SPRINGFIELD – Opal Whiteley would have turned 120 years old last Thursday, Dec. 11. The American nature writer, diarist, and local legend to the Cottage Grove area is still making an impact today through her work in the 1900s.
Historian and local Whiteley expert, Steve Williamson, donated two copies of Whiteley’s book “The Fairyland Around Us,” which he received from a University of Oregon mentor, and through a purchase on eBay, to Singing Creek Educational Center. Williamson has been involved with SCEC as a board member and past president for at least seven years.
Singing Creek is a nonprofit that offers hands-on, culturally relevant living history and natural science education for children and families. It emphasizes local Indigenous cultures and pioneer history through immersive programs and camps. Originally based at the historic Snapp House in Cottage Grove, the organization adapted to a mobile format during the pandemic. In October, Singing Creek relocated to Dorris Ranch in Springfield.
“The Fairyland Around Us” is a pretty rare book,” Karen Rainsong, executive director, said. “I believe she only made 100 of them; that’s part of what makes them so rare. The other thing is that she hand-wrote a lot of notes in the books themselves, like all 100 of them,” she said.
Handwritten notes and pasted pictures of animals lined the margins of Whiteley’s books that blended the natural world and Christian philosophy, Williamson said.
Williamson thinks of his books as old friends and had a hard time parting ways with his beloved novels, but said, “I knew that Karen Rainsong would do the best thing, somehow, that she would put it to the best use. It’s such an old friend of mine that I couldn’t quite bring myself to sell it on eBay.”
With the help of Scott Landfield, owner of Tsunami Books in Eugene, the 1918 book sold for a whopping $950 on eBay. According to Landfield, the purchaser, Misty, had been researching Whiteley’s life for 20 years.
Rainsong said the proceeds from the book will go towards scholarships for low-income kids who want to attend Singing Creek’s history homeschool.
“We want to make sure that it is affordable for all the families that want to participate,” Rainsong said.
