The INDEPENDENT, April 21,1999
Page 3
Lottors to tha Editor
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By Nancy Burch, Librarian
Vernonia City Library
This lovely sunny Saturday morning, April 17,
as I rode my bicycle to work on the Linear Trail,
I marveled at the remarkable surroundings and
activities that make Vernonia such a great place
to live. There is hardly ever a time when at least
someone and usually several people are seen
enjoying the trail. This morning I met some
youngsters on bicycles and a group of gentle
men who were picking up trash as they walked.
The trilliums were in bloom and the air smelled
heavenly. Then, to be seen, at the south end of
town were the nearly framed library and city hall
buildings. This is really exciting and the latest
word is that construction is proceeding “on
schedule" with a possible date for making the
move to the new buildings being mid-August.
Dan Brown was out working on his new building.
Sidewalks were being swept and hosed, flowers
were being planted and weeded in the sidewalk
containers as the annual clean-up day was in
progress. A group of motorcyclists waved as
they rode peacefully through town. There is so
much more that could be mentioned, but this
morning was such a positive example of what
our community is all about that I just had to write
about it.
Plans are being made for the upcoming Sum
mer Reading Programs, with this summer being
the last that these sessions will need to be held
in sites other than the library. The idea this year
is that we will have probably three performers
and another couple of activities (activities and
presentations to be geared so they can be en
joyed by all ages) and just have as much fun as
we can. Thursday afternoons are being consid
ered for the activities, which will probably begin
in late June and end in early August with the
Jamboree parade. If you would like to offer your
ideas or help, please contact the library.
The May/June issue of Reminisce features
the year of 1959 in its “Fond Flashbacks”. Since
this happens to also commemorate the fortieth
year since my husband (who, then, drove a
Studebaker) and I graduated from high school, it
brought to mind some fond memories. It was the
year that Wilt Chamberlain made his profession
al basketball debut with the Philadelphia War
riors and that Clint Eastwood as Rowdy Yates
became a star when TV’s “Rawhide” premiered.
Hit songs from the year included “Kookie, Kook
ie” and “Everything’s Coming Up Roses”; top
box office stars included Cary Grant, James
Stewart, Doris Day and Debbie Reynolds; and
top television shows included “Gunsmoke”,
“Wagon Train”, and “77 Sunset Strip". Pedal
pushers and below-knee length skirts were be
ing worn and “flat tops” and brogans were still in
style. Do any of these bring back fond memories
for you? If so, or if you just enjoy reading about
the past and seeing some wonderful pictures of
bygone days, Reminisce is available in the li
brary on a regular basis, as only one of the 25
periodicals that the library has available for its
reading public. Others include Seventeen, Dirt
Rider, Country Living, Family Fun, Parenting
Good Housekeeping, Crafts, Country Woman,
Better Homes and Gardens, and Consumer Re
ports.
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Two books that I would like to recommend
this month are both mysteries. They are Blood &
Water, by San Francisco attorney Lori Fair-
weather, and Suspicion, by Barbara Rogan. In
Blood and Water, Fran Estes is accused of
killing her twin sister, Sid. Following a drunken
argument, after which Fran blacks out, her sis
ter’s car is found smashed on the beach below
the jagged cliffs over which it plunged. When
she regains consciousness, Fran discovers her
sister’s blood on her clothes and she has no rec
ollection of the previous evening. Since she is
also beneficiary of a $500,000 life insurance pol
icy payable in the event of her sister’s death, the
evidence mounts against her. As Fran follows
leads pointing to other possible suspects, which
include Sid’s boyfriend, a local bartender and
even her own husband, she finds her own life in
danger and it isn’t until the very last pages that
the killer (killers?) and motive are revealed.
Suspicion tells the story of Emma Roth who,
with her husband, Roger and son, Zach, have
moved from New York City to an old Victorian
mansion overlooking Long Island Sound.
Emma, a prolific author, finds changes are being
made in her latest manuscript while she is as
saulted by feelings of someone else’s presence
in certain areas of the mansion. As she investi
gates the strange history of the house, the an
niversary date of an auto accident in which she
was involved and in which a man and his daugh
ter were killed, looms. As Emma finds her home
invaded, her family threatened and her sanity
questioned, this tale builds to a thrilling conclu
sion.
New acquisitions include The Pilot’s Wife by
Anita Shreve, Vittorio the Vampire by Anne Rice,
The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon by Stephen
King, Bittersweet by Danielle Steel, The Color of
Night by David Lindsey, and A New Song by Jan
Karon.
Another interesting new acquisition is Oregon
Trivia compiled by Ted Magnuson. This includes
sections about the geography, entertainment,
history, arts and literature, sports and leisure,
and science and nature of Oregon. It is written in
question and answer form and covers a variety
of interesting facts about Oregon.
Down the Hill is a new book that will be of in
terest to those of us who live in a logging com
munity. Even though this book is written about
logging in the state of Washington, it contains
terms, folklore, photographs, poems, etc. that
tell the history of the timber industry in the Pacif
ic Northwest. Written Roy Stier, this book re
flects his love of the woods, from backpacking,
to working as a managing forester and logging
engineer for St. Paul & Tacoma Lumber Compa
ny The photographs in this book in themselves,
make this a must for anyone interested in log
ging of the past.
Enjoy your wonderful community, continue to
read and keep watching the progress of the new
library.
Vernonia Library 919 Bridge Street.
Hours: Mon. 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Wed. 10 a.m.-7
p.m., Fri. 1-5 p.m. Sat. 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
4xz -'x x
Phone: (503)429-1818
To the Editor:
Even though the snow
flakes fell, it didn’t dampen the
spirits of the anxious children
April 3rd at the Annual Easter
Egg Hunt sponsored by the
Vernonia Area Chamber of
Commerce. Approximately 275
children showed up to gather
eggs and see the Easter Bun
ny. Vernonia Sentry donated
115 dozen eggs and our
thanks go out to Chuck, Gor
don and Randy for their contin
ued donations. Curt Poetter,
Nancy Dailey, Brenda Gooch,
Sharon Parrow, Katie Poetter,
Shelly Cota, Diane Waltrip, Cat
Ross, Schann Nelson, Mary
Tolonen, Tonya Tolonen, and
the West Oregon Electric crew
Darlene
McLeod,
Glenda
Raney, Mary Dolbow, Carla
Strand and Jana Borst boiled
and dyed eggs. Schann Nel
son’s daughter and friend
Rose Peets colored eggs and
helped hide also. Sounds like
they had a great time and plan
on helping us again next year.
Jerry and I recruited our survey
crew and families, the Wal
laces, Monnins, Vance Swen
son and Marci, to help color 15
dozen eggs. We got out the
paint and brushes and the cre
ativity and enthusiasm flowed.
Two of the newest Chamber
members, LV Schoonover and
Mario Leonetti, jumped right in
and offered their input. Mario
donated some pizza coupons
to be hidden in some plastic
eggs along with the rest. LV
helped hide eggs and even
made our announcements to
the crowds with the mega
phone the city let us use. The
morning of the hunt, our egg
hiders met at Mario’s for break
fast and then headed down to
the park to rope off the areas
and begin hiding eggs. As usu
al, some of our best helpers
showed. Bill and Mary Cota
along with grandchildren Kyle
and Kristen Cota, Arnie and
Mary Tolonen, Bob and Diane
Waltrip, Alaena and Rob
Guinn, Nancy Dailey, Ray and
Shelly Cota, LV Schoonover,
Tegan Jones and Mary Ann
Shaw joined Jerry and me in
the cook shack to wait out the
snow. The weather always
seems to clear long enough for
the hunt, and give us a chance
to enjoy the event. This year
two young ladies stepped for
ward and volunteered to help
out. Thank you Brandi Abney
and Heather Findley. We hope
to see you next year. Your help
was greatly appreciated. Ver
nonia never fails to step up and
join in to help make projects
such as this a success. I’m
looking forward to another
great time in the year 2000, as
the Easter Bunny hops our way
again.
Sincerely,
Dolly Keenon
Vernonia Area Chamber
of Commerce
made it on top fine but, as we
started down a draw, we no
ticed the remnants of a snow
bank...this is when the bottom
fell out of the road. We had ex
perienced these conditions be
fore and made a hasty retreat.
The ground was so soft that
when I stepped out of my pick
up to lock the hubs, I sank in al
most up to my ankles.
Back on the valley floor we
saw what looked like a better
road going up onto the plateau
to the south. After climbing
over a very rough goat trail, we
reached a road that was better,
but lightly traveled. We climbed
up on the south plateau, head
ing to what we would hoped
would be the main road to
Frenchglen. The road was wet
from recent snow melt, but
wasn’t as soft as the other
road. I was in the lead and
came up against a snowdrift; I
could see a road sign on the
ridge above the drift so I start
ed punching my way through
the deeper snow. I had to hit it
three times to get through and
reach the ridge top. Disap
pointment greeted us when the
road sign indicated we had a
long way to go on a road that
was full of snow drifts and soft
mud.
We decided that we
were licked, turned around and
headed the 35 miles back to
Rabbit Basin. The boys want
ed to go fishing again at Anna
Please see page 5
[The following letter, dated March
16, 1999, was sent to Vernonia
High School last month. It is re
printed here with permission of the
author.]
Vernonia teens are
winners in real life
To the Editor:
Last week I took my wife to
the airport to get a flight. While
waiting with her, I became
aware of a group of young men
and women waiting to take the
same flight. Some of the group
were playing cards, others
were sitting in groups quietly
conversing. It was clear they
were headed somewhere as a
group and I recall thinking that
I hoped my own children had
represented themselves as ad
mirably at the same age.
The more I watched, the
more impressed I became with
this group of youths. I finally
asked one of the adults that
appeared to be traveling with
them. I was told this was the
Vernonia High School cross
country team and they were on
their way to Hawaii. I continued
to notice this exemplary group
of young people until they
boarded their flight. My wife lat
er told me she had seen the
same group in Los Angeles
and on the flight to Hawaii and
every one of them continued to
conduct themselves in an ex
cellent manner.
I don’t know how this team
did in competition this year but
it’s obvious Vernonia High
School has a winning cross
country team.
Sincerely,
William M. Holman
Camas, Wash.
Snow stopped for
the Easter Egg Hunt
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Iks Says
By Dale Webb, member
Izaak Walton League, Nehalem
Valley Chapter
(This is part 2 of Ike Says, from
April 7, continuing the tale of a
hunting, fishing and exploring trip
to southeastern Oregon by Dale
Webb, Ken Enneberg and their
teenage sons.)
We decided to head back to
Rabbit Basin after dinner since
it had the best hunting opportu
nity. We also wanted to explore
the upper reaches of Warner
Valley and try to get out of the
valley over to Frenchglen. It
was dark going up from the
bottom of the valley so we
pulled up to a large corral,
where we camped for the night.
We awoke in the morning to a
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serenade of cows mooing at
these strange objects next to
their water hole. We hadn’t
seen the water hole when we
parked. After breakfast we
headed up the valley and soon
were driving through a field of
large boulders sitting at the
base of cliffs that formed an im
posing plateau above. Some of
the boulders were so huge that
their round shape provided a
nice shelter. I found a large
piece of obsidian and was
telling the boys that Indians
had probably packed the arrow
head material into the val
ley...then Mike found a piece
of obsidian embedded in one of
the huge boulders.
As we were climbing back
into our pickups, a couple of F-
16 fighter jets flew high over
head. Then there was the thun
derous roar of another F-16
banking hard, high above us
and we were suddenly watch
ing a spectacular dog fight be
tween four F-16s as they wres
tled in the sky for electronic
kills. We were surprised when
a bright light was emitted from
the back of the lead jet. It was
ejecting flares as it twisted in
the sky in an attempt to elude
the pursuing jet. This was quite
a show of modern technology
high over an ancient land.
The road was becoming
narrower and, reaching a junc
tion, we decided to try to get up
on the plateau to the north. We