Given the two-month time lapse since Part 1 of William Mason Colvig’s pioneer profile, let’s begin with a quick recap of the Judge Colvig story.
Born in Missouri in 1845, Colvig had crossed the plains to Oregon at age six. An ox-drawn covered wagon was his alma mater with his mother teaching […]
A year ago, we shared our feelings about streaming services: Didn’t have ‘em. Didn’t need ‘em. Get off our lawn, streamers!
Then we discovered that Discovery—the first new Star Trek series in a decade—could be accessed only on CBS All Access—via (horrors!) streaming. Thus, we yielded to the streamer that carries […]
What is a forest park? Jacksonville boasts both a Woodlands and a Forest Park. Portland has a Forest Park also. Ashland’s forest park is along Ashland Creek and is named Lithia Park. Another park there is Oredsen-Todd Woods. Medford maintains Prescott Park on RoxyAnn Peak. Surprisingly, this type of park […]
I have recently acquired a small vintage collection of tiny glass boots, shoes and slippers in varying sizes and colors. While favor for collecting this tchotchke may be waning, it still intrigues. Many people collect them simply in honor of a relative who died, or they remember them from […]
Jacksonville got its start as a gold rush town; later settlers coming west on wagon trains found the Rogue Valley to be a desirable place to establish land claims and settle down as farmers and ranchers. Jacksonville was at one time the largest town in the Oregon […]
“A house divided cannot stand…” ~Abraham Lincoln
“How sad it is that we give up on people who are just like us.” ~Mr. Rogers, Mr. Rogers Neighborhood
“Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.” ~Martin Luther […]
Thank you for sharing your holidays with us at Hanley Farm! Many of you visited the Scarecrow Festival and made Scarecrows to protect your gardens and fields and the farm’s Haunted Field Drama, “The Lady in Black,” was sold out all three nights! Families held their children close […]
Many were surprised to see the median price of a home in Jacksonville hit an all-time high of $578,500 for the last 90 days, ending October 31. Not only is this a record, it exceeds the median home price of Ashland which has held the record for highest […]
My sincere appreciation and gratitude to our amazing eighteen-member cast of the 2018 “Meet the Pioneers” for the wonderful and interesting program on October 5 and 6. Helping to make this year’s show so successful was a equally amazing group of volunteers who processed tickets, directed traffic, gathered the tour groups, got them on the […]
William Mason Covig’s Christmas greeting is written in Chinook, the “trading language” used between immigrants and the indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest until around 1900. Colvig professed to have been more fluent in Chinook, the language of his childhood playmates, than in his native English. Born in Missouri in […]
The First Presbyterian Church of Jacksonville (JPC) hosted a large gathering on October 21 to say thank you and bon voyage to their pastor, Larry Jung and his wife, Sally, for their 33-years of service to their church and the community of Jacksonville. Larry has easily been the longest serving […]
’Tis the season for ye olde Unfettered Critics to remind (okay—nag) everyone to give back to your community by shopping local. Which brings up a question that has been bothering us for some time—what’s with this weird word we used at the top: “’Tis?”
Think about it. It’s obviously a […]
With the holidays upon us, it seems appropriate to reflect back on the past year and share our list of many wonderful things that the Britt Music and Arts Festival board and staff are grateful for this season.
At a recent meeting with community members, a group that we […]
Every year, hundreds of art and music aficionados flock to Jacksonville to attend the Britt Music and Arts Festival. Surely, each visitor is impressed not only by the excellent performances, but also by the loveliness of the Britt Gardens themselves. But did you know that the gardens that now play host […]
November 2018 Exhibition: Holiday Treasures—Our annual holiday shopping show returns! When you head out to buy gifts for the special ones in your life, stop in the gallery first to consider a gift of art. Then come by on your way home to find an inspiring gift for those hard-to-shop-for loved ones. Unlike most shows, […]
It’s that wonderful Fall time of year when the temperatures remind us to layer our clothing as we head out the door on another adventure in the wilds of Southern Oregon. We look for the promised rains to ease last summer’s relentless drought, and we are quite happy to breathe the […]
“I just wanted to take another look at you” is a key bit of dialogue in the oft-produced movie A Star Is Born. The heartfelt line is delivered by the film’s male lead: Fredric March in 1937, James Mason in 1954, Kris Kristofferson in 1976, and Bradley Cooper in this […]
The technology used today for real estate transactions is amazing. The internet provides resources for everything related to real estate—locating properties, viewing, listing, advice on buying and selling, and even pricing calculators, known as an automated valuation model, or AVM.
An AVM is a program that automatically analyzes various […]
I enjoyed breakfast the other day at Buttercloud Bakery in Medford. They’ve been open for years but this was my first time. Buttercloud is outstanding and I’m kicking myself for taking so long to go. I told the guy who looked in-charge that establishments like his were important because […]
Ever since the smoke rolled in on July 16, 2018, your Britt team has been busy making plans on how we will deal with the new “norm” during the 2019 Orchestra Season and beyond.
Thanks to the strong partnership between Medford Public School District and […]
One thing I love about the holiday season is gathering with friends and family. For the most part, it brings out the best in us, and we bring out the best of our dishes. We get to use those items stored away for special occasions.
Start thinking of who is coming […]
I love the change of seasons and the distinct characteristics that each season brings. The Rogue Valley experiences beautiful contrasts and beauty during each season of the year.
Your landscape can offer a variety of colors, textures and features during each season. From short-flowering periods in the spring and early summer, […]
In an article two months ago, we talked about how the real estate market was being negatively affected by the smoke and repeated closures of interstate 5. Now that summer has ended, we can look back and survey the actual effect the fires had on our summer home sales.
Since […]
Thank You and Sincere Appreciation from the Friends of Jacksonville’s Historic Cemetery To: The teachers and students from Central Medford High School who paid it forward and spent two mornings, September 26 and 27, cleaning up the grounds in the Masonic Section and cleaning headstones in the Catholic Section of the cemetery. Our docents, Anne […]
I grew up in the Midwest, where my mother was the de facto urgent care clinician for the neighborhood—raising five children taught her all about scratchy throats and scraped knees—and my father helped install everyone’s cement driveways, which endure to this day. Community and generosity defined our way of life, be it around our backyard […]
Southern Oregon has become a destination for many mountain biking adventures. At least five areas within 25 miles of Jacksonville have trails dedicated to mountain biking while most hiking trails in the region are also open to two-wheel recreation. Jacksonville is no slouch in this regard with over 40 miles of […]
Preserving an image that the eye sees is indeed a miracle of modern times. How fantastic would it be to have an actual snapshot image of the babe in the manger, or the building of the pyramids?
Fill in the blanks. Thousands of years of human history are left to the […]
Most people don’t know what a Reverse Mortgage is; and, because they are relatively new, there is a lack of understanding. The reality is that Reverse Mortgages (RM) may be an answer to one of the biggest economic problems facing us in the United States, which is that many […]
It’s October, Hanley Farm’s scariest month with Ghosties and Ghoulies and things that go BUMP in the night. And, I must admit, it’s one of my favorite months at the farm!
The 8th-annual Scarecrow Festival is October 6 & 7. You’re invited to join us, create your own scarecrow, and […]
This will be our 12th year of offering these very special, guided Living History tours in Jacksonville’s Pioneer Cemetery. The approximately one-hour tours will depart from the D Street parking lot every 15 minutes starting at 3:30pm and […]
Unless you were there, you probably didn’t know about the Pub Crawl.
After the third rehearsal was smoked out, Teddy decided to hold meetings with musicians who wished to brainstorm alternative performance opportunities. It had become clear that we were unlikely to be able to rehearse anymore at the Hill, […]
October Imaginarium: Bewitched & Beguiled—After a smoky, searing summer, Fall is finally here and the October Imaginarium is back, too! We called to regional artists for art in a “Bewitched & Beguiled” theme and we’re thrilled with the works they have submitted so far! The show opens Friday, October 5 and continues every Friday, Saturday […]
Jacksonville resident, Dave Mills, has a compelling story about how hard work, determination and a supportive spouse will allow anyone to be successful. Dave Mills is proof of this—while in high school, he started as a “lot boy” for the Medford Skinner-Butler Cadillac dealership and just recently retired as the co-owner […]
I thought I’d put the election off till next month. You already know how I feel about this terrible meals tax proposal.
Have you noticed a lack of civil discourse in these times? Of course you have. Just turn on the television news and cable channels and the […]
A Cup of Conversation – October 2018
I loathe local politics. It is counter-intuitive for a small-town merchant to open his mouth on any issue splitting business along two polar extremes. I’ve avoided this stupidity for most of our three decades doing business in Jacksonville.
Having said this, there are times when keeping silent out of self-preservation […]
This month’s “Sensational Seniors” subjects are well-known Jacksonville residents Terry and Paula Block Erdmann. While their monthly Jacksonville Review column “The Unfettered Critic” provides insight into their Hollywood days, it touches only the surface of this intriguing couple. My two-hour interview with them covered their wonderful journey through the backdoor of […]
Dogs are entertainment. Unfettered entertainment, if you will. Life without dogs is possible…but for people like us, it’s far less enjoyable.
Dogs also are a job. We take care of them, 24/7, from the day we let them into our lives to their last passing moments. We’ve written about dogs before, […]
When you poke around a store like Pickety Place, you sometimes find objects that you have no idea what they are or what the purpose for them could possibly be.
Displayed with a pair of unused, vintage, white leather kid gloves, is a wooden scissor-like item. This is called a glove […]
With the close of this year’s 56th Britt Orchestra season, we can now reflect on our successes and challenges. As we all know, our orchestra season evolved and ultimately ended with unprecedented conditions. However, our orchestra, board, and patrons made this season special in extraordinary ways. In spite of […]
I will be blunt. Before I became a real estate broker, I didn’t think all that highly of the profession. I had been working as a city land use planner and had many occasions where buyers and their agents didn’t do their due diligence until after the property […]
2018 started out with a bang and we saw the median price of a home in Jackson County increase to $285,000—up from $194,500 in 2013. This means the average home has seen its value increase $18,000 a year. The number of homes sold has also increased this year by […]
It’s here! The Southern Oregon Historical Society hosts its second annual music festival Saturday, September 8, at Hanley Farm, the “Bluegrass Promenade.” Rainy & the Rattlesnakes, Siskiyou Summit and Waking Hazel perform music that blends Irish, Scotch and English folk traditions—the very best of bluegrass classic and contemporary sounds.
Music […]
On behalf of the Board of Directors for the Friends of Jacksonville’s Historic Cemetery, I would like to thank our wonderful docents for presenting such interesting and informative programs at this year’s History Saturdays and our Tuesday Evening Cemetery Strolls. The time each puts into researching and preparing was sincerely appreciated by all who attended. […]
On September 22, 2018, the Friends of St. Joseph’s are hosting “A Bid for History”—a dinner and auction to support the ongoing care and preservation of Jacksonville’s classical 1868 Catholic Rectory, a significant piece of local history. However, it only became the Catholic Rectory in 1875 when Reverend Francis Xavier Blanchet […]
September 2018 Exhibitions
Jacksonville: People, Places and Things—The member artists of Art Presence Art Center are back after a long hiatus during which local plein air works reveled in the gallery’s spotlight. This month’s display of member artworks focuses on a Jacksonville theme and we look forward to sharing with you their many appealing renditions of […]
The 9th annual Jacksonville-Applegate Rotary Club’s Salmon Bake has become a beloved local event. This year, it will be on September 16 starting at 5:00pm at Hanley Farm…smoke permitting. (There is a back-up location if the smoke continues to linger). The evening includes live music by Danielle Kelly Soul Project, an auction, wine raffle and […]
Before you go camping this summer, stop in to Pickety Place, pick up some vintage items and then go “old school” camping.
Take a 3 or 5-gallon crock instead of a cooler to keep your items cold. It might be heavy, but if you are near a very cold mountain stream, […]
I am sitting in my camper at Lake of the Woods as I write this article, reflecting about life. I usually write about land use or real estate issues, but summer is upon me and I want to talk about this wonderful Rogue Valley we call home. The […]
We’re planning a wedding. Our youngest found her soul-mate. He is one very fortunate young man. It’s a good thing I really like him. It would have been an uphill battle all the way, spoken of course in the narrative of the “father of the bride.”
The toast is being […]
Southern Oregon has attracted retirees for years with its four seasons, culture, wine industry and outdoor activities, all combined with great healthcare and affordable housing. For the last sixteen years, we have been helping hundreds of people find their perfect retirement home and along the way we have learned […]