The Unmagical History Tour

Ever since we moved to Myrtle Creek, I had been looking online for any history of the town or library.  It hadn't occurred to me that the library would have its own scrapbook - one that I'd love to copy and share.  Let me just start with the introductions on the display case - excluding the pictures that I don't have.

Humble Beginnings

The first library in Myrtle Creek was established in 1912 in a two room, unheated cabin by a group of local citizens that staged a parade and fair to collect enough books.  The monthly rent for the location was $5.00.  Patrons war charged $1.00 a year to use the library.  It was run solely by volunteers, which were hard to get because the place was unheated, and operated by donations.  Sadly, it was eventually closed because all the members of the group responsible for the library moved out of town.

New Beginnings

In 1950, the Girl Scout library in the basement of a local church became open to the public.  It was a very populate venture and due to the need for more space, the library was moved that same year to the second floor of [what was then] City Hall.  However, this location was not up to code and the Fire Marshall had to shut it down for safety reasons.  The library was moved to a much smaller location that did not fit its needs.  Our community still wanted their library system and the City stepped in to provide it.

The Library and the City

In 1952, the City of Myrtle Creek contracted a new police station that included space for the library our community needed.  While the library eventually outgrew that space, that cooperation has since been continued and the City is still dedicated to providing a safe and accommodating space for the library.

When the old city hall was demolished in 1958, the new plans [were made.  The library was located where public city council meetings are now conducted] The library remained in that space for eighteen years.  

Joining the Douglas County Library System

In 1955, the Douglas County Library System was founded with the Roseburg Library as the headquarters.  Cities were contacted about a cooperative effort to create a county wide library system.  Myrtle Creek already had an established library with an active library board and they were concerned about new leadership hindering the wonderful thing the library was doing.  The state librarian at the time, Eleanor Stephens, wrote to the library board stressing the importance of cooperation to maintain a strong library system. [Though Myrtle Creek had done well on their own, it] was pointed out how much more efficiently things could be accomplished with the support of a county library.

Sixty years ago, in 1956, the Myrtle Creek Public Library became the Myrtle Creek Branch of Douglas County Library Systems

Your Library's Current Home

Forty years ago, in the summer of 1976, the city of Myrtle Creek completed the construction of our current building. [Our librarian at that time was Wilma Gore who] retired in 1977.  The City of Myrtle Creek has continued to assist, recently helping the library replace the carpeting and will soon install a new outdoor book drop.

I'd gone to the library last week to meet with one of the board members to go through my binder and hopefully get a bit more insight to my new position.  Because of my management class and recent post, I had asked about our vision statement, which she didn't know.  She didn't think we even had a mission statement; that I had found in the binder and thus she wanted to look at it.  Meanwhile I googled the subject and found this from two years ago:

Mission: Douglas County Libraries is a passionate advocate for literacy and lifelong learning.

Vision: Through engagement, education and entertainment, Douglas County Libraries transforms lives and builds community.

I edited my discussion post to include the vision and mission statements and added this:
Our goals right now are to save the library.

She reminisced a bit about growing up in Myrtle Creek, what it was like then and how so much has been lost over the years.  She remembered seeing more traffic.  Before Mill site park, there was actually a grist mill.  The park includes a brief history, though I don't recall a fire being mentioned.  I think she said whatever remained of the building burned down in the late '70s.    This is what I learned about Myrtle Creek during my research:

oldest known photo of Myrtle Creek

Settlers first came to the valley in 1837 and by the 1850s' farmlands and homesteads were esablished in the area. The Myrtle Creek area was originally settled in 1851 and the town was established in 1865. The town's name is derived from groves of Myrtle trees found in the vicinity along the banks of North Myrtle, South Myrtle and Myrtle creeks. Oregon Myrtlewood is a broadleaf evergreen native to Southwestern Oregon and Northwestern California and rarely found anywhere else.

Timber was as important to the area during the last century as it remains today.  By the 1870s there were two mills in the Myrtle Creek area.  The planning mill that was attached to the grist mill and a sawmill, up North Myrtle Creek, which could produce about 5,000 board feet per day. 

Milling has been a major part of the City of Myrtle Creek’s economy.  Lazarus Wright constructed a grist mill at the edge of town (adjacent to the creek) that had a capacity of 45 barrels of flour a day.  A planning mill was attached to the grist mill.  An electrical generator was incorporated into this facility prior to 1912.  It was renamed the Myrtle Creek Water, Lighting and Milling Company.  

The grist mill depicted in this mural was built along Myrtle Creek in the early 1850s. It was originally run by a man named Lazarus Wright and was a landmark as it was the only grist mill in the south county area. It was later converted to hydro-electric plant. The grist mill changed ownership a number of times, including John Hall, founder of Myrtle Creek. He bought from Wright (c.1863) and later had town surveyed & platted (ca.1868). Other owners of the mill included Hans Weaver, Henry Adams, F. M. Gabbert and Willis Kramer.

The grist mill was torn down prior to 1930 by the Oregon State Highway Commission to make way for a new bridge across Myrtle Creek as part of the Pacific Hwy improvement project.
The mural was painted in 1997 by local artist Susan Comerford, who still has an art studio in Roseburg, Oregon. The mural is located in Myrtle Creek’s Millsite Park, and is painted on the old sawmill bunker building (aka power house) for the Fir Manufacturing and March Logging Company. The sawmill was built in 1944 to help feed the demands of a nation at war, and supplied the lumber to build the decks of aircraft carriers. Another of the mill’s claims to fame is that it supplied the lumber for building the handrails for Madison Square Gardens in New York.

Eventually the sawmill closed and was abandoned. Then a fire destroyed the wooden mill buildings, almost taking the downtown area of Myrtle Creek with it. After the fire, the city acquired ownership of the land to build a city park under the condition that the land never be used for a profit making business. The bunker building was a very plain building and was almost torn down until the City was approached to have a mural painted on it. The building is now used by the Myrtle Creek Parks Department.


– Mural and historical information provided by Carolyn Shields, Myrtle Creek City Recorder and Maureen Butler, Myrtle Creek Historical Society
Photo by Gary Halvorson, Senior Archivist, Oregon State Archives

I've taken and posted several pictures of Mill Site park in Myrtle Creek. Ed Cadman had taken several pictures that were posted to this site:   

 This giant saw blade, from the old sawmill here, is preserved as part of the park.

Ed Cadman   http://www.smalltownoregon.com/08umpquavalleys/myrtlecreek.html

This is the grindstone and plaque

Karen Rivera      November 2015

Ed Cadman   http://www.smalltownoregon.com/08umpquavalleys/myrtlecreek.html

This plaque tells the story of how the Horse Creek covered bridge arrived in Myrtle Creek.

John Trax / Alamy Stock Photo

  Horse Creek Covered Bridge, spanning Myrtle Creek adjacent to Millsite Park, was built in 1930 and is currently used as a pedestrian bridge. This bridge originally spanned Horse Creek in Lane County but was removed in 1987. The bridge's wooden timbers were given to the City of Cottage Grove for salvage. Cottage Grove used some of the timbers and the remaining lumber was donated to the City of Myrtle Creek in the spring of 1990. 

 

Ed Cadman   http://www.smalltownoregon.com/08umpquavalleys/myrtlecreek.html

Karen Rivera        November 2015

 

Myrtle Creek is well known for its old bridges.  The Neal Lane covered bridge across the South Myrtle Creek in one of the six in Douglas County.  In addition to Horse Creek Covered Bridge is the Neal Lane Bridge, which I have also photographed and posted.

From the 1950's: Myrtle Creek itself flooded every year. Ed Cadman had sent a picture depicting the flood  just south of the Dairy Queen where the main highway went into town. You can find more of his pictures here.  This is the only picture I could retrieve from the internet.

 

I pulled my sources from the following websites:

 

Historical Sites Downtown Myrtle Creek

https://pocketsights.com/tours/tour/Myrtle-Creek-Historical-Sites-Downtown-Myrtle-Creek-501

Myrtle Creek - Tri City Area Chamber of Commerce   http://www.myrtlecreekchamber.com/touristinfo.html

The City of Myrtle Creek      http://www.cityofmyrtlecreek.com/index.asp?Type=B_LIST&SEC=%7B7310598F-D7C0-48D7-A7F8-BE0A06062102%7D

Myrtle Creek Historical Society

http://www.myrtlecreekhistory.com/p/membership.html

At Least She Supports the Arts

           

            Roland has two daughters, age 22 and 20.  When they were younger, Frances liked to draw and paint - mostly paint, but she learned a variety of artistic methods.  Pamprin was very theatrical.  She enjoyed singing and performing.  Both were skilled at what they enjoyed.

            Their biological mother had enrolled each in various classes according to their interests. Pamprin had performed in the Salt Lake  children's choir.  Her mother also drove her to several auditions for commercials. Frances had entered several of her paintings into contests.  One she had painted of Adam and Eve.  It hung on our wall for a few weeks before she took it down to enter in another contest.  We never saw it again.

            When I first started blogging, I hadn't mentioned the true identities of Roland's ex or his two oldest girls - or any of us really.  There have been so many complications with the ex that my mentioning their names would have probably just complicated things further.  We have wanted to stay in touch, but evidently, the feeling is not mutual.  That doesn't mean that we've forgotten them or don't think about them.

            They had moved from Utah to Hawaii three years before I started my blog. They must have moved to Kansas (or maybe Missouri) just shortly after we had moved to West Valley.  Through Google and referring links, I have discovered that Pamprin has won awards playing Kala in the musical of Tarzan and now performs as an Alto in a church choir.  Unlike me, who have joined the church choir solely for body count, Pamprin really does have a nice voice (or I assume she sings even better than the last time I heard her) Frances is a student at the Kansas City Art Institute.  It's nice to know that they were able to pursue their dreams.  I hope that they continue and can use their talents to their benefit.  

            Still would be nice if we could learn these things from them.  I hope that one day they will have the desire to reach out to their dad or brothers or even Jenna - who really doesn't know them, but knows of them.

FLOORED AGAIN part 2

The assignment for last week in my management class was on the Associations with Decision Making Process.  Our topic: Panera Bread.  I did some research and was able to put my thoughts together by Wednesday afternoon.  It is the earliest I have ever turned in an assignment for that class.  It was graded right away and I had received full credit.  Nice.

This week we don't have a written assignment.  Our discussion post is on Strategic Planning: Mission, Vision, and Goal Statements.  It needs to be 250 words and of course references.  The topic: the public library.  Are you kidding me?  That just happens to be where my passion lies right now.  Words and thoughts poured out of me. Initially, there were over 600 words.  I kept cutting it down.  This morning my post looked something like this (grey words were not posted to my discussion but kept for this blog)

                "In an article found in the Local*, Margaret Jakubcin (2007) gives ten reasons why we need local libraries - even if we have never even been there as a patron.  I agree wholeheartedly as the library does benefit so many individuals in the community.  

          "This has been a really hard class for me as  I don't have much passion for business.  I moved from a small metropolis of over a million people in 110.4 square miles to a rural area of about 107,00 people living in a stretched out area of over 5,100 miles.  Our city has a volunteer fire department, volunteer mayor, volunteer board members, and volunteers who run a second-hand store (where there is no employment).  There are not a lot of job opportunities here and I'm fine with it.  I have never had the desire to work for a prestigious company or become the CEO of anything.  I have worked for chain employment companies, but have just felt lost in the system and don't care for it.  

          "In order to get the most benefit from this class, I've had to view our education from a different angle; to find the values that apply to my own personal life and to the community in which I am currently living and trying to serve.  I know SWOT and decision making are already applied within the democracy of our existence.  We have some great leaders in this community, but the communication between cities and span of control seems to lack among all the cities as a whole with certain issues. They seemed to do well as a county library system, but evidently, that was not always the case.

          "When my family first moved to Douglas County, it seemed a hard adjustment for us to go from libraries being open from 40-56 hours a week to just 12-24.   From my understanding, the libraries in the county (where I currently reside) had all run independently at one time, but now they function in one system similar to the one that we left whereas we can place a hold on an item in another city and have it delivered to us rather than having to drive to each library to find it.  However, with each passing year, hours have been cut because the system has been threatened with a lack of funding.

          "There are ten libraries in our county and all are in jeopardy of closing.  The mission statement is to promote library awareness and save our libraries by increasing taxes.  This would cost taxpayers roughly 44 cents a day, or 5.50 a month or 66 dollars a year.  Just recently, I agreed to be on the board of our local library.  We don't know what the outcome will be on November 8th.  If the bill doesn't pass, the libraries will close and so our vision statement has been based on speculation about what will happen if the library does close or what improvements can be made if the bill does pass.  I know that by using statements for Vision, Mission and Values, we can organize the future of our community (Gottlieb, 2007)"

 *I found the initial reference in my binder of information for board members; original site (from where it was printed) no longer exists but have since come across the website The Literary Pursuit.

 

 This is my last week for the module.  Thus this morning I had to take a survey on my instructor and the course itself.  Next week I will start a new class - I'm guessing in College Algebra but don't actually know at this point. Overall,  this online schooling thing has been a productive journey.

FLOORED AGAIN part 1

It has been a major struggle for me to post discussions or write the assignments for my management class.  As I've already mentioned, I lack the passion, and yet I feel there is strength in what I'm learning if I but apply. I've noticed that I've made some huge grammatical errors to past posts . . . I'm not even going to try to correct them - at least not right now.  My apologies to those of you who have struggled through.  Hey, but thanks for being interested enough to continue.

We (students in any class of an online university) don't have verbal discussions in our classes as we don't all live in the same state or time zone . . . we have written discussion.  All my other credited classes required at least 150 words for our initial post and 50-75 words in comments made to other students.  This class requires more than 150 words - and references - and they have to be cited.  I actually lost points that first week because I hadn't cited. 

          My first discussion topic was on the span of control.  

Span of Control means the number of employees that can be managed efficiently and effectively by a manager. There are two types of span of control:

1. Narrow span of control: In a narrow span of control, a single manager or supervisor oversees only a few employees. This normally results in a tall organization – and organization with many levels of authority.
2. Wide span of control: In a wide span of control, a single manager oversees a large number of employees. This normally results in a flat organizational structure – one with very few levels of authority.

We had to answer three questions. 

1. You are a manager who works directly with employees that are new to the company. Do you want to have a narrow span of control or a wide span of control? Why?
2. You are an experienced employee who has worked for a company for many years. Do you want to report to a manager who has a wide span of control or a narrow span of control? Why?
3. You manage a team of employees. The owner of your company has asked you to report how many sales were generated by social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter. You have no time to do the report - one of your employees must do it. Tell us how you would use the delegation steps to decide which employee should create the report for your owner

 This was my first post:

I would hope that all of my employees would be able to work well together and follow instructions to get the job done well and on time. I would want to have a narrow span of control.  I know that there are some people who catch on quickly, while others may not.  I would like to show to my employees how to do something and be able to trust them to discipline themselves and get the work done.  I am happy to help when they haven't quite grasped something and would hope they would come to me if they do not understand something.  I don't wish to watch over them constantly.  I have obligations as well.  I personally would rather manage just a few employees than many.

Being an employee isn't any different than being a manager although I would prefer that the manager could walk away and let me do my thing without standing over me every single minute.  So I guess I would want the span to be wide. I am a good worker. If my boss has given me a specific assignment and deadline, I can get the job done and will ask if I need assistance.  Just as I would not want an employee to fear me, I do not fear my boss.

There are many people who have facebook accounts, however, not all users are wise.  I would choose someone on my team who has used the social media wisely and who is most resourceful and tell him/her  that I have a deadline to meet and I need him/her to get the word out and will see that he/she gets full credit for the work which has been done.  We all have talents and can utilize each talent for the benefit of the company. We must pull our resources together and work as a team just as the elements, string and tail each plays a vital role in kite flying.

My assignment for that week was on Organizational Structure.  The subject was on a company I had never heard of before: One Smooth Stone, which is a theater business and sounds like a good company to work for.  They are performers who entertain at sells conventions and motivational meetings and so forth.  My attitude toward the subject of attending said convention or seminar is briefly mentioned here.

I received full credit for my assignment.  I did not do so well at the assessment.  That first  week had convinced me that I'd be doomed in the class as I expected that each week would be harder for me with this less than wonderful attitude I have.  But I'm happy to say that I showed improvement by the second week.

The second week my post needed to be on the functions of management.  I posted the following:

The four functions of management are planning, organizing, leading and controlling.  I'm happy to see in this video (Hartzell, 2013) points out that management is needed in more than just sales.  Management is needed when conducting classes or raising funds for charity (SW project, 2015) This helps me focus better to understand management is not just about job and income - it involves so many aspects of our lives.

 I believe my weakest function is with controlling - following up to see if everyone else has followed through.  I think that because I have done my part, everyone else has, which is not always the case.  I don't know that I've had great examples to follow within the workplace.  But I do have a great example of management at home - only it's my husband who does the follow-up to find that our sons have not cleaned their rooms, or finished with their duties in the kitchen or what have you.  I need to become more observant.  I think I'm pretty good at planning, however.

 I really can't think of any outstanding managers that I have worked under.  Two of my  "managers"  were let go, probably because they lacked in management skills.  One quit because of confrontations which I don't understand.  I remember telling one of my "replacement" managers that I thought it was really important for us to have a meeting in order for us to communicate and all be on the same page.  She did have her meeting, but I wasn't invited.  I didn't see that her management skills were any better than the one she replaced.  Morale had actually gone done, as I recall.

 This video (Hartzell, 2013) also points out that we don't see half of the functions that our managers do.  Planning and Organizing take place behind closed doors - or in small groups.     I used management skills in church groups and in the community functions. For example,  I will be involved in a meeting on Thursday night in which ideas will be discussed and reviews will be made for saving the libraries in this area from closing.

Our assignment was on the difference between management and leadership.  Our topic was on the CEO of Southwest airlines, Gary Kelly, which I briefly mentioned here.

Our third week (this week) was on managerial decision making process:

I have checked into more videos and research by typing in "the six steps of decision making" although the steps are not always introduced in the same manner, I think it's the same principle, but the emphasis seems to be made more about one step or break into more steps or combine into fewer steps;  I've also noticed a different order.

Brian Perryman (2014) for example, gives eight steps with evaluation at number 6.  Carrie Olson (2015) gives us six steps.  Her evaluation  also appears as number six, while easy presentation 1 (2012) also includes eight steps places evaluation at number 4.

Regardless of what order or how many steps, decision making needs to be thought out.  Identify the problem or situation at hand, gather information and establish criteria (Olson 2015).  A good manager will analyze and choose options.  Unfortunately, it is not a step I see too often.  I don't think "ultimatums" are good choice options.

I have had managers that haven't even been able to identify the problem.  I often wondered how they had been put in the position of manager, to begin with.

There will be some instances when a manager will have to make what appears to be an "instant decision" but just as the "four functions of management" that we discussed last week, we don't always see what goes on behind closed doors.  A good manager has already observed and analyzed situations and environment of  employees are working.  Thus what may appear instantaneous to the employees involved had already gone through a procedure of steps by the manager.

Allow me to give an example from my own work situation.  There was an employee who wasn't pulling his share of the work.  He was a bit crude with his language and did not show respect to his co-workers but the customers loved him.  He evidently had some kind of charisma that only they could see.  He wasn't the top seller, but always in the top two or three.  Management had taken that all into consideration.  It had been weighing on her mind for a couple of months.  She had actually taken the employee aside - I don't know what words were said, but I know he was let go after a while.  Though it appeared to some that her decision had been abrupt,  it really wasn't.

Active listening requires listening from both management and employee  (Denton, 1992). This employee just wasn't willing to listen.

And here is a comment made in response to a class member's post about:

I agree with you that managers don't always follow the six step process.  I have had a few managers who did not even identify or evaluate the problem -  unfortunately not every manager gets to have the training that we will be learning in various classes.

I've also been in situations where the manager (I'll call her Ruth) had interviewed for a position opening at a retail store.  She had called to tell me that I had been chosen, only to call me one hour later to rag on the owner (I'll call him Mac) of the store.  Mac had given Ruth explicit instructions to interview candidates and then decided to hire someone that hadn't even gone through the same procedures as those that had been interviewed.  Ruth was actually more upset about the events that took place than I was. 

I wouldn't have had a problem working for or with Ruth.  I did have a problem with Mac and his interference.   Ruth had used the steps of management assigned.  I don't think Mac took any steps and was oblivious to the problem.  I don't know what became of Ruth, as I did not get the job nor was in a position in which I could just pop in and ask.  I think it's important that an employee has respect for his or her manager.  Equally, I think it's just as important, maybe even more for a manager (or owner) to respect employees.  I think that taking the time to take the proper steps in decision making makes a huge difference in showing respect.

 To avoid an even longer (and possibly boring) post, I will finish up on Monday.  My final thought shouldn't be posted to this blog before I post it to my discussion wall.  Both say roughly the same thing, though what I have saved for my blog gives a bit more detail than what I will post to my discussion.  And at last . . . including a topic that I'm actually passionate about.  Yeah!