“Gratitude is riches. Complaint is poverty.”~Doris Day
I’m grateful for the freedoms our great nation has provided but afraid Doris’s generation may have been freedom’s last. Privilege of freedom came at great cost born by those before me. I’m so grateful for their sacrifice but fear blood spilled and treasure […]
Ten days ago, I was planning on writing the expected piece on “gratitude” for this November edition. And then, the unexpected randomness of Life happened and my companion, Baci (whom you may recall from his recent celebrity appearance in this column) had a disc rupture, leaving his back legs paralyzed.
I spent […]
There is no good time of year to get sick. Working in hospitals since I was a teenager, I used to fall ill all the time. Even though I only worked with cardiac and surgical patients, where germs were neutralized at every turn, I was vulnerable to every kind of […]
One of the things many people enjoy about living in Jackson County is the rural feel of the area and its open farmland. But as evidenced over the last year, a lot of that farmland is being planted to hemp, which is unmistakable at harvest season, when the […]
The holidays are absolutely here at Hanley Farm! Make your own holiday wreath on Saturday, November 30, from 11:00am-3:00pm, using all-natural materials clipped from the trees and bushes that grace the farm. Wreath-making kits that include all you need will be available for only $15 for non-SOHS Members, and […]
People of a certain age will understand the love for and fascination with a paper map. The road map…folded in a specific way that only patience and agility can repeat. Kept in the glove box of the family car… as the key to destination precision.
In the 1860’s, Rand McNally published […]
When I first asked long-time Jacksonville resident, Barbara Oakes, to consent to being interviewed for “Sensational Seniors,” she replied, “Oh gosh, I have never done anything that was sensational.” Hopefully, this article will prove how wrong her initial assessment was.
Born on May 21, 1944 in Santa Ana, California, her father was […]
I recently took a Continuing Education class on “Going Green,” something I didn’t know much about. I was surprised by what I learned and how much each of us can impact our environment. It was a great class and information worth sharing.
It’s surprising that the focus on our environment […]
Growing old isn’t easy. There are no classes for it, and it’s not as if one has much choice. It just happens faster than we expect. We go along from day-to-day, then one morning a look in the mirror, and suddenly, it’s a different face staring back. […]
This year’s Meet the Pioneers tours of Jacksonville’s historic cemetery included several vignettes portraying 19th Century crime and punishment. In one, a man named Matt Shannon had been killed in an 1881 fist fight when his opponent shot him in the head with a concealed gun. A jury declared the murderer […]
The Oxford English Dictionary defines “Gratitude” as: “A warm sense of appreciation of kindness received, involving a feeling of goodwill towards the benefactor, and a desire to do something in return.”
Not bad, eh? We couldn’t have said it better ourselves, and in gratitude to the OED editors we’ll return the […]
Many moons ago, I was interviewed for the Executive Director position by a panel of nine Britt Music and Arts Festival Board members. The interview lasted 1.5 hours and covered many different areas of the professional expertise needed for the job. Given my extensive background in non-profit management, I […]
MEDFORD, OR — The Britt Music & Arts Festival has finished an outstanding season filled with wonderful weather and lots of big artists, and is thanking its patrons, members, business partners, media partners, artists and fans for a successful season. Ticket sales started slightly slow before the season began, but caught up and surpassed 2018 […]
Annual Scarecrow Festival—On October 5 & 6 at the Annual Scarecrow Festival from 11:00am-4:00pm, you can make a scarecrow and enter it in the Scarecrow Contest or take it home to protect your gardens and fields. Be sure to take a hayride, paint a pumpkin, bob for apples, and […]
“Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.” ~ Ian MacLaren
It is truly remarkable to me the number of people I know who are in pain. I’m not just talking about my counseling practice, where I expect to hear about difficulties and struggles; I’m talking about friends and […]
Yellowware is one of those items that branches off from the original and creates other categories to collect.
Yellowware did not limit its purposes to the functioning of a kitchen with bowls, pitchers, cups and tankards, cannisters, saltshakers and salt boxes, storage jars, molds, teapots and coffee pots, tableware and bakeware. […]
Purchasing a home is typically one of the biggest investments in your lifetime and few people have the cash to purchase a home outright. One option that comes up occasionally, and can work well for everyone, is to get a private loan from a friend or family member. […]
Jacksonville is one of the best locations in the Rogue Valley to enjoy the beauty of autumn.
If you have witnessed this stunning time of year in Jacksonville and taken in all the vivid colors of the season, you may have located a favorite tree or two. Maybe a tree in […]
Reverend Thomas Fletcher Royal, known as “Fletcher” to his family and “T.F.” to his friends, arrived with his family by wagon train in the Rogue Valley on October 27, 1853. Gold had been discovered on the banks of Rich Gulch the previous year, and hundreds of fortune seekers and riff raff […]
A prominent citizen visited my office recently to complain about a statement I made in one of my columns. The statement read, “It is the Constitution that holds our political parties in check. It stopped the Republicans from destroying President Truman. Today it is stopping the Democrats […]
We’re back.
And so are they.
“We” being your Unfettered Critics. “They” being. . . well, we’ll get to them in a moment.
Some of you may have noticed (and we thank those of you who’ve stopped us on the street to say you had) that our column mysteriously went missing from recent […]
I am dedicating this entire column to one man.
Dear Bow, this letter is one way of letting you know how much the Board, staff and most importantly, Britt Society Volunteers appreciate you.
Your tireless commitment as Britt’s House Manager over the past twelve years has been nothing short of extraordinary. […]
This “Sensational Seniors” article features much-loved dentist, Bill Brodie, who retired in 2011 after 37 years of operating a dental clinic in Jacksonville. A native Oregonian, Bill was born on May 15, 1945 in the Belle Knife Hospital in Coquille, Oregon—a small hospital that his grandmother, a nurse, had started. While […]
In the last few months, we have seen an explosion of hemp fields being planted along every road you drive as hemp quickly becomes the largest agricultural crop, surpassing pears and vineyards, in Southern Oregon. Based upon statistics from the Oregon Department of Agriculture, Jackson County has 8,578 acres […]
UPDATE: This event for 2019 is now SOLD OUT!
History buffs will be in their element when The Friends of Jacksonville’s Historic Cemetery once again present their annual fundraiser, Meet the Pioneers.
Beginning every fifteen minutes between 4-6:30pm, Friday and Saturday, October 4th and 5th, Jacksonville will be visited by representatives […]
Frau Kemmling is ready to roll out the barrel(s) at Schoolhaus Brewhaus for their twelfth-annual Oktoberfest. She, along with her hardworking crew, will pack two weeks-worth of traditional German frivolity into one uber family-friendly afternoon. So, pull your dirndl out of hiding, and mark the calendar for Saturday, September 28, from noon-10:00pm, when the seven-acre campus comes alive with […]
Mary and I spent a week in San Diego to participate in a “paddle out” celebrating her late brother Billy’s life. These things are always bittersweet. Bitter because loss is final, sweet because love left behind never expires.
Another brother-in-law, whom I treasure, […]
I am an incredible parent. I know this because there are moments in my parenting life where I stop and think, “Man, these kids are darned lucky.”
One of these moments happened this week. During a meeting at my children’s school my son was reminded […]
In the blue glass, front-locked cabinet are some very tiny objects. Made of glass, wrought iron, pewter, and clay, these items are for play and show. The glass figurines are handmade, perhaps in Murano, Italy, perhaps not. I see no maker’s marks on them, but they are […]
Water is a critical part of our way of life. Our economy, environment and our day-to-day lifestyle need water in order to flourish. But it’s a limited resource, and especially this time of year we need to rethink the way we […]
Southern Oregon has had a great summer with beautiful weather, lots of sunshine, and only two days of thunder storms that produced lots of rain but no significant forest fires. This beautiful weather usually brings lots of “out-of-state” home buyers, but this summer, home sales are […]
Long, long ago there was a fellow named Charles Atlas. That wasn’t his real name, but it sounded good for a body-building guru which he certainly was. Everyone knew about him because his ads were everywhere… especially in comic books where they were […]
Break out your love beads, head bands and bell bottom jeans for our September 8 celebration of Woodstock’s 50th anniversary at Hanley Farm. From 2:00-5:00pm, this will be the “far out” event of the summer! In addition to breaking out your bell bottoms and beads, don’t […]
The past two Pioneer Profiles have partially explored the public persona of Peter Britt, the pioneer Swiss photographer famed for documenting Southern Oregon’s people, activities, and landscapes, and father of the region’s commercial orchard, wine, and ornamental horticulture industries. Britt also served two terms on the Town Council, was […]
My two young grandchildren joined me in July for the Britt Festival Orchestra’s presentations of “Peter and the Wolf” (retold with a delightful Southern Oregon twist) and the story of the “The Mountain that Loved a Bird” by composer Caroline Shaw. They were enthralled, including the […]
A few years ago, I learned a fancy word: ineffable. It is defined as “too great or extreme to be expressed or described in words,” as in the ineffable natural beauty of Crater Lake. Speechless is another way to say it. I have experienced this ineffability at the Britt Festival Orchestra concerts more than I can count. It […]
BFO August 4 Concert will be On the Hill at the Britt Pavilion
08/03/19 MEDFORD, OR — Based on weather/smoke forecasts and the improved AQI numbers in Jacksonville, the Britt Festival Orchestra performance scheduled for Sunday, August 4 will be held on the hill at the Britt Pavilion in Jacksonville. All regularly […]
Britt Music & Arts Festival has opened a Call to Artists for the 2020 Fine Arts Poster. Britt is also considering artists for the 2021 and 2022 seasons. The Call to Artists will be open until July 31st, 2019, and will be juried by […]
While drinking ice cold fluids may feel refreshing, too much can be counterproductive. When the stomach is cooled, it has to work harder to produce the heat needed for normal digestion, resulting in heating-up the rest of the body. One antidote for this is to take ginger. […]
Now that summer is here, we can enjoy our outdoor areas where we’ve been investing our resources, creativity and personal style. And no one is happier about that than me.
For those whose outdoor living dreams have yet to be realized, there […]
For years, we have helped retirees find their perfect retirement home in Jacksonville. It’s very enjoyable seeing their excitement as we tell them all about Jacksonville and Southern Oregon. Most of them have come from out of state so there is lots of education that goes […]
Good Evening. Looks like the father of the bride is scheduled last to toast tonight. That’s okay. It gives me what may be the last opportunity to thank you so much for being here. Our family is overwhelmed by the outpouring of love on this […]
One of the (few) perks of getting older is having a longer view of life. Being a newly-minted mother of two teens, I’m remembering just how inwardly awkward and stressful adolescence is. Figuring out who you are and how to navigate life is rough on rats. And parents.
This month, I’m breaking away from speaking about a specific antique item to point out an obvious fact about one of our most common commodities—soap!
Soap is a household item that we often take for granted. There will always be soap of one […]
With all the wildfires that have devastated communities throughout the west recently, fire safety is at the forefront of many property owners’ minds. The increase in population over the last century has pushed much of the growth into what used to be forest and grasslands. […]
Some readers may remember a column years ago about my falling and then riding in an ambulance to the ER. It struck me as humorous how repeatedly I was asked my birthdate… 11-14-29. However, I annoyed a couple of readers who mistook my humor […]
In July, Pioneer Profiles highlighted Peter Britt’s renown as photographer, artist, and documenter of pioneer life in Southern Oregon. However, Britt was also an avid gardener and is considered to be the father of Southern Oregon’s commercial orchard, wine, and ornamental horticulture industries. Britt Park, now the Britt Festival […]
Summer Sundays at Hanley Farm—Have you been looking for ways to spend a Sunday afternoon? Look no further! Every Sunday, the farm is open from noon to 4:00pm for family fun, afternoon picnicking and children’s heritage games, docent-led house tours, and self-guided farm and garden tours enhanced […]
The subject of the August “Sensational Seniors” article, Carolyn Kingsnorth, has the most extensive and varied career resume of anyone I have ever met. I will only be able to touch on some aspects of her vita; hopefully, it will give the flavor of this statement. Carolyn was […]
Back in early July, I spent a Saturday afternoon enjoying a wonderful reception and book signing at Art Presence Art Center. As I stood in line to purchase three of Debbie Earley’s creative little glass mushrooms, I flipped through Ken Gregg’s beautiful new book, A […]