For just the second time since the Covid shutdown, members of the Cottage Grove community gathered on Monday, May 30 at the historic Armory to honor local veterans in a ceremony marking Memorial Day. As in the past, the remembrance…

DANA MERRYDAY/ THE CHRONICLE – It takes more than mud and rain to dampen “scout spirit” during the annual Camporee event in Oregon. Over the weekend of May 13-15, local scouts gathered at Oregon Trail Council’s Camp Murname for a…

DANA MERRYDAY/CHRONICLE PHOTO – Action last week at the Veneta Skate Park includes scooters and boards. What does it take to move a mountain, or better yet, build one? As you travel the Territorial Highway south of Oregon Route 126,…

Photo: The Bridgens Family – Principal Heather Bridgens, left, and assistant principal Emily Wren Gerot. COTTAGE GROVE – Longtime educator, coach and athlete Heather Michele Cunningham Bridgens passed away on April 8.  “We are so grateful to have grown up…

PHOTO PROVIDED – At the uncovered Warren Daugherty Pool, from left: Wally ‘Chick’ Ciochetti, Ron Pupke, Cindy Clearwater Moon, Jeff Turay and Bud Taylor. Editor’s note: This is part two of a three-part series on the evolution of the South…

1957 FILE PHOTO – The Big White Eagle, Ron Pupke, coach of the 8th grade Jefferson Cubs basketball team. A teacher and coach, Pupke’s legacy runs deep in the Grove I first met Ron Pupke at the 1st Presbyterian Church.…

DANA MERRYDAY/CHRONICLE PHOTO Living green COTTAGE GROVE – Attendance was light but steady throughout Earth Day events at the Green Living Fair. Participants spoke well of the new start. A popular feature was the wood block prints with “green” themes…

Photo courtesy of Karen Rainsong “Save the Earth” poster entries. Winners announced Saturday at the GLF. Happy Earth Day this Friday, April 22nd! This day of recognition was started 52 years ago as it was beginning to dawn on some…

Editor’s Note: Dana Merryday wrote this tribute story through interviews with friends and family of the late William “Bill” Welt.  COTTAGE GROVE – William “Bill” Welt was a worker. He liked to work hard, had a tremendous amount of pure grit,…

Photo / Teri McCoy – After the fall, with grandsons Joe and Jacob for scale. Last week while on a 10-mile hike on the Row River Trail, one of our scouts said, “We are getting close to where the Indian…