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GO! magazine — A&E in Northeast Oregon
Thursday, June 4, 2020
Library takeout
begins Monday
School Days goes virtual —
pioneer spirit in the digital age
■ ■ Get your hands on what you want to read,
watch or listen to from Cook Memorial Library
LA GRANDE — As Oregon and
Union County moves toward the
amed next phase of its reopening plan,
Cook Memorial Library is prepar-
ture; ing to get physical library materi-
als back into the hands of patrons
eager to read print books and
watch DVDs.
“So many of our patrons prefer
reading a physical book over an
eBook while many more may
not even have internet service at
home,” the library’s director, Kip
Roberson said, in a press release.
“Our inability to circulate materials
6404, during the pandemic has meant
that the library hasn’t been able
to serve the patrons who likely
needed our services the most.”
Starting Monday, June 8, the La
Grande library will begin offering
“Library Take-Out” — contactless
pickup of materials reserved in
p.m.; advance — the first non-virtual
service since the pandemic forced
the closure of the library in mid-
March.
Patrons can now begin placing
half- “takeout” orders online or by phone.
Request holds on up to nine specific
items that you would like to read,
watch or listen to. Library staff will
prepare the orders and schedule a
pickup time starting Monday.
HOW DOES IT WORK?
Search the Sage Catalog at www.
cookmemoriallibrary.org and place
up to nine holds on the items they
want to read, watch or listen to. A
library staff member will then call
and confirm the order and schedule
a pickup time.
Patrons can also call the library
at 541-962-1339 to request items or
ask the staff to curate a selection of
items based on their reading/view-
ing/listening interests. At that time
a pickup time will be arranged.
Pickup times will be in one-hour
time slots with a maximum of four
patrons scheduled per hour. The
library asks for your patience as it
may take up to 24 hours to fill an
order.
Items will be checked out to the
patron at the time the order is
filled. Each order will be packed
into a free reusable tote bag along
with a receipt and a complimentary
disposable facial mask — because
“wearing is caring.”
All takeout orders must be
picked up at the entrance at the
corner of Fourth Street and Adams
Avenue. When a patron arrives for
their appointment they will call
541-963-1339 or ring the doorbell,
and the staff will bring out the
items.
Patrons are asked to follow all
physical distancing guidelines and
signs and consider wearing a mask.
If a patron needs any special ac-
commodation, let the staff know at
the time of making their appoint-
ment.
With the exception of oversized
items, all returns must be made
through the book drops.
All items will be checked out for
four weeks. No overdue fines will
be assessed at this time.
Cook Memorial’s “Library Take-
Out” will continue through the end
of June at least.
“I know our patrons miss their
library – the browsing of books,
the in-person story times and book
groups, the public use computers,
the quiet study areas, and their
interactions with our wonderful
staff,” said Roberson.
“As much as they miss us, we
may miss them even more. We are
working as quickly as possible to
get to a point where we can open
the doors to our patrons.”
Submitted image
David Spurlock works on his spoon
during Flora School Days 2019. He
will be collecting herbs and show-
ing their uses as part of this year’s
virtual event.
FLORA — The pioneers did not
have internet “back when,” but they
did have the ingenuity to make do
with what they had. “School Days
cannot be held in person, so we did
what the pioneers did — adapted
to what we can do and can use —
and Virtual School Days was born,”
proclaimed Nathan Thompson,
Walla Walla resident in charge and
member of the Flora School Educa-
tion Center School Board.
Beginning with an introduc-
tion at 9:45 a.m. Saturday, June
6, folk art demonstrators will be
livestreamed from 10 a.m. to 4
p.m. Thompson will provide live
narration during that time frame,
enabling viewers to take a peek at
each pioneer skill.
The livestream may be watched
in real time on the Facebook pages
for Flora School, Rusty Hammer
Forge, Rusty River Forge and
Burners and Blue Mountain Black-
smith Guild. Viewers do not need
Facebook to view the live narration
— it will also be available on Flora
School’s website (www.floraschool.
org).
Questions may be asked by visit-
ing the group on Saturday during
each particular demonstration.
“Live feed allows viewers to
question our folk artists just as if
you are watching them demo in
person,” Thompson said.
If you can’t catch the livestream,
the individual demonstrators
can be viewed through the FSEC
Virtual School Days 2020 group on
Facebook any time after Saturday.
For more information, view the
school’s website or Facebook page,
email floraschool@tds.net or call
541-828-7010.
Due to COVID-19, donations col-
lected during Virtual School Days
will be donated to food banks to
help out those in need. The School
Board for the Flora School Educa-
tion Center has already donated a
pig (turned into sausage) and the
chicken (turned into money), both
to be used by food banks local to
the demonstrators. Both the pig
and the chicken were donated to
the Flora School Education Center
to be auctioned off (pig) and used
at the Dutch oven lunch at the in-
person School Days.
Submitted image
Flora School during the 2019 Flora
School Days.
SCHEDULE
10 A.M.
Treadle Sewing Machine, School-
house Quilt Blocks by Nickie Sanchez,
FSEC Schoolhouse Quilters, San
Diego, California
Coffee Roasting, Sarah Thompson,
Cast Iron Coffee, Walla Walla
Alpaca Care, Nikki Riley, Pacs and
Chicks, Walla Walla
Leathercraft, Cutting Laces for
Moccasins and Pouches, Rene Challis,
Moccasin Lady, Troy
Blacksmith, Fireplace Set by Justin
Riley, Riley River Forge, Walla Walla
Herbalism, Foraging for Wild Edibles
by David Spurlock, Walla Walla
Beginning Bladesmithing, Black-
smith Knives by Mike Rowley, Ugly
Pug Forge, Enterprise
11 A.M.
Cooking with Cast Iron Dutch
Ovens, Dan Thompson, North End
Crossing, Flora
Stained Glass, Robert Ridinger,
Pomeroy, Washington
NOON
Seeding the Past, Laura Wisdom,
Pleasant Views by Laura, Portland
Harnessing the Future, Brian Cook,
Equine Elegance, Hermiston
1 P.M.
Herbalism, Usage and Preparation
of Wild Edibles, David Spurlock, Walla
Walla
Colonial Blacksmithing, Strap Hing-
es by David Roeder, Custom Knives by
David Roeder Tri-Cities
2 P.M.
Long-arm Sewing Machine, Vanessa
Thew Thompson, North End Crossing,
Flora
3 P.M.
Cowboy Boots, Crimping Vamps,
Morgan Buckert, Blaine County, Idaho
—Go to www.facebook.com/Flora-
SchoolEducationCenter for scheduling
specifics and instructions.