I don't know how long it's been since Del
Blanchard started his blueberry farm.I
don't know if it was his dream or how just how he got started.The public hadn't been invited to pick until
the year that we moved in.Evelyn had
made some flyers and posted them around town.Roland saw the one that was hanging at the Pizza Palace - where we had
gone to get something to eat.We copied
the address and went blueberry picking the next day.
That first year we dealt solely with
Evelyn - who teaches school and I believe prefers it over the blueberry
farm.Del had been sick off and on and
so we had to call first to make sure somebody would be there to let us onto the
property as there were several days when Evelyn had to take Del to the doctor.
Summer seemed to get away from us last
year.We didn't go as often - probably
because we got more pounds from just one bush in 2016 as opposed to an entire
row of bushes in 2015 - thus they lasted longer.I finally met Del, but do not recall having
seen Evelyn last year.
I had mentioned that Jenna and I had
gone last Thursday.We returned with
Roland on Saturday and picked over 30 pounds - bringing our grand total of
blueberries to just over 46 pounds (still haven't gotten the 50) and Evelyn
told us that Del had passed in March.
Her nephew John had come to be with
them.His profession is in nursing, but
now it appears that he has run on the farm - at least during one season.I am happy that he is there to assist
her.I feel honored to know John and Evelyn.
I have been trying to organize my thoughts on this post and continue to be interrupted. I do not have permission for the pictures that I use and will remove them at the artist requests. I will continue to keep the links on where the pictures come from so that they may still be viewed.
When I
was in my teens I remember manypeople trying
their hand at doing impersonations of different characters - the most popular
being Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and Kermit the Frog.I didn't view it as a talent would take anyone
anywhere.Boy, was I wrong.Fast Forward to being a mom.Jenna and I had been watching an episode that
Sesame Street had re-aired after Hurricane Katrina as the cast had experienced
a similar disaster and perhaps children could better deal knowing that Big Bird
had experienced the same trauma.It
wasn't until I had watched the documentary of said episode that I learned Steve
Whitmire was able to utilize his impersonating talent and ability to
impersonate Jim Henson's Kermit, who was the news reporter for the hurricane disaster.
muppet wiki
I was fascinated at watching the
behind the scene footage and all the work that is involved by those puppeteers
who move on their knees while having their hands in the air (I could not find
the hurricane footage use as a demonstration for just a few minutes - but
perhaps you'll get the gist with this wonderful tribute to soldiers featuring
Rosita and Elmo)
I took
Jenna to the Riddle Library on Wednesday.While there, I checked out a video called "I am Big Bird: the
Carroll Spinny Story" directed by Dave Lanaltina released in 2014.I won't be using the APA style to reference
as I am not being graded on this post, but will include several links.
www.iambigbird.com
We watched it that night, and I got
to tell you, it took me on a journey in which my eyes leaked (big surprise) as
I learned that Spinny had been bullied, abused, had felt like a failure to the
point of expressing interest in quitting his position with Sesame Street.He had divorced, was suicidal.It didn't help when Debra Spinny also teared
up as she explained about the connection to Lianzi Ouyangand how
hard it had been to leave her and how they had fallen out of touch - but I
think I'm getting ahead of myself.
journalchina
journalchina
Carroll Spinny was 81 at the time
the documentary was released - and still working on Sesame Street.How sweet that would be to be not only to be at
the same job for 46 years, but to love being there.I had always thought that it would be awesome
to grow up on Sesame Street and have a steady income before you even understand
what the word "income" means.
abc news
muppet wiki
abc news
Carroll loves his work, maybe even more
so than when he had started out - though he had always been interested in
puppetry.I think it's awesome that his
mom encouraged him to work with puppets.
tumblr
copperpot
So
many people don't see it as "real work" - but it is real work.It is real hard work.Very few positions in life come easy - and
just a magician or puppeteer may make it look easy,there are hours upon hours that go into
it.
www.iambigbird.com
Toronto Starship
tumblr
www.iambigbird.com
Jim Henson had asked Spinny to do
Sesame Street with him.
time
I was fascinated to learn that
Spinny is also a cartoonist.
tribecca
I was happy to learn he had found love again
with his sweet wife, Debra
esquire
entertainment
I
was floored to hear that NASA had asked Big Bird to promote the space program
by going to the space station with them (here).Big Bird was replaced when Ronald Reagan announced that they'd be
sending a teacher.I had posted
thathere not long ago
rockcellar
I don't believe that is all I had on my mind when I initially tried to create this post. This post does not do the film justice. They aren't kidding about a MUST SEE. (Be sure you have some tissues handy)
It is currently 74 degrees in the
afternoon.Warmest it's been all
day.This morning would have been
perfect for picking blueberries, but we went to the pool instead.And it was cold.
The water itself wasn't so bad, but if
there were wet parts not in the water but on top of the water when a breeze
would blow through, well, it sent a chill all over.We had one guy in the pool with a wet tee
that was cold.I don't recall being in
the pool the entire time when the sun hasn't come out and made us forget that
it had been overcast.
Jenna's only reason for going with me
today was to go on the slide.I told her
that the lifeguards will turn it on for us on Fridays.Today was an exception as Tuesday was a holiday
and the pool had been closed - those who have swim classes were told to come
today to make up for Tuesday.The slide
wasn't available for that reason.
I doubt the kids would have cared this
morning, for it was cold and they were already complaining that they didn't
want to get wet.Jenna was disappointed.
We stopped off at the laundry mat to do
a load of whites.The sun did not make
an appearance until after I had hung up the few things that hadn't dried at the
laundry mat.I now need to fold clothes.I also promised Jenna that I would take her back
to the pool for open swim.I will take
her to the park afterwards.Again, the thoughts
that I would really like to post, are put on the back burner - though I suppose
I could take my laptop with me and try sorting my thoughts right now . . . . I
don't know how long the juice will last.Perhaps I willcharge it right
now while I'm thinking about it.
We will return to the blueberry patch
tomorrow.Roland will be driving and
picking this time.I hope tomorrow
morning may be in the low temperatures as today with a cool breeze to assist
our comfort.
This morning I started a search for
pics to go with the next post I had mind – which has only been written in my
head and outlined on paper, but still needs to be transferred which I had
planned today but things don’t always go according to plan . . . like yesterday
morning seeing Riddle before the town awakens and the streets have no traffic
on them whatsoever.
I did not notice any traffic as I
drove to the blueberry patch this morning.
The drive seems long each time I go out there, but somehow felt even
longer this morning. I had gone a
different way than I had the other 12 – 20 times I’d gone there before. The sun shining directly over the spotty
windshield did not help matters. I felt
like I had been driving for half an hour at least.
I wish I had left the house
sooner. It had been cool when we first
arrived, but warmed up really quick – not as hot as yesterday morning, but
still – not the most comfortable temperature.
The berries did not seem as big and
full as they had been last year. It’s
also later in the season, but they just started accepting pickers yesterday.
Roland had wanted us to return with 50 pounds.
That is a lot for just two people to pick. We stopped at eight, but returned to the
patch for seven more bringing us to a grand total of 15. I told Jenna that 15 and 50 sound a lot
alike. We decided we’d return on
Saturday with Roland.
Neither Jenna nor I had eaten before
we left the house. She ate as she
picked. Of course it didn’t fill
her. (That girl’s a walking
stomach.) I debated on whether to stop
somewhere for breakfast or return to the house first. Roland was quite disappointed that we had not
picked more. Last July we had picked
over 20 pounds in record time – but there were six of us picking! This morning it was just me and Jenna.
I couldn’t park in the driveway as
the big yellow truck had returned. I
only saw one worker, though I believe there were more. Surely it was more than one person making all
that noise. I checked something on the computer before making my way to the
kitchen. Roland and a worker were talking.
I asked Jenna if she just wanted to go out to eat – like she’s going to
say no – but Roland ended up fixing breakfast for us and I was reminded of a
meeting I had scheduled for this afternoon and told Jenna I that I would take
her with me – though I didn’t particularly want her at the meeting, I had
already promised that I would take her to the library and the location of the
meeting was between the library and our house.
Roland made us blueberry
pancakes. We were at the library for
less than an hour when I received a phone call from one of the committee members
asking if I could meet her earlier. So,
I checked out the media I had collected and assisted with writing information
on a card as we are back to the way check-outs had been done back in the day as
we are no longer on a computerized system.
Myrtle Creek isn’t as strict about
the checkout procedure as Riddle. As of now, patrons are only allowed two items
for up to three weeks. I don’t believe a
limit has been given to the patrons of Myrtle Creek. Riddle uses clear plastic jackets for their
cards. MC has the old fashioned oaktag pockets
– which are easier to fasten to book or DVD but obviously cover more and can’t
be read through as the pockets used by Riddle.
I filled out an application for a card. Jenna asked me to take a picture of her in the tent - I couldn't fit the entire tepee into my camera.
this is the display case featuring some of the houses
from the little pig story as told on the grand opening
After taking pictures, we left the library and I put my items in the trunk and
drove to the location of the meeting (which we normally have at the Church but
thought we would try something different this month – and it seemed to be
successful)
After the meeting, I brought Jenna
home with intentions of getting on the computer to look up some things and
create minutes to send out. The yellow truck
was still in the driveway; in addition, there was a white truck marked plumber
parked on the side. I sat down to turn
on the computer before I notice that the power had been shut off. Oh, my word.
It is soooooo hot. (We are
blessed to have a cool breeze blowing in the room as I’m certain the
temperature in all other parts of the house are 20 degrees above the
bedroom. I don’t know why the
temperature always feels so much different in that part of the house.
In addition to the heat, it appears
a group of flies have entered the house as well. Damn them!!!
Currently Roland is going through the house with an exterminator. We have never seen a rat since we’ve been here,
but apparently, they have been living under the house and have been causing
problems. Even though we have all this activity going on, we are truly
blessed. Even Jenna who is still without
a room. It really would be nice having
her in Salt Lake with her brothers. At
the same time, I’m grateful that she can experience these inconveniences.
We now have a/c and fan running. Plants thirsty and watered. I’m showered and it feels nice. This wasn’t my intended post. Hopefully tomorrow.
For every Federal
Holiday and each holiday honoring Veterans though may not be observed by others
(I had not been aware of all of the "flag" holidays that Myrtle Creek
observes) Myrtle Creek lines the streets and bridges with flags.
South Umpqua Bridger Exit 108
The mayor credits the Elks for
putting out the flags.I don't know how
early they are put out. Though the flags come out every 4th of July, Myrtle
Creek itself seems like a ghost town.People go out of town.I don't
know where they go.Riddle, perhaps?
not the best pic, but the only one I can find of bridge on Exit 106
Poor Jenna.Her parents are tired old fuddy-duddys who
don't celebrate as we did when we were younger.Even if we were more active, I know Jenna would enjoy herself more if
she were to hang with someone her own age.We thought she might have that opportunity yesterday, but it didn't work
out as any of us had expected.
Annette had told Jenna that they
would pick her up at 8:30 yesterday morning and spend the 4th with her family
and she could stay the night after the fireworks.I don't know what their plans were taking
them, but Jenna was not a part of it after all.Though Annette's mom believes they have the perfect mother and daughter
relationship, their communication is even more pathetic than mine and
Roland's.
Jenna was ready at 7:30.8:30 came and went and by 9:00 she called to
find out what had happened.They were
already on their way to wherever they were going and would not be picking her
up.I heard Jenna crying - sobbing
loudly really.She had cried herself
sick and was heaving in the toilet.I
felt so helpless.
When Annette called at 10:00 to say
they were on their way to pick her up, Jenna informed her that she was
sick.I don't think Annette believed
her.Whether the miscommunication
happened between Annette and her mom or Jenna and Annette, I really don't
know.But I do know that Jenna did not
feel well and that her sensitive stomach in a car going straight makes her even
more queasy.The curvy roads of Oregon
would just add to her car sickness even more.
I had told Jenna to lie down and she
had tried laying down in mine and Roland's bed (as she is still currently
without) but was afraid her stomach might send her heaving before she could
make it to the bathroom. Thus Jenna spent the majority of the day on the
bathroom floor.I think she slept for a
couple of hours.After she started
feeling better, we left the house for a while.It was 5:00 I believe.
There had been a sawdust jubilee in
Riddle - perhaps it's something they do every fourth of July.Would have been nice to know that our first
year here.The only activity I could
seem to find within the county was in Glendale - which I'm sure for many of the
members in Glendale was a big deal - but for someone from Salt Lake City who is
accustomed to city parades and fireworks and activities ALL SUMMER LONG, Glendale had been a huge
disappointment - but had felt about 20 degrees cooler than Myrtle Creek - which
was nice.The year we had moved to
Oregon was an especially hot summer - especially for this area - or so we were
told.
We did make it to the fireworks and
saw people celebrating and felt a happiness among the people.Perhaps we can make it a tradition next
year.I had actually hoped to have Jenna
spend a few months in Salt Lake but with the unexpected death and return, it just
didn't quite fit into our plans this year.
She enjoyed the fireworks immensely.
It really was a good show.And I enjoyed
the band that was there.Of course she
chattered the entire way home, and Roland realized he didn't have his
glasses.We said a prayer that we would
be able to return today and find them.
Jenna and I left the house this
morning.Our intention was to go north
to pick blueberries, but ended up going south and west to return to the high
school to look for Roland's glasses.She
found them right away.The frame was
bent and one of the lenses had popped out and the nose pads were missing.She straightened out the frame and attempted
to push the lens back into place.Probably we'll be going to Roseburg after Roland gets off work.Don't know whether we'll make it to the
blueberry farm today or not.It's only
68 degrees at 9 a.m.It feels a lot
warmer than that.
MYRTLE CREEK — On the Myrtle Creek Library’s reopening day
Monday, Tanner Reed, 5, was enthusiastically transforming a Minions T-shirt
into a book bag that he could use to take home a pile of books about dinosaurs,
unicorns and monsters.
Tanner didn’t like to think about what would happen if the
library closed again.
“I’d feel really sad,” he said. Tanner was one of a dozen kids who turned up for the first
day, not just of the library’s summer reading program, but also of its
reopening after a three-month closure. Like the other smaller library branches
of the former Douglas County Library System, Myrtle Creek’s doors were shut
April 1. It’s the fifth to reopen, and it’s operating with an all-volunteer
staff. The kids were thrilled to have books to check out and fun
activities like creating their own book bags out of T-shirts and hearing
volunteer Karen Rivera read an unusual take on the Three Little Pigs story.
In
her version, three piggies from Myrtle Creek went on to have exciting careers
while living in different kinds of homes — an adobe house in a Colorado pueblo,
a rainbow cottage in California, and a portable teepee for a nomadic lifestyle.
The kids had other suggestions, such as an igloo or a castle.
It was a good day for Rivera, who was devastated when she
first heard the Myrtle Creek Library would be closing in the spring. On its
last day, she wiped away tears as she spoke about its loss with The
News-Review. So how was she feeling Monday? “Better.” Derrick Teig attended Monday’s summer reading program with
his children Liam, 2, and Ezmea, 4, as well as his wife Jessica Teig. Ezmea loves doing crafts and getting books. She tries to
teach her brother to read, her father said. Liam favors pop-up books. “I was pretty blown away when I heard they were going to
close it down,” Derrick Teig said. “I remember being a kid, getting my library card and how
much fun it was, feeling important,” he said. Marley Myrhe, 8, was enthusiastic about the anime graphic
novel his grandmother was checking out for him — “Maximum Ride” by James
Patterson. His grandmother Laura Hollifield said Marley enjoys reading
the novels and then drawing the characters. She was also checking out “The Lego
Adventure Book” for him. She said she enjoyed libraries herself as a kid and then
bringing her children, and now her grandchildren to them. “I don’t want that to get lost,” she said. “The library is
so important.” Hollifield said she’s “so thankful for the volunteers” that
have made it possible for the library to reopen. Behind the scenes, it wasn’t an easy job. Even the book
checkouts had to be done by hand. There’s still a concern about being able to fund raise
enough through the year to keep making liability insurance payments. Rivera said at one point, before the city agreed to allow
the library to continue in the building, there was even talk of opening in the
old laundromat building at the corner of Oak and Second. Bob Heilman, a member of the Save Our Libraries PAC that
unsuccessfully attempted to get a library district tax passed in November, said
at one point the Douglas Education Service District talked about moving in.
However, he said they’d have taken a substantial portion of the building and
weren’t offering to pay rent. Heilman said he anticipates it will take between $15,000 and
$20,000 a year to keep the library open, including $5,000 for insurance, as
well as the costs of internet, telephone and other services. Nevertheless, on Monday, morale was high. “This is great,” said summer reading program coordinator
Serena Theiss. “We had people here ready to roll when we got here.” Having the kids back after three months closed is “huge,”
she said. “It’s great to see kids back here in the library. We’ve got
people checking out books. We’ve got teenagers on the computer. We’ve got all the
ages in here right now,” she said. The kids were also scheduled to begin creating miniature
homes similar to those the three pigs in Rivera’s story built — paper tee-pees,
popsicle-stick rainbow houses and adobe homes made of clay.
Volunteers Sheila Johnson and Rindy Hart were working on
some rainbow house models Monday morning. Johnson said the library reopening is a relief. Hart said
she came to the library as a child and now she’s helping keep it open for
today’s children. “That’s just full-circle awesomeness right there,” she said.
Volunteer Jeanmarie Kollenkark sported a pig nose,
ears and
tail as part of the reopening of
the Myrtle Creek Library on Monday.
Summer Reading Program coordinator Serena Theiss,
left,
speaks with Hunter Myhre, 10, as she attaches a
reading frog to the wall Monday
at the Myrtle Creek Library.
Reporter Carisa Cegavske can be reached at
541-957-4213 or ccegavske@nrtoday.com pictures taken by Mike Henneke/The News-Review
The Myrtle Creek
Library will reopen Monday with an all-volunteer staff, and kick off its summer
reading program right away.
Like many of the
smaller branches of the former Douglas County Library System, the Myrtle Creek
Library has been closed since April 1. Sutherlin, Oakland, Riddle and Reedsport
have since reopened their libraries.
The Myrtle Creek
Library is unique in the county in that it is now managed not by the local city
council, but by the nonprofit Friends of the Myrtle Creek Library.
"We're very
excited," said Friends Treasurer Julienne DeMarsh about Monday's opening.
DeMarsh said the group
has about 80 people on a list of potential volunteers or donors, with a group
of 21 that has passed background checks and plans to volunteer through the
summer.
On Friday, DeMarsh
said they were working on getting connected to the internet and hope to have
that up and running in time for the opening.
She said it's
important to note that library patrons will need to re-register to get new library
cards.
The 17,000 books and
other items in the library's collection will be available for checkout on day
one. However, a computer catalog system isn't yet available, so books will be
checked out the old-fashioned way, with the patron's name and the item being
written down.
DeMarsh said
volunteers' enthusiasm wasn't diminished by the holiday weekend opening.
"People are still
willing to help us out, so I'm very encouraged by that," she said.
The library building belongs to the city, but it's the Friends
group that signed an intergovernmental agreement with the county to take charge
of and check out items from the collection.
One of the biggest challenges the Friends face is paying for
liability insurance. The main concern, DeMarsh said, is whether the library can
continue to raise enough funds to pay for that insurance and keep the library
running into the future.
For now, the emphasis is on the summer reading program, which
will be held Mondays from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Coordinator Serena Theiss said the activities will follow a
math, science and engineering theme adapted to fit the local library. Monday's
activity will be a Three Little Pigs theme with kids crafting three different
types of houses, a teepee, a rainbow cottage made from popsicle sticks and an
adobe house made from a pinch pot. Field trips will also be held to different
local businesses, including a visit to a water testing lab at Umpqua Research
Company.
The programs are conveniently timed to end just as the local
swimming pool opens up the street, Theiss said.
The doors will open at 10 a.m. Monday. Regular hours will be
from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays; 4 to 8 p.m.
Tuesdays and 4 to 7 p.m. Wednesdays. The library will be closed Fridays and
Sundays.
That gives us more hours/days than
when we had first moved in!We’ve been
without a library for just over three months now.Thanks to the members of the Friends of
Myrtle Creek library, we had our grand opening yesterday.Our kick off was for the summer reading
program “Build a Better World”
Children were told to choose a tee
shirt which we would turn into a bag so they had a container to put prizes and
books in.I read the story of “The Three
Little Pigs” but my three pigs started out life living in Myrtle Creek and each
left the state to live in three particular kinds of houses: adobe, stick or
tepee.We then allowed the children to
pick which house they would like to build and now have them in the display case
at the library.
The grand opening was a huge
success.It is the busiest I have ever
seen the library since we moved here just over two years ago,
Carissa had come to cover the
story.She remembered having had
interviewed me before.She didn’t
remember my name, but she remembered that I had been sad.That’s quite impressive from three months
back and all the libraries she has covered ever since.
I am so grateful for having the
opportunity of being a part of this historical moment.