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About Cottage Grove sentinel. (Cottage Grove, Or.) 1909-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 24, 2020)
Cottage Grove Sentinel Community B1 THURSDAY | DECEMBER 24, 2020 Betty Kaiser: Chatterbox Pet Tips ‘n’ Tales Santa and his Helper Betty Kaiser (Dear Readers, For the last 20 years, it has been my tradition to share an old-fashioned holiday story in this column. This year’s story is a repeat from an anon- ymous reader in 2009. The premise is simple: we’re never too young (or too old) to practice a random act of kindness. The setting is small town America, about 1950. Our narrator is an eight- year-old youngster. He begins …) I was just a kid when I had my Christmas adventure with Grand- ma. I remember tearing across town on my bike to visit her one Decem- ber day. Before I left, my big sister had dropped the bomb: “There is no Santa Claus,” she jeered. “Even dummies know that!” I immediately fled to my grandmother be- cause I knew she would be straight with me. Grandma was not the gushy kind, never had been. She always told the truth and I knew that the truth always went down a whole lot easier when swallowed with one of her “world-famous” cinnamon buns. (I knew they were world-famous because she said so.) Grandma was home and the buns were still warm. Between bites, I told her everything. She was ready for me. “No Santa Claus?” she snorted. “Ridiculous! Don’t you believe it! That rumor has been going around for years and it makes me mad; just plain mad! “Now, put on your coat and let’s go.” “Go? Go where, Grandma?” I asked. I hadn’t even finished the last of her world-famous cinnamon buns. ‘Where’ turned out to be Kerby’s General Store, the one store in town that had a little bit of ev- erything. As we walked through the store’s door, Grandma handed me $10. That was a bundle in have a coat. I knew that because he never went out to recess during the winter. His mother al- ways wrote a note telling the teacher that he had a cough. All of us kids knew that Bobby Decker didn’t have a cough; he didn’t have a good coat! I fingered the $10 with growing excitement. I would buy Bobby Decker a coat! I settled got out of the car. She and I crept noiselessly and hid in the bushes by his front walk. Then she gave me a nudge. “All right, Santa Claus,” she whispered, “get going.” I took a deep breath, dashed for his front door, threw the pres- ent down on his step, pounded his door and flew back to the safety of the bushes and Grand- ma. for The Sentinel MERRY CHRISTMAS! • As the year comes to an end, I want to remind everyone again to please be mindful of the weath- er and slow down. There have been far too many accidents lately, people cutting corners and driv- Found a Peanut “No Santa Claus?” Grandma snorted. “Ridiculous! Don’t you believe it!” those days. “Take this money,” she said, “and buy some- thing for someone who needs it. I’ll wait for you in the car.” Then she turned and walked out of Kerby’s. I was only eight years old. I’d often gone shopping with my mother but I had never shopped for anything all by myself. The store was big and crowded, full of people scrambling to finish their Christmas shopping. For a few moments, I just stood there, con- fused, clutching that $10 bill, wondering what to buy and who on Earth to buy it for. I thought of everybody I knew: my family, my friends, my neighbors, the kids at school, and the people who went to my church. I was just about thought out when I suddenly remembered Bobby Decker. He was a kid with bad breath and messy hair and he sat right behind me in Mrs. Pollock’s grade-two class. Bobby Decker didn’t on a red corduroy one that had a hood to it. It looked real warm; he would like that. “Is this a Christmas present for someone?” the lady behind the counter asked kindly as I laid my $10 down. “Yes, ma’am,” I replied shyly. “It’s for Bobby.” The nice lady smiled at me as I told her about how Bobby really need- ed a good winter coat. I didn’t get any change but she put the coat in a bag, smiled again and wished me a “Merry Christmas.” That evening when Grandma helped me wrap the coat, a little tag fell out and she tucked it in her Bible. We wrapped the coat up real pretty with paper and ribbons and wrote “To Bobby, from Santa Claus,” on a gift tag. Grandma said that Santa always insisted on secrecy. Then she drove me over to Bobby Deck- er’s house. She explained as we went, that I was now and forever official- ly one of Santa’s helpers. Grandma parked down the street from Bobby’s house and we Together we waited breathlessly in the dark- ness Finally, the door opened and there stood Bobby. Fifty years haven’t dimmed the thrill of those moments spent beside my Grandma, shivering in Bobby Decker’s bushes deliver- ing his gift. That night, I realized that those awful rumors about Santa Claus were just what Grandma said they were — ridiculous! Santa was alive and well. We were on his team. And to prove it, I still have Grandma’s Bible with the coat tag tucked inside: $19.95... • Lorane Grange has no activities or meetings until January, if things get better. Any Granger with community service needs to get it turned in by the end of December. • Lorane Communi- ty Association reported a very successful time gathering for the Christ- mas boxes for communi- ty needing a little help. They were able to help 19 families and 41 kids in Lorane and Crow to have a better Christmas. • Once again, wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas. However you are able to celebrate, be thankful and enjoy each minute — even if your gathering is small. Well, that’s it for this year, folks. As we pray for peace on earth and good health around the world, let’s also be alert if we see someone who needs a Santa’s helper. It might be us — what- ever your age may be. Merry Christmas and God Bless you all! Contact Betty Kaiser’s Chatterbox at 942-1317 or email bchatty@bettykaiser. com LORANE COUNTRY NEWS Contributed by Lil Thompson By Mary Ellen “Angel Scribe” ing way too fast. Let’s take the season to think of others on the road. • Staff and students are out for the next sev- eral weeks. They can re- lax and enjoy family at home. As the Crow High School principal said, ev- eryone has worked hard and deserves a break. City offering temporary service options through Jan. 4 The City of Cottage Grove is responding to the OHA restric- tions in the following ways until Monday, Jan 4. • City buildings are closed to all public access; Middlefield Pro Shop will have limited capacity. • For Planning, Zoning & Building information, call 541- 942-3340 for assistance. • For Water or Sewer Service, Utility Bills & Finance, call 541- 942-3346 for assistance. • For City Manager/City Clerk or City Council matters, call 541- 942-5501. • For the library, call 541-942- 3828 or email holds@cottage grove.org for curbside pick-up of library materials. Access the library card catalog online at www.cottagegrove.org/ library. No computer access allowed. Homebound delivery service is available also. • Meetings: All guests must attend virtually with meeting link information at www.cottage grove.org • City staff: Some will work from home to reduce risk of exposure and only one City employee in City-owned vehicles. Speak your peace. Write a Letter to the Editor today. Email Editor@TheSiuslawNews.com Christmas miracles do happen! Peanut’s amazing rescue reunites her with her best friend, Teeger, and mother, Rossi, making it the second time she’s been rescued. Who says that only cats have nine lives? T he children’s song “Found a Peanut” fueled Rossi to search for her lost 10-year-old dog, Peanut —a sad-eyed Dachshund mix recently res- cued from “death row.” Three weeks earlier, what started off as a routine walk turned into a night- mare for her and her new family. The temperature was 25-degrees when Rossi’s fa- ther took Peanut and her dog-brother, Teeger, out for their walk. At the bark park, when he let the dogs off leash, Peanut bolted across the park, over a four-lane road and up the mountainside. Her father phoned and told Rossi the upsetting news, so she left work and searched until midnight. Overnight, it snowed six inches. Poor Peanut, an emotionally shattered, skittish, small, short-haired Californian rescue was lost in the worst of condi- tions for survival. “LOST” flyers went up and family and friends donned winter clothes, boots and gloves. They searched everyday — missing work, meals and sleep. On day five, at 10 p.m., a woman phoned saying she had seen their posters and just saw Peanut run- ning. “The sighting gave us hope,” said Rossi. “Peanut was surviving one of our coldest winters on record.” The search team headed over and searched hours before calling it quits. The next morning, it snowed again, leaving them hopeful because the snow would mark Peanut’s paw prints. But they only saw the threats of raccoon and coyote prints. “It was so cold,” said Rossi. “We would search, go home, make tea, warm up, dry our coats and head back out.” The next day, they purchased brighter flashlights, warmer snow boots, base layers and thicker gloves to withstand the cold. Meanwhile, poor Teeger had become depressed and stopped eating and playing with his toys. On day eight, there was a second Peanut sighting at 10 p.m. She was traveling towards Rossi’s father’s home, only four blocks away, but had the four-lane road blocking her path. “We placed her bed and some of my clothes in the locations where she was seen,” said Rossi. “We folded the clothes and checked to see if she had made a bed. Each night we set up a new area with hot chicken and a kennel. Nothing! The police also kept a lookout for Peanut.” Everyone was losing hope for the tiny dog’s sur- vival. Then I (Ellen) had a dream that Peanut looked me directly in the face. I phoned Rossi in the morn- ing and said, “I think Peanut is alive!” When I told her where I lived, Rossi said Peanut was spotted on my street that same night. “I tried to keep my game face on,” said Rossi, “but I lost 10 pounds in tears. Peanut is all I thought about. People kept saying, ‘Don’t give up, Christ- mas miracles do happen.’” On day 18, Rossi’s phone rang. “My heart flut- tered” said Rossi. “I just knew this person had good news.” And she did. The caller discovered a small-shivering scared dog hiding in her back yard. She carried Peanut in- side for warmth and phoned declaring, “I found a Peanut!” “It was three days before Christmas,” said Rossi. “Our shattered family was back in one piece. Teeger See PEANUT 2B
