My mother and father were raised on ranches in Montana; mom in Graycliff near the Yellowstone River, and my dad on a horse-and-cattle ranch near Roundup, Montana. Mom was born and raised in Montana and my father was born in 1910 in Lawrence, Washington. Under the 1909 Homestead Act, my grandfather[Read More…]
Author: Don Williams for The Chronicle
Traveling, experiencing central Oregon’s natural beauty
LINDA SEXTON/PHOTO Please join us on a worthy trip with three destinations, the Lavender Gardens, Belknap Hot Springs, and the Dee Wright Observatory. We enjoyed The Chronicle pictorial July 16 covering the Lavender Gardens. As Linda and I travel the McKenzie Highway, the Lavender Gardens are located five miles from[Read More…]
Enjoy back-road cruise to Detroit Lake and beyond
There are plenty of boating options at Detroit Lake, and the fishing offers plenty of variety.LINDA SEXTON/PHOTO Another beautiful road trip through the back roads of Linn and Marion County to Detroit Lake/reservoir. Detroit Lake is formed by Detroit Reservoir Dam. The lake has a shoreline of 32-plus miles. It[Read More…]
Rose gardens & raptors
Owen Rose Garden at 300 N. Jefferson in Eugene brings back many fond memories of walks I used to take with family and friends. The footbridge there crosses from the Valley River parking lot, over the Willamette River and then connects to a bike path, eventually leading to the rose[Read More…]
Collecting, protecting memories
English curved glass walnut is illuminated in a display case. Dear Readers; As you know, I have always tried to be very positive with happy stories. With so much talk of the virus, and the disruption to businesses and lives, I draw back on a great deal of my personal[Read More…]
Grovers gone, but not forgotten
In reading the local obituaries, the past year has brought about much nostalgia and memories of so many community leaders who have left their fingerprints and footprints on projects in Cottage Grove. Many have left indelible wonderful memories working with them on community projects. The other day I opened the[Read More…]
Rotary International committed to the ‘annihilation of polio’
The pandemic has been rightly compared to the effort to find a cure for polio. On that note, Rotary International has approximately 36,000 clubs in 200 countries. Rotary is a service club, like Lions and Kiwanis. It has 1.2 million members and the Rotary Foundation – through the Paul Harris Fellowship[Read More…]
Bridging History
Oregon was a leader in the 1850s in the construction of covered bridges over rivers and creeks. Steel was difficult to obtain, and expensive. Timber, on the other hand, was readily available. This is one reason Oregon became the state with the most covered bridges west of the Mississippi, and[Read More…]
Remembering an artist: tributes to ‘Soju’
Susan (left) in Key West, Fla., with Traci Johnson Coolidge and friend Jeanette. “We were part of the Cuban Comparsa dancers,” she wrote in a Facebook post. “I made Traci’s and my outfits and buddy Jeanette made her’s, Such memories!” A graphic artist, pottery maker, author of several informational sheets of[Read More…]
Touched by polio, blessed by Rotary
I was intrigued with the latest article by Col. Richard Heyman regarding contagious disease, and the polio epidemic. I lived through the polio scares in the 1940s and ’50s. I was impacted with my father’s older brother having paralyzed legs, as did President Franklin Roosevelt. My uncle contracted polio on a ranch[Read More…]