Suzy Rupert, Rock Painter Extraordinaire

Posted on October 12, 2020 by Thom Hoch

Under the category of “sees a need… does something about it”, Suzy Rupert (Lot 68) is at the top of the list.

Earlier this year she, like many of us, saw all the larger rocks that line many of the roadway intersections around our park. It was obvious that many of these rocks had, at one point, been painted white. And the reason they’d been painted white in the past is safety. Aging eyes, Oregon fog, and long winter darkness combine to make negotiating the curves and turns of our roads a bit challenging at times… especially at night.

But time had taken a toll and the white safety rocks had mostly faded back to nature. Keeping park rocks bright and white is certainly not an easy task and it was a task that just hadn’t bubbled to the top of anyone’s priority list. So it didn’t get done.

Enter Suzy. For much of this summer, she could be seen with her golf-cart “paintmobile” at various spots around the park, intently cleaning, brushing, and painting those long forgotten safety rocks back to brilliant life. When headlights illuminate the corner ahead, negotiating the turn is now much easier and safer.

So a huge Thank You to Suzy for seeing this need… and doing something about it.

Posted in Featured, General Interest, Safety, Volunteer Opportunities | 14 Comments

IN MEMORIAM, CONNIE SUE ATWOOD

Posted on October 10, 2020 by webadmin

Connie Sue and Jimmie Atwood were Timber Valley residents for over 30 years: well-known, well-liked and active in park activities. Jimmie passed away Sept. 30, 2017 and Connie Sue, Sept 20, 2020. Connie Sue was living in Oakland with her daughter, Terry, when she died on her birthday.
Jimmie was in the Army in 1950s and together they lived in New Mexico and El Paso, Texas. Before moving here, they worked in Yellowstone in 1987, the year of the “big fire”. They became lease holders in Timber Valley on May 4, 1990.

Their three daughters were born in El Paso, Texas, Terry Stephson, Donna Sue Martinez and Bonnie Jean Montoya. Connie Sue and Jimmie had six grandchildren and one great grandchild. Connie Sue is remembered as a “great Mom who was always there for us,” by her daughters.

Her friends in Timber Valley remember her love of playing “Hand and Foot”, “Pokeno” and other games. She was active in Jacks and Jill’s and in Chapter Nine. Part of Timber Valley’s history has passed away with the loss of these early day residents.

Posted in General Interest, Obits | 1 Comment

IN MEMORIAM, ANNIE THOMPSON

Posted on October 8, 2020 by webadmin

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 webadmin

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

Posted in Emer Prep, Life at Timber Valley, Safety | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Preparing for future emergencies

RIGHT NOW

Posted on September 13, 2020 by webadmin

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 webadmin

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 webadmin

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.

Posted in General Interest, Life at Timber Valley | Tagged | Comments Off on SUCH A STRANGE SENSATION

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