Summertime and the livin’ is easy…
Fish are jumpin’ and the cotton is high
Those lyrics Ira wrote to his brother George’s music seem very appropriate as we head into August and the heart of summer. Summertime! The mere word brings thoughts of picnics on the lawn, blankets on the beach and boating on the lake. For […]
History Saturday in the Cemetery, August 11, 10:00-11:30am—This month we present, “The History of Orchards and Vineyards in Southern Oregon,” presented by Gail Nicholson and Pam Smith. The lecture will be followed by a short walking tour of gravesites related to the topic.
Tuesday Evening Cemetery Stroll, August 14, […]
The “Sensational Senior” candidate for this month is arguably Jacksonville’s best known and loved citizen, who through 51 years of teaching has positively impacted thousands of young lives. As always, my approach is to start from the beginning, and in Larry’s case, his was on July 3, 1940 when he and […]
This August 25th marks the 100th anniversary of illustrious composer/conductor Leonard Bernstein’s birth.
And this column in the august August Jacksonville Review marks our 100th contribution as your ever-faithful Unfettered Critics. As CE3K’s Roy Neary said to his bewildered family: “This means something.”
Or not. Maybe it’s just mashed potatoes.
We often struggle […]
Everyone loves a love story and this one is so special that we have decided to reprint excerpts from a previously-published story. It began back in 1972 (not long after Britt began), when two Pan Am crew members staying in the same hotel on a stopover in London discovered […]
It was a great day at the farm! Our first open-house Sunday featured the Rusty Relics, who answered questions and explained restoration techniques they used to restore the antique tractors on display. Docents conducted house tours throughout the historic Hanley House while visitors toured the Shakespeare Garden—the newest addition […]
ART PRESENCE IS ON HIATUS THROUGH THE END OF AUGUST 2018
“Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time.”
~ Thomas Merton
“You use a glass mirror to see your face; you use works of art to see your soul.”
~ George Bernard Shaw
Southern Oregon Plein Air 2018-—We hope you were able to […]
My Sensational Seniors feature for this issue of the Jacksonville Review, Linda Graham, just gets under the wire as a senior, but she had a compelling story to tell. A native Oregonian, her life began on April 7, 1956 at the old Sacred Heart Hospital in Medford. Her parents were Jim […]
The saga began like this: In 1958, actor Peter Lawford shared a story told by a gas station attendant with buddy Frank Sinatra. Lawford thought the fanciful caper about robbing five Las Vegas casinos in one night would make for a fun movie project. Sinatra playfully upped the ante: “Forget […]
Can you imagine a world without art and music? Who would want to? You probably have seen children dancing and bouncing to music or seen toddlers banging on pots and pans. Because children are natural musicians, this musical interest comes easily and can be cultivated. Who will be our […]
With our warm, dry summers and mild winters, lavender (Lavandula) grows well in gardens in Southern Oregon; indeed, some local farmers have made lavender their principle crop. So it is that during the months of June and July, residents and visitors experience the aromatic and visual delights to be found along the Southern Oregon Lavender […]
Our busy lives are full of tension and stressful events. Some are fun, while others are more challenging. Though situations and emotions can cause us to feel stressed, they are not necessarily the cause of stress in and of themselves. How we engage and choose to cope with them is the real cause of stress. It’s not what […]
#1: After careful deliberation in the wake of last fall’s City Council meeting in which only 50% of the councilors showed support for Jacksonville’s Bee City Certification, the Jacksonville Bee City committee has reorganized and changed our name to the Jacksonville Pollinator Society. The team is growing, and we are […]
In this month’s “Sensational Seniors” article, I honor the spirit of two well-known and well-loved Jacksonville ladies, Lou McBride and Donna McNurlen, known by their business name as the “Two Macs.” It’s only fitting that these two long-time friends and self-motivated and hard-working entrepreneurs both passed away in January of 2018. […]
Time after time, we get calls here at the shop from people asking us to sell sets of dishes owned by a relative. While we sometimes buy, a determining factor in doing so is, “what is it you’re trying to sell?” If it’s Nippon, Limoges, Spode, or Noritake, they’re lovely […]
Selling a home is not for sissies. Between the last-minute showings, scurrying to clean up the pile of toys and stuff more junk into the junk drawer, the stress of negotiations when an offer finally does comes in, and wondering what hidden issues the home inspection may bring, […]
The surface of a print can never match the luscious textural variations of a painting. Whether created on canvas, wood, or mottled watercolor paper, original paintings have a touchable quality that sets them apart.
When you choose an original piece of artwork and bring it into your personal space, it becomes a focal point. Whether your […]
Last weekend, we had a great time in Ashland. It was a date night and we had dinner at MAS, a new restaurant serving a pre-fixed, eleven-course dinner with a pairing of Sake or Wine. After that, we stayed the night at the historic Ashland Springs Hotel. When we […]
In my column a couple months back, I mentioned that volunteer John McGlothlin and I came across some small headstones and decorative pieces while cleaning out the storage cabinets in the Sexton’s Tool House. One of those headstones, along with its base, belonged to little Beatrice Breitbarth, who died on January 12, 1869 at the […]
This summer you can again experience the world of 19th Century banking when you step behind the counter of the oldest bank in the Pacific Northwest, preserved intact since its proprietor’s death in 1915. Established by Cornelius C. Beekman as a gold dust office in 1856 and moved to its current […]
Anyone who has been to the Britt Music and Arts Festival knows that it offers an experience like no other. Throughout the region there are different outdoor music venues for both the young and old to attend, which seems to suggest something. Going to outdoor music venues gives us […]
We all know that the Britt hill is steeped in history. As such, every time construction projects are planned, archaeology is an important first step. I had a conversation with Jeff Applen of Sore Foot Archaeology, who served as the archaeologist for the Britt Festivals’ most recent project. After the planning […]
Despite occasional downpours, we had a terrific turnout at our annual Heritage Plant Sale. Intrepid gardeners arrived early each day to find that perfect piece of history to add to their landscape. There were as many as 50 different varieties of plants to choose from, including purple and lavender […]
Frequent visitors to Jacksonville’s Forest Park have been excited by two recent trail improvements: Rail Trail’s rehabilitation and a new Rattlesnake Gulch Trail. Spring is a great time to explore these parts of the park with their endemic wildflowers waxing and waning through their respective seasons. Hot days will soon be […]
If you suffer from allergies, the thought of breathing is challenging as the sneezing and itchy eyes, and scratchy throat… make you feel miserable. Some of us with pulmonary issues can experience more severe manifestations, like asthma.
Here are a few helpful suggestions inspired by Ayerveda, which is the yogic approach to […]
Pouring cream into coffee is a tradition borrowed from the Europeans. Before coffee makers succeeded in separating the grounds from the water, coffee was often too strong or bitter. A bit of sugar and a splash of cream smoothed-away the bitterness, making a more enjoyable hot drink. Cream and sugar […]
With spring in full swing, you may be thinking about buying a home but are not sure where to start. Here’s a list of the main items that typically occur when purchasing a home.
A visitor stopped by my office the other day to discuss a dream she has. That dream is to one day see a world where everyone who is handicapped and wheelchair-bound will have the freedom of movement to go where others go who take it for granted. […]
The Gold Diggers are a mainstay of the Southern Oregon Historical Society. Doug McGeary says it best, “The Society would not be the same without them! The quality of the programs is owed to these remarkable women.” In April, the Gold Diggers celebrated their 40th year of service, and […]
Before telling you about what the Friends of Jacksonville’s Historic Cemetery has planned this spring, I would like to thank the volunteers who were able to help with our Community Clean-up of the Cemetery grounds on March 31. Fifteen volunteers filled 82 large trash bags with leaves and made a number of piles of branches […]
Our readers may have noticed that we have an affinity for dogs. This doesn’t mean we automatically adore any movie featuring a canine (some are dogs, and we don’t mean that in a good way), but it does suggest we’ll make the effort to spend an afternoon at a matinee. […]
An art lover will often say to an artist, “If you ever make a print of that painting, I would love to buy it.” Not encouraging words for one who earns their living by creating original works…
The definition of art is “that which evokes an emotion,” and painters do not take this lightly, generously pouring […]
In early 2016, we sent out a survey to 2,600 constituents asking for extensive input from our community. First, we determined how often the respondent attends concerts and for how many years they have been attending. By determining previous involvement, we were able to gauge their familiarity with our […]
Finding Spring on our woodland trails starts simply with a step onto the path that leads away from all things urbane. Here, in our little village nestled in a corner of the valley, we find these paths with little trouble and at every opportunity. So, what’s new on the trails?
Folks have […]
For thousands of years, people of India and Asian countries have known the benefits of drinking water from Copper Vessels because of its many health benefits, especially its antibacterial property. I learned this practice from a teacher who was an Ayurvedic doctor. Ayurveda medicine is an integrative approach to health that […]
Jerry and Nell Mathern have lived in their 5th Street Jacksonville home for 46 years and, in those years, have endeared themselves to many of us who call Jacksonville home. Jerry’s life started in Sioux Falls, South Dakota on June 22, 1939. Jerry’s father tried his hand at a number of […]
The wearing of a hat is as old as civilization. A head covering is worn for protection against all types of weather, ceremonial and religious mandates, modesty, safety, and as a fashion accessory.
Hats were a symbol of social status or class. A Top-hat in the 19th century was worn as […]
There’s a lively and colorful movement growing here in Southern Oregon, and it embodies beauty and environmental stewardship with an intention to reverse pollinator decline.
It’s the Rogue Buzzway project sponsored by Pollinator Project Rogue Valley (PPRV), and you can bee a part of it. The Buzzway is a map of […]
Retaining walls can be functional and also just enhance your landscape. There are many options for style, color, texture, material and cost.
Function and necessity are usually the reasons for the installation of a retaining wall but in many situations retaining walls add depth and character to a sloped or steeply-graded […]
As a real estate broker, I spend a lot of my time looking at homes and conducting research. One of the things I do most often is preparation of a comparative market analysis (CMA), which is a document that helps determine the selling price range of a home […]
Often, we get asked how to increase the value of a home before selling it. Sometimes the answer is simple, and sometimes the answer is more complicated, especially if the seller is interested in investing a little time or money. There are some improvements that increase the value of […]
Cemetery Restoration and Preservation Work—In my March 2018 column, I shared the story of cleaning-out the cabinets in the Sexton’s Tool House and finding various pieces of damaged headstones and monuments, along with a few small headstones. One of the pieces of Margaret Zumwalt’s headstone was happily returned to the Eugene Pioneer Cemetery where it […]
A Wrinkle in Time, Madeleine L’Engle’s award-winning 1962 novel, is beloved by generations of readers. It is “science fantasy”—too fanciful to be considered science fiction, but brimming with science-y theories on traveling through space without a spaceship. And, as with the most memorable children’s tales, it stresses the power of […]
The artist membership of Art Presence Art Center is now 28 strong. We value them highly for the wonderful diversity of style, variety of technique in their respective mediums, and the unique and individual approach to creating art each artist brings to the gallery and our community.
The Poet’s Palette Continues… Art Presence invites you to […]
Though it was half a century ago, it seems as fresh to me now as the day it happened. I was what they called a Data Processing Manager in those days. One of those fellows who ran all of the business computer systems which included Operations, Systems […]
We aren’t enamored of streaming services.
We don’t object to them. We just haven’t felt the need to sign up for “additional services.” We like network TV—free TV—although we know its future is shaky. So we tried to delay the inevitable…
…At least, until last fall, when we signed up for CBS […]
One question has come up recently that I would like to address. Many patrons are asking, “Is Britt going to announce the 2018 season in thirds?” Logically, since Britt is now announcing the 2018 Season in February, March and April, patrons might assume that it makes sense to break […]
The Poet’s Palette—Art Presence Art Center is delighted with the works of art that have been submitted for our March-April 2018 exhibition, “The Poet’s Palette,” and we’re sure you will be, too! The show opens Friday, March 2, with a reception on Saturday, March 3 from 1:00-3:00pm, running through Sunday, April 29.
Art Gala Featuring Delores […]
So, the rains came. And the creeks rose. Water flowed into the old reservoir and mallards returned, quacking with delight at the prospects of dining in the newly opened establishment. After so many arid days under sweltering skies, here was blessed respite. Now the turtles came forth from their […]
As we approach spring, it is a perfect time for spring-cleaning your body. The less obvious place to start is in your mouth. Specifically, your tongue, which plays a very obscure but important role in your overall well-being. The tongue is perhaps one of the most underrated and neglected organs in […]