleas. The shop clos-
es daily from 2 to 3 p.m. because CAT Union requires an
uninterrupted siesta for their cat naps. They can sleep in
one of the 50 cat shelves or enter the purrr-ivate room
through a cat door to get away from admirers.
As you know, cats do what they want: sometimes play,
sometimes they are cat-atonic and all asleep at the same
time. They are typically cat-unpredictable, so you nev-
er know what your experience will be. The entrance fee
helps pay fur the three helpful staff and rent because
adoption fees go to the SPCA shelter.
You can sit with a furry friend: a cup of coffee/espres-
so, cookie-cat treats, cat cupcakes and cookies shaped
like cat heads. I was thrilled to find meow-chandise;
Catfe mugs, fuzzy kitty socks for humans, toys for cats
and t-shirts that read, “I am not a crazy. My cat had me
tested. He said I am fine.” For us cat lovers, this friendly
store is purr-adise!
“It’s been said that you should ‘do what you love and
then it won’t feel like a job,’” said Michelle. “The CAT-
FE is the purr-fect job! The staff falls in love with every
cat and some are hard to adopt out, but we know we are
helping them. There are always many others in need of
homes. We are surrounded by wonderful caring custom-
ers who love coming into the store. It is heartwarming
watching felines find their fur-ever homes, meeting their
parents, and then hearing happy endings. Occasionally,
a customer arrives stressed or in a bad mood,” said Mi-
chelle, “Then a few minutes later, I look over at them pet-
ting a cat and smiling. It’s a thrill watching them trans-
form. One customer who recently moved to town said,
‘I am lonely and come here because it feels like home.’
“People say that pets choose us. Often when a new cat
arrives, within its first hour, some fresh visitors sit down
and the cat leaps up onto their table, and rubs against
their faces, choosing to adopt them,” Michelle said. “Ob-
viously, cats think this is a People-Cafe not a Cat Cafe for
them to pick out their very own perfect family.”
TIPS: Visiting a cat cafe was on my bucket list. Know-
ing I could not visit one of the 40 in Japan and that the
Catfe at Unit #2035, International Village Mall, 88 West
Pender St., Vancouver Canada made it pawsible, was a
thrill! I did not even mind leaving with multi-colored cat
souvenir fur on my clothes.
WE LIVE IN THE SAME TOWN WE WORK IN
“WE MAKE SHIFT HAPPEN!”
www.automotivespecialties.biz
DUSTIN TULLAR & RUSS OWENS
541-942-8022 • COTTAGE GROVE
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