IN MEMORIAM, ANNIE THOMPSON

Posted on October 8, 2020 by Jackie Deal

IN MEMORIAM, ANNIE THOMPSON

Most of us remember Annie Thompson, gentle, smiling, along with her husband Mickey and their dog, Minnie, the best friends anyone could have. Annie (Anita Loya Thompson) passed away Sept. 14, 2020 at almost 88 years of age.

Mickey and Annie owned the Sutherlin Auto Supply and worked with the newly forming  Timber Valley Park. They moved into the park Feb. 9, 2007.

Annie was a proud Marine; her picture is on one of the light posts along 400 West Central and Mickey’s is on the reverse side. They met when Mickey as a Navy Corpsman was working with the Marines in South Carolina. They were married for 67 years. Annie is survived by daughters Laura Ledford and Kathy Spjut and son, Mickey Jr.

Annie, who was Mexican, was the first non-white person in Sutherlin. She and Mickey were Southern Oregon coordinators for the American Field Service hosting exchange students. Laura says, “When exchange students didn’t fit into the homes they were sent to, they would come to our home and stay with us.” She described one Ethiopian student whose dark skin caused problems with the school and town. Annie and family persevered and the Ethiopian student became a popular and well liked addition to the community, helping to break down racial prejudice in the school and Sutherlin.

Laura says, “Annie lived a long, loving and purposeful life, serving both her country and her community.” Annie and Mickey received one of the “Quilts of Valor” for their service in the Korean War. They volunteered for their church and worked with married couples and teenagers.

Mickey, 89 years old, has suffered three strokes recently and is recovering at his daughter Laura’s home. He will soon be leaving for New Mexico to live with Laura and her husband. Cards can be sent to Mickey Thompson at 743 East 4 th Street, Sutherlin, OR. 97479 until about Oct 25. Then he will be moving to New Mexico; his daughter Kathy will forward any mail: Her address is Kathy Spjut , 3459 Pine St. North Bend, Oregon, 97459.

Annie Thompson, USMC

Annie and Mickey

Posted in General Interest, Obits | 5 Comments

Preparing for future emergencies

Posted on September 29, 2020 by Julianne G Crane

Oregon’s Office of Emergency Management offers the following information about preparing for future emergencies —

“People in Oregon were working on adjusting their lives to autumn and a return to school during the COVID-19 pandemic when they were suddenly confronted with dangerous wildfires, evacuations and hazardous smoke. While so many folks are still having to adjust their lives after being impacted by the wildfires, it may seem like too much to think about preparedness for future emergencies at this time. Even so, keeping track of what you are missing in your preparedness kit right now while it’s fresh in your mind may really help you in the future.

“There are many low-to-no cost actions you can do today that will help you in the event of a disaster or emergency, including measures everyone can take during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. You can limit the impacts that disasters have on you and your family by taking steps to:

  • Know what disasters and hazards could affect your area and learn what to do before, during and after each type of emergency.
  • Have important documents lined up, from insurance coverage to health/medical records.
  • Learn how to make your home more prepared for emergencies, both structurally and non-structurally.
  • Sign up for emergency alerts so that during a disaster or emergency, you receive immediate life-saving information from your state and local municipality and are prepared to act fast.
  • Ensure your home has the right types of insurance coverage based on where you live. Consider purchasing homeowners, renters, health, life and/or flood insurance to protect yourself and your property.

“Oregon Office of Emergency Management (OEM) has a webpage that can help you prepare for future emergencies, and below is a video that can help you prepare.”

OEM Weekly Watch Report July 27- August 2#MyORHealth horizontal rule

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RIGHT NOW

Posted on September 13, 2020 by Jackie Deal

My friend is worried. I’m concerned too. It seems we’ve lost the three Cs. Caring, concern and compassion. We seem to have replaced them with spitefulness, name calling and hatred. Not even of our enemies but of our brothers and sisters.
OH, Yah, negativity has ruled before; anybody remember the aftermath of the Vietnam War? Now, during the Pandemic and pre and post-election, caring about others seems to be low on the list of important things. Better to rant, rail and rag than to seek compromise and caring.
My friend found a song from the 1960’s that she thinks holds the answer. Maybe you remember it?
Come on people now,
Smile on your brother,
Everybody get together,
Try to love one another,
RIGHT NOW!
The song has a very long and successful history. “Get Together” was the second single released from the Youngbloods’ debut album in July 1967. It became the de facto anthem of the “hippie movement” and it remains the Youngbloods most well-known and successful song to this day.
The song was originally recorded as “Let’s Get Together” by the Kingston Trio in a live performance in March 1964. Many prominent popular groups have recorded the song.
The most notable recording came in 1967, when the Youngbloods released their version under the title “Get Together”. It was used in a radio public service announcement as a call for brotherhood by the National Conference of Christians and Jews. The Youngbloods’ version, the most-remembered today, was re-released in 1969, peaking at number 5 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Just think of the social boundaries this song has spanned: from “hippie” to National Conference of Christians and Jews. Perhaps it has a message we should consider.
In his book, “The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho has the shepherd boy, Santiago, say, “the world we live in will be either better or worse, depending on whether we become better or worse. And that’s where the power of love comes in. Because when we love, we always strive to become better than we are.”
Are we striving to become better than we are or are we smugly tearing each other down? Can we heed the plea to love one another? RIGHT NOW! “Come on, let’s get together and love one another. RIGHT NOW!”

 

Posted in Featured, General Interest | 5 Comments

YOU DON’T KNOW HOW GOOD YOU’VE GOT IT

Posted on September 11, 2020 by Jackie Deal

By Jackie Deal

You don’t know how good you’ve got it until you meet someone else who’s got it worse! I’m sitting out a Level 1, expecting Level 2 at any minute; yes, I’m talking about the forest fires ravaging Oregon. They’ve evacuated about 10 miles East of us. The smoke and ash are so thick you can’t see a block away. I can’t see my favorite mountain that rises right behind my place. It’s another in the strange feelings recent events have caused. Life is suspended. All that exists, outside my window is a world of gray, cold, uninviting. Maybe this is how a goldfish feels in his little bowl of water!
I’m packed; my “To Go Bag” is in the trunk, my car full of gas. And where would we go? Well, let’s see: there are fires North of us, fires South of us and fires East of us. Guess that leaves West to the Pacific Ocean! (Yes, spell-corrector I‘m capitalizing them because they’re so important!)
About an hour ago I met a young woman buying piles of clothes at the Thrift store. “Are you from Nonpareil?” I asked. “Yah”, she said, “and I only got out with the clothes on my back when they evacuated us.” I’ve got a pair of jeans and a couple of shirts, sweatshirts etc. in my trunk. Nothing fancy, no dress-up clothes.
My next-door neighbor in Quartzsite comes to Oregon for the summer just like I do. I live in an Escapees co-op park in Sutherlin, Oregon and she works at a campground at Detroit Lakes, Oregon. They were evacuated, Level 3. She got in her motor home, her son in her car and they headed west. Fires were burning on both sides of the highway, trees were falling across the highway. Things were so bad her son drove on ahead to see if it got better. He came back, “Mom, its worse; turn around. We have to go back.”
They headed back east only to run into State Troopers, “Lady, you turn that RV around and get out of here! It’s worse the way you’re going now!” They made it back west through the inferno to safety but they hope never to do it again!
The ash has tapered off; is that a good sign? The smoke is worse, visibility is nil. Yesterday we had the most beautiful sunset at 2:30 p.m. One good thing: the smoke has blocked the sun and the high 90s temperatures we were expecting haven’t materialized. In fact it’s cold: low 50s.
What’s ahead, I don’t know. I’m writing this, going to email it and only time will tell. Have we got it good or not?

 

Posted in Creative Work, Featured, General Interest, Life at Timber Valley | Tagged | 5 Comments

Our New Entry Sign

Posted on September 1, 2020 by Dick Shanahan

Thanks largely to the work of Bob Feiler and Dennis Hellawell.

Posted in Life at Timber Valley, News | 4 Comments

Please Welcome Ray & Janice Lot 132

Posted on August 28, 2020 by Dick Shanahan

Say “Hello” to Ray and Janice Vaughn who recently took possession of lot 132. “They aren’t new” you say, “I see them all the time.”
Ray and Janice have been around the park for several years off and on. They signed up on the AWL list four years ago and have come in from time to time for various activities as guests of the Regan’s. Not only are they not new to Timber Valley, they are not new to Sutherlin, having lived here for 50 years. You may also recognize them from Saturday donuts as they are the ones who have been delivering them lately.
With their move to lot #132, they have taken on a big project getting their new
destination trailer set up, adding a new deck and awnings. Still in the works, is a bit of landscaping. They both look forward to having the time to join in the park landscaping projects.
The Vaughn’s have been rv’ing for many years traveling to Alaska one summer and spending winters in Quartzite and Yuma, Arizona. They also enjoy cruising, with Costa Rica and the Panama Canal being favorites. They have already joined Chapter 9 and look forward to future rallies. Ray retired from Roseburg Lumber and Janice worked as a payroll clerk. Together, they have 3 boys and 3 girls, 13 grandchildren and 9 great grandchildren.

Posted in General Interest, Members, News | 1 Comment

SUCH A STRANGE SENSATION

Posted on August 20, 2020 by Jackie Deal

By Jackie Deal

Such a strange sensation! Really weird. Explanation? Okay. I self-quarantined for a short time and the effects were surprising. You see, a young man, let’s call him John, tested positive for corona virus. I had
been in a meeting (outside the park) with him, masks: sorta, six feet apart: almost. I was advised that the tests were “preliminary” and often gave false positives and that he was having further tests. Quarantining was left up to me.
After some soul searching I decided that there were people in this park I didn’t want to expose. I wasn’t overly fearful: I have no underlying conditions and I think my immune system is in pretty good shape. (How do we know?) BUT! I resolved to quarantine, isolate, sequester, call it what you will; it’s the same. Two weeks if necessary.
The first day, the very first day, it hit me. I sat back with my morning coffee and thought “Oh, Goodie, I have a day all to myself (14 of them to be exact); what am I going to do??
Huh? I dunno. Well then, what do I want to do? I dunno. Okay, Let’s start with, what day is this? I dunno. It seems that without a daily schedule I was lost. Lost. Lost is not a nice feeling. There was no incentive, no push. No gotta do this so I can do that next. Gotta do it today ’cuz tomorrow…..
Realization: I define myself not by what I am but by what I do. Abraham Maslow and other more modern psychologists (more modern than Freud) would say “Oh, woe, you must be all that you can be and not be what you do.” Maslow’s term was “self-actualize”. When our basic needs are taken care of we should be free to be all that we can be. Yah, Okay, I’m working on it.
The “rest of the story”? After one day of quarantining I got the good news that John’s next test was negative: it did NOT show corona virus. Whoopie!! I’m back in circulation but with a new respect for “contacts” who must isolate. And maybe, perhaps, just a little more self-awareness.

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Meet Your New Board of Directors for 2020 – 2021

Posted on August 6, 2020 by Thom Hoch

Despite a pandemic-related delay in holding our annual Membership meeting this year, we were successful in seating the new Board of Directors for 2020-2021 on July 16th, at a Special Open Board Meeting following the regular July Board Meeting. Putting their best Covid-face forward, they are:

Front (L to R);  Rockey Shanahan (Secretary);  Sharon Elliot;  Patti Healey;  Gerry Vroomman

Back (L to R):  David Arndorfer; Mike Hilty (Treasurer); Jim McIntosh (President); Dan Ohnemus (Vice President); Gene Fisher

Posted in Announcements, Featured, General Interest, News | Comments Off on Meet Your New Board of Directors for 2020 – 2021

Creature of the Night

Posted on July 26, 2020 by Thom Hoch

You put a game camera out at the edge of the forest and you never really know what you’ll get.

These images were captured Friday night and early Saturday morning by Jimmy Smith, lot 197.  They were taken behind his place, up on the hill, at the southern edge of the Park. The pics speak for themselves… (a picture is worth a thousand word??)  But I think I’d be keeping close tabs on my small pets, especially after dark.

The time-stamp on the first picture is 11:51pm; the last picture is 1:55am – about 2 hours later. So he or she was hanging around for a while.

 

 

 

 

Posted in Featured, General Interest, News | 7 Comments

Good News …

Posted on July 21, 2020 by Helaine Hepworth

Bored out of my mind, done with the day’s work, tired of listening to the silence I again started poking around in the internet. The same search as I have done before but this time I searched for “covid cases by zip code Oregon” and got projects.oregonlive.com.
I see a map. I see Portland and a few other cities. I move down the map. I noticed when I tapped my screen the zip code on the right changed. Example, I tapped Silverton, and now I can read zip code, 97381, population, 15,822. 53 cases

I kept tapping southward until I got our zip code and I read
“Population 9550, Cases <10*

The * says OHA {Oregon Health Authority} would not release numbers for any zip code with fewer than 10 cases.

97479 may have 9 cases or even no cases. If you see the map you will see that south of us, Roseburg is pale green, indicating areas that they have 18 cases per ten thousand population. Even if 97479 has 9 we would still have half the cases per ten thousand population

This doesn’t mean we should throw away our masks and party in the streets. It means we are doing it right in not letting Coivid in.

Finding this information today makes me less burdened by all the restrictions. I know they are for the good of our community. Stay Well

Posted in General Interest, News | Tagged | 3 Comments